Grilled Stuffed Mushrooms

from the Char-Broil cookbook

Cooking time 12-15 minutes
Grill: medium fire
Yield: 6 servings of 4 mushrooms each

24 mushrooms, stems removed
2 T butter
2 tsp dried minced onion
3/4 c grated cheese
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/3 c bread crumbs
2 T parsley 

Stuff mushrooms with mixture of remaining ingredients.  Cut 6 squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Wrap 4 mushrooms in each square, seal and place on grill over medium fire.  Grill 12 - 15 minutes- do not turn packets.

Butternut Soup

I had 1/2 of a butternut squash in the fridge; my measures are approximate because when I am experimenting like this I never measure.

In Crock Pot
1/2 medium sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 whole large onion
1 tsp. vegetable flavored Better than Bouillon (or vegetable bouillon cube)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. garan marsla
1/2 tsp. Black strap molasses
(+/-) 2 cups distilled water--enough to cover vegetables

Cook on high for a couple of hours, then turn to low (or cook on low all day, whichever is convenient).  Just before serving, use immersion blender to blend until creamy. Stir in about 1/4-1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2.

I served it with Dill Havarti grilled cheese sandwiches on multi-grain bread, but it would be a very nice addition to any meal as a starter course.

Cornish Hens

Today for dinner I fixed stuffed Cornish hens, baked yams and roasted Brussels Sprouts. Ornery calls them green eggs, and launches into a monologue of Green Eggs and Ham (I do not LIKE green eggs and ham; I do not LIKE them, Sam I am!) He ate them, and I actually thought that cooked to death they were a little less distasteful.

I got a recipe from AllRecipes.com, and altered it just a bit. Mostly, I used more celery, added Blackstrap Molasses, (1/2 tsp) and cut the butter in half and added a T of olive oil instead. I used olive oil on the outside as well.  I cooked them in my Pampered Chef covered stoneware baker for about 2 hours at 350 degrees F and they came out great.  I cooked the yams wrapped in aluminum foil for the same length of time. They were tasty, but I couldn't finish all the food!

Parmesan Crumbed Asparagus

Tonight we tried a new recipe I found somewhere on the internet. I wish I could give credit where it is due, but I just copied and pasted it to a word doc and printed it out with several other new ones. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
250 g. fresh asparagus spears (one bunch)
1/2 cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
olive oil for frying

• Wash asparagus and pat dry with paper towel
• Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese together in a wide bowl or plate. Mix well with a fork. Set aside.
• Lightly coat asparagus in flour, then dip in egg and finally, coat in breadcrumb mixture.  Ensure asparagus is coated evenly.  Repeat process with remaining spears. Set aside
• Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat.  Cook asparagus until golden. Transfer to the plate lined with paper towels.
• Serve immediately with a side of garlic and herb mayo (or ranch dressing like we did!) for dipping.

Garlic and herb mayo

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T finely chopped parsley

1 T finely chopped chives.

We didn't even wait to get it to the table to eat it.  As one pan finished cooking we noshed on it while waiting on the next.  It was DEEE-lickity!!

My Favorite Egg Dish

I am a huge fan of scr-omelets. They are basically eggs scrambled with all the fillings of an omelet mixed in and cooked together. This is the general list of ingredients, although it varies from time to time depending on what I have on hand.

Scr-omelet

Serves 2

1 T organic extra virgin coconut oil, olive oil or butter

1/2 cup of fried sausage crumbles 

3-4 green onions, chopped with tops

1/4 red pepper, chopped fine

4 baby bella mushrooms, chopped

1/2 -3/4 cup chopped yellow summer squash OR grated zucchini

1 slice tomato

4 whole pasture raised eggs

1/4 cup shredded cheese (my favorite is havarti...)

Heat oil in a medium skillet until hot. Add all the veggies except the tomato. (I have even added green peas!) When the onion and pepper are soft, whisk the eggs and cheese into the veggie mix and cook until the eggs are cooked through, stirring fairly often.

Spaghetti Squash Dinner

No gluten means no pasta. Good thing there is spaghetti squash to fill in! Here is a new recipe I concocted last night--very tasty, filling, and healthy!

Prepare squash: pierce one end of a small spaghetti squash with a sharp knife. Bake at 375 degrees (I placed it in a loaf pan, but any shallow pan would work) for about 1 hour. Test with a knife to see if it is tender.

While the squash is cooking, prepare the sauce.

1 lb. ground bison

1-3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup grated zucchini

4-5 chopped fresh mushrooms

1 T olive oil

Brown the meat mixed with the veggies in oil, and add seasonings to taste. (Kosher salt, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, bay leaf etc.)

Add 1 small (4 oz) jar organic tomato paste and 2 cups distilled water. (the jar is the only way I have ever liked tomato paste as it does not have a tinny flavor to it. If you can find it you will be really pleased with the results.) Stir until well mixed, reduce heat to simmer until the squash is done. The longer it simmers the better the flavor. You can add a little more water if you prefer a runnier sauce, but taste to see if it needs more salt.

When the squash is done, carefully remove it from the pan to a cutting board and slice off the stem end. Cut in half length wise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon; discard seeds. Using a fork, scrape the meat of the squash away from the peeling and place into a bowl. Add a little butter and salt. Serve the sauce over the squash. (serves 4)

Sweet Potato (natural sweeteners)

The old family favorite (here) needed to be healthier to align with our commitment to eating better, although I am not certain this is a huge improvement with all the butter... We went with fresh instead of canned sweet potatoes, (big health savings) and did away with the brown sugar and marshmallows (another giant improvement), replacing it with a little stevia and agave nectar. I increased the spices to give it more zip and hopefully disguise the fact they aren't as sweet. It is a holiday food, though and no one seems to mind venturing out from the healthy fare a few times a year. Here is the new version:

• Three large whole sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-1/2 inch thick. (consistency is the important thing, as they will need to cook evenly)
• 3 apples (wash and core, do not peel) sliced 1/4" thick
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/4 t.allspice
• 1/8 t. cloves
• 1/4-1/2 cup unsalted butter
• agave nectar or maple syrup (to taste)

Melt about 2 T butter in the bottom of a large casserole dish. Mix together nuts and spices (I added 1/4 tsp. stevia powder as well, since the family is used to these being really sweet).

In the bottom of the buttered casserole dish, layer slices of sweet potatoes, apples, nut mixture, agave nectar (drizzle over) and slices of butter. Make several layers of this, finishing with the butter. Cover and bake at 350 degrees about an hour, until sweet potatoes are tender. This will make about 12 servings.

Veggie Pasta Concoction

One organic grab-bag + one refrigerator gone bad = a tasty experiment!

2 leeks, sliced from bottom to top of light green (no dark green)

2 yellow squash, sliced

1 ripe tomato, seeded and chopped

fresh spinach leaves (quantity was what hadn't spoiled from one bunch, but could have used more)

2 large cloves garlic, pressed

3-4 Tbsp. butter

Put a little bit of the butter in the bottom of a 1.5 qt. casserole dish to keep from sticking. Layer leeks, spinach, garlic, tomato and squash in dish and add the rest of the butter on top. Sprinkle with salt if desired, and any other herbs you might have on hand. (I didn't have any fresh basil, but I think it would have been really good...)

Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the veggies are soft as you like them. Mine were a little too soft, but they still tasted good.

While the veggies are baking, cook 1 package of rice pasta spirals. Then, sautee some mushrooms (I had about six or eight left) in a little butter, then pour a cup of tomato juice and some Italian seasoning/basil over them and simmer until ready to serve. You could use some store bought marinara sauce for this, but I was using up stuff in the refrig....

When the pasta is done, mix with veggies, and sauce then serve with slices of mozzarella cheese over the top. Makes 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry you are. :)

Chicken Tacos (ish)

Another new recipe from Miller Manor Kitchen!  Today I was cleaning out more stuff from my refrigerator, and put this together.  Mmm. It was mighty tasty!

• 1/2 rotisserie chicken, boned and chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and very finely chopped
• 2 small cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 large tomato
  
• 1-2 T. olive oil

Combine all above ingredients and cook over medium heat until heated through and veggies are tender.  Then add 8 oz. fresh baby spinach and cover.  Steam will cook spinach until wilted.  Remove from heat.   Mix together and put in prepared taco shells, or over corn chips, or just serve plain topped with:

• shredded cheese
• guacamole made with green onions, one avocado, 1/4 large tomato, 1/2 lime, cilantro and salt to taste.
  

Whatzit

After creating this conglomeration of noodle-less, vegetable lasagna with meat, my son-in-law Jeff, and I discussed at length ideas for a name, and never could figure one out. So for now, it's called "Whatzit." Because it is "light" (no pasta) you can eat more than you would regular lasagna and still not stuff yourself. This is what we did:This is a photo of the casserole before we put it in the oven.
First I poured a thin layer of bottled marinara sauce into the bottom of the dish. Then we layered

slices of eggplant (1 small)

2 each yellow and zucchini squash and 1 very small patty pan squash from the garden

1 small onion sliced

More marinara

a ball of fresh mozzarella cheese

a small block of Argentinian Parmesan cheese (shredded)

a small container of cultured cottage cheese

mixed with two eggs

four chicken sausage links--mild Italian flavored--sliced lengthwise

three mushrooms (that is all I had on hand)

1/2 large tomato

about 12 sun-dried tomato stuffed green olives, sliced

a few drizzles of olive oil

salt, garlic powder and Italian seasoning

swiss chard

I skinned the chicken sausages first. Just slice along one long side from end to end and peel it back. It comes off very easily, and you avoid that eternal chewing that never really does get rid of the skin.

We were cautious with the seasonings, and the assembly process was somewhat of an experiment, jointly discussed and crafted by consensus. I baked it covered with a dome on top, thinking to keep it moist, but there was really too much liquid in it, so when we took it out, it was more like a chunky vegetable soup. In the future, (and I do think I'll make something similar again, because it was very tasty and nutritious) I think I will either roast the veggies ahead, or partially cook them on the stove top. They weren't raw, but even after baking for an hour, they were still crisp tender, which was fine if you had an hour to wait on dinner... Also, I would substitute baby spinach for the chard, or else cut the chard in small pieces before adding it in as it was fairly tough. I think diagonal slices of the sausage might have been easier for serving, and baking it uncovered would have helped rid some of the excess moisture.

This was not an inexpensive meal to make--the cheese alone in it was over $10.00!-- but I think next summer when my garden is producing many of the ingredients, I will try it again. It was also time consuming, taking almost two hours for the two of us to put together and for it to bake. Jeff loves to be creative in the kitchen, and putting this together was fun for both of us. I think you always learn something when you cook with new people.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

2 apples, sliced
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 (17 oz) cans yams, drained
1/4 cup butter
2 cups mini-marshmallows

Toss apples and nuts with sugar and cinnamon. Alternate layers of apples and yams in 1-1/2 quart casserole dish (or 8X8" square) Dot with butter. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows over top. Place under broiler or in very hot oven until lightly browned. (watch carefully, this doesn't take long!)

Spinach Salad

Spinach Salad
serves 6

2 bunches fresh spinach
1 bunch scallions, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Wash spinach well. Drain and chop. Sprinkle with salt, allow to set, then squeeze excess water (or put in a salad spinner). Add remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

String Bean Salad

String Bean Salad
Makes 4 Servings

1 lb. green string beans
juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 tsp. sea salt

Wash tender, fresh, green string beans. Remove stems and strings. Cut into 2-inch pieces. Cook until tender by boiling in plenty of water. Drain. When cool, place in a salad bowl. Dress to taste with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt.

Dilled Green Beans

Dilled Green Beans

2 cups frozen green beans
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. dill weed or Deliciously Dill Seasoning Mix
Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a microwavable glass dish with glass lid. Cook on high for about 4 minutes, stir, let set for a couple of minutes, and if needed cook another minute or two, depending on how done you like the beans and how strong your micro is.

Scalloped Carrots

Scalloped Carrots

2 lbs. carrots, peeled, sliced, and steamed or boiled until tender.

Drain carrots and set aside. In small sauce pan over low heat, melt together

¾ stick of butter or margarine
8 oz. Velveeta cheese

Mix into carrots and put in casserole dish. In a small bowl, mix together:

¼ cup melted butter or margarine
½ cup cracker crumbs
1 T. parsley flakes
2 T. grated parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Spread over carrot mixture. Bake at 350° about 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly and topping is browned.