Pasta Fagioli

 I signed up for a recipe site geared toward a healthy eating plan for 'maturing' women recently.  I've tried some awesome stuff from them. homemademethod.com.  This one is going to be on repeat.  It is SO GOOD. This is a 6 serving recipe below.

Pasta e Fagioli

2 T. olive oil, divided

1 lb. ground beef, grass fed preferred

1 1/2 c. diced onion

2 c. diced carrots

4 stalks celery diced

3 c. kale spines removed, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 c. chicken or veggie stock

2 T. tomato paste

2 cans diced tomatoes

t t. coconut sugar

1 T. Italian seasoning

1 t. salt

1 t. pepper

1/2 c. water or more as needed

1 c. Ditalini pasta, dry (or macaroni noodles work too)

1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed

1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed

For serving (optional):

1/2 c. parsley, fresh, roughly chopped

1/2 c. parmesan cheese, shredded

Heat 1 T. oil in a large pat over med high heat.  Add the beef and cook and break it apart until fully cooked.

Drain the fat from the pot and transfer the meat to a bowl aside.

Cook the pasta to al dente.  Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 T. oil in the same pot.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté over med high heat until tender, about 6 minutes.  Add the kale and garlic and sauté 1 minute longer.  

Add the stock, tomato past, tomatoes, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to med low.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are soft, 15-20 minutes.  Add water if needed.

Add the pasta and beans to the soup.  Add water if needed.  Cook until beans and pasta are hot, about 5 minutes more.

Garnish with parsley and parmesan if desired.

Lingonberry Salmon

 We try to stick to a Scandinavian theme for Christmas Dinner each year.   Lingonberry Salmon sat next to Norwegian meatballs this year.  This is based off the Quick Cured Lingonberry Salmon on northwildkitchen.com but changed a bit since we don't have fresh lingonberry readily available here.  I used a lingonberry jam instead.  It's a bit more runny than it probably should be, but it still works in a pinch.  We also did ours on the grill using cedar planks instead of baking it.  (I doubled this recipe for our crowd, but here is the single version)

Lingonberry Salmon

2 lb. salmon (We use sockeye whenever we can!)

1 T. salt

1 T. sugar

1 c. fresh or frozen lingonberries (recipe says you can sub chopped cranberries, too).  I used 1/2 c. or so of lingonberry jam in it's place

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. whole grain mustard (I used stone ground)

1/4 c. melted butter and cooled

Place the salmon on a sheet pan, skin side down.  Combine the salt and sugar and rub it on the salmon.  Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge and let it sit for an hour or so. 

Take it out and rub off with a paper towel as much of the salt and sugar mixture as you can.

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, honey, lingonberries (or jam), and the melted and cooled butter. 

If you are grilling this, transfer the salmon to the cedar planks (be sure to presoak these so they don't burn).  Spread the mustard-jam mixture over the salmon.

Grill and enjoy.

If you are baking the salmon, bake the salmon in a baking dish (without the planks of course) at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

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T = tablespoon

c = cup

lb = pound

Oven Baked Bacon Wrapped Scallops

I think I found my new favorite way to do scallops!   And if you like bacon, well, you are in luck here.  Here is what I did.  And here is what I will do again.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

1 lb. scallops, muscle removed, rinsed and dried

Bacon strips (1/2 the number of scallops you have)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Paprika

Prebake your bacon strips so they start to cook but are still soft.  I did mine for about 8 minutes.  Cut each strip in half the long way. I do my bacon in the oven on 400 degrees on a wire rack on a foil lined sheet pan.

Wrap each scallop in a half cooked bacon strip and secure it with a toothpick.  Trim off the bacon if it is too long.

Put the wrapped scallops on a wire rack.  I used the same one I used for the bacon.  Brush each scallop with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.  Flip the scallops over and repeat on the other side.

Bake the scallops for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.  Recommended internal temp is 115-125 degrees.  At 15 minutes, mine were mid 140's degrees and I prefer them a bit higher temp.  They were really, really nice.

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lb  = pound

Dinner Rolls

I found this recipe on thestayathomechef.com and wow.  It's the first time I've actually gotten bread dough to have that velvety feel.  Love.  This was a definite good addition to the Thanksgiving spread.  Will make again!

Dinner Rolls

2 c. whole milk

2 T. instant dry yeast (I used quick rise)

1/4 c. sugar

2 t. salt

6 T. salted butter, softened

2 large eggs

6 cups flour, divided 5 1/2 c. and 1/2 c.  (I used 600 grams and 60 grams to begin with)

1 T. salted butter melted

Microwave the milk in 30 second intervals until it reaches 100 to 110 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the warm milk, yeast, salt, softened butter, eggs and 5 1/2 c. flour.

Start on low speed.  Once the flour starts to incorporate, increase the speed to medium.  Slowly add the remaining 1/2 c. of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides.  The dough mixture should be slightly sticky and soft. The amount of flour is an estimate and you should go by feel.  I ended up using more like 1 c. or more of flour, not 1/2 cup.  

Transfer the dough to a large lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until about double in size.  The recipe said this should take about 90 minutes but mine didn't take that long.  (Maybe since i used quick rise?).  My dough was so soft!!

Lightly grease a 13 x 18 baking sheet.  Punch down the dough and divide into 24 equal pieces.  (With the flour I added, mine were 69 grams.)  Place your hand into a cupping shape parallel to a clean countertop.  Place the dough ball between your palm and the countertop for approximately 30 seconds until you have a smooth round ball.

Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet.  Cover again and rise until double in size, about an hour. (mine took less)

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly browned.  (at least 190 degrees internal temp)

Just before they are done, brush them with the melted butter.

Let the rolls rest on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

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degrees are in Fahrenheit.

c = cup

t = teaspoon

T = tablespoon

Peanut Butter Cup 'Cookies'

Looking for a way to use up that leftover Halloween candy?  Try this with Peanut Butter Cups!!  Basic, but still attractive and delicious.

Peanut Butter Cup 'Cookies'

Whatever # of leftover peanut butter cups you are looking to get rid of

Double the amount of Ritz crackers as you have PB cups

On parchment paper or a baking mat, place a ritz cracker with a peanut butter cup on top.  Put in a 350 degree oven for 90 seconds for when the tops of the cups just start to get shiny but not melted.

Remove from the oven and top each with another ritz cracker.

Freeze the new sandwich cookies for about 15 minutes to set them up.

Peanut Butter Scones

I can't decide if I like scones or not.  Store bought ones are often too dry, while my first attempt at making them at home produced ones that were too doughy.  My local bakery does them right, so I keep trying.  This recipe from Midwest Living magazine attracted me because, PEANUT BUTTER, duh.  I upped the PB because, PEANUT BUTTER, duh. And, I added a peanut butter drizzle on top to add a bit more sweetness.  The end result is quite decent if you are looking to make a scone.  

When the scone craving hits, I would make them again, but maybe only do 1/2 batch since they are heavy and makes 12 at full-force.

Peanut Butter Scones

1 c. quick cooking rolled oats (I only had old-fashioned so I ground them a bit in the blender)

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour (160 grams)

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

2 T. packed brown sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/3 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. cold butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. raisins (I didn't add these, but maybe would do dried cranberries or other berries next time?)

1/2 c. peanuts, chopped

1/4 c. toasted wheat germ

1 T. milk

2 t. packed brown sugar

Lightly grease a large baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flours, 2 T. brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Using a pastry cutter, cut in the peanut butter and cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Make a well in the center.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, 3/4 c. milk and vanilla.  Add all at once the the dry ingredients with the raisins, wheat germ, and peanuts.

Turn dough on a well floured surface.  Knead gently for 10-12 strokes or until nearly smooth.  Divide dough in half and pat each portion into a 6 inch circle.  Cut each into 6 wedges.

Place wedges 2 inches apart on prepped baking sheet.

Brush edges of wedges with 1 T. milk.  Sprinkle with 2 t. brown sugar.

Baked at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until golden.  

Optional glaze drizzle

A scoop of powdered sugar and a generous spoon of peanut butter, and a bit of milk whisked together.  Add the milk in small bits so it isn't too runny.  Add more powdered sugar if you need to thicken it.

Once cooled a bit, drizzle the wedges with the glaze.

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Per magazine: 250 cal, 12 g. fat, 30 g. carbs, 3 g. fiber, 8 g. protein

Creamy Dill Salad Dressing

I planted dill among my flower pots this year and it was a very good move.  What a great summer flavor!  We've had an abundance of it so I whipped up this salad dressing to use tonight.  Amounts are estimates since I didn't measure anything. I mixed this up in a small mason jar.

Creamy Dill Salad Dressing

1/3 c. mayo

2-3 T. sour cream

1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce

a few dribbles of lemon juice

less than one clove grated garlic

salt and pepper

milk to thin it out a bit

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c = cup

T = tablespoon

t = teaspoon