Sarah hosted us this month at her beautiful home. She spoiled us with a champs bar...she knows us well! ;) All the recipes this month were from this blog. All the dishes were very good and everyone enjoyed seconds!
Her beautiful champs bar!
Sarah's Roasted Vegetable Salad with Kale and Farrow
For the vinaigrette:
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 c. olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
For the salad:
2 pints cherry tomatoes, cut in half, or 3-4 big ripe tomatoes, chopped into big bite-sized pieces
6 c. finely shredded kale leaves (remove the stems first)
1 c. uncooked farro
3 c. mixed grilled vegetables, such as carrots, peppers, eggplant, zucchini or mushrooms, in bite-sized pieces
Directions:
If you don’t have left-over roasted vegetables, roast some. (See the note above.)
In the meantime, put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette into a jar, close the lid, and shake until combined. If you taste it, don’t worry: the balsamic flavor will be stronger than in most dressings, but it will be fine when tossed with the salad.
Cook the farro according to the package directions, adding a little salt to the cooking water.
In the meantime, put the kale and the tomatoes into a bowl. When the farro is done, drain it and immediately add it to the kale and tomatoes. (You want it to still be warm so that it wilts the kale a little.) Mix in the grilled vegetables and toss with most of the dressing.
Let the salad sit on the counter for a few hours so that the flavors meld. Taste it and add the remaining salad dressing if desired, and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve the salad at room temperature and then store it in the fridge.
Ashley's Baked Chicken Fingers
1 1/2-2 lbs. chicken breasts or chicken tenders
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
1/2 c. seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. buffalo sauce
1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional, makes it a little spicy)
1/4 tsp. dry mustard (optional)
1/8 tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse and clean the chicken, and if you have chicken breasts instead of tenders, use kitchen scissors to cut the breasts into strips. (It doesn’t matter how wide
your strips are, just try to be consistent so your pieces will cook evenly). Place the chicken pieces on a paper towel and pat dry.
In a pie tin or large shallow bowl, combine both bread crumbs, Parmesan, the cayenne and dry mustard (if using) and salt. Stir to combine. Drizzle the melted butter over the dry ingredients and mix with a fork (or better yet, your hands) until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
In a separate small bowl, combine the buffalo sauce and the mayonnaise. Stir to combine. Have a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a pyrex dish handy. To prepare the chicken fingers, take a piece of chicken and dip part of it in the buffalo sauce mixture. Use your fingers to lightly coat the chicken—you don’t want it totally gloppy otherwise your chicken fingers will be soggy. Then dredge the chicken in the crumb mixture, flipping it over and using your fingers to lightly pack a thick crumb coating onto the chicken. Transfer the chicken finger to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken. (You may need two baking sheets or do two batches.)
Bake the chicken until it’s cooked through. This may only take 10-15 minutes for thin pieces of chicken, longer if the chicken you have on the thick side. Confirm the chicken is no longer pink in the middle by cutting a piece off one of the thickest chicken fingers and testing it.
Serve with dipping sauces like BBQ, ketchup, buffalo sauce, honey mustard, or ranch.
Anna Kate's Spinach Salad with Dates, Toasted Almonds and Clementine Vinaigrette
a couple handfuls of spinach
a handful of almonds, toasted in a toaster oven or over medium-low heat in a skillet (but watch them carefully so they don’t burn!)
a few dates, chopped into small pieces
2 clementines (you can substitute tangerines)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. honey
salt & pepper to taste
Zest the two clementines, placing the peel in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice from one half of one clementine into the zest. Add the olive oil, cider vinegar, mustard, honey, and a dash of salt and pepper, and whisk together with a fork. Taste the dressing and add more of any of the ingredients to your taste.
Put the spinach, dates and almonds in a large bowl. Drizzle a little dressing over the salad and toss gently. Taste it and add more dressing, salt or pepper to your liking.
Virginia's Apple Butter Bundt Cake
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. (2 sticks) butter (at room temperature)
2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 c. apple butter
1 c. walnuts or pecans (optional)
confectioner’s sugar (for dusting)
vanilla ice cream (optional accompaniment)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a mixer, beat the butter, honey and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. With the mixer on low, add the bowl of dry ingredients until combined. The batter will be really thick.
Beat in the apple butter and nuts (optional).
Butter a bundt or tube pan. Transfer batter to the pan and smooth out the top.
Bake at least 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean and not gooey.
Let cake cool completely before loosening the cake with a butter knife and inverting onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.
Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if you like. Or eat it for breakfast. Reheat a slice by popping it in the microwave for 20 seconds.
Caron's Meatloaf Sliders
1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3/4 lb. ground beef chuck
1/4 lb. ground pork
1/4 c. dried bread crumbs (such as dried Italian-style bread crumbs or panko bread crumbs)
a scant 1/4 c. milk
1 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried sage (optional)
12 small slices of your favorite cheese (optional, for melting on top of the sliders)
12 soft dinner rolls or slider-sized hamburger buns
toppings such as tomato, lettuce, etc.
For the piquant sauce:
6 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. dry or prepared mustard (I prefer dry)
Directions:
First, make the piquant sauce. Combine all the ingredients for the piquant sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the brown sugar has dissolved and the sauce is smooth, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Now make the sliders. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, about 7 minutes.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sauteed onions, beef, pork, bread crumbs, milk, ketchup, mustard, salt, thyme and sage (optional). Mix to combine, and then shape into patties about 3/4″ to 1″ thick and the size of the slider buns.
You can cook the sliders on a grill or in a skillet with a lid on the stovetop. Oil the grill grates or the skillet and preheat to medium heat. Cook the sliders, covered, about 4 minutes, or until they’ve formed a crust on the bottom. Turn the sliders over and grill about 3 minutes longer, covered, until they’ve formed a crust on the other side. Top with the cheese and cook for about 1 minute more, covered, to melt the cheese. Check a slider for desired doneness, and if they’re ready, remove from the heat.
Place sliders on the buns (which you can toast, if you want) and smother in piquant sauce. Serve with any other desired toppings or condiments.
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