April: Chicken and Asparagus on the Grill

It was the perfect day for an outdoor grill recipe group. Tiffany provided us with 2 great recipes to use as the weather and our BBQs warm up. Enjoy!

Teriyaki Grilled Chicken

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper
1/2 cup pineapple juice or crushed pineapple
1 tsp sugar

Marinate chicken in sauce, then grill. While grilled, drizzle honey on top.

Makes enough for 4-6 chicken breasts

Grilled Asparagus

Wash and cut asparagus. Steam for 5 minutes. Add butter, garlic salt, and pepper to taste. Grill on grill to desired tenderness.

March Recipe Group- Quick Desserts

Here are the recipes for March from Robyn:

Yogurt Pie

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 T. sugar
5 T. butter or margarine, melted
Mix well; press into 9" pie plate. Refrigerate before
filling.

Filling:
1 8-oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed (use a little less than the
whole tub)
1 6-oz. container of fruit yogurt
1/2-1 c. diced fruit (the same as your yogurt)
Gently blend Cool Whip and yogurt until completely mixed.
Add fruit. Pour into graham cracker crust and freeze for
about 2 hours before serving. Light and refreshing!
*Our favorite flavors are strawberry and raspberry, but use
whatever you like. If you use a 4-oz. yogurt container,
put two in instead of one.

Microwave Brownies

2/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix together melted margarine and sugar. Cool; add eggs
and vanilla. Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into
sugar mixture and blend in. Pour into lightly greased 9"
pie plate. Microwave on high for 4-4 1/2 minutes. (If you
don't have a carousel microwave, turn 3 times as it cooks.)
Remove with hot pads! Cool slightly before cutting. Best
eaten when slightly warm.
*The edges and center may not look done after 4 1/2
minutes, but do not overcook if you have a high watt
microwave or the brownies will harden. Leaving the center
and sides a little gooey will make the brownies more
fudge-like.

Broiled Eggplant Slices with Parmesan and Oregano Bread Crumbs

We've been enjoying Eggplant Parmesan for a couple of years but always felt guilty about the oil we had to use to fry them up. Plus our place would be smoky for the rest of the night. I was really excited about this recipe I found in a book called, "Vegetables Every Day." It's a fun book because it teaches you about all sorts of different veggies and gets you excited to try new ones. Anyways, we've been doing this recipe about every other week and it has worked out great! Tons less oil, no smoke, and pretty much the same taste. Give it a try and let me know if you like it.

1 medium eggplant
3 Tbsp oil
salt
3/4 cups bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (we usually mix low-fat Mozzarella for 1/2 of it)
a pinch or two of Oregano

1. Preheat broiler. Cut the top and bottom off of the eggplant and then cut into slices (we've done lengthwise but like little round guys better than the long). Don't go too thin, but the thinner the crispier (about 1/2 inch). Lay eggplant on a large baking sheet. Brush eggplant lightly on both sides with some of the oil and season with a bit of salt.

2. Combine the bread crumbs, cheese, remaining oil, and oregano in a small bowl. Mix until combined and moistened.

3. Broil the eggplant, turning once, until lightly browned (about 7-10 minutes). Remove the baking sheet and then sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the eggplant. Put it back in the oven and broil until the crumbs are lightly browned -- probably no more than a couple of minutes. Watch them because they can burn quickly!

4. Serve immediately with your favorite marinara over the top.

February Recipes

Orange Puff Pankcakes

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup prepared orange juice (Hint: Thaw orange juice concentrate. Reserve 1/2 cup for the syrup. Mix the remaining concentrate in a pitcher with 2 cans of water to make the prepared orange juice.)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix the above ingredients in a blender.

Melt one cube butter in a 9 by 13 pan at 425 degrees until the butter sizzles. Remove pan from the oven and pour batter in immediately. Put pan back into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with orange syrup, bacon and seasonal fruit.

Orange Syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice concentrate (not diluted)
1 cube butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine in a saucepan and bring to a boil to thicken. Serve warm.


Stuffed Cream Cheese French Toast
1 load of bread
3-5 eggs
Milk
Cinnamon
Vanilla
Sugar

Cream Cheese Filling
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Spread cream cheese filling between two slices of bread. Dip in egg/milk mixture and cook.
Top with raspberry jam, whip cream and syrup. Delicious!

January's Meeting--ValentineTreats

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. oreos
1 pkg. cream cheese
2 pks. choc. chips or 1 pkg. of candy melts

Crush the entire package of oreos into fine crumbs. Take out a handful (maybe 1/2 cup) of oreos and set aside. Mix the oreos and softened cream cheese. Once it's mixed well roll into 1" balls and put on a piece of wax paper.

Melt the chocolate chips. (You can also use the colored candy melts for dipping. That way, they are holiday appropriate. I used red candy melts for Valentine's Day, but using the chocolate--semi-sweet or milk is just as good)

Dip the oreo balls into the melted chocolate, put on wax paper, and top with oreo crumbs. Chill in fridge.




Chocolate Chip Cheeseball



1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. vanilla
1/2 bag mini chocolate chips



Cream butter and cream cheese. Add the rest of the ingredients. Optional: Top with crushed graham crackers. Best served with chocolate (preferred) or cinnamon graham sticks. (In this picture, I had to use chocoate graham crackers because the store I went to didn't sell the chocolate sticks, but they're much easier if you can find them.)

November recipes

Butternut Squash Soup

1 pat of butter (about ½ a tablespoon)

1 dollop of olive oil (about ½ a tablespoon)

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 green apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped

4 cups chicken broth

dash each cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper

sour cream as garnish

Heat the oil and butter, then sauté the onion, carrot, and celery about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the squash, apple, chicken broth, and spices and simmer until the squash is soft. Pureee the soup… Serve with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl.

Whole Wheat Bread

Grind 7 1/2 or 8 cups of wheat (it will make about 12 cups of flour)

Put the following in Bosch mixer in the order given:

3 1/2 cups hot water (between 120-130 degrees)

1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk

2/3 cup oil

1 cup honey

1 1/2 T. salt

8 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour

3 T. Vital Wheat Gluten

3 T. yeast

Turn on Momentary switch (M) a few times to mix well

Turn Bosch on Speed 1, and immediately begin to add more flour. Add only until dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl - usually about 3 to 4 more cups. Make sure you don't add too much.

Knead on Speed 1 for about 7 minutes.

Spray pans with Pam (don't use oil - you can use shortening). Oil your hands. Remove dough from mixer onto a lightly oiled counter. Shape into loaves. Cover with a dry towel and let rise until dough is about 2 inches above the pan (about 30 minutes). Preheat oven.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Take one loaf out and check it with a thermometer - it should be 180 to 200 degrees. If not, bake another few minutes.

Take out of oven, brush tops with butter, if desired, remove from pans to cool. Freeze loaves you won't use in one or two days.

November mtg.

Hello fellow food lovers! I'm looking forward to November's recipe club; we'll be making a yummy butternut squash soup- very fall, very healthy, very yummy! This mtg. will be held at my house (Annie Scoresby), on Thurs. 11/9, at 2:30. I live in Westborough apts., off of Kenny and Henderson- turn E. onto Folkestone from Kenny, (Speedway on the corner), then left onto Westborough Dr., #1048. You will probably need to park on the street, either on Folkestone or Mobile. Hope to see you all there, it should be fun. Thanks, Annie

Martha, is that you?!

Q- Thanks for the ideas, they sound delish! Next time I'm stuck for dinner ideas, I'm calling you.

An interloper's thoughts on gnocchi

I know I'm not a member of the afternoon recipe club, but I'm married to one. Close enough. I had a few ideas about gnocchi after subsisting on leftovers for days after you all met at our house. (They reheat decently well if you happen to have cooked too many, by the way.)

Since they're just dressed-up potatoes, gnocchi go well with pretty much everything. You could match them with a host of entrees, as well dress them in almost any ethnic-cuisine trappings you can think of. My first impulse was to make it more Mexican/Southwest -- instead of the suggested sauce, I used a green salsa that we had made from tomatillos, onions, jalepenos, and cilantro. With the addition of some melting-gooey mexican cheese blend on top, I thought they were fabulous. I ate them as my lunch on two different days, but they'd be a great side to some sort of spicy fish, chicken, or even a black bean dish.

My other experiment was Asian gnocchi. We had a roasted red pepper sauce in the freezer that has lemongrass, peppers, onions, and a whole lot of rice wine vinegar. It was very good on the gnocchi, but I think a simple blend of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar would be satisfying when drizzled over these things, too.

I have two more innovations that I want to try on the next batch we make. The first would be keeping with the Southwest theme by smothering the gnocchi in a roasted poblano cream sauce (roasted peppers, onion, salt, and cream or half & half -- all pureed together). Instead of boiling these ones, I think sauteing them in a pan is the way to go -- slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and smothered in smoky cream sauce. I am pumped.

The second innovation will be additions to the dough. I've heard of spinach or herbs being added. Maybe something seasonal like sweet potato gnocchi could be a big hit as the weather turns cold.

Any other suggestions out there?

-Q

October Meeting- Gnocchi

This cute little potato pasta just got easier when I discovered that it could be made using POTATO PEARLS (Go food storage!).



For 6 LARGE servings (freeze the extra for an easy meal another night)

• Add 3 cups of potato pearls to 3 1/2 cups boiling water. Let cool slightly

• In another bowl mix 3 eggs, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and any other seasonings your family likes (we've done Parmesan cheese, garlic powder/salt, basil, and don't forget nutmeg!)

• Add egg mixture to potatoes. Gradually add flour (up to about 4 cups) until dough is no longer sticky, but not stiff. Knead a bit to make smooth.

• Divide into baseball sized lumps, roll the lumps into snakes (think playdough here) about the thickness of your finger. Then cut them into Nib sized pieces (see pic). If you want to get fancy you can try the fork method we did at the meeting but it's not necessary. They'll taste the same. If you want to see how to do it go here.

• Now is the time to set aside a bunch for freezing. Just line them on a cookie sheet, stick it in the freezer and once they're frozen transfer them to a Ziploc.

• Drop the non-freezer ones into boiling water. Within a 1-3 minutes they'll start popping up. They're done!

Now just dump a bottle of spaghetti sauce on. Or if you're feeling adventurous try this one (it's as close to what we had on my mission as I could get):

1 onion- diced
2 garlic cloves- minced
1 carrot- shredded

Saute with oil until tender. Add 2 cans diced tomatoes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, and basil (optional). Let simmer until desired consistency reached. Enjoy!

Upcoming Meetings

Here is the schedule for the next couple of months. The gal hosting will pick the day/time in the 2nd week of the month that works best for them and their dish (for example, breakfast crepes would be earlier while a Cobb salad might be closer to lunch time). That way everyone in the group will eventually have a time that works for them come around. Any questions? Does anyone know of something that goes on during the second week of the month?

November- Annie

December- No meeting

January- Brittany

February- Lindsey

March- Robyn


I can't wait to see what they are going to teach us! And remember- this is where you'll want to check for info on what we'll be making, meeting times, directions, and any recipes that group members have posted. You don't have to be registered to read the blog -- just to post.

Brooke

Welcome Afternoon Recipe Group Members!

Hey Everyone!

There seemed to be interest not only in getting together, but in swapping recipes. So, instead of e-mailing out once a month, I thought it would be fun to have a blogspot where we could post recipes, website links, pictures of our successes/failures, suggestions, etc. Each of you have the ability to post to the blogspot whenever you want. This should make it fairly interactive and fun!

Let me know if you need help figuring out how to make posts. Enjoy!