Carrot Top & Basil Pesto

, , ,

I’m not going to lie…this is a weird sounding one. I got some pretty strange looks from my family when I told them I was going to make carrot top pesto. Even my sister, who I have to admit makes some weird stuff of her own, looked at me like I was out of my mind. I questioned my sanity for a brief moment. My official conclusion was that I was sane…at least in regards to this pesto.

This pesto is just as, if not more, delicious than your run of the mill pesto. It’s got a bit of a bite to it that typical pesto doesn’t have. Plus, it’s also a great use of otherwise overlooked, yet perfectly good food!

My husband and I grew some gorgeous carrots in our garden that were scrumptious in my balsamic & orange roasted carrots. We had a RIDICULOUS amount of carrot tops from these carrots. We worked so hard to grow those pretty little carrots and, by golly, I was determined to use the carrot tops. This is great for those of you who grow carrots or that get carrots with the tops on at the farmer’s market or store. I would recommend organic because you never know what ends up on vegetables these days.

I wish I had taken a picture of our refrigerator full of carrot tops while I decided what to make with them. It was like a jungle in there! Every day my husband comes home looking for a pre-dinner snack. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even question the fact that when he opened the fridge he couldn’t see through the forest of carrot tops. Apparently it’s like a don’t ask, don’t tell situation with the weird food that pops up around our house waiting to made into something delicious. I suppose he just trusts that I have a plan with the random food he finds. And I usually do have a plan…usually.

Carrot Top & Basil Pesto
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 cups carrot top leaves, roughly chopped
  2. 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped
  3. 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (see directions)
  4. 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  5. 1/2 cup olive oil
  6. 3 cloves garlic
  7. salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. To toast the pine nuts, place in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until they start to lightly toast. You will know they are starting to toast when they start to become more fragrant. Stay close during this process because they can burn quickly!
  2. Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until mixture turns into a paste/puree.
Notes
  1. We made pesto grilled cheese sandwiches with these (recipe to come). We also used some of the pesto to top grilled chicken, which was also delicious!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

 

 

Jalapeño Cilantro Mac & Cheese

, ,

Mac and cheese. Oh my. Yum. Something about mac and cheese in general makes my mouth water. But then sandwich a jalapeño, cilantro, and spinach puree of wonderfulness between 2 layers of mac and cheese and WOW! Flavor explosion in your mouth.

Mac and cheese has the creamy, melt in your mouth, comfort food thing that everyone loves. The jalapeño cilantro layer gives the classic dish a punch that makes you think of mac and cheese in a whole new way! *Bonus* that it’s really not hard to pull together. Classic dish + extra punch + easy = AWESOME!!
 
I came up with this recipe after my husband asked for mac and cheese for the 1,000th time. Let’s be honest here…I love mac and cheese as well so it’s not usually hard to convince me to make it. Except that I wish I had a special contraption to make rotini from scratch since I’m on such a homemade pasta kick. I’m pretty sure I’ll get over it. With the help of some delicious mac and cheese, of course. 
 
I have recently been completing the “I would actually love to eat this again” test on food because I don’t want to torture you with just average recipes. That would just be mean. I can assure you that this definitely gets two thumbs up and passes the “eat this again” test with flying colors. 
 
One great thing about this recipe is that you can alter it to fit your taste! If you want it more rich, replace more of the milk with cream. If you want it less rich, use only skim milk. If you want it more spicy, include the jalapeño seeds. If you want it less spicy, remove the jalapeño seeds or even reduce the amount of jalapeño in the puree. If you have a favorite cheese that you are dying to use, you can use basically any kind of shredded melting cheese for the sauce! Isn’t that great?? I think it is.
 
Jalapeño Cilantro Mac & Cheese
Serves 4
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
25 min
Cook Time
15 min
Prep Time
25 min
Cook Time
15 min
For the mac and cheese
  1. 1 pound dried pasta (I used rotini)
  2. 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  3. 1/2 cup flour
  4. 4 cups of milk (I used 3 cups of milk and 1 cup of cream but you can use any combination of milk and cream to make it more or less rich)
  5. 1 teaspoon salt
  6. 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  7. 4 1/2 cups grated cheese (I combined 1.25 cups Gouda and 3.25 cups of cheddar)
For the jalapeno cilantro layer
  1. 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
  2. 2-3 jalapeño peppers
  3. 4 cups roughly chopped fresh spinach
  4. 1/4 cup heavy cream
  5. pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Boil the pasta until al dente, as instructed on the box.
  3. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk together for about 1 minute. Add the milk/cream, salt, and pepper. Whisk continuously until the mixture starts to bubble, then continue to whisk for about 1 more minute until it is thick and creamy. Remove mixture from heat and add 4 cups of the cheese (I saved the last 1/2 cup for the top). Stir until the cheese is melted into the sauce.
  4. Combine the cheese sauce with the pasta in a large bowl or pot. Set aside.
  5. In a food processor or blender, add the cilantro, 2 jalapeño peppers (I used seeds and all but remove the seeds if you don't like it as spicy), spinach, cream, and salt. Blend to a puree.
  6. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and pour half of the mac and cheese into the pan. Spread to even out the layer. Spoon the jalapeño cilantro puree over the mac and cheese in an even layer. Spread the remaining mac and cheese evenly over top. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and a sliced jalapeño (optional).
  7. Bake for about 15 minutes to heat through. Broil for another 3-5 minutes until it is golden brown on top.
Notes
  1. You can add more or less jalapeño depending on how spicy you like food. If you remove the seeds, it will cut down on the heat. Remember to wash your hands after working with jalapeño and don't touch your eyes or they will burn!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
 
 

Balsamic & Orange Roasted Carrots

, , ,

Who here likes to be fancy? ME! ME! Actually, it’s more that I like to pretend to be fancy. It’s a fine line between real and pretend fancy so pretending to be fancy is 99% of the way there. Either way, these carrots will make you seem super fancy. Why? First, because I say so. Of course that’s a legitimate reason. Second, because balsamic vinegar. Fancy. Third, you add orange zest into anything and it’s *for real* fancy. Even the word “zest” sounds fancy. Fourth, we grew these multi-colored carrots in our garden and WHOA are they fancy.

You can of course make this recipe with normal orange carrots from the store. I swear I won’t even tell you that you are not fancy, partially because the carrots that you see in the picture are the ONLY carrots we were able to grow this year. Better than last year when we did not get even one carrot to grow. Luckily, these beauties turned out absolutely delicious so it was all worth it!

It’s hard to tell but if you look at the pan of carrots, you can actually see that the reddish purple carrots were bright yellow on the inside (i.e. the carrot on the far left on the baking sheet above)! How awesome!! Little things amuse me…but come on, pretty cool. I was shocked when I cut into it. For those of you who knew this because you are real gardeners or real cooks, just pretend to be excited with me. Someday maybe this won’t surprise me anymore but for now it seems crazy awesome! 

Balsamic & Orange Roasted Carrots
Serves 4
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
35 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
35 min
Ingredients
  1. 12 small to medium whole carrots
  2. 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  3. 1 large orange (to get 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/2 tablespoon orange zest)
  4. 3 cloves garlic, minced
  5. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  6. salt & pepper, to taste
  7. handful of green beans, optional (I threw them in because they were in our garden)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cut carrots into halves or quarters lengthwise depending on the size of the carrots. You want them to all be a similar thickness. Place on a baking sheet with green beans (optional).
  3. Zest orange and set orange zest aside for later. Add 1/4 cup of orange juice from your orange into a small sauce pan. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes until is starts to thicken slightly. Add minced garlic and 1/2 tablespoon of orange zest. Simmer for another 3-5 minutes until the mixture reduces by about half.
  4. Toss carrots and green beans (optional) with olive oil, balsamic orange sauce, and salt & pepper.
  5. Place carrots in 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, until they reach your desired tenderness.
  6. To serve, you can squeeze fresh orange juice over the top.
Notes
  1. This recipe works with regular or fancy multi-colored carrots so don't fret if you don't have the ones like in my pictures.
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
 

Garden Fresh Pizza Sauce

, , ,

I’ve already discussed my feelings on pizza. If you missed this, you can check out my pizza dough recipe to understand my obsession. Luckily, I found a husband who shares my pizza obsession. Apparently we were just meant to be. A match made in pizza heaven. Everybody say, “AWWWW.” Okay good. We can move on now.

When we were in college my husband and his brother were roommates and would easily eat at least one frozen pizza a week. I have to admit that for college, even making a frozen pizza was pretty good. I’m guessing a lot of students probably didn’t even know if the oven in their apartment actually worked. Why cook when there are 50 million cheap take-out places nearby? Seriously, they had a point. However, once out of college and married the deal became that we could eat pizza to our hearts’ content but I wanted to make it at home.

Our homemade pizzas started with homemade pizza dough and store bought everything else. That was a great start! Then I started making cheese so it was homemade pizza dough with homemade cheese and bought everything else. Now I apparently make pizza sauce so it’s homemade pizza dough, homemade cheese, and homemade pizza sauce with store bought pepperoni. Pepperoni is pepperoni and it’s a hard habit to kick. Seriously. I don’t see myself making it so I may have to actually buy it as is. Such is life.

Bottom line is, you don’t have to make EVERYTHING from scratch to have some good eats! We didn’t start by making the whole shebang from scratch but eventually it becomes easier. Also, once you make one piece of the pizza (like sauce or dough), you can freeze it for the next time and the process is a lot easier!

Garden Fresh Pizza Sauce
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 10 Roma tomatoes
  2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  3. 1/2 cup chopped onion
  4. 4 cloves of garlic
  5. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  6. 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  7. 1/2 tablespoon sugar, optional depending on sweetness of tomatoes and preference
  8. 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  9. pinch of salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Bring small pot of water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut an "X" shape on bottom of each tomato (see above image). This will help the skin remove easily. Once the water is boiling, place the tomatoes in the water for about 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and place into bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard. The skin should basically fall off of the tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half, remove extra seeds from the tomatoes and discard. Set the tomatoes aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and let saute 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 1 more minute. Add seeded tomatoes and break apart a bit with a spoon. Add the oregano, basil, sugar, crushed red pepper, and salt & pepper.
  3. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Transfer to blender to blend or blend with handheld blender in the skillet (this option can get messy) if you want a smoother texture.
Notes
  1. You can also make this with a can of diced or crushed tomatoes (I'm guessing about a 28 oz can) instead of the fresh tomatoes.
  2. I used about 1/3 of a cup of sauce on my pizza but I'm not a fan of a ton of sauce. With the leftovers, I split them into small freezer bags in about 1/3 cup portions. This way, I can put the sauce in the refrigerator the night before and it will be waiting for me to make pizza!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

Basic Granola

,

School started this week! Woo hoo! Right? Maybe. We’ll see I guess. It’s a love/hate relationship. I love the kids and teachers/staff I work with. I love what I do as an occupational therapist. I hate the idea that summer is over and my once free days of doing whatever I want to do (or don’t want to do…i.e. cleaning) are now over. At least until next summer 🙂

So after a long first week of planning and scheduling, and planning and scheduling, and planning and scheduling, the weekend is finally here!! Which means I really just feel like crawling under a blanket and not doing anything. But, because that would be so unproductive I’ve decided to make more granola.

I say “more” granola because granola is a staple in our house. My husband literally eats it every morning with yogurt. When we’re out of granola it might as well be chaos. That’s actually not true. My husband is a very calm guy and would resourcefully find something else to eat. Like leftover pizza. Or meat. It’s been known to happen. But, because I don’t always find leftover pizza and meat the most appetizing in the morning, I will gladly make him granola to eat instead.

This is super simple, delicious, crunchy granola. The key is to let it sit and cool completely before you break it apart. I’ve done the “I’m in a hurry. I can’t wait for this granola to cool” thing before. It is still delicious if you don’t wait. However, it all separates into individual oats. If that’s what you’re going for more power to you. Go for it! Mix it up immediately after baking. I’m a bunches of granola kind of girl so letting it cool is for sure the way to go for me.

 

Basic Granola
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1/4 cup brown sugar
  2. 1/3 cup honey
  3. 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  4. 3 cups oats (old-fashioned rolled oats)
  5. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  6. 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Combine brown sugar, honey, and vegetable oil in a small skillet. Heat on medium, stirring often, until the sugar is completely dissolved but the mixture is not yet bubbling. This will take about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Place the oats in a mixing bowl. Pour the brown sugar and honey mixture over top of the oats and add the cinnamon and salt. Mix until all the oats are lightly coated with the brown sugar and honey mixture and everything is combined.
  4. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread granola mixture over the sheet evenly.
  5. Bake granola for 1 hour, mixing every 15-20 minutes.
  6. Let granola cool completely before breaking into pieces.
  7. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
  1. I sometimes add raisins to my granola once it is cooled. You can really add any of your favorite dried fruits after the granola is baked and cooled! If you want to add nuts and/or seeds, I would replace some of the oats with whatever you want to add and bake it as normal.
Adapted from Like Mother, Like Daughter
Adapted from Like Mother, Like Daughter
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
«< 13 14 15 16 17 >»