Broccoli Salad

 I think of this as sort of an "old-fashioned" recipe, it feels like every church potluck I've ever been to has some version of this (along with cheesy potatoes!); I'd gotten out of the habit of making it but just the other day came across my tried and true recipe and since then have made it twice - I'm remembering how much I like it...sometimes oldies really are goodies! Here's my version:

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled (I usually just use pre-cooked chopped up bacon 'cuz I'm lazy and it's just fine in this salad)
2 pounds broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries (occasionally I use golden raisins but I prefer the cranberries)
1 cup mayo (light is fine, you could also substitute half with plain greek yogurt to lighten it up more)
2 T. white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (I use a little less)
1/4 cup half and half (or I'll use whatever milk I have on hand)

Put the broccoli in a big microwaveable bowl and cook on high for a couple minutes (you can leave it raw but I like it cooked just a little bit - don't cook it all the way though or the salad will be mushy). Add the celery, bacon, cranberries or raisins and mix to combine.

In a small measuring bowl combine the remaining ingredients and add to the broccoli mixture, toss to combine well. Refrigerate 2 hours. Makes 6-8 servings

one year ago today: Moscow Mule

Potato, Squash, and Goat Cheese Gratin

Searched for something different for a side dish to steaks (I've been making that black bean and corn salad too much, and D doesn't love baked potatoes - sometimes I do not understand that man - which would be my choice!); found a recipe that looked good here - it's a twist on a regular potato gratin so I thought I'd give it a shot. Lucky for me (and now you haha) it's a winner! This is sooooooo good, and adding the squash lightens it up a bit which is not a bad thing hahah.

I followed the directions exactly other than maybe the size of the dish I baked it in - recipe calls for 2 quart and I used a deep square casserole dish; it needed way longer time to bake than the recipe instructed, not sure if that's my dish or their under-estimating the time. Either way give yourself additional time to bake this the first time so you can figure out what works for you. Of course I forgot to take a picture after this was baked, can I just tell you that it looked great and you'll trust me please? Sorry 'bout that!

Serves 6

2 medium yellow summer squash, about 1/2 pound
4 small to medium red potatoes, about 1 pound
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon thinly sliced basil or thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole dish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Use a mandoline or chef's knife to slice the squash and potatoes into very, very thin slices, 1/8-inch thick or less. Toss the sliced vegetables with the 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large bowl.

Place a third of the squash and potato slices in the bottom of the dish — no need to layer them squash-potato-squash; just spread them evenly — then season with salt and pepper. Top with half of the goat cheese, scattered evenly in large chunks. Repeat with another third of the vegetables, seasoning again with salt and pepper and topping with the other half of the goat cheese. Finish by layering on the final third of the vegetables and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Pour the milk over the entire dish. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until the top browns. Scatter on the fresh basil, if using.

calories per serving: 199
fat 12.9g
carbs 14g
fiber 1.7g
protein 8g

one year ago today: Brooke and I have a "chopped" competition, I totally failed but hers was great!

Corn Salad

Today's post should just be titled "I love corn" and then have no words - just pictures -  because really, any way you make it is good. Doesn't matter what you do to it. Don't even need a recipe hahaha!

Having said that, I still want to share this terrific salad that I found in an All Recipes magazine (do you get these? I have no idea why I do - and with every issue I receive there is a notice that this is my last one unless I renew...but I didn't sign up to start with!), even though you can't go wrong doing whatever with fresh corn in my book,  this is fantastic.


CORN SALAD WITH CREAMY ITALIAN DRESSING

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2 pinches cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons water
4 ears corn, husks and silks removed and kernels cut off cobs (about 4 cups of kernels)
1 cup diced roasted red bell peppers (or tomatoes, see my note)
5 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, or to taste

1. Whisk together first 9 ingredients (only using 1/4 cup olive oil, reserve the 1 tablespoon) until dressing is thick and creamy. Cover tightly and chill until ready to use, up to 5 days ahead.

2. Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in corn and cook until light golden brown and toasted, about 15 minutes.

3. Transfer to a bowl and stir in red bell pepper. Pour enough dressing over corn mixture to coat completely (you'll probably only need 6 Tablespoons or so). Season with extra salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

4. Stir in basil just before serving.

per 3/4 cup serving: 183 calories, 9.5g fat


NOTE: I omitted the red pepper and used chopped tomatoes instead. Also added a little crumbled goat cheese. SO GOOD!!

served with grilled chicken and steamed broccoli

Two-Bean Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup red wine vinegar or cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 pound haricots verts, roughly chopped

3 ribs celery with leaves, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)

1. Mash garlic and salt using a mortar and pestle or small bowl and wooden spoon. Transfer to a medium bowl and whisk in vinegar, mustard, and pepper. Add olive oil in a thin stream, whisking continuously.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil; blanch haricots verts until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and shock in a large bowl of cold water.

3. In a large bowl, mix haricots verts with remaining ingredients. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and toss. 

10 servings. Per serving: 422 calories, 3g protein, 41g fat, 15g carb, 291mg sodium

My notes: I did not mash garlic and salt, just used a teaspoon of chopped garlic instead. I made the dressing in my cruet thing that has lines on the side for vinegar and oil - just put in all the ingredients and shake it up. I left out the bell peppers, onion and jalapeño and didn't miss them. This has lots of flavor with all the other veggies, salt and pepper. I bought haricots verts (small thin green beans) in a microwavable bag, cooked them for 2 minutes and then ran under cold water. Lastly, I used frozen corn and it worked just fine. Canned corn kernels would be softer and not add the crunch like fresh or frozen. 

Goat Cheese Tart

Served this with grilled pork tenderloin and two bean salad - yum. Didn't have the correct pan so I just used a shallow pie plate and cut the crust down so it wouldn't be too high up the sides of the dish - I made the lines around the top with the edge of a fork just to make it look nicer.  Forgot to take a picture after it was baked but I got one of the last piece before I ate it for lunch! It's a nice, different, tasty side dish to the pork.


1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
salt and pepper
6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
8 ounces goat cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon nutmeg

1. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Mix in 1 egg and 3 Tablespoons heavy cream. (If too dry, add more cream.) Shape dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes or up to overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350'. In a medium bow, mix together cheese, remaining eggs and heavy cream, parsley, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
3. On a floured surface, roll out dough. Fit into an 11 1/2"x8" tart pan with a removable bottom, rolling pin over top to cut off excess dough. Pour filling into crust. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool, about 15 minutes, before removing tart from pan.

10 servings. Per serving: 270 calories, 8g protein, fat 20g, carb 15g, sodium 162mg.

Spicy Crumb Topped Broccoli

Made this as a side dish to pork tenderloin and it was good - and something a little different which is always fun since there's only so many ways to eat your broccoli...;)

2 ounces sliced pepperoni

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 pounds broccoli

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

Chop the pepperoni in a food processor until it's the consistency of the panko bread crumbs. Mix in the panko and whirl them together for a second to blend. Saute them in 1 tablespoon of oil for about 5 minutes until crunchy and golden brown. Meanwhile cut the broccoli into long thin spears and roast at 425' for about 15 minutes until done. Remove from oven, brush with Dijon and dip into the breadcrumb mixture.

after roasting, spread dijon on broccoli...

and then coat with breadcrumb mixture.

Herbed Angel Hair Pasta

I made this as a side dish for Chicken Marsala (check tomorrow for that recipe!) and even though it's simple and seemed like it was going to be a sort of "throw away" side dish (meaning I thought it was just going to be a reason to put more sauce on your plate but not be anything to write home about...) it turned out so flavorful and tasty that I'll share.

Boil a box of angel hair pasta according to the package directions. While that's cooking add a handful each of chopped chives, thyme, and Italian parsley to 1/4 cup of olive oil in a saucepan and heat for a couple minutes. Drain the pasta and pour it into the pan along with about 1/4 cup of the pasta's cooking water, mix all together. Remove from heat, add 2 Tablespoons of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. If the pasta seems dry add a bit more olive oil and/or butter. Sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Makes about 8 servings.

White Beans in Marinara Sauce and Arugula Salad with Fresh Mushrooms

I got the idea for this dish when we went to Greece a couple years ago and had giant beans in a tomato sauce, and loved loved loved them. I found a couple recipes in cookbooks but then just sort of made this version up and it's stuck - I make them all the time.

sometimes I add a handful of halved cherry tomatoes 

 I don't know where to get giant beans here - for real, there are huge giant white beans out there! Get them if you find them - so I use canned white beans, usually Great Northern or White Cannelini and sometimes a mixture of both. Rinse them really well, put into a small roasting dish, and mix in some jarred marinara sauce (or any spaghetti sauce would be fine I think) - bake at 350 for anywhere between 30 - 45 minutes (you can't really overbake, they just cook down more the longer you bake them. If they seem dry I add a little hot water or olive oil to loosen them up a bit). Season with salt and pepper, and crumble feta cheese over the top for the last few minutes in the oven.

They are good by themselves, or as a side dish to grilled or roasted meat and chicken. I occasionally add halved cherry tomatoes and/or additional italian seasoning - it's a very adaptable dish. But white beans, marinara, and feta alone is just delish...I hope you'll try them!

This time we had them with grilled marinated pork tenderloin and a super easy salad of arugula and fresh mushrooms tossed with a little olive oil, lemon juice, coarse salt, and parmesan.

salad ingredients

Roasted Tomatoes, Zucchini, and White Beans

My cherry tomatoes are really starting to come in so I did my favorite thing and roasted them along with a couple zucchini and a can of white beans. It was so good Dave asked me to make it twice this week!

Simple - halve cherry tomatoes and slice small zucchini about 1/2" thick, put in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings (I used course salt and italian seasoning).   Bake in 400' oven for at least 30 -45 minutes stirring occasionally. When the veggies are done to your liking add one can of well-rinsed white beans and continue baking until the beans are heated thru. If it seems a little dry I add a bit of spaghetti sauce - it's fine without it though. I finished by sprinkling with parmesan.

We had this as a side to grilled chicken one night, then 2 nights later I made it again as a side with pork tenderloin.

Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Peas

Made this for dinner and it was so good I thought I'd share, if you're looking for quick dinner ideas this is a keeper. We don't eat gnocchi very often, I kind of forget about making it - but when I do we love it so much you'd think I would put it in the rotation more often but then I forget again!

Bring a big pan of water to a boil, carefully add 1 package of gnocchi and gently boil until they float - it doesn't take very long. Drain. Heat a tablespoon or so of butter (and/or olive oil) in a saucepan, add halved sugar snap peas and cook for a couple of minutes, add the gnocchi. Season with coarse salt and pepper, saute for another couple of minutes until the peas are done to your liking (I don't like them too well done) and the gnocchi are well coated, then stir in halved cherry tomatoes and top with parmesan. We had this as a side dish with marinated pork tenderloin that Dave grilled - such a delicious, simple, easy dinner.

this is one package of gnocchi, gently
boiled until they float to the top 

plain gnocchi are a little bland, like pasta before you
add anything. If I'm not making a sauce and serving them this way,
 I season well with coarse salt and pepper while cooking in a
little butter or olive oil. 

chop up a handful of sugar snap peas and cherry
tomatoes - of course you can experiment with
other vegetables too!

Provençal Summer Vegetable Bake

Layers of sliced summer squash, potatoes and tomatoes over a bed of white beans, topped with crumbled cheese - I found this recipe in an old Family Circle (click for recipe) magazine and it's really good. I do it a little differently from the original recipe omitting the called for eggplant (I don't love eggplant) and onion (my husband doesn't like onion) and I don't think it's missing either of those ingredients - it's very flavorful and pretty! It also calls for herbes de provence which is a mixture of dried herbs that you can make yourself or buy in the spice section at the grocery store (I bought it in a jar and had no problem finding it), if you don't have it or want to buy it I think this would taste just fine without it - add salt and pepper to taste and maybe a sprinkling of any kinds of herbs you happen to have - thyme, rosemary, etc. I served it on the side with grilled chicken - it would taste good with lots of different meats and could also be served alone since it has the beans for a protein. Usually I slice all of these by hand but I'm still learning how to use all the attachments on my food processor so decided to play with the slicing disk and it worked great - saved some time and made everything more uniform for sure. It works just fine slicing by hand tho, don't let that stop you from making this! It's a good one - enjoy!

the magazine shows these arranged in overlapping layers, I stand
 them up alternating veggies and like how it looks...