2011, Recipe 103: Bulgur and Kale Casserole with Yogurt Topping

Recipe courtesy of the New York Times

For the tomato sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill, peeled, seeded and chopped if you don’t, or  1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with juice, or crushed tomatoes in purée
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

For the gratin:
1 pound kale, stemmed and washed, or a 10-ounce bag of stemmed, washed kale
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup coarse bulgur (No. 3), cooked
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
2 ounces (approximately 1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmesan
3 eggs
1 cup thick plain low-fat yogurt
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

1. Make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt to taste, pepper, sugar, cinnamon, paprika and allspice. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the tomatoes are bubbling. Stir together, turn the heat back to medium-low, partly cover and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce is thick and fragrant, 25 to 30  minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from the heat. If your sauce is chunky, put through a food mill or pulse in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, blanch the kale in salted boiling water for 4 minutes or steam for 5 to 8 minutes, until tender. Rinse with cold water and squeeze dry. Chop fine (you can do this by pulsing in a food processor fitted with the steel blade.)
3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the garlic. When it begins to smell fragrant, in about 30 seconds, stir in the chopped kale. Toss together and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in the bulgur and dill, combine well and remove from the heat.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a 3-quart baking or gratin dish. Spoon a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish, and spoon in the bulgur and kale. Spread in an even layer. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan on top and cover with the remaining tomato sauce, spread in an even layer.
5. Beat together the eggs, yogurt and 2 tablespoons of the remaining Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Spoon over the tomato sauce and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top. Place in the oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Remove from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes or longer before serving.
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Advance preparation: All of the elements of this casserole will keep for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator, as will the assembled casserole, without the egg-yogurt topping. Make the topping right before baking. The casserole can be baked ahead and reheated.
To cook the bulgur, bring 2 cups water with salt to taste to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the bulgur, and when the water comes back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, place a clean dish towel over the pan and cover with the lid. Let sit 10 minutes.

Results: This was my first time cooking with bulgur and we were both pleased with the outcome.  It's pretty similar in texture to couscous.  The yogurt topping made me a little nervous but it gave the dish a tang that made it sing!  I was amazed that we both really liked this.  And with a side of naan, it was a great entree for vegetarians.

2011, Recipe 95: Dairy-Free Green Pea Soup

Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger

I made some changes to this recipe to give it another layer of flavor.  First, I grated two carrots and added them after the onion, cooking for a very short amount of time.  That didn't do anything flavor-wise but added some extra vitamin A.  Of course you can easily make this a vegetarian recipe by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.  I used half chicken and half veg stock.

Now on the flavor side of things, I remembered seeing a cumin-spiced pea something or other so I added a tablespoon of cumin to this and a little extra salt.  It was delicious!  Before cumin?  A bit flat.  After cumin?  Fantastic!  Rashan had seconds.  I served it with sandwiches.  YUM!

2011, Recipe 94: Spaghetti Squash

Recipe courtesy of James at Allrecipes.com

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons sliced black olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven, and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
4. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm. 

Results: This was yummy & quite easy.  My mom had never had spaghetti squash before and LOVED this!  I subbed dried basil and it was still good.  You could easily make this vegetarian dish your entree and be satisfied.  You could also add sauteed ground turkey to it like my mom did.  Both are great.

2011, Recipe 77: Baked Eggplant with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce

Recipe from Grouprecipes.com

• 1 1/4 lbs eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices 
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 zucchini, sliced thinly
• 1 medium red pepper, diced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, divided
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes, divided
• 1 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated low-fat Parmesan
• 1/4 cup dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs

1. Heat a non-stick grill pan (or broiler).
2. Salt and pepper eggplant slices lightly.
3. Grill or broil the eggplant 3 minutes on each side, until brown.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F.
5. Heat water in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.
6. Add onion through mushrooms.
7. Cover and cook 7 minutes or until tender, stirring mixture occasionally.
8. Increase heat to medium-high. Uncover pan, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates.
9. Spread half of pan mixture in bottom of a deep baking dish coated with cooking spray.
10. Arrange half of eggplant slices over mushroom mixture.
11. Top with half the pepper, half the tomatoes and all the mozzarella.
12. Spread remaining mushroom mixture over cheese.
13. Top with remaining eggplant, pepper and tomatoes.
14. Sprinkle with Parmesan and breadcrumbs.
15. Cover dish, and bake 1 hour.
16. Remove cover, and return to oven for 5 minutes.
17. Let stand 10 minutes, then serve

Results: Partway through I was already annoyed with how long this doggone recipe took.  It was unnecessarily labor intensive.  That said, it was very delicious.  I made a similar recipe that was better.  It was the feta and fresh basil that was fantastic in the other recipe.  Also... I would've been happier with this as a side dish.

2011, Recipe 74: Tomato Basil & Feta Pasta

From the UK Allrecipes.com (So I put the conversions for you!)

• 1/2 lb. uncooked fusilli or penne pasta
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 12-oz can chopped tomatoes, (about 3 fresh Roma)
• 6 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Combine olive oil, garlic, onion, tomatoes and basil; let sit at room temperature.
Toss warm pasta with Parmesan and feta. Stir in tomato mixture and sprinkle on salt and pepper. You can add more Parmesan if desired. Serve immediately.

Results: Super easy and super delicious.  I'm frightened of raw garlic and raw onion.  Left out the onion, decided to give the raw garlic a shot.  It was awesome in this recipe!  I think the sitting to the side made it happy.  I used crushed red pepper because we like things spicy! ;-) I will say room temp cooled everything way down so this wasn't exactly a hot dish.  That was a bit odd but not undelicious.

Recipe 52: Vegetable Lasagne Casserole

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchens

• 2 small zucchini
• 2 small summer squash
• Kosher salt
• 2 red bell peppers
• 7 ounces low-fat goat cheese
• 1/3 cup pitted Calamata olives
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 recipe tomato sauce (they include a recipe but I used jarred sauce)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Slice zucchini and yellow squash lengthwise into 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick strips. Lay the strips out on baking sheet pan and salt generously. Set aside.

Roast the peppers over a gas flame or broil on a sheet pan until completely charred, about 8 minutes. Put the peppers in a bowl, cover, and set aside until just cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes. Rub the skins off the peppers with your fingers to remove most of the charred skin. Core and remove the seeds, then slice the peppers lengthwise into 1 1/2-inch strips.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix the goat cheese, olives, thyme, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Thoroughly wipe excess salt and moisture from zucchini and squash with paper towel.
Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce into the bottom of an 8- by 11-inch baking dish. Begin layering, remembering to season with pepper between each layer. Start with the zucchini and then summer squash and all the peppers. Dollop spoonfuls of the cheese over the peppers and then spread it out to cover. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the vegetables. Repeat with the remaining zucchini, squash, goat cheese, and sauce. Sprinkle top layer with Parmesan and bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover. Continue baking until the vegetables are tender and the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes more. Let lasagna stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Results: Don't be put off by the extensive directions.  This is really an easy layering recipe.  And it's delicious!  Rashan loved it AND it's vegetarian.  Also... it's my first time cooking as his wife! :)))  I love goat cheese.   It brings me joy.  He tought the olives gave this dish a meaty quality.  I always use more crushed red pepper than a recipe calls for and it was a great pay-off!  You could also buy jarred roasted red peppers to save yourself a step.  I had peppers so I roasted them in the toaster oven.  This recipe combined a bunch of stuff I love!  And it was fulfilling!

Recipes 47 & 48: Black Chili with Butternut Squash with Cornbread

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves (from 1 small bunch)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 9 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

 

Results: Y'all I read the recipe before going to the store and somehow missed Swiss chard!  So I made mine w/o.  Still delicious!  And vegan before I put all that cheese on top! :)  Other suggested toppings: diced red onion (YEAH RIGHT!!! Y'all know I don't do raw onion.) & cilantro (we had some... I should've done it).  We also (mom & I) squeezed some lime on top and it was quite good!

Cornbread recipe from the bag

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Combine dry ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Add to dry ingredients until smooth. Pour batter into greased (muffin for me) pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. 

Results: Meh. My mom liked it.  I added an extra 3/4 tbsp of sugar and it still wasn't sweet enough for me.  I like my cornbread sweet.

And as a bonus, the next day (aren't all stews/soups/chilis so much better the next day!!? No matter how good they were!  It's awesome!), I had this for breakfast with two eggs over medium. LOVE.  I'm a little egg obsessed so that's why I accidentally focused on those more than the chili... lol

 

Holiday Eats: Roasted Carrot & Parsnips & The Ultimate French Onion Soup

I just had one recipe left over from Thanksgiving and a few from Christmas since Rashan's mom and the HoneybakedHamCo. handled the bulk of the meal.

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

• 2 pounds parsnips, peeled
• 1 pound carrots, unpeeled
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

If the parsnips and carrots are very thick, cut them in half lengthwise. Slice each diagonally in 1-inch-thick slices. The vegetables will shrink while cooking, so don't make the pieces too small. Place the cut vegetables on a sheet pan. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss well. Roast for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables, tossing occasionally, until the parsnips and carrots are just tender. Sprinkle with dill and serve hot.

Results: Yum-o!  I decided to slather these with the leftover paste from the turkey for Thanksgiving and it was AWESOME!!  This is partly because I don't really like dill.  I really hate it on salmon... partly because I don't really like cooked salmon.  These were a hit.  And of the 7 people at the table, none of us had had parsnips before.  Downside?  I'm slightly allergic to carrots (throat itching) but may be all the way allergic to parsnips (uncontrollable nose running).


The Ultimate French Onion Soup
Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
• 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 quarts beef broth (I used veg broth)
• 1 baguette, sliced
• 1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.
Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Results: Son.  There is a reason why this recipe has 316 five-star recipes.  OUT OF FIVE.   I used vegetable broth instead of beef broth so Rashan's sister could eat it.  She's an almost vegan vegetarian.  Even w/o the beef flavor, it. was. awesome!!  The red wine makes it amazing.  Caramelizing the onions gives it the brown color.  Rashan's mom raved over it and had two bowls the first day!  Gruyere is crazy expensive so you can sub any melting swiss.  How Ty had those giant "croutons" and I had little babies, IDK!  LOL.  You should definitely try this.  I already have requests for next year.