Alright it’s already February  (how’d that happen?) and I planned to post this as a healthy new-years resulotion-type recipe. Oh well, better late than never! This is a nice, light and healthy recipe inspired by a Mediterranean cous-cous recipe my mom used to make. I started making it back in college and people seemed to really love it. I used some of the same ingredients in this recipe and swapped quinoa for cous-cous for added nutrional benefits. I also added chickpeas (because I’m obsessed) and omitted arugla, which I think I will keep next time for some added greenery. Greenery is a word right?

Alright, let’s talk about quinoa for a moment shall we?

A recently rediscovered ancient “grain” native to South America, quinoa was once called “the gold of the Incas,” who recognized its value in increasing the stamina of their warriors. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Not only is quinoa’s amino acid profile well balanced, making it a good choice for vegans concerned about adequate protein intake, but quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, folate, and phosphorus, this “grain” may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis. (source)

Quinoa cooks similarly to rice and you can actually make it in your rice maker if you’d like. I cook 1 part quinoa to two parts liquid, bring it to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cover for 12 minutes. Then fluff with a fork and it’s done. Once it’s cooked, set it aside and let it cool.

Meanwhile you can prep your other ingredients. In the mix here: diced tomatoes (seeded), diced cucumbers (seeded), chopped green onions, chickpeas, and feta cheese.

 Oh, and don’t forget toasted pine nuts! These can be pretty expensive, but worth the splurge if you’re feelin’ it.

 Next, it’s time to make a lemon vinaigrette, by mixing fresh squeezed lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and a good dose of salt and pepper. Stir and pour over the quinoa and veg.

Mix well to combine and there you have it. Simple, fresh, delicious.

-E

MMM! I love hummus and am especially lovin’ me some chickpeas these days. Greg happens to simultaneously be lovin’ roasted garlic these days so instead of plain hummus or edamame hummus I made roasted garlic hummus. This recipe is very simple and a great idea for a super bowl party or any other get togther you may be planning.

 Not surprisingly, the first thing you want to do is roast the garlic. Well, technically the first thing I did was soak my dry chickpeas overnight and then get them boiling in water. Feel free to avoid this step and use canned chickpeas if you’d prefer. It will certainly speed up your prep time and make this even that much easier to make. Anyway, back to the good stuff- the garlic! Cut the top off the bulb, drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap up the bulb in tin foil and roast in the (toaster) oven for about 45 minutes. Once it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze out the garlic from the shell. It should be relatively easy to do.

Sprinkle with some salt and mash it up into a paste.

Add this to the food processor along with 1/2 cup tahini paste and a little water. Blend until it forms a smooth, white liquid.

Then add the 1 cup of chickpeas, about 1.5 tsp each of salt and pepper, juice from 1/2 a lemon, and pulse. Drizzle in about 1/2 cup of olive oil as the mixture is blending. Taste and add more lemon juice, S &P, etc as needed.

Top with paprika and olive oil. Serve with pita chips and veggies!

 Delicious and healthy. Hope you enjoy!

-E

 These were the foundation of the sauce, a large can of crushed tomato, a large can of tomato puree, and 2 cans of tomato paste.  I guess I could have really been hard core and stewed, crushed, pureed, and….pasted the tomatoes myself but this is a corner cut that I think most kitchens wouldn’t look down upon too much.  They are interesting, not everyday brands, that counts for something right?  I opened these ingredients and poured them into a slow cooker then added the fresh oregano and basil.

 The natural lighting on a wintery day helped to further the illusion of fresh summery herbs.  It is great that we can get basically whatever produce we want at anytime of the year, and these were fresh just not from my garden.  Stan’s Market in the strip always has fresh herbs for $1.50 a bunch which again shows how ridiculously overpriced mainstream super markets are.  Next garlic (I have been obsessed with roasted garlic recently), and onions.

I added a tablespoon of red pepper flakes, stirred, and let the slow cooking do it’s magic for about 4 hours.  You may be thinking that a tablespoon of red pepper flakes is a lot because, well it is.  I have a taste that has been described as aggressive before and I really wanted the heat of this sauce to come through and it did in a very nice way.  There was a strong late rush of the heat but it was intertwined with the sauce in a way that it was extremely noticeable but not overwhelming.  Adding the cream to the sauce later on helped to govern the heat.

Everything is cold at this point and I placed the lid on the crock pot, hit the low/8 hour button, and let the sauce come together for about 4 hours with a few stirs here and there.  After those 4 hours, the sauce did not look a whole lot different at first glance but tasted much different.

We couldn’t come up with a way to describe how the above sauce looks, but it looks like it does when it comes out of a jar.  It is…..smoothly textured if you are into contradictions.  Anyway, the sauce could have simmered longer, but I would suggest a minimum of 2 hours if you are going to use the slow cooking method and give it the occasional stir no matter how long.  We were about an hour away from serving, so I added the cream at this point and mixed it in.

I served this with shrimp over pasta for some old Pittsburgh friends that were visiting for the holidays from Japan where they have been living for the last 7 years or so.  I took some pics of the final dish but I guess I was rushed and excited for our company and they did not come out well and I did not notice until it was way too late.  I added raw shrimp to the sauce about 10-15 minutes before serving it and with a few stirs they cooked easily.  The sauce was so hot that it was not a problem for the shrimp to cook.  Don’t let them in there too long though so they don’t become too rubbery.  Though I don’t have the final product pic, this sauce is very versatile and could be used on pizza, calzones, as a dipping sauce, in lasagna, basically anything you would use a red sauce for!

Recipe for Fra Diavolo Sauce

G

I love meatloaf. There I said it. My love for it started as a child, where most people’s supposed despise of the stuff also began. I never quite understood why meatloaf got such a bad rap? I grew up eating several varieties, all of which I absolultely loved. I’ve made my classic version here before and recently my dad stumbled upon my Grandma Janet’s recipe, the one that started it all, and scanned it into his computer and emailed it to me.

Well, it turns out it’s actually Shirley Booth’s recipe and it came from an old celebrity cookbook! How funny. Even still, it will always be my Grandma’s recipe and for what it’s worth- she did tweak it a bit- no olives or musrhooms on this baby. I love how there are some food stains on the page too. It was a well loved recipe!

So here is my version of one of my favorites:

It begins with the meat, which is 2 pounds ground chuck, and 1/2 pound each of pork and veal.

Next, add the fillers. What’s unique to me about this recipe is that instead of bread crumbs you use stuffing mix.

and just to clarify, it’s fine to use ketchup for catsup!

 This is 1/2 cup ketchup with 1/2 cup warm water.

Add both of these to the meat along with onion soup mix, 2 lightly beaten eggs and some salt and pepper.

and mix (with your hands!)

Mixing it with your hands is really the best way to go to make sure all of the stuffing and onion soup mix is evenly distrubted and there are no clumps or pockets of any one ingredient.

Once you have it mixed, form into a loaf shape and place it on a baking sheet.

You want to create a divet on the top so that the wine has a place to land.

Let this sit for about 30 minutes to soak up. Then bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

It will look like this. The last step is to put on the delcious tomato topping. Using tomato sauce and a little water, create a sauce and pour over the top of the loaf. Turn off the oven and put the loaf back in for another 15 minutes or so until the toppping is bubbling.

Remove from the oven and let it stand for 5-10 minutes (or as long as you can stand it) before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

-E

I went to the deli section at Penn Mac with the idea to get thick sliced ham and saw rosemary ham on the board.  I have never seen rosemary ham and thought it would be a good twist, though while at the counter I debated getting hot cappicola.  I will definitely try this again with the cappicola for more of a kick.  I could taste the rosemary when eating the ham out of the bag, but didn’t taste it in the final product.  I asked for it to be thick sliced and also got thick sliced swiss.  Next I fileted the chicken breasts and pounded them in a plastic bag.

Then the assembly of the rolls which was putting two slices of ham and two slices of cheese on each piece of pounded chicken breast then rolling as tightly as you can.  As you will see, I manipulated the cheese a bit to fit onto the chicken as it tapered toward the bottom.

It can be tough to roll it tightly, but do your best.  Next up is dipping the rolls in salt and pepper seasoned flour, beaten egg with water, and panko breadcrumbs.  I added some fresh chopped oregano to the breadcrumbs and oil to bind them and brown while baking.  I got just a few tastes of the oregano when eating the chicken and really liked it.  Next time I would make it more prominent and possibly just add the chopped fresh oregano on the ham before stacking the cheese.

Dip clockwise - flour, egg, breadcrumbs

Then bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  Make sure that the chicken is cooked through to the middle.  The cheese did not melt and run as much as I thought, but it probably helped that they were tightly packed into the dish.  We served this with creamed spinach.

G

I started by browning the sausage then setting it aside until the construction of the lasagna.  As you will see, I had many things going on at the same time to get all of the different elements ready for the construction.  I was also sauteing carrots, garlic, mushrooms and spinach for a veggie layer.  That was also the order of when I threw veggies into the pot based on the different amounts of time they needed to cook.

I also got the noodles going.  This is pretty much the first time that I made lasagna and there are many more noodles in a box than you will be able to fit into a standard casserole dish.  Now that I know, and Eileen told me when she came home, you can pre-plan and just cook the specific amount of noodles that you will need.

I also made the Alfredo sauce which I did not document much since it was a recipe that we had made and posted before.  I think this sauce would be good even eaten out of the litter box.

As mentioned, there was a lot going on to get the sausage, veggies, noodles, and sauce all ready to come together as one.

I patted the sausage, drained the noodles and let them cool a bit (don’t let them cool so much that they become a single noodle), and finished the veggies and sauce.  Now I was ready to construct the lasagna in the pan.  I did not go in a specific(also see even) pattern of layers, but it did not really matter.  Everything came together in every bite!  Another layer that did not need any prepping was sliced provolone cheese.  Here is the layer by layer construction:

That was the basic lasagna.  Then I topped it with fresh sliced tomatoes and basil.

Then baked at 350 for about a half an hour which seems to be the standard time and temp for most dishes.

I wish I had gotten a picture of a sliced piece but it was just so good that I had to get at it right away.  There were so many fresh ingredients that made this so wonderful, but the sauce is really the star!

G

View Alfredo Sauce Recipe

We received all three of the title ingredients in one of our last CSA pick-ups of the year and I figured out a way to use them all in one dish! I think that should get me some bonus points, don’t you? I made a creamy, comfort food style soup, jazzing it up with some cheese and bacon to really maximize the flavors. Making this soup involved very few steps.

These were our turnips. The first step is to peel these guys and chop them up. Peeling wasn’t the easiest, but I managed. Next, I chopped up the potatoes and the leeks as well and added everything to the pot with some melted butter.

This cooked for about 35-40 minutes.

Next I added chicken broth and let it simmer for another 45 minutes until the veggies were very tender.

At this point it is time to blend. I used our hand held immersion blender but a regular blender in batches will do the trick as well.

Next I added some half n half to add some creaminess and some salt and pepper for flavor enhancement. I then cooked it some more to thicken it up and it was ready to go.

It was good alone but why not add some cheese and bacon? It can only make it better and that it did! I cut up some bacon and cooked it as the soup simmered away. Put it on top with some cheddar cheese and enjoy! It’s like a loaded baked potato soup, but slight more complex thanks to the turnips and leeks.

This was relatively simple to make and packed a lot of great taste. Enjoy this one on a cold winter night and you won’t be disappointed.

-E

Don’t you just feel healthier looking at this photo? We had some herbs leftover from various recipes and I thought I’d make a yummy, fresh green goddess dressing. I searched the internet for a recipe and it turns out there are seemingly hundreds of variations out there. I basically combined several recipes to cater to the ingredients I had and the style of dressing I was looking for.

I used a 1/2 cup roughly chopped basil, 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon, and 1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley, since this is what we had. You can also see a clove of garlic hanging out up there as well.

In addition to the herbs and garlic, I added 2 green onions, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 2 anchovy fillets, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. I placed everything in the blender and set it to puree.

Nice and green.

This dressing was a great way to use up the leftover herbs. It stayed fresh in the refrigerator for about a week and I enjoyed it on many a lunch salad.

-E

If you haven’t noticed we’ve been on a bit of a pumpkin kick lately and originally the idea for this dish was to make a pumpkin stuffing. Well, a butternut squash arrived in our CSA and one thing lead to the next and here we are. I had never cooked with butternut squash before and I was up for the challenge. I decided to work off the recipe I used the one other time I’ve made stuffing from scratch and developed a tasty recipe!

Begin by cutting up bread into 1″ cubes.

Next, peel the butternut squash and cut into similar sized cubes.

I wasn’t sure if the squash would be tender enough just by cooking it in the bird/oven so I sauteed it with some onion for about 8 minutes.

Once that cooked, I added it to the bread cubes and some fresh parsley.

Once that was all mixed together, I added about 1/2 cup chicken broth, covered it and set it aside.

Then I focused on the chicken. I braised the chicken by closely following the Molly Steven’s recipe I used to make braised chicken previously.

Begin by cooking down some onion and carrot (and celery if you’re into that) in some chicken fat or oil. Cook for about 6-8 minutes and then add the wing tips, neck, heart, and gizzards. Sounds gross but they add a ton of flavor. You will remove these before serving, no worries.

Let those cook for a few minutes and then add bay leaves, lemon peel, thyme and white wine.

Truss the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and stuff it with the butternut squash/bread mixture. Place it into the pot along with some chicken stock.

Cover with parchment and place in the oven for nearly 2 hours.

Once the chicken reaches 170 degrees, take it out of the braising pot and place on a rack.

Now it is time to make the (delicious) gravy. From the braising liquid, remove the bones, gizzards, heart, bay leaves and lemon peels. Add the remaining liquid and mushy vegetables to the blender.

and pour into a small sauce pot. Add half n half and cook down to your desired consistency.

Meanwhile, cook the remaining stuffing and place the chicken back in the oven on the rack so the skin can get nice, golden brown.

Cut up your chicken and serve with the stuffing. Make sure to pour generous amounts of gravy all over it

Another winner, this was such a comforting and delicious Sunday dinner. Hope you enjoy this one sometime this fall/winter.

-E