Secret Recipe Club: Dinner and Dessert

First off, an apology. I had my Secret Recipe Club recipes made well ahead of time but then forgot to write my post. Ugghhh. So here I am at 7:41 on Monday morning typing away so I can post and not leave my precious blog an orphan. She's probably scrolling through trying to find out who had her. I am so sorry Paula. 

I was assigned the blog Vintage Kitchen Notes and the author Paula is a beautiful lady who resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check out her About Me Page. Often times I will plan at least one of my meals around my SRC assignment so this time I had pinned a main dish but also a dessert that looked really good. My oldest celebrated her 18th birthday a few weeks ago so I made Paula's wonderful Cinnamon Peanut Butter Skillet Blondies for dessert. We had grandma and grandpa over and enjoyed it with some french Vanilla ice cream. It was a hit. I seriously was like, "how is this all going to fit in this little pan without making a huge mess"..well, it did fit, and I only made a little mess.

Friday night for dinner I made her Fusilli with Sausage, Zucchini and Cheese! That too was a big hit. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the creaminess and flavor. So, because I'm already late in getting this posted, let's get to the recipes. 

Fusilli with Sausage, Zucchini and Cheese

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, halved in four and sliced thinly

1 Tbs olive oil

½ pound (240g) hot Italian sausage, casings removed (or pork chorizo)

1 onion, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup white wine (I used chicken broth)

½ cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

2 oz. (60g) semi-soft goat cheese, cubed or grated

2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/3 cup gruyere cheese, grated

½ pound fusilli or other dried pasta

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF/180ºC. Grease 3 quart deep casserole.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet, add sausages and cook until beginning to brown.

Add onion, thyme and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and cook until soft and just beginning to brown. 

Add white wine, scrape any browned bits and cook until wine evaporated. Add cream and bring to boil. 

Remove from heat and add goat cheese and 1/3 cup parmesan.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain well, and transfer to skillet with sauce.

Mix well and put in prepared casserole. 

Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup parmesan and gruyere cheese. 

Bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Skillet Blondies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

14 Tbs (scant 1 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 Tbs peanut butter

½ cup salted peanuts

4oz semisweet chocolate, cut into uneven chunks 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF / 180ºC.

Heat an 8-inch cast iron skillet over low heat for 1 or 2 minutes. 

Add butter, and when it´s half melted, add sugar and mix with a whisk.

Add eggs and mix quickly. 

Remove skillet from the heat. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix carefully, and  then mix in vanilla.

Stir in peanuts, and add mounds of peanut butter and chocolate chunks. 

Mix it just a few times to marble, but not too much or the chocolate will all melt.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until top is dry but center is still somewhat wet.

Remove from the oven. Serve with scoops of cinnamon ice cream. We used vanilla.

I didn't stray too much from the original recipes. I would definitely make these again. I felt like the pasta was completely adaptable to adding different veggies too. I was going to add mushrooms, but forgot.

Thanks Paula for some great recipes and again, I'm so sorry I was late. 

Check out the links below for more great recipes.

With Joy UNquenchable,

Panini Heaven

I enjoy sandwiches, but what I really love is a good grilled sandwich, and even moreso a really good panini. I recently purchased The Pampered Chef's Grill Pan and Panini press...It has gotten much use, so much, that it stays on the stove. 

About a month or so ago I had bought a jar of pesto at Costco that is awesome. It's called Superfood Pesto by Pasta Prima (I believe). I have used it on, of course, pasta, but also as a base to pizza (which was to die for), and most recently on our panini's which gives them an out of this world flavor. It just kicks it up a notch. I have come to the conclusion that pesto could be that one ingredient you keep in the house to make the ordinary, extraordinary, as well as a quick meal maker if unexpected company shows up. All you need is pasta or chicken and some pesto! Quick meal in a jiffy.

Back to the sandwich. The other day Kristianna was hungry. I needed to go grocery shopping and so options were limited. I did have a chicken breast in the fridge that I decided I could cook up a few paninis. Of course after I made them and we devoured them I thought about taking a picture. So this week I made the same sandwiches but with turkey lunchmeat instead of sliced chicken breast. 

 
Ingredients:

2 slices Oro Wheat Sandwich Thins or other thick hard crusted bread
meat of choice...lunchmeat or leftover turkey or chicken breasts
mayo
pesto
cheese of choice
tomato 
spinach
red pepper
avocado

The beauty of a panini is you can top it with whatever you want so get creative.

Instructions

1. Heat your grill, grill pan, or whatever it is you are using on medium heat. Rachel Ray did a segment where she wrapped a brick in foil and used that as the press.

2.  brush the outside of each slice of bread with oil. Flip over.

3. Spread mayo on one side of the bread. Spread pesto on the other side.

4. Top with cheese, meat, tomato, pepper, avocado, spinach and more cheese. Add second slice of bread.

5. Place on heated grill pan and place press on top. Cook for about 4 minutes, then flip over.  Depending on the heat they may take less or more time. 

Remove from heat, and enjoy. We enjoyed ours with some homemade potato chips!

With Joy UNquenchable,

Recipe: Butternut Squash Shepherds Pie

I absolutely love fall. Okay, I absolutely love every season. At least something about every season. Yesterday, as I was driving, there was a slight breeze blowing the leaves up in to the air that had already fallen to the ground. They swirled and swirled. It was a clear, dry day here in the Northwest (which can be a rare occasion this time of year). It made me realize even more how much I love where I live. I love fall and the chill in the air and the perfect excuse to make comfort foods. Last week I tried a new comfort food, and it was a huge hit with my family.

I'm sure this dish isn't new to everyone...but it is the first time I've made it, though I made it with a bit of a fall twist. We have friends who own a dairy farm and every year they run a successful pumpkin patch. Every year, our oldest helps out at it and usually brings home several different pumpkins as well as a fun variety of squash. She LOVES butternut squash and so sure enough she came home with one and said "so mom, what are you going to make with it this year". Last year I made Butternut Squash Risotto which was so good! I didn't really feel like a soup. I just didn't know what I was going to make. Then a friend of mine gave me a recipe for a Shepherds Pie using none other than Butternut Squash. Oh boy, am I so glad I tried this recipe. It is going in my "make again" file.

Recipe

2 1/2 lbs. Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, cut in to cubes
2 russet potatoes
5 tbs. butter
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 lb. sweet italian sausage or ground beef (I used ground beef)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 8oz. pkg. fresh mushroom
3 cloves garlic minced
1 c. reduced sodium beef broth
14oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbs. snipped fresh or 1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 c. frozen peas and carrots (mine had corn in it too)
shaved parmesan (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Coat a casserole dish or six 10-12 oz. ramekins. (I used a dutch oven).

2. In a large pan cook squash and potatoes in lightly salted water till tender.  Drain. Mash with butter, parmesan, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet cook sausage (or beef) over medium high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink. Transfer meat to a colander. Drain well. Wipe out pan with a paper towel. 

4. Return pan to stove and heat oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onions. Stirring occasionally until tender. Add garlic. Cook 2 minutes. Stir tomatoes, broth, rosemary and worcestershire sauce. Bring to boiling, reduce to medium and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in meat, vegetables and remaining salt and pepper, cook 2 minutes. either divide mixture between ramekins or pour fully in to casserole. Spread top with butternut squash.

5. If using ramekins, place on baking sheet. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until top is lightly browned. If desired top with additional parmesan cheese. 

With Joy UNquenchable,

Secret Recipe Club: Gluten-Free Crepes

 

It is that time of the month once again and I can say I'm looking forward to the next few months of reveals since the holidays are coming up and it's fall right now..I'm envisioning finding amazing, cozy, yummy recipes in my upcoming Secret Recipe Club assignments. 

The Secret Recipe Club is a fun group of bloggers. Every month members are assigned a "secret" blog within whose pages they must find a recipe to make and share with other bloggers on their scheduled "reveal day". It has been so fun for me to participate in. Though sometimes I feel completely inadequate at times when it comes to my pictures as opposed to some majorly great food photography and staging..but it just comes down to the fact that I typically do not have time to "stage" my food..so, I just learn to be content with what I can manage, and drool over everyone else's posts. 

This month I was assigned the blog 84th & 3rd. JJ is based in Sydney, Au though born in America.

"JJ is a recipe developer, photographer, writer, designer, runner, yogi, itchy-feet traveler, 

NYC tragic and tea drinker." 

84th & 3rd.

She seems like a really fun gal! Maybe I need to visit Australia sometime. Take time to go pay her a visit on her About me page. I loved that she had an amazing array of recipes and many of them were Vegan or Gluten Free and I'm always trying to find new recipes in these categories.

It wasn't hard to pick a recipe, okay, yes it was, there were several I wanted to try. This last month we have been going wheat free so when I came across one of my daughters's favorite breakfasts in a GF version, I knew that would be what I made. They LOVE crepes. Her GF version was a hit. Even my picky eater came back for seconds. They didn't taste like regular flour crepes, but they were good. I think I made them a bit thick, but no one complained. I didn't make the fruit compote. My girls like to add their own goodies and I'm a simple lemon juice and powdered sugar kind of gal. 

On to the recipe....this is short and sweet. I do not have a crepe pan, I just used a non-stick large skillet. 

Gluten Free Crepes

1 c. brown rice flour

1 1/4 c. rice milk (I used almond milk)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Batter will be runny. 

Preheat pan and lightly "grease" pan using butter, coconut oil or even cooking spray.

Using a scant 1/4 c. pour batter in pan swirling to create a thin layer in the pan. Cook one minute, flip and cook for another minute. Keep it going until batter is all used up!

My girls love to layer theirs with fresh fruit, powdered sugar and lemon juice, and of course, if we have whipping cream, they love homemade whipped cream on them. 

Thanks JJ for the great recipe! Can't wait to try others. For more great recipes check out the others below. 

With Joy UNquenchable,

Easy Artisan Bread

I. LOVE. BREAD! There's just no getting around it. Could be because I'm 1/2 Italian, or it could just be that I love bread because what's not to love. So, when my husband said he wanted to go wheat free for the month of October I was like, "say WHAT!?" 

I decided to celebrate by making a loaf of Artisan No-Knead bread the day before we quit. I had wanted to make this a few days prior but as I was looking for recipes, I realized I needed more time in my day, but this was something I have always wanted to try. I am happy to announce that it was a complete success. 

I browsed the internet searching for recipes and finally settled on one from The Baker Chick. Her recipe for No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread was easy to understand, had pictures (which I love) and was similar to many others I found so I went with it! Go check out her blog and show her some love. 

Here's all ya gotta do for this super easy bread. The main issue is the time, but I mixed my dough up in about 5 minutes at 9:00 at night, and the next morning at 7:00 I was preheating my oven and finishing it up. By 9:00 it was done and ready to eat. 

Ingredients:

3 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. lukewarm water (mine was 110 degrees)
1-2 tsp. salt (I only used 1 tsp.)
1 tsp. yeast

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl stir the flour, salt and yeast. Add water and stir until combined (The Baker Chick says it should look like a shaggy dough..whatever that is...good thing she had pictures).

2. Cover with plastic wrap and leave out at room temperature for 8-12 hours. The dough will bubble up and rise.

3. After the dough is ready, preheat the oven for 450 degrees.

4. When oven is preheated place dutch oven, with the lid on, in the oven to warm up for 30 minutes. 

5. Meanwhile, with floured hands, remove dough on to a well floured surface and shape in to a ball, let it rest. It is not a firm dough so you are loosely forming it in to a loose ball..remember, no kneading.

6. When pan is done warming in oven, carefully remove it. With floured hands, place dough in pan. If your pan is not enamel on the inside you can put a piece of parchment down.

7. Place the lid back on pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes, till bread is brown and crusty.

8. Remove from oven. Cool slightly and enjoy. 

We had half the loaf gone in minutes. I should have doubled it!

Excuse the pictures....they were taken with my phone! This bread was perfectly crusty on the outside and moist and yeasty on the inside. My girls made a few grilled sandwiches with it and loved it...guess what I'm making November 1st...yep, this bread, with a nice pot of soup!


With Joy UNquenchable,