Using Mint

Last week I was at my parents Dad and Jack were weeding and cleaning out the herb garden. Mom had a lot of mint that she was reluctant to keep because she never uses it. So I took some home with me. I know that I had a recipe in my files that I had cut out of a Martha Stewart magazine just a little while ago. Tonight Jason told me he wouldn't be home for dinner and that meant I could have seafood and not feel guilty. So I tried this one and loved it. The mint is wonderful in it and is a nice combo with the feta. I would have never put that together. I didn't have any asparagus so that was omitted but I just added more snow peas. It even got a thumbs up from Jackson and he usually will not touch shrimp.

Penne with Shrimp, Feta, and Spring Vegetable Ingredients Serves 4. Coarse salt and ground pepper 12 ounces penne rigate (ridged) 1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths 1 pound peeled and deveined frozen shrimp, thawed 8 ounces snow peas, trimmed and halved on the diagonal 3 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin) 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces) 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves Directions In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne 5 minutes less than al dente. Add asparagus; cook 3 minutes. Add shrimp and snow peas; cook 2 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta mixture, and return to pot. To pasta mixture, add oil, lemon juice, garlic, and cup reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Gently mix in feta and mint; adjust to desired consistency with some pasta water as needed. Serve immediate

find recipe on website here

Copyright 2010 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. All rights reserved. This was really fast and a one pot thing made me happy. I am also including some things that I use as time savers that I love. The first thing is minced garlic. I find it by the herbs in the produce section at the store. This brand comes in a tube like a paste but when I was in Utah the brand I used was in a jar. No more cutting, smashing or mincing garlic. I love it!  This next item is a tool I use all the time. I still have a hard time with the strength in my hands. So squeezing limes or lemons is really tough. I invested in one of these lemon/lime squeezers and love it. It squeezes the citrus till there is nothing left and you don't have to worry about seeds.

Ground Turkey

I am not a fan of cooking ground beef but most recipes that I have call for it. So a while back I started substituting ground turkey for the beef and I have yet to go back. It is less fat, usually cheaper and it doesn't gross me out when I have to use it. I use it to make meatballs, for the meat  in my spaghetti sauce and if the boys have a hankering for burgers I whip up a mean turkey burger.
Here are two really good recipes that use ground turkey.


Mediterranean Turkey and Pasta   

1 pound uncooked ground turkey
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic ( usually called Italian style) undrained
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
1 1/2 cups water
2 medium carrots, very thinly sliced
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup medium shell pasta
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large skillet cook ground turkey until brown. Drain off fat. Transfer turkey to 4 quart slow cooker. Stir in tomatoes, tomato juice, water, carrots, onion wedges, celery, Italian seasoning, salt and cinnamon. Cover and cook on low heat setting 4 1/2-5 hours or on high heat setting 2-2 1/2 hours. If using low setting turn to high. Stir in pasta. Cover and cook 30-45 minutes more or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle each serving with feta cheese. Serves 6.


*I first made this when we had two of Jason's school mates over for dinner and it was a big hit. The cinnamon and the feta are a must in this recipe.  I got this recipe out of the Better Homes and Gardens Simple Slow Cooker Recipe book.

Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna 
24 ounce jar marinara sauce
1 small onion finely chopped
12 ounces ground turkey
4 medium Zucchini
2 cups skim ricotta cheese
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella or colby Jack cheese.
Oregano for garnish


Brown turkey and chopped onion until turkey is broken up and onion is tender. Add marinara sauce and simmer for 15-20 min. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice zucchini lengthwise into thin strips. Places slices overlapping slightly in bottom of casserole dish. Top with 1 cup sauce. Dot with ricotta. Then repeat for second layer. (zucchini in opposite direction, sauce, ricotta cheese.) For the top layer you can top with more zucchini (just brush with olive oil so it doesn't burn) or top with shredded cheese. Bake uncovered until lasagna bubbles and top browns 45-50 min. Garnish with Oregano if desired.

* This recipe is great if you have a bounty of zucchini to use!

Lemon Cream Cupcakes

Today we had a Birthday celebration for mom! I tried out these cupcakes and oh how they are good. If you are a big lemon fan these are for you.I thought I would share the recipe that I found at allrecipes.com. I added a little lemon zest to the top of each cupcake for color.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sour cream
• FROSTING:
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon peel and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, cream butter and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, vanilla, lemon peel and milk; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. 

How we do Spinach

My mom asked me to post one of our favorite comfort and go to vegetables. Believe it or not it is Spinach! It is that good that my dad asks for it weekly. Jack eats it up like crazy. Even during his picky eater stage he would always come for this spinach. I craved it when I was sick and still turn to it often. My mom even said she had this growing up that her mom made for her.  We do not have exact measurements because it always depends on how much spinach you cook. So take these ingredients and make it to your taste!

Ingredients
spinach
accent seasoning salt
butter
apple cider vinegar


Steam or cook the spinach till no longer crisp. Drain water. Add butter to spinach stir until butter is melted. Add seasoning salt to taste. Stir and then finish off by adding splashes of Apple cider vinegar to taste. Stir and serve warm.

* I made this today to see if I could get some measurements. I used four cups of spinach measured before cooking. About 1 tablespoon butter and about 2 tablespoons of vinegar. We like the vinegar taste.

Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

While my mom works out her apple butter I will post one of the our family spring time favorites. Jason rated this one of his top ten. I love the lemon taste with the asparagus.

Chicken and Asparagus Pasta
2 Chicken Breasts cooked or grilled and cut into pieces
1 1/2 pound asparagus end trimmed
1 pound bow tie pasta
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
Salt and Pepper
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese
In a large pot bring water to boil, add asparagus  and cook until tender but crisp about 2-3 minutes. Take asparagus out of water and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package instructions. In a large skillet set over low heat combine butter, garlic, cream and stock. Stir in salt, lemon juice and zest. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes reduce heat add chicken, cheese, drained pasta. Cut asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces on diagonal and add to rest of ingredients. Remove from heat and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with extra cheese if desired before serving.

The new and old of Easter 2010

This year for Easter dinner we added a few new things to the traditional favorites. Along with my mom's southern ham recipe and her famous mustard sauce we added carrot souffle, which will now be added permanently to the menu.

 The new
Carrot Souffle`
  Ingredients
1lb fresh carrots
1/3 cup butter
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cut carrots in 1/4 inch thick slices. Combine with butter and cover; microwave on high 7-8 minutes until tender. Process carrots in food processor with remaining ingredients. Transfer to greased 8x8 baking dish. Bake 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes; serve.
Makes 8 servings
This does not have to only be eaten for Easter it could compliment any meal. This dish is sweet so it is great for those picky vegetable eaters.

The old
Mustard Sauce
combine
1/4 cup dry mustard
1/2 cup  apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
Beat 2 beaten eggs into above mixture. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Place in microwave for 5 minutes. Stir and cook 5 minutes more. Great on ham. Store in refrigerator.

Southern Ham Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
 1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon garlic vinegar
Pack the ham with the above mixture and cook according to your ham baking requirements. Then baste with the sauce until ham is cool.

Our next adventure we are tackling is apple butter! We just got through reading Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by  Beth Hoffman and every time the charcters in the book felt sad, sick or lonely they had toast with apple butter! We now crave toast with apple butter! They were also eating beaten biscuits and cinnamon rolls but that is for another day. What can we say we are influenced by what we read in our books. Not too long ago we were both reading Janet Evanovich books and the characters were always going to Cluck in a Bucket for chicken. All we had was Kentucky Fried. The chicken in our imaginations was much better. So you will probably figure out what we are reading by what we are eating.