Vegetarian

Stromboli 3 Ways

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I have always been a fan
of finger food. You know, things that have everything contained in a nice
little hand held vassal. It’s especially good if it’s cheesy, and dip able. Stromboli
is one of those types of things. I love making it for pot lucks, and camping
weekends because you can make it ahead of time wrap it in foil and then heat it
up when you are ready to eat.

Stromboli traditionally is
a type of turnover that is usually filled with cheese, Italian meats, and made
with Italian bread dough. Most of the time in the US you can find it with mixed
Italian meats and provolone, or mozzarella and pepperoni.

Just before Christmas (I know
I’m behind, things get busy) Chuck went up to hunting camp and I thought I
would make him some of these. The thing is that I wanted to try something a
little different than the usual, and then got a bit carried away. I ended up
with three awesome fillings, traditional meat and cheese, cheeseburger, and
vegetarian. I’ll admit the vegetarian one was mostly for myself to break off a hunk
of, and the boys didn’t appreciate it as much as the others, but it was still
good, especially dipped into a steaming cup of marina.

For all three of these I
used this pizza dough recipe.

Triple Meat & Cheese Stromboli

1 pizza dough recipe

6 oz pepperoni, sliced
thin

6 oz Salami, sliced thin

6 oz ham, sliced thin

8 thin slices provolone

½ cup shredded mozzarella

½ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup melted butter
(optional)

Preheat the oven to 375
degrees. Roll the pizza dough out into a rectangle (roughly 10 by 13 inches).
Layer the meats and cheeses, leaving about a 1 inch border. Roll the dough up
into a log, folding the ends in to seal them as you go. Place the roll, with
the seam down on a nonstick baking sheet. Brush the top with a bit of melted butter
if desired. Bake until the outside of the dough is golden and fluffy, about 30
minutes.

Broccoli Rabe &
Roasted Red Pepper Stromboli

1 pizza dough recipe

1 bunch broccoli rabe,
chopped

1 tbsp extra virgin olive
oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

8 thin slices provolone

½ cup shredded mozzarella

1 (12oz) jar roasted red
peppers

1 tsp salt

¼ cup melted butter
(optional)

Blanch the broccoli rabe,
then strain it and pat dry. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat.
Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Add the broccoli rabe, and sauté
until it begins to wilt, about 3-4 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste,
remove from heat. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the pizza dough out
into a rectangle (roughly 10 by 13 inches). Spread the cheese over the dough,
leaving a 1 inch border. Layer the roasted red peppers, and broccoli rabe over
the cheese. Sprinkle the entire thing with salt. Roll the dough up into a log,
folding the ends in to seal them as you go. Place the roll, with the seam down
on a nonstick baking sheet. Brush the top with a bit of melted butter if
desired. Bake until the outside of the dough is golden and fluffy, about 30
minutes.

Cheese Burger Stromboli

½ lb lean ground beef

½ cup diced onion

½ tbsp flour

½ cup beef broth

1 cup diced tomatoes

¼ cup diced pickles
(optional)

1 cup shredded cheddar
cheese

¼ cup melted butter
(optional)

In a large skillet brown
the ground beef over medium high heat, about 3-5 minutes. Add the onion and
cook for another minute, until the onion becomes translucent. Stir in the flour
until well combined then add the broth and tomatoes. Continue to stir and cook
until the liquid reduces and a thick sauce forms. Add pickles if desired, and
remove from heat. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the pizza dough out
into a rectangle (roughly 10 by 13inches). Spread the cheese over the dough
leaving about a 1 inch border. Pour the beef mixture over the top and spread it
evenly. Roll the dough up into a log, folding the ends in to seal them as you
go. Place the roll, with the seam down on a nonstick baking sheet. Brush the top
with a bit of melted butter if desired. Bake until the outside of the dough is
golden and fluffy, about 30 minutes.

What are your favorite Stromboli fillings?

Roast Veggie Bowl with Lemon Pesto Dressing

By Jessica

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It’s that time of year when we are constantly surrounded by
overly rich and heavy food. It’s great; I mean who doesn’t get excited for thick
and creamy soups, gravy, cookies, and pies? But these are the day’s I find
myself feeling the most weighed down. My body feels lethargic and slow, I’m
easily bloated and grumpy. Really they only thing I have to blame is all of the
rich carb loaded food that I’m likely to eat.

This year I am attempting to avoid that. Not only am I going
to try really hard to follow my own
advice, but I’m incorporating more light, veggie loaded healthy meals into our
weekly diet. Meals like this, this or this.

I was scanning through my fridge to see what I had to make
up lunch one day a few weekends ago when I remembered the early summer wonder bowl I had made what seemed like years ago (in fact it was only months). I thought it would be a good idea to
make myself a winter version with roasted, and sautéed vegetables. I couldn’t
have been happier with the result especially with this simple and bright
dressing, because pesto.

I used the vegetables that I had on hand, leftovers from
friends and family member’s gardens, but you can use whatever you have on hand,
even leftovers warmed up from the night before. Just be sure to cut the hardier
vegetables up small enough to roast evenly with the less hardy vegetables.

Roasted Winter Veggie Bowl (Serves 2-4)
2-3 purple potatoes, cleaned, and chopped into 3/4″ cubes
1/2 a small butternut squash peeled and chopped into 3/4″ cubes
1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
2-3 tbsp olive oil, separated
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
1 bunch of broccoli rabe, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the potatoes, squash and onion on a baking sheet. Drizzle with about half of the oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables in the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until the vegetables are all tender. Meanwhile drizzle the rest of the oil in a large pan and add in the garlic and broccoli rabe. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until it is tender, and vibrant green. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and serve warm.

Lemon Pesto Dressing (Serves 5-6)
1/2 cup prepared pesto
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. Serve immediately, or stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.

15 Minute Lo Mein

By Jessica

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So I’ve been really into Asian food lately.

It seems like I go through ethnic spurts every few months. This time last year it was all things German (evidenced here, here, and here). Over the summer it was Mediterranean food (note here, here, here, and here), then Indian food (this is the only one that made it to the blog, I have a lot to learn with Indian spices).

So lately I have been learning how to make homemade wonton soup, ramen, and sticky chicken. Some things may be showing up here in the near future, be prepared.

Today I want to talk about easy lo mein. This is one of those recipes that have been my go to lately since Chuck has been away for work for whole weeks at a time. I like it because I can add, chicken, shrimp, beef or whatever else I feel like and have a totally different flavor profile. I usually make the lo mein and serve it to myself with a side of steamed veggies. This way I can get to meals out of this recipe, who doesn’t want an awesome hot lunch the next day?

So the cooking time on this is actually way less than 15 minutes, however I’m calling it 15 minutes because I’m counting the time it takes to cut the vegetables. If you wanted to make this entire thing in say, 5-10 minutes you could opt for frozen stir fry mix. I’ve totally done this, more than once.

15 minute Lo Mein (Serves 1)

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 clove of garlic, crushed

½ tsp ground ginger

Pinch of sugar

½ tbsp canola oil

½ cup shredded cabbage

½ cup bean sprouts

1 small carrot, julienned

½ a small red pepper, julienned

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ cup snow peas

1 scallion. Julienned

3 oz lo mein noodles

1 cup broth

Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, crushed garlic, ginger, and sugar. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in all vegetables, except the dark green parts of the scallion, and the snow peas. Turn the heat to high and cook for one minute while tossing the vegetables. Stir in the broth and noodles then cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the snow peas. Stir in sauce mixture and toss. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and all of the veggies and noodles are coated, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and top with dark green parts of scallion, sesame seeds and serve.

PS: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and around here things are busy, what with the NaNoWriMo Challange and all, so I have opted to take the next few days off. I will be back on Dec. 1 with the usual Recently Post. Have a good weekend!

Evelyn’s Favorite Pasta Recipe

By Jessica

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This is a copy cat recipe for Evelyn’s Favorite Pasta from The
Cheesecake Factory.

I’m not really a huge fan of cheese cake, or really cake for that matter. Weird I know, but it’s the reason I haven’t been to The Cheesecake Factory, like ever. Recently I met a very good friend of mine at the mall for some much needed chatting and she suggested we go there for dinner. The other options not being all that thrilling I said sure and was actually rather surprised to find a varied menu fill of things I actually wouldn’t mind eating.

…

Apple French Onion Soup

By Jessica

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I don’t think it’s any surprise around here that both Chuck
and I are big fans of French Onion Soup. I mean I’ve made it into pasta,
casserole, burgers, cheesy bread and a bunch of other stuff that hasn’t made it to the blog
yet.

I also think it’s pretty obvious that we love all things
apple. That list of recipes is huge, but my favorites are Engagement Tart,
Apple Pork Chops, & Smoked Cheddar, Apple & Squash Soup.

Taking this information into account I ran across a few
recipes that combined the two and knew hands down that this soup had to be made
as soon as possible.

And guys, I’m so happy I did. It was amazing. Absolutely, deliciously,
amazing.

This is going to be my new favorite fall recipe. It’s got
all of the calling cards of fall; the warm comfort of hot soup, melty cheese,
and fresh apples. What more could be needed?

Apple French Onion Soup (serves 4)

3 tbsp Butter

3 lbs onions, sliced (about 5-6 large onions)

½ tsp salt

1 apple cored, peeled, & chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme (1/2 tsp dried)

2 tbsp flour

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups beef broth (can substitute vegetable broth)

½ cup apple cider

2 bay leaves

Salt & pepper to taste

4 slices of toasted bread

8 slices of Swiss cheese

Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.
Add the onions, and salt then cover and cook stirring occasionally until the
onions are soft and caramelized (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Stir in the
apple, and thyme and cook for another minute before stirring in the flour.
Deglaze the pan with the wine and stir until well combined. Add the broth,
cider, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for
another 30 minutes. Divide the soup between 4 oven safe bowls, and top with a
slice of bread, and cheese. Place in the oven set to broil, and cook for 2-3
minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Vegetarian

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