7/30/2011 Basket

We picked up this basket at 6:45 this morning at Provo Town Square.

And here's what we got:

2 5lb. bags of russet potatoes

2 heads green leaf lettuce

2 eggplants

1 head cabbage

1 cantaloupe

1 bag green beans

4 bananas

1 bag green grapes

4 peaches

2 tomatoes

9 plums

7/23/2011 Basket - Saucy Sesame Green Beans

I hate green beans. Well, I hated green beans until we found this recipe. Now I love green beans, provided that they are cooked in the following manner.

Saucy Sesame Green Beans

Uses: Green beans

Cook 1 lb. fresh or frozen green beans in 1 T. olive oil in a hot skillet until they are crisp tender (takes about 10 minutes). Stir every so often so the beans cook evenly.

In the mean time, mix 3 T. soy sauce, 2 t. sesame seeds, 2.5 t. minced garlic, 4 T. brown sugar, and 3 T. peanut butter in a medium bowl.

When the beans are done cooking, pour the sauce over the beans and stir to incorporate. Cook until sauce is heated through. Serve immediately.

7/23/2011 Basket - Freezer Jam

I've watched my mom and sissy'n'law do this a thousand times, but I've never made my own freezer jam til now. It's so easy and such a money saver that I'm kicking myself for not having done it before!

Freezer Jam
Uses: any berry, mangoes, peaches, plums, etc.

4 c chopped fruit or berries (peeled if necessary)
1 1/2 c sugar
3 T lemon juice (only for peaches)
1 packet pectin

Mix the fruit, sugar, and lemon juice (only for peaches), and let sit for 10 minutes.  Whisk in pectin.  Put in tupperware and freeze.


I made peach, strawberry-peach, mango-peach, and peach-plum.  Can you tell we had a lot of peaches (and other fruit) that I was trying to get rid of!?

7/23/2011 Basket - Milk Shakes

This is my go-to plan for left-over fruits of almost any variety. Freeze em and make shakes.

Frozen Milkshake Fruit
Uses: any berry, mangoes, peaches, etc.

Freeze them, then throw a whole bag (sans the plastic) in the blender with some milk.  If you want to be healthy, drink it like that.  If you want to be fatty (like me), add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some sugar.

7/16/2011 Basket - Zuppa Toscana

I will admit straight-up that I had to find out from Sven that the leafy bunch of greens I got was actually kale. I'd heard of it, but never actually seen it or cooked with it. Thus it was with great trepidation that I made this recipe last night. It was so good that I'm heading to my dad's tonight to make it again for him.

Zuppa Toscana
Uses: Kale

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/restaurant-style-zuppa-toscana/detail.aspx

Changes I made: I dumped the whole thing of sausage in my large sauce pan and cooked it like chunky ground beef, removed it and cooked the onions and garlic in its grease. I used pre-cooked bacon. I replaced the chicken soup base with 2 T of chicken Better Than Bouillon. And I used 1/2 c cream. I like cream. :)

7/23/2011 Basket

This is from the Sandy South Towne Towers 7:00 am pickup:

1 head of romaine
1 english cucumber
1 head of celery
1 oz carton of tomtoms (mini tomatoes)
1 bag of green beans
7 white sweet potatoes
1 small canteloup
6 white peaches
3 mangoes
7 plums
1 lb carton of strawberries
6 bananas

7/16/2011 Basket - Cauliflower Casserole & Lettuce Cups

Cauliflower Casserole

Uses: Cauliflower, green onions

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/company-cauliflower/detail.aspx

Lettuce Cups

Uses: Iceberg lettuce, tomato

We had some seasoned and cooked pulled pork in the freezer. So I heated it up and put it on iceberg lettuce cups with tomato and cheddar cheese. Instant awesome.

Compost

I realize this has nothing to do with recipes, but it has everything to do with Bountiful Baskets. This last spring, thanks to getting the basket, my husband and I finally started composting. Both of us have wanted to have a compost bin since we were kids (thank you Reading Rainbow episode on composting) and now we're finally doing it!

We used an old trash can, drilled holes in it, and elevated it on two 2x2's. We water it and churn it once a week, and so far it is turning out gorgeously!

7/16/2011 Basket - Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This is my guest recipe. My go-to for whenever we have guests over. It's from an old Lion House cookbook, and I've given the recipe out a dozen time. Even my mother-in-law, who doesn't cook (my husband started making his own frozen burritos/quesadillas/ramen at age 9), asked for this recipe and actually cooked it for her guests. Yum!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Uses: Broccoli

2 chicken breast halves
4 cups cooked broccoli
1 can (10.5 oz.) cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup buttered crumbs
Rice (4 cups cooked)

Simmer chicken breast in water just to cover for about 30 minutes, or until tender. In the mean time, cook broccoli according to package directions. When chicken is tender, remove from broth and cool enough to handle. Make a sauce by combining soup, milk, and mayonnaise, and stir until smooth. Add cheese and lemon juice.

In a 9x9x2 pan, arrange broccoli on the bottom of the pan. Break chicken into chunks and lay over
broccoli. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli to cover chicken pieces completely. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes (after 20 minutes, remove the foil and sprinkle the buttered crumbs on top, let finish cooking uncovered). Serve on top of rice.

7/16/2011 Basket - Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

We always seem to get broccoli and cauliflower at the same time, and I always seem to cook them together. This week I set out to use them separately. That's easy with broccoli, but I don't recall ever cooking cauliflower alone. I came across this recipe and made a few tweaks, and we really liked it.

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
Uses: Cauliflower

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-of-cauliflower-soup-ii/detail.aspx

I substituted heavy cream for the milk, skipped the sherry, and added 1 cup shredded cheddar.  I was worried about the nutmeg, but I ended up loving the subtle flavor it added.  Yum!

7/16/2011 Basket

Today we picked up our basket at the Cottonwood Heights location.

We have:

5 nectarines

11 plums

2 mangoes

3 tomatoes

7 bananas

1 bunch green onions

1 head cauliflower

1 melon

1 head romaine

2 bunches kale

2 6 oz. blackberries

1 English cucumber

1 bunch broccoli

7/9/2011 Basket - Pear & Blue Cheese Salad

Pear & Blue Cheese Salad

Uses: Spinach, pears, mushrooms

First I made a quick dressing in the bottom of the salad bowl. I whisked together 1 T. apple cider vinegar, 2 t. mustard, 3 T. olive oil, 1/2 t. sugar, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I added spinach and chard leaves, sliced pears, sliced mushrooms, candied pecans, and chunks of blue cheese.

When ready to serve, toss the salad with the dressing at the bottom of the bowl.

7/9/2011 Basket - Soy-Glazed Mushrooms

We are cheap. It's just so blasted expensive to go out to eat at fancy restaurant. On top of the $100 bill, I also have to pay a $30-50 babysitter for my three kids. Not happening! So I'm always in search of fancy recipes that make better-than-the-best-restaurants food. And this, my friends, is my fancy favorite. It is incredibly simple, and I always have all the ingredients on hand (as long as my basket gives me mushrooms). I serve it on top of steak with a side of potatoes and a side of veggies.

Soy-Glazed Mushrooms
Uses: Mushrooms

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mushrooms-with-a-soy-sauce-glaze/detail.aspx

7/9/2011 Basket

This morning we picked up our basket at the Provo Town Square Mall at the new 6:45 AM pick-up time.

We got:

1 pineapple

6 bananas

1 bunch spinach

2 heads iceberg lettuce

1 head cauliflower

2 bunches broccoli

6 pears

8 apricots

8 oz. mushrooms

4 plums

4 vine-ripened tomatoes

8 California figs

7/2/2011 Basket - Dueling Pizzas

So yesterday we had one pear and 1/3 head iceberg lettuce leftover and were trying to decide on a plan for dinner. We decided on pizza. I used this recipe for the crust:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jays-signature-pizza-crust/detail.aspx

I added Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder to the crust recipe when I added the salt and oil. Make sure to add a lot of the seasonings, since the crust will rise a lot.

Pear & Blue Cheese Pizza

Uses: Pear, iceberg lettuce

This pizza is based on California Pizza Kitchen's "Pear + Gorgonzola" pizza. Once I rolled out the crust, I brushed it with garlic-infused olive oil before topping it with mozzarella cheese, sliced pears, toasted almonds, caramelized onions, and crumbled blue cheese. Once the pizza is cooked, remove it from the oven and top with shredded iceberg lettuce tossed with blue cheese ranch. Eat the whole pizza in one sitting; it doesn't reheat very well due to the lettuce.

Margarita Mushroom Pizza

Uses: Tomatoes

I marinated two tomatoes in garlic olive oil for a few hours before I started the second pizza. So first I brushed the other half of the dough with the garlic olive oil and topped with the marinated tomato slices. Then I covered it mozzarella, extra sharp cheddar, caramelized onions, and mushrooms.

I baked both pizzas on a scorching hot pizza stone at 425 degrees for 8-12 minutes until the crusts were golden and the cheese in the center melted and bubbled.

7/2/2011 Basket - Butternut Squash Soup & Pork Lettuce Wraps

Butternut Squash Soup

Uses: Carrots, butternut squash

Chop 1 onion, 3 carrots, 5 small potatoes (red or gold), and 2 peeled and seeded butternut squash.

Cook carrots and onion in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add potatoes, butternut squash, and 4 cups chicken stock. Cook 20 minutes until squash and potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork. Transfer soup (in batches) to blender, or use immersion blender in soup pot. Once blended, add 8 oz. softened cream cheese and 1 cup brown sugar. Stir or blend until soup is smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Pork Lettuce Wraps

Uses: Iceberg lettuce

I used the below recipe, but used pork instead of chicken.

http://www.food.com/recipe/p-f-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps-15865

7/2/2011 Basket - Ramen Noodle Stir Fry, Spicy Pear Cookies, Fruit Tarts

Ramen Noodle Stir Fry

Uses: Broccoli, Carrots

This recipe is super easy but surprisingly good. The recipe calls for cauliflower but since we didn't have any this week, we used a little extra broccoli and carrots. We also added some onion.

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup chopped cauliflower

1 carrot sliced thin

2 packages ramen noodles

nonstick vegetable spray

2-3 T soy sauce (optional)

1 2/3 cup water

Wash broccoli and cauliflower. Cut into small bite size pieces. Peel and slice carrot.

Before opening the ramen packets, crush packet and break up noodles. Pour noodles into a bowl and set aside.

Spray frying pan with nonstick vegetable spray while on the burner with medium heat. Let the frying pan warm for 30 seconds.

Add the vegetables.

Stir fry the vegeatbles for about one minute.

Stire in the borken noodles, contents of the seasoning packets, and water.

Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat to medium low and simmer with the lid on for 3-5 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir twice during cooking.

Serve. Add soy sauce if desired.

Spicy Pear Cookies

Uses: Pear

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-pear-cookies/detail.aspx

I usually leave out the raisins and walnuts in this recipe, just out of personal preference.

Fruit Tarts
Uses: Pear

We still had some plums left over from a previous basket so I used those as well. You could also use peaches, bananas, etc.

1 package ready-made puff pastry
~3 T melted butter
Sugar
1 pear
4 plums
Warmed, strained apricot jam

Set the oven to 425 degrees. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until it is about 1/8" thick.
Cut circles out of the pastry around a dish or lid. (I did four 6" tarts with a good amount of pastry left over--if you did a little bit smaller tarts you could probably do eight.)
Slice the plums and pear thinly. Then brush the pastry with melted butter and arrange slice of fruit on the circles.
Brush the prepared fruit with butter and sprinkle sugar on top.
Bake the tarts for 20 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the fruit cooked. Put them on a wire rack to cool.
When the tarts have cooled, brush the fruit with a little melted, strained apricot jam to glaze the tarts.

7/2/2011 Basket

3 Butternut Squash
5 Nectarines
3 Red Pears
1 Bunch Red Chard
3 Vine Ripened Tomatoes
9 Strawberries
1 Bunch Red Grapes
2 Heads Broccoli
1 Head Iceberg Lettuce
6 Bananas
3 Carrots

6/18/2011 Basket - Vanilla Blackberry Panna Cotta

I saw this recipe in Disney's Family Fun Magazine a few months ago, and have been anxiously waiting for some berries in my basket so the kids and I could try it. It was definitely easy to make and has a very fun flavor and texture. My picture doesn't really do it justice, you'll have to click on the link to see their professional pictures. They look heavenly.

Vanilla Blackberry Panna Cotta
Uses: Blackberries

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/vanilla-raspberry-panna-cotta-1015770/