Sweet potatoes eggplant salad with tumeric/tahini dressing

Ingredients 

Eggplant and sweet potato:

•  Eggplant
• Sweet potato
• S&p
• Tumeric
• Tahini 
• Paprika 
• Garlic
• Fresh ginger
• Sunflower or olive oil

- preheat oven 425. Chop eggplant and sweet potato. Put in a baking sheet and season generously with above ingredients. Drizzle with oil and bake for about 20 minutes or until sweet potato is soft.

Croutons:

• Bread
• Sunflower or olive oil
• Tumeric
• Paprika
• Oregano
• s&p
• Dash cayenne pepper 
• Mustard seeds to be added near the end of bake or small squirt of mustard mixed in say beginning

- chop desired bread in cubes and put in pan. Toss with equal in parts butter to oil- not too much but enough to get the seasons to stick. Season with above ingredients and add pan to the oven with sweet potatoes. Bake until crispy.

- at this point you can add bacon in a sheet pan to the oven too

Salad dressing:

• 1/3 part red or white wine vinegar
• 2/3 parts olive or sunflower oil
• Squeeze of Dijon mustard
• Spoonful of tahini
• Grated garlic clove
• S&p to taste
• Spoonful white sugar (optional)
• Zest and juice of half lemon
• Leaves of 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• T. Tumeric

- shake together in a jar

Salad:

• Chopped green onion
• Bacon bits if you did not bake/chop your own
• Grated motzerella cheese 
• Greens of your choice

-Add together and enjoy!

Notes

This is my sister's recipe and it's currently my absolute favorite. I'm a little obsessed :) made it for dinner and have been eating it for lunch all week. If you don't have eggplant it tastes great with just sweet potato. If you do have eggplant, it just takes on the taste of the seasoning :)

Mushroom Penne With Walnut Pesto

Mushroom Penne with Walnut Pesto

INGREDIENTS:

for the pasta

• 8 ounces penne pasta (I like to use whole wheat)
• 4 tablespoons Butter
• 16 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms (Note: I used 24 oz)
• 1/4 cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
• salt, pepper, and fresh parsley for topping

for the walnut pesto

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups packed greens (spinach, basil, parsley, anything you like – but keep some basil for a more traditional pesto flavor)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

• 1. Cook the penne pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• 2. Toast the walnuts in a small sauté pan over low heat with no butter or oil – stir and shake the pan until the walnuts are fragrant and toasty (about 5 minutes). In a food processor, combine all the ingredients for the walnut pesto and pulse until mostly smooth. (Note: I processed the pesto in my vitamix and it's a smaller amount and it didn't get smooth very easily. It was chunky and we actually preferred it that way! It kept a crunch on top and we looooved it. I will be making it this way in the future as well. You can definitely process until smooth but we loved the chunky pesto!).
• 3. Heat the butter over medium heat in a wide skillet. Add the mushrooms and saute for 8-10 minutes, until the mushrooms are a deep golden brown. Add the penne pasta to the pan and stir to combine, adding Parmesan, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley or other herbs to taste.
• 4. Divide the pasta between 4-6 bowls and top with a generous spoonful of the walnut pesto OR stir the walnut pesto directly into the pasta.

Notes: We love this dish! It's simple and filling and meatless and tasty. I barely had any basil the first time  I made it and just used whatever greens I had on hand and the pesto still tasted great. Definitely toast the walnuts - that step is critical in my opinion. Simple, fast, and tasty!

SOURCE: Recipe and Picture: https://pinchofyum.com/simple-mushroom-penne-with-walnut-pesto

Christmas Breakfast

Christmas Breakfast

I have made the baked french toast two years in a row and I think I might make it a tradition. I used to always make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning but they started to feel too heavy with all the other sweets we are consuming in December. This french toast is sweet but light and matched with a savory casserole, it hits the spot! They are both SUPER simple to assemble the night before and just pop in the oven during the morning festivities.

Overnight Creme Brulee French Toast Bake
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/overnight-creme-brulee-french-toast-bake/
We topped with fresh whipped cream and triple berry mix (frozen kind we defrosted).

Overnight Croissant Breakfast Bake
http://abountifulkitchen.com/2014/12/overnight-croissant-breakfast-bake.html/
I used pre-cooked turkey sausage links I cut up and I used french bread instead of croissants (although I'm certain croissants would be amazing).

Merry Christmas!

Brussel Sprout / Butternut Squash

3T butter 

6 brussel sprouts halved lengthwise

3/4 c. butternut squash peeled and cut in 1" cubes

salt & pepper to taste

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

1/8 t. nutmeg

1/4 c. chicken stock

1/8 c. heavy cream

2 strips of bacon cooked and cut in small pieces

    Melt butter over medium heat.  Add brussel sprouts, squash, salt, pepper, thyme, and nutmeg.  Sauté 6-8 minutes or until squash is fork tender.

    Add chicken stock and cream.  Simmer together 2-3 minutes until mixed and thickened.  Add bacon.  I made 4 recipes to feed 10 people.

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2017!

I want to make sure I have access to these links for future years. Maybe some of you will find it helpful as well!

Turkey. 13.5 lb butterball again. Only 99c pound at Costco. Took about 3.5 hours at 325F. 

Gravy (Similar to what Mel describes above): Poured chicken broth (homemade earlier in the week) in the bottom of the roasting pan as soon as the turkey came out. 1/2 C butter (8 oz stick) melted, whisked in 1/2 C flour over medium heat. Added warmed broth (2 C chicken broth plus 1-2C from turkey). Whisked until thickened. Used medium saucepan.

Potatoes. Jordan loves the Bristish Roast potatoes so we did these instead of mashed this year. Instead of boiling we used the Instant pot (it was bigger and less messy!). I did it for 10 minutes, but next year will likely only do for 6 minutes. We did about 8-10lbs of potatoes, gold yukon. Was three sheet pans worth. 

Stuffing. Loved that it was stovetop! Used homemade chicken broth. Simple and tasty. Perfect amount. I'll likely add some mushrooms next year. No one really like stuffing but me anyway! (And my guests). Not too soggy, so that was a plus. 

Appetizer: Cranberry salsa cream cheese dip. So yummy!

Same as last year:

Cranberry sauce (except I learned you must taste it! I like mine tart but I only used 1/2 C sugar like last year but this year was even too tart for me!). 

Lion house rolls (my sister brought rolls instead)

Roasted asparagus (tossed in olive oil and salt and stuck in for the last 8 minutes of the potatoes roasting at 450F.

Desserts:

I finally braved making all my own pie crusts and it was worth it! I made the pie dough Monday and let them sit in the fridge. Made the fillings Wednesday and then assembled and cooked Wednesday evening. So yummy! 

Pie Crust (Only change - I used all butter. I followed her tip of freezing and grating the butter).

Berry Pie (used this blueberry pie recipe but with mixed berries from my freezer). Next year want to try with just blackberries.

Pumpkin Pie (Libby Pie recipe, except used fresh canned pumpkin so it took about 20 minutes longer to bake as more liquid and the consistency was different, but still yummy!)

Apple Cranberry Pie - so delish!

As usual: Chocolate Mousse Pie

My sister brought pumpkin rolls!

We also had 5 martinelli, crackers for dipping, pomegranate, and 4 bowls of fresh berries: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Costco has such great produce (and I am a member for the first time ever!).

So, thanks to Melskitchencafe and A Bountiful Kitchen, my Thanksgiving dreams came true:)

Roll out:

Monday: Completed grocery shopping (most done on Friday) and made pie crusts.

Tuesday: Made chocolate mousse pies x2, toasted the bread for stuffing, made chicken broth, made cranberry sauce, prepped pomegranate. (Also planned to prep and sautee the stuffing veggies, but didn't).

Wednesday (Jordo's birthday!): Made cranberry salsa that evening for the dip, made the pie fillings in the afternoon and then assembled and baked that evening. 

Thursday: Would've made rolls. Instead made salad (apples, craisins, pumpkin goat cheese, walnuts, red onoin, tomatoes over bed of mixed greens). Stuffing on stovetop while potatoes were roasting.

Washed berries. Asparagus prep. And assisted Jordan with the turkey, potatoes, and gravy. 

We also bought nicer disposable plates and silverware so clean up was easy (we didn't have enough real dishware). 

Next year: plan to set table night before. And set out dishes and bowls with post its for what goes where (did the day of instead). Jordan also is asking to try a crumb top for the apple cranberry next year. I need to make whipped cream earlier in the day. It was too loud and long afterwards. Trying to figure out what more I can do before the day of! It was pretty relaxing this year. As above, make berry pie with just blackberries (instead of mixed berries).

Full Heart!

Tuscano Chili

Tuscano Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb italian sausage (or turkey sausage), we use mild
1 large russet baking potato, sliced in half and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can pink (light or dark) kidney beans
1 can white beans (any type you prefer)
2 cups kale, chopped (large stems removed)
4 C chicken broth
2 C water
1 C heavy whipping cream
Optional: Add 1/4 C bacon bits (I usually don't)

Directions:

1. 1.Brown sausage in your soup pot, breaking into small pieces.
2. 2.Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir.
3. 3.Place onions, potatoes, garlic, and beans in the pot.
4. 4.Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done (about 15 minutes).
5. 5.Add bacon (if using).
6. 6.Salt and pepper to taste.
7. 7.Simmer for another 10 minutes.
8. 8.Turn to low heat.
9. 9.Add kale and cream.
10. 10.Heat through and serve.

Source: Adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-copycat-zuppa-toscana-38298

Spinach Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Pecans, and Dried Cranberries

Spinach Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Pecans, and Dried Cranberries

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon powdered ginger

1 pound prewashed baby spinach

1 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries

5 ounces goat-cheese crumbles

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup vegetable oil


Up to 3 days ahead:

To prepare vinaigrette, mix maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a

bowl. When salt is dissolved, stir in oil; do not over mix. Refrigerate.

1 day ahead:

Peel and cube sweet potatoes. Toss potato cubes with oil, salt, pepper, and

ginger. Divide potatoes between two foil-lined 9x13in roasting pans. (Do not

crowd, or potatoes won’t roast properly.) Roast at 450 for 15 minutes, stir, then

roast an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they begin to turn golden. Leave in

pans and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight in sealed plastic

container. Coarsely chop pecans and toast in skillet over medium heat until

lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Cool and set aside at room temperature until

you’ re ready to assemble the salad.

On the day of the event:

Thirty minutes before serving, reheat sweet potato cubes in a 350 oven for about

15 minutes (or microwave, oven is better, even room temp is fine). Cool slightly. For an attractive presentation, put spinach in a large

salad bowl. Remove cooled sweet potato cubes from pans and layer on top of

spinach. Pour dried cranberries over potatoes, then pecans. Sprinkle with goat

cheese. Serve dressing next to salad (this allows for leftovers without being soggy!). Can also serve up individually.

Notes: I got this from my sister Ashley. I love the flavors and the leftovers. I also 1/2 this for smaller groups and just use rough estimates of amounts.