Well, Fall is now here – it’s in the high 40’s & mid-50’s this coming weekend/week. Leaves are falling off the trees in droves and it was on the weather forecast last night for a frost – yep, cold times are coming soon.
Today is a ‘free’ day for me – that means I don’t have anything specific I have to do. That also means I usually FIND things to do, like run the dishwasher, mop floors, catch up a few rows (at least) on each knit project. Speaking of that, I’m about 4 inches from finishing the ‘pinks’ baby blanket (will post photo when I’m done), mid-way on a chocolate brown (homeless) scarf and started another baby blanket yesterday in pale shades of rose, white, chocolate ice cream brown (looks pretty, doesn’t sound so good when I describe it). Also decided to try a recipe I’ve wanted to try for years: Blackbean Quinoa Salad. The recipe is my friend, Laura’s – she used to make it regularly for our Knit/Crochet Movie Night. I really like it – it’s kind of addicting – makes you want more. (The one problem with quinoa – it fills you up quickly – if you drink lots of water with it you feel like you’ve just eaten an elephant!). Great STUFF! We’re having that with broiled salmon; my husband makes a grumpy face whenever I mention trying quinoa, so he’ll be having a baked potato (he doesn’t like to, as he calls it, “experiment” with his food.)
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Black Bean/Quinoa Salad
1 C. (dry) Quinoa
1 can black beans, rinsed/drained
1 can whole kernel corn
1 green pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
–
Dressing:
Equal parts:
olive oil
lemon juice
yellow mustard
salt & pepper
–
Start out with a few Tablespoons
of each & increase to 1/4 C. of each,
depending on how dry you like it
–
Cook quinoa in 2 C. water accordg.
to pkg. directions. Drain (or make sure
water has cooked out). Place in bowl
with remaining ingredients; pour
dressing over top & mix well.
Tastes best if refrigerated several hours.
(recipe: my friend Laura)
Pumpkin Pecan Baked Oatmeal
3 C. old-fashioned oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 C. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 C. milk
1 C. canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 C. chopped pecans
–
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
Lightly spray a 8 X 8″ baking pan
with nonstick cooking spray. In
large bowl combine oats, baking
powder, pie spice & salt. In another
bowl combine brown sugar, milk,
pumpkin, vanilla & eggs – mix well.
Stir wet mixture into dry just enough
to get it moistened. Fold in pecans,
reserving 1 T. for top. Pour mixture
into prepared pan & sprinkle top
with reserved pecans. Bake 35-40
minutes until golden brown & set.
Serves 4-6
(recipe: southernbite.com)
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Beer Cheese Dip
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. Ranch salad dressing
1/4 C. beer
1 C. shredded Cheddar cheese
2 green onions, chopped
–
Beat cream cheese, dressing & beer
in medium bowl using elec. mixer
until blended. Stir in cheese & onions;
refrigerate several hours or until
chilled. Makes 15 servings (2 T. each)
(recipe: kraftrecipes)
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Chicken/Zucchini/Tomato Bake
3 C. crusty rustic bread, cubed
1/4 C. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
few grinds black pepper
1 T. olive oil
1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken
breasts cut into 2″ pieces
3 medium zucchini, cut into 2″ cubes,
about 2 1/2 lb.
1 (10 oz) pkg. cherry or grape tomatoes
1 C. jarred piquante peppers, drained-
mild or hot
2 T. fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. kosher salt
few grinds black pepper
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
2 T. fresh basil, coarsely chopped-
do not chop ahead
–
Preheat oven 425 degrees F.
Place fresh bread cubes in a food
processor & pulse until bread is reduced
to a large crumb (it’s ok if there are a
few large pieces – don’t get the crumbs
too smal). Toss crumbs in a bowl with
1/4 C. olive oil, salt & pepper – lay out
on a sheet tray & bake about 20
minutes, flipping once during baking &
remove when pieces are slightly golden &
crispy. In large skillet heat 1 T. oil over high
heat; once oil is shimmering & starting to
smoke, add chicken pieces & sear on both
sides, about 3 minutes, total. (they will
still be raw in center). Place chicken in a
large bowl with zucchini, tomatoes, peppers,
garlic, basil, oregano, salt/pepper & Parm.
cheese – toss to combine. Pour mixture into
a 9 X 9″ casserole dish & bake, uncovered,
20 minutes. Remove pan, chop basil & top
casserole along with toasted bread crumbs.
Bake just until zucchini is cooked through,
about 5 more minutes. If zucchini still
needs more time, consider covering with
foil so bread crumbs don’t get too dark.
Serves 6-8
NOTE: Zucchini & tomatoes will give up
liquid while baking. To serve, use a slotted
spoon & avoid serving the liquid.
(recipe: afamilyfeast.com)
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Cheesy Crockpot Ziti
2 (24 oz, ea) jars Ragu Six Cheese sauce
(or any sauce you like)
2 (8 oz, ea) cans tomato sauce
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 (8 oz) container Greek Yogurt cream
cheese
Italian seasoning
1 (1 lb) box uncooked ziti (pasta)
shredded Parmesan cheese
–
Spray insides of crockpot with
nonstick cooking spray; turn heat
to High. In bowl mix Greek yogurt
cream cheese, ricotta cheese &
about 2 T. Italian seasoning (it will
be a bit lumpy). Spread 2 C. Ragu
sauce on bottom of crockpot then
place 1/3 of uncooked ziti on top.
Drizzle about 1/2 jar tomato sauce
on top of ziti. Dollop 1/3 of cheese
mixture over ziti & lightly spread.
Cover that layer with shredded
Parm. cheese – repeat this 2 more
times: layering pasta/sauce/cheese.
Cover & cook on High 2 1/2 – 3 hours
until pasta is done. Serves 8-10
(recipe: thesouthernladycooks.com)
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Roasted Acorn Squash Soup
(with Bacon & Pumpkin Seeds)
3 acorn squash
2 T. olive oil, divided
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
6 cloves garlic, peeled & left whole
3 sliced thick-cut bacon, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 C. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground sage
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 C. heavy cream
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. red wine vinegar
–
(Optional garnishes)
Parmesan cheese, shredded
roasted pumpkin seeds
fresh chopped parsley
–
Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick
cooking spray. Slice each squash
length-wise end-to-end; scrape
seeds from each half, discard seeds.
Drizzle 1 T. oil over insides of squash
halves & season with salt/pepper.
Place each half, cut sides down, on
sheet. Wrap garlic in foil & place on
sheet with squash. Roast squash/garlic
1 hour until softened & beginning to
collapse (squash). Remove from oven &
allow to cool. When cool enough to handle,
scrape flesh from squash & place flesh in
large bowl with garlic cloves. Place a Dutch
oven or soup pot over medium-high heat &
add diced bacon – saute until crispy, about
5 minutes; remove from pan & place on
paper towels to drain. Spoon out extra fat,
leaving about 1 T. in pot. Return to heat; add
onion & cook 3 minutes until translucent. Add
broth, a little at a time, scraping up any brown
bits on bottom of pot. Add squash, garlic, ginger,
sage, cayenne & allspice – bring to boil then
simmer 5 minutes. Place soup in a blender, in
batches (or use an immersion blender) – be
careful of hot soup – it can blow the lid off a
blender if filled too full. Stir in cream, Wors.
sauce & vinegar- bring back to a simmer. Add
salt/pepper to taste & serve with your choice
of toppings. Makes 12 servings
(recipe: everydaydishes.com)
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Cinnamon Apple Crisp
Filling:
6 medium apples (Honey Crisp or Gala),
peeled/sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 small (1.5 oz) box raisins
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 C. honey
Topping:
1 C. quick oats
3 T. brown sugar ( not packed)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 T. butter, melted
–
Heat oven 350 degrees F.
In large bowl combine apples, raisins,
cinnamon, honey & lemon juice – sprinkle
with cornstarch & toss until fruit is coated.
Place in ungreased baking dish – cover with
foil & bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
Mix topping ingredients & sprinkle over
fruit. Bake 1 hour until topping is golden
brown & fruit is tender. Serves 8
(recipe: www.skinnytaste.com)
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Tomorrow I have Sunday School snack duty;
after church my SS class is going to have a
class dinner. Our teacher asked me to just
bring ‘something light’ as they are going to
have dinner & desserts later. Yeah, right –
‘something light’? Not everyone in our
class goes to the dinner (my husband doesn’t
like to hang around after, so we don’t go plus
church gets out around 12, dinner around
12:15 – around 2 p.m. & I have to be back
for choir practice at 4:45 (about 20 minute
drive from our house to church). Choir
practice then evening church means I get
home around 7:20 p.m. – makes for a VERY
long day (easier to just skip the dinner). Anyway –
I digress – ended up buying a lemon Bundt cake,
a Red Velvet cake roll and some powdered
sugar doughnut holes – LIGHT? Guess not BUT
my thinking was: if you only had a small slice
of cake or a few doughnut holes, it wouldn’t be
THAT bad, right? Oh well – whatever is left
over will definitely be eaten at my house, so
no worries!
Hope you’re having a good day!
Hugs;
Pammie
