"Damn Delicious" Roasted Vegetables

 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cup broccoli florets
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms
• 2 cups chopped butternut squash
• 1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
• 1 yellow squash, sliced and quartered
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or more, to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
• Place broccoli florets, mushrooms, butternut squash, zucchini, squash, bell pepper and onion in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet.  Mix together  olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and thyme; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.
• Place into oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tender.*
• Serve immediately.
• *Baking time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the vegetables.
• If you are mixing different vegetables on the pan, you will want to make sure they finish cooking in the same amount of time. Here are some tips:
• Round Root Vegetables (Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes). Cut these vegetables on the smaller size (about 3/4-inch pieces), as they tend to take longer to roast.
• Long Root Vegetables (Carrots, Parsnips). Similarly, these veggies take longer to roast. Cut any thick ones in half lengthwise, then cut them crosswise into 1 1/2-inch slices
• Cruciferous Vegetables (Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Broccoli). Cut Brussels sprouts in half, and remove the stems. Cut broccoli and cauliflower stems into small rectangular pieces, and slice florets into pieces that are about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick and 1 1/2- to 2-inches wide.  
• Soft Vegetables (Green Beans, Asparagus). These veggies roast quickly, so you can leave them as is (discard the ends of the green beans and woody stems of the asparagus). 
• Bell Peppers (Green, Red, Yellow, Orange). Core the peppers and cut into 3/4-inch pieces or 1/2-inch strips. 
• Onions (Red, Yellow, or Sweet). Cut off the stem end, then remove the paper and waxy layers. Cut off the root end, then slice the onion in half from end to end. Cut each half lengthwise into about 4 wedges. 
• Cherry Tomatoes (or Grape Tomatoes). Leave whole. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, as the yummy juices will become sticky and caramelize.

Easy Corn Bread

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix

• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.
3. Bake for 45-55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown and mostly clean in the center.

Serve with Honey Butter

Honey Butter - 3/4 cup honey + 1/4 cup honey.  Mix together then refrigerate, covered. 

From All Recipes.com

Instant pot Butternut squash soup

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash about 2 lbs, Peeled and chopped into cubes
• 1 large carrots cut into chunks
• 1 large Granny Smith apples diced
• 2 small white onions diced
• ½ cup celery rib chopped small
• 1 small red bell peppers diced
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 inch ginger chopped (I skipped this)
• 4-5 sage leaves
• 2 ½ teaspoon curry powder or use cayenne pepper
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• ¾ cup thick coconut milk

To serve

• Few teaspoons of coconut milk to drizzle or swirl
• Sunflower seeds
• Dried cranberries
• Chopped walnuts or pecans

How to cut butternut squash - Peel skin on butternut squash. Cut into half through the middle. Scrape out the seeds. Cut lengthwise slices, stack all the slices together and make crosswise cuts to make cubes.

1. Into the pot add butternut squash cubes, white onions, carrots, green apples, celery, red bell peppers, garlic.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour vegetable stock into the pot.
4. Cover the lid, ensure the pressure valve is in SEALING position.
5. Select PRESSURE COOK mode on the pot and adjust the timer to 10 minutes.
6. Once cooking time is over, manually release pressure by turning pressure valve to VENTING mode.
7. Open lid, add coconut milk.
8. Remove sage leaves if you don’t like, I left it on.
9. 10. Using immersion blender, blend soup into smooth velvety texture.
10. 11. Ladle out soup into individual serving bowls.
11. 12. Garnish with any of your favorite ingredients. We swirled a few teaspoons of coconut milk, sprinkled sunflower seeds, dried cranberry and fresh thyme leaves.
12. 13. Serve warm with crusty bread on the side.
13. Recipe: Currytrail.in

Black Bean, Corn, and Red Pepper Salad With Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette Recipe

This is the ultimate summer salad, and it's perfect for entertaining. Not only is it festive and colorful, but you can make it ahead of time—in fact, you should, because it gets better and better the longer it sits.

Ingredients

• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob (about 2 cups)
• 2 red bell peppers, diced (about 2 cups)
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon zest and 6 tablespoons juice from 5 to 6 limes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
• 2 Hass avocados, chopped

• Directions

  1. 1.
     Combine all ingredients except for avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes and up to over night. Right before serving, add avocados and fold gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with more chopped cilantro if desired. Serve at room temperature.    Recipe from Serious Eats.

BBQ Bakes Beans for a Crowd

Long time family recipe for baked beans, probably made every 4th of July for 30 yrs!

1/2 lb bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
1 #10 can pork and beans
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cup catsup
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 tbs Red Pepper flakes

Brown bacon and onion. Drain fat! Mix remaining ingredients in large casserole bowl and stir. Bake covered with foil for 1 hour at 375. Remove foil and bake 45 minutes more 

OR Mix all the ingredients in a Crock Pot and bake for 3 hrs or until thickened.

ENJOY!

Cheese Souffle

I remember Mom (Elaine) making this when I was young.  The reason I remember it so well is because just before she would take it out of the oven she would say -" Shhhhhh, you have to whisper when this comes out of the oven so it won't fall"

 

If you want to watch how this goes together you can visit this You Tub site - but follow my recipe instead of there's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD3-ttc39uA

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1 t salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
dash cayenne red pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly butter a 1 1/2 to 2-quart soufflé dish.
2. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour, salt and hot pepper sauce and whisk constantly for 1 minute; mixture should bubble but not brown. Continue whisking while adding milk in a slow, steady stream. Cook until thick, whisking occasionally; do not boil. Add cheese and remove from heat (cheese should not be totally melted).
3. Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Pour directly into saucepan, whisking constantly until well combined; set aside.
4. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold about 1/4 of the egg whites into cheese mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whites.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

Submitted by Shauna Oakes

Thanksgiving Cranberries

1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c water
3 whole cloves
3 whole allspice
2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
1 (12 ounce) bag fresh cranberries
Grated Orange Peel

Bring sugar, water, clovs, allspice and cinnamon sticks to a boil in 4-quart saucepan.  Cook, stirring until syrup is clear, about 3 minutes.  Add cranberries and cook just until they begin to pop, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, add grated orange peel and cool.  Keep in refurigerator at least 3 days before serving

Lori Oberender Recipe

Serves 15 people

Sweet and Spicy Oven Fries

Great Side for BBQ dinners.

If you don’t want the brown sugar to caramelize too much, you may want to drop the oven temperature a bit and cook them for a little longer. They won’t get quite as crispy, though.
This recipe makes enough fries for two (since I was only cooking for two)… It can easily be doubled (or tripled), though.

Ingredients:

• 2 large yams, peeled and cut into fries
• 1 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup) and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
Soak the yams in cold water for 15-20 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Spread the yams out in a single layer on the baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle half of the mixture over the the yams.

Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully turn over the fries and sprinkle with the remaining spice mixture. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until the fries are tender and the sugar has caramelized.

Mexican Rice

2 T. butter
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. white rice
1 c. carrots, diced or minced
1 c. frozen corn kernels
1 3/4 c. canned salsa (We love Safeway's Chipotle, medium)
1 1/4 c. water

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add garlic, onions, and rice. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring, until rice is golden brown. Add carrots, corn, salsa, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or until tender.

(I think I can make this rice in my sleep. We LOVE it with anything Mexican. I've changed the orginal recipe to have more veggies, but feel free to add less if it is too chunky for you.)

Summer Squash Casserole

Wondering what to do with all that squash, Grandma? Make this yummy casserole!



2 lbs (about 6 cups) summer squash, sliced
1/4 C onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 C sour cream
1 C carrot, shredded
1 package of herb-seasoned stuffing
1/2 C margarine

Preheat oven to 350F. Cook sliced squash and chopped onion in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Drain. In a bowl, combine cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Stir in shredded carrots. Fold in squash and onion. Melt margarine and combine with half of the stuffing mix. Press into bottom of 9 inch pan. Spoon vegetable mixture over top. Sprinkle remaining stuffing over vegetables. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Note: I used yellow squash and zucchini. It was delicious!

SOUR CREAM POTATOES aka FUNERAL POTATOES

A yummy au graten potatoe casserole served traditionally with a ham dinner. This recipe gets it name from the fact that for several years ham dinners were served to large family gatherings after a funeral, and this recipe was a side dish to that ham dinner!



Ingredients

• 8 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, grated or sliced
• Salt & Pepper
• 3 T onion chopped.
• 1 pint sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 c cheddar cheese grated.
• 1 cup crushed potato chips. (Optional)

Steps

1. Place potatoes in buttered casserole pan. Season with salt & Pepper.
2. Combine sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese and onion together. Mix into potatoes.
3. Top with 1 cup crushed potato chips. (Optional)

Bake at 350 until soup-cheese mixture bubbles approx. 45 min. to 1 hr.

Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Potato Omelette)

Requested Recipe- for those of you who got to chance to try the Spanish Tortilla at the Family Reunion and loved it here is the recipe.
We were served this simple dish in Spain on multiple occasions, but my cooking lesson came from Abuelita Theresa, a wonderful Spanish Saint in El Ferrol. The Spanish tortilla should not be confused with the Mexican flour or corn tortillas. Spanish tortilla is very similar to an English omelet except it is made with potatoes and is much more delicious.
Spanish Omelettes come in many different guises, this recipe is the most traditional, but after you have made it once let you imagination go wild with additional ideas. This is vegaterian and glutton free!!!
You will need a deep, nonstick skillet for this recipe and a plate or something that will completely cover the top of the pan.

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (red potatoes and Yukon Golds will work best)
• 1/4 Salt
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 6 large eggs

Steps

1. Peel the potatoes, wash and dry with a cloth. Cut them in halves through the long axis Cut them in slices, about 2mm thick Put in a bowl, add the chopped onion and salt, stir.
2. USE A SMALL FRYING PAN FOR THIS RECIPE. Fry them in EVOO in a pan, with not much oil. If you put a lot of oil you'd get crusty french fries and you want them to be soft and tender, so you have to be very careful with the oil temperature and the amount of oil. It is quite possible that they get stuck amongst them. After all, they don't have so much space in the pan. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the variety of the potato.
3. Whisk the eggs in a bowl. A key for success is not to get them perfectly beaten I am told, so just use a fork not a beater.
4. When the potato starts to brown a little on the edges and is mashed up with the onion in a lumpy fashion then Drain the excess olive oil from the pan.
5. Add the eggs. Make sure the potato and onions are fully submerged by the eggs. Poke the potato to allow some of the egg to seep into the mashed mixture.
6. Fry this gently on a low heat. While cooking shake the pan to loosen the tortilla from the base and tidy the edges up with a wooden spoon. Do not over cook. The middle is meant to remain runny and gooey.
7. The egg will start setting, as this happens place a plate over the pan, a large enough plate to cover the pan substantially, and with a quick co-ordinated movement of both wrists - flip- the tortilla over onto the plate and slide back into the pan to cook the underside.
8. Keep shaking the pan lightly so the tortilla does not stick to the bottom. Once it feels firm on the edges and soft in the middle (after about 1 minute) then slide the tortilla back onto the plate. For the brave heart you can do the flip again if you wish.
   Let the tortilla rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Cut into cake slices or cubes.

Options you can add
Spanish chorizo (cured spiced pork sausage)
Bell Pepper, any color
ham or bacon

Etta's Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage

Cut thinly 1 head red cabbage in cubes
Fry 1 lb. bacon, cut in small pieces
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c vinegar
Put in crockpot on high, 4 to 5 hours. Sugar and vinegar amt. can vary according to taste.

I have very pleasant memories of eating this at my Grandma's as a child and liking it very much. It is an old German recipe.

Spiced pickled beets

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups sliced canned or fresh beets, juice reserved
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tab. sugar
2 whole cloves
3 black peppercorns
l bay leaf
1/2 tsp. salt
1 small onion, sliced (optional)

If using fresh beets, cook in water until tender. Cool enough to take off peels and slice (I use an egg slicer for even slices) Place in medium bowl and set aside.

In medium saucepan, combine vinegar and 1/2 cup beet juice and bring to boil. Add sugar, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, salt and onion and return to boil. Remove from heat and pour mixture over the beets. Cover and chill. Serve the beets very cold.

**I often double the recipe, then place in ziplock bag where they can be rotated in refrig so all the beets get the wonderful flavor. Some recipes add a little cinnamon to the mixture.