Cranberry Bread

This is my favorite bread recipe ever! I like it even better than banana bread! And it's a great seasonal recipe, great for gifts as well because it's beautiful.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 t. finely shredded orange peel

1 beaten egg

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries

1/4 cup chopped almonds, pecans, or walnuts, toasted (I do not like nuts in baked goods so I left his ingredient out)

Preparation

1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange peel. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine the egg, orange juice, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees 50 to 55 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing (yeah right, who can wait that long?!).

*Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Bridal Edition Cookbook

-Sarah

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

I made this pasta as a more interesting alternative to my boring yogurt and granola lunches that I usually take to work. It's very delicious.

Ingredients

kosher salt

1 pound tricolor pasta, such as bow tie or fusilli

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2-3 t. dijon mustard

pepper

2/3 to 3/4 c. olive oil

1/3 c. diced sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 c. fresh basil, julienned

1/4 c. diced onion

2 large pickled pepperoncini pepper, diced

3 T. halved black olives

2 t. chopped fresh oregano

1 1/2 oz. crumbled feta

1 1/2 T grated romano cheese Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with cold water to cool.

2. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in enough of the oil to make a smooth dressing; season with salt and pepper.

3. Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, onion, pepperoncini, olives and oregano in a bowl. Add the cooked pasta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the vinaigrette and both cheeses and toss. Chill until ready to serve.

*Here are the changes I made to the recipe: 1) I did not add olives or pepperoncini peppers, 2) I used grape tomatoes instead of sun-dried (however I'm sure sun-dried is good), 3) I added 4 oz. of feta instead of 1.5, 4) I added about 4 T of romano instead of 1.5 (it's always better with more cheese), and 5) I used campanelle pasta because I could not find tricolor bowtie and I'm bored with fusilli. I decided to give you the original recipe instead of my adaptation because I know that many people like olives and might prefer sun-dried tomatoes over grape. Either way, delicious!

*Recipe from Food Network Magazine, October 2009

-Sarah

Corn Butternut Squash Soup

I realized that my last two posts are about soups, so I figured I shouldn’t stop at 2! Fall is one of my favorite times of the year because of soups…it truly can’t be beat on a chilly Fall day. Especially delicious are pumpkin and butternut squash soups fit for the season. I tried a new combination this week: butternut squash and corn and I was surprisingly very pleased. The batch made plenty for Michael and I at dinner, as well as soup for me throughout the week and two servings in the freezer!

Priscilla gave me a brilliant idea to store soups: Freeze them in individual sandwich bags so when it is time for just one serving, defrost the sandwich-bag size and voila!

I hope you like it!


Corn and Butternut Squash Soup

2 tbsp oil
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks (the squash can be tough, so be careful with the knife!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 ½ tsp curry (I didn’t have curry, so did combo of tamarind, ginger and chili powder)
salt & pepper
2 cans vegetable broth
¼ - ½ cream OR milk

In a large heavy stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat; add squash and onion. Cook until onion is soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add spices and cook another 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth and simmer until squash is tender, about 25-30 minutes. In a blender with the small top off and a towel over the lid, blend the soup in batches until smooth. Return to pot and stir in cream/milk; heat through over medium-low heat.

Enjoy!
Lynn

Chicken Noodle Soup

As you guys know, I had a little stomach bug on Sunday. When I finally got home from Asheville on Monday, I decided I wanted a hearty homeade Chicken Noodle soup to get my system back on track. I was very pleased with the results! Great for this cool, fall weather or whenever you are sick!




Chicken Noodle Soup

1/2 c chopped onions
1/2 c sliced carrots
1/2 c chopped celery
1-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
4.5 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup of cooked rotisserie chicken
handful chopped basil (fresh is best, but can use 1 tsp dried basil)
handful chopped oregano (fresh is best, but can use 1 tsp dried oregano)
1 1/2 cups egg noodles or farfalle pasta


In a large pot on medium heat, cook onions, carrots, celery and garlic with the butter or olive oil. Stir in the chicken, broth, basil, oregano and salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package. Drain and add noodles to chicken and veggie mix. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Classic Sausage Gumbo

When I lived in Charlotte with my friend Katie Jo Smith, she would make soups or stews every Sunday afternoon for the upcoming week's worth of lunches (and even freeze some, too!). This gumbo was a recipe she used, and it is very hearty!

I forgot to take a picture, but it makes about 6-8 servings.


Classic Sausage Gumbo

1/3 c flour
1/4 c oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
8-10 oz smoked turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 14 oz cans reduced sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen okra
1 tsp file powder (I used some Tumeric and Paprika)
3 cup hot cooked rice


In a saucepan or 4-qt dutch oven, combine flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to med. low, cook 15 minutes or until roux is dark reddish brown.

Stir in onion, celery, green pepper and garlic. Cook over med. heat for 3-5 minutes or just until veggies are crisp tender.

Stir in broth, sausage, okra and bay leaves. Bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves and stir in file powder. Serve in bowls with rice.

Love,
Lynn

White Bean Chili

White Chicken Chili

1/2 pound dried navy beans, picked over (I like to make sure I wash these real good also)
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half (Heavy cream is also really delicious!)
1 teaspoon Tabasco, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste
Two 4-ounce cans whole mild green chilies, drained and chopped (I like to roast my own peppers better, such as chilies or jalapenios, pealed and chopped)
5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds), cooked and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I like my chicken shredded better than chopped -- I boil the chicken and then shred it with my hands, plus that way you can reserve the chicken broth)
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup sour cream (or more!)

In a large kettle soak beans in cold water to cover by 2 inches overnight. Drain beans in a colander and return to kettle with cold water to cover by 2 inches. Cook beans at a bare simmer until tender, about 1 hour, and drain in colander.

In a skillet cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat until softened.In a 6- to 8-quart heavy kettle melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Stir in onion and gradually add broth and half-and-half, whisking constantly. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt, and white pepper. Add beans, chilies, chicken, and Monterey Jack and cook mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, 20 minutes. Stir sour cream into chili. Garnish chili with coriander and serve with salsa.


So yummy -- especially if you serve it with some cheddar cornbread! Recipe coureousy of epicurious.com. This was a big hit at the party I threw a few weeks ago. Love, Rach

Apple Upside-Down Pie

Yummy and pretty easy to make. It also has two layers of crust, which is definitely a perk for me. I know I should be ashamed of using a store-bought pie crust with a mom like mine, but oh well. Someday I'll master the pie crust like Suzy.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 (15 0z) package refrigerated piecrusts, divided

4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 large Jonagold apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375. Stir together first 3 ingredients, and spread onto bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Fit 1 piecrust over pecan mixture in pie plate, allowing excess crust to hang over sides.

2. Stir together Granny Smith apples and next 5 ingredients. Spoon mixture into crust, packing tightly and mounding in center. Place remaining piecrust over filling; press both crusts together, fold edges under, and crimp. Place pie on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape.

3. Bake at 375 on lower oven rack 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with a long wooden pick through slit in crust. Shield pie with foil after 50 minutes, if necessary, to prevent excessive browning. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Place a serving plater over top of pie; invert pie onto serving plate. Remove pie plate, and replace any remaining pecans in pie plate on top of pie. Let cool completely (about 1 hour).

*Recipe from Southern Living Magazine

- Sarah