Maple Glazed Pumpkin Seeds

One of the best things about fall, for me, is squash and pumpkin. I love eating them, and carving them, and one of the great things about pumpkin carving is the seeds. This is a recipe that one of my brother's friends made after a pumpkin carving party that was pretty amazing. 

Maple Glazed Pumpkin Seeds

1/4 cup butter
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons maple syrup


Melt Butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the seeds and cook 10 minutes or until slightly brown. Stir in spices then transfer to a baking sheet, then cook in a 300 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Yum.

Greek Lemon Chicken

This is one of my favorite recipes. It's pretty easy and comes out so tender and delicious. I usually serve with a boxed rice pilaf (the Far East brand is the best) and a Greek salad, and a side of pita. Yum.

Greek Lemon Chicken

2 tablespoons EVOO
1 pound chicken, cut into 1" squares. I use a mix of breast and thigh fillets
4-6 cloves garlic
Juice of one lemon
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper

Peel and crush garlic and set aside. Add the lemon juice to water. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the chicken pieces. Brown the chicken on all sides (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic, oregano, and pepper, and stir. Pour the lemon-water mixture and stir. Reduce the heat and simmer until most of the liquid has reduced and you're left with a thick, garlicy soupy wonderfulness.


Homemade Greek Salad Dressing

Forgive the wacky measurements. The original yield of the recipe was for a restaurant, so getting it down ended up in some weird results. However, it's so good I don't mess with it.

3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons EVOO
2.25 teaspoons garlic powder
2.25 teaspoons dried oregano
2.25 teaspoons dried basil
1.5  teaspoons pepper
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 teaspoons onion powder
1.5 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 cup and 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients but oil, then whisk in oil in a slow stream. Serve on salad, or with chicken, rice, and lettuce in a pita.

 

Turkey Sliders with Carmelized Onions

My mom makes these pan-fried turkey burgers all the time. They're pretty low fat, and are simple to make. Here, they are served with a side of simple roasted asparagus (EVOO, salt, pepper, 350 oven for like 15 mins).

Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 oz. shredded low fat cheddar
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and shape into patties. If the mixture is too moist, add more Panko to thicken. Pan fry in hot olive oil, 7 minutes each side.

Carmelized Onions

Slice onion and place in a hot non-stick skillet over medium heat. Leave the onions  alone until they turn a rich brown on one side, then turn and stir very little until done.

Gouda, Spicy Maple Bacon, and Roasted Green Onion Pizza

I love seasonal ingredients. Living in southern California and Arizona for most of my life, I never really get to experience the beauty of the changing of seasons.  Choosing seasonal ingredients is a way I get to join in on the fun.

For me, summer equals tomatoes, watermelon, and corn.

I grew up loving tomatoes, and having neighbors who homegrow the most amazing varieties in their garden was a definite perk. As we’re getting to the end of summer, I thought I’d use the end of the year’s crop of tomatoes for a homemade pizza sauce.

Tipsy Pizza Sauce:

6-8 Tomatoes: peeled, seeded, and crushed

I used a Dafel variety from our neighbors that have been peeled in my fridge for a couple of days, but any will do. Peeling is especially important late in summer because the skins tend to get thicker in my experience.

1 can Tomato Paste

1/3  cup  Red Wine, I used a local Sangiovese from Orfila Vineyards

2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons dried Minced Onion

Pinch of Fennel Seed

I like to grind my fennel seed in a mortar and pestle because I feel like it releases that robust licorice flavor in the seed. If you don’t have a mortar, you can just use the backside of a spoon on a cutting board.

Heavy pinch of Dried Oregano

Pinch of Dried Basil

Pinch of Parsley Flakes

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced

4-5 Pink Peppercorns, cracked (you can use mortar/pestle or spoon method described above, or freshly cracked black pepper is fine)

Sea Salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low for 15 minutes to blend flavors.

You can store or freeze any leftovers; or for a quick dinner or lunch, mix with cooked frozen meatballs and top with provolone for a great meatball sub.

PIZZAS

I’m still on the lookout for the perfect homemade dough, but this one is pretty good, easy to work with, and can be made quickly. The website also has great step-by-step directions with pictures.

http://www.annamariavolpi.com/pizza_recipe.html

Gouda, Spicy Maple Bacon, & Roasted Green Onion Pizza

6 oz. Gouda cheese, shredded

4 slices Spicy Maple Bacon (see below)

3 Whole Green Onions, roasted (see below)

Preheat oven to 500°. Crumble bacon and rough-chop the Onions. Smear pizza dough with ¾ c. tipsy pizza sauce and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, evenly distribute the gouda, and sprinkle the bacon on top. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Spicy Maple Bacon

Place bacon slices on a cooling rack on a shallow metal baking pan lined with foil. Bake in a 400° oven for 14 minutes. Remove, and brush-on real maple syrup with a silicone brush. Sprinkle with a small amount of cayenne pepper, then brush over again with the brush to evenly distribute the spice. Bake 5 minutes, turn over and brush with syrup/cayenne again, then bake 5 more minutes. Remove and let cool. 

Roasted Green Onions

Smear green onions with EVOO, and season with salt and pepper. Put on a cookie sheet and roast in your 400° oven for 20 minutes. Remove and cool. 

I also made a simple Fresh Mozzarella with the tipsy sauce, and a tomato and mozzarella with EVOO instead of sauce. 

German Style Pot Roast

The nights have been getting chilly in San Diego, so I was in the mood for some comfort food. This is an adaptation of a Whole Foods recipe, and is delicious. It's pretty low-calorie, and simple to make, just kind of time consuming. The ingredients are:

2 tsp. Dried Dill Weed
2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Minced Dried Onion
1/2 tsp. Allspice
1/2 tsp. Ground pepper
1 3-4 lb. Boneless Beef Chuck Roast
2 Tbs. EVOO
2 Large Onions, sliced (I like sweet yellow onions)
2 Cups Beef Stock
1 Cup Apple Juice
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
6 Carrots, peeled and sliced in 1" pieces
1/2 of One Red Cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
3 Large Russet Potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
2 Apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 slices each

Pictured below are the wet ingredients and the spices...

And the produce...

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a rammekin or small bowl, combine the dill, salt, onion, allspice, and pepper. Dry the roast with  paper towels, then smear the dry rub on all sides of the meat.

In a large roasting pan or Dutch Oven, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat, then brown the roast on all sides. This helps to seal in moisture doing the slow, dry roasting process in the oven. After browning, remove the roast from the pan and set aside. (Pictured Below)

Now, add the onions to the roasting pan with 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden and tender, which will be about 8-10 minutes.  Then stir in the beef stock, apple juice, and cinnamon, and bring to a boil.

Return the roast to the pan, cover, and roast one hour.  Stir in cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, and re-cover,  cooking for another 1 hour 45 minutes-2 hours, depending on the size of the roast. Vegetables should be tender.  During the last 15 minutes of cooking, uncover and add apples.

 Note: as always, cooking times may vary. If you find your meat is done but your veggies are not, remove the meat, cover in foil, and raise oven temp to 400 degrees to finish roasting.

Transfer to a large platter and dribble the pan juices over the meat and vegetables. 

For my wine-friendly friends, this is great with a Malbec or Syrah; or a Pinot Noir if you like a lighter red.

The added bonus is that the meat makes AMAZING roast beef sandwiches for leftovers...Crusty rolls, a touch of horseradish mayo, tomato, and crispy romaine lettuce. YUM!