Balsamic Veggie Kabobs

Picture from Serious Eats

Balsamic Veggie Kabobs

·         10 (10-inch) metal or wooden skewers

·         1/4 cup olive oil

·         1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

·         1 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·         1 medium-sized yellow squash, cut into 20 chunks

·         1 red onion, cut into 20 chunks

·         1 medium-sized zucchini, cut into 20 chunks

·         20 large mushrooms

1.     If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes. In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; mix well.
 

2.     Alternately thread 2 chunks each of yellow squash, onion, and zucchini, and 2 mushrooms onto each skewer. Place skewers on a 10- x 15-inch rimmed baking sheet and pour oil-and-vinegar marinade over vegetables. Marinate for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.
 

3.     Preheat grill to medium-high heat and grill kebabs 8 to 10 minutes, or until fork-tender, basting occasionally with marinade.

Recipe shared by Karen.

Joe's Special

(photo from popsugar.com because they take much better pictures than I do!)


One of my favorite food blogs is called Budget Bytes. The author posts simple and tasty recipes and I like that her motto is "My stomach is full and my wallet is too." One of her recipes we love and ate tonight is Joe's Special.  After a little research I discovered that this is a recipe started in the 1920's at a San Francisco restaurant called Joe's (hence the name). You can find lots of variations on the internet, but I've only tried this one so far. We've had it with both ground beef and ground turkey and both work well. We think the thing that makes this so great is the feta cheese. What's not to love about feta? We eat this with toast and a little sriracha sauce because the budget bytes author is obsessed with sriracha and suggested it. 

Joe's Special 

(click here for original recipe)

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp	olive oil
1 small	yellow onion
2 cloves	garlic
1 lb.	ground beef
1.5 tsp	dried oregano
1/2 tsp	salt
1 Tbsp	worcestershire sauce
1/2 lb.	frozen chopped spinach
6 large	eggs
2 oz.	feta cheese (optional)
2 Tbsp	grated parmesan

STEP 1: Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Cook both in skillet with olive oil over medium heat until soft and transparent (about 5 minutes). 
STEP 2: Add the ground beef, oregano, salt, and worcestershire sauce. Cook until the beef is no longer pink, breaking it up into pieces as it cooks (7-10 minutes). 
STEP 3: Once the beef is fully cooked, add the frozen spinach. Cook and stir until it has thawed and heated through, breaking up clumps as you go.
STEP 4: Briefly whisk 6 eggs in a bowl. Push the beef and spinach mixture to one side of the skillet (or make a well in the center) and pour in the eggs. Gently scramble the eggs until they are cooked through, but still moist. Try not to mix them into the meat as they cook or you'll have beef coated in egg, rather than clumps of cooked egg. Once the egg is cooked, stir it into the beef mixture and turn off the burner.
STEP 5: Crumble or roughly chop the feta cheese and sprinkle it over the skillet. Also sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine, taste, adjust the salt if needed, and then serve. 

Recipe shared by Carolyn.

That's one BIG cookie!

This delicous recipe is from loveveggiesandyoga.com. 

It is a cookie baked in a cast iron skillet. It is really gooey in the center!

And, what a beautiful Le Creuset skillet!
I need one!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Skillet Cookie

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: Makes one 10 1/4-inch skillet cookie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats (not quick cook or instant)

one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

ice cream, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F, spray oven-safe skillet with cooking spray (mine is a Le Creuset enameled cast iron and I sprayed liberally with Pam for Baking and it released like a charm; if skillet is well-seasoned cast iron, you may wish to butter or grease it slightly; set skillet aside. Alternatively, cookie may be baked in a 9-by-9 inch square baking pan that has been lined with foil or sprayed with cooking spray; do not use a 9-inch circular pie dish because it will be too shallow.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power (you may microwave butter to a browned-butter state, which makes this cookie especially delicious, by cooking butter for about 3 to 4 minutes; watch it closely so it doesn't burn. See browning butter in the microwave tips.

To the melted butter, add sugar, egg, vanilla, and whisk or stir vigorously to combine, for about 1 minute, slightly fluffing up the batter. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and stir until just incorporated. Add the oats and stir to combine. Pour slightly less than three-quarters of the dough into the skillet, reserving about 1 1/4 cups (just eyeball it) to be crumbled on at the end; set skillet and large mixing bowl with reserved dough aside.

In a small bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Pour mixture over the dough in the skillet. Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Drop tablespoon-sized chunks of the reserved dough into the skillet, dispersing then as uniformly as possible over the surface, which forms the crumble topping.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until edges begin to barely crisp up and most of the top surface of the cookie has set. The center may not be completely set; this is okay because cookie will continue to cook in the skillet after it's been pulled from the oven, noting that there is a fairly significant carryover cooking effect with cast iron; so don't overbake in the oven because cookie is meant to be very gooey. Cookie may be served immediately; optionally serve it with ice cream. Cookie is best eaten fresh from the oven but due to its size, extra cookie may be sliced and stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, reheating gently in the microwave before serving leftovers if desired.

http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/10/chocolate-chip-peanut-butter-oatmeal-skillet-cookie.html

This is my serving of the cookie. I decided that I needed to serve myself, 

NOT just eat out of the center with a fork (like I was tempted to do!) 

After I cooked it, I felt that it needed nuts, so I just sprinkled some onto my serving.

Recipe shared by Robin.

Turkey Tetrazzini

We love this. It's not complicated or fancy, but it's comfort food that everyone happily eats and asks for more. Also, you can serve it when Grandma comes as long as you use turkey and turkey broth instead of chicken.  It's a great way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey or just any leftover chicken you may have.

Turkey Tetrazzini (from Betty Crocker)

1 package (7 oz) spaghetti noodles

2 cups chicken or turkey broth

2 cups half-and-half or milk (I've always used milk)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup margarine or butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups cut up cooked turkey or chicken

1 cup sliced black olives/ or some fresh sliced sautéed musrooms/ or a can of sliced mushrooms (it's delicious with any of these options or none if you don't have or don't like them.)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and drain pasta on stovetop as directed on package. 

2) Mix broth, milk, margarine, salt, and pepper in 3-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute until thickened. 

3) In an ungreased casserole dish, mix sauce from pan, pasta, turkey/chicken, and olives/mushrooms. Sprinkle with cheese. 

4) Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Recipe shared by Carolyn.

Macaroni Beef Bake... YUM!

This is from the Lion House Recipes Cookbook. I have changed it a little through the years. It is an old family favorite.

Picture from Budget Savvy Diva

Lion House Macaroni Beef Bake

1 lb hamburger

2/3 c. chopped onion

2 c. uncooked macaroni (or pasta of choice)

2- 8oz. cans tomato sauce

10 ¾ oz. tomato soup

8 oz. can of water

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 ½ t. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

½ c. shredded cheddar cheese (maybe more)

Brown hamburger and add onion. Add macaroni, tomato sauce and soup, water, cheese  and seasonings. Mix well. Place in a large casserole dish. Top with remaining ½ c. cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Serves 6-8.