One Pot Chicken for Two Meals

October 10, 2016October 10, 2016 / Art to Feed / Leave a comment

And one fabulous pot I may add! I use my red cast iron dutch oven, which was a wedding gift, ( 8, or is it 7 years ago?), for so many different things throughout the fall and winter months. You could use a crock pot for this as well. This recipe incorporates my yogurt- sweet potato pasta sauce. Since I was out of my sauce I made a batch by roughly cutting up garden vegetables place in pot, cooking through and blending with immersion blender (love this tool!). I then placed the chicken in the sauce and cooked through, so no fuss and less mess for busy week nights! You could substitute a similar marinara. The first dinner I made with this recipe I simply served the chicken over rice.The second dinner I used the leftover chicken, sauce and rice for enchiladas! See directions below and enjoy this simple but satisfying meal!

Ingredients:

6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 C Pasta Sauce
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 tsp Nutmeg
2 Tsp Fresh Chopped Tarragon

Directions:

Place Chicken Breasts in dutch oven or crock pot. Season with salt, pepper. Cover with sauce. Add tarragon and nutmeg. Simmer for 2-4 hours until chicken shreds easily with fork. Serve over rice of choice.

For Lentil Rice as pictured:

Boil 1 c white rice, 2 c lentils in 3 c water with 1 tbs of butter and 2 tsp of chicken bouillon unit cooked through, (around 50 minutes).

Ingredients for Enchiladas:

Left over Chicken Breasts with Sauce and Rice (About 2 Qt Total Leftovers)
4 C Shredded Jack and Cheddar Cheese.
6 Large Flour Tortillas
2 15 0z can of Enchilada (Red) Sauce.

Directions:

Pre Heat Oven to 350F. Place 1/2 C Enchilada sauce in bottom of 9″x 13″ dish. Place 1/4 C leftover mixture in tortilla and top with 2/3 shredded cheese. Fold and roll as you would a burrito. Place seam side down in dish and repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over rolled tortillas, being sure to get edges as well. Top with Remaining cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes, remove and bake additional 10 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Yogurt Bread Calzones

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016 / Art to Feed / 2 Comments

This recipe was inspired by a traditional Georgian bread called “Cheese Bread” I came across the recipe for “Cheese Bread” in my favorite cook book “Feast” by Nigella Lawson. I adapted it based on what I had. I had left over Pasta sauce and hamburger thawed out in my fridge I decided to add them to the cheesy filling in this bread. The filling is a mixture of feta, mozzarella and ricotta. The dough is made with yogurt, butter and flour. A dairy lovers dream! I also had my yogurt and ricotta made fresh from our dairy farm on hand. You can of course use store-bought, but look for best quality ingredients, or try my recipes for home-made yogurt and ricotta. If you are not a fan of the Feta tang, you can always substitute more mozzarella and less feta. This recipe creates either one large monster calzone to bring to a large table a feast, or individuals, it’s up to you!

Ingredients:

Dough:

3 1/2 C Flour
1 C Yogurt
2 Eggs
1/2 C Butter at room temperature
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt

Filling:

2 C Feta
7 Oz Mozzarella chopped ( 2 C shredded )
1 C Ricotta Cheese
1/2 Lb Ground Beef
1/2 C Pasta Sauce

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350 F Cook ground beef until browned through and leave to cool. In large bowl combine butter, yogurt and eggs with hands. Add flour to mix, 1/2 C at a time. Add baking soda and salt. Knead dough until pulling away from sides of bowl. Cover and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes. May leave for up to 3 days before using. In a separate bowl combine feta, mozzarella, ricotta, ground beef, and sauce. Cut dough into fourths. Place on greased baking sheets. Pat into disks approx 3/4″ thick. Pur 1/4 beef mixture on one half and fold remaining half over top, creating a half circle. Crimp edges with a fork. You can also make mini cheese balls as I did for my kiddos! Bake in oven until golden brown. approx 30- 40 minutes.

Simple Cheese Making: Ricotta from our Farm

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016 / Art to Feed / 1 Comment

Feel like doing a science experiment? This is such a fun thing to do and with kids or a partner even better! Such a simple cheese to learn. You can get the hang of this after a couple of times and always have fresh ricotta on hand. Use ricotta similarly as you would use yogurt, in baked goods, and of course lasagna. Try with my Cheese Bread Recipe also. I love the process of making cheese, it really takes you back to a simpler time. I use raw milk fresh from our dairy farm, but you can also use store-bought pasteurized as well, just stay away from ultra pasteurized! Some grocers are carrying raw milk or non homogenized, low pasteurized milk which gives a much better flavor and texture for cheese making. I’ve included a link below for ordering liquid animal rennet online.

Ingredients:

1/4 Tsp Liquid Rennet
1 1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 Gal. Fresh Milk
Tsp Salt (Cheese Salt is ideal)

Directions:

Place milk in sterile 5 qt. pot. Slowly heat milk until milk is too hot to touch, (or 200 F on candy thermometer). Remove from heat. Slowly add rennet, lemon juice and salt. Stir gently. Leave pot to sit for 10 minutes. Check to see if whey (liquid) is separating from curds. Add more lemon juice if separation has not occurred and wait a few minutes. Scoop curds out with slotted spoon into strainer lined with tea cloth. See photograph for example. Strain for 60 minutes and place in air tight container. Store in refrigerator and use within one week. Enjoy the rewards of you experiment and try different recipes!

Fresh Breakfast Lasagna

September 14, 2016 / Art to Feed / Leave a comment

If you think this does not sound good for breakfast, I promise it is perfect for brunch and even for dinner! Yummy fresh layers of cheese, eggs, hash browns all with a light marinara. I found myself making two, a smaller one for dinner and a larger one for a brunch the next day. This is a great make ahead dish, pop it in the oven the next day. I used my home-made pasta sauce, with lots of mushrooms and egg-plant which lightened up the sauce, and my raw yogurt, which I think gives it a fluffier texture than most egg dishes. You could use store bough marinara and yogurt as well. Experiment with diffrent sauces, maybe even a pesto with sausage instead of bacon! Pictured here in my “Holstein Plate” Available at Art to Feed website, portion of proceeds donated to support your local food bank!

Ingredients

2 C Cubed Sourdough Bread ( I found a jalapeno bread for a kick, but use any bread you have on hand)
2 C Hash Browns (thawed)
8 Slices of Bacon Crumbled
10 Eggs
1/2 C Yogurt
1/4 C Milk
1/2 C Marinara Sauce
1 Tsp Nutmeg
2 Tsp Salt and Pepper
2 C Cheddar Cheese
2 C Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Lightly coat bottom of 9″ x 13″ Dish. Spread half marinara on bottom of dish. Place Hash Browns and top with cubed bread.

This is where my kids have fun, its like a puzzle trying to get them all to fit. Mid home work break!

Whisk Eggs, remainder of tomato sauce, yogurt, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour gently over bread and hash browns. Layer Parmesan and then Cheddar. Place in oven or store in fridge overnight. Bake 40-55 minutes and golden brown and bubbly! Enjoy, and serve for dinner if desired!

Super Moist Pumpkin Muffins…made with yogurt and almond Butter

September 5, 2016September 5, 2016 / Art to Feed / Leave a comment

I painted this pumpkin platter and made these pumpkin muffins in hopes that fall will come early! A portion of proceeds from this platter goes towards your local food bank and can be purcahsed at ART to FEED website.

I hope to try this recipe with fresh pumpkin from our cousins Pumpkin Patch, but you can also use canned pumpkin as well! My muffin recipes are no fuss, use one bowl and make your life easier please and have fun cooking! Muffins give so much room for creativity to add you own twist as well. I added my Raw Yogurt and some almond butter that give these muffins a super moist texture. For a healthier muffin you can omit the topping. Purchase almonds for a good cause through Farm to Kids and make your own almond butter as well! These freeze well for busy mornings and this recipe makes enough to share with neighbors and spread the love for all things pumpkin! Makes approx 24 muffins.

Ingredients

3 C Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 3/4 C Sugar
1 tbsp Maple Syrup
1/2 C Butter
1/4 C Yogurt
1/4 C Almond Butter
1 15 oz Can Pumpkin or 2 C Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Topping

1 tbsp Pumpkin Puree
1 tbsp Vanilla
2 c Oats
1 tsp Salt
1/2 C butter
1 C Sugar
1/2 C flour

Directions:

PreHeat oven to 350 F. Grease muffins Tins. In large bowl combine dry ingredients. Melt the 2 sticks of butter in microwave or pan. Make well in dry ingredients and in this order add; melted butter and sugar. Stir to combine only the wet ingredients without scraping sides. Add eggs and beat into wet ingredients one at a time. Add yogurt, maple syrup and pumpkin (reserve 1 tbs for topping). Fold gently until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Over mixing you eggs will lead to a tougher muffin. In general with baking the less you handle the better. Batter will be lumpy and this is ok! Spoon into muffin tins.

Prepare topping; Melt butter and add remaining ingredients. Stir until mixture resembles a loose crumble. Add more flour or oats if needed. Place a large spoonful on top of each filled muffin tin. Bake for 30-4o minutes or until golden brown.

Raw Butter With Yogurt

August 31, 2016September 1, 2016 / Art to Feed / 2 Comments

Is this a new dairy product? Probably not, there is probably another name for this but I don’t know what it is, let me know if you do! I add my raw yogurt to this butter which gives the butter a nice tang. It may be too strong in flavor for some, and if so feel free to omit the yogurt. Butter is easy to make at home, only problem is it takes alot of heavy cream. I create our butter with milk from the dairy. I allow the milk to separate from the cream by letting it sit for 24 hours. I then carefully skim the cream off the top. Using a wide mouth container helps. By adgetating the butter in a blender, food processor or other means, it begins to form butter that you them pat into a desired shape and place in serving dish. I created this Holstein Butter Dish to benefit Art to Feed and your local food bank.

Making your own butter is worth the work and time, fresh butter really tastes amazing. I plan on using if for my Cultured Chocolate Chip Cookies, try it out! Get creative, add things to butter like garlic or other seasonings to make a very special treat!

Ingredients:

2 C or more of Heavy Cream
1 tsp Yogurt
2 tsp Salt or to taste.
I Bowl of Ice Water

Directions:

Place Heavy Cream in bowl of blender or food processor. Blend until milk starts to form little clumps.(Approx 3 -5 Minutes)

Strain the “clumps” from the whey. Press the clumps together and place in ice bath. Slowly begin to pat and shape encouraging any excess whey to drain. If butter gets too soft place back in ice bath and repeat until all whey has been removed. Place on parchment paper and roll into log shape. Or place in desired container and refrigerate until firm. Enjoy!

Creamy Sweet Potato Garden Pasta Sauce

August 8, 2016August 8, 2016 / Art to Feed / 3 Comments

This is my favorite way to cook. Letting creativity and spontaneity come together, using everything I have from the garden or extra vegetables after a trip to the farmers market. Easy, simple and never again to be replicated. This is true joy, you will find me in no happier state. A warm pan simmering, smiles and nourished bellies, all feels right and my heart is full. Perhaps it is my yearning for fall, as the kids gear up to go back to school, and sweet potatoes are on my mind! It is time to thin my carrots in garden, and this is an excellent way to use those tiny carrots. Not much prep involved, just cut roughly and throw in what you’ve got! Try and keep tomatoes the main ingredient, sweet potatoes second and after that use to your heart’s content. Carrots, peppers, herbs, celery, onion, garlic all make great choices. I then add my raw yogurt, Parmesan cheese, a little maple syrup and nutmeg to further bring out the creamy texture and warmth of the sweet potatoes. This sauce is amazing for lasagna, or your favorite pasta dish. This recipe also freezes and preserves well if you choose to make a large batch out of your extra summer tomatoes.

Ingerdients:

8 Garden Fresh Tomatoes
3 cups Pear Tomatoes
2 large Sweet Potatoes (cooked through, and cut into fourths)
2 Bell Peppers
4 Mild Wax Peppers
2 Medium Carrots or 5-10 Baby Carrots
3 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Yellow Onion
1 Spring Basil
1 c Raw Yogurt
1 C Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Maple Syrup
2 Tsp Nutmeg

Cut all vegetables into coarse chunks. Place in sauce pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Simmer with lid on unit vegetables are soft approx. 30 -40 min. Let mixture cool.

Realized I had a couple bell peppers in fridge; threw those in too! Place in blender and blend until smooth. Pour the now smooth mixture into pan and heat. Add yogurt and cheese, stir over medium heat to incorporate. Add maple syrup and nutmeg to taste, as well as salt and pepper as desired. Serve over favorite pasta and enjoy!