Laura brought this to book club and it was SO so good.
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 1/2 c boiling stock or water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, drained, reserve 1/3 c liquid
1 1/2 T fresh or 1 t dry basil
1/3 c pine nuts
5 cups (5 oz)loosely packed fresh spinach, torn into small pieces
pepper to taste
1 c grated Muenster
Combine couscous, boiling stock or water, and salt in large bowl; cover w/plate. Let sit 5 min., then fluff w/fork.
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion 10 min, or until tender.
Add drained tomatoes, cook 10 min. more.
Add tomato mixture to bowl w/couscous.
Mix in reserved tomato juice, basil, pine nuts, raw spinach and pepper.
Spread half mixture in bottom of 12X7X2 inch or other shallow 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
Sprinkle on cheese, top with remaining couscous, cover w/foil and bake 25 min. until hot and bubbly.
Couscous with Spinach & Pinenuts August 29, 2006
Lentil Stew August 25, 2006
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/4 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
4 c chicken or veggie broth
1 c water
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 c dried lentils
3/4 c instant brown rice
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Heat oil in large pot over med-high heat. Add chopped vegetables; saute til tender. Add broth water and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Stir in lentils, simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice, simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in seasonings.Modifications: I don’t have instant rice, so I started cooking 1 c brown rice in 2 c water, but got antsy and just dumped in the partially cooked rice and water into the soup pot. Turned out just fine. Perfect w a dollop of sour cream stirred into the bowl of stew.
Black Bean Chili August 25, 2006
12 oz salsa
3 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
1/2 c chicken or veg broth
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
Add all ingredients to crockpot, cook on medium for several hours. Serve w sour cream & cheese. Good over rice, w tortillas or chips.
Tanya Lasagne August 24, 2006
Paying homage to my long lost friend, Tanya
THE SAUCE:
2 medium onions
8 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large cans of tomatoes
1-2 tsp fennel seeds
1-2 bay leaves
2-3 tsp basil
1-2 tsp oregano
thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in various combinations.
Sauté onion and garlic until tender. Add tomatoes and crush. Add herbs and pepper. Let simmer for an hour. If the sauce is bitter add more thyme or pepper to sweeten tomatoes.
THE LASAGNE:
Olive Oil
6 cups fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and finely chopped.
salt
pepper
2 cups cottage or ricotta cheese
(optional: 1 block silken tofu, smashed up w a fork)
1 egg
nutmeg
mint
1 package of lasagne noodles
1-2 heads of garlic (yep, the heads) ** Bonny uses a little less garlic than Tanya does
mozzarella cheese, grated
Romano, asiago or parmesan cheese
Feta cheese, chopped, or diced
Heat the oil in medium size frying pan. Add spinach, salt and pepper. Sauté and spinach is lightly cooked. Mix cheese, tofu, beaten egg, nutmeg and mint. Add to spinach. Mix well and set aside.
Assemble lasagne in 9×13 pan. Spread olive oil over bottom of pan. Add just enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. Arrange one layer of uncooked lasagne noodles over sauce. Cover with half of cheese mixture. Smoothe it out. Add half of grated mozzarella and half of feta cheese. Cover with another layer of sauce. Add half of the garlic – whole peeled cloves. Cover with another layer of noodles. Add rest of spinach mixture, sauce (reserving enough to top lasagne), remaining garlic and final layer of noodles. Top with remaining sauce, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese and some parm cheese. Add 1/2 c water to the corner of the lasagne, so the noodles cook while the lasagne bakes. Cover.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Sprinkle with more parm cheese. Cover and return to oven and bake 15-20 minutes. Turn off oven and allow to stand for anywhere between 15 minutes and 1 hours.
Hawaiian Baked Bananas August 21, 2006
This dessert, from Recipe Source, was the best part of our Pacific Island meal.
4 bananas
1/2 C. brown sugar — firmly packed
1/4 C. orange or pineapple juice
3 Tbsp. sherry
1/2 C. chopped almonds or Macadamia nuts
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Dash nutmeg
Peel bananas and place in a small baking dish. Mix
together, then pour over bananas brown sugar, orange or pineapple juice and
sherry.
Saute the chopped nuts in butter and sprinkle over bananas.
Add dash of nutmeg to taste if desired.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until bananas
are tender and lightly glazed. Serve as a meat accompaniment
or as a dessert with a spoonful of sauce over each banana.
Serves 4.
Chicken Mirabella August 19, 2006
This recipe is one from chef-extraordinaire Nicke …
Mix:
1/2 C. white wine
1/4 C. olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 C. chopped prunes
1/4 C. sliced green olives
1/4 C. capers
1 T. brown sugar
Dump over 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Bake at 350 until chicken is done.
Party Potatoes August 19, 2006
5 lbs potatoes
4 ounces cream cheese (or more)
8 ounces sour cream
1/3 c milk
½ – 1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp garlic salt
¼ – ½ tsp pepper
2 T butter
paprika
Peel, cube and boil potatoes until tender. Drain. Mash until smooth. Blend in cream cheese, sour cream, milk, salts and pepper. Spoon into buttered 3 qt. casserole. Refrigerate, covered.
To reheat: Spread top surface with butter. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven until heated through and lightly browned (35 – 45 minutes). Garnish with paprika.
Freezes well.
Micki Buns August 16, 2006
Named after the friend who made this recipe famous, these go with anything and everything – even just a stick of butter.
1 egg plus water to equal 11 ounces
3 c bread flour
3 T sugar
1 T dry instant milk
1 tsp salt
2 T vegetable oil
2 tsp bread machine yeast
Layer ingredients in bread machine, set to dough setting. If dough looks too sticky, add more flour.
When the machine has finished, remove dough and shape into 12 buns, or 1 loaf, with bacon-greased hands. Allow to rise; bake until golden brown.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake August 14, 2006
This recipe, which I originally found in The Best of Byerly’s: A Recipe Collection,is a summer standard here.
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 c coarsely shredded zucchini
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped nuts
Grease and flour 9×13 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter, oil and sugar; blend in vanilla, eggs and buttermilk. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture with zucchini. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Bake until cake tests done with wooden pick, about 50 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Pasta With Carmelized Onion Sauce August 3, 2006
This is a great recipe from Kerrie.
Thinly slice 4-6 large onions.
Put sliced onions in a large pot with 1 tbs of olive oil and stir around then cook on high for 15 minutes or so until onions are very brown. Toss them around from time to time to make sure they cook evenly.
Chop 1 medium bunch of spinach or argula.
After 15 minutes, check onions…if they are nicely browned, lower heat to medium, add chopped up spinach and 1/2 cup white cooking wine. Let simmer together for 15 minutes more.
While it is simmering, cook pasta.
After it has simmered, add 1 cup feta cheese or a blue cheese. Stir around until melted.
Drain pasta. Add sauce and mix well.
