Recipes

[momtochloe]

Well top o' the month to all my March lassies, Spring has arrived!  Well ok, technically we're Spring adjacent right now but close enough . . . 

Time to start stretching our muscles to get ready for warmer weather, both physically and culinary speaking.  Please share your favorite recipes of the season and I don't think anyone would say no to a touch of the green!  Many thanks to our friend @house_cat for starting us off in fine fashion for our March game:

Pea Pesto

Jamie Oliver

• 100 g frozen peas (approx 4 oz)
• ¼ of a clove of garlic
• 2 sprigs of fresh basil or mint
• 30 g (1 oz) pine nuts  
• 30 g (1 oz) Parmesan cheese , plus extra for grating
• extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Sit a sieve in the pan of pasta as it cooks, add the peas and blanch for 2 minutes.
2. Peel the garlic and place in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of sea salt. Tear in the herb leaves and add the pine nuts.
3. Drain the peas and add them to the mix, then roughly bash it all up to whatever texture you like – I like to keep it chunky.
4. Finely grate in the Parmesan, and add about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil – enough to give you a spoonable consistency – then mix and season to perfection with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water. Toss with the pesto, loosening with some splashes of cooking water.
5. Transfer to plates, and finish with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and an extra grating of Parmesan, if you like.

Tips

EASY SWAPS:
1. Use whatever nuts you’ve got – almonds would be delicious here, but feel free to experiment and make your own combos.
2. Parmesan cheese is classic but you can use whatever hard cheese you’ve got.

Next ingredient: green food coloring 

 ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️

[kate2357]

Mint Chocolate Pudding Cookies - From Butter With A Side Of Bread

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
½ cup butter softened (1 stick)
1 egg
½ cup sour cream
1 box 3.4 box instant vanilla pudding mix
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp mint extract
1 drop blue coloring + 7-10 drops GREEN coloring
1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Instructions
Prep
Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F.
Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.

Cookie dough
Begin by creaming together the sugar and butter, in a large bowl, until nice and fluffy.

Then, add in the egg, sour cream and dry pudding mix, stir well to combine.

Next, in a separate small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda.
After that, incorporate the flour mixture into the butter and pudding mixture and stir until well combined.

Now, add the mint extract and food coloring until desired color is achieved.

Lastly, add in the chocolate chips. I used 3/4 cup chocolate chunks, 3/4 cup regular chocolate chips and 1/2 cup Andes baking bits. Any combination is wonderful, but note that while the Andes mint baking pieces add an incredible flavor, they kind of disappear in the cookies. So add them in addition to the 11/2 cups chocolate chips, if you opt to put them in!

Bake
Start dropping the cookie dough by the rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.
Then, bake for 10 minutes.
When done baking, transfer to a cooling rack.

NEXT INGREDIENT: CABBAGE

[walker]

7 Day Slaw*

1 head of CABBAGE

1 sweet onion

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup oil

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Slice CABBAGE and onions thinly or shred them and toss with sugar.  Mix remaining ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil.  Pour boiling mixture over CABBAGE and onions, let set for 5 minutes, then mix.  Chill in refrigerator and serve on leaves of romaine, if desired.  Serves 8-12.

* This recipe is from an old (now gone) anchor store in Detroit, Michigan...J. L. Hudson's.  It is called "7 Day Slaw" because without mayonnaise it will easily stay fresh for a week.  

NEXT INGREDIENT ..... ORZO

[vabreeze]

Ham, Broccoli, and Orzo Bake

From Cooking Professionally

This was in my email today and it's going to be on my dinner plate this evening!  It looks so good.  Instead of baking it in a 9X13' dish, I will cook mine in mini casserole dishes in my air fryer that air fries from both top and bottom. I'll freeze the extras.

Time: 50 min.   Servings: 8

Ingredients
4 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups UNcoked ORZO pasta
3 TBS butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% milk
1/2 tsp EACH: salt & black pepper
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, DIVIDED 1½ cups +½ cup

1/2 cups ham, fully cooked, cubed
2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
2 cups fresh kale, chopped
1 cup French fried onions

Directions
•Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease 9x13 baking dish.

•Bring chix stock to a boil in a lg saucepan; stir in orzo & cook, uncovered, until it's al dente and broth is absorbed, ~ 8-10 min.

•While orzo cooks, melt butter in another lg saucepan over MED heat.  Stir in flour & cook, stirring constantly, til  lightly browned, ~ 4-5 min.

•Gradually whisk in milk →→ S&P into flour mixture.  Bring mixture to boil; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened,~ 1-2 min.

•Stir in 1½ cups sharp cheddar cheese & cook til cheese melts.  Add orzo →→ kale, stirring until well coated.

•Empty mixture into prepared baking dish.  Top w/ French fried onions & remaining cheese.  Bake uncovered til bubbly, ~ 20-25 min.

•Plate and serve.

Next Ingredient: Bratwursts

[kate2357]

I actually use brats a lot like this ... in crumbled form. Easier to find flavorful brats than to find good sausage ... at least in my area. I like this simple recipe because it's pasta w/o a red sauce and, well because there is beer involved.

BRATWURST PASTA RECIPE (IN A BUTTERY BEER SAUCE) - From Posh Journal

Ingredients
1 pound Bratwurst, (casing removed or use ground)
12 oz spaghetti or fettucine
½ cup wheat beer or pale ale
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, (add more according to your liking)
black pepper, (to taste)
Optional:
a pinch of red pepper flakes
chopped parsley

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water ( about 4 qt + 1 tablespoon of salt) to a boil. Follow the instructions on the product packaging and cook pasta until al dente.

In a large deep saute pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Cook the sausage (chasing removed), breaking up the meat for about 4 minutes.

Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add onion, and cook for about 4 minutes or until it translucent. Be sure to keep scraping up the browned bits from the bottom to prevent burning.

Add garlic, and keep stirring for about 1 minute.

Add beer to the pan. Be sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom, simmer until reduced by half, for about 3 minutes.

Melt the butter and add black pepper. Stir and reduce the heat to low. Add the cooked pasta, and parmesan. Toss just until combined then turn off the heat immediately.

Transfer the pasta to a serving plate. Serve with additional parmesan cheese if needed! Enjoy!

NEXT INGREDIENT: BEEF BRISKET

[house_cat]

@kate2357 

I think my husband would love that recipe. He enjoys brats more than I do, and I enjoy pasta more than he does.... so there ya go!

Next ingredient: Beef Brisket

[house_cat]

@vabreeze 

Thank you! That looks like a keeper.  I might try it as a side dish without the ham.  I don't have any kale in the house right now, but I have fresh spinach and I'm assuming that would work just as well, though the texture will be different.  Please update and let us know how you liked it.

Next ingredient: Beef Brisket

[walker]

I have not had luck with BEEF BRISKET at all!  So, I recently got rid of the recipes I had saved.  Done the right way, it is very good.  My mother used to fix it on low for a few hours.  Then she would refrigerate before slicing and reheat before serving.  This recipe sounds similar.  I found it in a Church Supper cookbook (has to be good, right?).  Maybe I will try again.

BRISKET with Chunky Tomato Sauce 

1 fresh BEEF BRISKET (4 1/2 lbs.)...NOT Corned Beef

1 teaspoon salt

1/4-1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 large onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup dry red wine or beef broth

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 lb. carrots, cut into 1/2 inch slices

Season BRISKET with salt and pepper.  In a Dutch oven, brown BRISKET in oil over medium-high heat.  Remove and keep warm.  In same pan, sauté onions and garlic until tender.  Place BRISKET over onions.  Add the wine or broth, tomatoes, celery, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf.

Cover and bake  at 325 for 2 hours, basting occasionally.  Add carrots; bake 1 hour longer or until meat is tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Cool for 1 hour; cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, trim visible fat from BRISKET and skim fat from the tomato mixture.  Thinly slice BEEF across the grain.  In a saucepan, warm the tomato mixture; transfer to a shallow roasting pan.  Top with sliced BEEF.  Cover and bake at 325 for 30 minutes or until heated through.  Serve sauce over BEEF.

NEXT INGREDIENT ....... APPLES 

[kate2357]

I have made this per recipe and with tweaks. It's good w/ kale, it's good w/ blue cheese or feta, it's good w/ the maple dressing, but also good w/ poppyseed dressing or Italian dressing. It's good w/ walnuts, pecans or almonds. It's good w/ quinoa, wild rice or orzo. So many combinations work w/ these basic salad ingredients.

Apple Walnut Quinoa Salad - From Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients
For the maple mustard dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For the quinoa salad:
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups chopped apples (Honeycrisp, Gala, or Fuji are my favorite)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese (can use feta cheese)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions
First, make the maple mustard dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the spinach, cooked quinoa, apples, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and walnuts. Toss until salad is combined. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.

Drizzle with dressing and toss again. Serve and enjoy!

NEXT INGREDIENT: ESPRESSO

[house_cat]

Tiramisu Dip

from RachelCooks.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon 
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• Ladyfingers, vanilla wafers, or fruit for dipping

Instructions:

• Stir cream and espresso powder together in a bowl until dissolved.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
• Add mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract; beat on low speed using an electric mixer until mixed. Add heavy cream and espresso mixture and increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form – do not over beat.
• Place in a serving bowl and sprinkle with cocoa powder (I use a small fine mesh strainer). If not serving immediately, cover dip before sprinkling with cocoa powder and refrigerate.
• Serve with ladyfingers, vanilla wafers or fruit.

Next ingredient: sprinkles!