Need an idea for dinner tonight? Never fear we have the answer. Rita left us the following podcasts to show you how to make a delicious dinner using healthy ingredients. Don't worry about finding the ingredients, we have them in our picky produce. Common ingredients are listed at the top and specific ingredients are listed under the recipe. Still can't find what you want?? Check out the Pantry Club.
1 bag Cippoline Onions - or - 6 Shallots - or - 1 doz. Boiling or Pearl Onions - or - 1/2 Yellow Onion
Drop Cippoline Onions, Shallots, Boiling or Pears Onions into boiling water and cook for 5 min. Remove from heat, allow to cool, cut off the tops and the bottoms, peel and cut into quarters. If using Yellow Onions, slice 1/2 of a large yellow onion into chunks and set aside.
2 C Cauliflower cut into small florettes
12 or so Brussles Sprouts, outside leaves removed and cut into quarters
2 Garlic Cloves sliced thinly, or to taste
1/2 Pork Tenderloin - about 4 oz. - (or other meat off the bone) cut into strips
Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil
4-5 oz. Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta
1 C grated Pecorino Romano or cheese of your choice
Bring large saute pan up to med.high heat and add a few turns of olive oil. Add meat, garlic, brussles sprouts, cauliflower and onion. Stir and toss. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add a touch more olive oil if needed. When veggies begin to carmelize, cover pan, set heat to low and allow to cook for 5 min. Remove cover, stir and toss everything and leave the top off if the veggies are beginning to sweat to allow the moisture to evaporate. Cover and repeat until veggies are nicely carmelized.
In the meantime, put pasta into a pan of boiling water and cook to your preferred doneness. Drain, return the pasta to the pan and add a small pat of butter and toss. Then add the grated cheese and a pinch of salt. Toss again and cover to allow the cheese to melt.
Ohhhh....! I LOVE roasted chicken! But if you marinate it first,
you've really got me. This is such an easy dinner. Marinate a
Cornish Hen or chicken pieces in olive oil, lemon, herbs and
spices in the morning (or even the night before) and while it's
baking at dinnertime, put toghther one of the most decadent Spinach Salads ever!
Marinated Chicken
1 Chicken cut in pieces - or 1 Cornish Hen cut in half - or any mixture of cut pieces of Chicken with skin on the bone, totaling 6-8 pieces
1 C Olive Oil
Zest and Juice of one Lemon (go ahead and leave the seeds in!)
1 lg. clove Garlic, minced
2-3 sprigs fresh Rosemary(or about 1 Tb. dried)
1 Tb. Salt
Freshly ground Pepper
Mix the marinating ingredients in a zip top bag until the salt dissolves. Add the washed and dried chicken. Close, toss well and marinate all day or overnight in the fridge. To bake, preheat oven to 450. Shake off all the marinade from the chicken pieces and place on a rack over a baking pan. Bake 20 min. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 30-40 min more -- more time if you have big pieces, less time if the pieces are small. A half of a Cornish Hen will take 40 minutes more to bake. Allow to rest for 10 minutes after removing from the oven.
Old School Spinach Salad
1 - 2 bunches fresh Spinach, washed and dried with center veins removed
12 strips Bacon fried until crispy, drained and cooled
4 eggs, hard boiled
1 Shallot
1/4 C Olive Oil
6-8 White Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly (optional)
Dressing:
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. Sugar
6 Tb. fresh Lemon Juice (remove the seeds)
2 tsp. Salt
freshly ground Pepper
Mix the dressing ingredients and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Spinach, Bacon, Eggs and Mushrooms. Tear the Spinach into bite sized pieces in a serving bowl. Keep cold.
When Bacon grease has cooled a little, pour off all but 2 Tb. Chop the Shallot, and add Olive Oil. Begin to cook the Shallot, but not a lot. As soon as the Shallot begins to cook, add the dressing and mix well until heated through on medium heat.
Pour the dressing on the Spinach to wilt it. Add the Bacon and toss. Slice the eggs on top.
6-8 lbs Beef Short Ribs
Flour to coat
1 Lg yellow onion, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
2 Celery stalks, chopped
3 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 Cup ketchup
1 Cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp dry yellow mustard
3/4 Tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 Tsp allspice
4 Cups beef broth
1 15oz can whole tomatoes, w/ juice
6-8 stalks parsley
1 Lg bay leaf
6 whole peppercorns
6-8 sprigs fresh thyme
Zest of 1 lemon (peel with potato peeler)
1/2 can chipolte peppers
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour short ribs on all sides, and brown in olive oil in batches in a large roasting pan. Remove from pan as they brown. When all the ribs are browned and removed from the pan, add onion, carrot and celery to the pan and saute over medium heat for about 10 min. Return the ribs to the pan and add everything else. Bring to a boil, then cover and bake in the oven for 3 hours or until meat is falling off the bone. Remove meat from the pan to a large, shallow bow, and cover tightly with foil. Strain the braising mixture through a sieve into another pan. Bring the heatup to high and reduce by half. Watcfh the heat closely to keep it from burning. Uncover the ribs and pour the rich BBQ sauce over all. Serve with steamed carrots, boiled potatoes, a loaf of garlic bread and a salad.
You can make this a day ahead of time. After the meat has braised for 2 hours, cool it down and put into the fridge overnight. When you're ready to begin the next day, it's easy to scrape off much of the fat. Then re-heat the mixture in the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours., and continue as above.
It's amazing what you can create using familiar ingredients if you
add just one new flavor! Warm Lentil Salad uses items you may
already have in the house. If you don't have Sherry Vinegar, or
Dry Sherry, don't fret - you can leave them out and still have a wonderful dish.
Spanish Lentil Salad
1# Dry Lentils
½ Onion, chopped
3 lg. cloves Garlic, sliced
3 Tb. Olive Oil
2 Tb Fresh Thyme or 1 Tb. dry Thyme
2 Tb Dry Sherry (optional)
1/3 C Olive Oil
Salt/pepper
1 Tb. Sherry Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar
Cherry Tomatoes or Grape Tomatoes
Gorgonzola, Blue or Feta Cheese
Fresh Parsley for garnish
Plain Couscous (optional)
Put the lentils, onion, garlic and 3 Tb olive oil into a saucepan. Cover with 1-2 inches of cold water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 30 minutes. Check the lentils for doneness: they should be completely soft, but not mushy.
Strain the lentils into a bowl and cover. If you are using dry thyme, add it now. If you have dry sherry, but not sherry vinegar, add it now. Reduce the cooking liquid by at least 1/3, until it is thick. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and add sherry vinegar or wine vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk in 1/3 C olive oil.
If you wish to use couscous, while the cooking liquid is reducing, cook the couscous according to package directions, and then arrange it in a ring around the edge of a serving platter.
If you're using fresh Thyme, add it now to the cooking liquid. Stir the cooking liquid into the lentils, if using couscous, pour the lentils inside the couscous ring. Then garnish with cheese, tomatoes and parsley.
You might be wrong if you thought this would be a heavy soup...if
you use turkey, it's light, warming and soooo delicious! Escarole is
bitter if eaten raw, but when you heat it, the bitterness softens a
bit, and the flavor is wonderful.
Italian Wedding Soup
1 head Escarole washed, dried and chopped
Approx 1 lb. Ground Turkey, Beef, Pork or any combination
3 Tb. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tb. Parsley, chopped
1 Egg White
1 clove of Garlic, put through a press
2 tsp. Salt
Good grinding of Pepper
8 C Chicken Broth
1 can Canellini Beans, rinsed and drained.
Prepare escarole and set aside. Mix the next 7 ingredients well and make tiny meatballs. If the mixture starts sticking to your hands, dip your palms in cool water, and continue. Heat the broth on the stove, add the meatballs and the beans. Allow to heat at medium, covered for 5 minutes. Remove the top, add the escarole and cover again. Allow to heat for 10 min more. Check to see that escarole has wilted and will mix into the soup. The meatballs should be floating at the surface. Serve with a good grating of Parmesan cheese, and some good bread, toasted with olive oil and salt drizzled on top.
OTHER NOTES:
Make the meatballs ahead, freeze on cookie sheets, then drop into a zip top bag for an easier meal in the future. Set the meatballs out to thaw before you put them into the soup
Will it ever get warm outside? There's just a little chill in the air every day, it seems, and a nice way to chase away the rain or the cold is with a hearty bowl of Risotto. This dinner takes about 30 minutes to make and is full of wonderful flavors!
Risotto Organico
Olive Oil
1 Shallot or 1/2 sweet yellow onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup Arborio rice (regular rice won't work)
1 Cup white wine
4 Cups broth
1 Tbsp butter
3/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 broccoli crowns cut in bite size pieces
1 red bell pepper cut in bite size pieces
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 egg
Salt & Pepper to taste
Flour to dredge
Heat 2 Tb olive oil in a large, shallow pan. Saute the shallot or onion + garlic until fragrant (do not brown). Add the rice to the pan and sauté over medium-high heat until the rice begins to smell nutty. Pour in the wine, turn the heat to high and stir constantly as the wine absorbs and evaporates. When the wine is well absorbed, begin adding the broth about 1 Cup at a time and stir constantly so the rice doesn’t stick. For this part, adjust the heat so that the rice is between a rapid boil and a good simmer.
Heat another sauté pan and add 2 Tb. olive oil over medium high heat. Add the broccoli and red pepper. Cook until al dente, then remove to a bowl.
Pound out the thighs a little bit. Salt and pepper them, put them into a bowl with the beaten egg, then dredge in flour and cook in a little olive oil over medium high heat.
Test the rice. It should be soft and flavorful. When it is, remove the pan from the heat, add 1 Tb butter and stir it in to melt. Sprinkle in the Parmesan and allow that to melt into the rice, stirring well.
To serve, spoon Risotto into a bowl. Garnish with veggies and chicken. MMMMMMmmmm!
Oh My Goodness!! Is it ever HOT outside!! Let’s make something ICE COLD to eat. I have made Fruit Sorbet/Italian Ice/Granita since forever. When my children were young, I’d pour a bottle of natural juice into a bowl and set it in the freezer. Every few hours I’d take it out, break it into chunks and run it through the food processor. Then I’d put it back in the freezer and do it again two hours later. it was always ready at the end of the day. This video uses an ice cream freezer which is much easier but don't fret if you don't have one.
Before I had a food processor, I’d just blend fresh fruits together in my blender, add simple syrup to taste, then pour the mixture into a shallow glass baking dish, and put that into the freezer. Every few hours I’d take it out and scrape it with a fork to keep it from freezing into a solid block.
I always served this as the fruit course with dinner when the weather was this hot. My children LOVED it!
You can make Fruit Sorbet out of almost anything. Don’t worry if TCF doesn’t have kumquats or white peaches – no worries! Substitute mangos, cherries, oranges, pineapple, lemons. Below I’ll share even more fruit ice ideas and tricks.
Alright, here are some things to consider:
Amounts don’t matter – proportions DO. So, after you’ve tasted the fruit mixture and you’re happy with the balance of flavors, add the simple syrup to taste, then freeze in the way that works best for you.
Don’t be afraid to add fresh herbs! Really! Lemon Ice with a little mint or rosemary is really, really good! Strawberry Ice is good with rosemary, too. Pineapple ice is good with basil, not kidding! Just don’t go crazy with the herbs – a little goes a long, long way.
Here’s another freezing trick: Make sure the fruit you’re using is chilled well. Put it into a blender with sugar to taste and ice cubes, and grind everything until the texture is like a slushie. Then put into the freezer and freeze overnight.
So – if you have fruit that really needs to be used up, or you haven’t gotten to drinking all the juices you received this week, pour them into your processor bowl, blender or right into the freezer in a glass pan – it’s SO EASY and your family will LOVE YOU FOR IT!
And finally - for the big kids - after you've put a serving of fruit ice into your ice cream dish, NOW is the time to add that vodka, Grand Marnier, or even a little rum on that pineapple. For an extra-special presentation, add herb leaves, zested lemon or orange or any other thinly sliced fruit to dress it up.
There's nothing like ending the day with a wonderful dinner that
you did not have to cook moments before. I love my crock pot
and I've been using it a lot, lately. Did you know that you can
assemble all the ingredients inside your crock pot insert and
refrigerate it overnight? Then add an extra hour to the cooking time.
I like to put my crock pot meal together while I'm making dinner.
Then, the next night's meal is finished, too!
TCF has the meatiest soup bones I've ever seen, and they make
the perfect Beef and Barley Soup.
This is so easy, you'll make enough to freeze!
Vegetable Beef & Barley Soup
1-2 pkg. Timber Creek Black Angus Beef Soup Bones
1 can Whole Tomatoes, crushed, extra juice discarded
1/4 Whole Barley (not pearled) soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
5 Whole Peppercorns
2 Whole Cloves
1 large Onion, chopped
2 stalks Celery, chopped
1-2 Carrots, chopped
4 C (1 box) Beef Broth
4 C (1 box) Chicken Broth
Water, if necessary
Salt and Pepper
Put everything into the crockpot, cover and cook over low heat for 10 hours.
Remove the meat from the bones, chop or shred and return to the pot.