Orzo with Yellow Squash, Leeks, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

When Patrick and I were coming home from Disney World, one of our pit-stop meals was at Cracker Barrel--Patrick's first visit! Being the good Southerner that I am, I couldn't let Patrick go any longer without eating here! Of course we played the triangle tee game simply known as the Peg Game, ate some dumplings, and shopped in the Old Country Store. Unfortunately we ran out of time to relax in the rocking chairs and play checkers... next time.

In the Old Country Store I found an interesting little cookbook with lots of yummy fall recipes and pictures. I decided it would be a fun memento of our trip but I also couldn't pass up some of those recipes in A Harvest of Pumpkins of Squash: Seasonal Recipes. And here's one of the ones that made my mouth water!

This made a great lunch!

Orzo with Yellow Squash, Leeks, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
8 oz (1 1/2 cups) orzo pasta
3 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, white part only, chopped  I used the light green parts as well
   *more leek notes below
2 yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-in dice
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 shallot or green onion, finely chopped  I used shallot
1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill  I omitted the dill, not our favorite flavor
2 tsp minced fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and snipped into small pieces
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled feta cheese  I substituted goat cheese since Patrick loves it
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley  Omitted this too
Arugula leaves for serving  Didn't have any of these so omitted

Preparation
   Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain, letting some of the cooking water cling to the pasta. Let cool for a few minutes.
   Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp of the oil. Add the leek and squash and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.
   In a bowl, stir together the remaining 2 tbsp oil, the lemon juice, shallot, dill, oregano, and salt and pepper. Add the pasta and toss to coat. Stir in the squash mixture, tomatoes, feta, and parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 3 hours, if you like. When ready to serve, tuck the arugula around the edge of the serving bowl or individual plates.


*Leeks can be a little tricky because they're super dirty! For more details, visit this "How to Clean Leeks" website from About.com. This is what I do.


Chop off the large green portion of the leek down to where the leek turns light green. Then I slice the leek down the center, starting at the white root all the way to the end of the light green section. After that I chop the leek every 1/2-inch or so for a good saute size. Once that's done I toss the root end.



Then place all the chopped leeks, white and light green portions, into a medium sized-bowl and fill with water. The dirt will now sink to the bottom. I usually rinse the leeks twice. Then I scoop out the leeks with a slotted spoon into a strainer. If you pour the leeks into the strainer, you may not leave all the dirt behind. Leeks do require a little more preparation effort but they're worth it.

Black Bean & Salmon Tostadas

Salmon certainly needs no introduction. I found a new recipe to try from EatingWell. It's got a Mexican twist to it and I think Patrick and I both really enjoyed this. The recipe does call for canned salmon which I was planning to use fresh (bake it, then flake onto the tostada) but there was no fresh salmon when I went shopping so I'm definitely looking forward to making this again with fresh salmon. Here's the link to the recipe on-line and the recipe is pasted below with my notes. We really tweaked the recipe quite a bit.

Black Bean & Salmon Tostadas Serves 4
Ingredients
8 6-inch corn tortillas -- I used small whole wheat tortillas
Canola oil cooking spray
1 6- to 7-ounce can boneless, skinless wild Alaskan salmon, drained
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeños, plus 2 tablespoons pickling juice from the jar, divided
     -- I omitted this completely but feel free to spice yours up!
2 cups coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage -- I was planning to use this but forgot
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro -- Omitted, not a big cilantro fan
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared salsa
2 scallions, chopped
Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation
Position racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 375°F.
Coat tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Place on 2 baking sheets. Bake, turning once, until light brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Do this if you want the tostadas to be crispy. If you prefer the softer tortilla and would like to wrap up the beans and salmon, skip this step.
Combine salmon, avocado and jalapeños in a bowl. I also added freshly chopped tomato here. Combine cabbage, cilantro and the pickling juice in another bowl. We didn't do this. Process black beans, sour cream, salsa and scallions in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on High until hot, about 2 minutes.
To assemble tostadas, spread each tortilla with some bean mixture and some salmon mixture and top with the cabbage salad. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.
I served with brown rice!

Tastier than it looks! I promise!

Skillet Turkey with Cranberries and Apples

Fall is synonymous with apples, right? Well we've got fresh apples on-hand directly from the Virginia mountains. Many thanks to Granny and Poppa for sharing with us! We know Patrick loves to bake with apples but I decided to grab a few to use in this savory dish that I saw in one of our EatingWell magazines. Here's the link to the recipe on-line. It was very tasty. The major thing we did differently was using turkey breasts instead of chicken; we also substituted dried cranberries for fresh/frozen (only because they were in the pantry).


Skillet Turkey with Cranberries and Apples  Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 pound chicken tenders, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal (used turkey breasts)
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, divided (used fresh)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 crisp red apples, such as Braeburn, Fuji or Gala, thinly sliced
1 large red onion, quartered and sliced
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice, divided
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preparation
Sprinkle both sides of chicken tenders with 1/4 teaspoon each thyme, salt and pepper.

Patrick preparing the turkey breasts. After sprinkling the turkey with the seasonings he rubbed the herbs in for maximum flavor.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add the chicken. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a clean plate.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add apples, onion, 2 tablespoons cider (or juice) and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each thyme and salt. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring often, until the apples and onion are softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cranberries and sprinkle flour over everything in the pan; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the remaining cider (or juice). Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Served with couscous and steamed cabbage.

Garlic Roasted Salmon & Brussels Sprouts

As Whitney has mentioned previously, we're always up for trying a new salmon recipe, so when this showed up in our most recent Eating Well, we had to give it a shot. The recipe was easy enough, but I somehow managed to overcook the salmon (cooking salmon perfectly is a constant challenge for us). It was a very garlicky dish, which means Whitney liked it more than I did. I'm also still trying to come around on Brussels sprouts - I find them more tolerable when they're chopped up like in this recipe, but I didn't really like the burnt edges from the roasting.

Anyway, if you're still interested after that glowing review, here's the original recipe. I cut it by about a third to make two servings.


14 large cloves garlic, divided 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano, divided 
1 teaspoon salt, divided 
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided 
6 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced 
3/4 cup white wine, preferably Chardonnay 
2 pounds wild-caught salmon fillet, skinned, cut into 6 portions
Lemon wedges 


Preheat oven to 450°F. Mince 2 garlic cloves and combine in a small bowl with oil, 1 tablespoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Halve the remaining garlic and toss with Brussels sprouts and 3 tablespoons of the seasoned oil in a large roasting pan. Roast, stirring once, for 15 minutes. Add wine to the remaining oil mixture. Remove the pan from oven, stir the vegetables and place salmon on top. Drizzle with the wine mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges.

At least the couscous turned out well

Gruyere Cheese Sauce

On a recent trip to the Guglhupf bakery, we checked out their cheese selection and picked up a block of cave-aged Gruyere to experiment with. For our first experiment, we decided to make a simple cheese sauce for some potatoes. We grabbed this recipe from the first google result. It was easy to prepare and made for some very tasty potatoes!

2 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
1 1/2 cups whole milk 
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese 
kosher salt, to taste 
fresh ground white pepper, to taste 

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour; stir 2 minutes (do not brown). Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk. Increase heat to high; bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is thickened, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheese, stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Aren't we fancy, with our un-pronounceable Swiss cheese

Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions with Tortellini and Goat Cheese

Here's another post with that tortellini we love so much! The refrigerated packages of tortellini are something I kind of keep an eye on at the grocery store. I don't usually plan them for a meal but I'll buy a few when they're on sale and they're a perfect option for when we're not really sure what to fix.

This night we had the tortellini on hand, a butternut squash and yellow cherry tomatoes from our CSA, onions, and herbs. And goat cheese. (Remember Patrick just buys goat cheese for fun; reference this post.) This is really easy and the wonderful thing about the tortellini is it pairs well with so many roasted vegetables (see what other veggies we've roasted before for tortellini here) or sauces. Like I said, keep some on hand! I promise you won't regret it.

Roast vegetables and prepare tortellini

Peel and chop the butternut squash and onion. I did these in bite-sized pieces. Place the veggies on a lined baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss the vegetables with a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and a freshly chopped (or dried) herb of your choosing. I think we used thyme this particular night. Roast on 400F for at least 20 minutes and check for doneness. The size of your vegetable will determine how long it needs to roast (another reason to cut them into small pieces). Add the cherry tomatoes half way through and toss the vegetables together. Boil the tortellini according to package directions and try to time it to get done when your vegetables will be done!

Combine everything and serve

Once the vegetables have roasted and the tortellini has cooked and been drained, combine everything. If it's an informal, casual evening use the same pot you cooked the tortellini in! If it's a formal evening and you've got friends over you want to impress put it in a nice serving bowl. Crumble in some goat cheese and munch away.

Fall Themed Potluck

The potlucks are becoming a little sparse... thanks friends for moving away! Even though there are fewer of us we still filled our bellies with good fall-themed dishes. I'll have to expand the guest list for upcoming potlucks. Any takers?!

Back to a buffet style potluck. All the food was served on the island. [From top left, clockwise]: Crockpot Pot-Roast, Acorn-Butternut Squash Risotto, Apple Pie, and Homemade Apple Sauce!

Richard recommends a strong stirring arm for the making of risotto. Not only did he include the winter squash but there were a few surprise mushrooms as well.

Tim treated us to homemade apple sauce. After the apples were peeled and boiled, some sugar and cinnamon did the trick.

This Crockpot Pot-Roast was super easy and my mom's recipe. Begin with a small layer of cream of mushroom soup in your crockpot (about 1/3 can), then add 2-3 chopped yukon gold potatoes, 2-3 chopped onions, and 2-3 chopped carrots. Add a chuck roast. Then combine the rest of the mushroom soup with a Lipton's powdered Onion Soup and Dip mix packet and place on top of the meat. Roast on low all day or medium/high half a day.

Patrick's no stranger to making apple pies. Check out this post for details.