Salad Season & Nana's Salad Dressing Recipe

Thanks to many days of rain and cooler then average temperatures, my spring garden has doubled or tripled in size in a matter of a week or two. I've been trying to enjoy every minute of cool, Spring weather knowing it won't be long before the hot weather returned. It's salad season at our house right now. I have salad up to my eyeballs! I took these pictures this morning just before I harvested about 2-3 bushels of salad greens and spinach! I'm so glad I planted so many cool weather crops. I had no idea that our spring would last this long when I planted those seeds. I got very lucky. I told Jon the other day that this Spring garden more then makes up for the loss of our garden last year (due to extreme heat).

The kohlrabi is getting so big. I suppose I should have spaced them out a bit more but they seem to be doing okay. I have the bed edged with spinach. I'm hoping to be harvesting our first kohlrabi in a week or two.

The carrots are growing well, I hope. I've been seeing a lot of mole/vole trails nearby so I hope I won't be disappointed when it comes time to harvest carrots this year.

The sugar snap peas are only about a week away from our first harvest. Charlotte is the most excited about this because she says, "I like garden sugar snap peas better then the stores".

On the left side of the garden I have two beds of hodge-podge planting because I tried to fill in any bare spots with transplants and second seedings. I have 2 purple cauliflower plants mixed in with my carrots and mustard greens.

In the front is my lettuce bed that is producing like gangbusters. I have Ermosa Butterhead lettuce in front of the tall Romaine lettuce. These two varieties are becoming my favorites. I love the crunch from the romaine and the upright nature of it keeps it out of the dirt. Ermosa Butterhead is beautiful and so delicate.

Charlotte saw this Ermosa Butterhead lettuce the other day and said it reminded her of a flower.

My green beans are starting to grow and my swiss chard leftover from last year is starting to bolt.

The snow peas are starting to climb their support and the spinach row in front of them is doing really well.

I'm hopeful that we may get to harvest purple cauliflower this year. Last year it didn't form heads at all due to our 90* temps that started in April.

In the front of the bed I have a mix of spinach and Musclen greens. The arugula in that greens mix is really strong and I don't care for the taste of it. I'm giving most of the Musclen greens to Jon's coworkers in hopes that they like strong tasting greens.

My broccoli is really growing now after the past few rains we've gotten. I have a few varieties of lettuce planted in with them. I love the contrast of colors between the plants.

In the back garden, a few left-behind potatoes from last year have sprouted on their own. I hope they'll produce decent potatoes.

I've planted a few jalapeno pepper plants in with them so Jon can make his own salsa this year. I don't like salsa or spicy foods so those pepper plants are all for Jon.

My back garden bean bed was really spotty with the germination but I think that was due to my using 2 year old seeds. I hate to waste things so I used the seeds I already had but I think I would have gotten better results buying new seed.

Here is just the spinach I harvested this morning.

So, since we've been eating salad almost morning, noon, and night lately.... with no signs of slowing down.... we needed a great dressing. Hands down, our favorite dressing is one that my mom taught me to make as a kid. It's the only dressing that my stomach seems to like (no burping...sorry) and the kids love it. So, now that I've given up the secret family's spaghetti sauce, I guess it's only fitting that I give out the secret to Nana's Salad Dressing.

Nana's Salad Dressing

1 part mayonnaise (I use my homemade... it's really easy!)

1 part ketchup (I use Hunt's since it doesn't have HFCS)

chili powder (I use about 1/2 tsp per cup of total dressing)

water (just enough to make the dressing pourable or skip the water if you're topping potatoes, hamburgers, etc.)

Mix all of the ingredients together and enjoy!

This dressing is also wonderful on baked potatoes, hamburgers, french fries, as a veggie dip... the sky is the limit.

I've linked up with Simple Lives Thursday.

By the way, if any of you are local readers and have a craving for salad... let me know. I'd be HAPPY to give you some greens!

Homemade Mayonnaise

I made homemade mayo for the first time the other day. I was shocked at how easy it was and how delicious it was compared to store-bought. It's thicker and creamier then store-bought and much more flavorful! I used the immersion blender that my Aunt Linda gave me and the whole process took about a minute.
I watched this video on youtube before I started. I used his recipe with a few alterations.

2 egg yolks (room temperature)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp. vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups oil (I used extra light olive oil)

All of the ingredients should be at room temperature before starting. Put all of the ingredients into a slender container with high sides in the order that they're listed above; adding the oil gently so it rises to the top.

Put the immersion blender all the way on the bottom of the container and pulse until you see a white "cloud" forming in the bottom. Continue to pulse the blender while tipping it to the side and lifting slightly to begin incorporating more oil. Repeat until all of the oil is incorporated and you're left with mayo.


It's so easy and so delicious!

Baked Rice and Beans

This is one of the most inexpensive meals that I make. I make a large pan of it and Jon and I will have it for lunch each day for nearly a week. Because this makes so much, feel free to cut the recipe in half and use a slightly smaller pan. Watch cooking times if you scale back the recipe.

Baked Rice and Beans

3 cups brown rice

2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed well

(I usually use black beans or kidney beans but any similar beans will do)

2 tsp. salt**

1 onion, diced

1 can tomato sauce, no salt added, (8 oz.can) or 1/2 can tomato paste

1-2 tsp. chili powder

1/2-1 tsp. cumin

pepper to taste

4 cups homemade chicken stock, no salt added**

1 cup water

2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

**If you use store bought chicken broth, drastically reduce the amount of salt added to this recipe. Store bought broth contains so much salt that you may not have to add any salt at all. Use your judgement**

Preheat oven to 375*. Grease a 11x13" pan.

Add all the ingredients to the prepared pan and stir until well combined. Cover completely and tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until all of the liquid is absorbed in the bottom of the pan. Fluff rice with a fork and serve.

I've linked up with Simple Lives Thursday.

Autumn Harvest Soup With Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

With an abundance of winter squash puree on my hands, I decided to come up with a meal that is good for you and packed with flavor.
This soup has been one of my favorites for a long time. The addition of apples helps give it a touch of sweetness.
The pumpkin rolls were a huge hit! I reinvented my favorite dinner roll recipe to include pumpkin. The pumpkin made them very moist. They were as soft and delicious on day 3 as they were when they were fresh. Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 c. Earth Balance, melted and cooled (or butter)
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. Vital Wheat Gluten (helps whole wheat breads rise)
1 cup warm water
4 1/2-5 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour (you may need more or less depending on humidity)

-In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except the flour. Stir well to combine.

-Mix in the flour until the dough comes together without being too sticky or too dry. When in doubt, put in less flour. A dough that is too dry will be hard to work with and not as tasty to eat. You can always mix in more flour as you knead if it's too sticky.

- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes dusting lightly with flour to keep it from sticking to the surface and your hands.

-Put dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap sprayed with Pam or a damp kitchen towel. Set in a warm place to rise until about doubled in size (about 90 minutes).

- Preheat oven to 350*. Grease (spray well with Pam) an 11"x18" pan or two 9"cake pans. Form about 18 rolls equal in size (about the size of a large egg,but round)and place in the pan(s). Let them rise until almost doubled in a warm place (about 45-60 minutes).
Place in the preheated, 350* oven for 35-40 minutes or until a digital thermometer inserted into the center of a roll reaches 190*.

-Turn the rolls out onto a cooling rack and brush the tops of the rolls with melted Earth Balance. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.



Autumn Harvest Soup

4 cups butternut squash puree
1 large onion, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil or Earth Balance
2 medium apples, diced (not Granny Smith)
1 quart chicken stock (homemade preferred but LOW sodium if you buy it)
salt

1. In a large pot, saute onions and apples in oil or Earth Balance on medium-low heat until VERY soft. They need to be very soft or they won't puree into a smooth soup. Don't let them brown.

2. Puree onions and apples in a food processor or blender until very smooth. Add back to the pot and turn heat to medium. Add butternut squash puree and chicken stock. Add salt to taste.
(The amount of salt will vary greatly depending on your broth. Store bought broth has so much salt that you may not have to add any additional salt. I use homemade stock without any added salt so I use close to 1 1/2tsp. of salt to my soup. )

3. Let soup simmer until heated through. Taste to be sure any onions were well pureed. If you taste tiny bits of onion, let the soup boil for about 15-20 minutes to fully cook the onions. Check seasonings. Serve. Serves approx. 6 large adults.





I'm excited to enter these recipes in the Naturally Frugal Food Challenge. Wish me luck!

This Week In Food

Wow, I'm really slacking with the blog this week. We've had such wonderful weather that we've been spending a lot of time outside lately. I have a lot to catch up on. I'll start with a post full of food. I like to post the successful new recipes that I try so I can keep track of them. I tend to have a stack of printed out recipes with scribbles all over them with the changes I've made. Posting them keeps them much more organized and readable.


Homemade Ice Cream
adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe

8 egg yolks
2/3 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large sauce pan, whisk together all of the ingredients except for the vanilla. Stir constantly over medium heat (I switch to a wooden spoon after the sugar is dissolved). Cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the wooden spoon. Take the custard off of the heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (making sure the plastic wrap touches the top of the custard to avoid a skin forming) Refrigerate until the custard is cold. Pour it into your ice cream maker... simple as that.

I like to freeze ours in small storage containers so no one is tempted to eat the whole batch in one sitting. Though I know no one in this house (Jon) would do that.

Super Easy Peanutty Snack Mix (from the top of the Smuckers Peanut butter)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 cups Cheerios (I used 2 cups honey nut and 2 cups regular)

1 cup peanuts

1 cup mini pretzels (I didn't have any so I used another cup of plain cheerios)

Heat oven to 350* and line a baking sheet with foil.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter and peanut butter and microwave until the butter is fully melted. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients. Pour the butter mixture on the cereal and mix well. Pour onto the baking pan and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let it cool and store in airtight containers.

**I also added raisins to this mix AFTER baking. This recipe can be really flexible. I think you could probably substitute any similar cereal for the cheerios. I bet Chex would work well. You could change out the peanuts for another nut... or add other dried fruits. I loved how the cereal stayed nice and crunchy even after 5 days.

"See my cheerio?"

Evan is a good cinnamon shaker.

I'm going to be making a double batch of this before we go on our next trip. It would be a perfect car munchy snack.




Oven Roasted Crispy Potatoes

This is more of a method instead of a recipe. I've roasted potatoes before but have never gotten them crispy. I finally have figured out how to oven roast them so the bottoms are nice and golden brown and crispy.

Potatoes (I like Russet for oven roasting)

Olive Oil

Lard

Salt (I used sea salt)

Pepper

Preheat oven to 450*. Cut up the potatoes in large chunks. Put them into a large casserole dish or on a baking sheet. Pour enough olive oil on the potatoes to coat them heavily. Put little bits of lard around in the pan so it'll melt when the pan goes in the oven. I put about a tablespoon total. The lard was the essential crisping ingredient. Sprinkle liberally with salt and as much pepper as you like. Toss the potatoes around so they're coated and bake for 45-60 minutes. (I stirred the potatoes about 10 minutes after I put them in the oven so that the melted lard would be evenly distributed)

I used this same method over the weekend for french fries but cutting the potatoes into spears and laying them in one layer on a baking sheet. YUM!





Mini Fruit Pies

I had leftover pie crust and decided to use it to make mini fruit pies using a muffin tray.

I used a large drinking cup to cut out circles from the pie crust.

I sprayed a muffin pan liberally with non-stick spray and then lined each one with a crust disk.

I still had a quart sized bag of frozen strawberries leftover from last summer so I tossed them with 2 Tbsp. of corn starch, 1/4 cup of sugar, a little cinnamon, a little salt, and a bit of vanilla. I baked them at 400* for about 40 minutes.

Before

After

The cornstarch left a bit of white powder on the tops of the pies but otherwise I was over the moon pleased with these. The juices gelled nicely so that the pies held together and were easy to get out of the pan. Between Jon and I, these only lasted 2 or 3 days. Very, very delicious.




Whole Wheat Banana Bread (adapted from King Arthur Flour recipe)

(I doubled the following recipe so I could freeze one loaf)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 very ripe bananas

3 Tbsp. peach jam (or any other slightly tart jam)

2 Tbsp. honey

2 large eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt (because I use salted butter... if you use unsalted butter, use 1 tsp. of salt)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Preheat oven to 325* and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

In a food processor, puree all wet ingredients (butter, sugar, honey, vanilla, jam, bananas, eggs) until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients well. Pour in wet ingredients and stir just until combined but DON'T OVERMIX!

Bake for 45 minutes, lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pan to prevent over browning and the bake for 25 more minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.

*This banana bread is great on it's own but it's heavenly when you toast a slice and top it with plenty of butter.




Peach Pie

Before

After

No recipe to go with this one. I used the same recipe as my apple pie but I used a gallon sized bag full of frozen peaches from last summer. This pie had great flavor but because I left the peaches mostly frozen, the bottom crust didn't get quite done enough. It also leaked all over my oven because the peaches were so juicy. Next time I think I'll let the peaches thaw halfway, drain any extra liquid from them, and definitely put them on the bottom rack of the oven lined with a cook sheet to pick up any spills.

Her cousin, the apple pie behind her, was delicious just the way it was. Miss Apple Pie also didn't leak all over my oven. Not that I'm playing pie favorites....

Honey Wheat Rolls (from King Arthur flour)

I actually didn't change this recipe at all except to make the rolls larger so I could use them as hamburger buns.

These made delicious hamburger buns (they're topped with butter in case you were wondering what that was in the picture). I wanted a softer, potato bread style bun and this was it. I'll definitely be making these again as dinner rolls or hamburger buns.

Lentil Brown Rice Casserole

After reading a few recipes online for various lentil/brown rice dishes, I came up with this one. It was amazing. Jon even loved it and he's not a bean lover like I am. It was healthy, filling, and so inexpensive. It took me 5 minutes to get it ready for the oven. I'm going to be making this a lot more often.

Preheat the oven to 300* (yes, a low oven).

In a 9x13 pan, add the following:

5 cups of chicken stock (I used unsalted homemade stock.. skip the extra salt if you use salted stock)

1 1/2 cups of lentils

1 cup brown rice

1 onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1 tsp of salt **see note with the stock.. you may need to reduce the salt**

pepper

Stir all of the ingredients together. Cover with foil. Bake for about 2 hours. You'll know it's done with the broth has been absorbed. Stir in a few tablespoons of butter before serving.

Ginger Snaps (adapted from this recipe)

This recipe makes a lot of cookies. I froze half of the cookies after I baked them.

2 sticks of butter, softened

1/2 cup lard, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup molasses

4 cups flour (I used 3 c. whole wheat pastry & 1 c. All purpose)

4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. cinnamon

3 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375*.

Cream butter, lard, sugar, and molasses until fluffy. Add eggs one at at time and the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture a little at a time until full combined. Put the batter in the fridge to firm up for a few hours.

Roll the dough into balls about an inch around. Be sure to put the cookie balls about 1 1/2 " away from each other since they spread into discs. Bake for about 11 minutes. Cool on a rack.

The cookies on the left were baked for about 12 minutes and are crispy all the way through. The lighter cookies on the right were only baked for about 9 minutes. They were crispy on the edges but chewy in the center. Either way is perfectly delicious.

These have been a hit around here. They're spicy, a bit sweet, and wonderfully crisp.

Well, I'm hungry now... how about you?

Light Macaroni and Cheese

Ask anyone in my family... I could live off of mac & cheese. I knew Charlotte was my daughter when she gobbled up mac and cheese as fast as she could at a little over a year old.

My usual recipe starts with butter and flour... lots of cheese, etc. I save that recipe for special occasions.

I use this light recipe more often since it's much healthier and still tastes great. I find ways to add more flavor to help distract you from the fact that there is FAR less fat in this recipe then most. Start with 2 1/2 cups of skim milk in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat. Whisk 1 tsp. mustard powder and 2 tsp. dijon mustard into the milk. Stir very often with a wooden spoon. The milk will be inclined to stick to the bottom and burn if you don't.





Put on a pot of water (with 2 tsp. of salt added) to boil. Cook your pasta of choice to al dente. I use Ronzoni rotini or Barilla Plus rotini. I think rotini holds onto the sauce better then elbows but use whatever you like.

When the milk just starts to bubble, add 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch that as been mixed with 1/2 cup of cold milk. Pour this into the slightly boiling milk mixture and stir! If you don't stir fast it will make little lumps of cornstarch throughout.

When the mixture is thick and creamy, remove it from the heat and add almost all of one 7 oz. bag of 2% sharp cheddar and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese (adds tons of flavor with just a little cheese).

Stir until creamy and taste it for salt. Some cheeses are so salty that you don't need to add any.

Add the cooked pasta to a baking dish (mine is 9x13) and pour the cheese sauce over it.

Never mind the measuring cup I'm using... while taking pictures of my work, I scorched the bottom of the cheese sauce and let the cornstarch form lumps. I had to strain mine through a sieve before adding it to the noodles. No worries.

Take the remaining cheese and sprinkle on the top. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes until the edges are browned and it's bubbly all over.

Enjoy!

Fried Zucchini

This is the first time I've ever made fried zucchini. I can't say I'll make it all the time since I don't often make fried foods and it was time consuming but it sure was a nice treat!

First I sliced the zucchini in 1/3" slices and tossed them with a bit of salt. I laid them out on paper towels blotted the top with another paper towel. This removes a lot of the water that the salt brought out. The dry surface is very important to getting the crust to stick.

The first bowl is 2 eggs and a splash of milk. The second bowl is plain bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and a bit of salt, pepper, and seasoned salt. In my frying pan is about a 1/2" of canola oil with a tablespoon of butter brought to a pretty high heat. You don't want the oil to smoke but you want the zucchini to really sizzle so it doesn't absorb so much oil.

Dip both sides of the zucchini in the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture (really pressing it into each side to get it to stick), then gently put it in the frying pan. Don't overcrowd the pan!

Turn them with tongs when they get medium brown. It doesn't take long. Drain them on paper towels.
Enjoy!!

My brother, Chris, said he likes zucchini if it's cooked this way! The kids each ate 3 of them! That's the most zucchini Charlotte has ever eaten! :)

What do these two dishes have in common?

Fudge BrowniesSweet Potato Fries

Give up?
They both contain Sweet Potato! I know with the fries it's obvious but believe it or not, the brownies have sweet potato puree in them... and yes, they're delicious! Here are the recipes.


Sweet Potato Fries
Peel and cut sweet potatoes into french fry size. Toss with a bit of oil and salt. Put them on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the tips brown. These will not be crunchy like french fries. They stay pretty soft but man are they sweet! The salt on them really brings out their flavor. This is my favorite way to eat sweet potatoes.


Fudge Brownies
While waiting at the doctor's office one day, I was reading a Martha Stewart magazine (she usually makes me want to gag but this time I found an interesting article). This article said that people often use applesauce as a substitute for oil in recipes but it can make things taste a bit fruity. They suggest using sweet potato puree as a substitute for some of the fat in these brownies since it gives a rich flavor and texture.
We love these brownies. They are fudgy and dense without being chewy. They hit the spot when I want something sweet and chocolately.... and as long as I don't think about how good my mom's real brownies are, I'm happy with these. :)
Make sure to cook them until the middle seems firm when you gently press it. If you don't, they'll be too gooey to take out of the pan.
Here's the article... the recipe link is at the end of the first paragraph where it says "fudge brownies".
We'll see how long the pan of brownies last in this house. :)