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.