Mustard-Dill Tortellini Salad Skewers

Ingredients

• 1 (9-oz.) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 1 (8-oz.) package frozen sugar snap peas
• 68 (4-inch) wooden skewers

• 1 pt. grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Mustard-Dill Vinaigrette*

Preparation

1. Cook tortellini according to package directions. Rinse under cold running water.
2. Place sugar snap peas in a small bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 2 minutes. Let stand, covered, 2 minutes. Rinse under cold running water.
3. Thread each skewer with 1 sugar snap pea, 1 tortellini, and 1 tomato half. Place skewers in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Pour Mustard-Dill Vinaigrette over skewers, turning to coat. Cover and chill 4 hours. Transfer skewers to a serving platter; discard any remaining vinaigrette.

I had these at a brunch and they were delicious! To make it easier you can make it into a salad instead of putting it on skewers.  

Mustard Dill Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 pressed garlic cloves

• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/4 cups olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Whisk together vinegar, fresh dill, Dijon mustard, garlic, and sugar. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until thoroughly combined. Whisk in kosher salt and pepper to taste.

crepes

Crepes

4 eggs
1 c. water
1 c. milk
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbs melted butter
1 t. vanilla
1 T. sugar

Filling

3 oz cream cheese
1/2 C powder sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1 C, whipped cream- whip and then fold into mixture

Serve with fresh fruit

Honey Lime Enchaladas

From: Cassie Hill

 Chicken Marinade: 

 Cooked chicken cubed (3 breasts or 1 large rotisserie)

 6 Table spoons Lime Juice

5 Table spoons Honey

1/2 Table spoon Chili Powder

 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

 Other:

 16 oz Monterey Jack Cheese-shredded

 16 oz Green Enchilada Sauce

 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

8 Medium Size Tortillas

Combine Marinade Ingredients: 

 Marinate for 4 hours or longer depending on how strong you

 want the flavor to be. Pour 8 oz green enchilada sauce in 

the bottom of pan. Add chicken and as much cheese as you 

desire in your tortillas, roll and place in pan. Combine 

other 8 ounces of green sauce and 1 cup whipping cream 

together and pour over top. Smoother enchiladas with 

Monterey cheese and bake in oven @ 350 covered for 30 

minutes. Uncover and cook an additional

 15 minutes!  

 Can be frozen and cooked later at 350 for 60 minutes!

Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Nat told me I had to try "brown butter rice crispies" so I found a recipe and they did not disappoint!!! Soooo much better than the original.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well.
Let cool, cut into squares and get ready to make new friends

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

from Jen Lilly

This soup was simple and yummy. I seasoned it with a lot of salt:)

1/4 c. unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 TBSP green curry paste
1 TBSP Curry Powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP minced fresh ginger
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced and cut into 1" long pieces
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, very thinly sliced
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 14-oz. cans lite coconut milk
2 TBSP fish sauce
3 TBSP brown sugar
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked and shredded chicken breasts
1 cup snow peas, trimmed and cut in half
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Preparation
In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium heat, saute the butter and onion, just until the onion is softened. Add the curry paste and curry powder and stir to combine. Then add the garlic, ginger, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. Cook until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, chicken, and snow peas. Stir to combine and cook until thoroughly warmed. Before serving, stir in lime juice, green onions, and cilantro. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.

Artisan bread

I have to say this is the easiest bread I have ever made! I know looking at the instructions it doesn't seem so but it truly is. She does a great job teaching you the "why's" of bread. Instead of cooking it on a stone I cook mine in a covered Dutch oven in my oven. (Don't need the cup of water in the oven) The last 10 minutes I remove the lid and let the crust harden. I like it a lot better this way.



Artisan Bread
makes four 1 pound loaves.

3 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated fast acting yeast (2 packets)
1-1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
6-1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached all purpose white flour *




Mixing and Storing the Dough

1. Warm the water slightly. It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature, about 100 degrees F. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours.

2. Add yeast and salt to the water in a 5 quart bowl or a plastic container with a lid.

(Note: I dump all this in my KitchenAid mixer, let it mix it for just about 10 seconds and then put it in the plastic container. I just find it easier to let the mixer do this part).

3. Mix in the flour - kneading is unnecessary. Add all of the flour at once, measuring the flour by scooping it and leveling it off with a knife. Mix with a wooden spoon - do not knead. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. This step is done in a matter of minutes. The dough should be wet and loose.

4. Allow to rise. Cover with a lid (not airtight). Lidded plastic buckets designed for dough storage can be purchased many places. (I used a plastic square food storage container at my local grocery store. I just punctured a small hole in the top). You want the gases to be able to escape a little. You can also do this in a large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and puncture a small hole in the top. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on top), about two hours. Longer rising times will not hurt your dough. You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and is easier to work with than dough at room temperature. So, the first time you try this method, it's best to refrigerate the dough overnight (or at least 3 hours) before shaping a loaf.

Baking

5. Shape your loaf. Place a piece of baking parchment paper on a pizza peel (don't have a pizza peel - use an unrimmed baking sheet or turn a rimmed baking sheet upside down). Sprinkle the surface of your dough in the container with flour. Pull up and cut off about a 1-pound piece of dough (about the size of a grapefruit), using scissors or a serrated knife. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball as you go. Dust your hands with flour if you need to. This is just to prevent sticking - you don't want to incorporate the flour into the dough. The top of the dough should be smooth - the object here is to create a "gluten cloak" or "surface tension". It doesn't matter what the bottom looks like, but you need to have a smooth, tight top. This whole step should take about 30 seconds! Place the dough onto your parchment paper.

6. Let the loaf rise for about 30 - 40 minutes (it does not need to be covered). If it doesn't look like it has risen much, don't worry - it will in the oven. This is called "oven spring".

7. Preheat a baking stone on the middle rack in the oven for at least 20 minutes at 450 degrees F. Place an empty rimmed baking pan or broiler pan on a rack below the baking stone. This pan is for holding water for steam in the baking step. (If you don't have a baking stone, you can use a baking sheet, but you will not get the crisp crust on the bottom. You will still have a great loaf of bread. Baking stones are cheap and easy to find - Target carries them - and are a must for making pizzas, so go out and get one as soon as you can.)

8. Dust the loaf with a little flour and slash the top with a knife. This slashing is necessary to release some of the trapped gas, which can deform your bread. It also makes the top of your bread look pretty - you can slash the bread in a tic tac toe pattern, a cross, or just parallel slashes. You need a very sharp knife or a razor blade - you don't want the blade to drag across the dough and pull it. As the bread bakes, this area opens and is known as "the bloom". Remember to score the loaves right before baking.

9. Bake. Set a cup of water next to your oven. Slide the bread (including the parchment paper) right onto the hot baking stone. Quickly pour the water right into the pan underneath the baking stone and close the oven door. This creates the necessary steam to make a nice crisp crust on the bread. Bake at 450 F for about 30 - 35 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf. Make sure the crust is a deep golden brown. When you remove the loaf from the oven, you will hear it crackle for a while. In baking terms, this is called "sing" and it is exactly what you want.

10. Cool. Allow the bread to cool for the best flavor and texture. It's tempting to eat it when it's warm, and that's fine, but the texture is better after the bread has cooled.

11. Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (not airtight) container and use for up to 14 days. Every day your bread will improve in flavor. Cut off and shape more loaves as you need them. When your dough is gone, don't clean the container. Go ahead and mix another batch - the remaining bits of dough will contribute flavor to the next batch, much like a sourdough starter does!

The Italian Dish
theitaliandishblog.com

Bajio shrimp taco

Made these for New Years and me, a non fish eater loved them. Drew said the recipe was spot on!