Melissa's Cooking!

Ok…I’M SO SORRY it’s been forever for a post. I have no good excuse, except for laziness I’ve cooked an okay amount, but really haven’t felt that creative in the cooking of new things lately. We have the typical how we steam particular veggies, or sauté other veggies…or roast potatoes. So it really wouldn’t have been anything new new to post here. (Although, I’ve made a REALLY good chicken breast recipe a couple times within the past couple of months…we have more chicken breast from ‘the farm’ (read below), that I’ll have to post about when we make it again soon…YES, I’ve eaten chicken a couple of times, but only because it was a happy chicken and was fed well

Over the summer, we belonged to a C.S.A. (community supported agriculture). The positives were that every week, we got a loaf of bread, dozen eggs (protein and 8 fruits and veggies. Never lacked in the fruits and veggie department in our household. However, we should have found something closer to where we live, because every Thursday…from the time we would drive from work in town, clear out to the farm and back home, it was about 1-1/2 hours in the car   So that kind of made us dread going there as the summer went on. Who wants to drive that much after working an 8-hour day?  Sometimes the veggies or fruits, we just weren’t in the mood for, so we may not have eaten everything. A couple times we were out of town, and lost out on that prepaid food. But all in all…I felt great about supporting a local farm. Probably won’t do next year, although I highly recommend anyone trying it at least. It’s a good thing. We’ll just continue to support our local grocery store ‘Roots‘ as we always do.

Lentil and Quinoa Stew

OKAY….so I did make this REALLY GOOD stew yesterday. Very hearty (yet light and nutritious!) and perfect for the chilly Fall weather. It originally started out as a recipe for a “Pinto Bean and Barley Stew,” but I realized that the barley I had in a storage container was probably a little too dated too use, so I used quinoa. And I felt like using lentils instead of pinto beans (more protein!)  So…it became my own (But you can totally use pinto beans and/or barley instead of lentils or quinoa

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 TBS of EV olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup quinoa (I used Traditional, but you could totally use Red Quinoa)
• 7 cups vegetable low-sodium broth
• 1 can of lentil beans (about 1-1/2 to 2 cups)
• 1 cup salsa (I used mild Muir Glen, but you can use whatever you want, however spiciness you prefer)

Spices:

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon celery salt

Method:

Sauté the onion in EV olive oil for a few minutes until the onion is a little translucent. Add the carrots and garlic and sauté for a few more minutes. Add the vegetable broth and quinoa, stirring in the bay leaf and the rest of the spices as well. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Stir in the salsa and lentils. Cover and keep on simmering for as long as you would like. (The longer it stews, the longer the flavors can work into each other. So it’s especially good the next day.)

Once you’re ready to eat, serve with a dollop of sour cream, some Parmesan cheese and some yummy gourmet bread on the side.

There probably are about 8 servings. Perhaps less if you love this as much as we did ENJOY!!!!

(This is a post from back in July, that I just found in drafts…so keep in mind, this is from July

HELLO! I know it’s been SO long since I posted anything. I really have made some yummy food since the last cooking post. And I need to post them. But for now, I want to post what we made yesterday.

We joined a CSA (Community Support Agriculture) this summer. It’s awesome. We go out to a local farm and get 8 fruits or vegetables, a loaf of local gourmet bread and dozen eggs EVERY WEEK. So I am researching and/or coming up with recipes to go along with the foods we are getting.

So this recipe is using green beans, blueberries and potatoes from the CSA.

Let’s start with the Blueberry Sage Halibut.

1 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon snipped fresh sage
½ teaspoon black pepper

4 5- to 6-ounce fresh or frozen halibut steaks or fillets, about 1-inch thick
1 cup garlic croutons, coarsely crushed
¼ cup snipped fresh sage
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat the oven to 350.

In a medium bowl mash ¾ cup of blueberries with a potato masher or a fork. Stir in remaining ¼ cup blueberries, teaspoon of fresh snipped sage, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.

Rinse fish; pat dry. In a small bowl combine crushed croutons, ¼ cup fresh snipped sage, orange peel, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Stir in orange juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil until lightly moistened. Set aside.

Bake the fish for 20-25 minutes. (The halibut filet should be very fresh, and preferably about 1 inch thick. If it is thicker, it may take a few minutes longer to bake. Check for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife into the center of the fish. Halibut should flake easily when done, yet still be moist. Cook it until the center is still slightly transparent and not yet flakey and remove from heat. It will continue to cook and be perfect when you eat it. This dish is so easy and simple that the key to its success is fresh ingredients.) Top it with the mashed blueberry sauce.

(NOTE: Since this was made back in July, I don’t recall how to make the Honey Orange Green beans, besides for snapping the ends off of your beans, rinsing, and steaming them for 5 minutes. I guess you mix honey and orange with your beans

The Sage Roasted Potatoes. Heat oven to, well keep it the same as for the Halibut at 350 degrees. Cut up your potatoes. Mix them with EV olive oil, salt, pepper and freshly cut sage. Spread out on cookie sheet. Roast until crisp or as crispy as you’d like…probably about 40-45 minutes.

Another risotto recipe!!! We sure do love the risotto!!! How can I top the Tomato Risotto? I can’t, I don’t think ever, but since I have my awesome risotto pan, I’m going to keep trying new recipes

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 6-8 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups of chopped crimini mushrooms
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese + more to liking
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice the top off the head of garlic. Put it on a large square of aluminum foil and drizzle 1 teaspoon of the extra-virgin olive oil over the exposed cloves. Wrap the foil around and over the garlic. Roast until it is soft, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool. (For more information on how to Roast Garlic, I found this web page: http://whatscookingamerica.net/rstgarlic.htm.)

For the RISOTTO portion of the dish. Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms release their juices, about 5 minutes.

Add the Arborio rice to the onion-butter mixture and mix well, so all the rice grains are coated, about 1 minute. Add the white wine to the rice mixture and continue stirring constantly to ensure that none of the rice sticks, until the wine has been completely absorbed and the rice is soft but not sticky, about 1 minute.

Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes. I use all 8 cups of the veggie broth.

During the last minutes of cooking, once the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is nice and creamy, stir in the butter, Parmesan and the garlic pulp. Serve immediately. Add salt, pepper and more Parmesan cheese to your liking.

Enjoy!!!! (Oh, when you get a garlic pulp bite during eating, it tastes amazing! Next time, I will probably figure out a way to be able to stir up the garlic a little better, whether it is to mash the garlic or add more when stirring in the risotto, but the garlic really makes it taste great.)

Creamy Mac & Cheese

I had a hankering for Mac & Cheese the other day. But how many times have we all resorted to the stuff in the box??! Um, not anymore!!! I looked for recipes online, but most of what I found had too many ingredients. Too much to it. All I wanted was simple. I wanted to use pasta, some butter and gourmet cheese…so I decided to just wing it and do it how I think I know how to and it turned out exactly what I had in mind!

Mac & Cheese Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
(I cooked enough for 2-3 servings, but make enough for what you need and wing the amount of ingredients like I did…)
• pasta
• 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 TBS of butter
• 2 TBS of milk
• Sea salt and pepper

Prepare pasta as directed. Once pasta is drained, return to pot on warm burner. Add butter, milk, cheese, salt and pepper and stir until all is melted…and perfect and creamy!

Steamed Green Beans & Carrots

So in addition to Mac & Cheese, I needed a couple other parts to this meal. Dave suggested Salmon, so he prepared the Salmon (which how to make is described here: http://www.melissascooking.com/2009/09/01/broiledsalmondish/)

Veggies were also needed to round out this meal, so I healthy steamed fresh green beans and carrots. I’ve described how to healthy steam before, but I’ll describe again…

Steamed Green Beans & Carrots Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• Fresh Green Beans (about 20-25 beans)
• Fresh carrots (about 4-5)

(Mediterranean dressing which includes…)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Healthy steam your veggies! (This is a gentle way to prepare your veggies to enhance their flavor, bring out their color, make them tender and preserves most of its ingredients.) Chop off the ends to your fresh picked green beans. Peel and chop your carrots up to about .5-1 inch chunks. Bring steaming water to a boil in your steamer pot. Add your beans and carrots. Cover and steam for 5 minutes…adding the garlic to veggies for the last 2 minutes of steaming. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the remaining Mediterranean dressing ingredients while veggies are still hot. They give you the amounts for the dressing, but I wing it….do what you want to what you like!

Enjoy!

Fairly easy dinner tonight…Bruschetta! So yummy…and until I got my food processor, I used to not mind paying the $6-10 that you do at restaurants for this, cause chopping up all the ingredients yourself is a huge pain…BUT with the food processor…easy.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• pint of cherry tomatoes
• about 1/2 cups of fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil & enough to brush on the bread
• 4 slices of gourmet bread
• slices of cheese (we used sharp cheddar, but mozzarella would work too!)
• salt and pepper

Turn the oven on to 350 degrees.

Throw the tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic, olive oil and a bit of salt into the food processor. (Or if you don’t have a processor…chop those babies up…and combine!) Get the consistency of the tomatoes being about 1/8 inches thick…gets a bit watery too and that’s ok.

Brush some olive oil onto your bread on both sides. Spoon some bruschetta to cover the bread. Place some sliced cheese on top. Grind some salt and pepper on top and stick in the oven for about 10-13 minutes (or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted).

Enjoy!!!

First of all, I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season and best wishes for the coming New Year. I apologize I haven’t posted anything in a few weeks. I’ve made this risotto a couple times, and also have taken it easy by making recipes that I’ve already posted…so except for my delay in posting this, I haven’t had anything else to really post in awhile.

So, I made this risotto a few weeks ago, and my husband said this was the best thing I’ve ever made. And I can’t lie: this dish is VERY delicious.

It’s risotto, so that means that it does take a good bit of time to make, and with this particular recipe, it takes extra time for roasting tomatoes beforehand. So save this for a weekend to make and enjoy. If it’s the 2 of your, you’ll have plenty of leftovers. If there’s a family, there will be plenty for the meal.

There are 3 parts to this: Baked tomatoes, a tomato topping and the risotto. The timing of preparing each part is tricky. You want to start with roasting the tomatoes (which takes an hour, not including prep time), stove-top cook the tomato topping (which takes about 40 minutes), as well as making the risotto…which requires the baked tomatoes (which, again, takes an hour in itself to bake). So, again, start with baking the tomatoes, then get the tomato topping going, then by that time the roasted tomatoes should be about done and you should be ready to prep and start the risotto portion.

For the BAKED TOMATOS – Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 pound tomatoes (about 8 small beefsteak)
• 1/4 tsp each sea salt and coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 clove garlic, sliced Goodfellas thin

For the TOMATO TOPPING – Ingredients include:
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt

For the RICE- Ingredients include:
• 6-8 cups  reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. SO, to start, you want to BAKE THE TOMATOES for an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the beefsteak tomatoes in half and lay them face-up on a sheet pan. Sprinkle them with the sea salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Lay a slice or 2 of garlic on top of each tomato half. Bake the tomatoes on the middle rack of the oven, uncovered until they’re a bit grilled-looking and soft and yummy (about 1 hour). Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow to cook a bit. Chop the tomatoes roughly and reserve them in a bowl, along with as much liquid as you can retain.

2. After you get the roasted tomatoes in the oven, move on to the TOMATO TOPPING. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and throw them in a pan, then add the olive oil and salt. Cook this over low heat until the oil is bubbly, the tomatoes are soft and the mixture looks like a chunky sauce. I preferred cooking this for about 40 minutes (while the risotto cooks).

3. Now for the RICE/RISOTTO portion of the dish. Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes to the onion-butter mixture and stir to combine.

Add the Arborio rice to the onion-butter mixture and mix well, so all the rice grains are coated, about 1 minute. Add the white wine to the rice mixture and continue stirring constantly to ensure that none of the rice sticks, until the wine has been completely absorbed and the rice is soft but not sticky, about 1 minute.

Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. Add the chopped BAKED TOMATOES with their liquid. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes.

During the last minutes of cooking, add remaining tablespoon of butter and 1/3 cup Parmesan. At this point the rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. Serve with remaining grated Parmesan. Add some rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix well, so the risotto becomes rich and well combined. If the risotto is too thick for your taste, add a little leftover stock or water.

Serve in individual bowls, topped with the TOMATO MIXTURE and a little more Parmesan cheese and rosemary for garnish on top.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

This soup is very tasty and light. It’s pretty quick to make and has lots of nutrients in it.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 (32-ounce) box reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• 4 cups packed chopped kale***
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian-Style Diced Tomatoes
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• two large carrots, peeled and sliced

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add broth, kale and tomatoes and fresh carrots and cover. Cook 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Add beans and heat thoroughly. Serve hot.

Add fresh Parmesan cheese and extra salt if wanted. Enjoy!

***I’d like to add a note after having the leftover soup sit overnight in the fridge. You might want to add only enough Kale that you will be eating the evening that you cook up the soup. If you have leftover Kale, it will turn brown on you and then it’s just gross to look at, not to mention, I’m sure all the nutrients are probably gone.

My suggestion: Add only the amount of Kale that you will need for your first batch, and then if you have leftovers for the next night, cook up new Kale for that next batch.

So I wanted to try a couple recipes to maybe make to contribute a dish for Thanksgiving dinner, so I tried the Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake. It turned out to be quite a yummy dish. Watch out on the amount of Cranberries you use, because they can be rather tart. So with each bite, limit the cranberries and you will get a very seasonal and delightful taste in your mouth! This is almost appetizer like, but can definitely be used as a side to your meal.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 large tart cooking apples cut into 1/2-inch thick slices (I used Granny Smiths)
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice and peel squash and apples.

Put squash cubes in ungreased 7×11-inch baking dish. Place apples on top and then cranberries. Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and nutmeg and sprinkle on top. Dot with butter. Bake 50-60 minutes.

Plenty for everyone! It kept well in the refrigerator over night, so it can be eaten the next day too.

Now these veggie burgers, I have made quite a few times because they are good and good for you, filled with protein, fiber and nutrients. Each time we have them, we love them, however, a few times, they’ve been bland. So to try to make them tastier, I decided to try a few things different. It used to have celery, which I didn’t use this time…and I added a lot more seasoning/spices than I did previously.

Along with the burgers, I made the quick-boiled spinach which you can find under the Yummy Veggie Wrap here, as well as some roasted some sweet potatoes (described below).

Lentil Veggie Burger ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 cup canned lentil beans
• 1 cup carrots, shredded or finely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
  
• small zucchini, finely diced
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup tomato paste (1 6 oz. can)
• 1 TBS Italian seasoning
• 1 TBS Basil
• 1 TBS Oregano
  
• 2 tsp to 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Ketchup (optional)
• Guacamole (optional)
• Cheese of your liking (optional)
• Sliced tomatoes (optional)
• Sliced whole wheat bread (optional)
  

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your vegetables. (For the dicing of the vegetables, I used a food processor. This totally saves a lot of preparation time.) I mixed all the ingredients together and formed into patties. Place the patties on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes on each side until a golden brown.

Place your burger on your bread and serve with ketchup, guacamole, cheese and/or sliced tomatoes. This will make about 8-10 patties.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 very large or 2 large sweet potatoes
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Rosemary
• Pepper

Cut up the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes. Mix together the potatoes with the olive oil, rosemary and pepper. Spread out on an oiled baking sheet. Pretty much the amount of time the burgers are baking at 350 degrees, the potatoes can take just as long to roast. I like my potatoes a bit crispy, but definitely take yours out sooner when you see that they are done to your liking.

Serve with the burger and spinach and ENJOY!

With the sweet potatoes and apple cider stewed together with the juicy diced tomatoes and veggie broth, and with the addition of Italian sausage, it seriously tastes what Fall should taste like. A bit on the sweeter side, but again, very seasonal and delicious. I found this recipe online, made my own adjustments and it turned out to be super yummy. Needs a tad of tweaking, but what I made is quite good!

Again, like the Burger Soup, feel free to use animal sausage…but I used the Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages…which added a nice flavor to the overall soup.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 box of Veggie Broth (4 cups)
• 1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1.5 tsp of cumin
• 2 tsp of paprika
• 1.5 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 package of Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages (or 1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey)
•1 large (or 2 small) sweet potatoes chopped in small cubes)
• 2 cups apple cider

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes…Enjoy!

Note: This is plenty for a family of 4 to 6, but if it’s just the 2 of you, you will have enough for lunch and dinner the next day