Pasta Primavera

A meatless pasta with green veggies in a basil sauce.

I had a huge bag a broccoli florets in the fridge.  Guess where they came from....that's right Costco.  My husband and I have been eating tons of broccoli lately because we have been dipping it in blue cheese dressing.  We've used other vegetables too but broccoli is our favorite.  I was doubtful we would be able to get through the whole bag but we did.  After a week we only had 1-2 cups of broccoli left and we were out of blue cheese dip.

Trying to use the last of the broccoli I remembered a recipe I saw for pasta primavera.  It being a very green pasta I decided I could use the broccoli in it.  I also had some celery, frozen peas, 2 small tomatoes, and a little leftover bruschetta.  Any good pantry has pasta in it and I had the bow ties so I decided on them.  The only thing I had to buy specifically for this meal was the basil.  I used Thai basil because it is much easier and cheaper to get here and I don't think the flavor is too different.

This is a great pasta full of vegetables.  You can use just about any green vegetable you have in it.  The more veggies the better.

Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:

Modified from Food Wishes Video Recipes:  Pasta Primavera

2 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup bruchetta, optional (it was leftover)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 bunch basil
1-2 cloves garlic
1 14 oz can chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make this vegetarian)
1 pound pasta, slightly under cooked
salt and pepper to taste

Blanch the basil leaves (this helps lock in the beautiful green color) by dunking in boiling water then cooling in ice water.  Place the basil leaves, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil and half a can of chicken broth in a blender.  Puree until combined and smooth, set aside.

Heat a large saute pan over medium low heat.  Add olive oil and onions and sweat for about 5 minutes or until soft.  Then add the celery, broccoli and peas and rest of the chicken broth. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes until soft (add salt and pepper to taste).  Last, stir in the tomatoes, bruscheta, and half of the basil mixture.  Cook for a few minutes longer until tomatoes are soft. 

Meanwhile cook your pasta, any variety will do, in boiling, salted water and drain.

Remove the saute pan from heat and add in the pasta.  Stir and mix well then add the rest of the basil sauce and the Parmesan.  Mix again and cover for at least 5 minutes.  The pasta should absorb most of the liquid (I over cooked my pasta and it didn't absorb much liquid so my pasta sauce was kind of runny but it still tasted fantastic).

Makes 4-6 servings.  Serve topped with more Parmesan and fresh cracked pepper.  Enjoy.

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Saturday Breakfast: Breakfast Green Beans

Green beans for breakfast?  Adding bacon and eggs to the beans creates a delicious morning vegetable.

A friend of mine recently gave me some home grown green beans.  I love green beans and decided to cook them immediately.  This happened to be for breakfast.  I was kind of at a loss on how to make them breakfast food, but I always like green beans with bacon so I figured it wouldn't be too hard to turn them into breakfast fare.  I also had french toast and more bacon with the beans but the beans could easily be an entire meal on their own (I just had stale bread and wanted to finish my pack of bacon).  The green beans turned out delicious.  I made this recipe as I went along just adding things that I had in the fridge.  Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups green beans, 2 inch pieces
2-3 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
1 small red onion, sliced
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
dash hot sauce, optional
2 Tbsp blue cheese
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large frying pan cook the bacon pieces until crisp.

Add the red onion and saute until soft and then add the green beans and a sprinkle of salt.  Add about 1/4 cup water and steam the beans (covered) until tender.


Meanwhile, mix the eggs and milk adding salt and pepper to taste and hot sauce if preferred (how ever you like scrambled eggs).

When the beans are just tender, uncover and add the egg mixture.  Stir well until the egg is cooked then turn off heat and add the cheese and green onions, mixing well.

Serve immediately.  Makes 2-3 servings.  Enjoy.

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Easy Shepherd's Pie

A casserole made with leeks, celery, peas, veal and cream of mushroom soup and topped with mashed potatoes.

I don't know much about shepherd's pie, but I know it is topped with mashed potatoes.  So any time I top a casserole (or hot dish) with mashed potatoes I call it shepherd's pie.  I think traditionally it's supposed to have lamb in it but that is not what I had.  I had left over veal roast that I used in this recipe and it was great.  A casserole is not a casserole, to me, with out cream of mushroom soup.  It's quick and easy and always tastes good.  Any vegetable would work in this shepherd's pie, you could easily use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, but I had celery and peas.  I used leeks because they looked good in the store and I've always wanted to try them (this was my first time) but onions could be substituted.  That is one great thing about casseroles, you can use anything you want in them, they are quick, and they taste great.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup celery, chopped
2 leeks, white parts only (chopped)
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups veal, already cooked and chopped (substitute any kind of meat)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 cups mashed potatoes

Chop the leeks, white part only and let soak in water to remove any sediment, then drain. 

Heat a large saute pan on medium low heat and melt about 1 Tbsp butter.  Cook the garlic in the butter for about 1 minute until soft and fragrant then add the leeks and celery.  Let sweat until leeks are translucent and celery softens (about 10-20 minutes).  Salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile prepare mashed potatoes how ever you like them.

When the leeks and celery are soft add the peas until they thaw and then add the veal mixing thoroughly.  Remove the veggies and veal into a large bowl and mix in the cream of mushroom soup (do not dilute).

Spread mixture into a buttered 8x8 inch baking dish and top with the mashed potatoes.  Bake in 350F oven for 30 minutes and then broil for a few minutes to get the top brown and crispy.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 4-6.  Enjoy.

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Cinnamon and Cumin Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Bite-sized chunks of sweet potato tossed in coconut oil, cumin, and cinnamon.  Then baked until crispy and soft.

Sweet potatoes are so delicious and they are a great replacement for regular potatoes.  Sometimes I get bored with regular potatoes and want to try something different.  The color of sweet potatoes look great on any plate and the nutrition is also a big bonus.

I have this big container of coconut oil that my husband bought at Costco.  I'm very excited about learning new ways to use it.  I found out that coconut oil is tastes amazing with sweet potatoes.  It enhances the sweetness without adding sugar.  From now on I will always use coconut oil with my sweet potatoes.

The cinnamon also enhances the sweetness while the cumin adds a savory almost smokey component.  I think this is a great combination and a great side for any meal.

Ingredients:

1 very large sweet potato
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
Sprinkle of sea salt

Wash and scrub the sweet potato.  Then, cut the potato into bite sized chunks, leaving the peel on for added nutrition.

Toss the potato chunks with the coconut oil until it coats all.  Then add the spices and continue mixing and tossing until well blended (the oil helps the spices stick to the potato pieces).

Place the sweet potato chunks into a shallow baking dish and bake at 400F for about 40 minutes until they start to brown and are soft on the inside.

Makes 2 servings.  I served these with my Honey and Soy Chicken.  Enjoy.

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Honey and Soy Chicken

Chicken thighs cooked and covered in a spicy soy and honey sauce.

If you follow my blog regularly I'm sure you've noticed I don't cook a lot of chicken.  I am not a big chicken fan, I always have high hopes and then the recipe is disappointing.  I came across this recipe from Peru Delights and it looked so good I had to try it.  I was not disappointed.  I only modified the recipe slightly and it was great.  This is a definite make again recipe.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp chilli oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
juice from 1/2 lime
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch (slurry)

Marinate the chicken (I used boneless skinless because they were on sale) for a few hours in the soy, honey, lime, ginger, garlic, and chilli oil.

Place the chicken and marinade in an oven proof baking dish and add 1/2 cup of water.  Then bake, uncovered, at 375F for about 40 minutes until chicken it thoroughly cooked (check about half way through and add more water if it evaporates too quickly, you can also spoon some of the mixture back over the chicken).

Remove chicken from the oven and pour the liquid into a small saucepan.  Add the cornstarch slurry (that is cornstarch dissolved in a little water) and heat until sauce is thick.

Toss the chicken in the sauce to cover it and serve.  Makes 2 servings.  I served the chicken with roasted sweet potatoes and raw broccoli florets dipped in blue cheese dressing/dip.  Enjoy.

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Pork Fried Rice

Simple fried rice made with leftovers and char siu (Chinese BBQ pork).

When ever I make rice I always make extra.  The leftover rice is great for another quick meal of fried rice.  Fried rice is a great way to use all kinds of leftovers and clean out your refrigerator.  For this fried rice I had leftover green bean stir fry, carrots and celery (that had been in my fridge a while), and char siu.  None of the ingredients would have been enough for a meal on their own, but put together it made a great meal for two with enough left for one lunch.

My favorite thing about fried rice is that it seems almost free.  Everything used has been part of other meals.  The char siu wasn't a leftover, I had some in my freezer, but you could use any pork, chicken, beef, or shrimp that you have on hand.  Be creative, fried rice is hard to mess up.

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp veg oil
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, slivered
~1 cup green beans
~ 2 cups cooked rice
1 1/2 cup pork, bite sized
dash of soy sauce

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium high heat.  Pour in oil and then add the ginger and garlic.  Stir fry breifly until fragrant then add the onions, carrots, and celery.

Continue stir frying for a couple of minutes and then add the pork and green beans (both of these are already cooked they just need to be reheated).  Stir for about a minute then add the rice.

Stir quickly and break up any rice that is sticking together.  Add a dash of soy sauce for some salt and color (the green beans had plenty of sauce on them, that was 2 parts hoisin and 1 part soy sauce) and stir fry until everything is mixed and heated (only a couple of minutes more).  I still haven't figured out how to keep some of the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan but it''s not much and as long as you soak your pan for a few minutes the clean up isn't too difficult.

Makes 3 servings.  Enjoy.

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Saturday Breakfast and Liebster Award

Today's breakfast/brunch was french toast (with home made bread), breakfast potatoes, and bacon.

This is just a quick post to show off my tasty breakfast.  I had fresh bread so I decided to make french toast.  I also had a leek and a potato left over from what I cooked earlier in the week and I always have bacon on hand so these all became my breakfast. Here is what I did.

The french toast was very basic.  Just egg, milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract.  4 slices of french bread dunked in the egg mixture and fried in butter until brown.  Simple yet very good.

The breakfast potatoes were awesome.  I cooked them in a cast iron skillet.  In about 1 Tbsp of bacon grease I sauteed the leek that had been chopped (just the white part).  Then I added the diced potato and sauteed those together for a few minutes with salt and pepper.  And put the whole skillet in the oven at 400F for about 20 minutes until the potato was thoroughly cooked.  I melted a slice of provolone on top and then dropped on 2 raw eggs, a little salt and pepper, and put it all back in the oven for about 3-5 minutes until the eggs were just set but the yolks still runny.  It made for some tasty potatoes.  Makes 2 servings.  Enjoy.

Liebster Award:

Recently, I was nominated by BitterBaker for the Liebster award.  It's a social award to interesting new blogs/blogs with few followers.  It seems like a great way to introduce myself and get to know other bloggers.  Here are the rules:

• Post 11 facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions the person who nominated you asked
• Notify the person who nominated you that you answered their questions
• Nominate 11 blogs with few (some places say less than 200 followers)
• Notify your nominees and give them a link to your questions
• No tag backs

11 random facts about me:

1.  My high school  mascot was a unicorn
2.  I have Multiple Sclerosis
3.  I've worked as a bartender
4.  I like to knit and crochet
5.  I'm 29
6.  I love the water (swimming)
7.  I like to eat peanut butter with my chocolate ice cream (that's the only way I prefer to eat ice cream)
8.  I have 3 older sisters
9.  I love to read (lately I've been stuck on teen fantasy/romance)
10.  I think I may love my kitchenaid stand mixer more than my husband
11.  I  played rugby in college

11 questions I was asked:

1. What did you want to be when you grew up?  A Veterinarian
2. What’s the number one thing one your bucket list?  I don't have a bucket list
3. What inspired you to start food blogging?  I love talking about what I'm cooking and always telling my family about it.
4. What keeps you going?  Swimming
5. Have you ever stood on a skateboard?  No
6. Tell me about an awkward moment that you laugh about today.  Sorry, I can't think of one
7. Do you like kale?  Yes
8. Are you a coffee or tea person?  It depends on my mood but usually I'm just a water person
9. What do you have for breakfast?  Usually a granola bar, sometimes a bagel, and often on weekends bacon
10. Three words your friends would use to describe you?  Nice, Happy, Awesome
11. Your favorite motto/quote?   May your crust be crisp and your bread always rise--baker's blessing

11 blogs I would like to nominate (in no particular order): (some of these have more than 200 followers)

Simple Kitchen Seasons
With Love From Mom 's Kitchen
One Couple's Kitchen
Turmeric n Spice
Words of Deliciousness
Phickle
Yesterfood
Smoked n Grilled
Foodienarium
Stephanie Cooks
Planet Bake Life

My 11 questions for you:

1.  What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
2.  What is your favorite cooking/baking tool?
3.  What is your favorite food?
4.  What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
5.  What is your favorite book of all time?
6.  Where would you like to travel/vacation?
7.  Beer or Wine?
8.  Edward or Jacod (if you have no idea what I'm talking about just ignore this question)?
9.  What is your favorite sport?
10.  Ocean (or lake) or pool?
11.  Dogs or cats?

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Green Bean Stir Fry

An easy, vegetarian, stir fry with long beans, onion, and hoisin sauce.

I really like green beans.  They are best when they are cooked but still crisp so I think stir frying them is great.  I have just recently been introduced to long beans, long (at least 1 foot) rope like green beans, and I love them.  With long beans I don't have to snap and string them like regular green beans I just wash them and cut them.  I also think they are more tender.  This recipe is a great vegetarian meal when served over rice, but you can also serve the beans as a side dish.

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1 Thai pepper, minced (optional)
1 pound long beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1  small onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4-1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

In a large pan over medium high heat, stir fry the garlic, ginger, and pepper (if using), in oil, until fragrant.

Add the onion and stir fry until soft then add the beans.  Stir fry for a couple of minutes then add the sauces and water.  Mix well and allow the beans to steam until tender.  Most of the water will evaporate but leave you with a nice sauce (add more water if looks too dry).

Turn off the heat and toss in the sesame seeds for a little added crunch.  Serve over rice.  Makes 2 servings (with a little left over).  Enjoy.

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Focaccia (sourdough)

A flat bread made from a very wet dough and flavored with herb olive oil.

Submitted to Yeastspotting

I had never had focaccia until I bought my first bread book about 10 years ago.  I had just gotten interested in making breads and Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice was the perfect book for me (it is still the main book I use).  Not having the stand mixer that I have now focaccia was the perfect bread to try.  This bread requires little to no kneading it just requires room, it does make a bit of a mess though.  The first time I made it I fell in love.  It has so many possibilities.  I mainly eat it with cured meats, good cheese and roasted red peppers, but you can also make it like a pizza by adding all kinds of things on top.  It's great on its own and makes wonderful sandwiches.

Ingredients:

This is Peter Reinhart's recipe for Poolish Focaccia (I just use a sourdough poolish instead of comercial yeast)

Sourdough Poolish:

4oz sourdough starter (100% hydration)
8oz bread flour
8oz water

Final Dough:

Poolish (20 oz)
12 oz bread flour
.5 oz salt
3 oz olive oil
6 oz water
1/2 tsp yeast, optional

*1/2 cup herb oil --1/2 cup olive oil gently heated with 1-2 Tbsp of favorite dry herb mix (I use garlic, oregano and basil)

The night before you plan to make the focaccia, mix together the poolish.  Add the sourdough, flour and water to a medium sized bowl and stir until all the flour is hydrated and the ingredients are well mixed.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave out at room temperature over night.

The next day, add the poolish (which should be bubbly), and the rest of the ingredients (*except the herb oil) to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix on low speed until a wet sticky ball is formed.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium low speed for 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic but still very wet (it should clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom).  All of this can be done with a metal spoon, dipped frequently in water so the dough doesn't stick, just change the direction you stir a few times to help with gluten development.

Make a bed of flour about 6-8 inches square on the work surface (this is where it gets messy, flour gets all over but more is better than less because you don't want the dough to stick to the work surface).  Using a nonstick spatula or bowl scraper, transfer the dough onto the bed of flour.  Sprinkle generously with flour and with floured hands pat the dough into a rectangle.  Allow dough to rest for 5 minutes.

Coat your hands with flour again and begin to stretch the dough from both ends until it is twice its size.  Then fold the ends over each other (like a letter) to return the dough to its rectangular shape.  Mist the top of the dough with spray oil and dust with flour and then cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes two more times. and after the final stretch and fold let the dough ferment for 1 hour, if using the optional yeast or 3 hours if making pure sourdough.  The dough should swell but not necessarily double in size.

Prepare a 17 by 12 inch baking sheet (I use two small sheet pans) by lining it with parchment paper.  Spread about half of the *herb oil over the parchment then transfer the dough into the pan.  Spread some of the oil over the top of the dough and using your finger tips dimple the dough to spread it out to almost fill the pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and proof for 2 hours (if using commercial yeast or not).  15 minutes before baking drizzle on any remaining herb oil and dimple the dough again to about 1/2 inch thick.  The dough should now fill the pan.  Let rest for about 15 minutes and then bake in a oven preheated to 500F.

Immediately lower the temperature to 450F and bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for 5-10 minutes more until it turns I nice golden brown.

Remove from oven and slide the focaccia onto a cooling rack.  Allow to cool for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.  Enjoy.

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The Best Queso Dip

Warm, spicy, smooth, and cheesy dip for tortilla chips.

My husband and I didn't make any Cinco de Mayo plans.  Late in the evening we decided we wanted something and threw together a queso with ingredients we had on hand.  Wow, for a last minute dip, I have to say that this is the best queso I've ever had.  Here is the simple recipe.

Ingredients:

12 oz smooth melting cheese (like Velveeta)
1 jalapeno, diced
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup sour cream

In a microwavable dish melt the cheese according to package directions.  Then stir in the other ingredients (use as many or as few jalapenos as you like) until well combined.  Serve with tortilla chips.  If you are having a party you can double or triple the recipe and leave in a crockpot on warm.

Enjoy.

Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

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Veal Roast

Slow cooked veal chuck roast with sweet onions and a mushroom gravy.

This is my very first veal roast.  Some friends were moving and cleaning out their freezer and I got a veal roast.  I can not claim credit for this dinner because my husband is the one who prepared it while I was away for the day.  He slow cooked it with beef broth, wine and sweet onions in the crock pot for 5 hours.  For our first veal roast it turned out great.  It was tender, flavorful, and amazing.  I would definitely make this again (if veal wasn't so expensive) it would make a great dinner for a special occasion.  With 5 pounds of roast we had plenty to eat for a few days and we even froze half.

Ingredients:

5 lb veal shoulder roast (boneless and tied)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp butter
1 Maui onion (sweet onion), large diced
1 cup beef broth
1 tsp thyme
1 pinch rosemary
5 oz white wine
1 cup dried mushroom slices, reconstituted
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp butter

Rub the veal roast generously with salt and pepper.  Sear on all sides in 2 Tbsp butter then place the roast in Crockpot/slowcooker.

Brown onions then add to crockpot.  Also add beef broth, thyme, rosemary, and white wine.  Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours.

Remove roast from cooking liquid, place in a pan and cover with foil to rest.  To the cooking liquid (in the crock pot) add the reconstituted mushrooms (we used shitake, but any would be good also fresh mushrooms would work too, just saute them first) and cook on high for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter and add the flour, stirring for a minute or to to make a roux.  Add the mushrooms and broth to the roux and simmer until gravey is desired thickness.

Serve veal sliced with gravy drizzled on top.  We served the veal with mashed potatoes and peas.  Another meal with the veal was an open faced sandwich.  Enjoy.

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Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Crunchy pretzels covered in semisweet chocolate.  A salty sweet snack.

After a get together with some friends, I ended up with a 1 pound bag of pretzels.  Some people would be happy with this, but I don't like pretzels, I even pick them out of Chex mix.  My husband doesn't like pretzels very much either, so I had to think of something to do with them (the bag was already opened).  My solution was to cover them with chocolate.  This made the pretzels much more appealing to me.  Best of all this recipe is totally simple, it takes only 2 ingredients and a little time for a wonderful snack that will impress anyone.

Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate chips
Pretzels

In a medium sized glass bowl melt the chocolate chips.  Microwave on high for 30 sec intervals, stirring thoroughly after each 30 seconds, for about 2 minutes.  Chocolate will be melted and smooth but still kind of thick.

Push a pretzel into the chocolate and flip it around to cover it with chocolate (you will end up with a glob).

Lift the pretzel out of the chocolate with a fork and tap vigerously on the side of the bowl to let the excess chocolate drip off the pretzel.

Then slide the chocolate covered pretzel onto a sheet of waxed paper and allow to cool until chocolate hardens (I put the chocolate covered pretzels in the refrigerator for an hour or two).

Makes about 40 chocolate covered pretzels.  Keep in a sealed bag, in the refrigerator if your room temperture is warm.  Enjoy.

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