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Ham and Peas Casserole

I subscribed to Every Day with Rachael Ray a while back…like years ago. I would often rip out recipes that looked good. I had a big pile of things I was going to try making…at some point. Well, last week I found that pile of recipes. I went through it and got rid of all but two of them 😛  I saved the two that I thought I would actually make and put them on the menu this week. I tried the first one last night. It’s a simple casserole. And it’s delicious!! Ham and peas casserole is like cornbread mixed into quiche. It almost reminds me of the flavor of creamed corn with the subtle sweetness from the cornbread. We all really enjoyed this casserole. It’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And the leftovers are great too (I had a delicious breakfast today :). Plus it’s very easy to make (as long as you have ham and cornbread on hand…which we actually did this week!).

I didn’t actually measure anything. I just used 2 leftover corn muffins and about a half cup of ham we had left from Sunday’s dinner. I also used more eggs than the recipe called for. And in typical RR recipe fashion I had to modify the cooking time/temp. If I had cooked it at 350 for 40 minutes we would have been eating ham and pea soup for dinner 😛  I baked mine at 400 for about an hour. I’ll post the original recipe with a few of my mods. Overall this was a great recipe. I plan to make it again.

Ham and Peas Casserole

1 1/2 cups ham, cut into small pieces
7 oz. cornbread, cut into small cubes (about 2 cups)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I used more than this)
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (I used dried)
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs plus one yolk, lightly beaten (I used 3 whole eggs and 3 yolks)
salt

Heat oven to 350 (I baked mine at 400).

Butter a 9″ casserole dish. In a bowl toss the ham, cornbread, peas and thyme. Transfer to the baking dish.

In the same bowl combine the milk, eggs and salt. Pour into baking dish. Let stand 15 minutes.

Bake until the custard is just set in the center, 40-45 minutes (I baked mine for 1 hour).

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Pesto Sausage Cakes (GAPS legal, grain free, dairy free, nut free)

Last night for dinner I was going to make zucchini sausage muffins. But it was a HOT day. So I didn’t really want to turn on the oven. So I figured I’d make zucchini sausage cakes instead. I already had zucchini and sausage thawed. But the zucchini was not cooperating and was super stringy…which I knew Rebecca would not touch. So I came up with a new recipe for pesto sausage cakes. I happened to make a fresh batch of pesto yesterday morning. I also happened to make a fresh batch of mayo in the morning…which worked out well…I served these with pesto mayo. These cakes turned out very well! And they were really easy to throw together. I used ground pork. Ground chicken or turkey would work well too. I don’t measure ingredients when I make this kind of food, but I’ll try to give a rough estimate of quantities. If you want to make this grain free you can use coconut flour in place of the bread crumbs. I made 6 cakes with a bread crumb coating and 3 without. It works well either way. I like the crunchy coating, but it’s easier for the kids to eat without it.

I’m happy with how well these turned out. Even Abram kept saying “mmmm” as he was eating his. I liked them so much I had another one for bedtime snack and another one for breakfast today 🙂

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager.

Pesto Sausage Cakes

1 lb. ground pork, chicken or turkey
1/2 cup pesto (My pesto is nut and dairy free. It is just peas, evoo, salt and garlic blended together. Use whatever kind you like.)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup bread crumbs or coconut flour (optional, but it helps bind things together)
salt, garlic powder, cumin to taste

bread crumbs or coconut flour to coat (optional)
fat for cooking (palm shortening, coconut oil, lard, butter)

Mix meat, pesto, eggs, bread crumbs and seasoning. Form into 8-10 patties. Coat patties in bread crumbs or coconut flour. Heat fat in skillet over medium heat. Cook patties in fat until cooked through, about 8 minutes per side.

Serve with extra pesto or pesto mayo (mix equal parts pesto and mayo).

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

This week we need several prep ahead meals…which  usually means crockpot meals. By the third one I wanted to try something new. I decided to make potato soup. I’ve never made any kind of potato soup before. I checked A Year of Slow Cooking to see if Stephanie had a good one. I went with the first recipe I found for baked potato soup. It was super easy to make and tasted really good. I didn’t eat it for dinner since I can’t eat potatoes, but I did taste it…made me wish I could 🙂  Justin and Rebecca both really enjoyed it. I only made a half recipe. It still made quite a bit. I modified it slightly to our tastes/with what I had on hand. I also made a quick batch of homemade cream cheese to use in it instead of store bought. If you don’t have any cream cheese or want it to be dairy free this would be just fine without it. Or you could substitute sour cream. I served the soup with crumbled bacon and shredded cheese.

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 cups broth or water (if using water add extra seasoning)
sea salt and garlic powder to taste
1 cup homemade cream cheese (or 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese)

Toppings: crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, sour cream, olives, chives

Place potatoes, onion, broth and seasoning in crockpot. Cook on low 8+ hours or on high 4+ hours (until potatoes are tender…cooking longer won’t hurt anything). Mash or blend potatoes to desired consistency (I made it smooth with my immersion blender).

Add cream cheese. Stir. Cook on high about 30 minutes.

Pour into bowls and add toppings.

Hot Dog Fries

Last week I saw Rachael Ray making hot dog fries. I thought it sounded like a fun idea. So I tried it this week. Super easy! And we all enjoyed them. When we go to baseball games Rebecca loves to get chicken fries (not sure what’s in them…and I’m too scared to ever find out…it’s a good thing it’s only once or twice a summer :). These are similar, except I know what’s in them…and feel good about feeding them to my family. I mostly followed the recipe, but I didn’t add the mustard. We dipped them in ketchup, mustard and honey mustard. I cut the hot dogs into 8 pieces. I think that makes the “fries” a good size. I fried them in coconut oil and lard in my cast iron skillet. I only used 4 hot dogs (32 fries). It was plenty for our family with leftovers. I think Justin ate a full hot dog’s worth, but Rebecca and I didn’t. I’ll post the recipe the way I made it.

Hot Dog Fries

4 hot dogs (nitrite/nitrate free, grass fed if possible)
1/2 cup organic AP flour
1 egg

1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs, seasoned to taste
coconut oil, lard, palm oil, butter or tallow to fry

Cut each hot dog into 8 pieces (in half, then each half into 4 strips).

Fill three separate shallow dishes with the flour, the egg (whisked) and the breadcrumbs. Coat the hot dog strips with the flour first, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs.
Heat oil of choice in a cast iron skillet (I usually start with about 1/4 cup and add more as needed). Add the breaded hot dog strips and cook over medium heat until golden on all sides, 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve with ketchup, mustard or honey mustard.

Pizza Balls (Rebecca’s Recipe)

Growing up we always got to pick what was for dinner on our birthday. I always loved that. So this year I did it with Rebecca. But instead of requesting one of her favorite foods she came up with her own recipe!! She does that quite often. It gives me great inspiration to experiment 🙂  Rebecca asked for pizza balls. She had very specific directions on how they should be made. I did my best to follow her directions and create something edible 🙂  In the end we basically had pizza pockets (I had some other ideas of how to make pizza balls that I hope to try sometime). Rebecca wanted them to have bacon, red peppers, onion, sauce and cheese. I made them two ways. I think they both turned out well. Here’s my attempt at a recipe.

Pizza Balls

Pizza Dough:

1/2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/2 Tbsp. cane sugar
3/4 cups warm water

1 Tbsp. cane sugar
2 Tbsp. EVOO
1/2 Tbsp. salt
2 cups whole wheat flour

Sprinkle yeast and 1/2 Tbsp. sugar over water. Let bubble (about 5 min.). Add 1 more Tbsp. sugar, oil, salt and flour. Mix. Cover. Let rise about an hour.

Toppings/fillings:
sauce – tomato or pesto
cheese – we used fresh mozzarella and parmesan
meat/veggies cut in very small pieces

Assembly:

Roll pizza dough to about 1/4″ thickness. Cut into about 16 small squares. Fill each piece of dough with a small amount of sauce, cheese and meat/veggies. Pull up corners and seal opening. You can try to keep it in a round shape. Place each ball in the cup of a muffin pan. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 475 for 20 minutes. Serve with extra sauce for dipping.

OR

Add cheese, meat and veggies directly to the dough. Lightly mix. Shape into small balls. Place on a baking sheet or in a muffin pan. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 475 for 15 – 20 minutes. Serve with sauce for dipping.

Crockpot Sweet Mustard Roast

For lunch yesterday I tried a new recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking for sweet mustard roast. It was very easy and very good. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I just used the idea and what ingredients I had on hand. I used grass fed rump roast. The roast was super moist and tasted really good. I’ll post the recipe the way I made it. Check out Stephanie’s blog for the original recipe. I cooked the roast with sweet potatoes, carrots and red pepper slices.

Crockpot Sweet Mustard Roast

3 lbs. beef or pork roast (it can be frozen)
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup mustard
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup chili sauce (this was my addition…my homemade chili sauce)
vegetables (optional – I used sweet potatoes, carrots and peppers)

Chop vegetables. Place in crockpot. Place roast on top of vegetbales. Pour 1/4 cup water in the crockpot. Season everything with salt. Mix remaining ingredients in a small dish. Pour over roast and vegetables. Cook on low 7+ hours or high 5+ hours, until the meat is tender. Flip the roast part way through cooking. To serve carve the roast and pour the liquid over top. Serve the vegetables on the side.

Grilled "Cheese"

I wouldn’t normally post a recipe for grilled cheese. Most people know how to make grilled cheese. But this one is  a bit different. It’s from my Deceptively Delicious cookbook. I did some last minute change of meal plans yesterday. I had taken squash out of the freezer for risotto…but then didn’t feel like making it. So I was trying to think of what else to do with the squash. I found this recipe. It worked great! We all enjoyed it. A delicous grilled cheese…with some veggies added 🙂  The funny part is that it looks like they are made with American cheese. In reality all of the cheese I used was white. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I just shredded a mix of cheeses (cheddar, parm and mozzarella) and mixed in some squash and a little softened butter. I didn’t measure anything. I made a bit more than we really needed, so our sandwiches were pretty full. But still delicious! I will definitely try this again. You can probably do it with quite a few different veggies, depending on what color you want your cheese to be 🙂  The recipe says sweet potatoes or squash. I’ll post the original recipe…minus the reduced fat cheese and “trans fat free margarine spread”…shudder 😛

Grilled “Cheese”

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like)
1/2 cup sweet potato or butternut squash puree
1 Tbsp. softened butter
1/4 tsp. salt
4 slices whole wheat bread

Mix the cheese, puree, butter and salt.

Spread on two slices of bread. Top with the other two slices. Coat a griddle with butter. Cook sandwiches on both sides until golden and the filling is melted.

Roasted Cauliflower Au Gratin

I don’t often make Rachael Ray recipes. In my opinion most of them have too many ingredients, require too many steps and generate too many dirty dishes. The food may be good, but it’s just not my style of cooking. I did, however, make one of her recipes for dinner last night – roasted cauliflower au gratin.  I saw her make it on her show recently and it looked so good! And it was. I think I could have eaten the whole thing myself 😛  The whole family enjoyed it. I served it as our main dish. It would make a great side dish. Or you could add bacon, chicken or ham to make it a more complete main dish. As always it did require some work and some clean up. But I prepped it in the morning and got the kitchen cleaned up. So when it was time for dinner all I had to do was pop it in the toaster oven. No time in the kitchen and no mess to clean up after dinner. Perfect for a summer-like winter day 🙂  This is definitely a keeper recipe! I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I only used 1 head of cauliflower. I also used a combo of milk, kefir and chicken broth for the cream sauce and didn’t make a full batch since I was using less cauliflower. I’ll post the original recipe with my mods in ().

 

Roasted Cauliflower Au Gratin

2 large heads cauliflower
3 Tbsp. EVOO
Salt

For the Topping:
2 Tbsp. EVOO
3 Tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove, grated (I used about 2 tsp. minced garlic)
Zest of 1 lemon (I didn’t add this)
2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped (I used 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)
1 cup breadcrumbs (I used a combo of whole wheat bread crumbs and crushed pretzels)

For the Sauce:
2 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk (I used a combo of milk, kefir and chicken broth)
Salt and black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Chop cauliflower into medium to large bite-size florets. Toss cauliflower with EVOO and salt. Roast on a baking sheet until just barely tender but slightly crispy, about 15 minutes.
*I roasted my cauliflower the way I always do – lots of EVOO and salt. I roast it for more like 40 minutes.

For the topping, in a large skillet over medium heat, add EVOO and butter. When butter melts, add the garlic, lemon zest and parsley, and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add breadcrumbs and toast until golden. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: Melt butter in a saucepot over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook a few minutes, stirring constantly, until it starts to smell slightly nutty. Stir in milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and reserve
Mix the cauliflower and sauce in a casserole dish, then dollop with ricotta.
*At this point I covered it and stuck it in the fridge. If you are baking it immediately:

 Bake 15 minutes at 375, until golden brown. Finish it with a sprinkling of the breadcrumb mixture and a squeeze of lemon juice over top.

If you are baking it later:
Bake, covered, at 350 for about 35 minutes. Remove cover. Top with breadcrumbs. Bake another 10 minutes.

Homade Soaked Cheese Ravioli With Creamy Bacon Pesto

I saw a recipe the other day for soaked noodles and it mentioned using it for ravioli. I thought that sounded like fun. So last night I made ravioli for dinner. I didn’t actually use a recipe for any of it! I’ll try to remember what I did for each component. This turned out really well. And it made me feel good eating such a homemade meal. All three of us enjoyed it. I served it with sauteed mushrooms and sugar snap peas (in coconut oil and butter). I was in heaven last night 🙂  Plus I learned that Rebecca likes mushrooms…and Justin doesn’t think they are quite as bad as he had previously thought 😛  Maybe, just maybe he’d be ok with a few mushrooms in dishes once in a while. As a mushroom lover that NEVER cooks with mushrooms that is music to my ears.

This post is linked to Fresh Bites Friday and Real Food Wednesday.

Soaked Noodles

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 – 1/2 cup yogurt (preferable raw, homemade)

Combine all ingredients, using enough yogurt to make a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes. Cover and let sit at least 7 hours.

When ready to use, roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin as you can. You can cut it into any size/shape you want or you can add ravioli filling and cut and seal raviolis. Cook for about 20 minutes in boiling water.

Cheese Ravioli Filling

1/2 cup homemade cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
seasoning to taste (I used garlic powder, salt and a little homemade pesto)

Combine all ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Creamy Pesto

1 cup peas
1/4 – 1/2 cup EVOO
salt, garlic powder to taste
(optional – crispy nuts)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream

cooked bacon (optional)

Blend peas, olive oil, seasoning and nuts until smooth (adjust consistency to taste with oil). When ready to use warm pesto in a pan with cheese and cream. You can add crumbled bacon to the sauce or just sprinkle the bacon on top of the ravioli after assembling.

Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Bacon Pesto

Roll out dough. Place 1 Tbsp. of filling on dough spaced about 2 in. apart. Fold dough over, press around filling. Cut out ravioli. Seal edges well with a fork. Cook in boiling water about 20 minutes.

Drain ravioli. Top with creamy pesto, grated parmesan and crumbled bacon.

Rustic Chicken Stew

For Sunday dinner this week I made rustic chicken stew. It’s not a new recipe to me, but I haven’t made it in a long time. I used to make it all the time, when I was first learning how to cook and how to use my crockpot. It’s from a cookbook called The Ultimate Slow Cooker Cookbook. It’s a super easy chunky chicken stew. I like that it doesn’t require much chopping since it’s supposed to be “rustic.” The recipe calls for cut up blsl chicken. I just tossed in a couple chicken legs since that’s what I had on hand. Then we took whatever meat off the bone we wanted for our individual bowls. I’m not sure why I haven’t made this for so long. It’s so easy and so good. I’ll have to put it back on the menu more often. I’ve never added the mushrooms since Justin doesn’t like them. But I’m sure it would be very good (I LOVE mushrooms). This can easily be made GAPS legal by omitting the potatoes.

This post is lined to Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager.

Rustic Chicken Stew

2 lbs. chicken – breasts, thighs, etc – on or off the bone, whole or cut up
3 medium onions, quartered
2 carrots cut into 1″ thick slices
2 potatoes cut into 1″ cubes
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. pepper
8 ounces mushrooms, halved
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
salt and garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high 4 to 9 hours or low 7 to 12 hours. If you like your peas and corn less well done you can wait and add them in the last 15-30 minutes of cooking.