Orzo comfort

I love orzo period.  Normally I like big, chunky food.  Tonight I diced the veggies small with my Progressive chopper.  Love the way it turned out! 

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 med onion, diced small 

1/2 red pepper, diced small

1/4 to 1/2 cup butternut squash, diced small 

1/4 to 1/2 cup acorn squash, diced small 

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup spinach, stems removed
1 cup orzo
2 1/2 (approx) cups chicken broth
2 TB Agave nectar
Juice from 2 limes
handful of cilantro, sliced
sprinkle of sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Directions:
Cook orzo in chicken broth until all liquid is absorbed.  While orzo is cooking, saute garlic, onion, pepper and squash in a 3QT saucepan till translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add spinach and cook till spinach is wilted.  Add beans, agave, lime juice, salt and pepper and mix well.  When the orzo is done and the liquid is absorbed, mix it in with the bean mixture.  Stir in cilantro just before serving.  YUM!
**variation**  Serve with a sprinkling of feta cheese.

Corn & potato chowder

It's a great time of the year for soup!  I updated Meam's (my grandma) version.

Ingredients:

3 ears of corn, cut off the cob

3 med potatoes, peeled and diced

32 oz chicken broth

1 med onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 TB butter

6 tsp flour

12 oz half-n-half

sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

2 TB cilantro, sliced

Directions:

Wash, peel and dice potatoes and bring just to a boil in a saucepan.  When the water starts to boil, remove from the heat and drain.  Melt butter in a 5 QT stockpot.  Saute onions, garlic and 2/3 (approximately) of the corn for about 5-7 minutes.  Add the flour and mix well to make a rue.  Mash the rest of the corn (I used my small food processor), and add to the pot.  Add the chicken broth and whisk until the rue is dissolved.  Add the potatoes, and keep the heat on med until it starts to boil.  Add half-n-half, a couple of shakes of sea salt and the fresh ground pepper and stir well.  Once the soup starts to bubble, turn down the heat to med-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.  It should thicken once it has bubbled.  Slice cilantro and add just before serving.

Blackberry turnovers

This is so easy!
Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry (I use Trader Joe's)
4 heaping tsp blackberry jam
egg wash
butter (to grease the pan)

Preheat oven to 400.  Butter a baking sheet.  Take one sheet of puff pastry out of the freezer and let it thaw for about ten minutes.  If you use TJ's puff pastry, I took one sheet and cut it into 6 pieces, making individual turnovers for my family members.  Eggwash the edges of pastry and spoon jam into the middle.  Fold over and "seal" the edges.  A little jam may squirt out, that's ok.  Eggwash the top and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Squash gratin

Squash Gratin Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb total, peeled, sliced butternut and acorn squash

1/2 cup half-n-half

sprinkle of nutmeg

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup crushed honey graham crackers

8 oz shredded white cheddar cheese

2 TB butter

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 2 QT dish with non stick spray.  Peel and slice squash. In a mixing bowl, toss squash with a light sprinkle of nutmeg.  Layer the squash and the cheese in the baking dish and add half-n-half.  Top with breadcrumbs and graham crackers.  Dot butter over breadcrumbs.  Bake at 375 until golden brown, about 45 minutes.  

**variation** I'm dying to try this with sautéed, sliced onions and apples mixed in with the squash!  

I think apples, onions and white cheddar is such a nice combination!  Let me know what you think!

RUB

1-2-3-4-5 ALL PURPOSE RUB:

Mix equal parts of the following:

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

paprika

granulated garlic

brown sugar

This is good on any kind of meat, home fries, grilled veggies, just about anything!

Fall is finally here!

I so look forward to fall after all the hotness of summer.  Now I think it's my favorite time of the year.  What's not to love about fall...cooler weather, apple picking, pumpkin anything, and all the comfort foods!  Since we had the parents over for dinner tonight, here's what was on the menu tonight for the family:
Glazed Pork Loin
Noodles
Mashed potatoes
Squash Gratin
Blackberry turnovers

The pork roast was so incredibly easy and the glaze really was tasty.  Here's what I did:

Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients:

1 pork loin roast (3 lbs or so)

1 tsp dried sage

2 TB all purpose rub (recipe below)

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions:

Sprinkle rub and sage onto the pork on both sides.  Put in crock pot on low along with the garlic and chicken stock.  Cook for 8 hours.  It literally will fall apart when you take it out.  You will not need a knife, just a fork!  About 1/2 hour from serving time, remove the liquid from the crock pot and add 1/2 of the glaze and continue to cook on low.  Reserve the other half of the glaze for basting just before serving.  The glaze is what makes this dish!!!!

Glaze:

1/2 heaping cup brown sugar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup red wine

2 TB soy sauce

1 TB cornstarch

2 TB honey mustard (or Dijon mustard)

Whisk ingredients in a saucepan and heat till thick.  Baste pork just at the end of cooking.   

1-2-3-4-5 ALL PURPOSE RUB:

Mix equal parts of the following:

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

paprika

granulated garlic

brown sugar

This is good on any kind of meat, home fries, grilled veggies, just about anything!

Squash Gratin Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb total, peeled, sliced butternut and acorn squash

1/2 cup half-n-half

sprinkle of nutmeg

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup crushed honey graham crackers

8 oz shredded white cheddar cheese

2 TB butter

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 2 QT dish with non stick spray.  Peel and slice squash. In a mixing bowl, toss squash with a light sprinkle of nutmeg.  Layer the squash and the cheese in the baking dish and add half-n-half.  Top with breadcrumbs and graham crackers.  Dot butter over breadcrumbs.  Bake at 375 until golden brown, about 45 minutes.  

**variation** I'm dying to try this with sautéed, sliced onions and apples mixed in with the squash!  

I think apples, onions and white cheddar is such a nice combination!  Let me know what you think!

BBQ meatloaf

When I was eating beef, I always enjoyed cold meat loaf with cold corn on the cob.  I made BBQ meat loaf last night and let it cool overnight.  Tonight I sliced it thick, grilled it, added caramelized onions and cheddar cheese and served it all on a toasted Italian roll for my husband.  It's always so much easier to cut and handle after it's cold.

BBQ meatloaf ingredients:

1 lb ground chuck

1/2 cup diced onion

1 egg

2 cups bread crumbs (approximately)

2 TB mustard

2 TB honey

2 TB ketchup

2 TB BBQ sauce

1 TB Worcestershire 

2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 onion, sliced (for caramelizing)

2 TB butter (for caramelizing)

pinch of sugar (for caramelizing)

Directions:

Mix ingredients in a mixing bowl and either form into a loaf shape, or put meat in a loaf pan that is safe on the grill (a baking stone pan is great for this)  Cover meat loaf with a nice helping of ketchup and BBQ sauce mixed (maybe a cup total ).  If you don't have a stoneware pan, shape the meat loaf, cover with ketchup/BBQ, and wrap loosely in foil.  Grill for about an hour.  If you have a thermometer on the grill, it should run right around 325 degrees.  Let cool completely, or better yet, overnight.  Saute' 1/2 onion, sliced in 2 TB butter until nice and brown, about 15 minutes.  Add a touch of sugar at the end.  Onions will be nice and caramelized.  While onions are cooking, slice meat loaf into 1 inch thick slices and heat in a frying pan or on the grill.  Top with the caramelized onions and a slice of cheddar cheese and cover with a lid till cheese is melted.  Serve on a toasted bun.