Butternut Squash Quinoa with Sage Chicken

Had some leftover veggies from the 2nd round and thought I'd try something new:

Butternut squash

Butternut Squash Quinoa

1 cup quinoa

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups butternut squash (chopped into 1/2 inch cubes)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 white onion chopped

2 cloves garlic

6-8 sage leaves, sliced thinly

Extra virin olive oil

Combine quinoa and chicken stock in a medium pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Once quinoa has soaked up all the stock, fluff and set aside.

On a baking sheet, lay out the squash cubes, drizzle evoo, salt, pepper and garlic powder, toss to ensure all cubes are coated evenly & then spread out evenly before tossing in the oven. Cook at 425F for about 20 minutes.

In a skillet, add in a drizzle of evoo, onion and garlic. Saute til transcuent over medium high heat, add sage and cook another 2 minutes - cook on low. Add to quinoa mix. When squash is ready, add to quinoa. Mix & serve.

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Sage chicken

2 chicken breasts

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

8 sage leaves, sliced thinly

EVOO

Place chicken on a sheet of aluminum foil. Pierce chicken w/fork, drizzle with evoo, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and massage over chicken for a minute or two. Sprinkle chicken with sage leaves. Wrap chicken in foil. Pop in oven for 15-20 minutes at 375F. Switch over to broil for another 10.

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 The results: Success

I found this dish very subtle in flavor. Sage was nice and complimentary to the chicken. Squash was sweet and pleasant mixed with the quinoa. Overall - it was a nice, humbly-flavored dish. I don't think I would make it again, because of all the dishes, and quite frankly, I wasn't wowed by this dish (squash is a pain to prep!). I still have some squash leftover (I bought an extra one just in case) so I think I might try butternut squash ravioli with a creamy sage sauce before completely giving up on this flavor combo.

Red Carrot - Winter Vegetables with Roasted Chicken

Clean, wash and cut red carrots, mix with other winter vegetables. In this case I used small potatoes and shallots.
Add salt&pepper, herbs and olive oil, toss the mix, spread vegetables on a baking sheet with marinated chicken pieces.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes (450F) until chicken is brown and vegetables are soft.

Dish can be served hot or cold.

Carrots: have a lot of B-carotene (transformed into Vitamin A), dietary fiber, antioxidants and minerals.

Cauliflower - Warm Salad

Lightly clean cauliflower, cut in flowers, steam until soft.
Vinaigrette: whisk together:  2 spoons of vinegar, 2 spoons of oil and 1 tea spoon of mustard, salt&pepper and any spices you like (herbs, curry, pepper flakes). Add (if you like it): fine diced dill pickles, capers or fine diced fresh peppers or onions.
Mix slightly warm cauliflower flowers and dressing and let cool.

Side dish: as salad.
Main Course: serve with a boiled or a poached egg on toast.

CAULIFLOWER: form of cabbage. Same family as brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli an collard greens. Low on fat, low in carbs, high in dietary fiber and vitamin C. 

Kale: Crispy Kale - crispy and salty

Wash, remove the ribs, dry, rip the leaves in 3-4inch-pieces.
Mix leaves with herbs, salt & pepper and pepper flakes.
Toss with about 2 tablespoons  of olive oil.
Spread the leaves on a baking sheet and bake until crisp -  for about 8-10minutes (F450).

Attention: leaves can burn fast. DO NOT forget  your Kale.

KALE: form of cabbage. Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K and C an calcium.

Serve as finger food.

Creamy Beet Risotto with Orange Glazed Tilapia

Beets. Ugh.
When I first discovered I was playing with beets this round, I was less than excited. - This recipe has forever changed my feelings.


The contenders:

Beets and Oranges

Creamy Beet Risotto

1/4 cup Butter
2 whole Beets, Chopped Small
1 whole Onion, Chopped Small
1 cup Arborio Rice
3 cups Chicken stock
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Goat Cheese

1/2 cup wilted spinach (just cause I had some I needed to get rid of)

Melt the butter and toss in the onion and beets - cook for 8-10minutes to caramelize those onions. Add rice, broth and balsamic vinegar - bring to a boil and then let simmer about 20-30 minutes - stirring every so often. Then add salt and pepper to taste, goat cheese and spinach.

Orange Glazed Tilapia

2 tilapia fillets

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 cup orange juice (4-5 oranges fresh squeezed)

1 tbsp honey

Flour

Salt and pepper

Dredge tilapia in a flour, salt and pepper mixture. In a skillet over medium heat - pop in the evoo before placing in fillets - cook for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from skillet - I tossed them into my oven to keep them warm. Add in butter, orange juice and honey and simmer about 15 minutes - after about 15 minutes it'll thicken. Drizzle this glaze over the tilapia. 

The end result:

The verdict? Sweet and savory. The risotto was creamy and sweet. And the beets and goat cheese? A match made in heaven. I would also consider this one of the prettiest recipes I've ever made. The bold, dark tones of the spinach compliment the deep rich reds and magentas from the beets, punctuated by the vivid white goat cheese. Very, very beautiful.

Then the tilapia - I like tilapia because of it's mild flavor (which is sometimes a challenge when you want it to be flavorful) - the orange glaze was a brilliant, and simple way of dressing up the fish. The glaze is almost too orangey on it's own, but with the tilapia, I just couldn't get enough. 

Overall, I was very surprised by these recipes - I wasn't looking forward to this specific challenge, but I'm pleased with the results!

Pomegranate Lamb with Collards

My Produce Items: Collards, Pomegranate

3 boneless lamb chops
1 pomegranate
2 lemons
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 clove of minced garlic
1 bunch of collards
2 cloves of minced shallots
1 teaspoon of ginger
2 teaspoons of honey
1 teaspoon of butter
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
aluminum foil cut into foot long pieces

Seed pomegranate. In a bowl place pomegranate seeds, juice and zest from one of the lemons, oregano, and garlic.

Roll lamb chops around in the mixture to coat.

Spread out aluminum foil. Lay down a lamb chop in the center and top with pomegranate seed mixture. Roll aluminum foil over to wrap up lamb chop, fold edges down.

Place lamb chop packet in a backing dish and bake in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Wash collards and cuts stems away. Slice leaves into one inch squares.

In a saucepan, place vegetable oil, butter, shallots, ginger, and honey and heat. Add collards stirring occasionally. Drizzle the top of the collards with honey to add more sweetness. Add the juice and zest from the second lemon.

Serves 3

Final Verdict: Success

This meal was delicious. I'd never eaten pomegranate seeds or collards before but the sweetness of the collards and pomegranate lamb complimented each other. The lamb was very tender from being cooked in the foil packet. 50 minutes cook time lead to a well done lamb. Use less time if you'd like it more rare. Cooking the seeds helped to soften them too. Cooking the mixture with the lamb lead to good flavors but the lamb wasn't that infused with it. Next time I may try to marinate the lamb in the mixture first before cooking. The collards were excellent. Collards have a strong flavor but the honey, ginger and shallots created the perfect sweetness to coat the collards.

New Produce Box Has Arrived

Ready for round 2? In this box are...

Beets

Purple Carrots

Pomegranate

Collards

Lettuce

Kale

Squash

Cauliflower

Onion

Tangerines

Should be interesting. Stay tuned!

Apple Bacon Salad with Shallots and Thyme

 Produce items: 

• Gala apple
• Shallots

 

Decision:  Apple Bacon Salad with Shallots and Thyme!

• 2 gala apples, diced
• 6 strips bacon, crisped and crumbled
• 3 shallots, or 4 if you love 'em, minced (but not too little)
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves 
• 1 or 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar to taste
• S and P to taste

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.  Do you like it?  Serve it next to a cheesy item, or just plain cheese.  I served mine next to......

Gougeres!  They are little eggy bready rolls flavored with gruyere cheese.  I think the Apple Bacon salad was the perfect crisp, sweet pairing for the strong swiss cheese.

Apple Bacon Salad with Shallots and Thyme

(seen here plated with gougeres and a jalepeno drizzle)

Creamy Tortellini Soup

Produce Challenge numero uno!

I had a fatality in my ring:

Womp... womp...

She died so young. BUT! There was one good leaf left. And I shall use it in my soup in memory of my produce box spinach.

Here's my list of characters:

Note the rouge leaf - front and center.

Collard greens. Shallots. And spinach. See! I saved the one good leaf. The filler spinach is from Ralphs. Let's just uh... over look this one little incident.

Anywho - here's the original recipe from the-better-bureau-of-home-and-gardens.

And here's my recipe - adjusted for my veggies.

1 X 2.64oz of country gravy mix
3 Cups-o-water
1 x 14oz can-o-veggie broth
1/2 cup-o-shallots chopped
3 gloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp crushed basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 X 8oz pkg of refrigerator tortelli
1 X 12oz can of evaporated moo
3 cups spinach
3 cups collard greens
Pepper
Parm cheese

Country gravy cause.. well.. it was white and that was a good enough reason to substitute. I omitted the mushrooms, as I'm just not a fan. Lessened the water, as I read in comments from other cooks that the soup seems to watery and not really creamy. More cayenne pepper cause I love the heat. Split the original spinach to make way for the collards. And shallots in substitute for onion.

Gradually add the water to the sauce mix in your crockpot - whisk til smooth, then add in the broth, shallots, garlic, basil, salt, oregano and cayenne pepper.

Majestic... I just wanna... bathe - be all up in it. Smells so good.

Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. At hour 3, get those collards in (they're fairly tough and fiberous, and they need more time to get acquainted with the other ingredients). Then at hour 5.5, get the spinach, evaporated milk and tortellini in, and cook another 30 minutes. Sprinkle pepper and parm if you're feelin' fancy.

The display piece:

The verdict? Absolutely delicious. I loved how the collard greens imparted a heartiness to the broth - something I was hoping for, but was hesitant about. The broth was creamy, full of dynamic flavor and reminiscent of good old fashioned comfort food. The tortellini, which was a three-cheese blend, added another salty dimension, that I thought tied everything together. This is definitely a soup you would want on a cold winter's eve.

I would only change one thing - maybe cooking the spinach an extra half hour, let it get in there and marinate a bit, instead of just wilting. Also, this isn't a set and forget type of recipe. I periodically checked as the day went on and occasionally found the broth concoction to have chunkified at the bottom of the crockpot. Thickening agents will do that - best to stop by and visit your crockpot every hour, say hey and give it a stir or two.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the end result and will definitely be writing this one down in my recipe book!

Grilled Salmon with Spinach

My Produce Items (same box): Spinach, Leeks, Shallots

2 salmon filets
1 bunch of spinach with stems removed
1 large leek, thinly sliced and halved (white part and a tiny bit of green)
2 cloves of minced shallots
1 lemon
salt and pepper
aluminum foil cut into foot long pieces

Half lemon and sprinkle juice on the filets. Lightly salt and pepper.

Spread out aluminum foil. Lay down a small bed of spinach in the center of the foil. Place salmon on top of spinach bed. Sprinkle leeks and shallots on top.

Roll aluminum foil over to wrap up salmon, fold edges down. Place salmon packet on the grill and cook for 20-30 minutes.

Sprinkle remaining lemon juice on top of finished salmon if desired.

Serves 2

Final Verdict: Success

The salmon was very good. We had 2 filets, one a bit larger than the other. We cooked the salmon for 30 minutes and the larger filet cooked very nicely. It remained moist and tender. The smaller piece got a bit dry. The spinach blackened and burned a little on the edges. It all tasted very good minus the burned edges. Next time I will likely add some chopped tomatoes on top and cook for 20 minutes. We were also cooking corn to go with it and opening and closing the grill probably caused a loss of heat that affected how it cooked. I think if we kept the grill closed the whole time it cooked 20 minutes would have been sufficient.

Sweet Potato Leek Soup

My Produce Items: Sweet Potatoes, Leeks, Shallots

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 large leek, thinly sliced (white part and a tiny bit of green)
2 cloves of minced shallots
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 can vegetable broth (14 oz)
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 cup half and half

In a large saucepan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat, add the leek and shallots, lightly stirring until slightly brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes, broth and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, puree the soup.

Return to the saucepan and stir in the half and half.

Serves 4

Final Verdict: Success... sort of.

Overall I think it worked fairly well. The soup tasted very good but it was very thick, almost more like a puree. The next time I try it, I'll double the vegetable broth to thin it out some. I didn't take into account how much broth gets steamed out. It's a pretty rich soup but not a meal in itself, more like an appetizer.

The produce is here!

Ladies and gents! The first product box has arrived!

 

Isn't she beautiful in all her glory? We received our box from a company called Farm Fresh to You who provide local and seasonal produce.

 

Lovely, healthy leafy greens. Brightly colored veggies and fruits.

In this box we received the following:

4 X Bosc Pears

3 X Braeburn apples (Already tried one and it was delicious!)

3lb Satsuma Mandarin Oranges

1.5lb of Sweet Potatoes

1 ct of Broccoli

1 bunch of collard greens

1 bunch of leeks

1 bunch of spinach

1 bunch of lettuce

.5lb of shallots

Can't wait to start cooking! Stayed tuned. :)