5/28/2011 Basket

This morning we picked up our basket at the Ripple's Drive In.

3 pineapple

2 cauliflower

1 broccoli

1 romaine lettuce

5 bananas

3 cucumbers

3 mangoes

9 apricots

1 cantaloupe

4 apples (pink ladies)

6 tomatoes

5 lb. Yukon gold potatoes

Recipes to come.

5/21/2011 Basket - Minestrone, Plantains with Mango Salsa, and Smoothies

We had a great dinner tonight and we used 4 ingredients from this week's basket and 5 ingredients from the tropical pack.

Minestrone Soup

Uses: Tomato, carrots, Swiss chard

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Minestrone-Soup-2/Detail.aspx

Plantains with Mango Salsa

Uses: Plantains, mango, limes (juice), mint

http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/quick_plantain_and_mango_salsa_plate/

I added a chopped mint leaf to the mango salsa

Smoothies

Uses: Papaya, pineapple, mango

Cut up papaya, pineapple, and mango and freeze on cookie sheets. Blend frozen fruit with milk, vanilla and sugar (or Splenda). Enjoy!

5/21/2011 Basket - Mushroom Swiss Burgers and Citrus Berry Salad

Sorry, no pictures today. But dinner was great and used 6 ingredients (including 1 from the tropical pack).

Mushroom Swiss Burgers
Uses: Tomato, mushroom, romaine lettuce

Slice tomatoes and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms in butter. Fry some bacon. Cook burgers and top with tomato, swiss cheese, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, and lettuce.


Citrus Berry Salad
Uses: Blackberries, Fuji apple, romaine lettuce, key limes

Romaine lettuce tossed with blackberries, strawberries, apple, candied pecans and a citrus dressing (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Citrus-Dressing/Detail.aspx - use key limes for lime juice. Also, I followed some of the comments below and instead of egg, reduced the oil and added mayo).

5/21/2011 Basket

This morning I picked up our basket at the Provo Town Square location. This week we ordered one conventional basket and one tropical pack.

Conventional Basket

5 tomatoes

6 mangoes

8 apples (fuji)

8 Anaheim peppers

1 lb. carrots

8 oz. mushrooms

6 oz. blackberries

1 cantaloupe

7 ears of corn

1 head romaine lettuce

6 bananas

1 swiss chard

Tropical Pack

6 limes

1 papaya

4 mangoes

2 plantains

4 kiwis

1 pineapple

2 vanilla beans

fresh mint

We'll come up with some good recipes for these baskets and post them soon.

5/14/2011 Basket - French Onion Soup, Corn & Bruschetta

Dinner last night was excellent and we used our last three ingredients from the basket.

Corn on the Cob

Uses: Corn

Shuck corn. Cook in boiling water for 15-20 minutes until you can easily stick a fork in each ear.

Bruschetta

Uses: Tomatoes

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Double-Tomato-Bruschetta/Detail.aspx

French Onion Soup

Uses: Onion

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rich-and-Simple-French-Onion-Soup/Detail.aspx

5/14/2011 Basket - Mango Salsa Chicken, Salad & Smoothies

Dinner tonight was good and we used 8 ingredients from the basket.

Mango Salsa Chicken

Uses: Mango, tomatoes, green bell pepper, corn

Grill chicken breasts and top with this salsa: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Avocado-Tomato-and-Mango-Salsa/Detail.aspx. I added roasted corn to the salsa.

Apple Almond Salad

Uses: Apples, blackberries, romaine lettuce

Romaine lettuce tossed with blackberries, apples, cinnamon almonds (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cinnamon-Roasted-Almonds/Detail.aspx), and poppyseed dressing.

Smoothies

Uses: Cantaloupe

Blend milk, cantaloupe, frozen berries, ice cream, sugar & a little almond extract.

5/14/2011 Basket - Lasagna & Salad Dinner

Tonight we made an excellent meal that used 4 more ingredients from this week's basket.

Modified Caesar Salad

Uses: Romaine lettuce, tomatoes

Tear up romaine lettuce and toss with Caesar dressing, chopped tomatoes, croutons, and a little feta cheese.

Artichoke Spinach Lasagna

Uses: Artichoke, onion

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Artichoke-Spinach-Lasagna/Detail.aspx

The lasagna is really good and very easy to make. It's also vegetarian, if that's your thing. The feta on top really adds a lot.

5/14/2011 Basket - Pizza & Salad Dinner

The first meal we made with our 5/14/2011 basket was a MangoBerry salad with homemade pizza. It was awesome. We neglected to take pictures before we ate it, but will in the future.

MangoBerry Salad

Uses: Romaine lettuce, mango, blackberries

Tear up romaine lettuce, add chopped mango and blackberries

Top with cinnamon almonds (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cinnamon-Roasted-Almonds/Detail.aspx)

Mix with mango yogurt dressing (1/4 cup vanilla yogurt, 1/4 cup chopped mango, 1 tsp. lemon juice - puree all in blender/food processor)

Pizza

Uses: Artichoke, tomatoes, onion, green pepper

Prepare artichoke: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cook_and_eat_an_artichoke/

Caramelize 1 onion: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_caramelize_onions/

Slice 2-3 plum/roma tomatoes and marinate in 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and 4-5 minced garlic cloves for at least 3 hours. The longer the better.

Chop 1/2 green pepper

Make pizza dough: Use your favorite recipe, or try this one that we like:

Emeril's NY Style Thin Crust Pizza (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/new-york-style-thin-crust-pizza-recipe/index.html)

Basic Pizza Dough:

1 package active dry yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

Olive oil

In an electric mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, water and lard together to make a paste. Add the flour and salt and mix, using a dough hook, until the dough comes away from the sides and crawls up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide dough in half. Roll the dough into balls, cover, and let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped.

Yield: dough for 2 (12-inch) pizzas

Once you have the dough prepared, brush each pizza with the olive oil/garlic marinade used to marinate the tomatoes. Then cover each pizza with 1/2 of the marinated tomatoes. Cover each pizza with 4-8 oz. of cheese (to your preference). Then top each pizza with caramelized onions, chopped green pepper, and chopped artichoke hearts (from the artichoke you prepared above). Bake each pizza at 500 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and the edges are golden brown.

A note about pizza: If you are cooking with a pizza stone, make sure to preheat the oven with the stone inside and slide the uncooked pizza onto the hot stone. If you cook a pizza on a cold stone, the top will burn by the time the bottom is cooked.

So there you have it - A meal that uses 7 of the ingredients from this week's basket. We'll definitely finish by Saturday at this rate.

5/14/2011 Basket

Today I picked up the basket at the Ripple's Drive In on Canyon Rd. in Provo. Here's what we have to work with:

9 plum/roma tomatoes

5 yellow onions

3 mangoes

2 green bell peppers

3 artichokes

2 cucumbers

1 cantaloupe

1 pineapple

1 head of romaine lettuce

1 bag of apples (pink ladies)

6 ears of corn

6 oz. of blackberries

I also found a home for my extra jicama, cabbage and 2 cucumbers from last week. I will look up some recipes today and post them later. As always, I'll try to find recipes that incorporate at least 2-3 of the ingredients so I can use all of the produce by next Saturday. Check back later this weekend for recipes!

Welcome!

This website is designed for two purposes:

1 - To provide awesome recipes that use the ingredients found in Utah's weekly bountiful baskets, including the additional packs.

2 - To provide a forum where bountiful basket purchasers can swap ingredients that they do not like or cannot use.

Here's how it works:

The site will be updated each Saturday with recipes for that week's produce. If you have additional recipes, please send them to us and we'll add them to the site. There will also be an ingredient swap post each week where readers can (in the comments) list ingredients they do not like or will not use, and coordinate with other users to meet and trade produce.

We'll start this Saturday's (5/14/2011) basket, but in the meantime, does anyone want 2 cucumbers?