Wild Rice with Roasted Butternut Squash

2 c prepared Long Grain & Wild Rice
3 c butternut squash, peeled and cut to 1/2 inch dice
1 medium red onion, cut into 8ths
1 T fresh Thyme (or 1 t dried)
3 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t kosher salt, more to taste
1 c walnuts
3 T walnut oil
1/4 c goat cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Toss squash, onion and thyme with oil, vinegar and salt. Spread in single layer on rimmed baking sheet and place on top rack of oven. Roast 30 minutes, stirring every 10 until desired tenderness.

Over medium-high flame, heat walnut oil for 3 minutes. Add walnuts and toast 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Allow to cool slightly.

In large bowl combine rice, roasted vegetables and toasted walnuts. Add salt to taste and top with crumbled goat cheese. Serves 6 as a side dish, serves 4 as a main.

Cherry Clafouti ~ by Julia Child

1 1/4 c milk
2/3 c sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 T vanilla
1/8 t salt
1/2 c flour
2 c cherries, pitted
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. In a blender combine milk, 1/3 c sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Pulse to thoroughly mix. Pour a 1/4 inch layer of batter in a buttered 7 or 8 cup baking dish. Place in oven until batter begins to set in bottom of pan, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from oven, add cherries over set batter and sprinkle on remaining 1/3 c sugar. Pour on rest of batter. Continue to bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. Clafouti is done when puffed and brown and a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar, serve warm with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Chef's Note: Long before I saw the movie Julie & Julia, I baked a Pear Clafouti from a recipe by Ina Garten. It was incredibly delicious and so wonderfully easy that I decided to look for other fruit to use in this creamy custard dessert. Lo and behold, I ran across the Cherry Clafouti and I bookmarked the best looking recipe I could find.

Fast forward six months to today and everyone, and I mean EVERYone has put up on the internet a Cherry Clafouti recipe by Julia Child. I am thrilled so many people have rediscovered the joy of cooking thanks to a lovely movie, but I wonder if blogging about food will be a fading trend for some... only time will tell. I'm in for the long haul, so enjoy!

Excellent Ranch

Today I revisited some comfort food and made Beef Dip Sandwiches. Actually, as pointed out by my fantastic husband (hi Big D!), it is more of a "Pot Roast Sandwich". Whatever, it was like a big warm hug in my belly... comfort food to the max.

As to the Excellent Ranch, I have discovered there is a prepared ranch dressing and dip that is every bit as good as homemade. Litehouse Homestyle Ranch was purchased by said hubby last weekend to serve to guests as a veggie dip. Again, he is fantastic and so is this dressing! I have used it as both a veggie dip and a salad dressing and I was very pleased with the results from each encounter.

Since the dressing was purchased by the husband (who doesn't save receipts), I don't know if it is cost effective to purchase this prepared dressing as opposed to making it myself, but that doesn't matter. It is outstanding and I would purchase it again even if it is twice the price of comparable dressing like Hidden Valley (eww!). It's that good.

Curried Chicken Salad

4 cooked chicken breasts, chopped
1 c red seedless grapes, halved
2 fuji apples, peeled and diced
¼ c crushed pineapple, drained
2 T raisins
1/3 c mayonnaise
2 t honey
1 t curry powder
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
crushed pecans for garnish

Combine chicken, grapes, apples, pineapple and raisins in a large bowl. Whisk together mayo, honey, curry, lemon and salt and pepper. Pour over chicken and fruit and toss to thoroughly combine. Place on bed of romaine lettuce for a salad or cracked wheat bread for a sandwich. Sprinkle with pecans. Serves 4.

The Swedish Flying Jacob ~ A Truly Awful Dish

I have to confess, today I tried a recipe that I absolutely hated. Even baby J turned up her nose and cried when I put the plate in front of her. Literally, she cried. The child who will eat every single thing I make would not eat this. Not one bite.

I chose to make this "dish" today because several ingredients were reminicent of "chicken curry" perfected by my mother-in-law while living in Zambia. I had hoped for some sort of nod to her recipe with this experiment. Plus one of my dearest friends is of Swedish descent (hi DL!) and I thought it might be a nice surprise sometime to make a fun modern recipe from her homeland. I was sorely mistaken.



Flying Jacob

4 pieces crisp fried bacon, chopped
4 cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 bananas, sliced
1/2 c Heinz chili sauce
1 c heavy cream
peanuts, lightly salted

Preheat oven to 375. Whip cream and mix with the chili sauce until well combined. Place chicken in large baking dish and sprinkle with bacon and two of the bananas. Pour on cream and chili mixture, distribute evenly. Top with remaining banana slices and a handful of peanuts. Bake 15 - 25 minutes. Serve over steamed white rice.

Chef's Note: There are two things I would immediately change about this dish. The first would be to add some additional spice to the cream and chili. It was not flavorful enough when combined with the chicken and lacked any punch or real interesting flavor. No "wow" factor whatsoever. Second, I would omit bananas completely. They were atrocious when cooked with the chicken and cream. Everything on my plate tasted like banana... the chicken, the sauce, the rice... Oh, so, bad.

I might revamp this recipe at some point and try it again, but the terrible bacon-banana-chicken taste will have to have become a distant memory first. Not to mention the disgust at having to throw out the rest of that inedible banana chicken. What a waste of time.

Italian Meatballs

1 egg ~ lightly beaten
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 c bread crumbs
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t dried parsley
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t dried basil
Salt & fresh ground pepper ~ to taste

Mix all ingredients just until blended. Form into 20 one inch meatballs. Saute in 2 T olive oil heated over medium-high heat, turning occasionally until evenly browned and no pink remains inside, approx. 15 min. Serve with pasta and your favorite marinara sauce. Serves 4.

Belgian Waffles

2 c flour
2 t baking powder
4 large eggs, separated
2 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla
4 T butter, melted
2 c milk
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat belgian waffle iron. In medium bowl sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside. In second bowl beat together egg yolks and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla, melted butter and milk to eggs and sugar, whisk to combine. Combine egg-milk mixture with flour mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not over mix, small lumps will remain.

In third bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into waffle batter (use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold) approximately 40 strokes.

Coat waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover waffle grid. Close and cook until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Top with butter and real maple syrup. Serve immediately. Makes 20 4-inch waffles.

Chicken and Green Chile Quesadilla

4 12 inch flour tortillas
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 c shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 c cooked corn kernels
1/2 c pinto beans
1/4 c chopped green chiles
1/4 c chopped roasted red peppers
sour cream and cilantro for garnish

Heat griddle over high heat. Place two tortillas on hot griddle, add 1/4 c cheese and shredded chicken. After cheese has melted, add corn, beans, chiles and peppers. Sprinkle remaining cheese over all and top with two tortillas. Flip quesadillas and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook until second tortilla is brown and cheese is melted. Remove from griddle and allow to rest 5 minutes. Cut into wedges, garnish and serve. Serves 4.

Chicken Lo Mein

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast strips
1 package frozen vegetable Stir-Fry Lo Mein
1 c frozen broccoli flourettes
1/4 c water
1 T vegetable oil
1 t sesame oil
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t ground ginger
2 T soy sauce
1/2 c unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
red pepper flakes (optional)

Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry 5-6 minutes until no longer pink. Stir in lo mein mix, broccoli and water. Reduce heat to medium high, cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove cover and add sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Stir, recover and cook an additional 5 minutes or until vegetables are thoroughly cooked. Transfer to serving bowl, toss in soy sauce and top with peanuts and pepper flakes. Serves 2.

Mexican Taco Salad

16 oz shredded iceberg lettuce, rinsed
1 lb ground turkey
1 package mild taco seasoning, recommended: McCormick
1/4 c water
15 oz can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
1 c shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Tomato, diced
1/4 c Black Olives, chopped
1/3 c Sour Cream
1 c Brianna's Chipotle Cheddar dressing
chopped Cilantro for garnish

Brown ground turkey over medium high heat. Add taco seasoning and water, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Divide lettuce between 4 plates. Top each salad equally with beans, taco meat, and cheese. Drizzle with Chipotle Dressing and sprinkle with tomato and olives. Add sour cream and cilantro, serve with tortilla chips if desired. Serves 4.

Chef's Note: To use canned tomatoes in this recipe, place tomatoes in sieve over a large bowl and allow to drain 10-20 minutes. Discard the juice and store tomatoes tightly covered in refrigerator.

Iced Mocha

8 ounces fresh brewed coffee, cooled
6 ounces skim milk
2 T International Delights Hershey's Chocolate Caramel creamer
1 cup ice

Fill large glass half way with ice. Add coffee, milk and creamer. Stir well to combine, top with whipped cream if desired. Serves 1.

Smoked Sausage and Bell Pepper Skillet Scrambler

1/2 lb smoked sausage, cubed
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
1/2 t salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste

In large skillet, heat sausage and pepper over medium heat 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from pan to papertowel to drain. Whisk eggs, milk and salt until well combined. Add to pan with sausage drippings. Scramble eggs and cook until almost dry. Return sausage and peppers to eggs and continue cooking until eggs are no longer shiny, about 3 minutes more. Serves 4.

Meat Lovers Pizza Sandwich

4 slices sourdough bread
8 slices swiss cheese
8 slices deli ham, thin cut
16 slices turkey pepperoni
2 T butter, softened
1 t grated parmesan cheese

Heat griddle to medium high. Combine butter and parmesan and spread one side of each slice of bread. Place two pieces of bread on griddle, butter side down. Add two slices of swiss cheese on each bread, equally divide ham and pepperoni between two sandwiches. Top with additional two slices of cheese. Add remaining two slices of bread. Grill first side of bread until well browned, approximately 5 minutes. Flip sandwich over, reduce heat to medium low and continue to grill until second side is browned and swiss cheese is melted. Remove from grill and slice diagonally to resemble pizza slices. Serve immediately with marinara sauce for dipping. Serves 2.

Cool Coleslaw

1 head green cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, grated
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/4 c rice wine vinegar
1 T sugar
1 t salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Wash cabbage and dry, place in large serving bowl and add carrot. Thoroughly mix mayo, vinegar, sugar and salt until well combined. Pour over cabbage and mix well. Add pepper to taste. Will keep up to one week refrigerated. Serves 10.