Tag

cheese

Baked Goods Farmer's Market Freezer Meals Main Dishes Vegetarian

Individual Broccoli Cheddar Pot Pies

written by Ali

Summer continues, and I’m still staggering under the weight of all the veggies coming my way locally. Individual Broccoli Cheddar Pot Pies are one of my new ways of managing all the broccoli that grows so happily here on the coast. Who knew? In our CSA a few weeks ago, we received a massive broccoli – it easily weighed three pounds by itself. Not exaggerating. We also keep getting carrots, and more carrots, and more carrots every week. I finally had to cry “Uncle” this past week and let my CSA partner keep the whole share (donate, use – I didn’t care). Because, at the same time as the CSA is gearing up into peak season, so are all the other farmers at the farmer’s market. I had to take vacation time to catch up on my canning and prep the fifty pounds of tomatoes I feel compelled to put up this time of year. Is it possible to have some latent homesteading gene kick in mid-life? I look at all the cans of tomatoes and preserves I’ve got tucked in every nook and cranny in our tiny kitchen and wonder what harsh winter I’m preparing for, exactly?

Regardless, I took some time out to chop up that mega-broccoli to make these individual broccoli cheddar pot pies. It occurred to me that I could make some great individual pot pies using my extra-large muffin tin. The more I thought about it, I also realized I could use up the loan sheet of puff pastry languishing in the freezer to top off the pot pies. The result was these delightful savory pies. These have been absolutely perfect for lunch. They freeze like a dream and heat up easily in the microwave. Paired with a tomato salad and I’ve been in foodie bliss these last few weeks at lunch. I highly recommend these, particularly as we get closer to autumn. These individual broccoli cheddar pot pies are cozy and will make your day.

Yum

Individual Broccoli Cheddar Pot Pies

Ingredients

Crust

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold water

Individual Broccoli Cheddar Pot Pies

2 cups broccoli florets
2 carrots, diced
5 small potatoes, diced
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt to taste
1 sheet puff pastry

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the crust ingredients. Mix just until the ingredients come together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium sized saucepan. Add the broccoli, carrots, and potatoes. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are fork tender.
Add the flour to the vegetables and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add the cheddar cheese.
Butter six large muffin cups. Divide the crust into six balls. Roll out each large enough to cover each muffin cup. Divide the pot pie mixture between each cup. Cut the puff pastry sheet into six squares and lay one on top of each pie.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the puff pastry is puffed and golden brown.
Serves 6.
Enjoy!

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August 27, 2018 0 comment

Freezer Meals Lunch Recipes Main Dishes Vegetarian

Stuffed Shells with Ricotta and Preserved Lemons

written by Ali

It was a cold and blustery weekend here on the Oregon coast, making Stuffed Shells with Ricotta and Preserved Lemons a really good comfort food. It was also a recipe born out of thwarted plans and icy roads. We’ve had great weather all winter long with just a few nights in the high thirties. All of that came to a screeching halt yesterday when the Polar Vortex split into two and decided to extend its icy fingers over the PNW. Yesterday rained, snow pelleted, and rained some more. We went to Bandon for the Gorse Festival Bloody Mary Stroll and came back to slushy streets. My poor herbs and geraniums that have dutifully grown all winter long had to be bundled up in the garage, where they are likely to stay all week long.

All of this to say that, while my original plan for this week’s blog post was Dungeness crab mac and cheese, I gave up when I looked out the window this morning and saw a dusting of snow. Yep, I’m from Colorado originally and driving in snow doesn’t really phase me, but I’ve learned that other motorists who are from this coast and California aren’t quite as skilled. (I don’t fault them – they didn’t learn to drive in March in the snow driving their mother’s 82 Mustang that had absolutely no traction whatsoever). Bottom line was I wasn’t leaving the house.

Fortunately, we’d already grocery shopped and I had all the necessary ingredients set aside for these stuffed shells with ricotta and preserved lemons. I’m sure Dungeness crab will show up on the blog next week. In the meantime, these creamy shells are baked in a glorious white wine cheese sauce. If it’s going to insist on being cold and frozen all week long, at least I’ll have a cozy, comforting lunch.

Yum

Stuffed Shells with Ricotta and Preserved Lemons

Ingredients

16 jumbo pasta shells - cooked according to package directions
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (divided into half)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup half and half
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the ricotta cheese, herbes de Provence, and preserved lemon and stir to combine. Fill each shell with a tablespoon of the cheese mixture and place in a casserole dish. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour, a bit at a time, whisking constantly until all butter is incorporated. Add the white wine slowly and whisk until it is incorporated. Add the half and half and stir over medium heat until the sauce is smooth and begins to thicken. Take the sauce off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Taste and add pepper/salt to taste.
Pour the sauce over the shells. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese has started to turn golden brown. Broil for 1 or 2 minutes if desired.
Serves 4 Enjoy!

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February 20, 2018 0 comment

Farmer's Market Freezer Meals Lunch Recipes Main Dishes Vegetarian

Savory Rhubarb Strawberry Black Bean Enchiladas

written by Ali

Given that I’ve been pretty MIA from the blog the last couple of weeks, I felt like I needed to make my absence up to my readers by making a really good dish: savory rhubarb strawberry black bean enchiladas. Rhubarb and strawberry is not usually a combination you’ll find in savory dishes. That said, the real genesis for Fix Me a Little Lunch came in the summer of 2010 when we signed up for our first CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, how it works is you pay up front at the start of the growing season for a share of produce that you receive every week. Many CSAs will do two sizes of shares – one to feed a larger family and one that’s smaller and fairly manageable for a couple.

Our first CSA was from an organic farmer in Southern Oregon. We got to know our farmers – had the chance to tour the farm and get to know more about how they produced the food we were eating each week. However, we quickly became overwhelmed with the variety and abundance of produce we were getting. I quickly turned to the blog world for help, discovering some of my all time favorite recipes and blogs in the process (which eventually became the inspiration to start my own food blog). One of those recipes was a savory rhubarb and adobo chili enchilada. I’d never had rhubarb in a savory dish before and I was immediately hooked. The combination of sweet and spicy was so good.

This savory rhubarb strawberry black bean enchiladas is a riff on that recipe. I bought the rhubarb specifically for this recipe, but had extra strawberries from our last farmer’s market run. We are sharing a CSA share with another couple this season, but so far, it’s mostly been greens (arugula, bok choy, and lettuce). We’ve been getting our strawberries from the farmer’s market. While tomatoes might not do well in this climate, apparently strawberries love it, so there’s that.

Anyway – this recipe for savory rhubarb strawberry black bean enchiladas is a combination of sweet, savory and spicy. It’s quick to make and freezes like a dream. It’s perfect for lunch, especially with a little mashed up avocado on top and a few pinches of sea salt.

Yum

Savory Rhubarb Strawberry Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cups rhubarb, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 adobo chili, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package corn tortillas
1 cup Monterey Jack or similar shredded cheese

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan. Add the onions and saute until they are lightly browned. Add the rhubarb, strawberries, adobo chili, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft.
In a 8 x 8 glass pan, layer two or three of the corn tortillas on the bottom. Spread half of the rhubarb mix on top. Layer another two corn tortillas. Layer half the beans and 1/2 the cheese. Layer another two corn tortillas and then the rest of the rhubarb mixture and the remaining beans. Top with two or three corn tortillas and then the remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and melted.
Serves 4. Enjoy!

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June 4, 2017 0 comment

Freezer Meals Lunch Recipes Main Dishes Vegetarian

Triple Mushroom and Truffle Risotto

written by Ali

Triple mushroom and truffle risotto is my contribution to Final FantaFeast February, being hosted by Pixelated Provisions. This month’s Fandom Foodies theme is all about the Final Fantasy video game. So full disclosure here – I haven’t actually played Final Fantasy. However, my husband is hooked on Final Fantasy XV, which is the most recent of the Final Fantasy series. I watch sometimes as he plays, peeking over my I-Pad as I watch the latest episode of Top Chef, and have thought it looks interesting. But not interesting enough for me to put down the I-Pad or the latest book I’m reading.

I am, however, fascinated by the role food plays in the game. One of the characters, Ignis, is the chef for the group and throughout the game, players can unlock various recipes, as well as go to the market, and forage for food. Uh yeah – that’s an awesome part of the game as far as I’m concerned. When Fandom Foodies put out the schedule of themes for this year and I saw Final FantaFeast February, I immediately started looking for the foods that Ignis cooks in the game. And when I saw Triple Truffle Risotto, there was no going back.

So the top image is from the game and the bottom is my triple mushroom and truffle recipe. Since I didn’t have access to funguar, alstrooms, and Saxham rice (all the ingredients to make the dish in the game), I opted to go with a mix of mushrooms for the triple part, as well as some truffle oil and truffle cheese. I would have gone full out triple truffle, but $21 for truffle salt at Trader Joe’s was a bit out of even my this-food-is-for-my-blog-cost comfort zone. I love the combination of mushrooms though – some maitakes, some oyster mushrooms, and some creminis. Feel free to substitute out any combination of mushrooms here – this would be lovely with chanterelles when they are in season, as well as morels, and so on.

Risotto takes a bit of time to make – I usually schedule about an hour from start to finish, as I like to baby it along. A long slow simmer of the rice and stock is the key to a lush creamy risotto. I also tossed in a cipollini onion – and honestly, if you can find these in your market, I encourage you to use one to make this dish. Cipollinis become caramel rich when they are cooked (and even better – when they are cooked in butter), making them a perfect complement to the mushrooms.

I think my triple mushroom and truffle recipe would do Ignis proud.

Yum

Triple Mushroom and Truffle Risotto

Ingredients

For the mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 types of mushrooms, chopped. (About 2 cups of mushrooms, total)
1/4 cup white wine or dry Vermouth

For the risotto

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine or dry Vermouth
5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup truffle cheese, grated (or Parmesan or Asiago cheese)
Truffle oil to finish

Instructions

For the mushrooms

In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the diced onion and saute until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and saute for a minute. Add the white wine or dry Vermouth and salt, and saute until all the liquid has cooked off. Set aside.

For the risotto

In a small saucepan, bring the vegetable or chicken stock to a simmer. Leave simmering.
Meanwhile, melt two tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook until they are soft and translucent. Add the Arborio rice and cook for a minute, stirring frequently. Add the white wine or dry Vermouth and stir until it is incorporated in the rice/onion mixture.
Add the simmering stock, 1 cup at a time. Cook on a low simmer between each addition until the stock is mostly absorbed. This will take anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes. Continue to do this until all the stock is used and the risotto is al dente. Take off the heat and add the cheese and salt. Stir to incorporate. Add a dash of truffle oil.
Portion into bowls and top each bowl with the mushroom mix. Enjoy!
Serves 4

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This recipe is linked to Meatless Monday, hosted by Deborah (Confessions of a Mother Runner) and Sarah (A Whisk and Two Wands). Take a look at the great recipes being linked!

It’s also hanging out with some other really wonderful recipes on #CookBlogShare at EasyPeasieFoodie.

February 6, 2017 8 comments

Baked Goods Breads Lunch Recipes

Baguettes and French Kiss Sandwiches

written by Ali

This month’s Food ‘n Flix pick resulted in honeymoon nostalgia and these baguettes and French Kiss sandwiches. French Kiss is a lighthearted comedy from 1995, starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. The basic plot of the movie is woman (Meg Ryan) loses boyfriend to another woman, goes to Paris to track him down, meets a jewel thief (Kevin Kline) along the way, and then falls in love with the jewel thief. It’s a cute romantic comedy – the kind of thing that my husband plays video games through and mixes up with another cute romantic comedy (namely Runaway Bride) which we watched a few weeks after.

And maybe it’s because I’m equally a cynic, what I mostly thought about the movie after I finished watching it was – oh those simpler times in the 90s when a woman could safely run off with a man she barely knows after losing her passport and money to his family’s vineyard without fear of being murdered. Just saying. Still – what a vineyard!

My one challenge with watching movies for Food ‘n Flix is this – I watch them as a food blogger, which means I want them to slow down and focus on the food! It’s Paris – it’s France – show me beautiful food! There was beautiful food in this movie, just not enough of it that was up close and personal. So my inspiration ended up being less of something in the actual movie and more of Paris itself. What better way to celebrate Paris than with baguettes and French Kiss sandwiches?

A big part of my inspiration also came from all the memories that watching this movie brought up of Clay and my honeymoon nine years ago. We did a two week Europe trip – starting in Paris, taking a train to Amsterdam, and then flying to Rome and then home. My one regret, particularly from the Paris part of the trip, was that I was still a hard-core vegetarian, and even though I was drooling over every baguette with ham and cheese that Clay ate, I stuck to the baguettes with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. No – I wasn’t suffering that much. But still, these baguettes and French Kiss sandwich are my attempt to recapture the days we spent in Paris and the glorious smells of the bakeries and the beautiful slow food that was everywhere around us.

The baguette recipe is adapted from a King Arthur recipe. I reduced the rise time without any negative impact on the taste of the baguette. I do use a starter, which I realize adds time and the need for advanced planning to make these, but I promise you, it’s worth it. The actual hands on time with these is minimal – 15 minutes at the most.

Yum

Baguettes and French Kiss Sandwiches

Ingredients

Starter

¼ teaspoon active yeast
½ cup warm water (around 115 degrees)
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour

Dough

1 cup warm water (115 degrees)
1 teaspoon yeast
All of the starter
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 ¼ cups flour

For the French Kiss Sandwiches (for two sandwiches)

4 – 6 slices of Jamon Serrano (or prosciutto or thinly sliced ham)
8 thin slices of brie cheese

Instructions

Start the starter the night before. Combine all the ingredients for the starter in a medium bowl and stir. This should form a sticky dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight – about 14 hours will do it, though the starter is forgiving.
To make the dough
Combine the warm water, the yeast, and all of the starter. Mix until the starter is mostly incorporated. Add 3 cups of the flour and the salt. Combine to make a shaggy dough and then knead the dough for 6 minutes on a floured surface. Add a bit of the remaining flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to you. Shape the dough into a ball and put it back in the bowl.

First Rise

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.

Second Rise

After 45 minutes, punch the dough down (deflate it). Cover it again and let rise for 1 hour.

Shaping the Dough and Preparing it for Baking

After the second rise, deflate the dough again and cut it into four even sections. (You can also divide it into two sections or six sections – depending on how many baguettes you want to make). Roll the sections of dough into rectangles and fold them into baguette shapes, placing the seam-side down.
Place the shaped baguettes on a lightly greased baking sheet.
[The baguettes may spread a bit during the final rise– so if you want more classically shaped bread, you can place the baguettes on parchment paper or a clean dishtowel and pull up a bit of parchment paper or dishtowel between each baguette to help it keep its shape. If you do this, when it’s time to bake, you’ll need to gently roll the baguettes onto a greased baking sheet.]
Cover the baguettes with plastic wrap and let rise for 50 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees 20 minutes before the end of the final rise. To get a nice crispy baguette, it helps to have a very hot oven.
Once the baguettes have completed the final rise, transfer them to the baking sheet (if you need to) and then place them in the oven. If you have a spray bottle with water handy, gently spray the baguettes, being careful not to spray your oven’s element. Bake for 20 minutes or until the baguettes are a golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Turn the oven off, crack open the oven door, and let the baguettes sit in the oven for 10 minutes after they are done. This helps get an even crispier texture on the outside.
Let the baguettes cool for at least 30 minutes. When they are cool, to assemble a sandwich, slice the baguette in half and place the brie and jamon on the baguette. Enjoy!

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This post is also linked to to #CookBlogShare at the Easy Peasy Foodie’s site. Check out all the great recipes!

January 16, 2017 29 comments

Appetizers Baked Goods Breakfast Holiday Recipes

Cacio e Pepe Scones

written by Ali

Cacio e Pepe scones are my contribution to Food’n Flix this month. Food’n Flix is a fun blogging opportunity to watch the same movie as other amazing food bloggers and be inspired. This month’s movie, Burnt, was hosted by Caroline Makes. Burnt is an absolutely quintessential cooking movie about a burned out chef who makes a major come back and finds love and inspiration along the way.

The first time I watched Burnt was on an airplane on my I-Pad on the way to Indianapolis a few weeks ago. I thought that creating food inspired from this movie would be easy – it’s a movie about a chef and about food, after all, so how hard could it be? After watching the movie through the first time, I realized it was going to be more challenging than I’d originally thought. There are so many fast paced camera shots of all the food that the main character Adam, played by Bradley Cooper, plates, serves, and eats that I couldn’t quite figure out what was actually being cooked. Then I was distracted by the plot line and found myself more engaged with the drama between the characters than the food. So I watched the movie a second time this past week while I was in Chicago, pen and notebook in hand. It provided a great distraction from all the real-world drama that was going on with the US election. So much beautiful food: seared shrimp, bouillabaisse, summer vegetables on ricotta cheese, turbot, beets, oysters, omelettes, mushrooms, beef, lamb. But my favorite food moment in the film is at the very start when Adam suggests adding chopped sage to a luscious looking bowl of cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper pasta). I got to thinking about the combination of cheese and black pepper and then even more about food and how it can bring such comfort – whether one is taking care of a chef who has gone on a binge by cooking a simple omelette or if one is just trying to recover from the election hangover. I love cheese and black pepper and I love scones, so decided to see what would happen if I combined these elements.

I have to say that I’m very pleased with how these scones turned out. I even went digging through the pantry to find a jar of tomato jam I made last year to see how it would taste on a scone (it’s delicious). These are so creamy they are nearly biscuit like, so I’m pretty sure we are going to make some sausage gravy next weekend and warm up a few scones in lieu of biscuits. I also think these would be great with a glass of a robust red wine as a holiday appetizer.

Cacio e Pepe Scones
Makes 12 scones

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 cup butter
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano or similar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and black pepper. Cut the butter into slices. Add the butter into the dry mixture and either use a pastry cutter or your hands to incorporate the butter until it forms pea size chunks. Add the cheese and mix it in. Add the heavy cream and egg gently incorporating until all the flour/butter mixture is wet and sticks together in a shaggy dough.

Turn the dough out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and form into a circle. Cut the dough into twelve pieces that radiate out from the middle of the circle. Gently separate each piece – you want just a bit of space between each scone so that they can rise.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops of the scones are golden brown. Enjoy!

November 14, 2016 17 comments

Freezer Meals Main Dishes

Sausage and Spinach Mac and Cheese

written by Ali

The past weekend was the weekend for comfort food, including this sausage and spinach mac and cheese. As the weather turns gloomy and we realize that the three hour move north really will make a difference in terms of the number of cloudy days and rain, I’m starting to dig around more in Pinterest and my own recipe archives to find foods that evoke warmth and coziness. Mac and cheese is definitely one of these – it’s super indulgent and satisfying.

I much prefer making my own cheese sauce rather than eating mac and cheese made out of the contents of a box. Making cheese sauce can be intimidating, as to get it to the proper thickness, you start with a roux. A roux definitely borders the line between easy cooking into a more Martha Stewart or Nigella Lawson world, but I promise you, it’s not nearly as complicated as it might seem. The key is low heat and paying attention to the butter and flour in the first stage and then keeping a close eye on the milk or cream in the second stage. Keep it on low, use a whisk to keep stirring, and just keep stirring and it will turn out just fine.

I recommend some sort of chicken sausage for this recipe – I used an Olympia Provisions sausage (OP is quite popular in this part of the PNW). Spinach is a good go-to green to include, though this would work well with chard or kale, as well.

Sausage and Spinach Mac and Cheese
Serves 4

Cheese Sauce
1 head roasted garlic (optional)
3 tablespoons butter
1 ½ tablespoons flour
1 cup half and half or milk
2 cups cheese (gruyere works well, as does cheddar)

Filling
4 precooked sausages, chopped into ½ inch pieces
1 bunch spinach
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ package rotini pasta or similar

Breadcrumb Topping
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil

Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the pasta according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, wash and chop the spinach. Sauté the spinach on medium heat in 1 teaspoon olive oil until it is wilted. Remove from the heat and drain in a colander to remove excess moisture. Set aside.

Make the cheese sauce. Add the butter and roasted garlic (if using) to a small sauce pan. Melt the butter over low heat and mash the garlic as the butter melts. Once the butter is melted, add the flour a little bit at a time and whisk it into the butter as you add. When all the flour is incorporated, cook on low for a minute, continuously whisking. Add the milk or half and half and continue to stir for about 5-7 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Once thickened, remove from heat and add the cheese, stirring to incorporate.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Assemble the pasta, sausage, and spinach in an oven-proof pan. An 11 x 13 Pyrex pan works well for this. Spoon the cheese sauce over the pasta mixture and gently fold in. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the breadcrumb topping and then spread the topping over the mac and cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Enjoy!

September 24, 2016 0 comment

Baked Goods Freezer Meals Main Dishes

Chicken, Broccoli, Cheddar Calzones

written by Ali

For this week’s Sunday Supper, I want to share one of my comfort foods: chicken, broccoli, cheddar calzones. Calzones are such a perfect food – dough and filling. Best yet, they are very, very freezer friendly, so, though they can take a bit of time to put together, they work well for super easy weekday meals: pull the calzone out of the freezer and toss it in the oven (still foil wrapped) for 45 minutes or so at 350 degrees.

It’s started to rain again in my part of the PNW, so I have little desire to do much beyond sit around, read, and cook comfort food. With this weather, I’m also much more likely to want to cook something “fancy” on the weekend, so you’ll likely see a few posts like this one this fall and winter. I also can’t resist roasted garlic – so if you aren’t a fan, feel free to leave it out. Calzones are so very versatile – I highly encourage you to think of other great combinations for the filling and use the dough as a base for your own creations.

Chicken, Broccoli, Cheddar Calzones
Serves 6

Calzone Dough
2 cups warm water
2 packets active dry yeast (or 4 ½ teaspoons yeast)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups flour

Cheese Sauce
Roasted garlic from one head roasted garlic
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
¾ cup half and half
¾ cup shredded cheddar or gruyere cheese

Filling
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 head broccoli
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place chicken thighs into an oven proof dish and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with one teaspoon salt. Bake for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Once thighs are cooked, set aside.

While the chicken is cooking, make the dough. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let sit for a few minutes until the yeast becomes foamy. Add the olive oil to the yeast, and then one cup flour and the salt. Mix. Continue to add flour until the dough comes together in a shaggy ball. Turn out on a well-surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes. The dough should be a bit sticky still but not so much so that it sticks to your hands or to the surface. Let the dough rise for an hour in a bowl covered with oiled plastic wrap or a few clean tea towels. Punch the dough down and let it rise for another hour.

Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees.

In the last half hour that the dough is rising, prepare the cheese sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and add the roast garlic. Stir a few times and then whisk the flour in a little bit at a time. Once the flour is fully incorporated, let cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for a minute. Add the half and half slowly, continuing to stir until it is fully incorporated. Continue to stir until the sauce starts to thicken. Take the sauce off the burner and stir in the cheese. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Chop the broccoli into small pieces. Sauté in a non-stick pan for five to seven minutes to slightly soften. Chop the chicken into small pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, broccoli, sauce, and remaining shredded cheese. Stir well.

Punch down the calzone dough and split into six pieces. On a well-floured surface, roll out the first piece into a circle. Place 1/6^th of the chicken and sauce mixture in the middle of the circle and fold half over the filling. Crimp down around the edges and place the calzone on the parchment lined baking sheet. Do the same with the remaining dough and filling.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the calzones are golden brown on top and bottom. Enjoy!

I’m pleased to have this recipe on the Saucy Saturdays Blog Hop. Please take a minute and check out the links to the hosts’ websites – these are some of my favorite blogs and Instagram feeds!

La Petit Chef
Mid-life Croissant
Take Two Tapas
The Flavor Blender

September 18, 2016 0 comment

Breakfast Farmer's Market Freezer Meals Lunch Recipes

Squash Blossom Quiche

written by Ali

I planted one summer squash plant this year for one purpose alone: to have access to squash blossoms for this squash blossom quiche. Squash blossoms seem like they have become a thing, like kale and bacon. I suspect I was first introduced to the fact you could eat squash blossoms through reading Martha Stewart’s magazine, but I think the first time I actually tried one was at a coastal restaurant that served them stuffed with shrimp and cheese and deep fried them. At the same time, we had a farmer at our local market that would come to market each weekend with trays and trays of both baby zucchini and squash blossoms, so I decided to experiment and see what I could make of them.

The simplest preparation for these that I cook is to throw several into a quesadilla. The blossoms add a mildly peppery taste. The most complex preparation that I cook with these is this quiche. I really like the combination of egg and blossom, and this is a recipe that freezes up nicely, so is great for lunch with a simple salad to accompany it. It also makes a great weekend brunch recipe.

Squash Blossom Quiche
Serves 4

4 small potatoes (or 1 large)
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup Swiss cheese (or other mild cheese)
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
4 or 5 squash blossoms, stamens removed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the potatoes to ¼ inch thickness. Layer them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes or until both sides are slightly crispy.

Drop the temperature on the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, combine the eggs and milk and beat until combined. Add the Swiss cheese, salt and black pepper and stir until combined.

In a non-stick cake pan or pie pan, layer the potato rounds so that they overlap a bit and cover the bottom of the pan. Gently pour the egg, milk, and cheese mixture over the potatoes. The potatoes may float – they’ll settle into the bottom as the quiche cooks. Lay the squash blossoms on top. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until the egg is fully set (check for doneness by inserting a knife or toothpick into the middle of the quiche – if it comes out clean, the quiche is done).

August 4, 2016 0 comment

Lunch Recipes Vegetarian

Roasted Tomato and Burrata Pasta Salad

written by Ali

When life gives you half an hour to make your lunch for the week, along with the first of the summer tomatoes and an abundant crop of basil, make Roasted Tomato and Burrata Bow Tie Pasta Salad. So if you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a number of beach-focused posts this past weekend. One of the greatest parts of living in this part of the PNW is that the beach is only two hours away, and I was fortunate to happen to have a meeting along the coast on Friday, which led to a night’s stay in Bandon, Oregon, a small tourist town along the southern Oregon coast. I ate seafood, picked up rocks and shells, and wandered along the beach. This meant, however, that Saturday was consumed with beach-time and driving, leaving just one day to run errands and cook on Sunday. I also realized, belatedly, that the Vancouver Marathon was happening on Sunday, which meant virtually no parking for the farmer’s market in Vancouver. This gave me a great excuse for going to a different market across the river in Portland – the Montavilla neighborhood market, where I found the first cherry tomatoes of the season. After having also crammed in shopping, a father’s day phone call, and a haircut, I was left with little time to be super kitchen creative.

Thus, bow tie pasta salad with roasted tomatoes, basil and Burrata cheese. Burrata cheese looks like a large round chunk of mozzarella. The difference is that the exterior is very mozzarella like, while the interior is filled with creamy curds that melt very nicely. It’s divine. Burrata was a rarity when we lived in rural Oregon, but here in the Portland area, it’s much easier to find. This recipe comes together very quickly and makes a great lunch dish. It would hold up well for a picnic, too.

Roasted Tomato and Burrata Bow Tie Pasta Salad
Serves 4

8 ounces dried bow tie pasta
15-20 cherry tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic chopped finely
2 balls of burrata
10-15 leaves of basil, torn into bite-size pieces
Salt to taste
Ground pepper to taste
Olive oil to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the whole cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet or pie pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the chopped garlic. Roast for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are wrinkly and soft. Set aside and let cool.

Fill a saucepan about half way with water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain the pasta.

Combine the drained pasta, the roasted tomatoes, and basil and toss. Tear the burrata into chunks and add to the pasta/tomato/basil combination. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of ground pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

This can be eaten as is, or left overnight in the fridge and reheated the next day – no more than a minute or two in the microwave.

June 21, 2016 0 comment

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