Butter Braised Turnips

As part of our CSA basket last week, we had two small bunches of white turnips. I have never had a turnip before, so I was little nervous to try them. I wanted to find a simple recipe that would highlight the turnip and not it with other ingredients. This was the perfect recipe and I loved the crispiness that they had after sauteed.

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 pound baby turnips, greens trimmed off (if they're larger, quarter them)

salt & fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sugar

In a medium skillet, combine the butter and the oil over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the turnips and cook. Stir until they are coated in butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining ingredients, stir and cover the pan. Turn the heat to low and cook until the turnips are starting to become tender, about 5 minutes.

Uncover and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring until the turnips are glazed and the liquid is turned into a syrup.

Adapted slightly from Garden of Eating blog

Cajun Shrimp and Rice

Ok, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth last week. I was just swamped with work and didn't get time to blog about our meals. I'm also trying to empty out of our freezer to get ready for my next shopping trip to BJ's warehouse.

I made this last week and it was very good. I eliminated the cajun seasoning but used some Old Bay I had in the spice cabinet. I don't do much cajun cooking, but this was a quick one pot dinner.

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cajun seasoning
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 bunches scallions, chopped
2 cups cooked rice
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the butter, olive oil and garlic in a large non-stick skillet over medium0high heat until fragrant. Add the cajun seasoning and shrimp. Cook until shrimp begin to curl and then season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and scallions and cook, continually stirring. Add the rice and 1/4 cup water. Continue to cook until the rice is warmed through and the shrimp are fully cooked, approximately 3 more minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Source: Food Network Magazine - Great Easy Meals Cookbook

The Secret Recipe Club: French Toast Casserole

I'm excited to say this is my first month particpating in The Secret Recipe Club! I was pursuing other food blogs last month and saw a few were participating in this club. I immediately thought, perfect - just what I need.

My first assignment: Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker's blog. The blog is all about family recipes, frugal tips and the occassional random post. After reading further into the blog, Kristen has an amazing history of cooking and baking! I loved all of her Saturday Stories and feeling part of her family.

For my secret recipe, I chose Kristen's French Toast Casserole. We're pretty simple when it comes to breakfast (eggs, bagels, toast, etc.) and I usually stick to things that take less than 10 minutes. I can't complain about this recipe though - it took 10 minutes to throw together and then I had enough time to drink a cup of coffee while it baked.  I didn't have any leftover bread, so I bought a discounted loaf of cinnamon raisin bread while shopping on Friday night.

4 cups torn bread
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a greased cassrole dish, add the torn pieces of bread. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, maple syrup and cinnamon. Pour the egg mixture of the bread. Kristin sprinkles the cinnamon on top, but I wanted to incorporate mine into the bread.

Bake for 35 minutes or until top is crispy and the egg is fully cooked. Spoon into bowls and add your favorite topping. We just added a little more maple syrup. Delish!

Want to join The Secret Recipe club? Stop by Amanda's Cookin' and join the club!

Strawberry-Honey Butter

They're here, they're here!!!! Fresh strawberries!!! I am so excited for fresh strawberries! There's nothing better than a fresh strawberry and so much better than what you can buy at the grocery store. I'm practically drooling thinking about strawberries right now. ::giggling::

I'm growing a pot of strawberries this year, but unfortunely the birds are getting to them before us. Oh those birds! I was so mad when our first strawberry was eaten by a catbird - I caught it in the act of eating it! I've covered the plant with netting, but it's just not working. Luckily for us, there's plenty of local farms that grow strawberries.

I had about a pint of strawberries left over from last week and didn't want to waste them. I found this recipe for strawberry-honey butter and it's so delicious! I spread some on toast this morning and it was the perfect amount of sweetness I needed with breakfast.

1 pint strawberries, hulled
2 Tbsp local honey
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

In a food processor, puree the strawberries. Using a fine mesh sieve, push the puree through into a saucepan. Add the honey and lemon juice. Boil the mixture, continously stirring for 3 minutes or until it has thickened. Allow the strawberry mixture to cool to room temperature. Season with salt to taste.

In the bowl of stand mixer (trust me - use a stand mixture unless you want your white shirt covered with strawberry stains - just saying...), begin to cream together the butter and strawberry mixture until it is well bleneded. Continue beating the mixture for several mnutes until the butter becomes smooth and creamy. Let the butter stand, covered in a cool place for 1 hour to allow flavors to develop.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Source: The Kitchen Sink Recipes

Smashed Red Potatoes with Scallions

Our CSA basket included 2 bunches of scallions. While I love scallions, I find myself using them the same way - as a garnish. I wanted to incoporate them into a side dish and knew my one cookbook would have many different recipes to try out. This was the perfect recipe and I'll definitely be making it again and again.

1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large garlic clove, minced
Salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4-6 scallions, thinly sliced
Fresh ground pepper

In a large saucepan, boil the potatoes in salted water over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat and partially cover the pan. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, approximately 10 minutes.

Reserving the cooking liquid, drain the potatoes and return to the sauce pan. Cook, stirring over medium heat to dry out the potatoes and look floury. Measure out and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, set aside and discard the remaining liquid.

Remove the pan from the heat and mash the potatoes to a chunky texture with a potato masher or a wooden spoon (my method - I really do need to invest in a potato masher!). Set aside and keep warm.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until it starts to become golden brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add in the scallions and cook until they are wilted, about 2-4 minutes. Once cooked, add into the smashed potaotes. Add enough of the reserved water to the potatoes and beat with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Add more cooking liquid if needed until you reached the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper! Enjoy!

Slightly adapted from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook

Bananas-Foster Ice Cream

After making the banana chocolate chip cake the other day, I still had more ripe bananas to use up and what better way than making Banana Fosters ice cream! Yes, roasted bananas ice cream. It’s so delicious and what’s even better, I topped a piece of the warm cake with some of the ice cream. HEAVEN! I am so loving my ice cream maker and can’t wait to make my next batch. I think I’m going to need to buy a chest freezer to be able to make more than one variety at a time.

3 medium sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp coarse salt.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice bananas into ½ inch pieces. In a 2 quart casserole dish, add the sliced bananas, brown sugar and butter pieces. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.

Pour the roasted bananas and syrup into a blender. Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt. Puree until smooth.

Chill the mixture for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight in the refrigerator. Following the instructions from your ice cream maker, add the chilled mixture and watch your ice cream come together!

Source: Brown-Eyed Baker


Recipe made by: Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Once again I found myself with a bunch of very ripe bananas. I hate when they go from green to brown in couple of days. That's what happened with this bunch, but I knew I'd find something to make with them - no more waste in this house! The recipe originally called for cinnamon chips, but since I didn't have those and have been craving chocolate, it was a simple substitute!

3 very ripe bananas

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

For topping:

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar. Add ¾ cup of the cinnamon chips, and stir briefly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, and top with the remaining ¼ cup chips.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

And because my little one wanted to get her picture taken with the cake. LOL! Make sure you come back...I have another recipe that features some more of those over ripe bananas!

Source: Two Peas and Their Pod

Garlic Scape Pesto

Garlic scape? What is that???

Yup, that's the first thing I thought when I read that this was included in our first CSA share. I had never heard of garlic scapes and this is one of the reasons why I love that we're participating in a CSA.

So what is a garlic scape? As we know, garlic is part of the allium family, which grows underground. As the garilc bulb grows and gets harder, a shoot pokes through the ground. The shoot is green, kinda like a scallion, but it's longer, thin and pliable that it curls into tendrils. If it continues to grow, the scape will harder and transform into the white/beige color of garlic peel. If the shoot is still attached, it will stunt further growth of the garlic bulb. To continue growing the garlic, the scapes are removed.

I wasn't sure what to take with the big handful of scapes I had, but after a quick search online, I found a recipe for pesto. PERFECT! It was simple and easy to make and so versatile. I'm planning to spread it on crusty bread, adding it to fresh pasta and maybe tossing it into some scrambled eggs.

1 cup garlic scapes, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a food processor, combine the scapes, pine nuts and cheese. While blending, slowly add the oil into the mixture until smooth.


Source: Tasty Kitchen

National Donut/Doughnut Day!

Happy Donut Day! Or is it Doughnut Day?

What's your favorite donut?

I'm in love with glazed sour cream donuts. I could care less about those jelly filled ones - YUCK, but a sour cream one...oh dear, my weakness!

And some facts about National Donut Day...

• National Donut Day is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Donut Day event created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I.
• National Doughnut Day started in 1938 as a fund raiser for the Chicago Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor the Salvation Army "Lassies" of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers.

Photo source: Microsoft Office

Nutella Cream Cheese Brownies

I took the long weekend off from blogging, but didn't from cooking! I made the classic pasta salad with lots of fresh veggies. I'm so glad the summer is here and all the local produce will be available. Speaking of that, we planted a garden again this year and are participating in a CSA. Our garden is a little smaller than last year, but I tried a few new things - lettuce and carrots, and our staples - cucumbers, variety of peppers and tomatoes. Our first CSA pickup is Friday night and I'm excited to get some new veggies to experiment with. You'll just have to come back and see what we get!

So back to the brownies. Brownies are the one thing that I have a hard time baking. I either bake them too long and they're hard as a rock, or don't bake them enough and they're gooey inside. But not these brownies! They were perfect and the nutella adds so much to them.

Cream Cheese Topping

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Nutella

Brownie Batter
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. You don't want those brownies sticking in the corners!

First make the cream cheese topping. Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter,sugar and flour. Add in the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Scrape bowl and add the egg and beat until the topping is nice and creamy. Scrap bowl and add Nutella, beat about one minute or until the nutella is mixed into the cream cheese mixture completely. Set aside.

For the brownie batter, sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a medium sized bowl.
In a small bow, l cream the sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, beat well then add vanilla. Fold the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Spread 3/4 of the brownie batter into the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. The batter will be very thick! On top of the brownie batter spread 3/4 of the cream cheese topping.

Randomly dollop the remaining brownie batter and cream cheese topping over the layer of brownie batter. Swirl with a tooth pick or the tip of a knife.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. If you like your brownies a bit gooey then bake them for 40 minutes. For a dense cake like center bake for 50 minutes.

Source: Flour on my Face