Spinach Pesto

Alright, I know our blog has seen better days but figured I would share this super easy, super yummy recipe with you since all of my kiddos gobbled it down last night - and my hubby, which is a miracle.

Spinach Pesto
2 cups fresh baby spinach
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup grated Romano cheese
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 cup olive oil

Place the first six ingredients in a food processor; cover and pulse until chopped.  Add the walnuts, lemon juice, and peel; cover and process until blended.  While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream to desired consistency.  Serve with pasta or transfer sauce to clean ice cube trays.  cover and freeze for up to 1 month.  To thaw frozen pesto, put cube in the refrigerator for 3 hours.  Serve with pasta.

I loved this recipe because it got my boys to eat spinach - they still aren't convinced that it's yummy.  I didn't toast the nuts in the recipe, and I used pecans instead of walnuts because that is what I had on hand.  I used the pesto on the following recipe.

Pesto Ravioli with chicken
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb chicken, sliced into strips
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 (9 oz) package ravioli
3 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pesto
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, if desired.

Heat oil in skillet and cook chicken for about 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown.  Remove chicken from skillet and place in an oven safe dish.  (Put chicken in warm oven and let set until ready to add to the rest of the recipe.)  Add broth and ravioli to skillet.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 4 minutes or until ravioli are tender.  Stir zucchini, bell pepper, and chicken into ravioli.  Cook over medium high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender and chicken is no longer pink in center.  Toss with pesto and sprinkle with cheese.

I used a tomato instead of red bell peppers in this recipe because my kids aren't too fond of peppers.  The tomato tasted so yummy.  I also tried out a new brand of ravioli from Safeway and was pretty pleased. - Open Nature Spinach and Cheese Whole Wheat ravioli.  It's organic and whole wheat and had decent flavor.  The boys loved them!  Enjoy!

Repurposing...

I love the idea of recipe clubs and of this recipe blog so much that I'm having a tough time letting go of it. I miss Oly2 a LOT LOT but since no one over there has picked up the torch of this blog I'm thinking of re-purposing it as a cyber recipe exchange so that people from all over can participate and all us ex-Oly2-gals can get our fix of that wonderful ward :)

Any objections?

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Not that I cooked it (mine was from Safeway for $2) but it was so yummy I'm investing in a recipe so I can have it year round...

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

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• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Method

1 Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
2 Using your (clean) fingers (or two knives or a pastry cutter), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins.


3 Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.

4 Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.
Hint 1: If the top is getting too dark while baking, tent the bread with some aluminum foil.
Hint 2: If you use a cast iron skillet to cook the bread in the oven, be very careful when you take the pan out. It's easy to forget that the handle is extremely hot. Cool the handle with an ice cube, or put a pot holder over it.
Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.

Key Lime cupcakes with Jello Salad frosting

Key Lime cupcakes with Jello Salad frosting
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Ingredients

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• CUPCAKES shopping list
• 1/2 cup butter, softened shopping list
• 1 cup white sugar shopping list
• 2 eggs shopping list
• 2 teaspoons grated key lime zest shopping list
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour shopping list
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder shopping list
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda shopping list
• 1/4 teaspoon salt shopping list
• 3/4 cup key lime juice shopping list
• LIME JELLO SALAD frosting shopping list
• 1 regular sized package of lime gelatin dessert powder (not sugar free) shopping list
• 3 cups powdered sugar shopping list
• 1 cup cream cheese shopping list
• 1/4 cup butter shopping list
• 1-4 tablespoons pineapple juice shopping list

How to make it

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• CUPCAKES
• Cream together the butter or margarine and 1 cup sugar.
• Beat until light and fluffy.
• Separate the eggs.
• Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, and add the key lime zest.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add these dry ingredients to the egg butter mixture, alternating with 3/4 cup key lime juice.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold into the batter.
• Spoon the batter into paper lined cupcake tins.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cakes test done with a toothpick.
• This recipe should make about 12-18 cupcakes.
• Allow to cool before frosting.
• LIME JELLO SALAD FROSTING
• In the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high until smooth.
• Scrape from the edges of the bowl with a spatula and turn mixer to one of the lowest settings. slowly add the lime gelatin dessert powder, followed by the powdered sugar.
• The mixture should be dry and crumbly.
• Turn the mixer speed to high, one step at a time, allowing the mixer to remain at each speed for about 30 seconds or so.
• Add the pineapple juice one tablespoon at a time.
• Mixture should come together and fluff up.
• IF the mixture is still dry, add a tablespoon of HOT water.
• IF the mixture is too liquidy, add more powdered sugar.
• Let the mixture rest for about 5 minutes before spreading on the cooled cupcakes.
• Sprinkle with sprinkles and top with a lime section or a marachino cherry.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings

 

Ingredients

• 6 green bell peppers
• salt to taste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
• water as needed

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

2 Sauces

I'm sad I missed our "sauce" recipe group. If I had been there, I would have brought one of these super yummy sauce recipes.

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 green onions, sliced
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp. Thai chili sauce
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I always use the teriyaki flavored ones)
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp. hot water
2 tsp. lime juice

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Set aside 1/4 cup for dipping sauce. Pour remaining sauce into a large resealable bag or container; add the pork. Seal and turn/shake to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain and discard marinade. Thread pork slices onto metal or soaked wooden skewers. Place skewers on a greased baking pan. Broil 3-4 inches from the heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until meat juices run clear. Meanwhile for sauce, combine peanut butter and water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in lime juice and reserved soy sauce mixture. Serve with meat skewers. (We always make sticky rice with this dish and love to dip the rice in the sauce as well.)

Sweet and Sour Sauce ala Betsy
*I grew up with this sauce. It was one of those Sunday dinners that always tasted good. It is heavy on the sweet and light on the sour so we often call it Betsy's sweet sauce at our house.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup chicken broth
4 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
dash of salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and heat to dissolve.
*How I use this recipe: Defrost 4-6 chicken breasts. Crush saltine or ritz crackers to make a crumb coat on chicken. First, dip chicken in beaten egg. Then, dip chicken in cracker crumbs. Brown chicken in oil. Add sauce mixture to chicken and cook over medium high heat until chicken juices run clear and the sauce thickens. If the sauce is not thickening, you can always add some corn starch to help it along. Serve over rice.

Chicken with French/Cranberry Sauce

So here is a recipe I would have for our "Sauces" day if I'd been thinking ahead. You wouldn't think these flavors would go together but they are really yummy. Serve it over rice for a delicious meal.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-6)
Bottle of French salad dressing
Packet of dry onion soup mix (most boxes are 2 in a packet for something like $2 but they have them at the dollar store - 3 packets for $1)
Can of cranberry sauce - the kind with whole cranberries not the kind that is the jelly you use at Thanksgiving.

Grease the bottom of a 9x13 pan and lay the chicken breasts in the pan.
In a separate bowl mix together dressing, soup mix, and cranberry sauce.
Pour over chicken.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 until chicken is cooked through (45min -1 hour)
Serve over rice and enjoy!!