4th of July Recipes

We had Tim's family in town for the 4th of July weekend and since the weather was nice and I am supposed to be "resting", I decided to make some easy sides and let Tim do the grilling. Saturday night we had Grilled Boneless, Skinless, Chicken thighs. Nothing to these, just marinated in BBQ sauce over night and grilled them. Sunday night we had burgers with a variety of yummy toppings and they were delicious! My mother-in-law Carol brought her yummy blueberry and peach cobbler and my sister-in-law Lauren brought the most delicious cookies ever from her home-town bakery - The Jasper Bakery.

These two side dishes turned out great. I made the Down Home Beans to go with the Chicken thighs and the Orzo Salad to go with the burgers! Both were a big hit! I changed up the Orzo salad quite a bit - it originally called for flat-leaf parsley as the fresh herb, but I wanted something with more of a kick, so I decided to substitute cilantro and I am glad I did. The only thing I changed with the beans, was to reduce the amount of brown sugar. The original recipe called for 2 cups of brown sugar, but all of the reviews said that 1 cup was plenty!


Orzo, Corn, and Roasted Bell Pepper Salad

Ingredients

2 red bell peppers
1 box uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
4 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
3 ears shucked corn
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons of cilantro paste
6 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Preparation

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain. Place orzo in a large bowl; drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Cool slightly.
Place corn, red onion and peppers on grill rack or in grill basket coated with cooking spray; grill 5 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Cut kernels from ears of corn; chop red onion and peppers. In a small bowl mix the 3 tablespoons oil, cilantro, cilantro paste and remaining ingredients. When mixed through, combine dressing, grilled vegetables and orzo. Chill before serving.

Adapted from the recipe of Joanne Weir, Cooking Light JULY 2005



Down Home Baked Beans

Ingredients

1 pound bacon
2 (28 ounce) cans baked beans (I bought Bush's Homestyle Beans - 2 of the big cans)
8 ounces of chili sauce (I bought Heinz 12 oz bottle)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 cups packed brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a large bowl combine beans, chili sauce, onion, brown sugar and bacon. Pour into a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Adapted from MEANJEANNE, allrecipes.com

Pizza Pasta Salad

I made this for a party at Angelo and Ariel's house a few weeks ago. I think it was a big hit with the kids because of the pepperoni's and cheese. I found the best time-saver for this - Hormel makes mini pepperoni slices. They were perfect to use instead of chopping up a bigger piece of pepperoni. I also put the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, oregano and artichokes into the food processor for a few seconds to "chop" vs. rough chopping them by hand. Next time I think I will add black olives - just because I like them!

Ingredients

Salt and pepper
1 pound short pasta such as bow ties, shells or penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3/4 cup sliced marinated artichoke hearts
8 ounces bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella nuggets), halved (about 18 pieces)
4 ounces pepperoni or salami, diced
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain well and spread on an oiled baking sheet to cool. (Don't worry if pasta sticks together. It will come apart when mixed with oil.)
2. Transfer cooled pasta to a large bowl and stir in oil. Add vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, bocconcini, pepperoni, basil and oregano. Toss well and season with salt and pepper.

From - All You MAY 2010

Scallop Piccata with Sautéed Spinach

Tim and I had this tonight and it was great! It would be good with chicken too! I used angel hair pasta. Will definitely try it again!

Serve on a bed of angel hair pasta, linguine, or brown rice, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/3 cup spinach, 3 scallops, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops (about 12)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup vermouth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons capers
1 (10-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

Preparation
1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper over scallops. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add scallops; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned and done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped garlic to pan; cook 10 seconds. Add vermouth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat. Add parsley, fresh lemon juice, butter, and capers, stirring until butter melts. Pour sauce in a bowl.
3. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add spinach; sauté 30 seconds or until spinach almost wilts. Drizzle sauce over scallops; serve with spinach.

Ivy Manning, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2009

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:
2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8 ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
2 1/2 cup (about 10-ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Garden-Style Lasagna

This was Deb's contribution to the March meal exchange - I just made this tonight for dinner and it was excellent!

Vegetable lasagna is a crowd-pleaser and a classic make-ahead dish. You can use precut onions, matchstick-cut carrots, and broccoli, in addition to precooked noodles, to speed up preparation. If you make it ahead, let it cool completely, then cover and chill. The next day, heat single servings in the microwave. Freeze leftovers for dinner.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light, MARCH 2006


Yield 12 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped zucchini (about 8 ounces)
2 cups chopped yellow squash (about 8 ounces)
2 cups thinly sliced carrot (about 8 ounces)
2 cups chopped broccoli (about 6 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
3 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of nutmeg
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
12 precooked lasagna noodles, divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Spoon onion mixture into a large bowl.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and yellow squash; sauté 4 minutes or until tender and just beginning to brown. Add to onion mixture.

Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add sliced carrot; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add chopped broccoli; sauté 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add to onion mixture. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well to combine.

Place flour in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg; stir until smooth. Stir in spinach.

Combine cottage cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella; stir well. Spread 1/2 cup spinach mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles over spinach mixture in dish; top with half of cottage cheese mixture (about 1 1/2 cups), half of vegetable mixture (about 2 1/2 cups), and about 1 cup spinach mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining spinach mixture over noodles; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Cover and bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Bucatini with Sausage and Peas

I just realized that I never posted Holly's recipe from the March meal exchange as I am making it tonight! So sorry Holly! This recipe is from Food and Wine Magazine by Joe Sponzo.

Bucatini is a large, tubular pasta (think spaghetti with a hole in the middle). It’s great with thick sauces, such as this tomato-based one that Sponzo enhances with peas from his garden and wild boar sausage from his local butcher. “It’s a real guy dish and a favorite of Sting’s—when he’s eating meat,” Sponzo says. “Right now he’s macrobiotic.”

Active: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small shallot, minced
2 1/2 cups prepared tomato sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup frozen baby peas
Salt
1 pound bucatini or perciatelli
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons shredded basil

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and shallot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.
Partially cover the saucepan and cook the tomato sauce over low heat for 30 minutes. Stir in the cream and peas and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes longer. Season with salt.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Add the tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of the grated Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese and toss over low heat for 2 minutes, until the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Transfer the pasta to bowls, top with the remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese and the shredded basil and serve.

Make Ahead

The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Orzo Pasta Salad with Pesto and Tomatoes

I haven't posted anything in a week because I was so sick last week, with no appetite! However, I was craving a pasta salad last night and decided to try something new. I made this up, so you could try this and add other things that sound good to you!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of Orzo (I used whole wheat orzo)
Juice from two lemons
1 tsp lemon zest
2 T prepared pesto
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup of feta cheese(I used reduced fat feta)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil for garnish

Directions

Prepare the orzo according to directions. Whisk lemon juice, lemon zest, pesto, salt, pepper and olive oil together in a small bowl. Combine the pasta and "dressing" in a large bowl. Add in feta and tomatoes and top with fresh basil. Best if chilled for a couple of hours before serving.

Baked Ziti III

I made this for the March Meal Exchange, which will be the first meal exchange I have participated in - I am looking forward to it. We have eight participants, so I just made four of these and divided it in half (if you want one for yourself). I did modify the original recipe by using fat free sour cream instead of regular sour cream and dried basil versus fresh basil. This is a recipe that my sister, Krista has made several times and enjoys! For the frozen version - defrost in refridgerator overnight before baking according to the instructions - keep covered. These got a little messy on me in the foil baking dishes - I think that I got them too full - so make sure you put these in a plastic bag or on top of some paper towels in the fridge when defrosting. SO SORRY!

YIELD 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (28 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces sliced provolone cheese
6 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce; simmer for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.
Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.

Recipe from Allrecipes.com Submitted by VERDIEIIIS

Orzo with Spinach and Feta

We made this last night to go with the Pan-Seared Scallops with Tomatoes and Pesto. The only thing that I will add next time is something red for a little color - we put the leftover tomatoes from the scallops recipe in with the leftover orzo and ate it cold the next day and I actually liked it better cold.

Yield 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

5 cups water
2 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
5 cups coarsely chopped spinach
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add orzo. Cook 10 minutes; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain.

Combine pasta, spinach, and feta in a large bowl. Combine oil and remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle lemon mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat.

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 1999

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

There was a lady on Good Morning America the other day and they highlighted her Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Lasagna recipe. She has an interesting blog, "A Year of Crockpotting", see link to the right, where she made it her New Year's resolution for 2008 to use her crockpot everyday for a year - WOW! There are a lot of interesting recipes on her blog, very creative! I really liked the recipe, but Tim thought it was a little too spicy for him - after all, it does call for a whole cup of hot sauce! I will make it again, but will probably cut back on the hot sauce so Tim can eat it without complaining.

Click here for the recipe!

Lemon Spaghetti

Cook Time: 8 min
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

Optional: Elizabeth added chicken to this recipe to make it a meal vs. a side dish.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian