Fruit Smoothies

For the past few weeks, Grace’s Kitchen has been providing breakfast for GED students at a local ministry. As I was planning for today’s meal, it seemed like a good idea to try something new. One of the students told me that he really liked smoothies, so this recipe was born. This is so easy! You can used whatever type of fruit you like as well as all add a little fruit juice to enhance the flavor. This recipe makes two smoothies, but it is easily expandable. Enjoy!

Fruit Smoothies
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender, and pulse until fruit is pureed.

Broccoli Salad With Cashews

This dinner is super-fast (once the potatoes are baked) and tasty. For our main dish, we had baked potatoes loaded with shredded pork, cheese, and a sprinkling of chives. (Use whatever ingredients you have on hand.) The broccoli salad has a twist: Instead of the usual sunflower seeds, I toasted some cashews and stirred them in. Delicious!

Broccoli Salad With Cashews

4 broccoli crowns, cut into florets

4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1/4 onion, minced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup cashews, toasted

1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 to 4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. sugar

Salt

Pepper

1. Combine broccoli and next 4 ingredients. Stir together mayonnaise and next 2 ingredients; toss with broccoli mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Waffles

This recipe was inspired by one in the October issue of Coastal Living. It’s slightly different from my usual waffle recipe (no butter), but I added some in place of the oil. I also added a little nutmeg. Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Waffles

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Stir together first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Preheat waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray. Ladle about 1/3 cup batter onto hot iron, spreading to edges. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until waffle is golden brown and steaming stops. Repeat with remaining batter.

Chicken Parmesan and Eggplant Parmesan

Tonight two friends from church came for dinner, and I decided to serve chicken Parmesan and eggplant Parmesan. But it was time to update my original recipe, posted in 2008. The simple tomato sauce that tops the main dish has a new twist as well. On the side, we had risotto and roasted broccoli (omit the nuts and cheese), which were a nice complement. Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan
All-purpose flour
Salt and pepper

Buttermilk

1 lb. chicken tenders, pounded flat

Canola oil
Simple Tomato Sauce (see below)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk into another dish. Dredge chicken in flour mixture and then buttermilk; repeat procedure.
2. Cook chicken in hot oil 5 minutes on each side or until crispy and done. Drain on paper towels, and keep warm in a 200° oven. To serve, top each piece of chicken with tomato sauce, and sprinkle with cheese.

Eggplant Parmesan
Salting the eggplant and letting it stand removes the bitter taste sometimes associated with the vegetable.

1 eggplant, sliced

Salt

All-purpose flour

Homemade breadcrumbs

Pepper

Buttermilk

Canola oil

Simple Tomato Sauce (see below)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place eggplant on a layer of paper towels; sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 minutes; rinse eggplant. Place, opposite side up, on another layer of paper towels, and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 minutes; rinse and pat dry. 

2. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk into another dish. Dredge eggplant in flour mixture and then buttermilk; repeat procedure.

3. Cook eggplant in hot oil 3 minutes on each side or until crispy and done. Drain on paper towels, and keep warm in a 200° oven. To serve, top each piece of eggplant with tomato sauce, and sprinkle with cheese.

Simple Tomato Sauce

1 onion, chopped

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano

1 Tbsp. sugar

Salt and pepper

1. Sauté onion in hot oil, stirring often, 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 more minute. Stir in balsamic vinegar and next 4 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Use immersion blender to puree mixture until smooth. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve with chicken and eggplant.

Burgers and Sides

Tonight our burgers were paired with unexpected side dishes: fried okra and roasted sweet potato “fries.” All I did was cut the sweet potatoes in half and then thinly sliced them. Place them on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Then bake the sweet potatoes at 400° for 20 minutes.

Bacon-Ricotta Pizza

Here’s my latest take on pizza.
1 pizza dough round
1 cup part-skim ricotta
2 Tbsp. sun-dried tomato pesto
4 bacon slices, chopped and cooked
1 1/2 to 2 cups Italian-style shredded cheese

1. Roll out pizza dough; place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Combine ricotta and pesto; spread over top of dough. Sprinkle with bacon and shredded cheese.
2. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until crust is done and cheese is melted.

Ratatouille Remix With Italian Sausage

Here’s a new take on leftovers from this dish, which I had frozen. Tonight, I cooked two links of fresh Italian sausage, casings removed, until crumbly and browned. Then I stirred the sausage into the thawed leftover gratin, added a can of diced tomatoes, and heated it through. A sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese finished off the dish. Very simple, very tasty!