Homemade Pesto

I usually keep a cup or two of this in the fridge. It’s great on sandwiches, in eggs, on baguette – you get the idea. More posts to come with delightful sandwiches incorporating this delicious, homemade pesto.

Makes about 1 cup pesto

2 cups firmly packed basil leaves, washed and dried
10 garlic cloves
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
One 2-ounce jar (¼ cup) pine nuts
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the basil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the garlic and pulse several times to make a roughly chopped mixture.

2. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream down the feed tube, with the motor running. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl several times.

3. Add the pine nuts, Parmesan, salt, and pepper and puree about 1 minute longer, until the mixture is well blended and smooth.

Corrie’s Spicy Turkey Chili

Posted by Corrie.

This recipe I adapted from one that calls for ground bison meat…which I’m sure would be good, but we had ground turkey…so ta-dah.  It comes together really quickly and is fairly low in fat, but hearty.  It makes 4-6 servings and goes well with any beer. The original recipe called to brown meat first, then drain fat, then saute veggies…which sounded too cumbersome at 6:45pm at night after a long day.  Adding the turkey (which is very lean) with the sauteed veggies worked well.  The jalapeno pepper makes it spicy, but it is really good.

1 lb. ground turkey meat
1 (14.5 oz.) can ranch style pinto beans (or whatever bean you like)
1 (14.5 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1-2 tsp. chili powder
salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Garnish:
Grated cheese
cilantro
sour cream
tortilla chips

Heat olive oil in large dutch oven or pot,
add poblano pepper and onion and saute until soft;
Add garlic and jalapeno, cook about 1 minute.
Add turkey to pot and cook until no longer pink.
Add spices, beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; add salt to taste.
Let simmer about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with above garnishes, if desired.

Incredible Ribs from the Crock Pot

Posted by Amy

I just bought a crock pot last weekend and made these last night.  They were great!  (Not Luling, but still very good.)

Smoky-Flavored Barbequed Ribs straight out of Betty Crocker Slow Cooker Cookbook

3 1/2 lbs pork loin back ribs (we’ve used other varieties as well, and they’re just as tasty)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3 tbsps. liquid smoke (we used hickory flavored)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup cola (we used regular Coca-Cola)
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce (we’re addicted to Stubbs spicy)

1. Spray the inside of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Remove inner skin from the ribs. Mix brown sugar, pepper, liquid smoke, garlic and salt together in a bowl and rub this mixture onto the ribs. Cut ribs into 4 inch pieces, then layer ribs and onion in the slow cooker. Pour cola over everything.
3. Cover and cook on a low heat setting for 8-9 hours or until ribs are tender (believe me, they’re tender by then). Remove the ribs from slow cooker, and drain and discard the liquid.
4. Pour the BBQ sauce into a shallow bowl. Dip each of the rib pieces into sauce. Return the ribs to the slow cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over the ribs, then cover and cook on low for 1 hour.

Recipes from Amy’s Fam

I uploaded a bunch of new recipes to my family blog today — Sanford Keehn Family Recipes.

I particularly recomend the Rum Cake;  its incredible.  (Apparently, you can do just about anything with a box of Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake).

Fresh Asparagus Soup

Posted by Ali

This is a good one, ladies.  Mark it.

I found it online when looking for asparagus recipes on allrecipes.com.  You can check out the reviews here.

I didn’t have soy milk, but I did have some 2% left from when mom and dad came up, so I used that.   I used organic, plain, lowfat yogurt.   This is SO GREAT, healthy, and pretty easy to make.  You’ve gotta try it!

FRESH ASPARAGUS SOUP

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 pound fresh asparagus
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. 1. Place asparagus and onion in a saucepan with 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
2. 2. Reserve a few asparagus tips for garnish. Place remaining vegetable mixture in an electric blender and puree until smooth.
3. 3. Melt butter in the pan that was used for simmering the asparagus and onions. Stir while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter. Do not let the flour brown. Allow the mixture to cook only 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth and increase the heat. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.
4. 4. Stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan. Whisk yogurt into the mixture, followed by lemon juice. Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls. Garnish with reserved asparagus tips. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Cheesy Squash Casserole

With Michael’s vegetable garden operating at capacity, my family had a deluge of enormous squash and zucchini this spring. I found this recipe from Paula Dean and adapted it a bit. It really is so delicious and was a huge hit at potluck suppers.

*  1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 6 (or so) medium yellow summer squash (zucchini works just as well,) thinly sliced (or more thickly sliced and quartered)
* 1 large onion, red or white
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
* 1 cup shredded yellow cheese (like cheddar)
* 1 cup light sour cream
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1 sleeve crackers, crushed medium to fine (recommended: Ritz) – this is a must!

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the squash, onion, and butter until soft. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan, Cheddar, and sour cream. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Place in the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the cracker crumbs evenly over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly (sometimes I just mix in the crackers and it gives the entire dish a yummy texture.)

Easy Teriyaki Kabobs

Posted by Amy

These were the absolute hit of my 4th of July celebration!  I found this recipe last week in the coupon section of the Sunday paper and decided to make them for the 4th since I adore grilled pineapple.  (Click on the recipe below to make it larger).

My variations to the recipe were that I used stew beef instead.  Despite not being a fine cut of meat, the stew beef was actually great.  I let it marinade for about 6 hours and it had fantastic flavor.  I also used white onions on my kabobs because I love the taste of grilled onions.  I used about 2-3lbs of stew beef, so I doubled the marinade that I let the beef sit in, then I made another batch of marinade to use as a baste while the skewers grilled.  The one bottle of marinade and one can of pineapples was plenty for the triple recipe I made. You can see the kabobs pre-grilling below, unfortunately we were all so hungry I neglected to take post-grilling pictures.

These got a thumbs up all around, even from Colby, and I’ll definitely make them again.

Tortellini (garlic + spinach + prosciutto = YUM)

Posted by Ali

This recipe is from Cooking Light Magazine, October 2008.  I LOVE this recipe.  I made it for the first time in Kentucky for Stoney, me, and two other couples.  The recipe definitely doubles well and makes a great leftover meal for the following day.  I prefer the whole wheat cheese tortellini; it’s better for you and I don’t think you can really taste a difference.  The best part of this meal is the prosciutto and pine nuts (YU-UM!).  Oh, and it’s super easy to prepare.

Enjoy

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 1  (9-ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini (such as DiGiorno)
• 1  tablespoon  pine nuts
• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 6  large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1  (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 2  ounces  prosciutto, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add nuts to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Add nuts to bowl.

3. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Add spinach mixture, cheese, and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss well.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 292 (28% from fat); Fat: 9.2g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.1g); Protein: 14.6g; Carbohydrate: 38.8g; Fiber: 3.8g; Cholesterol: 32mg; Iron: 1.8mg; Sodium: 618mg; Calcium: 103mg

Alyson Haynes, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2008

Ali’s …and she can cook! Apron

Ali modeling her lovely apron from the collection her mama made for us all.  (And Happy Birthday!  Ali and Barbara celebrated their birthdays on the 3rd of July).

[We're still waiting on pictures from Annie and Corrie -- hint, hint!]

German Pancake

Posted by Amy

This is incredibly good.

“Tia B’s German Pancake” was a childhood breakfast favorite, and it’s always in high demand in Warrenton.  This makes 4 large slices that could be breakfast with fruit for 4 people.  However, two people can also eat the entire thing (I speak from personal experience.)

German Pancake

Use a large Teflon skillet.  Protect handle with heavy foil.  Preheat oven 425*.

Melt 1/3 stick of butter in skillet on stove top.

In a large bowl blend:

• 3 eggs
• 1/3c. flour
• 1T. sugar
• 1/4 t. baking powder
• dash of nutmeg
• a few dashes of cinnamon (or just cinnamon if you’re nutmeg-less)
• pinch of salt
• 1t. vanilla extract
• 1/2c. milk

Gently stir in blend from bowel with the butter in the skillet–it won’t totally mix up, but that’s ok.  Bake the skillet in the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375* and bake 10 minutes more.  If it looks really puffy in the over, don’t freak out.  The puffy deflates once removed.

Slide pankake onto serving platter.  Squeeze lemon juice over and sprinke with powdered sugar.  (You can also serve it with hot berry jam on the side; I usually do just lemon juice and powdered sugar.)

Enjoy!