Food goodness

Adults like it too!   Originally here. 2 big handfuls fresh spinach or more 1 cup uncooked mini pasta, such as ditalini or orzo 1/2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp milk 2 tbsp cream cheese or ricotta 4 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated Cook the pasta while you melt the butter in a small frying pan and sauté the spinach until just wilted.  Combine the spinach with the milk and cheeses and chop finely in a food processor or blend with an immersion blender. Mix with the cooked pasta. You can also add chickpeas or other beans, or leftover chicken, or any other protein.

A friend brought these to Rhinebeck this year, and they are SO GOOD. Going to make them for holiday gifts this year. (Notes below are hers.) 8 cups of unsalted but roasted nuts (I like  cashews , but any combo works; I buy my unsalted  cashews  at Costco) 7 tablespoons butter 7 tablespoons real maple syrup 4 tablespoons crushed dried  rosemary 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like things, I omit it completely) 3-4 teaspoons crunchy salt In a small saucepan, melt butter and maple syrup together. Once melted, add  rosemary  and cayenne. In a bowl, pour the butter mixture over the nuts and toss to coat. Spread the glazed nuts out on silpat or parchment lined cookie sheets (makes for far easier clean up) and roast in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on your desired level of roast. I pull out the sheets half way thru to toss the nuts for even toasting. When you take the nuts out of the ov...

We can order these from our CSA, and I love them... but they need to be cooked forever, so the crockpot is really only the way to go. We've tried soaking them overnight, but they didn't have the nice chewy consistency they get in the slow cooker. 2 c whole oats, or "groats," or whatever you want to call them 5 c milk, water, or any combination 1 shredded apple, skin on Handful of raisins or dried cranberries Sprinkle of cinnamon or apple pie spice Pinch of salt Mix everything in the crockpot & turn on low. After a few hours, check it to make sure it isn't sticking and add more liquid if necessary. It's usually done after 5-6 hours, although cooking it longer doesn't hurt. I still haven't been able to cook this overnight without the edges burning, because you really do need the stirring step, but I've also just tossed the edges & the rest of it is fine.

From: Weelicious I made these with Sunbutter so that I can send them in to school with P.  I didn't make the whole 2-pancake with jelly in between sandwich thing, just the sunbutter pancakes.  I also used white whole wheat flour and they turned out fine. Ingredients 1 1/4 cup   all purpose flour 2 teaspoons   baking powder 1/2 teaspoon   salt 1/4 cup   peanut butter 1   large egg 1 tablespoon   sugar 1 1/4 cup   milk jelly, jam or  strawberry preserves  (if you want to make a pancake "sandwich" Preparation 1.  Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a bowl. 2.  In a separate bowl whisk the peanut butter, egg and sugar until combined, then whisk in the milk until incorporated. 3.  Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (it’s okay if there are a few lumps). 4.  Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with oil (Vegetable or Canola). 5.  P...

Hellooooooo?  Anybody here????  I mean, not like I've been here of late.  I swear I am just making the same old stuff plus new stuff on occasion and then forgetting to post it here.  For, like, 2 yrs now. Pathetic. Anyway, here's what's for dinner at our house tonight: 4 skinless and boneless chicken leg/thigh quarters (about 4 lbs) - I used 2 pkgs chx thighs S&P to season chx 1/4 C water 1/4 C smoked almonds - I used 1/4 C almond butter languishing in my fridge 1/4 C raisins 2 T cocoa powder 1 t cinnamon 1 T ground cumin 2 T tomato paste 2 chiles in adobo sauce plus 1 T sauce from can 4 garlic cloves 1 small sweet onion, cut into large quarters Place chx in bottom of your crockpot and sprinkle with S&P. Place all remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Spread mixture over chicken and cook on low for 8 hrs or high for 4 hrs. Serve with your favorite mexican side dishes. We will be having refried beans...

From: Weelicious I made these pancakes for Piper this week.  She loves them.  I tried to get SJ to eat them, too, by telling her they were Hulk pancakes, but she was having none of it.  I ate a few, too.  :) Ingredients 1 cup packed fresh spinach 1 cup buttermilk 1 large egg 1 tablespoon oil 1 cup white whole wheat flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt Preparation 1. In a blender, combine the spinach, buttermilk, egg, and oil and blend until smooth.   2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.   3. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.   4. Heat a large pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter or oil.   5. Pour about 1 tablespoon of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, making as many pancakes as will fit and cook for 2 minutes.   6. Flip the pancakes and cook for one minute longer ...

I've been refining this for a while now to make it easier and easier, and I think I've finally gotten there... loosely based on this recipe . 1 pound lean ground turkey or chicken sausage, or a blend of the two green/red/yellow bell peppers, finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, undrained, plus a chopped fresh tomato or two if you have some to use up some beans, equaling about two cans -- black, kidney, white, pinto, whatever  2 c reduced-sodium chicken broth a bag of frozen corn 1 tablespoon chili powder and/or a couple adobo chiles with some sauce pepper, cumin, garlic powder In a large nonstick skillet, cook the turkey, green pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add all spices. Transfer to a 4-qt. slow cooker. Stir in everything else. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Serve with sour cream, cheese, cilantro, ...

This was another "Clean Eating" recipe that I tried a few weeks ago and really liked.  It wasn't as good after a day or two when all the dressing was absorbed and it kind of lost some of the lemony zing.  It would be better eaten the day it's made, I think.  So, this would be a good dish to take to a pot luck where everything is going to be eaten that day.   Or, just make more dressing and drizzle some more on the next day to revive it.  It was a good lunch, though, and I will make it again.   Oh, and I used the pre-cooked French Lentils (the black ones) from TJ's instead of cooking green lentils, because I always overcook my lentils and end up with mush. Ingredients 2 cups dry green lentils, 1 can of chickpeas , rinsed, drained 1 bunch of radishes, chopped or sliced ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (optional, thyme leaves loosely packed, discard stems) 1 bay leaf Garlic  2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt...

This is one of the recipes that I was given when I signed up for a "Clean Eating Challenge Group" awhile back.  I liked it the first time, so I'm making it again!  The first time I followed the recipe as written.  This time I only had one can of diced tomatoes, so I added one can of crushed tomatoes as well.  I know that it will come out saucier than last time, but the flavor should be about the same.  I'm also starting with frozen chicken thighs this time, so I'm sure it will take longer to cook.   Ingredients ·          4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts ·          2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes ·          1 medium onion thinly sliced (Not chopped) ·          4 garlic cloves ·          1/2 cup  balsamic vinegar  (for glu...

This was good, and it relies entirely on pantry staples... 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small yellow onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 12 oz frozen artichoke hearts [[I didn't have and substituted an elderly sliced leek]] 64 oz vegetable broth [[I didn't need use this much]] 2 (14 oz) cans cannellini or Great Northern white beans, rinsed and drained [[I used homemade ones that I made in the oven, plus a lot of their extra liquid]] 3 cups cheese tortellini (refrigerated or frozen) [[I used one package of TJ's frozen spinach tortellini]] 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped 1/3 cup basil pesto Salt and black pepper, to taste Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving, optional Directions: 1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, beans, tortellini, and spinach leaves. Cook until tortellini is so...

This is possible! And easy and good! If you're just doing straight beans, no recipe: Preheat the oven to 325.  Put the beans in a large, ovenproof pot. Cover with water and heat on the stove until the water is hot. Take the pot and pop it in the oven for an hour. After an hour, add a little salt and stir. Back into the oven for 20-30 minutes. And the first recipe in this LA Times story has good suggestions for seasoning and other recipes.

I keep tweaking the way I roast chicken, and I reinvent the wheel every time when I can't remember what oven temperature to use and how long it should bake etc. etc., so I'm writing it down here. ( This is the recipe I always look at online but don't follow exactly.) Oven at 425. Chop a bunch of veggies -- carrots, onion, potatoes, celery, fennel -- and spread them in a single layer in a 9x13 glass dish. Add in many sprigs of thyme. Toss with salt, pepper, olive oil. Wash the chicken (ideally about 4 lb.) inside and out. Place it with drumsticks down in the dish. Cut a lemon in half and put it inside the chicken along with more sprigs of thyme. Melt 2 T butter or Earth Balance and pour it over the chicken. More salt and pepper. Put it in the oven for 55 minutes, then check to make sure top isn't burning. Back in for 25 more minutes and check temp inside. When it's 170, it's done!

A variation of Smitten Kitchen's mushroom marsala pasta bake (varied largely because I had some open red wine and not marsala)... Prep time: 30 minutes, tops Cook time: 30 minutes, tops Servings: 4 really generous or 6 slightly more moderate ones [[I doubled and it fit into two medium-sized glass dishes. I froze one.]] 1/2 pound (8 ounces or 225 grams) pasta of you choice, such as a ziti or twisty shape 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil 3/4 pounds (340 grams) fresh mushroom, sliced [[when I doubled this, I used two boxes of the sliced mushrooms from TJ's -- one white button and one portobello]] 1 small-to-medium yellow onion, halved and sliced thin Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/4 cup (60 ml) dry marsala wine [[I used pinot noir]] 3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter 3 tablespoons (25 grams) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) stock or broth (chicken, vegetable or mushroom) 1/2 cup (50 grams) finely grated parmesan cheese 4 ounce...