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Super Salad

This salad is a delicious way to enjoy some nutritional powerhouses! It is sweet and earthy.  I love anything that combines fruit, nuts, and cheese so this salad is one of my favorites!

 

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Super Salad

Ingredients

  • 3 or 4 large beets scrubbed and trimmed
  • 1/3 cup walnuts chopped
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 2 Tbs honey
  • 1 bunch spinach about 10 oz
  • 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 ounces goat cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

  2. Wrap the beets in foil and roast in the oven until tender, about 1 hour. Open foil and let cool, then peel with paper towel and dice.
  3. Heat butter over medium heat in a non-stick skillet. Mix in honey then add walnuts. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes until coated and toasted. Pour onto baking sheet (lined with foil or parchment) and spread with spatula to cool.
  4. Wisk together orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil to make dressing.
  5. Place spinach onto plates. Top with walnuts, beets, and dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!!

Caprese Salad

We LOVE caprese salad any time of year, but summer is the best! Serve as a side salad or with some crusty bread.  Add some sliced cantaloupe melon wrapped in prosciutto and it is a perfect meal.

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Caprese Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
  • fresh tomatoes (any size) sliced
  • fresh Mozzerella cheese sliced
  • fresh basil chopped
  • salt & pepper

Instructions

  1. Mix olive oil, vinegar, and garlic in a small dish.

  2. Try to use cheese that is similarly sized to your tomatoes.  If you are using large tomatoes, alternate layers with slices of cheese.  If you are using small tomatoes, slice the tomatoes in half and dice the cheese into smaller pieces.

  3. Drizzle with the oil mixture and top with basil.  Add a little salt & pepper and enjoy!

My Main Lo Mein

Try different proteins like steak or tofu and mix and match different veggies to personalize this yummy lo mein. Stock Concentrate is what all the cool kids are using instead of bouillon cubes. Hoisin sauce helps to create a thick, sweet, and salty sauce. If you don’t have hoisin sauce on hand, here’s a link to make your own: Hoisin Sauce

 

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My Main Lo Mein

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbs vegetable oil
  • 12 oz chicken breast or tenders sliced into strips
  • 4 oz carrot shredded
  • 6 oz green beans ends trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 4 oz button mushrooms remove stems and slice
  • 1 Tbs soy sauce
  • 1 Tbs stock concentrate veggie
  • 1 Tbs hoisin sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 Tbs ginger fresh and grated
  • 2 scallions thinly slice and separate greens and whites
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 8 oz udon noodles room temp

Instructions

  1. Heat a little oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to pan and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until heated through (about 2 minutes per side).  Remove from pan and set aside.

  2. Heat a little more oil in the same pan and add carrots, green beans, and mushrooms.  Toss and cook about 6 minutes.

  3. While that is cooking, mix the following in a small bowl: soy sauce, stock concentrate, hoisin sauce, sugar, and water.

  4. Add chicken, ginger, scallion whites, and garlic to pan with veggies.  Cook for another 2 minutes.

  5. Lower heat to medium and add sauce.  Cook 2 minutes then add noodles and cook for another 4 minutes.  Add a little salt and pepper.  Garnish with a few scallion greens and enjoy!

1 Pan Chicken Dinner

I love a meal with easy cleanup!  For even easier clean up, line the pan with foil.  The flavors of the chicken, potatoes, beans and tomatoes all blend together in this tasty dish.  You don’t even have to peel the potatoes or cut the tomatoes.

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1 Pan Chicken Dinner

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbs honey
  • 1 Tbs Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp fresh basil
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 4 chicken breasts skinless and boneless
  • 1 lb red potatoes quartered
  • 1 lb green beans ends removed
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes

Instructions

  1. Add the balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, basil, salt and pepper in zip top bag. 

  2. Squeeze to mix then add 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Marinate, in refrigerator, at least 30 minutes (or overnight).

  3. Preheat oven to 400°. To a baking pan and add potatoes and green beans, with ends removed. Drizzle veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix to coat.

  4. Cook potatoes and beans for 25 minutes, then pull tray out and add 2 cups cherry tomatoes to the veggies and top with the chicken (discard the marinade) and roast in oven about 30 more minutes or until chicken is 165° and cooked through.

Kale Sausage Pasta Bowl

This flavorful meal hits all the food groups and only dirties one pot = win! Pasta is the best way I know to trick your family into eating kale. I use chicken sausage that has some peppers in it. Try it with spicy sausage if you like a little extra kick. The pine nuts aren’t 100% necessary but they are a very nice luxury topping, if you’re feeling special!

 

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Kale Sausage Pasta Bowl

Servings 6 or dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow

Ingredients

  • 12 oz uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
  • 1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 8-12 oz sweet Italian style chicken sausage sliced into 1 inch pieces
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 14 oz can low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 large bunch kale stems removed and roughly chopped
  • 15 oz can cannellini (white kidney) beans rinsed and drained
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shaved or grated
  • 1/8 cup pine nuts toasted

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Scoop out 1 cup of the cooking liquid and set aside before draining.

  2. Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add 1 Tbs of the oil that the tomatoes were packed in (or olive oil). Add tomatoes, onion, and sausage to pan.  Cook and stir for 10 minutes.

  3. Add garlic to pan and cook for 1 minute.  Next add the broth.

  4. Stir in kale then cover and simmer 5 minutes or until kale is tender. 

  5. Stir in pasta, reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, and beans.  Top with Parmesan cheese and pine nuts.  Enjoy!

Green Bean Gratin with Goat Cheese

We all love traditional green bean casserole, with the crunchy french fried onions on top, but this is a nice alternative if you are looking for something a little different.  You could also make this in individual ramekins if you’re looking to really impress your guests!

 

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Green Bean Gratin with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup bread crumbs
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
  • 1/3 cup pecans finely chopped
  • 1 pound green beans
  • 2 oz goat cheese crumbled
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Mix bread crumbs, olive oil, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  Stir in pecans.

  2. Trim green beans and cut into about 2-3 inch pieces. Cook in boiling water about 3 minutes then drain.  Quickly dunk into ice water to stop cooking and dry off the beans.

  3. Mix together beans, goat cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. 

  4. Firmly pack mixture into baking dish (don't add the topping yet). Cover with aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.

  5. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake 8 more minutes or until golden. Let it cool about 5 minutes, then enjoy!

Creamy Coleslaw

I like to use 3 parts green to 1 part purple cabbage, but you can mix it up as you please.  Celery salt is my mom’s secret cooking weapon.  She sneaks it into just about everything.

 

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Creamy Coleslaw

Ingredients

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbs vinegar
  • 1 Tbs sugar
  • 1 tsp celery salt
  • 4 cups cabbage shredded
  • 1 cup carrots shredded
  • 1/4 cup green onion thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. In large bowl, stir together: mayo, vinegar, sugar, and celery salt.  Taste and adjust flavor, as needed.

  2. Add cabbage, carrots, and green onion.  Toss until coated.

  3. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Enjoy!

It is October!

It’s hard to believe that summer is over and it is already time for pumpkins and fall.  I haven’t done a blog post in a while because we’ve been busy harvesting and working at the FarmStand.  Only a few weekends left before the FarmStand season is over.  I should probably get some more baby chicks to add a little more chaos to our daily lives…

Farm Stand is Open!

The Farm Stand has been open two weekends already!  We have learned a lot about setting up, cleaning up, and operating the stand.  There have been a few unexpected surprises, but all in all it has been a very positive experience.

The best part is the level of interest that many customers show.  They ask questions about our farming and growing practices and we love answering the questions and sharing our background.  People want to know where their food comes from.  We’ve exchanged recipe ideas, discussed chicken breeds, and just enjoyed a few peaceful moments in the sun.

We have met people with a passion for fresh, high quality, local food – and that is exactly what we set out to do!

Is that a chicken in a tree?

A few days ago, four chickens roamed away from their coops.  Many unsuccessful (and comical) attempts were made to coax them back to their home.  Our 3 year old squealed with delight as we all tried to catch the escapees.  We caught two and had to leave two to fend for themselves because they went into the bushes and it had gotten dark.

The next morning, we were surprised to find the gals had made it through the night unscathed and were perched high in a tree!  They have both been returned to their homes, and I’m sure have some good stories to tell their sisters.