Asian Cabbage and Turkey Saute

Craving Chinese takeout but want a simple and healthier option you can make at home?  This is the recipe for you!  Its quick, tasty, and not full of unknown fat.  It is great on its own without rice as well, so that makes it even more healthy!  Even my husband, who is not the biggest fan of Chinese food loved this!

The recipe is pretty basic, but delicious in its simplicity!  Feel free to add more veggies at your discretion.  And you can use another protein if you would like!  I just happened to have ground turkey on hand, but would definitely make it with ground deer or anything else! 

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• pinch of sugar
• 1 t minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 t white vinegar
• 4 sliced green onions, or owl pine leeks
• 1 lb shredded cabbage
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 T Sriracha or other hot sauce
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Brown the ground turkey in a skillet and season it with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Remove the turkey from the pan and set aside. Drain off the fat if you wish.
3. Heat up the sesame oil and saute the garlic, onions and  cabbage in there until the cabbage is cooked to the desired tenderness.
4. Stir in the hot sauce, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and ginger.
5. Add the ground turkey back in and mix well to combine.
6. Serve with extra hot sauce for those spice fans at the table.

Spiced Pecans (Perfect with Salt-Roasted Beets)

These little nuggets are deliciousness are great to have on hand to throw into salads, especially ones with salt-roasted beets are goat cheese!  But really, these are great to have on hand to throw into your mouth at any given time!  And if you are lucky like me and married into a Southern Family, you will also be the proud recipient of large bags of pecans from the in-laws during the fall.  Oh the perks :)  I like this recipe because it doesn't use butter to bind the spices onto the nuts so it keeps it a bit healthier.  These also pack a nice kick with the sweetness, and I'm always a fan of kick!!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. ground coriander
• ¼ tsp. granulated garlic
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ⅛ tsp. ground allspice
• 2 cups pecan halves
• ½ beaten egg white

Preperation

Heat oven to 300°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Mix dark brown sugar, paprika, cayenne, salt, coriander, garlic, cumin, and allspice in a bowl. Mix pecan halves and egg white in a bowl until combined. Toss nuts with spice mixture to coat completely. Spread on prepared baking sheet; bake until browned and crisp, 25–30 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Salt Roasted Beets

Salt-roasting beets is a fantastic basic way of cooking them.  By salt roasting them you are not only naturally seasoning them, but you are concentrating both the earthiness and sweetness by actually dehydrating them somewhat.  These salt-roasted beets can be used anyway you would use a regular roasted beet:  in salads with goat cheese and spiced pecans (recipe coming soon), as a side, or just on their own!  I hope you enjoy this new and improved method of cooking beets!!

Ingredients

1 lb beets

Kosher Salt

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 375.  Select a baking dish large enough to accommodate your beets.  Fill baking dish with approximately 1/4 inch of salt.  Arrange washed and dried beets in bed of salt.  Cover with aluminum foil and roast for approximately 50 minutes.  Time necessary for roasting will depend on the size of your beets.  Large beets can take more that 1 and 1/2 hours.  Test for doneness by sticking a sharp knife into the center of the beets.  If it does not meet resistance, the beets are done.  Let beets cool and rub skin off with an old dish towel.  Rinse and dry beets.  They are now ready to go!

Christmas (or anytime) Eggs

My family traditionally enjoys this breakfast strata on Christmas morning, hence the name.  Although I have added it into my anytime-delicious-brunch repertoire because it is just that: Delicious!  The original recipe came from my Aunt Vickie, and she would make it for her family for holiday breakfasts as well.  I can honestly say it is one of my favorite breakfast dishes of all time!

When I saw the beautiful Chantarelles on Erica's table my mind immediately knew I would be making this asap.  The beautiful sweet onions only made it better  And what is great about this recipe is it is versatile.  In this version I used Chantarelles, onion, and garlic all from the CSA.  I happened upon some brioche and breakfast sausage left over from work brunch so I used that.  Generally I just use regular old white bread, bacon, and button mushrooms.  But you can even add veggies to it as well!  It would be great with some sauteed greens, asparagus, or even oven dried tomatoes folded in.  The possibilities are endless!  I hope that you all enjoy this strata as much as I do.  I guarantee you will be the hit of your next brunch party if you bring this!!!!  

Ingredients

 

1 8 x 12" pan
5 slices of soft brioche bread
1 C swiss cheese
1 C cheddar cheese

1/2 lb breakfast sausage, crumbled
1/4 lb chantarelle mushrooms

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
5 eggs

1 1/2 C milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease bottom and sides of 9x13 pan.  Line bottom of pan with bread. Sprinkle ½ of each cheese over the top of bread.  Cook sausage, reserving drippings. Saute mushrooms, onion, and garlic in fat, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread both on top. Poke holes through the layers with a large fork about 1/2” apart.  Whip eggs to a froth, and add milk and cream of mushroom soup to eggs and stir.  Pour over the layers. Top with remaining cheese.  Refrigerate 24 hours.  Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve.

Kale and Artichoke Dip

This recipe comes from one of my best friends Lisa's Mom.  My husband and I were over at Lisa and Tim's house having dinner with them last week and Lisa's Mom had made them this dip using kale from their garden.  Oh My God!  It is so delicious!  And whats even better is that you can make it with low fat ingredients and it is just as delicious!  I think that I like it even better than the classic spinach and artichoke because the kale gives it more textural interest and a little more of an earthy base of flavor.  So here is the recipe...you could use other greens such as Swiss Chard and I think it would be successful as well.  I also substituted some of the artichokes with those beautiful onions we got from Owl Pine on Saturday and it was de-lish!!!  And best of all, it's perfect for Summer BBQ season!  Yay Dips!

Lisa made a double portion of the recipe and used a 9x13 pan.

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
1 C shredded Swiss cheese
1.5 cans quartered artichoke hearts
2/3 C shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 C milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T Worcestershire
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 bunch kale (approx 4 C chopped and blanched for five minutes, rinsed and squeezed of excess water)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients except shredded Swiss and Parmesan in a mixing bowl and blend until well combined. 
3. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed (remember that the cheese on top of the dip will add salinity as will whatever chip-type vehicle you use to dip with).
4. Grease an 8 x 8 casserole and fill with dip mixture.
5. Sprinkle shredded Swiss and Parmesan over dip evenly.
6. Bake dip for approx 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly!
7.  Serve with corn chips, Triscuits, or veggies for dipping!

Fettuccinne with Kale, Chickpeas, Preserved Lemon, and Chili

This pasta is a flavorful combination of many of my favorite Mediterranean flavors.  It is light yet full of flavor, and the greens and beans mean it will keep you satisfied. 

I used homemade preserved lemons in this recipe, but they can also be purchased at markets carrying Middle Eastern and North African goods.  If you are looking for a basic preserved lemon recipe click here.  You can also substitute lemon juice and zest if you would like, but preserved lemons add both acidity and salinity to the dish which I think makes it more dynamic.  I have included those substitution measurements in parentheses. 

The oil-packed Calabrian chilies that I use here may seem foreign.  But they are in fact the chilies that our pantry staple chili flake are made from.  If you live in the Atlanta area, they can be purchased at Antico Pizza as well as markets selling specialty Italian goods.  You can also purchase them online here.  Much like the preserved lemons, you can substitute trusty chili flake for this ingredient as indicated in parentheses, but the whole Calabrian chilies do add an unmistakable depth to the dish.

 Ingredients

• 12 oz. uncooked fettuccine pasta
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 whole Calabrian chilies, minced (or 1 tsp chili flake)
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas
• 1/2 Preserved lemon, rinsed thoroughly and minced (or
  2 Tbs. lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon zest)
• 1/4 C. white wine
• 1/4 C.Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus more for garnish

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside ¼ cup cooking liquid.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic and Calabrian chilies. Cook for 1 minute then deglaze pan with white wine, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
3.  Add the kale and chickpeas.
4. Cover and let cook for five minutes or until kale has wilted.
5. Add the pasta, cooking liquid, and preserved lemon, and 1/4 Parmesan. Toss, taste and season with salt as needed.
6. Serve and garnish with more freshly grated Parmesan.

Chocolate Chip Crunchewy Cookies

These cookies are the best!  Seriously.  Make them and you will see.  Erica called me after picking up the CSA today and told me that Chris had asked her to get this recipe from me.  I made a batch of these a while back and brought them some.  They must have made quite the impression because that was probably a year ago : )  These would be great to add to your holiday cookie cannon...I guarantee everyone will love them and you will be the only one who makes em!

Chocolate Chip Crunchewy Cookies

Ingredients

•  3/4 cup shortening, butter flavor vegetable
• 1-1/2 cups C&H Pure Cane Golden Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp.milk
• 3/4 cup peanut butter, creamy style (reduced- fat OK)
• 1 tsp.vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt (I’d reduce this to at least 3/4 tsp.)
• 3/4 tsp.baking soda
• 1-1/2 cups oats, old-fashioned rolled (I’d reduce this to 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 cup Cap`n Crunch cereal
• 1 (12 oz.) pkg. mini chocolate chips, mini (I’d reduce it to 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup toffee bits
  
  

  Preperation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter cookie sheets or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In bowl of electric mixer, combine first six ingredients and beat on medium speed until creamy.
3. Add flour, salt, and baking soda and combine. Add oats, Rice Krispies, and Cap’n Crunch and mix.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits by hand.
5. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Using a spoon, slightly flatten the tops of the cookies.
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the sheets for two minutes; then cool completely on cooling rack.