Discount Entertaining

I was looking online for a recipe that would make use of my Aldi Cornish Hens ($2.69each) and my home grown sage, and found a recipe that looked awesome and made use of everything I already had in the house...was very happy with the outcome!  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Herb-Stuffed-Roasted-Cornish-Hens
 The recipe calls for 12 leaves of sage, but it doesn't match up with the directions. I put 2 leaves of sage under the skin of each of the 2 breasts' of the hens. I added 2 leaves of sage cut in half into each of the cavities of the hens along with the lemon wedges and onions. I chopped up another couple of leaves and added them to the butter, oil, and garlic that the hen is basted with. The recipe includes red potatoes that are roasted along with the hens *The potatoes turn out better if you put them in 15 minutes into cook time, or the full length of cooking time with the hens. I sauteed left over veggies and fresh from the garden produce I already had in the frig. to go with the meal.

Wine glass, flatware, candelabra, and dishes are from Tuesday Morning (acquired over many years at very discounted prices.)...even the candles are from TJMaxx. The tablecloth is a find from an antique mall in Stillwater, MN. It takes a bit of time and the love of the hunt, but if you have an idea of what you're looking for, it's an adventure well worth taking and worth the savings.

Zucchini Crust Pizza

This is one of my favorite zucchini recipes to date. I love the flavor and the fact that it makes use of our fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and my herbs. You can definitely make this without fresh herbs, but I absolutely love oregano and basil fresh from the garden.

Fresh, Healthy, and Tasty!

I've adapted this recipe from taste of home. I changed some of the ingredients and added some of my own.

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded zucchini
3 eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tbs. fresh chopped oregano or 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano (divided)
1 tbs. fresh chopped basil or 1tsp. dried basil (divided)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sliced ripe olives
1/3 to 1/2 cup red onion chopped (could also use 2/3 cup green onions with tops)
1/2 cup either yellow, orange or red bell pepper (original recipe called for green pepper)
2 cups (8ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I probably use more, I cover the pizza to my taste)
 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 to 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced. (I substituted some cherry tomatoes from our garden for some of the pizza)

Directions
Press excess liquid from zucchini and place in a bowl (I squeeze the water out a handful at a time to get most out possible). Add eggs, flour, 1 1/2 tsp. fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tbs. fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried basil, and salt; mix well.

Add caption

Spread evenly over bottom of a greased 12" pizza pan. Bake at 450 deg. for 10 to 15 mins. check after 10 mins. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 350 deg.

Sprinkle zucchini crust with olives, onion, yellow bell pepper or pepper of your choice.

Add mozzarella,  Parmesan cheeses, sliced tomatoes, and remaining oregano and basil.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. I sprinkled a little kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper on the top before eating.  Enjoy!!!

Zucchini & Avocado Salad w/ Lemon-Thyme Dressing

No you're not seeing double...

Because my husband appears to have a  zucchini fetish, I find it impossible to use or even give away the amount he grows. I challenge myself to find new recipes each year.

I was so excited to come across this recipe that I adapted from Inspired Eating! It makes use of two of the herbs I grow, and I had all the ingredients in my home.(How often does that happen?) It was delicious!

I'm sure I'll be posting many more zucchini recipes this summer!

...this is the amount my husband plants each year.

Ingredients:

1 pound zucchini (about 4 small zucchinis)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tbs. minced thyme or lemon-thyme leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1 ripe avocado

Romano or Parmesan cheese (I used Parmesan)

black olives

grape tomatoes

sea salt to taste

fresh pepper to taste

(I find it best to mix the dressing ahead so it can meld 

together.)

1. Whisk oil, lemon juice and thyme together in a small bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. (Let sit for a bit while you prepare the rest of the salad) 

 2. Trim and discard stems from zucchini. Using a vegetable peeler, and holding zucchini as if you were going to peel it, slice thin ribbons from the zucchini into a large bowl, including skin and white flesh. When you get to the center seed portion of, stop peeling. (I also peeled down the one end of the zucchini that has the fleshy part.) Discard center and seeds.

3.Stack basil leaves and thinly slice crosswise into very thin strips. Add to bowl with zucchini. Pour dressing over the zucchini and basil and put in the frig.

4. Heat a small skillet over low heat, and toast pine nuts for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently, until fragrant and just starting to turn golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. Right before serving cut up avocado, grape tomatoes, and black olives and add to the zucchini along with the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately

Served with whole grain bread covered in pesto

Asian Wonton Salad

I'm not sure why, but in the summer I LOVE Asian salads, I find them so refreshing! I'm serving this salad at a Reception/Reunion up in Sparta, WI. I've served it to groups from our church and they have loved it!

Sweet Sesame Dressing

2/3 cup rice vinegar

1 cup canola oil (I used grape seed oil)

2 Tbs. sesame oil (store in frig after opened)

4 gloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tbs. sesame seeds (store in freezer after opened)

Place all ingredients into a quart jar (or something equivalent) and shake vigorously. If desired, make ahead of time and store in the fridge. (dressing recipe from ourbestbites.com) Sesame seeds and sesame oil go rancid quite quickly, be sure to refrigerate the oil, and put the seeds in the freezer for future use.

For the salad:

1 large head of Napa Cabbage cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
1 large bag of Romaine lettuce
5 or 6 green onions cut up
slivered almonds
 Wonton strips (store bought, or you can bake a healthy version-recipe below)
(you can also add a little chopped cilantro to the salad like Panera does in their Asian Sesame Chicken salad)

I like to toss just the cabbage and lettuce with the dressing first (you won't use all of the dressing) to coat the lettuce, and then add the other ingredients so they stick. You can make a meal out of the salad by adding slices of chicken breast.

Wonton Strips

Stack wonton wrappers on a cutting board and cut them into 1/2 inch-wide strips. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Separate the strips, lay them on the baking sheet, and mist them lightly with the cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Scrunch each strip to give it a wavy shape, if you like. Bake at 375 until golden, 7 to 9 minutes.

Easy Gourmet Pork Chops

This is definitely a family favorite! I am so into trying new recipes that sometimes I forget to make the tried and true recipes that everyone loves.

Ingredients

6 loin pork chops (1/2 inch thick)

2 or 3 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

dash of pepper 

2 Tbsp. olive oil or shortening

1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed or 3/4 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1 (3.5 oz.) can French fried onions

1/2 cup sour cream

1 (8oz.) package fresh mushrooms (optional)

Coat chops with a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. In skillet, brown on both sides in oil or shortening. Place in 9x13 baking dish. I like to saute mushrooms in olive oil and put over the pork chops, but that's optional. Combine soup, 3/4 cup water, ginger, and rosemary; pour over chops. Sprinkle with half the onions. Cover and bake at 350 for 50 minutes, or till meat is tender. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining onions and continue baking 10 minutes. Remove meat to platter. Blend sour cream into soup mixture; heat. Pass with meat.

Cooking With Garden Fresh Herbs

L to R Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano

Love using garden fresh herbs in my cooking. The 5 herbs above are some of my favorites! The general rule of thumb for using fresh versus dried herbs is to use 3 parts fresh herbs to every one part dried herb. In dishes that call for Italian seasoning I combine in descending order: Oregano, Basil, Thyme, and a little bit of cracked Rosemary.
It's important to rinse your herbs thoroughly, but they can tend to retain too much water after being cleaned so I put them in my salad spinner to get rid of the excess water.

It is so economical to grow your own herbs versus purchasing fresh herbs from the market. I have had good luck the past few years purchasing my herbs from our local Home Depot, they have been healthy and reasonably priced. I plant my herbs right out side my door for easy access when cooking. I like to grow triple the amount of basil because I tend to use it in so many dishes, and I love to make basil pesto and freeze it for use over the winter months. 

My next few posts will include recipes that make use of these herbs. If you haven't already tried fresh herbs in your cooking, you'll be amazed at what a difference they make in the flavor of your favorite dishes!!!

Some of the uses for different types of fresh herbs:

Sage- excellent with poultry, (Place under the skin of chicken or Cornish hens, along with some in the cavity of the poultry.) used in stuffing and soups

Basil- wonderful used in pesto, excellent when paired with fresh tomatoes or sauteed fresh vegetables, a perfect herb for any homemade tomato sauces, topping for pizza, and great in soups

Rosemary- an awesome addition to lamb and steak,  great for seasoning oven roasted red potatoes, can be used to season butternut squash...

Thyme- I love to use thyme in homemade chicken soup, it works well with any poultry or red meats, when used along with garlic it makes an excellent seasoning for sauteed mushrooms, wonderful in sauces

Oregano- perfect for any Italian dishes, pizza, tomato sauces, used to spice up pork or beef 

Cilantro-  used in Mexican and Chinese dishes as a garnish, and in pico de gallo 

Parsley- used as a garnish and in many soups and sauces 

Guacamole/Pica de Gallo/Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

Appetizers for the grad. party. There is just nothing like some good guacamole! Combined with pica de gallo, it's a match made in heaven!

guacamole

Ingredients                               

2 ripe avocados

1 clove of garlic minced

Juice from 1/2 of lemon

About 1/3 to 1/2 cup salsa

About 1/4 cup chopped onion

A dab of sour cream

Salt to taste

Peel and mash avocados and add the rest of the ingredients. To store before serving place plastic wrap on bowl so that it is actually touching the dip to keep the air from turning the dip brown.

Ingredients

Pica de Gallo

5 Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped                                      

2 cloves of minced garlic

Juice from 1/2 lemon or lime

Chopped cilantro to taste (about 1/4 cup)

About 1/2 cup chopped onion

Sprinkle on a little "Fiesta Party Dip Mix" by Tastefully Simple

Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve

Also served a quinoa "salad" that I got tons of compliments on, but used it as a chip dip.  Recipe revised from  thediva-dish.com

Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 C. dry quinoa

2 C. vegetable broth or chicken broth

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half

2 avocados diced

5 oz. pkg. of baby spinach

1 bunch cilantro

1/4 C. onion

2 small cloves garlic

For the dressing:

Juice of 2 lemons

zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. to 1 1/2 tbsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. cumin

dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Make your quinoa first. Soak the quinoa in a pot in the veggie broth for about 15 minutes. After that, turn on the heat to medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes just until the liquid absorbs. You don’t want it completely dried out, so when there is just a TINY amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad.

 2. In a food processor, add your spinach and cilantro. Make sure to wash you greens.

 3. Process the greens until they are finely diced. You can do this by hand as well if you don’t have a food processor.

4. Add the greens to a bowl, and set aside. Next take your onion and garlic and finely dice those (I do this in the food processor to), and add to the greens mixture. Next add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and coated. If the quinoa is cooled, you can add it to the chickpea mixture next.

5. Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado and mix. Set in fridge for about 10-15 minutes before serving so the flavors set.

The honored graduate, congratulations Chantelle!!!