10/22/2011 Basket - Macaroni with Red Sauce

Macaroni with Red Sauce
Uses: Garlic, crookneck squash, mushrooms, tomato

Forgot to take a picture this time...sorry!

2 T butter
4-6 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
2 T shallots, finely chopped
3 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
half of a crookneck squash, thinly sliced
1 tomato
2-3 T water
1-2 cups elbow macaroni
canned pasta sauce
salt and pepper
mozzarella cheese

Melt butter in a small frying pan. Add mushrooms and cook down until most of their liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add squash and cook for a few more minutes, then add tomato and water and cook until squash is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add the mushroom mixture to it, along with some canned pasta sauce to taste. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and serve.

10/22/2011 Basket - Cheese Fondue

Cheese Fondue
Uses: Mushrooms, apples, pears, sweet potatoes


Sorry about the truly awful picture...

• 1 pound Swiss cheese, cut into small cubes (2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 ounces fresh button mushrooms, wiped clean, stemmed, and chopped (1 cup chopped)
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses and cornstarch and toss to coat evenly. Set aside.

In a heavy medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until golden brown and most of their liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until soft, about 1 minute.

Add the cider, water, and lemon juice, and bring to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cheese-cornstarch mixture in 3 additions, stirring constantly and adding more cheese as the previous addition has melted.

Once all the cheese has been added, add the pepper and salt and stir.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Carefully pour the fondue into a fondue pot for serving, being sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions.

For dipping, use bread, apples, pears, and potatoes. We peeled and diced the sweet potatoes into about 3/4" cubes, then baked them in olive oil until tender. You can also use pretty much any kind of potato. Blanched broccoli and carrots are also great for dipping.

10/8/2011 Basket - Burritoladas

Burritoladas

Uses: Corn, lettuce, red bell peppers

I made this a few weeks ago so I don't remember everything that was in it, but I believe it went something like this:

Remove corn kernels from ears and cook in butter on the stove. Add black beans, red peppers, and onion. Add tomatoes (fresh or canned) and green chilies. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and cumin. Scoop that mixture (plus grated cheese) into large tortillas and roll them tightly. They should be burrito sized. Place 6-8 burritos in a greased 9" x 13" pan and cover with red enchilada sauce and lots of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until the cheese melts and bubbles and the whole thing looks awesome. Serve over a bed of lettuce with sour cream.

10/22/2011 Basket

Finally catching up after a crazy couple weeks! We picked this basket up at the Provo Town Square Mall.


We got:
1 head celery
1 head romaine lettuce
2 crookneck squash
1 bag red grapes
5 Jonathan apples
8 bananas
7 sweet potatoes
1 8 oz package mushrooms
4 bosc pears
6 plums
2 head of garlic
3 tomatoes
2 avocado

10/8/2011 Basket - Baked Stuffed Apples

Baked Stuffed Apples
Uses: Apples


Cut off the top of the apple and scoop/cut out the core without going through the bottom (you will want your opening to be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide).

Fill with desired filling. I tried a few different things and they are all good.

Apple #1 filling:

• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 T white sugar
• 2 T cream cheese
• 1 T Craisins

Mix all cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. Reserve about half of that mixture and mix the rest with the cream cheese and Craisins. Sprinkle some of the reserved sugar mixture in the bottom of the apple. Fill with cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle rest of sugar mixture on top.
The recipe I based this on called for 1 tsp of cinnamon, but it was way too much, so I would scale that down considerably.

Apple #2 filling:

• 2 tsp chocolate chips
• 2 tsp butterscotch chips
• 2 tsp marshmallows
• 2 tsp nuts of any kind (optional)
  

Mix all ingredients and coarsely chop. Fill center of apple.

Apple #3 filling:

• 1 to 1.5 T raisins
• 1 to 1.5 T flaked coconut
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredient. Fill center of apple.

On all the fillings, the amounts are just approximations--you can vary them to taste or try a different combination that you come up with.

Top each apple with 1/2 T butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

10/8/2011 Basket - Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

Uses: Lime

I followed this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/key-lime-pie-recipe/index.html though for the actual pie a used a store-bought regular pie crust. I had extra pie filling, so I made a few smaller pies in ramekins and for those I made a graham cracker crust. Also, I used regular limes instead of key limes and it still turned out well. Also also, my wife used more than the 2 T. of powdered sugar in the sour cream topping.

10/8/2011 Basket - Cinnamon Chips and Fruit Salsa

We have the tortilla pack again so we're incorporating tortillas into our meals.

Cinnamon Chips & Fruit Salsa

Uses: Tortilla, banana, apples, Asian pears, grapes, kiwi

I basically followed this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fruit-salsa-with-cinnamon-tortilla-chips/detail.aspx, but substituted out and in some of the fruits.

10/8/2011 Basket

Picked up at Provo Town Square Mall. Not pictured are 6 or so pears that were so squishy we threw them away.

We got:

6 ears of corn

6 plums

6 apples

7 limes

4 Asian pears

2 red bell peppers

2 pomegranates

1 lb. carrots

2 bunches broccoli

1 head green leaf lettuce

bag of red grapes

6 bananas

10/1/2011 Basket - Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Uses: Bell peppers, celery

I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/stuffed-peppers-3/detail.aspx

I used canned diced tomatoes instead of tomato soup and I seasoned with curry powder and cumin in addition to the spices in this recipe. I also added celery to the onion mixture when cooking. It turned out very well. I did not boil the peppers before stuffing them; I just put them straight in the oven.

10/1/2011 Basket

We were overloading on fruits and vegetables so we had to skip a basket last week, hence the lack of a 9/24/2011 post.

We're back on schedule now with Saturday's pick-up at Provo Town Square.

We got:

1 cantaloupe

2 heads iceberg lettuce

4 ears corn

1 bunch celery

2 green bell peppers

4 red bell peppers

7 bananas

1 lb. concord grapes

6 Bartlett pears

7 kiwi

4 tomatoes

5 lemons