Vegetable Frittata

This was a last minute dinner thrown together with low expectations, but was such a hit I thought I'd better write it down before I forget.

6 eggs
3 Tablespoons cream (or milk)
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

3 small yellow potatoes
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup chopped spinach
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl combine eggs, cream, and spices.

Wash potatoes and pierce with a fork. Cook according to microwave's directions for baked potatoes until soft, then dice. In an oven-proof skillet saute onions and pepper in 2 Tbsp olive oil until onions are translucent. Add spinach and saute until wilted. Turn off heat and add egg mixture and cheese. Stir to combine. Place in oven for about 15 minutes or until eggs are cooked through.

We are this with leftover muffins from the freezer and fresh pears. Not a word of complaint was uttered, and all the food was devoured.

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.

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.

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.

Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 large globe eggplant, cut into eight 1/2"-thick slices
8 1/2"-thick tomato slices
4 crusty Italian type rolls, split in half
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 bunch fresh basil
Olive oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Heat grill to medium.

Brush both sides of eggplant and tomato with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill eggplant on both sides until soft and marked with grill lines, about seven minutes. Add cheese to the top of the eggplant slices, then add the tomatoes to the grill (they shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes each side, max).

Add the buns to the grill and grill lightly.

Build it this way: bun, 2 slices eggplant, basil leaves to cover, 2 slices of tomato and the other bun.

Serves 4.

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

This was a risky meal that totally paid off. I had tons of cabbage and mushrooms from my last two weeks Bountiful Baskets, but the chances that my family would eat mushrooms wrapped in cabbage leaves were slim. These were so good that even the cabbage/mushroom-lover in the family was surprised. Everyone ate them. I served them over mashed potatoes. The flavor was reminiscent of stuffed peppers or shepherds pie.

The recipe comes from Not Eating Out In New York:

The changes I made were:
Cooked for 1 hr 20 min--we were hungry.
No shallots--didn't have any.
Added 1 tsp italian seasoning to mushroom mix
Used Hunt's Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage
(makes 3-4 servings)

1 small head of cabbage, cored
1 lb any mushrooms, such as Portobello/Crimini, Porcini, button, wild varieties, etc., stems trimmed and roughly chopped
1 16 oz. can diced or whole peeled tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for the boiling water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large shallot, minced

Heat up the onions and olive oil in a saucepan on low heat. In a mixing bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands for a minute or two until the pieces have broken down to a loose pulp. Add it to the onions just after they have turned slightly transparent, about 5-6 minutes. Add the raisins, if using, and the lemon juice and let simmer, covered for another 10-15 minutes.

Put the mushrooms and shallot in a food processor and pulse a few moments until they have broken down to rough, moist pulp. Remove and turn into a mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs (if making from fresh bread, simply pulse the bread a few times in the food processor first). Add the egg, Parmesan, and a pinch each of salt and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap.

Preheat oven to 374 degrees. Bring a stockpot of salted water deep enough to submerge the cabbage in with water. Once it’s boiling, gently add the cabbage and let boil for 1 minute. Remove with tongs or a large spatula and remove 2-3 of the outer leaves. Replace into the pot and boil another minute. Remove, and tear off another 2-3 leaves. Repeat until you have at least 8 leaves big enough to use to wrap with the stuffing. Let the rest of the head cool. Cut out the tough middle fibrous stem of each leaf of cabbage and discard (these should be shaped like a thin diamond and comprise the whitest streak of each leaf).

Place an inch-thick log of the mushroom stuffing mixture inside each blanched leaf and wrap, tucking in the end pieces like a burrito, until fully wrapped. You should have approximately 8 fully wrapped leaves. Slice the rest of the remaining cabbage to about 1/2″ inch thick pieces and place along the inside of a covered casserole or large cast-iron Dutch oven. Place each rolled stuffed cabbage leaf in a line on top of the shredded cabbage. Top with the tomato sauce, and cover. Bake covered for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Remove from heat, and let rest, uncovered for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Creamy Tomato Gnocchi

This recipe is from Meatless Monday. I was a little skeptical about a vegan "Cream" sauce, but was pleasantly surprised. My kids and Dave all seemed to enjoy it too, and really, there is nothing terribly unusual about it. Ground nuts give it the creamy texture.

My notes:

--I didn't have raw cashews. After much deliberating amongst me, myself, and I whether I should try roasted cashews or another raw nut I went with raw almonds. I thought it turned out to be a good choice.

--Next time I will grind the nuts up a bit before I add the other ingredients. Almonds bouncing around in tomato sauce made a big mess.

--I have never heard of chunky tomato sauce so I used crushed tomatoes.

--2 tsp. of red pepper flakes seemed like a lot for my kids based on previous red pepper experiences so I reduced it to 1/2 tsp. Next time I'll use at least 1 1/2 tsp.

Serves 4

For the sauce:

• 3/4 cup low sodium chunky tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup cashews, raw
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• splash of white wine

To complete the dish:

• 1 pack gnocchi, cooked according to package instructions
• 1 cup whole cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup zucchini, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• basil, chopped for garnish

To make the sauce:

Combine tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, cashews, red pepper and white wine in a food professor and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more water to get to the desired consistency.

To complete the dish:

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, zucchini and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes more, or until garlic is golden.

Pour the sauce from the food professor into the sauté pan and mix thoroughly. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan for 3-5 minutes, or until gnocchi is heated. Remove from heat and garnish with chopped basil leaves.

Roasted Asparagus

The easiest and best way to cook asparagus (in my humble opinion).

Wash and trim off the tough ends. Toss with olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a jelly roll pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, checking that they don't burn

Pesto Pasta Salad

• 3/4 pound fusilli pasta
• 3/4 pound bow tie pasta
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups pesto
  
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups good mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignoli, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Recipe from Ina Garten/ Food Network

Potato Gratin

This is my favorite potatoes au gratin recipe from Smitten Kitchen

I've used yellow potatoes, russets, cheddar, gruyere, added spinach and mushrooms; all turn out great.

3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, plus an additional pat for buttering gratin dish
4 large yellow potatoes* (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup milk, half-and-half or cream (if using something richer than milk, you can skip the butter)
2 ounces cheese, grated or crumbled (Parmesan or Gruyere are the classics, but that doesn’t mean that goat cheese, blue cheese or any of your favorites won’t work as well) [optional]

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9- by 12-inch gratin dish with the pat of butter. Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can (a mandoline works great for this) and arrange them in a layer, overlapping the edges slightly like shingles. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and freshly ground pepper and don’t be stingy — this is where the bulk of your flavor comes from and a third of the cheese before before repeating this process with your remaining potato slices. (If you are using a sauteed vegetable filling, this is where you’d want to add half of it.) Depending on how thinly sliced your potatoes are, you should end up with approximately three layers, with a third of the cheese between each layer. Reserve the last third of your cheese for later.

Carefully pour the milk over the potatoes. It should come up to the bottom of the top layer of potatoes; add more if this was not enough. Dot the top of the gratin with the three tablespoons of butter and bake it for about an hour. Halfway through the baking time, take the gratin dish out of the oven and gental press the potatoes flat with a spatula to keep the top moist. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the gratin for the last 15 minutes of baking. The gratin is done when the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.

More gratin ideas: Use duck fat instead of butter. Swap celery root, parsnips or turnip slices for half the potatoes. Add chopped herbs such as parsley, thyme, chives or chervil between the layers. Sauté mushrooms, sorrel, spinach or leeks, with or without a finely-chopped shallot, and layer them between the potato slices.

* Yukon Golds and other waxy, yellow-fleshed potatoes work best in gratins, keeping their texture without getting floury and falling apart as Russets do.

Red Curry with Basil

Recipe from Linda Brown


2T oil
1 1/2 T red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 lbs. chicken (cut into bite-size pieces) or the same amount yellow potatoes (my pref)
2 t. sugar
2 t. fish sauce
1 red bell pepper
10 large fresh basil leaves, chopped

Heat oil over medium heat. Add curry paste and simmer for 2 minutes so it is dissolved and foaming. Stir in coconut milk and continue stirring for 4 minutes over medium heat. Add chicken pieces while continuing to cook. Stir in sugar, fish sauce and bell pepper. Simmer for a few minutes more. Add chopped basil. Season to taste with more fish sauce & sugar as desired. Serve over warm rice.

Brie Panini

I am always on the lookout for a delicious lunch that I can make in the same amount of time as it takes to grill up my boys' cheese sandwich. Mel's Kitchen Cafe posted this Smoked Turkey, Brie, and Apple Panini and I had to run out and get me some brie. It was divine, and so much more exciting than cheddar on wheat. You can click on the link for more specific instructions, but basically it is sliced apples, sliced brie, caramelized red onions, and turkey lunch meat on a grilled sandwich.

Personally, I'm not a turkey breast person and I left the turkey off my second panini and still loved it, so when I saw this version on Paninihappy.com with pecans instead of turkey I knew it was even more up my alley.

My hybrid version is like this:

French bread
Caramelized Onions
Sliced Brie
Sliced apples
Pecans
French bread

Alas, today I had brie and french bread, but no apples. But, never fear, inspired by this pizza, I made this panini, and I think I might even like it more than the apple version.

French bread
Sliced Brie
Fig preserves
French bread

Next time maybe I'll add the onions and pecans.


And that is my rather long explanation for a pretty simple lunch.

Chili Mac

How could my boys not love the fusion of two of their favorite foods--chili and macaroni and cheese? Dave and I felt this was pretty good, though we still rank chili and mac made separately above the combination. Drew and Isaac wanted leftovers for both lunch and dinner the next day. I'd say it was a success.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
3/4 tablespoon chili powder (next time I'll add more)
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
8 ounces (2 cups) elbow macaroni
1 (15 oz) can beans (next time I'll two, or maybe 1-1/2)
2 cups frozen corn
1 4.5-oz can chopped green chiles
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese (I used half cheddar, half Monterrey Jack)

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, chili powder, coriander, cumin and teaspoon salt. Cook until onions are tender. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce, water, macaroni and beans. Cover and cook, stirring often and keeping the heat at a steady simmer, until the macaroni is tender, about 12 minutes, adding a small amount of water if necessary (careful not to make it too soupy).

Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, frozen corn, green chiles and cilantro and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Cover and let sit off the heat until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Lynette's Vegetarian Chili

3 cups dry red beans
1 cup wheat
6 cups water

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 small bay leaf
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
dash of garlic powder

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper

In 5 quart saucepan combine dry beans and wheat with water leaving just about 1/4 inch above beans. Cover and cook 1-1/2 hours, adding water as needed. To beans add second group of ingredients. Cover and simmer 3 hours. Add chopped celery, onion and peppers. Continue simmering 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Makes about 3 1/2 quarts.

This can also be made in the crockpot.

Pasta with Squash and Garlic

I saw this recipe on a cooking show. They didn't so much give the recipe as describe the method, and although I've made this several times, I really can't be much more specific. I just kind of make it as looks and tastes good to me. It is a easy and fast dinner with ingredients I usually have on hand, during zucchini season anyway.

Cook desired pasta, I use spaghetti, according to directions. Make sure the water is well-salted. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup or so of cooking liquid.

Warm a couple tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet, not too hot or garlic will become bitter. Brown whole cloves of garlic on the oil--I would say at least four. When garlic is brown, place zucchini in a single layer in pan. Let zucchini cook until it is good and brown. The carmelizing really enhances the flavor. Turn zucchini and brown the other side.

When zucchini is good and brown, add cooked pasta to the skillet, stir around to let pasta deglaze the pan. Don't do this for too long though or you pasta will get tough.

Serve with ample amounts of shredded parmesan.

Fettucine Alfredo (My Go-To Recipe)

Recipe adapted from KraftFoods.com
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, cubed

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp. white pepper(or black if you don't mind seeing it)

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

8 oz. fettuccine, cooked, drained
1/2 lb cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp (optional)

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

In skillet over medium low heat, mix cream cheese, Parmesan, milk, butter, pepper and garlic powder until smooth.

Serve over hot fettuccine and shrimp. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg.

Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

This recipe is another keeper. All five members of the Heber Sullivan clan gobbled it up. The recipe came from here, but I made some slight modifications. The way I made it serves about 6.


1 T. olive oil
1/2 C. finely diced onion
2 t. minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar

2 C. heavy cream
dash of cayenne pepper
3 T. finely chopped fresh basil leaves

½ C. shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
1/4 C. parmesan cheese

1 diced fresh tomato

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent (about 4 min). Add minced garlic and saute an additional minute or two. Dump in tomatoes, salt, and sugar, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in cream. Lightly simmer (do not let it boil) until mixture is reduced by 1/3. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses.

Pour over 12 oz hot cooked whole wheat pasta, I used rotini. (You really want to use whole wheat if you are serving this as a main dish to make it more filling. This is a great sauce to cover the texture if you aren't used to whole wheat.)

Egg and Tomato Gratin

Maybe it was because the boys had spent the afternoon swimming and were famished, but everyone in the family downed this. So despite the fact that this has eggs and, therefore, is only loosely vegetarian, it is still going in the 2009 12 meatless meals my family loves.

I've made it with scrambled and hard boiled eggs. Both were great. Serve it over toasted French bread.

Egg and Tomato Gratin (from Orangette)

Tuscan Lentil Soup

This Tuscan Lentil Soup is nothing spectacular, but it's good, and every person in my family ate it, multiple bowls even. Therefore, it is going in the top 12.

Tempura

Recipe here.

Very good, I haven't decided whether or not to add it to the top 12 because my kids didn't eat dinner at our house that night. But Dave and I liked it. We especially liked the tempura fried onions, which the recipe doesn't suggest, but my friend did.

Most of the dipping sauce recipes called for mirin or sake, and I don't think you can buy those at grocery stores in Heber so we settled for a combo of 2/3 C soy sauce, 1/4 C. rice vinegar, and 3 T sugar heated in a sauce pan until sugar was dissolved.

This wasn't particularly filling. You'll want something to go with it. Or serve it on a night when you have an awesome dessert to want to save room for.