Greek Panzanella

We are big fans of Greek-inspired food.  This salad was delicious!  If you're needing something to accompany the salad, go for some chicken strips laced on skewers and marinated in this delicious dressing before grilling.  It'd be a total winner dinner in my book!

6 cups bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (day old is best)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 of a red onion, thinly sliced (my kids don't love raw onion, so I left this out, but would have preferred it for myself)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced

8 ounces feta, cubed

2-3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 large cucumber, chopped

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425F

Spread the bread cubes onto a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and salt.  Toss, then toast for about 10 minutes or until browned.

In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Serve slightly warm and the bread will still be very crisp  or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend and the bread cubes will be a little softer.  Any longer the bread starts to get soggy.  (You can always prepare and even combine everything except the bread ahead of time and just add that when you're ready to serve.)

adapted from recipe found here

Caramel Apple Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Frosting

Welcome Fall!  We are happy to see you, especially if it means we get to eat desserts like this!  I would highly recommend working in this delicious treat to your Fall menu this month.  The cake is moist and yummy by itself, but add the cinnamon whipped cream cheese and top with caramel sauce - it melts in your mouth!  I put the assembled cake in the fridge without the sauce until we were ready to eat.  The slightly warm caramel drizzled all over put the finishing touch on this decadent dessert that is definitely worth sharing with friends.  

• Apple Cake:
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2+ tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• a pinch of ground cloves
• 3 cups fresh chopped apples


Caramel topping:
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk


Cinnamon Whipped Frosting:
• 6oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 12oz whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
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• Apple Cake:
• Prep two 8" round cake pans with non-stick spray 
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.
• Add in the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and mix until combined
• Fold in chopped apples.
• Divide batter evenly between two pans and bake at 300F for 55-60 minutes. 
• When the cakes are finished baking, allow them to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
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• Cinnamon Whipped Frosting:
• Stir together the softened cream cheese, cinnamon and powdered sugar until well combined.
• Beat the whipping cream and vanilla until medium peaks form.
• Scoop one-third of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix and gently fold together until well combined.
• Add the the rest of the whipped cream to the cinnamon whipped cream cheese mix and gently fold until well combined.

• Caramel Topping:
• In a small pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
• Add both sugars and stir until dissolved.
• Add in the evaporated milk.
• Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Let it cool slightly before drizzling over cake.

• To assemble:
• Layer the apple cakes with the cinnamon whipped frosting. Pour the cooled caramel topping over the top.

Adapted from this recipe

Potato, Chicken, and Green Bean Bake

If you've seen this meal idea floating around Pinterest, I'm here to say it's as good and as easy as advertised.  The options for spice flavoring are endless and you can't beat having just one pan to wash up after dinner, especially since my family basically licks the pan clean making my job even easier!  I've made this twice now, both times to requests for more and each time making a couple adjustments.  So I'm posting here what I'll do in the future.  


2-3 cups fresh or frozen green beans
4-6 medium potatoes, washed well (peeled if you want) and cut into large chunks
2 pounds chicken, cut into large portions (I used a combination of breasts and thighs, cutting the breasts into halves and the thigh into thirds)
1/3 cup butter
3 Tbsp seasoning mix (see below for some suggestions)


Preheat oven to 350.

Using a 9x13 baking dish, place vegetables and chicken in rows with the chicken in the middle (see photo above).  Cut butter into chunks, distributing over the pan evenly.  Sprinkle seasoning evenly on top of everything.  Cover with foil.  Bake 60 minutes.  Done!  (If you want more crispy/textured potatoes, bake un-covered.  But stir the potatoes once half-way through to help them cook more evenly).

Seasoning suggestions:
Italian
Greek
Ranch Dressing mix packet (this was our favorite)
BBQ
simple salt and pepper
Lemon Pepper

Strawberry Banana Bread

I scored some strawberries marked way down in price because they needed to be eaten right away.  No problem for us!  My family was happy to eat this moist loaf of strawberry banana bread for breakfast with some yogurt on the side.


1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana, about 3 large bananas
2 eggs
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a standard bread pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. 

In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix well.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the banana mixture. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in sliced strawberries.

Bake for 55 mins or until golden brown and cooked through. Cool on wire rack before serving.

adapted from this recipe

Zucchini Bacon Quiche

Jessie's quiche was a total winner for everyone in my family.  I kicked myself for not making two to freeze  one or share the yumminess with friends.  The cream cheese on the bottom of the crust gave the quiche a special creamy texture that was delicious.  

1 frozen 9-inch deep dish pie shell 

4 ounces cream cheese

Filling:

6 strips of bacon, diced

1-2 cups of roughly chopped zucchini

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 eggs beaten

1/4 tsp of dried basil

1/4 tsp of dried oregano

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp of pepper

generous pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425

Pre-Bake crust for 10 minutes.

Cool completely.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towel.

Using two tablespoons of the bacon drippings, saute the prepped zucchini, onion, and garlic until tender.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, seasonings, bacon and zucchini mixture.

Cover the bottom of the pie crust with the cream cheese, cut into small pieces.

Pour the zucchini mixture into baked, cooled crust.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover the edges of the pastry with foil if it starts to brown too quickly.  Mine was in for almost 30 minutes.

Beet and Nectarine Salad with Feta

Do you like beets?  I didn't use to, but I think it's because I didn't know how to eat them.  Plain, over-cooked beets are as bad to me as soggy brussel sprouts.  Blech.  The first time I remember trying beets and enjoying them was when a friend served them, cold, with fresh feta and olive oil.  I tried it partly out of curiosity, partly because I love feta, and mostly because I didn't want to be rude and not eat what I was served.  Yum!  I was pleasantly surprised and thus began a new relationship with this beautifully colored vegetable.

Beet smoothies are popular in my home.  Beet greens are great sautéed for quesadillas.  And today I'm sharing a delicious salad made better by beets.  I guess you could leave out the beets and the salad would still be good, but why not give them a try?!  My guess is you'll find the slightly sweet, slightly bitter flavor not too offensive.  And if you don't over-cook them, the beet can add a great texture to this salad.
    

2 medium beets, cooked and cut into wedges (see below for how I like to cook them)
2 ripe nectarines, cut into wedges
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (cook on a dry frying pan for 7-10 minutes)
feta cheese
bed of salad leaves

for the dressing:
3 tsp. honey
2 tsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil

There are many different ways to cook beets.  My preferred method is to steam them with the skins on. Trim the stems and long root then give the beets a good rinse.  Place in your steamer with just enough water so that the beets aren't sitting in water.  Bring water to boil, cover, and turn down heat to simmer 20-30 minutes.  Test with a knife to see if beets are soft all the way through.  Once finished, carefully remove whole beets from steamer and let cool until you can handle them easily.  The skins will rub off, but if you'd rather not have bright red pink all day, wear gloves or use a small knife to scrape them off.  Now you have peeled, cooked beets ready for use!  I steamed four beets, used two for this salad, cut the other two into chunks and put them in the freezer for smoothies.

To assemble the salad:

Start with a bed of salad greens on each plate.  Top with nectarine and beet wedges.  Add crumbled feta and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.

Whisk honey, mustard, vinegar, and oil together to make the dressing.  Drizzle on top of salad and enjoy!

Baked Vegetable Stack

I bought a baguette and roasted some chickpeas to munch on the side of this delicious veggie dish and called it good.  We enjoyed the meal outside and soaked up one of our last relaxed summer evenings.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large zucchini
2 small turnips, peeled
2-3 medium tomatos
3-4 smallish potatoes, peeled
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt, pepper, whatever other seasoning you want to add
2 Tbsp butter, cut into small chunks
1-2 cups grated cheese (I'd suggest mozzarella, parmesan, or monteray jack)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Saute onion and garlic in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

Rub butter on inside of square baking dish.  Spread onion and garlic in the bottom.  Place sliced veggies in dish vertically, in an alternating pattern.  Sprinkle generously with seasonings and top with butter chunks.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Remove foil, top with cheese, and bake for another 20 minutes.  Broil for a minute to give the cheese a golden touch and you're done!

Adapted slightly from this recipe.

Summer Pesto Pizza {with homemade pesto}

We've had a wonderful summer, which has included lots of fresh and light meals.  This pizza, although not as light, tastes deliciously fresh and has been our summer meal of choice.  I used the last of my fresh basil and some ripe tomatoes from our ginormous plant to make it one last time in celebration of my middle gingersnap's first day of preschool.   Yum!  

Recipe from Simply in Season

For the Pesto: 

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1-3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup pine nutes, walnuts, or hazelnuts

3-6 Tbsp Parm cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil

Finely chop together everything but olive oil in food processor or Viatmix.  Add oil gradually while food processor runs to make a thick paste.

For the Dough (I make two crusts out of this):

1 heaping Tbsp active dry yeast

1 1 /4 cups warm water

Stir together in a large bowl until yeast is dissolved.

2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

Add enough flour to make a soft dough.  Knead 8-10 minutes (or use the dough hook in your stand mixer) until smooth and elastic.  Place in greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45-55 minutes.  Generously grease pizza stone or baking sheet with olive oil.  Roll or press dough onto pan.  Bake in preheated oven at 450 for 5 minutes.

1/2 cup Pesto

3 medium tomatoes, sliced

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Spread pesto onto crust.  Top with tomatoes and cheese.  Garnish with fresh basil leaves if you want.  Bake in preheated oven at 450 until cheese is melted, 5-8 minutes. 

Pappardelle with Pesto, Ricotta and Vegetables

This was pretty good, but not great.  It was on the bland side (which I quickly doctored up), but the vegetable combination wasn't something I would have done on my own and worked well.  I think I liked it better cold the second day.

For the Pesto:
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup pine nuts (I've made it with walnuts also and it was good)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a food processor or blender, combine the basil, garlic, pine nuts and cheese.  Pulse until coarse.  If you are using a blender you may need to dig in with a spatula to stir things up a few times.  While running, pour in the olive oil.  Taste, add salt and pepper as desired.


12 oz. pappardelle pasta (fettucine or extra wide egg noodles would be good substitutes)
1 1/2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 15-oz. container ricotta cheese
1 cup chopped tomato
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  In a small bowl, combine the tomato, olive oil and vinegar plus oregano, if using, and stir to combine.  Set aside while cooking the pasta.

Once the water is boiling, add the pasta, beans and corn.  Cook for 7-8 minutes, drain, and rinse.

Place the ricotta cheese in a large serving bowl (this dish can be hard to mix well, so make sure you have a roomy bowl).  Add the pesto and stir to combine.  Add the pasta/veggie mix and toss well but gently to coat.  Pour the tomato mix over the pasta and stir.  Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Barley, Black Bean and Corn Burritos

I could eat this sort of thing on a weekly basis.  Easy to put together, hearty, hints of Mexican flavors . . .  My family isn't as enthusiastic as I am about barley (I love the stuff!), but they liked these burritos enough that I'll be making them again soon.

• 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked pearl barley
• 3/4 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (Rotel)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
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• For Topping:
• grated cheddar cheese
• chopped lettuce
• salsa
• sour cream
• avacado
• fresh cilantro

• Place first 11 ingredients in a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker; stir well. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours or until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro.
• Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spoon 2/3 cup barley mixture down center of each tortilla. Sprinkle each with desired toppings, roll up, and enjoy!