Cottage Cheese Dip, 2 ways

Grandma LuDean's Garlic Dip

8 oz cream cheese

1 pint cottage cheese

1 T mayo

dash Worchestersire sauce

salt to taste

1 small clove garlic (or 2 or 3)

1 tsp onion juice (or minced onion)

chives if desired

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Process until desired consistency is reached.

Uncle Mike's Crab Dip

8 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup diced onion

1 pint cottage cheese

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp lemon juice (or to taste)

1 can crab

1 T mayo

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Process until desired consistency is reached.

Aunt Laura's Raspberry Jello

6 oz Raspberry Jello
2 C boiling water
1 C apple sauce
small container (pint?) frozen sweetened raspberries

In large bowl pour boiling water over Jello. Stir in apple sauce and berries until berries are defrosted. Pour in to a Jello mold, if desired, and chill until set.

Spinach Pear Cranberry Salad

Recipe Copied from Epicurious


Dressing

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper

• 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 8 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach leaves, stemmed if needed
• 2 firm but ripe Bosc pears (do not peel), quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut into long, thin slices
• 2/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted (see Cook's Notes) and chopped (I've used pecans and walnuts)

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preparation

To make the dressing, in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Cover tightly and shake vigorously to blend. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set aside.

Place the onions in a medium bowl and cover with cold water. Let stand for 30 minutes. This crisps the onion and takes away the raw onion taste. Drain well and pat dry on paper towels.

In a small bowl, toss the cranberries with 2 tablespoons of the dressing to soften them. Set aside for at least 20 minutes or until ready to serve the salad.

To assemble the salad, place the spinach, onions, and pears in a large bowl. Give the remaining dressing a last-minute shake and pour over the salad. Toss to coat evenly. Arrange the salad in a large serving bowl or divide it evenly among 8 salad plates. Scatter the cranberries and hazelnuts over the top(s). Serve immediately.

Cook's Notes
Try to buy shelled hazelnuts (also called filberts) with the brown, papery skins removed as well. To toast, spread the hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and place in a preheated 375°F oven. Toast for about 12 minutes until lightly browned. If the nuts still have the skins on, transfer them while they’re hot to a clean kitchen towel. (Use a clean towel that is old or you don’t mind washing with bleach, because the skins tend to discolor the fabric.) Rub the nuts to remove most of the skins (they never come completely off).

You can substitute unsalted cashews for the hazelnuts. Toast cashews, as directed above for hazelnuts, for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned.

Do AheadThe dressing can be made up to 1 day in advance, covered tightly, and refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator 2 hours before serving. The nuts can be toasted up to 1 day in advance; store at room temperature in an airtight container. The onions and cranberries can be prepared up to up to 4 hours in advance. Set aside at room temperature.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spinach-Salad-with-Bosc-Pears-Cranberries-Red-Onion-and-Toasted-Hazelnuts-355430#ixzz1cOqOrwyH

Curried Butternut and Pear Soup

I loved this version of butternut squash soup. I liked that it leaned more to the spicy side than the sweet. The recipe is taken from here.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs butternut squash (raw weight), about 1 large or 2 small
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root (I used bottled)
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (or less depending on saltiness of your broth)
• 4 cups broth (as always, I used my favorite vegetable broth concentrate)
• 2 firm ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch dice
• 1/2 cup whole milk, or half and half, or cream (I used milk

Directions

1. Prepare squash. Cut squash in half lengthwise, remove and discard seeds and stringy stuff. Roast at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until tender. You can alternately cook this in the microwave in a glass casserole dish with 1 inch of water at the bottom, for 10-15 minutes on high, until tender. Or, place it in a crock pot for 4-6 hours. When squash is tender scoop out flesh and reserve for soup.
2. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and salt. Cook and stir until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the pears and squash. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes.
3. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender. Puree in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the milk. Reheat if needed.

Hawaiian Haystacks with Mushroom Gravy

Despite the random assortment of canned fruits and vegetables, I really love Hawaiian Haystacks. Somehow the combination of flavors and textures just works. It is a great meal to feed a crowd with minimal preparation too. I used to make gravy with chicken broth and diced chicken breasts, but I've since decided I prefer it meatless, so I make this gravy instead. Dave does however like his chicken so I grill up a thigh or something for him to throw in or open a can of cooked chicken. I'm also thinking about experimenting by adding garlic and onions.

Mushroom Gravy

Melt  2T butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 8oz finely chopped mushrooms and saute until tender. Add 2 T. all-purpose flour and stir well until mushrooms are well coated. Continue to stir about 2 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Slowly add 2 cups vegetable broth (made with my favorite veggie broth concentrate, or chicken broth, or beef broth). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, stirring constantly. Thin out with more broth or milk if you want it creamier

To make a Haystack: Start with cooked rice and top with gravy and any or all of the following:

Fresh or canned pineapple (or mandarin oranges, or marachino cherries)

Fresh or canned tomatoes

Shredded cheddar cheese

Green onions

Chow mein noodles (the crispy ones you buy in the Asian aisle of the grocery store)

More mushrooms

Chopped bell pepper

Chopped celery

Slivered almonds

Anything else that sounds good...

Liz's Egg Rolls

1/2 pound ground turkey or pork
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 C. shredded cabbage
1 small onion, shredded
1 shredded carrot
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. cornstarch

1 package egg roll wrappers

Cook meat until no longer pink. Add seasonings. Let meat cool then combine the rest of the ingredients (except wrappers).

Fill and roll wrappers.

Fry in 1/2 inch hot oil (350 degrees) until brown and crispy.

Texanista Red Enchilada Sauce

Jessica posted this picture on her blog this morning and I immediately knew what I wanted for dinner. Luckily, she called and I was able to procure the recipe given to her by Aunt-In-Law Lidia, a true Texanista and master of Southwest/ Mexican cuisine.

Red Enchilada Sauce

1/4 cup oil (I used olive)
1/4 cup flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt (I may reduce this next time)
2 Tablespoons red chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
3 cups broth (I made it from my favorite veggie broth ever)

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Whisk in flour and cook until it is browned. Add garlic and saute until tender. Add cumin, pepper, salt, chili powder, and oregano. Slowly add broth while whisking. Bring mixture to a light boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

Tonight I was feeling lazy so I mixed up some shredded cheese, sour cream, and shredded zucchini for the filling (kind random, but it was tasty). Then I stuck individual enchiladas in the micro as kids got hungry, but here are the instructions for Lidia's.

Lidia's Enchiladas

Cook and shred fryer chicken. Combine chicken with 1/2 cup of red enchilada sauce. Warm corn tortillas in hot oil in a shallow pan on the stove. Dip tortillas in red sauce. Fill with chicken mixture and roll. Place in casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

I haven't tried this rice yet, but I surely will. Tonight I mixed some leftover quinoa with some of the enchilada sauce and it was great.

Mexican Rice

1 T. oil
1/2 green onion, sliced lengthwise (you will remove this before serving)
1/2 green pepper
2 T bouillion
2 C. water
8oz tomato sauce

Heat oil in saute pan. Add onion pepper and rice. Saute until rice is lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Broccoli Cheese Rolls

This is the result of my experimentation with the homemade pizza pocket. My attempts at calzones-like meals in the past generally become an oozy mess when they go into the oven so I was trying out new forms as well as other fillings. These broccoli cheese versions were a hit at dinnertime. They are as my six-year-old said, "Like cinnamon rolls, but with broccoli."

1 prepared pizza crust, uncooked
2 small crowns of broccoli, steamed, well-drained, and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine broccoli, cheeses, and spices in a medium bowl.

Roll out pizza crust in large rectangle, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch think. Spread broccoli mixture evenly over rectangle, leaving a half inch of dough at the top to seal later. Starting at bottom long end, roll up the dough jelly roll style and seal tightly. Cut into 1-1/2 inch segments, like cinnamon rolls. Place on greased baking sheet, not touching each other. Let rise for 20 minutes.

Bake for 25 minutes, until rolls are browned.

August Menu

Oriental Chicken Salad
Fish tacos
Eggplant melts
Beans and Rice
Shepherd's pie
grilled potatoes
wild rice stuffing with green bean wraps
tacos of some kind

Menu June

Cukes, artichokes, celery, lettuce, broccoli, fava beans

BLTs and broccoli salad

Fried Asian Cucumber Crinkles

PW Sour cream enchiladas with red sauce, Best bites black beans and mexican rice

Roasted Cabbage wedges

Fettucine with fava beans (sub spinach for escarole)

Stuffed Peppers (obb?)

Bean curry with pitas

Uncle Mike's Spaghetti Sauce

2 Medium Onions, diced
8 oz mushrooms chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs hamburger
2 tsp oil
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato puree
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 cups water
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp parsley flakes
2 TBS butter

in saucepot brown hamburger until well done. In a separate frying pan place oil, onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Saute for 4 minutes. Combine and cook for 5 minutes.

Combine with tomato sauce, puree, and pater. Add all of the seasonings and butter. Bring to a boil .

Reduce heat to low and cook for 3-4 hours.

Pompanoosuc Porridge Bread

Pompanoosuc Porridge

5 parts steel cut oats
2 parts bulgur wheat
1 part whole flax seed

Porridge:

Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Sprinkle in 1 cup porridge and stir. Turn heat down, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a bit before eating. Add your favorite topping.

Bread

2 TB sugar

2 tsp. instant yeast

1 ½ cups lukewarm water

1 cup cooked Pompanoosuc Porridge

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour (1 Tablespoon gluten to a cup of all-purpose flour)

2 ½ tsp. salt

4 TBSP butter, softened

Mix together all of the above ingredients till you’ve made a soft smooth dough. Turn onto floured work surface and knead for 3 to 4 minutes. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then knead for 3 to 4 minutes more. Place in oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 ½ to 2 hours. Punch it down, turn it onto floured surface and knead briefly. Shape into round or oval loaf and place on greased baking sheet. (*I usually just divide it into two loaf pans) Cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until slightly less than doubled in bulk. Dough will spring back when gently pressed. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until interior temp is 190 degrees.

A Menu to Get Me Out of a Cooking Rut--I Hope

Produce in my fridge: onions, red potatoes, lettuce, green peppers, cucumbers, artichokes, mangos, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, and way too much cabbage.

Drew's birthday dinner:
Spaghetti with Uncle Mike's sauce
French bread and bread dip
Whatever veggie we have lying around
Strawberry shortcake on cream cheese pound cake

Pretzel Bites with cheesy dip, spaghetti squash

Black bean sweet corn quinoa

Jessica's skinny soup

stroganoff, artichokes
Broccoli cheese calzones and roasted red potatoes

Homemade pizza and salad/smoothies

Red beans and rice with leftover chorizo

tomato soup, italian grilled cheese on foccacia

April Menu

What to use: chayote, spinach, celery, onions, green cabbage, swiss chard

Shrimp ettouffee with steamed rice and mirliton strips

French Onion soup

BLT and corn chowder

Give butternut squash lasagna another try

Thai peanut noodle saute

Swiss chard and beans

fajitas--maybe with chicken

Zuppa Toscana

My friend Becky pointed me to this recipe to help utilize the kale that came in my bountiful basket. My mom makes a similar soup with ham and spinach instead of sausage and kale. I reduced the meat in the original recipe. I ended up picking out almost every piece, but it gave the broth great flavor. I also increased the green ratio.

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 8 oz Italian sausage ( original recipe calls for 16 oz package smoked sausage)
  
• 2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 or 2 strips bacon (original called for 6--way way way too much)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2-3 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded
  
• 2 tablespoons chicken soup base
• 1 quart water
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Cooks sausage in heavy sauce pan until browned. Remove to paper towel to drain.
2. Place onions and bacon slices in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.
3. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken soup base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
4. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Mango Pina Colada

1 mango
about a quarter of a large pineapple
1/2 can cream of coconut

Puree until smooth in a blender.

Add 2 c. ice

Pulse until desired consistency is reached.

Add milk if more liquid is needed.

Menu March

Produce to use: spinach, mangoes, broccoli, scallions, carrots, winter squash, orange, cauliflower, chard, bananas, celery, kiwi, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus.

• Cheese/squash enchiladas with red sauce, mango smoothie, crudites, (mangoes, squash, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)

Stir fry (broccoli, scallions, cauliflower, carrots)

Onion bacon soup and spinach artichoke panini (onions, spinach, tomatoes)

• Potato gratin w/ chard (potatoes, chard)
• Fettucine with blue cheese sauce, asparagus
• Eli's birthday dinner, MKC mac and cheese, popcorn broccoli

Becky's Kale soup

stuffed cabbage

Italian Bread Crumbs

This is to make plain bread crumbs into Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs

1 T. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 C plain bread crumbs

Menu de Janvier, Deux

• Nie's Mexican lasagna (spinach)

• Spinach artichoke paninis (spinach, tomatoes), smoothie or salad, sweet potato chips and french onion dip, kiwi fruit

• Mom's Chili w/o meat + cornbread (zucchini, green pepper, onion, celery), smoothie or salad

Twice baked potatoes, beets on this side--roasted or steamed, muffins--get pear muffin recipe from Jenn (potatoes, cauliflower, beets)

Black bean burgers, onion rings, (onions), smoothies

• Italian grilled cheese with quinoa soup, green salad (green pepper, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, onions, celery, romaine)

• Tostadas (lettuce, tomato)

Barley Morocco (onions, celery, zucchini, bell pepper, cauliflower)

Orange tortilla soup (celery, onion, carrots, avocado), salad

Pizza Dough

This is the dough that changed me from a whole wheat pizza maker to a white pizza maker. It's just too good to give up. Recipe from The Sister's Cafe

1 c. warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (equivalent of one ¼ oz. pkg)
3 T. canola oil
2 ½ - 3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Put warm water in a bowl and stir in sugar and yeast. Let proof for a few minutes, until the yeast has produced a foam on the surface of the water. Stir in remaining ingredients; mix to form a ball and knead for approximately 10 minutes. (I use a standing mixer, so I don’t have it mix this long.) Let rise in an oiled bowl for 1 ½ hours. (I am not too concerned about letting it rise this long. This time I allowed it to rise on the counter for 30 minutes and it turned out delicious. So you can cut the time if you need to.)

Shrimp Pot Stickers with Sriracha-Ginger Sauce

My family doesn't like pot stickers from a bag, but they do like the ones from PF Changs, and they loved these ones. They especially loved playing Kung Fu Panda with them.

Recipe from Everyday Foods magazine

Sauce:
1/4 C Soy sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
scallion greens for garnish

Combine all ingredients and set aside.

Pot Stickers:
2 scallions
1 medium carrot
1 large egg
.5 to 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used cooked)
wonton wrappers (about 36)


Combine all but half of the shrimp and the wonton wrappers in a food processor. Pulse until a chunky paste forms. Roughly chop the remaining shrimp and fold into paste (I just put it all into the processor). Place a scant tablespoon of shrimp mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Moisten outer edge with fingertips dipped in water. Fold in half and seal the edges. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Cover finished dumplings with a towel while you work.

Lightly coat a large nonstick pan with oil and heat over medium high. Cook dumplings in batches until golden brown on both sides--1 to 2 min per side (watching carefully and reducing heat if they cook too fast. When wontons are browned pour 1/2 cup of water into pan and cover, cooking until water is almost evaporated. Remove lid and cook until water is gone. Remove from pan.

Repeat cooking remaining batches. Serve with dipping sauce.

Menu de Janvier

Black Bean Soup
Eliza's Squash soup
Fajitas
Bean Curry
Pot stickers (Everyday food recipe)
Broccoli cheese soup
Crepes with veggies and goat cheese
Cornish pasties

Chile Verde Pork (For Lindsey)

Here is the Chile Verde Pork Tacos I made at Grandma's house.(Recipe from Amy Pulley)

Chile Verde

3-4 lb pork roast
1 lrg can (28 oz) green chile enchilada sauce
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 or 2 cans of green chiles
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
chicken boullion to taste (about 2 tsp)

To cook the roast you could just combine everything in a crock pot, add the roast and cook all day, but I prefer to cook the roast first without the other stuff, so that I can drain off all the fat drippings and gunk. I cook my roast in the crock pot on low with about a cup or two of beef broth, with some S&P and garlic powder on the roast, for 6-8 hrs. A couple of hours before eating, combine the rest of the ingredients in a med. sauce pan and simmer, so that the veggies are soft. About an hour before serving, shred the pork, return to crock pot, and add the sauce . Serve on tortillas with beans and rice, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, etc.

Beans and Rice from Sister's Cafe (The beans are way better with the garlic :)

Garlic Black Beans

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1/3 c tomato juice (or sauce or diced tomatoes work too)

2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp)

1 tsp cumin

2 Tb canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tb chopped cilantro

Heat oil then add cumin and garlic until garlic begins to pop. Add rest of ingredients and serve warm.

This is the rice I usually serve with it. It makes 6 cups of rice! Halve it.

Cilantro Lime Rice

6 c water

3 c rice

4 cubes chicken bouillon

4 tsp garlic, minced

1 Tb canola oil

2 Tb fresh lime juice

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1/2 onion

1 can green chilies

Blend cilantro, onion, and chilies in food processor. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Shredded Sweet Pork Salad

I use all the recipes on this Sister's cafe post even when I'm not making the Sweet Pork Salad. It includes recipes for the following:

Shredded Sweet Pork (I half the sugar and the Worcestershire)
Cilantro Lime Rice
Garlic Black Beans
Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Green Enchilada Sauce

I'm loving this new enchilada sauce recipe from Amy. I need it here on my blog though so it's with everything else. I've used it with my new squash enchiladas, Sister's Cafe's Honey Lime Enchiladas, and now with chile verde pork.

2 Tbl oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 lrg garlic clove, chopped

3 Tbl flour

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 c. chicken broth (I use the concentrated veg. broth. Thanks again Heather!)

1 c. anaheim or poblano chilies, roasted & peeled OR 1c. canned chopped green chilies (I usually use the canned)

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt (I just use more veg broth, to taste, to add a little more flavor along with the salt - this stuff has been the best substitute for boullion (holy MSG!)

2 tsp chopped jalapenos (optional)

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cover and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onions, but not browning them. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes while stirring (it will clump up with the onions, but it's okay). Gradually pour in broth, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should be thick enough to coat a spoon - if it's too thick, add a little water. You can store this in the fridge for a week or so. It congeals when cold, but will return to liquid when reheated.