Green Bean Casserole (from scratch!)

As I mentioned in the previous post I have quite a few new rescipes to add thanks to my all day cooking adventure on Turkey Day. Since I am so far from home and don't get to spend the holidays with my folks it is very important that I have mom's Thanksgiving dishes at my table.

I was so busy cooking I forgot to get individual pics of the dishes I made.

Green Bean Casserole has to be a favorite of mine but the ingredients of most GB Casseroles that I've had come out of a can. This year I decided to make it all from scratch. It was delicious and actually very easy to make. There are quite a few steps but it's not that much work. You can make the sauce the day before, just reheat it on the stove, add to the fixins & bake.

 Cream of Mushroom

• 12 oz  evaporated milk
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbs olive oil
• cracked pepper & pinch of salt
• 4 oz of mushrooms
• 2 tbs cornstarch

 Place all of the ingredients except the cornstarch into a pot on medium high heat. Whisk the cornstarch in 1 to 2 tbs of cold water until smooth then slowly whisk into the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes. If the sauce is not thickening add another tbs of cornstarch.

Fried Onions

• 1 cup of milk 
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced into thin rings
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Soak the onion slices in a cup of milk for 5-10 minutes while your oil is heating up. Place the oil in a deep pan or pot and heat to medium heat. Make sure you have about 1/2 inch of oil. Carefully place the rings one at a time into the oil and cook for about 5 minutes. Make sure to flip the onions when they start to brown. When the onions are done remove them and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
  

 Fixins

• 1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
• 4 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped

 Place the green beans, shrooms and chopped onions in a baking dish. Pour the cream of mushroom over the dish. Top with onions and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes.

Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad

I've been crazy busy the past few weeks gearing up for the winter season and have not spent enough time in the kitchen and have not made any additions to my bog in quite some time. Thanksgiving was just a few days ago and since I got to spend the entire day in the kitchen I now have a couple good recipes to share.

One new addition to my Thanksgiving dinner menu was a delicious Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad. This dish is easy, colorful and good for you! 

Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad

• 6-10 persimmons, sliced
• pomegranates seeds (1-2 pomegranates)
• 8 oz crumbled goat cheese
• 2 tbs chopped thyme (plus a little more for garnish)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

Place the persimmon slices on a plate and top with a sprinkle of goat cheese and a few pomegranates seeds. Add another slice of persimmon on top and repeat with goat cheese and pomegranates  seeds. Whisk together the thyme, olive oil and vinegar and drizzle over the pomegranates right before serving.

*If you have leftovers just chop up the persimmons serve them on a bed of lettuce with some chicken just to change it up.

Eggplant Involtini

Italian food has to be by far my most favorite cuisine  Next summer I will be traveling to Florence, Italy and I will be taking a few cooking classes. I am so excited to improve my skills in the kitchen and learn the way Italians create yummy dishes! Until then I will keep creating recipes with what I know to be Italian cuisine.

I will eat just about anything with a delicious tomato sauce on it. I recently saw some images of Involtini on my favorite food blog website http://www.tastespotting.com but I had never eaten it before. According to About.com "Involtini is an Italian word for a small bite of food consisting of some sort of outer layer wrapped around a filling." I decided to make my Involtni with a lasagna style filling wrapped in eggplant. I could not decide on one type of filling so I made two! 

Officailly added to my wish list!! 

If you have a mandolin this is way easier. I don't own one yet so I very carefully cut thin slices of eggplant. It is not a simple task and it can be a pain so buy a back up eggplant so you can have plenty of slices for your Involtini make plenty of wraps.

Fixins:

1 large eggplant, sliced VERY thin

2 cups of pasta sauce, separated

olive oil

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Filling 1 - Olive & Capers

1/3 cup diced Mediteranean olives

1 tbs capers

1/2 cup ricotta

a sprinkle of cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

Filling 2 - Shrooms

1 cup mushrooms, 

1 garlic clove

a sprinkle of basil 

a sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Place all ingredients in a food processor until mushrooms are finely chopped. Then add:

1/2 cup ricotta and mix into a small bowl. 

Preheat the broiler to high. Brush olive oil on each side of the eggplant slices and place on a baking sheet. Broil on high on the middle rack for about 7 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and set let cool. 

Preheat the oven to 350. Using a spoon place the filling of your choice on the larger side of the eggplant and carefully roll up into individual wraps. Spread the pasta sauce in the bottom of a baking pan and place the roll into the baking pan. Sprinkle the Parmesan over top each roll and bake for 20 minutes. 

Carefully remove each roll from the baking pan and serve with a drizzle of the pasta sauce on each one. Enjoy!! 

Notes: If you prefer one filling over the other just double the ingredients and you will have plenty.

If you have some messups from slicing the eggplant, set it aside and use any leftover filling and pasta sauce to make a mini pastalesss lasagna. 

Crockpot Vegetarian Chilli

Growing up my folks made some delicious chili. It wasn't anything fancy just kidney beans, ground meat, the regular fixins and a packet of McCormick Chili Seasoning served over rice with a slice of good ol' American cheese! Living with a vegetarian I of course had to change my chili making ways otherwise I'd have way too many leftovers. I don't keep American cheese in the house anymore but  cheddar cheese does the trick. 

The best thing about making chili is that you can toss all the fixins in the crockpot and enjoy the day! Sunday morning I was craving an outdoor adventure but knew I had a ton of things to do before the work week so it was time to break out the crockpot! I threw the fixins in the crockpot and went on a nice long snowy hike with my friend Tiara. With the chili in the crockpot I was able to enjoy the hike and not think about dinner. It was a snowy trek up the hill but it sure was beautiful! A few of the Aspens still had glowing yellow leaves and the ground was covered with snow. Most of all Wilson (my pup) was having a blast chasing his pal Roxy in circles.

 When I got home I could smell the chili from outside, what a delicous aroma! One day when you feel like breaking out the crockpot, give this recipe a try and enjoy.

                                                                Ingredients:

1 cup lentils
2 cups dried kidney beans*8 oz mushrooms, chopped
3 zucchini, cut into semi-circles
1/2 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 cans stewed tomatoes

Chili Seasoning:

• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbs red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt

Mix the seasoning in a small bowl. Prep your veggies and place them in the crockpot starting with the beans first. Add in the vegetable broth, stewed tomatoes and the seasoning, giving it a quick stir but try to keep the beans on the bottom. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve warm with cheddar cheese and chives.

* Soak the beans 24 hours prior, rinse and drain

Cauliflower Curry with Kale, Squash & Carrots

I have been have been going curry crazy in the kitchen. I picked up a green cauliflower at the produce market and decided what the heck I will try and make cauliflower curry. It is getting easier and easier to make curry so now I can just play around with the ingredients.  

The curry does not photograph very well but it sure tastes yummy! 

• 1 cauliflower, cut into small pieces
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbs olive oil, separated
• 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 2 tbs red curry paste
• 1 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1 1/4 tsp coriander
• S&P
• 4 kale leaves
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced

Preheat the oven to 325. Toss the cauliflower with 1 tbs of olive oil. Place on a nonstick pan and bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place the onion and garlic into a food processor and chop until very fine. Place 1 tbs of olive oil in a large pot and heat to medium heat. Add the onion/garlic mixture, basil, coriander and curry powder into the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Whisk in the curry paste into the coconut milk until smooth then add the coconut milk and vegetable broth to the pot and let simmer on low. Once the cauliflower is done cooking place it in the pot, cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft.

Using an immersion blender or counter top blender puree the curry until smooth. When the curry is smooth add in the kale, squash and carrots, cover and cook on medium heat for another 10-15 minutes. Serve warm over rice.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

My favorite part about making a yummy soup is serving it with fresh baked bread! For Christmas last year my boyfriend gave me a great book for baking in the mountains. At first I was intimidated by baking bread but by following the recipes in my high altitude baking cook book it was pretty hard to screw it up. Now every chance I get the time to make bread I'm in the kitchen kneading the dough by hand . If you have thought about baking bread I totally suggest jumping right into it because it sure does make soup a complete meal.

This recipe is quite easy and yummy! I made this soup before I bought my immersion blender and well it a little messy pouring portions into blender so I totally suggest using my new favorite soup gadget, an immersion blender.

•  1 lb of asparagus
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (vegan? try using coconut or almond milk)
• 4 cups veggie broth
•  S&P + Lemon Pepper
• 2 tbs sunflower oil (olive oil works too)

Preheat the oven to 325. Chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces (reserve a few of the tips for garnish). Toss the asparagus pieces into a bowl with 1 tbs oil and a dash of lemon pepper. Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Meanwhile, pour 1 tbs of oil into a large pot on medium heat. Once the pot is hot add the garlic and onion, cook for 3-5 minutes. When the asparagus is done add it to the pot along with the veggie broth and cook for 5-10 minutes. Use your immersion blender carefully to puree the soup. (If you do not have an immersion blender pour the soup in small batches into a blender and blend until smooth.) At this point you should slowly add in the cream and stir well to blend. 

Serve warm with the asparagus tip for garnish.