Crunchy Noodle

Katie likes this easy and super quick dish for dinner or lunch. It can be served hot or cold and comes together quickly. I usually use lo mein noodles (spaghetti can get kind of heavy) and stir fry vegetables instead of chopping everything. It really is a chop and dump salad, you can add chicken too.

Crunchy Noodle Recipe

Ingredients
·         Kosher salt
·         1/2 pound thin spaghetti
·         1 pound sugar snap peas
·         1 cup vegetable oil
·         1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
·         1/3 cup soy sauce
·         3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
·         1 tablespoon honey
·         2 garlic cloves, minced
·         1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
·         3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds, divided
·         1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
·         2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded, and thinly sliced
·         4 scallions (with and green parts), sliced diagonally
·         3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas, return to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp tender. Lift the sugar snap peas from the water with a slotted spoon and immerse them in a bowl of ice water. Drain.
For the dressing, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and peanut butter in a medium bowl.
Combine the spaghetti, sugar snap peas, peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and the parsley and toss together.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Sara likes this twist in the baked potato routine. Originally from Martha Stewart, she likes to modify the toppings with things like feta cheese, caramelized onions, baked beans, bacon etc.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in center position.
  2. Scrub and pat potatoes dry. Pierce potatoes all over with the tines of a fork and bake in oven, directly on rack, until soft and caramelizing, 1 1/2 hours.
  3. Slash the tops of potatoes open with the tip of a sharp knife and push ends of each potato toward each other to open. Divide butter, salt, and pepper among potatoes and serve.

 

Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagne

Alyssa recommends this lasagna from Martha Stewart.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
  • , (you will need only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store-bought dried noodles, cooked Fresh Lasagna Noodles
  • 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
  2. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
  3. Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
  4. Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
  6. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Fully Loaded Cheesy Potato Soup

Alyssa enjoys this soup from Gina Neely

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock, plus more if needed
1 cup whole milk
One 12-ounce bottle light-bodied beer
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar (about 8 ounces)
Dash hot sauce
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Sour cream, for topping
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp, for topping
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, for topping
Gina’s Spinach Salad with Spiced Pecans, for serving, recipe follows
Directions
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onions, and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the saucepan to toast the flour, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the stock, and then the milk and beer. Stir in the potatoes and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and, using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Return the soup to low heat. Add 1 cup of the Cheddar, a handful at a time, stirring until melted and smooth after each addition. Add additional chicken stock if necessary to adjust the consistency. Sprinkle with hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Divide the soup among bowls and top with the remaining Cheddar, sour cream, bacon and chives.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/fully-loaded-cheesy-potato-soup-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Roasted Pumpkin

Sara shared that roasting pumpkin is really easy!

Cut pumpkin into slices and place in a glass dish with a little bit of water. Roast in oven 350 for 30 minutes poke with a fork for doneness and scoop out. It can be put in the freezer, pureed, spiced, etc. Any kind of pumpkin works!

Genevieve added that you can roast the tiny pumpkins, cut off the top and put olive oil and brown sugar for a single serving! yum!

Chocolate Chip Meringue Kisses

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Bake these delicious cookies when you don’t have other plans for the oven, because they’ll need three hours at a very low heat to reach just the right white crispness on the outside and a perfect tenderness on the inside. Make sure they don’t brown. You can vary the recipe, adding coarsely chopped dried apricots or prunes instead of chocolate chips.
initially from Martha Stewart Living, February 1999

  • YieldMakes 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 6 large egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
  • 2 cups (one 12-ounce bag) semisweet chocolate chips
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
  • Cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 175 degrees. Line several baking sheets or parchment paper with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats), and set baking sheets aside.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Sprinkle a few spoonfuls of superfine sugar over beaten egg whites, and whisk in on low speed.
  3. Increase speed of mixer; whisking constantly, continue adding superfine sugar, a spoonful at a time, until all has been incorporated and mixture is firm enough to hold stiff and glossy peaks. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Pipe or spoon small mounds of mixture onto baking sheets, spacing mounds about 1 inch apart. Bake meringues until completely dry to the touch, about 3 hours.
  5. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days. Before serving, dust meringues with confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder.

Twin Hill Ranch- Sebastopol

After getting our tree at Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm, we took a beautiful 45 minute drive to Twin Hills Ranch and had delicious apples, homemade tamales, homemade chili, a great grassy lawn to throw a football and play in the leaves They also had a delicious assortment of baked apple goods like humungous pies, apple bread and other things. A fun place to bring a picnic and enjoy a beautiful day,

http://www.twinhillranch.com/

Twin Hill Ranch
1689 Pleasant Hill Rd
Sebastopol, CA 95472

707.823.2815

Hours
Everyday from
9 am to 4 pm

Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm- Petaluma

This cut your own tree farm in Petaluma was a great find. Santa, Cider, Popcorn, free clippings a picturesque location. We ended up buying a pre-cut tree as the cut your own weren’t the variety we prefer. A great trip nonetheless. 

http://www.littlehillschristmastree.com/

961 Chapman Lane • Petaluma, California
707-763-4678 • e-mail Kriss or Carol mungle@comcast.net

Opens the day after Thanksgiving! 
Weekdays 10:00 to 6:00, Weekends 9:00 to 5:00 
Choose and cut til 5:00