Strata your way

The best thing about this recipe is that you can substitute the first three ingredients with anything you like, so if you want spinache and sausage put those in instead, or if you want it with out any vegetables leave them out.  You can also try different cheeses, like gruyere, gouda etc... It will always be deliciouse.

12 oz sliced mushrooms

1 cup diced ham

1 cup diced asparagus

2 tbs butter

6 (1 ounce) slices bread, cubed

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground dry mustard

1. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet, then add mushrooms and asparagus . Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside.
2. Mix together bread cubes, mushrooms, asparagus, ham, and Cheddar cheese in a lightly greased 7x11 inch baking dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt, and mustard. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cube mixture. Cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cheese potatoes au gratin

 

• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 pounds russet potatoes (4 large potatoes)
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère, or cheddar cheese (1/2 pound)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup of diced Ham (optional)

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2.Butter the inside of a 10-by-15-by-2-inch (10-cup) baking dish.
3.Saute the onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender. 4.Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. 5.Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sauteed onion and mix well. 6.Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and 1/2 cup of cheese and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2  to 2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

Butternut Squash with sage Soup:

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

2   large leaves of  fresh sage

4 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled seeded butternut squash

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1 garlic clove, minced

6 cups Chicken Stock or  6 cups purchased organic chicken broth

Melt butter with oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sage; sauté until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add squash and coarse salt; sauté until squash softens and onions are golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add 5 cups stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until squash is very soft, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender, allowing some texture to remain if you like. Return soup to pot, Season with pepper and more salt, if desired. 

Candied Jalapeno Ingredients

1 lbs jalapeno peppers

3/4 White vinegar

2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp celery seed

Wearing gloves, I removed and discarded the stems from the jalapenos then sliced them in to 1/4-1/8 inch rounds.

In a pot, I combined the cider vinegar, sugar, garlic, turmeric, celery seed, cayenne pepper and mustard seed and brought the mixture to a boil. I then reduced the heat and simmered for 5 minutes.

 Added the jalapeno slices and simmered for another 4 minutes

Using a slotted spoon, I transferred the peppers to a clean, sterile canning jar, leaving at least 1/4 inch of room from the top. I turned the heat up on the liquid and boiled hard for 6 minutes. Using a ladle, I poured the boiling syrup in to the jar over the jalapeno slices.

Insert a chopstick to the bottom of the jar a few times to release any air bubbles then wiped the rim of the jar with a clean, damp paper towel and closed it snugly (but not too tight) with the two-piece lid.

 I Flip the jar upside down and let it sit until the pressure and heat caused it to seal.

Natalia's Favorite Carrot Cake Muffins

Carrot Cake Muffins

3 cups (270 grams) grated raw carrot (about 4 peeled carrots)

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated white sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon (3.5 grams) salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup coconut (sweetened)3 large eggs

3/4 cup (180 ml)  canola oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Place paper liners in 18 muffin cups.
2. Peel and finely grate the carrots and set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Stir in the coconut. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. 
5. Fold the wet ingredients, along with the grated carrot , into the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. DO NOT OVER STIR!
6. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  
7. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 10 minutes remove the muffins from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Makes 12 standard-sized muffins.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting: (optional)

1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

4 ounces (1/2 cup) (110 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.  Beat the butter and cream cheese until very smooth with no lumps.
2. Gradually beat in the  powdered sugar until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract.

3. Place a dollop of the cream cheese frosting on the top of each muffin.

Healthy and delicious Linguini and Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

This meal is as close to Sunday at my Nonni's house as I can get while still being healthy.  My kids both LOVE this meal and always eat 4-5 meatballs.

1lb ground Turkey

1 egg

1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. Chopped Italian Parsley

1 slice of Bread

2 cloves of garlic (press with garlic press)

28 oz. can of tomatoes with salt and basil I use the one from Trader Joe’s

1.       Puree the can of tomatoes in blender until smooth.

2.       Dice up bread and blend in blender until it is like bread crumbs.

3.       In a large bowl mix turkey, egg, cheese, parsley, garlic and bread crumbs.

4.       Pour tomato puree into large sauce pot and turn heat to low.

5.       Using the ground Turkey mixture make 1 inch round balls until all the mix is used up. Drop balls one at a time in sauce, shake the pot to make room for more, they should not be on top of one another.  Let simmer for ½ hr. shaking the pot to cover the meatballs with sauce every so often.

6.       Boil water for Linguini and cook until al dente, about 10-15 minutes or according to package.

7.       Remove meatballs from sauce and set in a bowl or platter. Drain pasta and add it to the sauce that is left in the sauce pot.  Serve with meatballs and the rest of the cheese.

One Skillet Tamale Pie

This recipe I created back in college as a quick yummy cheap dinner of just meat and cornbread. I have added more ingredients over the years. If you want a vegetarian option replace the meat with 2 cans of black beans.

1lb ground Turkey, beef or 2 cans of Black beans

1 small onion diced

2 bell peppers of any color sliced in thin strips or ½ a bag of Frozen Mélange a trios’ from Trader Joe‘s

½ of a packet of McCormick Taco Seasoning, or Trader Joe’s Taco seasoning

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 box of Trader Joe’s Corn Bread mix, or 2 boxes of Jiff Corn Bread Mix

Optional extras include:

·         ½ Cup frozen corn to add into the Jiff Corn Bread mix.

·         1 Cup shredded cheese to mix in with meat and peppers

·         1 diced jalapeño pepper to mix in with corn bread mix.

Preheat oven to 350º

1. In an oven proof skillet heat olive oil and add peppers and onions. 

2. Sauté peppers and onions until soft. Add meat and taco seasoning to pepper mixture and sauté until meat is cooked.

3. Make Corn Bread Mix according to the package and pour over the top of the meat, pepper and onions. 

4. Put the skillet in the oven and cook until Corn Bread is golden, about 30 minutes.

Serve hot with sour cream, salsa and guac.