Sriracha Avocado Hollandaise

Serve over roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus, and poached eggs. 

Ingredients

• 2 avocados, chopped roughly
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper 

Instructions

1. Drop avocado and lemon juice in a blender. Blend till smooth.
2. Pour in hot water, pepper, and sriracha. Blend again.
3. With the blender ‘on’, drizzle in olive oil. Blend till smooth.
4. Season with pepper.

Sunrise Surprise Smoothie

This is a Weathertop original recipe - we came up with this during a long week of cold weather, coughing, and leftover fruits in the fridge. 

Ingredients

• 1 banana, ripe and peeled
• 1 mango, ripe and peeled
• 1 can of mango slices, dump the syrup
• 3 cup of Banilla yogurt
• 1 cup of orange juice

Steps

1. Toss the banana and mango into the blender.
2. Add yogurt and blend on puree for 20 seconds.
3. Add orange juice and puree for 20 more seconds.

Serves 4 with a 1 cup serving.

Ranger Cookies

These are a brilliant cookie - mythically named as an all-around food that you would want to eat as a Ranger, out in the forest with nothing but a swiss army knife and a tin of these to eat.  Lots of yummy crunch on the outside and moistness inside with coconut, raisins and butter.

OK, that part about the forest may be a bit far-fetched, but with just a tin of these and I will brave any classroom!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups rice crispies
• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup raisins

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 375.  
2. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  
3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix in slowly.  
4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, rice crispies, oats, coconut, and raisins and beat until mixed thoroughly.  
5. Cook for 10-12 minutes.

Thanksgiving Paninis

We love making paninis, especially with leftovers. And when there is turkey and stuffing involved, we get doubly excited.

Ingredients

• 2 slices whole wheat bread or ciabatta
• Turkey breast, sliced however thick you like
• Turkey stuffing (about 1/2 cup per panini)
• Cranberry dressing (about 1/4 cup per panini)
• Mayo for spreading
• Butter or spray oil

Steps

1. Power up the panini press - we use High power setting for panini.
2. Spread mayo over both sides of your 2 slices of bread.
3. Lay turkey and stuffing on one side, cranberry on the other side.
4. Carefully fold the pieces back together.
5. Spray oil on both sides of the panini outsides or butter if you are feeling naughty.
6. Cook the panini for 4-5 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

Sausage Apple Pie

I saw this recipe in a related form over at Simply Recipes (see recipe link below). That version has a lot more cheese (3 cups more!) and a more "set" consistency. We were looking for a recipe to use up the last of a bag of Granny Smiths, then we used them up making Apple Crisp.

But I had the idea in my mind. I searched for something that was savory, but not "breakfast-y". I made this one up based on what we had - but there are some great versions out there.

• Amy's Apple Sausage Pie (many variants, but "apple pie filling"? Nope.)
• Apple and Sausage Pie from Simply Recipes (cheese-crazy)
• Sausage and Apple Pie in a Cheddar Cheese Crust from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 1 lb of sausage (pork, chicken, or turkey; ground or in casing)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3-5 apples (Granny Smith or Empire), sliced well
• 3/4 cup of good applesauce (if storebought, add cinnamon and nutmeg)
• 1/4 cup of cheese (feta, extra sharp cheddar, nothing mild)

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Slice or remove the sausage from the casing and saute till browned. Remove the sausage from the pan.
3. Reserve the juices and saute onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Remove and keep on reserving the juices!
4. Next comes the apple - if you use 3 apples, bulk it out with some potatoes (I had a leftover baked potato, I sliced it thin).
5. I mixed the sausage, onion/garlic, applesauce and apple/potato together. Add in cheese at this point. Taste it, add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Drape the pie crust over a 9-inch pie pan.
7. Place the filling inside the crust and "tamp down".
8. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 F.

Serves 6.

Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup

We both have a strong memory of comfort food built around cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. And after cold, windy days like today (our annual Farm Open House, 45 F in a gusty 20 mph wind), we need a bit of super-warm comfort.

The trick with this recipe is not to fall back on making Campbell's instead. It does take about 30 minutes of simmering, but it is worth it. We use our own quarts of tomato puree from the year before. The tomatoes are all gone by then, but I have 14 oz cans of Muir Glen diced tomatoes handy to give it some texture.

The 30 minute simmering time is to allow the basil time to get well-mixed.

And finally, we don't buy cream this way (unless it is going into whipped cream). So I used 1/2 cup of whole milk - not from the store which may have some cream removed, but absolutely fresh off the udder, whole goat milk. The cream there is part of the allure of the texture and gives a nice floor to the sweet tomato flavor.

"Tastes like summer."

Ingredients

• 1 quart of tomato puree, hopefully your own
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, diced OR 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp of dried basil OR 10-15 fresh basil leaves (best)
• 1 broth cube (I used Herb-Ox vegetable bouillon cubes)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream OR 1/2 cup whole milk w/ cream

Steps

1. Add the quart of puree, the diced tomatoes, broth cube and the basil to a medium sized pot. Bring to a fast simmer then down to a low simmer. Hold there for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Once the 30 minutes are up, turn off the heat and stir in the cream/whole milk and serve immediately hot.
3. While the soup is simmering, you might as well start making grilled cheese sandwiches!

Serves 4.

Shrimp and Vegetable Paella

This is an old recipe for us, pre-dating "us" but I honestly don't know where I found it. I love paella in its many versions and this one does it for me - lots of flavor from the garlic, wine, and carrot (of all things, that carrot stands out here) and most importantly the marinated artichoke hearts.

There are many times when paella is great, especially as a spring or early fall dish - but today was 10 F with crazy gusts, a driveway that filled with snow, and nothing but low gray clouds. Paella worked today too.

Ingredients:

• 6 scallions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp of fresh parsley - or 1 1/2 tsp of dried parsley
• 1 cup of rice
• 1 1/2 cup of water (or better broth)
• 1/2 cup of white wine (or dry sherry)
• 1 lb of medium shrimp, thawed and shelled
• 4 carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, each quarter sliced into 3s

Steps:

1. Saute the scallions, pepper and garlic in some olive oil for 5 minutes.
2. Add the parsley and rice, saute for 1 minute and stir often to coat the rice.
3. Add the broth, wine, shrimp and carrots and simmer 20 minutes, covered.
4. Finally, add the artichoke hearts (plus all juices from the jar) and stir well.
5. Serve hot to 4 hungry people.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

These sweet potato fries are a family favorite. So easy and our Notorious Non-Eater of Sweet Potatoes actually enjoys them. Not as oily as the fried sweet potato fries from the restaurant and so easy to make in the background while making something as the entree.

And it is packed with vitamins - if my sweet potatoes were not so lumpy, I would skip peeling them. Nice smooth ones from the store may be clean enough to keep the skins on - more vitamins and antioxidants!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes. Cut each potato in half, and then into quarters. Then, slice into fry shapes, about 1/2 inch wide.
3. Put the sweet potatoes into a resealable plastic bag.
4. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon.
5. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries.
6. Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.
7. Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

Creamy Maple Oatmeal

We found this recipe at Quaker Oats website and posted it here, mostly the same. The "craisins" work as well as raisins normally do, but they kick it up a notch with a more rounded flavor. You can substitute water for some or all of the milk, but our most Notorious Non-Oatmeal Eater prefers at least half milk. Plus you can get your calcium this way.

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 cups low-fat milk
• 2 cups aats (we preferred old fashioned)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup good maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or bran cereal

Steps

1. In medium saucepan, bring milk to a gentle boil.
2. Add oats, dried cranberries and maple syrup.
3. Return to a boil for 1 minute and then reduce heat to medium.
4. Cook 1 minute for quick oats, 5 minutes for old fashioned oats or until most of milk is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in wheat germ or bran cereal

Yields 4 servings

Calories: 360

Southwestern Coleslaw

We had a shindig to introduce some of the family to the puppies and this was my favorite recipe (I cooked zip for this one, all Jackie). I love the concept of coleslaw - just the right sour balanced against the mayo. But while summertime is traditional coleslaw time (see our Ab-Fab coleslaw), mayo just isn't doing it for me these days.

Jackie brought a different version of this, but I dig this one. We topped pulled pork sandwiches with this - wow, waaayyyy better than just the pulled pork on its own (which apparently is a very popular topping in the South, saves on forks?)

This recipe is from Simply Recipes and her comments on the balance were:

If the seasoned rice vinegar adds too much sweetness for your taste, sprinkle in a little lemon juice. If you are using unsweetened rice vinegar, to get the right balance of acidity and sweet, sprinkle a little sugar over the salad and toss.

Ingredients

• 4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about 1/3 to 1/2 cabbage)*
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (or plain rice vinegar with added sugar to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steps

1. Combine cabbage, grated carrot, radish slices, cilantro, onions in a serving bowl.
2. Add the olive oil and toss to coat.
3. Add the seasoned rice vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours and then serve.

Serves 4.