Scalloped Potatoes

I brought these to a family dinner and had requests to post it here. :) The recipe comes from the Food Network Kitchen. Simple, easy (when you have something like my Bosch attachment to slice the potatoes with), and delicious! I multiplied it by 4 and put it in 2 9x13 pans for our large group.

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tbsp. butter
2 1/4 pounds Yellow Finn potatoes or other waxy-style potato
2 cups half and half
1 tbsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rub the garlic around the inside of an 8 by 8 by 2-inch casserole dish and let it dry. Reserve the remaining garlic. Rub the butter around the inside of the dish. Reserve the remaining butter. 

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes on a mandoline or vegetable slicer (about 1/8-inch-thick slices). 

In a medium saucepan, combine the garlic, butter, potatoes, half-and-half, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring, until the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish. Shake the pan so the potatoes are distributed evenly. 

Bake the potatoes, basting occasionally, until lightly browned and bubbly, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Banana Yogurt Muffins

I made these for my kids on the first day of school and they loved them!  I found the recipe on a website called Chelsea's Messy Apron.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour or plain white flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup miniature dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
• 1 cup extremely ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Generously coat a muffin tin with cooking spray and then dust the cavities with cocoa powder. These muffins stick to muffin liners so I do not recommend using them.
3. Remove 1 tablespoon of the 1 cup of flour.
4. In a small bowl, toss together the remaining flour (after removing 1 tablespoon from the 1 cup), cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and both types of chocolate chips. Stir.
5. Make sure your bananas are at their very ripest (black skins are best; see post to speed up the ripening process if not all the way ripe.) Remove the skins and mash the bananas extremely well.
6. In another bowl, briskly whisk together the egg and Greek yogurt. Stir in the melted coconut oil (slightly cooled, but measure in it's melted state),vanilla extract, brown sugar, and the extremely ripe mashed bananas.
7. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until JUST combined. Over-mixing results in denser muffins.
8. Separate the batter evenly among the 12 cavities or fill up 9-10 for extra large muffins.
9. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.
10. Allow to cool and then remove from the muffin tin. (Use a butterknife to cut around the edges and help pull them out!)
11. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
12. When ready to enjoy a muffin, microwave for 15-20 seconds. Spread with peanut butter if desired!

Terri's Clam Chowder

This is the clam chowder we all love every year at the beach.  Yum!  I quadrupled this recipe for 36 people.

Ingredients:

1 C celery
1 C onion
3 C red potatoes diced, or russet potatoes peeled and diced

3/4 C butter
3/4 C flour

1 quart half and half
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
pepper to taste
2 (6 1/2 oz) cans minced clams

Variation: Add  2 Tb wine vinegar or 4-6 strips of bacon crumbled

Instructions:

Dice celery and onions and cube potatoes. Saute them in a smidge of butter for a few minutes.  Drain the clam juice into the pot.  Add just enough water to cover the vegetables.  Simmer vegetables until the potatoes are the proper texture.  While the vegetables are cooking, form a roux with the butter and flour.  Once the roux starts to bubble, cook for an additional minute or two, stirring the whole time.  Add the half and half gradually while whisking to avoid any clumping while thickening the soup.

Once the vegetables are cooked, drain the liquid, saving it in a bowl.  Add the strained vegetables to the pot with the white soup base.  Add salt, sugar, pepper, and clams to the soup.  Add a small amount of the liquid drained from the vegetables to thin the soup to your preferred thickness.

Baked Kale Chips

I just love them!!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

creamy parmesan orecchiette with butternut squash and broccolini

From pinchofyum.com

INGREDIENTS

For the Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced
• 3 tablespoons flour
   Coupons
• ½ cup white wine (optional)
• 2-3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, or milk
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• lemon juice to taste
• salt to taste

For the Pasta:

• 16 ounces orecchiette (I used DeLallo whole wheat orecchiette)
• 3 cups cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups broccolini (I used regular broccoli)
• olive oil, salt, and pepper
• pumpkin seeds
• additional Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. SAUCE: Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until soft. Add the flour and whisk until smooth - let it cook for a few minutes to avoid a floury taste. Add the wine and whisk to incorporate. Add the broth or milk, ½ cup at a time, and whisk to incorporate. When thickened slightly, add more liquid. Finish with the Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Sauce should be smooth and light.
2. VEGETABLES: Place the veggies on two separate baking sheets. Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, until tender but not falling apart.
3. PASTA: Cook the pasta according to package directions. Set aside.
4. FINISH: Toss everything together (sauce, pasta, vegetables, additional broth as needed to keep it loose) and top generously with pumpkin seeds and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

 

From pinchofyum.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups mirepoix (just a simple mixture of chopped onions, celery, and carrots)
• 1-2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1-2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
• 2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
• 2 1lb. packages DeLallo mini potato gnocchi (about 4 cups) 
• 6 slices bacon
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the chicken, mirepoix, basil, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, salt, and broth in a crockpot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot.
2. Add the cornstarch mixture, evaporated milk, and gnocchi. Stir and replace cover. Cook another 45 minutes - 1 hour until the soup has thickened and the gnocchi has softened.
3. While the soup is thickening, cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy. Drain on paper towels and wipe most of the bacon grease out of the pan, leaving just a little bit for the spinach/garlic. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat. Add the bacon and spinach to the crockpot. Stir to combine.
4. Add any additional liquid as needed (I added about a cup of water once it started to thicken) and season again with salt and pepper as needed.

NOTES

Be sure to taste and adjust with salt/pepper before serving. It may need more depending on the saltiness of your broth. 

You can use something other than evaporated milk, but I found that evaporated milk has the creaminess of half and half or heavy whipping cream without actually needing to use up all my good half and half in the soup. :)

The leftovers do soak up a lot of the moisture, so you might need to add more evaporated milk depending on how soupy you want it and/or how long you'll be keeping it around.

For Real Homemade Green Bean Casserole

I have never really been a green-bean casserole girl.  But I realized that I don't really like canned green beans very much, but I love fresh ones.  And cream of mushroom soup is always best fresh, right?  So, I found a recipe for the casserole with fresh green beans and homemade cream of mushroom, and it is honestly so delicious.  It is extra work, and the cream of mushroom is rich, but for special occasions, this is such a great recipe!!!

Homemade Green Bean Casserole

Preheat Oven to 425.

Green Bean Prep

1 lb green beans, ends snapped, snapped into bite size pieces
1 Tb table salt (author recommends if you don't have table salt, you can use double of kosher or sea salt)
Large pot of boiling water

Prep green beans while bringing water to boil.  Add the salt and the beans to the water, cover, and cook for 6 minutes, or until still crisp-tender and bright green.  The beans won't get much softer after this, so cook them as thoroughly as you like them.  While the beans are cooking, prepare a large bowl full of ice water.  Drain the beans in a colander and plunge them into the ice water to stop the cooking process.  Drain the beans again in a colander.  Place the green beans in a single layer on paper towels to dry.

Cream of Mushroom Sauce (I think I may have needed to make more sauce than this, but I can't remember for sure.)

8 oz favorite mushrooms
1 Tb unsalted butter
1 Tb fresh garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
Fresh pepper to taste
1 1/2 Tb flour
3/4 C chicken stock
1 Tb dry sherry
3/4 C half and half or heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Clean the mushrooms, break off and discard stems.  Break the tops into pieces. (The author insists that cutting with a knife will change the texture of the soup!) Melt the butter in a skillet or pan.  Add the mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Cook about 6 minutes, till mushrooms soften, stirring often.  Stir in flour and cook a minute.  Start adding chicken stock and sherry 1 Tb at a time.  Once the liquid and the flour start to gel into a sauce, you can add the stock and sherry more quickly.  Bring to a simmer.  Add the half and half, simmer till the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Stir in cooked beans.  

Place casserole ingredients into a casserole dish.  Top with crispy onions, if you like them, and bake in the oven until cooked on top, about 20 minutes.