Gingered Spaghetti Salad

 I found this in the June/July 2023 issue of Taste of Home magazine.  I am going to make this for some work lunches.

1 16oz. pkg of whole wheat spaghetti, I would break them into halves or even thirds

1 C. frozen shelled edamame 

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger root 

1 C. Fat free sesame ginger salad dressing 

3 C. cooked chicken breast; rotisserie chicken would work well here

1 English cucumber, chopped 

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped 

1 small sweet yellow pepper, chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped 

3 green onions, sliced

Cook spaghetti according to the package directions, adding edamame during the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Rinse mixture in cold water, then drain well.  Meanwhile, stir ginger into salad dressing.

In a large bowl, combine spaghetti, chicken, cucumber, peppers, and red onion.  Toss to coat. Sprinkle with green onions.

Per serving, 355 calories, 6g. fat, 40mg. cholesterol, 431 mg. sodium, 52g. carbohydrates, 26g. protein 

Pesto

 I made this recipe last week and used it to dress a simple pasta salad for the 4th of July.  It was a big hit for both the kids and adults!  I have 4 basil plants that are doing really well this season.  

• 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves

• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• ½ cup olive oil

• ¼ cup pine nuts

• 4 cloves garlic, or to taste

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice, or more to taste (optional)—>do the lemon juice, it really brightens up the flavors.

  Combine basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste. Add lemon juice, if desired, and quickly pulse to combine.

  The consistency I like best is just a bit thinner than a paste.  It tosses well in the pasta salad and also is a good spread.

  For the pasta salad, I used a pound of rotini cooked using the package instructions, 20ish cherry tomatoes, and a container of fresh mozzarella shaped like little ears (orrichette)

  Per serving      

  calories 92
  total fat 9g
  saturated fat 2g
  cholesterol 3mg
  sodium 59mg
  total carbohydrate 1g
  dietary fiber 0g
  total sugars 0g
  protein 2g
  vitamin c 4mg
  calcium 60mg
  iron 1mg
  potassium 54mg

Barbecue Sauce

 Chris made homemade barbecue sauce and it was outstanding, sweet with a touch of heat.

1 C. ketchup 

1/4 C. apple cider vinegar 

1/8 C. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. molasses

1 tsp. Liquid Smoke

1 tsp. honey

1 tbsp. mustard 

2 tsp. Northwoods Fire (Penzey’s)

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 

1 tsp. cocoa

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix all ingredients in sauce pan, heat on low until sauce thickens.

Copycat Crumbl Sugar Cookies

The original recipe is from Cookingwithkarli.com I made some tweaks which I will note along the way.  I do not like Crumbl cookies.  They are too big, too sweet, just too much.  I like these cookies.  I also made them smaller.  I got 26 cookies when I made them.

I am going to try these with lemon juice instead of almond extract.  I think they will be delicious.

The ones I made were a big hit at the party!

Cookies

1 C. salted butter; I used a stick each of salted and unsalted butter

1 C. granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract (I used a full tsp)

3 C. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. baking powder

Sweet Almond Icing

1/2 C. salted butter; I used unsalted 

3 C. powdered sugar; I used 2 1/2 C. 

1 tsp. almond extract; I used 1 1/2 tsp.

1-3 tbsp. milk; I used 6 tbsp.

Optional neon pink food coloring; I used green for a St. Patrick’s Day party.

Preheat oven to 350*.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I used my stand mixer, scraping the sides along the way. Add the eggs one at a time and then the vanilla and almond extracts. Beat until well mixed.

Add the flour and baking powder. Mix until thoroughly combined. 

Roll dough into golf ball size balls and flatten with a glass, I used a rocks glass. Be sure to flour the glass. The cookies spread so leave room on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes until cookies are puffed up and not glossy.  Cool them on the cookie sheet.

For the icing, cream butter.  Add in powdered sugar, almond extract and milk until creamy.  Add food coloring if desired.

Chill to set frosting. Serve cookies chilled.

Chicken and Vegetable Wild Rice Chowder

 It’s soup season! I found this in a recent issue of BH&G…Better Homes and Gardens.The photo is making my mouth water!  

2 bacon slices, roughly chopped 

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced 

1 medium yellow onion, chopped 

2 tsp. dried sage

3 garlic cloves, minced 

4 C. chicken broth 

2 C. milk

1 packet cooked wild rice blend

1 C. corn

1/2 C. jarred roasted red peppers, chopped 

2 C. shredded rotisserie chicken 

Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a pot or Dutch oven.  Add bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, leave drippings in pot.

Add carrot, celery, onion, and sage to pot; cook until vegetables begin to soften, 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add 1/4 C. all purpose flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.  Stir in broth, milk, wild rice blend, corn and roasted red peppers; bring to a simmer, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.

Add chicken and cook uncovered until chicken is just heated through; 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Top with reserved bacon.

Per serving: 357 calories, 13g. fat, 65mg. cholesterol, 731mg. sodium, 36g. carbohydrates, 3g. fiber, 9g. sugars, 24g. protein 

Strawberry Muffins

 Just in time for strawberry season, a yummy muffin recipe.

1/2 C. milk

1/4 C. canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 C. flour

1/2 C. sugar, plus 1 1/2 tsp. for sprinkling 

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. chopped ripe strawberries 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 6 muffin cups or live with paper liners.

Lightly beat together milk, oil, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 C. sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add strawberries and toss to coat.  Fold milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fill each muffin cup with a heaping 1/3 cup batter. Sprinkle tops with remaining sugar.

Bake until toothpick inserted into muffin centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes in the pan then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Super Bowl LVI Mac and Cheese

 We have friends who host a Super Bowl party every year (or years when Covid isn't raging).  Recently one of our hosts was diagnosed with Diabetes.  She loves my mac and cheese and I wanted to modify my recipe so that she could still enjoy it.  I figure it this way...it's not going to hurt the rest of us to eat a little healthier either.  Please note, there is still a ton of cheese and  some butter in this recipe so while the carbs are low, the fat and calories are not.

I didn't measure a ton with this recipe but what I made filled a roughly 8x11 catering tray.

I cooked 2 14oz packages of chickpea pasta (Barilla Chickpea Rotini) according to package directions.

In a heavy sauce pan I melted 4 tbsp each of butter and flour to create my roux.  I added a pint of whole milk and a splash of skim milk.  Don't go overboard on the skim or your sauce will break.  I added some onion powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the roux.   When it starts to thicken start adding your cheeses.  I used smoke Gouda, sharp cheddar and Colby jack; you can use whatever your favorites are.  If you can get Velveeta shredded, use some of that as well, it gives the sauce extra velvety-ness.

Taste the sauce as you go.  Add some smoked paprika if you like the flavor.  When you are happy with the taste and texture of your sauce, mix in your pasta and put it in your pan.  I put some cooking spray in the pan to make sure it doesn't all stick.

I usually top my mac and cheese with a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs and more cheese.  I subbed riced cauliflower for the bread crumbs.  I toasted the cauliflower in a skillet with butter and some finely chopped red bell pepper.  I seasoned it with some Parmesan and Asiago cheeses as well as Everything but the Bagel seasoning once the mixture was cooled.  For the pan I used, the mixture was about 2/3 of a cup.

Just before I put the pan in a 375 degree oven, I add about a half cup of whole milk to it, just to loosen up the sauce a bit. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Like a blogger that is out of practice, I did not take a photo of my process or my finished process yesterday.  Next time!