Baby, it's cold outside ...

 So much of my cooking inspiration comes from family. Yesterday, my sister posted to our Facebook group looking for her own inspiration:

Hey sisters. We are going to a trivia night fundraiser. Each couple is bring one savory & one sweet thing. I’m thinking somewhat hearty BC it will serve as dinner, and easily portable. There are 4 couples. Any suggestions?

The responses started rolling in:

Mini beef wellingtons in puff pastry or mini reubens en croute

Empanadas

Tomato-basil-parmesan soup shooters with grilled cheese & caramelized onion toppers

Pulled pork or Italian beef or buffalo chicken sliders. We all must be feeling the cold since most of our suggestions are for warm food!

So, I had to have tomato-basil-parmesan soup with a grilled cheese and caramelized onion sandwich for lunch.

Full disclosure: I’ve been craving a grilled cheese and caramelized onion sandwich for a couple of weeks now.

I had great When Pigs Fly Sourdough Bread in my freezer; you know, just in case of emergency. I had an assortment of cheeses in my deli drawer, from various cheese platters that didn’t get finished, but I just couldn’t bring myself to through out. And I had caramelized onions in the freezer; again, just in case of emergency. Whenever I make caramelized onions, I make a ton, then freeze them in small batches for just this type of emergency. Voila! The perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

This recipe for caramelized onions is adapted from the base of The New Basics Cookbook’s Onion Soup au Gratin recipe. Simplicity is key in this recipe.

Caramelized Onions

8 T butter
8 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Rosemary, thyme, or cayenne, optional

Melt butter. Add onions and garlic, and cook, covered, for about 5-10 minutes until onions are “sweated”. Once, onions are translucent and soft, add sugar, salt, pepper, and other flavorings, if using. Continue cooking until onions are light brown and sugar is melted and incorporated with onions and their juices.

Next up, the Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup. Again, this is an easy fix, perfect for unexpected visitor for lunch, even if that visitor is a craving.

Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup

1 can Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
1 can milk
1 t dried basil or 1 T basil pesto
¼ t freshly ground pepper
¼ c Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, then warm in saucepan over low flame. Do not boil or milk will scorch. Serve topped with a dollop of basil pesto and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Leftovers by any other name (part 4) ... Put an egg on it

hash trio with poached eggs

At Thanksgiving, my friend Kelly said she has a put an egg on it rule for her leftovers: If you can put an egg on it and make a meal out of it, it is a good leftover. And in this season, we really do need new ideas for leftovers!

Last night, in an effort to clean out the remainder of our Thanksgiving leftovers, but not eat the same meal again, I made three kinds of hash with poached eggs. Hash is basically cooked meat and/or vegetables cut into small pieces and cooked again, usually with potatoes. I love onions in my hash, some people also like bell peppers in their hash too. We had ham and sweet potato hash, potato duo hash, and garden vegetable hash. They were delicious, and it was a joy to eat a new meal.

Ham and sweet potato hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover sweet potatoes

Leftover ham

Seasonings

Potato duo hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover sweet potatoes

Leftover mashed potatoes

Seasonings

Garden vegetable hash ingredients

Butter

Onion

Leftover eggplant

Leftover zucchini

Leftover summer squash

Leftover beets

Seasonings

How to make your hash

Melt butter in a skillet. Add finely chopped onion and saute until soft. Add chopped meats and vegetables. Saute until hash starts to brown and crisp. Serve topped with an egg -- poached, fried, or soft-boiled work best.

What leftovers do you have in your refrigerator? Hash is versatile, make up your own!

Mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I have 3 versions of Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar recipes.  One is from here Katie added to a comment under a Choc PB bar Eileen posted.  One is in my hand writing, from Mom's house before I got married (1 1/2 sticks butter, 18 oz PB, 1 pack Graham crackers, 1 LB confectioners sugar)  and then I have a 3rd off of a Nestle's chocolate chip package.  As a non chocolate lover, I don't make them often however, whichever one I've used in the past (2 or 3 times) they came out very crumble.  The bars didn't hold together, I was quite disappointed with the results.  Therese has requested them and I'd love to bring them with us next Saturday for Parent's weekend.  Can someone who makes them regularly confirm the recipe? 

Baby, It’s cold outside

In recognition of our incredibly cold (30-40 below zero this week, eek!), I am re-posting this blog entry from Winter 2009. Enjoy! And stay warm!

Yesterday I had 2½ sick kids (the baby had it first, but was slowest to make a full recovery; her 2 older brothers were more violent about it, but also most eager to get out of the house & back to their lives). It had gone through the three of them so fast, that I was holding my breath for the rest of us not to get it. I needed something that could be ready for whomever was up for eating, whenever they were up for it.

I found this great Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe at allrecipes.com. When I ran to the store for more ginger ale, I also picked up a roasted chicken, I had all the other ingredients in the pantry. It was fabulous to smell it simmering in the crock pot all day, perfect for a hearty dinner on a cold night (the older brothers declined in favor of Lipton Noodle Soup, they weren’t that recovered; but loved the smell and are already begging me to make it for Super Bowl Sunday, which I might), and the leftovers were nice as a light lunch for a girlfriend and myself today. When we had the soup for lunch, I had no more of my homemade tortilla strips, so I just used chips. If we dropped in a few whole just before you ate the soup, they got just soggy-crunchy enough that they added great texture!

The diced green chiles are mild enough for even a delicate taste bud (or sensitive stomach), but if yours are uber-mild (or uber-sensitive), leave them out (and even substitute tomato sauce for the enchilada sauce if you must).

Chicken Tortilla Soup

8 servings

1 lb chicken, shredded, cooked

1 (15 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed by hand

1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (4 oz) can diced green chile peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth

1 t cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t salt

¼ t black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (15 oz) can black beans

1 (10 oz) package frozen corn

¼ c chopped cilantro, plus additional for garnish

7 corn tortillas + cooking spray to make tortilla strips for garnish (or tortilla chips)

sour cream, diced avocado for garnish

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray both sides of tortillas with cooking spray. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips (or chips) over soup. Serve with additional cilantro, sour cream, and avocado.

Smoky Maple-Mustard Salmon Recipe (Low Sodium)

Last night, I made this salmon dish with the mustard maple sauce from eating well.com, Smoky Maple-Mustard Salmon Recipe. It was simple and delicious. Everyone enjoyed it. We are carefully watching sodium in my house, so this coming in at 276 mg of sodium is great!

INGREDIENTS 

• 3 tablespoons whole-grain or Dijon mustard 
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup 
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika or ground chipotle pepper (see Notes) 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (*obviously could be omitted, but because it is so low even with this, I kept it in.)
• 4 4-ounce skinless center-cut wild-caught salmon fillets (see Notes) 

PREPARATION 

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
2. Combine mustard, maple syrup, paprika (or chipotle), pepper and salt in a small bowl. Place salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the mustard mixture evenly on the salmon. Roast until just cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes. (*I turned the broiler on for the last minute or two of cooking which gave the sauce a really beautiful look and tasted great!) 

• Notes: Smoked paprika is made from smoke-dried red peppers and adds earthy, smoky flavor. Look for different types of paprika at some large supermarkets or at tienda.com or penzeys.com. 
• 
  
• Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets or online at penzeys.com. 
• 
  
• Wild-caught salmon from the Pacific (preferably Alaskan) is considered the best choice for the environment because it is more sustainably fished and has a larger, more stable population. Farmed salmon, including Atlantic, should be avoided, as it endangers the wild salmon population. For more information, visit Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch at seafoodwatch.org. 
• 
  

• NUTRITION

  
  
  Per serving: 148 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 53 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 23 g protein; 0 g fiber; 276 mg sodium; 434 mg potassium.
  
  Nutrition Bonus: Omega-3s 
  
  Carbohydrate Servings: 0 
  
  Exchanges: 3 lean meat
  
  

I served it with brown rice and steamed asparagus with balsamic glaze. Both of those dishes had no sodium, so the total count  was the 276. 

Side Note: The brown rice without salt or butter or being cooked in broth (as I often do) was really bland and boring, so we'll play with that a little more. I did find a no salt added broth so perhaps we'll try that next time. If anyone has a great flavor, low-sodium rice recipe, please share. I do like cilantro, lime and garlic mixed into my rice, but that only goes with certain dishes. I guess I'll have to play with it. 

One of the biggest lessons we are learning is to check every label, because not only are we surprised by what ingredients have a lot of sodium, we have also been pleasantly surprised by the ones that are very low or even 0. Those are the things we will focus on having on hand to perk up things that seem a bit more boring. 

Overall, this one is a keeper!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Dig in to this delicious Butternut Squash Lasagna

I love cooking with the seasons. And fall is all about comfort food for me. I love the colors, taste and feel of the root vegetables that are so prevalent. We received a butternut squash from our CSA last week and I was determined to do something fun with it. 

I have had lasagna noodles in my pantry for ages that I hadn't used, so I decided to do a butternut squash lasagna. I looked up a few different recipes, but none of them seemed just right to me. Also, I had no ricotta in the house and I didn't want to go to the store. So, I chose 3 of my favorite recipes and combined them, and played with them, and voila, created a new favorite Butternut Squash Lasagna recipe. It was a huge hit! 

Side note, as my husband was eating leftovers of the lasagna for lunch, he said to me, "I could eat this everyday. Forever." Pretty high praise!

• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 Box lasagna noodles
• 1 cup marinara sauce (homemade or jarred)
• 1/4 c. roasted red pepper, pureed (homemade or jarred)
• 1 handful of basil leaves, chopped
• 6 sausage links
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 6 Tbsp Butter
• 1/4 c Flour
• 6 cups milk
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Step 1: Make Butternut Squash Puree

Cut Butternut Squash in half.

Brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake face down at 400 degrees for 1 hour. 

When done, let cool enough to be able to handle.

Scoop insides out, place in bowl and mash.

Set aside.

Step 2: Cook Lasagna Noodles

Boil one box of lasagna noodles according to directions.

I really find spreading out the cooked noodles on a baking sheet or parchment paper drizzled with olive oil makes a huge difference in the finished product.

Step 3: Make Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce

Blend marinara sauce with roasted red peppers.

Mix in chopped basil.

Set aside.

Step 4: Make Filling

In a hot pan over medium-high heat, sautee garlic and onion in olive oil. 

Remove sausage from casings and add to pan. 

Once cooked, remove to a bowl and mix with butternut squash. 

Set aside.

Step 5: Make Bechamel Sauce

Melt flour in a sauce pan over medium heat. 

Whisk flour into melted butter. Continue cooking over low heat, while whisking. You do not want to let the flour brown.

Slowly whisk in milk, raise heat to medium. 

Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking continuously until thickened (about 10 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat to low and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes. When complete, set aside.

Ready to Assemble (from left): Butternut Squash Sausage filling, cheeses, red sauce, bechamel, lasagna noodles.

Step 6: Put the Lasagna Together

In a 9x13 dish, place a thin layer of Bechamel Sauce.

Add about 5 lasagna noodles on top of sauce, slightly overlapping.

Top with 1/2 of the Butternut Squash Sausage filling.

Top with 1/4 c each cheese

Top with a thin layer of Bechamel Sauce

Add another layer of noodles, Butternut Squash Sausage filling, cheese, Bechamel Sauce.

Top with an additional layer of noodles, Bechamel Sauce, Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce and remaining cheese. 

In the midst of layering: Bechamel, noodles, Butternut Squash Sausage filling

Bake

Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Uncover for the last 5-10 minutes. Let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot.

It was a multi-stop process, as lasagna tends to be, but so worth it! You can easily prep this in stages and can make up to a day ahead to have it ready to pop in the oven for when you need a delicious, hearty meal. You can also bake it ahead and store in smaller serving containers to be available for dinners on the go. 

November 4th is National Candy Day

Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold.
— Judith Olney, author of The Joy of Chocolate

Raise your hands, who has a sugar hangover from Halloween? So, now that we’ve eaten all the candy we can in the last 3 days, what do we do with the rest? I’ve always subscribed to the “eat as much as you can the first couple of days, then get it out of site” theory. To get it out of sight, I usually put the hard candy in a baggie under the passenger seat, for something to pull out on long rides. For the chocolates, I freeze them and we pack them when we go skiing or to the beach or on hikes or picnics throughout the year.

Today is National Candy Day, so I thought I'd share some ideas:

A few years ago my friend, Jeanine, and her daughters gave me a brilliant idea! Bake with it!! Where you would ordinarily put chocolate chips or nuts or raisins, put crushed Halloween candy. The crushing is easiest if you freeze it first, then you only need a few whacks with a meat mallet or a rolling pin. You can put M&Ms or crushed Snickers in brownies or crushed Milky Way in oatmeal cookies. Or, try this version of chocolate chip cookies, just use your favorite Halloween candy in lieu of chips.

Halloween candy cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

2¼ c flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
¾ c sugar
¾ c brown sugar
1 c butter (2 sticks)
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
3 c crushed Halloween candy

Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in crushed candy. Drop by large, rounded tablespoon onto baking sheets. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.