Asparagus pesto ham and cheese sandwiches

The Fine Cooking Raw Asparagus Pesto recipe sounded good, and the picture that went Asparagus pesto sandwichalong with it sealed the deal. I was tempted to increase the garlic, but was glad I stuck with the small clove as it was good, but more would have been too much.

We’ve used Charle van Over’s Best Bread Ever recipe for many years now, so I made some bagettes and added ham and cheese. We served it with sweet potato fries.

Overall, while you need to be around most of the day, there’s not that much involved in making this, and it was very good.

 

 

Butternut squash pizza

Butternut squash pizzaWe get Fine Cooking, and when it arrives in the mail, it’s always fun to flip through the pages and read about food and pick recipes to try out. We do end up using many of the recipes, though probably not as often as we should…Then there are a few that we use all the time, over and over again…I think I’ve about memorized the Cream Scone recipe we’ve made it so many times! The pizza dough recipe from a recent edition looks like it will become another standby…we’ve already made it twice and it is really good. A couple of weeks ago, I was looking for a pizza topping and ran across A Zesty Bite’s Butternut Squash Pizza. We ended up using a red sauce, and it’s really good.

Butternut Squash Pizza

  • Pizza dough
  • Spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce or pesto
  • Butternut squash, diced and roasted
  • Cubed ham
  • Goat cheese

Make the pizza dough ahead of time. The recipe calls for at least 3 hours in the fridge (so 5 hrs total), but we’ve had really tasty dough leaving it in the fridge for 2 days. Take the dough out and let it warm up for a half hour or so before rolling it out into pizzas.

Dice and roast the butternut squash (450 for 20-30 min).

Preheat the oven with a pizza stone in it to 450-500.

Spread the sauce on the pizza, top with butternut squash, ham and goat cheese. Bake until nice and brown.

 

 

 

Pasta with portobello mushrooms, onions, spinach and goat cheese

This recipe was adapted from Bella Eats, adding a package of frozen spinach. It’s a relatively easy and tasty meal that works well for weeknight family dinner. The goat cheese is a nice smooth flavor that the kids like. Using whole grain pasta and adding the spinach makes this a bit more of a healthy one-pot dinner.

Pasta with portobello mushrooms, onions, spinach and goat cheese

Portobello pastaAdapted from Bella Eats

  • 2 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 3 large onions, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 lb portobello mushrooms, stems removed, caps halved and then cut into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1 package (10oz) frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
  • 3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
  • 3/4 lb ziti or penne (preferably whole grain)
  • 4 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
  • 4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
  1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until just done. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water and drain.
  2. In a large sauté pan, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter with 2 Tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are well browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan.
  3. In the same pan, melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter with 1 Tbsp of the oi. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and brown, about 8 minutes. Add the reserved onions, the parsley, spinach and the pepper.
  4. Toss the pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water with the mushroom mixture, the remaining 1 Tbsp oil, the goat cheese, and the Parmesan. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water.
  5. Serve with additional Parmesan.

Zucchini and saussage upside down cornbread

I was looking for a nice main dish incorporating zucchini the other day and came across this recipe for Zucchini Upside Down Cornbread. I liked the sausage and am always up for cornbread, so we gave it a shot. Not sure about the cooking time they list, I ended up doing about 45 minutes, at least 30 of which were at 425, which is what the cornbread recipe called for. I’d guess 40-45 minutes at 425 is the best bet. It sure looked good when it came out of the oven, but flip it over and wow, it’s a nice looking dish that tastes great and fills you up!

Zucchini and sausage upside down cornbread

Based on Bastrop Farmers Market

2 medium zucchiniZucchini and sausage upside down cornbread
1 lb Turkey/Chicken Italian sausage
1/4 cup chopped onions
8 ounces corn muffin mix–or recipe from corn meal container
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 425º
  2. Coarsely shred enough zucchini to make 1/3 cup; set aside. Cut remainder into 1/4-inch slices.
  3. In skillet, over medium-high heat, brown sausage; crumble well. Add the onion when partially cooked. Remove sausage onions and drain if needed. Reduce heat a bit. Add zucchini slices to pan. Cook over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes, stirring twice.
  4. In a well-sprayed 8×1-1/2 inch round cake pan, starting in center of dish, arrange cooked zucchini slices in concentric circles using all of the slices.
  5. Make the corn bread mix according to package instructions. Add cheese, crumbled sausage and onions, andZucchini and sausage upside down cornbread before flipping over shredded zucchini to cornbread batter. Spread mixture evenly over the zucchini slices.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes, till top is golden.
  7. Using a spatula, loosen sides of corn bread from dish; invert onto a serving platter.

Makes 6 wedges. Serve warm.