Archive for weekly menus

Spinach & Tomato Strata – ON THE GRILL

May 28, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , ,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ingredients:
5 – 6 pieces of tomato basil bread, dry and torn into pieces
8 – 10 fresh spinach, cooked and set aside to cool
8 oz shredded Swiss cheese
4 beaten eggs (we used 2 duck eggs and 2 SMALL chicken eggs)
1 ¾ cup milk
2 – 3 small tomatoes chopped
½ cup sour cream
1 tbsp Dijon style mustard
¼ tsp caraway seeds (crushed)
1/8 tsp pepper

directions:
1. place ½ of the torn bread in a 2 qt baking dish (we used a square baking dish)

2. sauté the spinach until cooked and add in tomatoes – place on a paper towel lined plate to cool and drain
3. in a mixing  bowl (at least a 4 cup capacity) beat your eggs, add in your milk, sour cream, pepper, caraway seeds and onion
4.  place cooled spinach and tomatoes over torn bread in baking dish, top with all of your cheese

5.  top with remaining torn bread
6. pour your egg mixture, over your bread/veggie/cheese in your baking dish
7. chill for 2 – 24 hours
8.  When you are ready cook at 325 for 50 – 55 mins, check for doneness with a knife or toothpick – if it comes out clean TADA it is done!

*We baked our strata on our new ELECTRIC grill, we used a thermometer to check/maintain heat and baked it outside and kept the heat out!!  It worked great… just make sure you have some space between your heating element and your baking dish OR use indirect heat… meaning don’t place the dish right over the heat… bake it on the side without the burner turned on.

**adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook – page 238

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Scalloped Asparagus (SOOOO GOOOOOD)

May 28, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , ,

ingredients:
1 – 2lbs fresh asparagus
6 T butter
6 T flour
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 C milk
¾ C sharp cheese, grated
5 hard boiled eggs, sliced
½ C bread crumbs

directions:
1. blanch asparagus in hot water quickly, ~2mins – drain and set aside in a 2qt baking dish (which has been LIGHTLY greased with olive oil)
2. melt butter in a sauce pan and then stir in flour, salt and pepper
3. stir milk into butter mixture and stir consistently over LOW heat until smooth, add in ½ C of your cheese and continue stirring until smooth
4. place sliced eggs on top of asparagus
5. pour white sauce over eggs and asparagus, toss gently until everything is fully covered and mixed
6. top with bread crumbs and remaining cheese
7. bake @350 for 15-20mins

** adapted from The Central Market Cookbook – page 77

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Potatoe & Leek Tart

May 26, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , ,

disclaimer – I did NOT cook this one according to the recipe, I winged it and it had GREAT flavor… but it was gooey.  If you don’t mind a gooey dinner do what I did… otherwise follow the recipe.

 

ingredients:

pie crust

3 tbsp butter

3 large leeks, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons heavy cream

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced

 

directions:

  1. sauté leeks until soft, ~10mins (I think this is too long, but the recipe says 10mins) – reserve 1 cup of leeks
  2. add cream, nutmeg and pepper to skillet with remaining leeks – stir occasionally until thickened ~2mins
  3. place cream mixture in pie filling, top with potato slices and 1 cup of reserved leeks
  4. bake ~10-15mins @400

 

What I did differently:

  • I cooked our leeks for ½ the time they did
  • I also blended our potatoes, unpeeled and with some carrots (I was trying to use up what we had in the fridge and it seemed like a good idea)
  • I added the cream to the potato/carrot puree (I also over pureed it, it would have been better just coarsely chopped
  • I added feta cheese, we love cheese and again had some left over
  • I didn’t save any leeks to put on top, they all went on the bottom spread out

 

Great American Home Baking – Main Dish – card 25

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Cheeseburger Quiche

May 26, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , ,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ingredients:
pie crust
olive oil
12 oz lean ground beef
¼ c. ketchup
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp pepper
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ c. milk
¾ c. heavy cream
2 large eggs (we did one duck and one small/med egg)
½ c. shredded Monterey jack cheese
½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

 

directions:
1. fully cook beef until browned (after this I suggest draining/rinsing your meat), mix in ketchup, salt, oregano and pepper – set aside on a plate
2. in same pan (without the meat and sauce mixture in it) sauté onion, garlic for ~10 mins
3. in a bowl whisk eggs, then whisk in cream and milk
4. pour beef mixture in the pie pan, top with onion/garlic mixture, pour egg mixture over all
5. top with cheese and bake uncovered for 30 mins @ 350

 

Great American Home Baking – Main Dish – card 30

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Smokey Frittata

May 16, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

So after my TOTAL failure last night with the gnocchi I needed something easy to lean back on, thank goodness tonight’s menu consisted of the Frittata.  It is EASY and pleases everyone… yahoo!  This meal was great!!!  We enjoyed the flavor IMMENSELY!!  Give it a go!

Ingredients:
6 eggs, whisked
1 small onion, chopped
4oz chopped fresh mushrooms
~4oz chopped, blanched asparagus
2 small tomatoes, chopped
4 oz crumbled feta
4 oz shredded smokey jack cheese (ours came from Farm Country Cheeses – sold at the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market)  THIS STUFF IS GOOD!!!
Dash of salt and pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 425 FIRST
2. sauté onion in olive oil for ~3mins, then add mushrooms and continue sautéing for another ~5mins
3. add in asparagus and cook for ~3mins, then tomatoes and turn burner to LOW, continue cooking ~3mins
4. sprinkle feta and smokey jack cheese on top of veggies (stir in if you’d like)
5. pour egg mixture over all and simmer on LOW for ~3-4mins, until edges are cooked on the sides
6. place in oven and bake (make sure you have an oven safe pan) for ~12-15 mins, until knife or toothpick come out clean
7. invert on plate, slice and serve

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Carrot & Walnut Muffins

May 16, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , ,

Ingredients:
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey
1 ½ cup finely chopped carrot
¾ cup toasted and finely chopped walnuts
1 ½ cups whole wheat white flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg

Directions:
1. whisk eggs, oil and honey until smooth (the original recipe calls for sugar, but I subbed it out for honey – also I used safflower oil instead of vegetable oil)
2. stir in chopped carrots and ½ cup walnuts to egg mixture
3. mix dry ingredients and then add to wet ingredients, mix well – this will be a slightly stiff dough
4. spoon mixture into muffin cups (either oiled well or with paper cups inserted), top each muffin with a pinch of remaining nuts
5. bake for ~25 mins at 400 degrees F – then serve with warm jam or butter or just eat ‘em

**adapted from: Totally Muffins Cookbook – page 24-25

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NO FAIL Gnocchi

May 16, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , ,

So I started making this “no-fail gnocchi” that Light & Tasty magazine (Feb/Mar 2007 issue) says will be “stress free” and guarantee “success”… well I did NOT have success.  So here is the recipe:
• Ingredients:
o 2lbs russet potatoes
o Water
o 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
o 1 egg
o ¾ tsp salt
o 5 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

• Directions:
o Boil potatoes until tender, drain and begin cooking potatoes again in the same pot until steam stops coming off them
o Put the potatoes through a ricer or a fine mesh strainer
o Allow to cool a bit and create a well in the potatoes
o Sprinkle flour over potatoes and into the well
o Whisk egg and mix in salt/spinach, then pour into the well
o Mix all the ingredients together until soft dough ball forms, knead 10-12 times to achieve soft dough
o Divide into 4 portions, roll out into rope ~1/2 inch thick
o Cut into ¾” pieces
o Press with a floured fork
o Boil for ~30-60 secs, toss and serve

Let me know how this goes for you!!!

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Eggs in a Nest – adapted from Babara Kingsolver: Animal Vegetable Miracle

May 14, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , , ,

So this evening was split down the middle.  I only made 5 eggs in a nest, and also I used spinach, not swiss chard – and instead of onions I used leeks.  I am not a big fan of brown rice, so for me that is where I found it hard to enjoy the taste… I did add a bit of soy and that helped a bit.  I also immediately began thinking what I can do to improve the dish later to add some more flavor to the rice itself.  S, our oldest, liked the dish.  He added soy sauce as well, but really enjoyed how the eggs were cooked.  He enjoys eggs that “run” and the poached egg fit his fancy.  The good ‘ole hubby J did not like the poached eggs.  He normally eats his eggs one of three ways: fried, scrambled or in an omelet.  So this poaching business was new to him and he would rather not revisit it again.  This is a light meal, depending on how heavy tasting you make your rice… AND it was super easy to do.  Check out the recipe here: http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/recipes-spring-eggs-in-a-nest.htm 

Barbara Kingsolver wrote a good book, and if you have time/effort to read it, give it a go.  I love the book.  My aunt is currently borrowing my copy, but if I had it here again I would turn to it for a gardening resource, cookbook and a good read/laugh! 

Hope you enjoy your eggs in a nest!

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Ricotta & Spinach Calzone

May 10, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , ,


ingredients:
1 pizza dough
10oz fresh spinach, chopped (we forgot to chop ours again, oh well)
8oz ricotta cheese
8oz mozzarella
½ cup spaghetti sauce (or sauce of your choice)
1 small onion, of your choice, chopped
Olive oil
Favorite seasonings (we used pizza seasonings)
1 small egg

what I did:
1. roll out dough into a large circle, large enough to cover your pizza pan
2. mix ricotta, mozzarella and seasonings, set aside
3. sauté onion in olive oil, ~5-10 mins (until they are starting to become translucent)
4. spread the ricotta mixture over half of the circle, ~1” from the edge
5. top with chopped spinach (we put our spinach on raw, we SHOULD have sautéed it first, at least that is my opinion), place onions on top of the spinach and sauce on top of onions
6. fold the pizza over and seal the edges together
7. brush the calzone with a whisked egg and cut some venting slits into it

8. bake @400 for ~20-25mins

**adapted from Fast Weeknight Favorites – page 260

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Spinach & Leek Pizza Rolls

May 10, 2012 · Filed under recipes · Tagged , , , , ,

ingredients:
1 pizza dough, divided into 4 equal pieces (balls)
10oz fresh spinach, chopped
8oz ricotta cheese
8oz mozzarella
4oz parmesan
~8-10 tbsp white sauce or spaghetti sauce
2 med/large leeks, sliced
Olive oil
Favorite seasonings (we used pizza seasonings)
1 small egg white, whisked with 1 tbsp water

what I did:
1. roll each pizza ball into individual ~9” pizzas, set aside

2. mix ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and seasonings, set aside
3. sauté leeks in olive oil, ~3 mins, add in half of spinach with a dash of salt and a dash of pepper, continue sautéing for ~3mins, add remaining spinach with more dashes of satl/pepper and finish sautéing ~3 more mins, set aside
4. place ¼ of the ricotta mixture in the center of each 9” pizza

5. top ricotta mixture with ~2tbsp of white sauce or spaghetti sauce, then top with ¼ of spinach mixture from pan

6. roll up (like rolling a burrito) and seal WELL… seal both the seam and the ends, keep it all inside, brush the outter layer with the egg white and top with some parmesan if you’d like
  

7. bake @425 for ~20-25mins

THIS is the reason you want to SEAL WELL!  I am not a great sealer, as you can tell!  :P

**adapted from Great American Home Baking – Main Dish – card 27

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