Pasta With Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley, and Breadcrumbs

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower (about 2 1/2 lbs.) cored, and broken into small florets
1 red onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/4 c. olive oil
4 slices white sandwich bread
12 oz. cavatappi or other short pasta
1/4 c. parmesan, grated plus more for serving
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Boil large pot of salted water.
On a rimmed baking sheet toss cauliflower, onion, garlic and 2 T. oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast on lower rack until lightly browned and tender about 20 minutes, tossing once.
Meanwhile in a food processor, combine bread and remaining 2 T. oil. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. Spread on rimmed baking sheet.
Bake on upper rack until golden about 5-6 minutes, tossing once.
Cook pasta in boiling water until done. Reserve 1/2 c. pasta water. Drain pasta and return to pot.
Add cauliflower mixture with parmesan and parsley, toss to combine. While tossing pasta gradually add enough pasta water to form a thin sauce that coats pasta.
Serve pasta topped with breadcrumbs and more parmesan if desired.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
I made this thinking it would be a flop. I had really low expectations. Not that I didn't want it to taste good I really hoped that it would. But it was good. It was a lot better than I expected. I did add more parmesan than the recipe called for but that is because I like cheese. If you like cheese you could add more too.

Menu

Mon: Pasta With Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley and Breadcrumbs

Tue: Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

Wed: Honey-Soy Grilled Pork Chops with Crunchy Bok Choy

Thur: Eggplant Gyro with Watermelon Salad

Fri: Cajun Chicken Stroganoff

Desert: Walnut Blondies With Maple Butter Sauce

Meringue Clouds With Tangy Whipped Cream and Strawberries

For the clouds:
5 egg whites
1/2 t. cream of tartar
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract

For the berries and cream:
3 c. fresh strawberries, halved
3 T. brown sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 275. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Beat whites and cream of tartar till soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar beating until the whites are stiff and glossy. The meringue is ready when you lift the beaters out and the meringue stays up.
Add vanilla; beat until stiff and glossy.
Drop meringue in mounds on baking sheets, spacing several inches apart. Make a well in each than bake for 45 minutes. Turn off oven and let clouds cool inside for 20 minutes. Carefully transfer clouds to a serving plate.
Mix berries, sugar and lemon juice and let sit for 10-20 minutes.
Beat cream, sour cream, 1/4 c. sugar, and vanilla to soft peaks.
Serve clouds with cream mixture on top and let stand 15 minutes to soften. Top with berries and garnish with powdered sugar.

Makes 7-8 clouds. Total time 45 minutes + cooling.

Verdict:
These were light and sweet and yummy. I liked the sour cream mixed in with the whipped cream. It gave it a unexpected twist. They were even yummy the next day.

Make sure you add the sugar to the meringue slowly...you could deflate the egg whites if you add it too quickly and then you have to start over again. I did that. Not fun.

Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers With Zucchini Salad

For the zucchini salad:
2 T. vegetable oil
3 medium zucchini or yellow squash, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
3 T. lime juice
coarse salt and pepper

For the burgers:
1 1/2 lb. ground turkey
2 t. chili powder
4 oz. sliced pepper jack cheese
4 slices country bread, halved
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
store bought salsa for topping

For the salad:
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Let zucchini salad marinate at room temperature for 15 min. (or refrigerate up to 1 day.)

For the burger:
Preheat grill.
Form turkey into four patties. Using your thumb make and indentation in center to prevent burgers from rounding on top. Sprinkle patties with chili powder and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the patties are cooked through out.
Top burgers with cheese. Continue to grill until cheese has melted. Meanwhile grill bread until lightly charred. Place burger on a piece of bread top with avocado, and salsa. Serve with zucchini salad.

Makes 4 burgers. Total time 30 min.

Verdict:
We ate these burgers open faced with toasted french bread. I enjoyed them quite a lot. Turkey good. Jalapeno cheese good. Avocado good. We ran out of propane in our grill so I had to cook them on the stove top in a skillet but they still were delicious.

Asian Ragu With Rice Stick Noodles and Quick Pickled Cucumbers

For the ragu:
8 oz. dry rice-stick noodles or rice vermicelli
2 T. peanut oil
1 c. shallots, diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 T. ginger root, minced
1-2 tsp. red curry paste, or chili garlic sauce
1 lb. ground beef
3/4 c. chicken broth
2 T. fish sauce, or soy sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar
fresh basil and mint
chopped dry roasted peanuts

For the cucumbers:
1/2 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
kosher salt and red pepper flakes to taste
2 c. cucumbers, thinly sliced


For the ragu:

Cook rice sticks according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
Heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, and ginger to pan. Saute until shallots are translucent, 3-4 min.
Stir in curry paste until combined with shallot mixture.
Add ground beef to pan and cook until browned breaking up bigger pieces.
Whisk together broth, fish sauce, and brown sugar until sugar dissolves. Stir into meat mixture. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 min. Serve ragu over cooked rice stick noodles.
Top with basil, mint and peanuts.

For the cucumbers:

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper flakes for the marinade. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Add cucumbers to bowl . Toss and chill until ready to serve.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
First off I used red curry paste and soy sauce. I only used 1 tsp. of the curry paste because I didn't want it to be too spicy. I should have used less. It still was too spicy for my kids to eat or like. This was really good besides that. The cucumbers on the side took away some of the heat and added a nice fresh flavor. I will make this again...but I will only use 1/2 tsp. curry paste.

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

For the caramel:
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 c. pecans, toasted and chopped

For the streusel:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
4 T. unsalted butter, sliced
1 1/2 T. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. table salt

For the cake:
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. low fat vanilla yogurt
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter,, softened
3/4 c. sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9" cake pan with nonstick spray.
Stir together brown sugar, cream and salt for caramel. Pour into the pan and spread to coat the bottom of pan. Sprinkle pecans over top of caramel.
Process ingredients for the streusel in a food processor. Pulse until small clumps form. Set aside.
Whisk buttermilk, yogurt, and eggs together for the cake.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt onto a paper plate.
Cream butter and sugar with a mixer just until combined. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with dry. Blend each addition just until incorporated.
Spread half of the batter over the caramel than sprinkle with half the streusel. Carefully spread remaining batter over that and top with the remaining streusel. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool cake for 5 min. and then invert on to a serving dish.

Makes one 9" cake. Total time 1 1/2 hours.

Verdict:
I had problems with this cake. When I first put the batter on top of the caramel it pushed it up the sides of the cake pan. Then when I was cooking it the caramel bubbled over and burned on the bottom of the oven. When we finally ate it the cake was a little dry and the caramel was hard around the sides. I think I am going to try it again but I will be smarter the second time around because I think it would be good.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

For the meat:
2 T. olive oil
1 c. carrots, diced
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. onion, diced
2 pkg. ground turkey breast (19.2 oz. each)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper

For the sauce:
3 T. stone-ground mustard
1 can tomato sauce (16 oz.)
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
3 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. worcestershire sauce
1 T. brown sugar
8 hamburger buns

For the meat:
Heat oil in saute pan. Add carrots, onion, and celery cook 2-3 minutes. Add turkey and cook completely. Transfer to crock pot.
Combine all sauce ingredients and add to meat.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Serve on buns.

Makes 8 sandwiches. Total time 4 1/2 hrs.

Verdict:
I have tried hundreds of sloppy joe recipes. I always think I am going to like them and then I end up just thinking they are OK. This one I like. It wasn't greasy. It had a good flavor and it was fast. I made it even faster by using a food processor for the vegetables.