Roasted Beets & Greens

Original Post at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-beets-and-sauteed-beet-greens/

Ingredients 

Recipe makes 4 servings

• 1 bunch beets with
• greens
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
  

  Directions

• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish or roasting pan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you wish to peel the beets, it is easier to do so once they have been roasted.
2. Cover, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet.
3. When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for a minute. Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the greens as is, and the roasted beets sliced with either red-wine vinegar, or butter and salt and pepper.

Hot Mama Says: We tried this recipe and LOVED it!  We harvested our first two beets from the garden this morning, and made them into this stir fry.  Delicious!  The beets were flavorful and mild.  Roasting them kept in the color (45 min at 350 in a small foil-covered ramekin), so they were beautiful, too!  We used two beets, two cloves of garlic, half of one small onion, salt, pepper and butter.  Grade: A  

We will definitely make it again!

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Kohlrabi and Greens

Original Information at: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-use-kohlrabi.html

Simple preparation: Tender, young kohlrabi is delicious eaten raw. Peel the outer skin with a paring knife. Slice, dice, or grate, and add to salads. Use on raw vegetable platters or serve with a creamy dip. Substitute in recipes calling for radishes. Grated kohlrabi can be added to slaw, but lightly salt it first and let stand for several minutes. Squeeze to remove any excess water before adding dressing. Kohlrabi can also be steamed or boiled. For this preparation don’t peel until after they are cooked. Steam or boil until bulbs are tender, peel skin, and season with butter, salt, and pepper, a cheese sauce, or just enjoy plain.

If the leaves attached to the kohlrabi bulb are fresh and green, they can be enjoyed as a cooked green. Wash the leaves and remove the ribs. Blanch in boiling water until just wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze excess water from leaves. Chop leaves, then saute in a little olive oil or butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar or squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-use-kohlrabi.html#ixzz2KYz4vLin

HotMama Notes: We ate the Kohlrabi raw after peeling and it was delicious.  A bit of a cross between a mild radish and a jicama.  Tasty.  We also sauteed up the green and ate them, but found them rather bitter.  Next time, the greens will go to the compost bin.  Raw Kohlrabi Grade: A, Sauteed Kohlrabi Greens Grace: C-.

Corn Bread

Original Recipe from: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/bakingdesserts/r/cornbread.htm#

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup half and half
• ¼ cup melted butter or shortening
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup sugar

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.


2. Sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.


3. Combine the half and half, eggs, fat, honey and sugar.


4. Thoroughly grease and flour a 9" × 9" baking pan (or use a nonstick baking pan or a flexible silicone pan).


5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix just until the flour is moistened, no more than ten seconds. The batter should be visibly lumpy — leave it that way! It's extremely important not to overmix the batter.


6. Once the liquid and dry ingredients have been combined, pan and bake the cornbread immediately.
   
   TIP: The dry and wet ingredients, respectively, can be mixed in advance, but as soon as the wet and dry ingredients have been combined with each other, the liquid will activate the baking powder and the batter must be baked right away.


7. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean and the edge of the bread starts to separate from the pan.

Notes:

This bread can be modified by adding fresh or canned corn, sour cream, buttermilk, bacon — even dried blueberries!

Cornbread is a member of the quickbread family, which differs from biscuits and scones because it uses butter or shortening that is melted, not solid.

The key to a good corn bread is not overmixing the batter. Once the liquid ingredients are added to the dry, mix the batter by hand just until the flour and corn meal are moistened — no more than about ten seconds. Too much mixing can cause the final product to be dry, tough or misshapen.

Hot Mama Says: The husband wanted cornbread this evening, and I obliged him by making this recipe which was at the top of the Google results.  This recipe is delicious, but next time I would make sure to use *FINE GRAIN* instead of course grain corn meal.  It was still delicious, but the texture was a bit rough.  Also, I did not sift the flour (I am lazy and in a rush).  Additionally, I didn't have any half and half, so I substituted 1T of melted butter added into milk to fill up a cup (see below).  I also made our corn bread into muffins, so while I used the oven at the above temperature, I only baked the muffins for 18 minutes, and that was the perfect amount of time (thank you, cake mix box!).  I used cup cake liners to have less mess.   We will definitely make this recipe again (with fine grain meal)!  Grade: A.  :)

Half & Half Substitute

Original Recipe from: http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Half_and_Half.htm

Making a substitute for half and half is as simple as mixing two everyday ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Milk
• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Preparation:

Replace one cup of half and half with 1 tablespoon melted butter, plus enough milk to equal a cup.

Note: This substitute works well in baked goods, soups and other cooked dishes. It will not whip, and therefore should not be used in any recipe that calls for whipping half and half.

Hot Mama Notes: This worked great for our corn bread!

Broccoli Casserole with No Cream of Something Soup

Original Recipe at: http://www.food.com/recipe/broccoli-casserole-with-no-cream-of-something-soups-335597

Ingredients:

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 teaspoon garlic, jarred minced
1/4 cup butter, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup breadcrumbs or 1/2 cup crushed Ritz cracker, fine and dry


Directions:

1. Cook broccoli according to directions, or if using fresh broccoli, chop it and cook it. Drain well. Add minced garlic to the broccoli. Place broccoli in a lightly greased 1 quart casserole; set aside.
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add salt and pepper; stir well. Add cream cheese, stirring until smooth.
3. Pour cream cheese sauce over broccoli in casserole; stir gently to combine. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over low heat; remove from heat and stir in breadcrumbs or ritz crackers. Sprinkle breadcrumb or ritz cracker mixture evenly over casserole.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/broccoli-casserole-with-no-cream-of-something-soups-335597?oc=linkback

Hot Mama Notes: We liked this recipe, it was very tasty.  Of course, our kids have only ever eaten steamed broccoli plain, so they thought this casserole was awful, ha ha!  It goes to show that they like what they know!  Grade: A

Bisquick Buttermilk Pancakes

Recipe originally from: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,186,158183-231198,00.html

2 eggs
2 tbsp. sugar
1 1/4 c. Bisquick
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda

[+1 c flour or Bisquick]

Mix all together except the Bisquick. Add Bisquick at the end to get the batter consistency desired.

Hot Mama Notes:

I wanted to make buttermilk pancakes, but I wanted to make them with Bisquick, because while normally I like to make everything from scratch, I tend to love Bisquick pancakes better than those we have made from scratch (maybe I just don't have a good recipe! ;O).

I googled Bisquick Buttermilk Pancakes, and the link above is what I decided to go with.  I made the pancakes, but they were ridiculously runny.  I tossed the first four pancakes in the trash, added one cup of flour, and tried again.  This time they turned out well.  This being said, I think next time I will just forget the buttermilk and make regular ol' Bisquick Pancakes...  They weren't *that* much better for the effort.  My grade: B+

Mint Pesto

Original Recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/jumbo-shrimp-with-basil-and-mint-pesto-recipe/index.html#

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Blend the mint, basil, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add 1/4 cup of olive oil, processing until well blended. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.