Butternut Squash and Apple-Almond Salad

Since I don't have a job this summer, I have become a personal chef for my family. And since I've been home, I am going to focus,  a majority, of my meals on being healthy.

Tonight's meal is vegetarian as well as extremely healthy for you.

For the salad, I used the same herb dressing I made on May 19th in the "Spaghetti and meatball" post.

Apple-Almond Salad

Toss the salad dressing with romaine lettuce, toasted almonds, crumbled blue cheese, and sliced Granny Smith apples.

Butternut Squash Soup with Onions and Apples

Soup Base:

• 1 rib of celery, chopped ("rib" is one piece/stick, and "stalk" for the entire thing/bunch)
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 quart vegetable stock or water, more may be needed
• salt and pepper to taste

 Garnish:

• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, large dice
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons non-fat yogurt (or Greek yogurt)
• 6 sprigs fresh dill, washed

In a soup pot, sauté the onion, celery and carrot in the oil over medium heat until the onion is golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the squash and garlic cooking 5 minutes, stirring. Add the oregano and stock and simmer about 15 minutes or until the veggies are soft.

The easiest way to cut squash is to peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler. Then cut the squash in half. The bottom half is filled with seeds. Cut the two halves again and scoop out the seeds and discard (the seeds are similar to pumpkin seed and can be toasted). The chop into pieces.

While the soup base is cooking, sauté at medium-high heat 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and diced onions. Cut the apple into a large dice and when the onions are golden, add to the pan, sautéing 2 to 3 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the dill and set aside.

Place all of the soup base -- cooked veggies (except the curried onions and apple mix) and liquid -- from your pot in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and silky. More chicken stock may be needed to adjust consistency to your liking. You may also use an immersion blender so that no transfer between pots is necessary. Be patient with the immersion blender, it takes a bit longer to blend together. (I used my new immersion blender that Josh gave me for graduation!)

Return the pureed soup base to the soup pot and add the curried onion and apple. Simmer for 2 minutes. Season to taste and adjust consistency. Serve hot or, on warm days, chilled. Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprig of fresh dill, chives, or herbs of your choice.

This meal was extremely filling and healthy. The soup is only 95 calories! Serves 6!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

We're cooking up a storm in OKC! While tornadoes and hail storms circled Oklahoma City, my mom and I made tomato sauce and meatballs from scratch! We paired it with a great light herb salad and garlic bread.

Homemade Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti

My family has made this sauce several different times, each time tweaking it a bit to make it better. I love a nice kick to any dish, however my mother does not, so we half the spiciness so I don't miss it, and she doesn't start sweating in the middle of dinner.

My big tip for this recipe is to invest in the can tomatoes we used. They are only found at William-Sonoma, but they are filled with flavor and regular canned tomatoes just do not compare to these. The brand is Solonia, San Marzano Tomato and they are well worth the trip!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 Tbl fresh thyme (or 1/2 Tbl dried)
• 2 Tbl fresh oregano (or 1/2 Tbl dried)
• 1 Tbl red pepper flakes (don't use this if you don't like spicy food, or half the amount for medium heat)
• 1 medium carrot, finely grated
• 2 bay leaves 
• 2 (28-oz) cans peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Spaghetti, cooked al dente
• Whole basil leaves for garnish
• Grated fresh Parmesan

Directions:

Have two bowls ready. In the first bowl, strain the tomato juice. Crush the remaining tomatoes by hand and strain the juice into the first bowl. Put the pulp into the second bowl. Set both aside.

 

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. add garlic and cook 3-5 more minutes, until soft and light golden brown.

Add the thyme, oregano, carrot, and red pepper (I put about 2 teaspoons into my sauce), and cooked 5 minutes more, until the carrot is soft.

Add the tomato juice and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the remaining pulp and cook another 30 minutes, until the consistency is like oatmeal.

Use an immersion blender to adjust the consistency to your preference. If you like a chunky sauce, skip this step like I did!

Season with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves over pasta. You'll have so much of this sauce left over, so make sure to store it in your fridge for up to a week, or freeze it for up to 6 months.

Top the spaghetti with the sauce and meatballs (recipe below) and serve with garlic bread and a side salad. Enjoy!

Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 lb. pork sausage
• 3/4 lb. ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large shallot, minced
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves
• Fresh oregano leaves, chopped, plus whole
    sprigs for garnish
•   1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Olive oil, as needed 

Directions:

To make the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk and mix well. Add the sausage, beef, egg, ricotta, one-third of the Parmesan cheese, the shallot, nutmeg, cloves, a good sprinkling of marjoram and garlic clove. Mix briefly with your hands just until the ingredients are well distributed. Season well with salt and pepper. Form the mixture into small balls 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter.

In a large fry pan over medium heat, pour in the olive oil to a depth of 1/4 inch. When it is hot, add the meatballs (in batches, if necessary) and brown well on all sides. Transfer to a paper towel-lined tray to drain.

Herb Salad

Since our dinner had so much flavor, we went simple on the salad. I bought a package of fresh spring lettuce mix and mixed it with some herbs from our herb garden.I think its very important to always have an herb garden in your home. It's so easy to maintain, and doesn't take up a lot of space. Currently, we have basil, thyme, flat-leaved parsley, rosemary, lemon thyme, mint, sage, and oregano. It's really fun to use, and fresh herbs at the store are usually very expensive.

To make the dressing, I used an old glass jam jar. It's a good way to reuse a jar, it easy to mix all the ingredients together, and it keeps the dressing fresh and easy to store.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbl apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbl honey
• 2 Tbl lemon juice
• 1 Tbl coarse-grained dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 walnut oil (or hazelnut oil)
• 1/2 cup evoo

Directions:

Mix all together and blend with the herb salad!

 

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia and Green&Red Salad

I'm an official graduate of Baylor University! I just moved out of my house in Waco, and into my parent's house in Oklahoma for the summer.

My family made dinner tonight, it was really beautiful outside, so we ate outside. One of the best parts of being home is having a full stocked kitchen, very different from my home in Waco.

 Broiled Spicy Parmesan Tilapia

One of the best parts about this dish is you can add whatever spice you want. I like it a little spicy so i added red paper flakes. I used a lot a spices I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 Tbl low fat mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp salt (or celery salt if you have any on hand)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Old Bay Seasoning, enough to cover fillets
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions:

Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, and light mayonnaise. Add all the seasonings (except the old bay). Mix well and set aside.

Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Lightly cover both sides of the fillets with the Old Bay Seasoning. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. 

Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 1-2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork, make sure you watch them carefully, they brown quickly. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

G

Green and Red Salad

We made this yesterday with chicken and had it as our main dish. Tonight we added extra tomatoes to the left overs and had it for our side to the tilapia. I think this dish, if used as the main dish would be great with chicken (which is what we used) and salmon or shrimp.  

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup pesto
• 2 Tbl white wine vinegar
• 1/4 tap plus 2 Tbl salt
• Pinch of freshly gound pepper
• 3 Tbl olive oil
• 3/4 lb orzo pasta
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 6 oz baby spinach

Directions:

Make the vinaigrette: In a large bowl, whisk together the pesto, vinegar, the 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until smooth.

Cook the Orzo: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons salt and the orzo. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the pasta is al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain again. Add the orzo to the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly.

Assemble: Add the chicken, tomatoes and spinach to the orzo and toss gently to combine, then serve!

Scratching the Surface

Another "Wonderful" Wednesday! My favorite part of the week. This week it was Deboard's turn to pick out the menu and she did a great job. This blog is fittingly named because we made everything from scratch, right down to the banana cream pie whipped cream. We pretty much did everything but grow our own bananas.

It's also Ryan's birthday today, so we turned the dessert into her birthday cake (although I couldn't find any candles, so I just stuck a match in the center and Ryan blew it out. I thought Deboard was going to have a heart attack because she was so worried the whole pie would catch on fire.)

I also learned a lot of great tips about cooking. Ryan gave lots of tips while we were cooking, and I hope I can remember all of them as I write this.

A recommendation for this dinner is make the pie first. Since we started at the same time, we ended up eating dessert at 11:00 pm (which was perfect because it was Ryan's birthday). But the filling has to cool for a couple of hours, so plan on making the pie ahead of time.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

The main course was this pasta bake! I made the mistake of putting the mozzarella into the pasta dish (when the directions say to just layer is on top) but it was still really good, and the whole thing got really cheesy on the inside) so you can just put the mozzarella on the inside or on the top... Or both! 

 Ingredients:

• 8  ounces  uncooked rigatoni (rigatoni is a tubed shaped pasta
  
• 1  Tbl olive oil
• 1  cup finely chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 1  (10-oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 3  cups cubed cooked chicken breasts (this is about four whole chicken breasts)
  
• 1  (14.5-oz.) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, not drained
  
• 1  (8-oz.) container chive-and-onion cream cheese
• 1/2  tsp salt
• 1/2  tsp pepper
• 1 1/2  cups shredded mozzarella cheese (the more the merrier)
  

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare Rigatoni according to packaging. Tip #1: If you want to know when the pasta is done... Throw it against the wall! If it sticks, it's done! (Although don't be like deboard and rocket launch it towards the wall... Because it will never stick with that method.)

Meanwhile, spread oil on bottom of an 11- x 7-inch baking dish; add the chopped onion in a single layer.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to a large bowl, and set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels. If you are using frozen spinach, like we did, there is a ton of water.

Stir rigatoni, spinach, chicken, and next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl. Spoon mixture into baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. (Or do what I did and just mix the mozzarella in with the pasta.

Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Variation: Substitute 3 cups cooked, crumbled hot Italian sausage for 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts. Reduce salt to 1/4 tsp, and take out pepper. I thought this would be a great variation to this dish. Since the Italian sausage is already seasoned and very flavorful your don't have to season the pasta with as much salt and no pepper.

ONIONS: Since the recipe didn't specify what type of onion to use, I thought I would do some research on the different variations of onions. I got this information off of BBC's Good Food website:

How to pick out the right onion: Look for firm onions, with no soft spots, damp or mouldy patches. 

• White onion: medium to large in shape, with a white papery skin and evenly white flesh. They have a strong flavour and are good for stuffing or baking; only use raw in salads if you want an assertive onion flavour.
• Yellow/brown onion: a good all-purpose onion, with a light golden skin and yellow flesh.
• Spanish onion: has a similarly colored skin to a yellow/brown onion, but is usually bigger, as well as sweeter and milder. Good for omelettes, salsas and stir-fries.
• Red onion: varies in size, but has a distinctive red/purple skin, and the edge of each of its white rings is tinged with red. The flavor is mild and quite sweet. Good for salads, marinades, salsas and roasts. 

Tomato, Mozzarella, & Avocado Salad

I look bringing a meal together, both the salad and the main course have mozzarella in them. Although the dishes taste very different, I love having that connecting ingredient to tie the meal together. This salad is so light, and could even be eaten alone.

 This recipe if from the cookbook Simple But Perfect Salads, the taste of summer all year round. You will see more of this book in the future, all of the pictures look incredible. 

Inredients:

• 2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes (these are the biggest tomatoes, and have a meaty texture with a sweet, mellow flavor. They are good for salads, grilling or stuffing.)
• 3 1/2 oz/ 100 g mozzarella cheese (coarsely torn into pieces)
• 2 Avocados (Tip #2: When you are making guacamole, put the pit in the guacamole so it'll stay fresher longer)
• Few fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces (unfortunately Waco's ghetto HEB does not carry fresh basil, so we had to omit this ingredient)
• 20 black olives (I love olives, but Ryan doesn't, and she tried a few with the salad and really enjoyed it. It really adds an extra kick to the dish)
• Fresh crusty bread, to serve

For the Dressing: (We doubled this)

• 1 Tbl olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp coarse grain mustard
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Using a sharp knife, cut the tomatoes into thick wedges and place in a large serving dish. Drain the mozzarella cheese and coarsely tear into pieces. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Cut the flesh into slices, then arrange the mozzarella cheese and avocados with the tomatoes.

Mix the oil, vinegar, and mustard together in a small bowl, add salt and pepper, then drizzle over the salad.

Sprinkle the basil and olives over the top and serve at once with fresh crusty bread.

And the dessert:

Banana Cream Pie with Graham cracker Crunch

This dessert came from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook. Pretty much hundreds of different ways to use chocolate chips.

This is like the deluxe version of banana cream pie. You can always go out and buy a graham cracker crust and whipped cream... But making everything from scratch makes it taste that much better.

Ingredients:

Crust and topping:

• 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (you can buy pre-crumbed graham crackers (found in the baking section) but its a lot more affordable to crunch them yourself!) We used cinnamon flavored graham crackers
• 2 Tbl sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (or one stick) unsalted butter, melted (we ended up using about 1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 cup (8 oz) minature semisweet chocolate chips

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk (we used 2%... Easier on the belly)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbls all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping:

• 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tbl Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 bananas, sliced about 1/4 inches thick

Directions:

Make the crust & topping:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie pan and a baking sheet (The baking sheet is for the topping).

In a large bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon together. Mix in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips. Press 2 1/4 cups of the crust mixture evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan. Put the remaining crust mixture on the baking sheet and press into a circle approximately 8 inches in diameter.

Bake the crust and topping for 6 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

Put the 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over a saucepan of barely simmering water; the water shoudl not touch the bowl. Stir until the chocolate chips are melted and smooth... We ran out of chocolate chips.. So I broke up a Hershey's bar, put it in a bowl, added a little milk and put it in the microwave until it was all melted and then stirred until everything was well blended... It worked the same and saved time.

Use a small spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over the topping on the baking sheet. Let the topping sit until the chocolate is firm.

Make the filling:

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over low heat just until it is hot; it should measure about 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot milk into yolk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to reach into the corners to prevent scorching, until it thickens and ust comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook at gentle boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Pour the pastry cream through a fine strainer into a medium bowl. Stir in vanilla. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the pastry cream and use the tip of a knife to poke a few holes in a plastic wrap to let the steam escape. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until cool to the touch (don't try to cheat and put it in the freezer, because it will change the consistancy of the filling). The pastry cream will thicken as it cools.

Make the topping:

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on a medium-high speed, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until firm peaks form. I always use Julia's mixer... But I returned it to her... So Deboard and I took took turn rapidly mixing the cream as fast as we could.

Spread about one-third of the banana slices over the bottom of the crust. Gently stir the remaining banana slices into the cold filling, and spoon the filling over the bananas. Use a thin metal spatula to spread the whipped cream over the filling. Use the edge of a wide metal spatula (or large knife) to cut the crunch into about 1-inch pieces, then use the spatula to lift th chunks of crunch and gently place them on the whipped cream, covering it thickly. Some plain pieces of chocolate may separate from the crumbs as you move them; this is fine. Sprinkle any crumbs over the top.

Serve, or cover carefully and refrigerate for as long as overnight. Serve cold.