Beet and Three

Farmers Market heaven. I bought a CSA with my local farmer. I buy 'stock' in them, I get a bag of food every week. Great deal. I also end up getting veggies that I might not have picked myself. Like chard and beets. I thought I hated beets. I was wrong. I hate gross canned pickled beets. I love these beets. I am disappointed you can't tell how gorgeous the beets are. 

I am posting the recipe for Greek Beet salad and a gorgeous Swiss Chard and Chickpea main dish recipe. I also served roasted carrots and homemade bread.

Roasted Greek Beet Salad

4-5 fresh 

beets, I mixed golden and purple.,

Wrap in foil and roast at 400 fro 45 minutes until

 you can pierce with a fork. Let cool. Slice.

Combine: 

1 tbl red wine vinegar

1 tbl cup

 balsamic vinegar

2 -3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbl olive oil

2 tbl parsley

1 tbl rosemary

Toss with cooled, sliced beets. Top with feta. Eat all of it greedily.

Chard and Peas

olive oil

2 tbl minced garlic

2 sweet onions, diced

1 can Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

2 ears corn, sliced off the cob

1 bunch Swiss Chard, trimmed

4-5 cherry tomatoes, cut in 4

white wine vinegar

Heat olive oil over med-high. Cook onion till soft. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add beans and corn. Cook till warm. Add chard and cook till soft. Toss in tomatoes, and vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Even my husband was happy with the meal without meat. The entire meal is from the Farmers Market and my pantry. I am super proud of that. 

Shake n Bake Pot Roast

I always think I want to cook things in a slow cooker. But I freak out about it being unsupervised during the day. But who can sleep with the waiting promise of pot roast cooking all night? Not me. I put the meat in to marinate the night before (or morning of, if I forget) then toss it in the oven when I get home from work. 

2.5lb chuck roast1/3 Worcestershire sauce

1/4 soy sauce

2 tblsp garlic, minced

2 small sweet onions. sliced

salt to taste

Combine everything but the meat in a bag, shake it up. rub the meat with the mix. Let marinate 2-3 hours. If you have that kind of time. Otherwise, put it in a lidded, oven safe pot. Cover and cook at 375 till done. About 1-2 hours.

I served this with a pretty little salad, some greens beans and squash sauteed in garlic. 

P.S. This entire meal was from my local Farmers Market. Meat and all!  $15 for the meat and veggies and we had a great filling local meal for 2 , plus leftovers for 2 lunches. And the beef was extraordinary grain feed, organic beef. So much flavor! Can't beat that!

Italian Fest!

Long day. Hot as hell. Do I have to cook? 

This is a True Pantry Meal. Everything was in stock and you probably have everything in your freezer and/or pantry to make this or something similar. Use what you have in the freezer and on the shelf. You'll look like a genius.

Light Italian Chicken

Serves 4

4 frozen chicken breasts

1 bag frozen veggie mix (i used the unseasoned "italian" veg blend)

1 can cannelloni beans, rinsed

2 tblsp olive oil 

1 tblsp minced garlic

white wine vinegar to taste

various herbs to taste

1 lemon

fresh grated parmesan cheese

Season chicken (salt, pepper, thyme) Cook at 350 till done. About 45 minutes. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high. Add garlic. cook 2 minutes. Add beans and frozen veggies. Cook till warm through. Toss in some dry herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley). Remove from heat. Sprinkle with vinegar to taste. Top with cheese and sliced chicken breast. Squeeze a lemon over. Act like you made a really fancy dinner.

Tuna Patty (Croquette Is Soooo Pretentious)

My mom made a variation of these when I was a kid. I made them for my husband just once. He called them "fleshy". I finally tried again and came up with this. Not "fleshy". 

2 small cans solid white albacore, in water, drained

1 small can chunk light tuna, in water, drained

1-2 tblsp spicy brown mustard

bread crumbs (plain or get all fancy and get garlic and herb)

2 eggs

vegetable oil (I like Smart Balance)

Mix tuna, mustard, 1 egg,  and 1 & 1/2 c. bread crumbs. Salt and pepper. Mix with fork adding crumbs till it easily forms balls. Chill 30 minutes. On med-high, heat just enough oil to cover bottom of pan. Make flat round palm sized patties. dip in egg and then bread crumbs. Cook in oil about 2 minutes each size. 

This is about the only meal I will serve with ketchup. But it really works here. 

I grew up with mashed potatoes and green mushy peas served as sides. In keeping with the Pantry Challenge, we had garlic couscous and sauteed sugar snaps peas with yellow bell pepper. 

Muffaletta With The MIL

I have some very fortunate things in my life. A good deli, fresh bread and a Mother-In-Law who lives in Louisiana. These all came together this week in my attempt to produce the elusive Muffaletta. I do not claim this to be the 'Central Grocery' muffaletta. But in a pinch, it is pretty damn good.

Bread (Use the bread recipe from May 22. Instead of the toppings use sesame seeds or keep the topping and change my life.)

6 slices Cappicola Ham

6 slices Mortadella (it's kinda like bologna)

6 slice Genoa Salami

6 slices Mozzarella

6 slices Provolone

1/2 cup Olive Salad ( order on line or try a specialty grocer, if you don't have an awesome MIL who will bring it to you)

Slice round loaf of bread in half, making one big sandwich. Layer all above items onto half of bread. Replace top. Cut into 4 wedges. Share with husband and MIL. Fight over last piece (or send home with MIL). 

Serve with homemade baked sweet potato fries salted and sprinkled with cumin. 

Happy Turkey Burger Day!

Lazy Dinner

1 lb ground turkey

1 pk hot wing seasoning

burger accoutrement 

Combine. Make patties. Broil in oven till done. Serve on toasted bun with lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing. Looks pretty fancy, huh?

We also had kale sauteed with baby onions and garlic, roasted carrots, and homemade potato salad (that recipe another time). But then again, I'm a show-off.

P.S. The buns, ranch, wing seasoning and potato salad ingredients were all on hand. I am serious about this "In Stock" challenge. 

If anyone wants to send me a pantry/freezer inventory, I will plan at least 3 cool meal ideas. Lets' do this!

Berry Useful

Last week of fresh strawberries. Pie is called for. This has been officially declared my "Best Dessert Ever".  As of this week. Who knows what'll happen next week. In the meantime, I will use this pie for leverage. I could really use a trip to Macy's. 

Strawberry Pie

Serves 8

10 graham crackers

1 cup sugar

5 tbl melted butter

1/2 cup cranberry juice

2 qts strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 c. cornstarch

dash of salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 350. Combine crackers and 2 tbl sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Add butter and mix till moist. Press into a 9 in pie dish. Bake 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 c. sugar, juice, 2 c. strawberries, cornstarch, and salt. Mash strawberries a bit with a fork. Bring to a boil, simmer and stir frequently for about a minute. Let cool slightly. Add remaining berries. Put in crust. Refrigerate till set. (Or not. Joe ate it about an hour later with a spoon.)

In stand mixer, beat cream to soft peaks. Add 2 tbl sugar and contents of vanilla bean. Beat till peaks form again. Spread on pie. Get out of the way.