Colcannon: You had me at potatoes.

Somewhere in my patchwork ancestry there lives a little Irish. How much? I don’t really know. Probably a little slice. It’s enough to give me pale, tan-resistant skin, an affinity for the smell of rain, a tiny hint of red in my hair, and an undying love for potatoes. I don’t know very much about the cuisine of Ireland. I am sure it involves more than potatoes. Yes? Maybe one day I’ll visit and find out first-hand. In the meantime, I’ll stick with potatoes. One of the Irish dishes I’ve always enjoyed is colcannon. It’s easy to make, comforting and delicious, as potatoes almost always are.

This version has more greens than your garden-variety colcannon, which added some great texture and flavor (and a few more vitamins!). The thing about greens is they cook down so much you can eat a lot of them and not really notice, especially in a wonderful conglomeration like this. This is the third recipe I’ve made out of my new cookbook, The Book of Greens, and it’s my favorite one yet. Lest you think this book is all about healthy rabbit food and vegetarian recipes, feast your eyes on the yummy shot of my skillet full of butter, bacon and sopressata. Oh yeah, baby. Life is all about balance.

Colcannon
(from The Book of Greens, by Jenn Louis)

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
4 oz. sopressata or bacon, coarsely chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (I used a little of both)
8 oz. green or Savoy cabbage (I used 1/2 small head of green cabbage)
8 oz. Russian kale without stems, cut into 1/4 inch ribbons (I used one big bunch. You could also use other varieties of kale or chard)
1 cup milk
A few gratings of nutmeg
Salt & pepper
1 3/4 pounds russet potatoes (how much is this? I used 5 medium-ish potatoes. When in doubt, I always throw in another one, but that’s just me)

Preheat the broiler.

In a large skillet or sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onion and sopressata and/or bacon and stir to combine.

Adding this mixture to just about anything is pretty much guaranteed to make it delicious.

Add the cabbage and kale and cook until both are tender, 6-8 minutes. Add the milk and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the greens are soft but not browned, about 15 minutes.

While the greens are cooking, peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Put the potatoes in a saucepan, add cold water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and place in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the kale and cabbage mixture and gently mix on low speed until the potatoes are mashed and evenly mixed with the greens (you could also use an old-fashioned potato masher for this instead of a mixer if you are so inclined). Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the mixture in a baking dish and place under the broiler until lightly browned on top, about 5 minutes. Remove from broiler and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish. Double recipe if eating as a main dish. <<< My plan for next time.

Colcannon and pork loin. Truthfully, I could lose the pig and double the colcannon. So good.

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Cheesy Eggplant Pasta Bake

Adventures in eggplant are always interesting. Mostly because I usually feel like I don’t know what I’m doing so every time I cook it it feels like an experiment. I didn’t grow up eating it…ever. Even now I don’t eat it all that often. But with my weekly surprise farm boxes, sometimes they come my way and I’m hate throwing away food so you can bet I will find a way to cook it! I’m still teaching myself to cook it, and to love it. I’m not quite there yet, but we have reached an accord, the eggplant and I.

I would call this particular eggplant experiment a success. I mean, really, when you add sauce and cheese and pasta, you can pretty much throw anything in there and it will be good, am I right? The ricotta and marinara sauce mingle into a wonderful creamy coating for the noodles and the eggplant adds great texture (and a few vitamins, yay!). If you want a little less texture, I would recommend peeling the eggplant. I left the peel on and didn’t mind it a bit.

Don’t be intimidated by all the steps. While there are several components, they are all individually easy to make and the finished dish is pretty, hearty and great for serving a crowd, or sticking in your fridge to eat all week, or gifting it to friends or family who have had a busy day.

Cheesy Eggplant Pasta Bake

Sauce:
28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped olives
Handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped or torn
Salt & pepper to taste

Crumb:
1/2 cup chopped kale, spinach or herbs
1 clove garlic
2 slices of sourdough bread (stale is best!)
Pinch of sea salt

For the bake:
2 cups diced eggplant (bite size dice) – 1 large eggplant or 2 little ones
1 tsp. sea salt
1 package penne pasta
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
8 oz. mozzarella

Heat oven to 375˚. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray or rub with olive oil. Set aside.

Put eggplant in a colander and toss with sea salt. Let it sit in the sink for 10 minutes while you make the sauce, pasta and crumb topping. The salt will help draw out the extra moisture so it isn’t mushy in your casserole.

In a medium sauce pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Add garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook a minute or so until fragrant but not browned. Add tomatoes and olives. Bring to a boil and then turn down and let simmer. Add basil. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Cook pasta according to package directions, removing about a minute earlier than usual so it’s still a little al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven so this will keep it from getting too soft. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside.

Combine kale, garlic, sourdough bread and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse to get a crumb mixture. Sauté in a large dry skillet until it’s slightly brown and crunchy. (You can also do this step in the oven, but keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.) Set aside.

Spread paper towels on your counter top and put the eggplant on top of them. Press down on top with another layer of paper towels to remove the moisture that has accumulated. Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium high heat. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Spread out eggplant evenly in one layer. Cook a few minutes on each side until slightly browned and tender but not mushy.

Build your casserole. Start with half the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Top with the pasta. Then the ricotta in dollops all around and then smear them around to form a layer. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Add eggplant. Then the other half of the sauce. Top with mozzarella, just torn into chunks. Finish with breadcrumb topping.

Bake at 375˚ for 25 minutes, or until top is crunchy and cheese is melty. Serves 6.

Right out of the oven. Mmmm.

Spaghetti Squash Gratin

I’m not a squash fan. Or at least, I didn’t use to be. I’ve been gradually teaching myself to like it. The main trick I have learned in teaching myself to like new foods is to start by cooking it in a similar recipe as foods I do like.

I like spaghetti. With red sauce and cheese.  Now I’m not going to tell you that spaghetti squash tastes exactly like spaghetti. It doesn’t really. In fact, it doesn’t really taste like much at all. When you cook it with cheese and spaghetti sauce, mostly what you taste is cheese and spaghetti sauce. But the spaghetti squash has a nice texture (a little firmer than an actual noodle but not that different) and it’s a great conveyance for your favorite flavors.

The star of this dish – for me – was the ricotta topping. It’s hard to feel like you are missing out when you are eating something so rich and creamy. And here’s the kicker. My daughter ate SQUASH and it was all because she loved the ricotta stuff so much. I gave her a tiny spoonful of this dish (I have a rule that you have to at least try everything once) and told her if she hated it she could make herself a sandwich. Normally she hates squash, so this is how I was expecting it to go down. But instead she went back, loaded up her bowl and ate it all. It was some sort of squashy miracle.

One note on cooking the squash: some people cook it whole, some cut it in half. It will cook faster if you cut it in half (in about 45 minutes or so), but wrestling these things into submission when they are raw is not always easy. I found it much easier to break this sucker down when it was cooked and tender, so I left mine whole.

Spaghetti Squash Gratin

Spaghetti Squash Gratin
(from Recipe Sweet)

1 spaghetti squash

Sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, drained and smooshed with your fingers or coarsely chopped (or you can use diced ones)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 basil leaves, coarsely chopped or torn

Gratin Topping:
1 (15 oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400˚. Poke your squash with a fork or knife a few times and place in the oven whole (I put mine on a pan just in case it leaked some juices). Roast for 1 – 1 1/2 hours until tender. Let it cool just a bit so you can handle it. (You can do this the day before or earlier in the day if time is an issue).

Slice it in half, scoop out the seeds in the middle (discard the seeds), and then using a fork, comb through the squash, creating “spaghetti” strands. Place these in the bottom of your baking dish. Drizzle with just a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Toss a bit with your fingers to combine.

Looks like spaghetti!

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Add garlic and crushed red pepper.  Cook and stir for a minute. Add tomatoes, salt & pepper, Italian seasoning and wine. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for 15 minutes. Pour over the top of the squash and spread out so all of the squash is covered.

Smother anything in this sauce and it will be good.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan and seasonings.  Carefully spread ricotta mixture over the top of the red sauce.

Ready to cook!

Bake at 400˚ for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned. Dig in!

Tomato Quiche Cups

I love quickie breakfasts.  Even more, I love quickie breakfasts that are delicious.  Baked eggs are an easy and very tasty way to start the day.  Ever since I bought my ramekins, these have been coming out of my oven on a regular basis.  What I really love about them is that there are so many variations!  Whatever your imagination (and refrigerator) can dream up will most likely turn into a tasty breakfast.

Sometimes I just break the eggs into the cups on top of the veggies and meat.  But I was in the mood for something a bit fluffier so I added a little cream and beat it into the eggs for a more quiche-like texture.  The result?  Fluffy, light and oh so good!

So pretty and so good!

Tomato Quiche Cups

For each cup:

1plum tomato, diced
1 oz. hard salami, cut into matchsticks or small cubes (1-2 tbsp)
2 slices brie cheese
2 eggs
1 tbsp. heavy cream
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray your ramekins with cooking spray.  Place tomatoes and salami in the bottom.

Tomato & salami. Feel free to sub bacon or pepperoni, or leave out for a vegetarian version.

Top with brie.

Top with brie. Feel free to use a different cheese if you prefer (or no cheese).

Whisk together eggs, cream and a pinch of salt & pepper.  Pour over veggies and cheese.

All ready to go in the oven. Be sure to make on a baking sheet, just in case they spill over just a bit as they cook.

Place ramekins on a baking sheet (sometimes they poof up so much you get a little overflow so this is a good idea).  Bake 15-20 minutes until eggs are set.  The quiche will be poofed up when you first take it out.

Let sit for a couple of minutes.  The eggs will settle as it cools, looking more like this:

Deflated a bit after cooling a few minutes. Dig in!

Pork-a-Palooza! Ten things you can make with leftover pork roast.

I have to say that as far as cooking on a budget goes, the big prize recently goes to the pork roast.  I picked a couple of these up when they were on sale and boy did I get my money’s worth and then some!  I’ve posted most of these recipes already, but there were so many, and they were so spaced out (since we didn’t feel like eating pork every day for weeks) that I thought I would consolidate them all in one porky place for easy reference.  Just click on the recipe you want to get all the details.

The method that works best for me is to cook the roast up ahead of time in the oven or crock pot (my basic recipe is included in all of the blog posts below), shred all the meat, and portion it out into freezer bags or containers.  Simply pull one out for an easy meal with most of the work done already.

Works for breakfast…

Shredded Pork Huevos Tostada

Smothered Breakfast Burrito

Lunch…

Pineapple Pork Wraps

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Or Dinner…

BBQ Pork Shepherd’s Pie

Shredded Pork Tostada “Salad”

Shredded Pork Enchilada Casserole

Shredded Pork & Black Bean Tacos

Shepherd’s Pie with Shredded Pork & Green Beans

Pork Green Chili

Shredded Pork Enchilada Casserole

Casseroles are and probably have always been the best dumping ground for leftovers.  Way back in caveman days I can only imagine the cave-wife saying “what the heck am I going to do with all this leftover mammoth?” And then she thought, “I’ll mix it with these weeds and seeds, stick it in a bowl, cook it in the fire and call it good.”

I finally used the last of my giant pork roast and this was arguably my favorite recipe of them all.  I’m not a huge casserole lover, but occasionally it’s just the most satisfying and comforting thing.  This one tastes like enchiladas, without all the work of actually making enchiladas.  The sauce is a very quick blender affair, and the casserole comes together in a jiffy.  Nice weekday meal that will seem like you slaved over it (even if you didn’t).

Queso fresco is a Mexican style white cheese similar to mozzarella.  It’s very mild and delicious and melts beautifully!  Rather than shredding it you can just crumble it apart in your fingers.  Great on anything from tacos to salads.

Shredded Pork Enchilada Casserole

Shredded Pork Enchilada Casserole

2-3 cups shredded pork (click here for my basic pork roast recipe)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 package corn tortillas
1 cup queso fresco, crumbled
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup tomato, chopped

Verde Sauce:
12 oz. tomatillos (7-8 large)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped roasted green chiles (or one 4 oz. can)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Preheat oven to 375˚.  Remove husks and stems from tomatillos and put in a small saucepan.  Cover with water; boil for 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain and transfer to a blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients.  Blend until smooth.

Homemade verde sauce. So quick and easy!

Mix pork with sour cream, cumin and chili powder.  Add salt & pepper to taste if needed.

In the bottom of your casserole dish, ladle enough sauce to liberally cover the bottom of the dish.  Lay out tortillas in a single layer and top with pork mixture.

Building your casserole, just repeat from here.

Repeat layers of tortillas and pork until ingredients are used up.  End with tortillas on top.

I like to finish with the tortillas on top and then pour sauce over the whole thing.

Pour verde sauce over the whole thing (you may not use all your sauce – you can serve extra on the side, keep it for something else or freeze it for later).  Sprinkle queso fresco and tomatoes over the top and finish with a sprinkle of cheddar.

All ready to pop in the oven. So pretty!

Bake for 30 minutes or so until heated through and melty.

All cozy in a bowl. I served this with a black bean and veggie salad on the side.

Serve with salad on the side for a satisfying, lip smacking dinner!

BBQ Pork Shepherd’s Pie

In my arsenal of meals that appear well thought out and taste delicious, yet require almost no effort, Shepherd’s Pie reigns supreme.  The added benefit is it uses up leftover odds and ends.  In this case, more leftover shredded pork from a roast I cooked a couple of weeks ago that had been stuck in the freezer.

I wasn’t really in the mood for traditional shepherd’s pie.  I was actually in the mood for BBQ.  So I thought, why not make a BBQ shepherd’s pie?  And so I did.  In consideration of my über-lazy mood, I used a can of baked beans rather than mixing up my own, which made this come together in a snap.  Rave reviews from the troops quickly ensued.

BBQ Pork Shepherd’s Pie

BBQ Pork Shepherd’s Pie

2-3 cups shredded pork (see below for my basic pork roast recipe)
3/4 (give or take) cup barbecue sauce
1 can baked beans (I used Bush’s country style)
3/4 cup pineapple
3-4 russet or red potatoes
3 tbsp. butter (2 for the mashed potatoes and 1 to dot on top)
1/4 cup milk
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions or chives for garnish

Peel and quarter potatoes.  Boil until fork tender.  Mash with butter and milk.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 375˚.

Heat pork in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then combine with barbecue sauce.  Spread in the bottom of a casserole dish.

Layer #1. Shredded BBQ pork.

Top with pineapple.

Layer #2: Fresh pineapple!

Spread baked beans over the top.

Layer #3: Baked beans

Spread mashed potatoes over the top.  Dot with butter and sprinkle with green onions.

Layer #4: Mashed Potatoes. Potatoes make everything even better, don’t they?

Bake at 375˚ for 30 minutes, until heated through and lightly browned on top.  Serve with corn on the cob on the side for a complete BBQ dinner in one bowl!

And there you have it. My BBQ creation.

Basic Pork Roast

Pork Butt or Shoulder Roast
1 onion, sliced or diced
2 cloves garlic
1 8 oz. can diced green chiles
Salt & pepper

Rinse pork roast and place fat side up in a dutch oven.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper, top with onion, chopped garlic and green chiles.  Put a lid on and roast at 350˚ for 3-4 hours, until tender and falling apart.  Pull apart with two forks to shred.

Alternatively you can do this in the crock pot (mine was too big this time, so I did it in the oven instead).  When I cook it in the crock pot, I turn it on high for the first hour, then down to low to cook the rest of the day.

Smoky Spinach Quiche

Long before I enjoyed eating spinach on any sort of regular basis, I tasted spinach quiche and fell in love.  The combo of eggs and cheese and spinach that wasn’t the least bit slimy or gooey was a winner for me.  It was definitely a gateway to liking spinach for this girl.  It was also a gateway to getting my kids to eat it later on.

This version combines a little bacon and a combination of smoked cheddar and swiss for a smoky twist on one of my favorites.  It comes together in mere moments, leaving you time to toss a salad and watch an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while it cooks. Even slayers need to eat their vegetables.

Like quiche but not a spinach fan?  Try one of these other versions:
Pizza Quiche
Roasted Sweet Pepper Quiche
Or for a low-carb version, how about Crustless Mushroom & Feta Quiche?

Veggies, cheese, and BACON! Oh my. Smoky Spinach Quiche

Smoky Spinach Quiche

1 pie crust (I prefer Pillsbury refrigerated crust)
1/2 cup chopped red or yellow bell pepper
1 package frozen spinach (thawed and liquid squeezed out)
4 strips bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
3/4 cup grated smoked cheddar or Gruyère cheese (I used a combo of the two)
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half ‘n’ half
Salt & pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Prep all of your ingredients.  In a small bowl beat eggs, half ‘n’ half, nutmeg and salt & pepper.  Set aside.

Chop, shred, squeeze, beat. I do all of my prep ahead of time.

Pre-heat oven to 425˚. Unroll your pie crust and place in a pie pan (I usually dust with a bit of flour on the bottom to prevent sticking).  Smooth out air bubbles and crimp edges.

Start with the crunchiest ingredients.  I put the peppers in first (reserving a few to sprinkle on top).  Then the spinach.  I prefer to use frozen spinach for this.  Thaw it and squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can.  You can use fresh spinach if you prefer, but if you do, cook it first, cool, and squeeze out any liquid.

Layer the ingredients. Veggies first. Be sure to squeeze the liquid out of the spinach so you don’t end up with a soggy quiche.

Continue to layer ingredients, with crumbled bacon and smoky cheese going next.  Sprinkle with the rest of the peppers.

Looking good, almost there!

Pour egg mixture over the top.

Ready to go in the oven, carefully!

Bake at 425˚ for 15 minutes.  Turn down heat to 350˚ and continue to cook for another 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let it set for 10 minutes before cutting.

Beautiful! It will be poofed up like this when it first comes out, and will sink down a bit as it cools.

 

 

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

I’m always on the lookout for interesting side dishes.  Anything to keep dinner fun, right?  I came across a recipe for Twice-Baked Cauliflower on Pinterest.  I believe it was called that because it’s reminiscent of twice-baked potatoes, but you don’t actually bake the cauliflower twice so that title is a tiny bit misleading.  I originally saw this touted as a “healthier” substitute for the potato dish, but seriously, with all the cream cheese, cheese and sour cream in it, I don’t think I can call this a healthy recipe and keep a straight face.  It is lower carb, I’ll give them that.  I just made it because I like cauliflower.  And cheese.

You could make this a little lighter by using the lower fat versions of the dairy products (don’t use the fat-free products, they do weird things when they are cooked).  I don’t personally care for the lower fat versions (and I don’t really think they are any better for you).  I prefer to use the full fat stuff but I use a little less than the original recipe calls for.  In fact, I could probably cut it back even more than I did here.

This was a huge hit with my kids.  True, they like their veggies, but I’m betting even veggie haters will like this one.  It’s a pile of cheesy goodness.  I don’t think anyone will actually be fooled into thinking it’s potatoes, but they might change their minds about liking cauliflower.

I paired this with my Apple-icious Pork Chops and the sweet and salty combo was amazing.  I highly recommend it.

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

1 large head of cauliflower
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup green onions
1/2 tsp. black pepper
6 strips of bacon
1/3 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350˚.  Chop up the cauliflower and boil until tender.  While it is boiling, cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp and drain on paper towels.  Drain the cauliflower and mash with a potato masher.  I left quite a few chunks for texture.  Add cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, green onions and pepper.  Mash or stir together until well combined.  Add 2/3 of the bacon and stir in.  Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray.  Spread cauliflower mixture in the dish.  Sprinkle with the remaining bacon and the cheddar cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.  Serve hot.  Makes 4-6 servings.

Perfect on the side of just about anything!

Individual Mushroom & Feta Crustless Quiche

Here’s a little something to think about for your weekend breakfasting, although they are quick and easy enough to make on weekdays too.  I love the individual servings, which make it easy to customize the ingredients if needed.  Plus they just look a little fancy.  Perfect for a brunch or just for the heck of it.  Feel free to use any combo of veggies or meats you like in these.

Delicious Mushroom & Feta Quiche

Individual Mushroom & Feta Crustless Quiche
(This recipe makes 4 quiches.  To make just one, use 1-2 eggs and about 1/2 cup of half & half)

3/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup onions, sliced
1 small clove garlic, minced
5 eggs
1 3/4 cup half & half
Salt & pepper
Feta (about a tablespoon for each ramekin)

Saute the mushrooms, onions and garlic in a little olive oil until onions are tender.  Spray each of 4 ramekins with cooking spray.  Divide the veggie mixture among the ramekins.

Sauteed veggies. Feel free to substitute whatever you like if mushrooms and onions don’t rock your world.

In a bowl beat eggs with half & half and some salt & pepper. Pour into each ramekin on top of the vegetables.  Sprinkle with feta.

All ready to pop in the oven.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until tops are brown and it stays set when you jiggle it a bit.  Let them cool for 5 minutes or so before eating.