Cauliflower Pasta

8 T butter
1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
1 pound linguine
10 fresh sage leaves or ½ teaspoon dried sage
2 T fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 T minced garlic
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Optional: ½ cup breadcrumbs & more Parmesan to serve at the table

Boil large pot of water for pasta. In a large skillet, melt 2 T butter over medium-low heat. Add cauliflower florets and 1/4 teaspoon salt and sauté for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water; cook until cauliflower is tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 5 minutes. Cook linguine in salted boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
In pasta pot, melt remaining 6 T butter over medium heat. Stir in sage, thyme, and garlic; cook until butter is golden brown, 3 minutes. Add pasta, cauliflower, parsley, and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and add reserved cooking water if pasta seems dry. To serve, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and more Parmesan.

EASY Tin Foil Dinners!!

Isabella requested TIN FOIL DINNERS!!
They are so easy and very YUMMY!!

Here is the recipe I used...
(Serves 4 people!!)

Foil and wax paper
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (separated into four balls)
8 garlic cloves, sliced
6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 lb baby carrots
seasonings of choice
(sea salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder,
onion powder, and Italian seasoning)
Ketchup and other sauces

Take two pieces of foil and top with two pieces of wax paper. Spread one ball of meat on the wax paper into the shape of a patty. Season liberally. Take sliced pieces of garlic and poke into hamburger. Cover meat with potatoes and carrots. Season vegetables. Wrap up the wax paper and foil over that. Place foil package on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 60-80 minutes. Serve with ketchup or other favorite sauces to dip!!

Broccoli & Cheese Quiche

Mindy Powell

1 pie crust (frozen or refrigerated)
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped broccoli thawed (I freeze my own or you can use frozen from store)
4 eggs
1 cup cream
½ cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t Italian Seasoning or 1 T fresh herbs
Preheat oven to 400°F. Let frozen pie crust thaw while preheating oven and then cook for ten minutes. Remove from oven and turn oven to 375°F. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly onto bottom of crust and top with broccoli. Beat eggs, cream, milk and seasonings until well blended; pour over ingredients in crust. Top with remaining cheese. Bake 45 minutes and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cauliflower Pasta

Mindy Powell
Adapted from Rachael Ray

8 T butter
1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
1 pound linguine
10 fresh sage leaves or ½ teaspoon dried sage
2 T fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 T minced garlic
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

½ cup breadcrumbs & more Parmesan to serve at the table

Boil large pot of water for pasta. In a large skillet, melt 2 T butter over medium-low heat. Add cauliflower florets and 1/4 teaspoon salt and sauté for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water; cook until cauliflower is tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 5 minutes. Cook linguine in salted boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
In pasta pot, melt remaining 6 T butter over medium heat. Stir in sage, thyme, and garlic; cook until butter is golden brown, 3 minutes. Add pasta, cauliflower, parsley, and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and add reserved cooking water if pasta seems dry. To serve, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and more Parmesan.

Spring & Summer Ziti

Mindy Powell Family
Adapted from Rachael Ray

2 T EVOO
1 T onion flakes
3 large garlic cloves minced
2 14 oz cans stewed tomatoes
1 T Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
10-12 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 pound ziti with lines
1 pound thin asparagus (trimmed and chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces on an angle)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated parmigiano cheese
½ pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil to cook the pasta. While the water is coming to a boil, sauté the onion flakes and garlic with 2 T EVOO over medium heat. Stir in tomatoes and crush them with a potato masher. Season the sauce with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to your taste. Cook five minutes more then stir in basil and turn off heat.
While sauce is simmering, add salt to boiling water and cook the pasta to just under al dente – it should have a nice bite left to it. After the pasta has been cooking for 5 minutes, add in the asparagus. Add frozen peas a minute before draining. Drain pasta and veggies, reserve ½ cup of the starchy pasta water. Add ricotta and half the Parmigiano cheese to the hot pasta pot. Add the hot pasta and veggies back to the pot and stir to coat evenly. Add the pasta water.
Pour half the sauce into a large baking dish. Add all of the ziti to the dish and top with remaining sauce. Dot the top of the ziti with mozzarella and remaining Parmigiano. Place in oven until top is brown and bubbly, about 12 minutes.

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

Mindy Powell

1 lb. hamburger
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T dried parsley
½ t fresh ground pepper
1 t salt (or to taste)
1 t onion powder
½ t garlic salt
1 T minced garlic
1 can green beans
1 can corn
4 spears celery chopped
4 large carrots chopped
6 cups chicken broth
2 large cans stewed or diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 cup barley, uncooked
2 cups water
Brown hamburger and add seasonings to it. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 hour and then on slow for 5-6 hours or until vegetables are cooked to your liking.

Lasagna Rollups

Mindy Powell
Adapted from Rachael Ray

12 whole wheat lasagna noodles 2 t olive oil 8 ounces Portobello & Button mushrooms, chopped 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 cups marinara sauce (I make my own-but you can use store bought)1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1 egg, lightly beaten Freshly ground black pepper to tastePinch ground nutmeg 1/4 cup grated Parmesan 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Cook the noodles al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain them well and spread them out onto waxed paper to prevent them from sticking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and nutmeg.
Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture, roll the noodle and place it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles. Spread the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with grated cheeses, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Mindy Powell

4 c chicken broth
1 1/3 c water
2 c peeled, cubed butternut squash
4 t olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T fresh sage, chopped
1 T fresh rosemary, chopped
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
1 cup heavy cream
2 c fresh mixed mushrooms, sliced (chanterelle, shitake, porcini, button)
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a medium saucepan, combine broth and water; heat and keep warm. In a separate saucepan, steam squash cubes in a steamer basket over boiling water for 10–15 minutes or until tender. Set aside. In a large pot, heat 3 t olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, sage, and rosemary and sauté for a few minutes. Add rice and stir thoroughly to coat. Add 1/2 cup broth mixture and stir, allowing broth to absorb, about 2 minutes. Repeat, adding 1/2 cup broth at a time, stirring nearly constantly, allowing each addition to absorb before adding another (this takes about 20 minutes total). Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes. After the last addition of broth, add cream and slowly stir in squash and mushrooms. Add Parmesan cheese and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Zucchini Bread

From the Kitchen of: Tiffany Webber

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cloves
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soda
¼ tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, oil, sugar, grated zucchini and vanilla. Then add rest of ingredients. Grease and flour loaf pans and fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes.

Rotelli Greek Salad

From the Kitchen of: Kathy Lowe

INGREDIENTS
2 packages rainbow Rotelli pasta
2-4 tomatoes (I use cherry tomatoes cut in half)
1-2 peeled cucumbers, chopped
1 whole purple onion, chopped
½ - 1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 bunch of broccoli chopped
2-3 carrots peeled and sliced
1 large can chilled olives
1 square broken feta cheese
1 package Good Seasons Zesty Italian (mixed) or 1 bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing

INSTRUCTIONS
Cook Rotelli and rinse with cold water to cool. Cut up vegetables in bite size pieces and combine with olives and feta cheese. Mix everything together with dressing. Stores well for up to one week.