Kale Salad with Peanut Dressing

This is a great Pinterest find.  My sister Susan made this for a family BBQ and I loved it!  I have since made it twice and everyone who tries it raves about it and wants the recipe.  I've altered the original recipe slightly but you can see the original recipe here at Kitchen Fiddler.  This is a copy kat recipe of Houston' Kale Salad.

Ingredients:

4 cups finely chopped kale
2 cups finely chopped savoy cabbage
1 scallion finely chopped, white and green parts
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1/2 cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey


Preparation:

In a large bowl combine, kale, cabbage, scallions, cilantro and roasted peanuts

In a small bowl, combine peanut oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over kale and toss well to coat.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Spinach and Parmesan Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

This recipe was created for a catering job that Nanci and I had last summer.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to blog it because it's really a fantastic, delicious recipe.  It's a new take on the traditional "stuffed" mushroom.  I love using portabella mushrooms because it's easy to portion as a side dish, (one mushroom per person) or this would make a great vegetarian dish and in that case two mushrooms per serving would be plenty. A great side dish for a BBQ and I know we are all always looking for something new and different to make than the typical colesloaw and potato salad.

Ingredients:

8 small/med whole portabella mushroom caps

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 large bag of fresh spinach

1 cup grated parmesean cheese, divided

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1/4 cup fresh parsely, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet and lay each mushroom cap gill side up on the sheet.  Lightly oil the bottoms and inside of each mushroom cap and season both sides with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Meanwhile,  in a large skillet over med heat sautee minced garlic in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil for a minute.  Add in fresh spinach to hot garlic oil, season with salt and pepper and cook spinach down until it is fully wilted.  Transfer spinach into a small bowl and set aside to cool.  Once spinach is cooled add in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and stir to combine.  In another bowl mix bread crumbs with remanining parmesan cheese, fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Now to assemble the mushrooms;  Add about 2 tablespoons of spinach mixture into the gill side of the mushroom cap and then sprinkle with about 1-2 tablespoons of the bread crumb mixture, continue until all filling and bread crumbs are used up.  Drizzle a little olive oil on top of each mushroom (add an additional sprinkle of parmesan cheese if desired) and bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.  Add another sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley before serving, serve hot!

 

Mexican Sushi Rolls with Avocado Crema

A new recipe that we just tested for a catering event next week. We originally were going to make these with chicken but we made a vegetarian version for a family event and they were so yummy that we decided to keep them vegetarian. We didn't even miss the chicken. These are easy to make, they look really pretty and best of all they taste delicious. They are a really good summer bbq appetizer because they are best served at room temperature.

Ingredients:

6 flour tortillas (we used whole wheat)

1 1/2 - 2 cups white rice cooked and cooled

Juice from 1/2 a lime

1 can black beans, drained and mashed

1 cup shredded mexican blend cheese

1/4 cup of cilantro, divided

1 jar of corn salsa (we used the kind from Tradcr Joes)

1/2 a jalapeno chopped finely and add to the corn salsa (omit if you don't want the extra spice)

1 orange pepper, sliced very thin

1 scallion, sliced length wise thinly

Preparation:

Place cooked and cooled rice to a medium bowl and squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lime onto rice and add 1 tablespoon of cilantro and stir to combine.  Add shredded cheese to mashed black beans in a microwave safe bowl and cook on hi for 45 seconds.  Remove from microwave and stir to combine well.  If cheese isn't completely melted return to microwave for 15 second increments until melted.  Take a flour tortilla and using a sharp knife cut off the rounded edges on all 4 side to cut tortilla into a square shape.  Spead a thin layer of mashed black beans/cheese onto the cut tortilla leaving a 1/2 inch border on all side.  Next press down a small amount of rice into the black beans in an even  layer.  Next, add the rest of the ingredients in a neat line in the middle of the rice.  You want to be able to see each ingredient when you roll up your tortilla so it's important to carefully place your peppers, corn salsa, scallions and extra chopped cilantro.

Roll up your tortilla starting from the bottom (side closest to you) and roll up, tightly without ripping tortilla.  Once rolled you may need to use a little extra mashed black bean/cheese mixture to help seal the edge.  Once rolled up, use a very sharp knife and cut your roll in half.  Then cut each half into equal thirds.  You will end up discarding the very ends of the roll, just have that as a snack ;).   Turn rolls on their sides and serve immediately. 

**you can make these an hour or so in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve.  They hold up really well. 

Avocado Crema

2 ripe avocados

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until combined well. Serve as dipping sauce. Also makes a fantastic dip for chips!

Spinach Croquettes

Our Mom used to make these all the time growing up and now we make them for our kids.  A good way to get your kids to eat their veggies. These are crispy and delicious!  My kids love them.

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained well
2 eggs
1/3 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Mix spinach with eggs, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.  Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over med/hi heat. Form spinach mixture into patties and fry in hot oil for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.  Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with a little kosher salt.  Serve hot.

Linked to Raising 4 Princessess

Vegetable Panini

My kids love paninis and they finally convinced me to buy a Panini press. This is our go to meal when we need something quick and easy. There are so many endless combinations of different fillings to use, this is one my son Aaron made up.

Ingredients:

ciabatta bread

prepared pesto

sun dried tomatoes 3-4

2-3 slices fresh mozzarella

2-3 slices fontina cheese

small handful baby spinach or arugula

a few slices of portabello mushrooms

Preparation:

Split the ciabatta bread and spread both sides with prepared pesto. Layer the rest of the ingredients on the bread and close the sandwich and place on hot panini press until bread is crisp and cheese is melted.

Tomato Souflee Pie

This was a first time trial at this recipe and as Nanci and I discovered, it will be a staple in our recipe repertoire for the many years to come.  Wow this was good!  Not to mention how beautiful it looks with the bright red tomatoes, yellow custard filling and green specks of chives throughout the pie.  The texture comes out light and creamy, like a custard.  It was a nice departure from the everyday quiche we usually make.  Nanci and I taste tested this pie at our monthly scrap-booking get together with friends this past Sunday.  It was very well received.  We all went back for a second "taste". 

Ingredients:

1 frozen pie shell

4 eggs

1 cup of milk

3 ripe plum tomatoes

1/4 cup of chives, roughly chopped

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper

 Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Beat eggs and milk together in large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chives and cheese, mix.  Pour into a prepared pie shell.  Slice tomatoes and arrange in concentric circles around the pie to make a pretty design.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30 minutes longer until set.   Serve warm.

Tomato Tartlets

Ellen and I will be catering a baby shower in May so we have been testing recipes to see what will work best. I came up with this tomato tarlet appetizer that is so easy and so delicious.  This is going to make a perfect, light appetizer for the party.

 
Ingredients:

mini phyllo cups
cherry tomatoes
blue cheese crumbles
shredded mozzerella cheese
fresh cracked black pepper

Preparation:

Cut tomatoes in half and place 2 halves in each phyllo cup.  Sprinkle with black pepper.  Add a teaspoon of blue cheese crumbles over the tomatoes and then sprinkle shredded cheese over the top.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.  Serve warm. 

Orecchiette with roasted butternut squash, cauliflower and almonds

I recreated a meal that Ellen had when she went out for dinner with her husband to a new restaurant last week. The combination sounded great and since I love roasted veggies (especially butternut squash and cauliflower) I couldn't wait to try this out. My kids loved it. I made a ton of veggies....way more than I needed for the pasta so the amounts in the recipe can vary. You certainly don't need to use as much as is stated in the ingredients. I liked having extra for snacking on while I was in the kitchen cooking. This can easily become a vegan meal by substituting the pasta with any vegan pasta like brown rice or quinoa varieties


Ingredients:

20 oz of butternut squash peeled and cut into chunks
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
12 oz orecchiette (can use brown rice or quinoa pasta too)
1 cup of prepared pesto
1/2 cup sliced almonds
a few tablespoons of olive oil
salt, pepper

Preparation:

Toss squash and cauliflower with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on two separate baking sheets and put in a 400 degree oven for approximately 35-45 minutes or until brown and caramelized. Toast sliced almonds in dry pan on the stove top just until light brown and fragrant (do not walk away from the pan, almonds brown quickly) Boil pasta according to package directions and toss with prepared pesto. Place caulifower and squash over pasta and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Portabello Mushrooms and Yellow Squash with Breadcrumbs and Parmesan

I got this yummy side dish recipe from my friend Maria.  She makes it with zucchini and yellow squash.  I love mushrooms so I usually add those too and sometimes leave the squash out all together.  So simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 package of sliced portabello mushrooms

1 large yellow squash sliced into rounds

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup flavored bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a large bowl add mushrooms and sliced yellow squash, olive oil, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to taste.  Toss to coated evenly.  Spread veggies on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until veggies are tender and breadcrumbs are brown and crisp.