Category: Food

Summer is coming to an end quickly but I still had a hungering for potato salad so thought I would try this new recipe.

Ingredients

• 6 potatoes (peeled) and cut in half
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup sweet relish
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to your taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain and chop coarsely.
2. Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil; cover then remove from heat and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, peel then chop coarsely.
3. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, sweet relish, garlic, mustard, mayonnaise and the salt and pepper. Gently mix together and serve warm.

One of our favorite homemade dishes is Three-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups milk (I use skim milk)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Gouda cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon anchovy-free Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• Bread crumbs (optional)

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I don’t normally make spaghetti sauce from scratch instead opting to buy the already-made-ones at the store as they are quick in a pinch.

However, I do like to accent the store bought spaghetti sauce with fresh vegetables.

Normally I add broccoli, green pepper, onions and carrots. But you can add whatever you like.

First I add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium sized skillet. I wait until the oil is warm and then add the fresh vegetables. I keep stirring until the vegetables are cooked. If you want crisper onions though, you can add them at a later time once the other vegetables are cooked.

Once the vegetables are cooked, I add the spaghetti sauce and stir to get everything mixed together.

Then, I add the sauce to the cooked spaghetti and mix it all up.

It seems simple enough, but I never would have thought of doing it until a friend of mine made it this way.

Chockful of vitamins.

I hope you try this helpful tip if you aren’t already doing it.

What to do with leftover ripe bananas and french bread? Why not stuffed french toast?

This recipe is pretty easy to follow. The only complaint I received from my guests was that the bananas were too ripe and therefore I could have used less. But, I’m a banana aficionado so it didn’t bother me in the least bit. I did make 1 1/2 times the batter (already shown below) as otherwise it wouldn’t have been enough.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 8 slices French bread
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Lightly spray a cast iron or an ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and then heat over medium heat.
3. Spread 1 mashed banana on top of 4 slices of bread (one banana per slice)
4. Place remaining four slices on top to make a sandwich.
5. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon.
6. Dip the bread in the egg batter for about 30 seconds on each side then place the banana sandwich in the skillet.
7. Cook each side for approximately two minutes.
8. Place bread on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes. Serve warm.

I added maple syrup on top of this french toast but I didn’t really need to. It tasted fine without anything on it. Next time though, I think a nice strawberry or blueberry compote on top would make it taste even better.

Original recipe courtesy of http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/karens-baked-banana-stuffed-french-toast/detail.aspx

What to do with extra pears, pecans and green onions? Make a roquefort pear salad! This recipe is delicious! Truly truly truly! I’m looking forward to making it again in the near future. The cheese is very expensive though so I only used 3.5 ounces which is what came in the container instead of the  5 ounces that the original recipe called for.

Ingredients

• 1 head of romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 3 pears – peeled, cored and chopped
• 5 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
• 1 avocado (peeled, pitted, and diced)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup of sugar together with the pecans. Continue stirring gently until the sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans, then transfer the nuts onto waxed or parchment paper. Allow this to cool then break into smaller pieces.
2. For the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. I only used 1 teaspoon mustard instead of the 1 1/2 the original recipe calls for as I didn’t want a strong mustardy taste.
3. In a large bowl, layer the lettuce, pears, blue cheese, avocado, and green onions. Then add the pieces of pecan on top.

Enjoy this salad!

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Looking for a low fat easy dinner? Try the Morningstar Vegetarian Grillers. They can be found in the freezer section of almost any grocery store. Each box contains 4 grillers (burgers).

Below is the recipe for how our family makes them served with homemade gravy and mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

•  2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cubes of vegetable bouillon
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 4-8 grillers (broken into 4 pieces each)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Thaw the grillers (burgers) and cut each griller into 4 pieces then set aside
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan
4. Add the flour to the saucepan and, using a whisk, stir both together until combined and heated through
5. Dissolve bouillon in the boiling water (have this ready before you combine the butter and the flour)
6. Add the bouillon water to the saucepan
7. Add the milk
8. Whisk everything together until all is heated through and it thickens
9. Put the grillers in a baking dish and cover with the sauce
10. Bake until the sauce is bubbling

Making Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 8 medium red potatoes, diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of warmed milk
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper

Directions

1. In a medium sized pot, boil the potatoes until a fork pricked through them comes out soft (about 10 minutes). Then drain the potatoes and put them back in the pot.
2. Add 3 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup of warm milk, 3 cloves minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Using a masher, mash the potatoes. Adjust the consistency to your liking — if you like your mashed potatoes lumpy then don’t mash as much. Add more milk if you want a softer mushier consistency.

You can leave the garlic out if you don’t want the garlic taste.

Enjoy! They are a monthly staple at our house.

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This is one of my favorite recipes. I make 1 1/2 times the original amount to serve 4 people. The sauce is creamy but you can make it less creamy if you use milk instead of the half-and-half.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 16 ounces penne or tortellini pasta
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 1/4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh black pepper, to taste

Very very good pasta dish. I found the recipe in a book called 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes.

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I am not a huge fan of mustard but thought the combination of honey mustard and apples sounded interesting. So — why not try it?

Ingredients

• 3 skinless chicken thighs and 8 chicken tenderloins
• Kosher salt
• Ground Pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion cut into large chunks
• 2 apples (I used Braeburn)
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons honey mustard
•  1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (for the paste)
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (for the paste)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper
3. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat
4. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken and cook until browned for approximately 6 minutes
5. Turn over and cook 2 to 3 more minutes then transfer to a plate
6. Add the onion and apples to the skillet and season with salt and pepper
7. Cook until slightly softened
8.  Mix the broth with the mustard and add this to the skillet. Bring to a boil
9. Add the chicken back to the skillet and stir with the apple ingredients. Transfer to the oven. Roast until the chicken is cooked about 15 to 20 minutes then transfer the skillet ingredients to a casserole dish.
10. In a small pot, mix the butter and flour to form a paste.  Take about a 1/2 cup of the juices in the casserole dish and add this to the paste a little at a time. Bring to a boil whisking all as you go along until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the chicken and serve.

This recipe calls for “skin-on” chicken so I had to adapt it a little.

The gravy was delicious although they don’t require much of it. The mustard taste was not strong. Very good recipe.

I found the original recipe at the Food Network. Click here to see it.

These pancakes came out really nice and fluffy. They were delicious with or without syrup. I made 1 1/2 batches and that was way too many for 3 of us. They warmed up nicely the next morning though so they did not go to waste.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs (at room temperature)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)

1. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and the melted butter. Combine the dry and the wet ingredients into a lumpy batter, being careful not to over mix.
3. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Spoon 1/3 cup of the batter onto the skillet and sprinkle the top with some of the blueberries.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

The last step to this recipe puzzled me. It took a lot more time to add the blueberries to one side of the pancakes once they were on the griddle. After doing the first batch the way the original recipe stated, I decided to just dump the blueberries in the batter and fold them in being careful not to over-mix the batter — otherwise the pancakes don’t come out fluffy.

Other than that — the pancakes were delicious!