basil – Well Dined

14
Nov
2016

SRC – Stuffed Shell Casserole from Making Miracles

categories: Recipes

Remember when I thought that the fall SRC post was my last one? Well, I had completely forgotten that I still had one more regular Secret Recipe Club post. Oops! Luckily I did remember in time and was able to look through my assigned blog – Making Miracles.

Rebekah is a mother of two who traveled extensively as a child, including living in Africa – wow! Most of her meals are “quick, easy, and family friendly”, but sometimes she has time for something more complicated. She has also been a surrogate for many years resulting in 4 baby girls, 2 of whom are twins! What an amazing gift! I can’t imagine how challenging and rewarding that must be.

On Rebekah’s blog I saw lots of casseroles, and you KNOW I love casseroles. I was particularly interested in this Crockpot Turkey and Rice Casserole, this Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, this Creamy Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole, this Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole with Doritos, and this Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole.

Other dishes that peaked my interest were Brown Sugar Meatloaf, Mozzarella Stuffed Italian Meatloaf, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, and Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Roast.

I let my husband look through all of my top choices (so generous of me *wink*). He picked out these classic Stuffed Shells, and I was happy to oblige! But then I ran into a problem – the store didn’t have any jumbo pasta shells! I thought I remembered having a box at home, so I bought the rest of the stuff and went back to check. It turns out that what I had was actually large shells, not jumbo. I was out of time and had already bought the other ingredients, so I decided to improvise. (more…)

05
Sep
2016

Shrimp and Strawberry Summer Rolls

categories: Recipes

Shrimp and Strawberry? Do you think I sound crazy right now? Trust, young padawans, and learn the ways of combining sweet and savory. Rice noodles, pickled veg (and mango!), basil, mint, scallions, shrimp, and strawberries are combined in a rice wrapper for the ultimate summer freshness. Served with a delicious peanut sauce for dipping – get in my face!

I had seen a blog photo ages ago that I loved on this site, but I was scared to try it because I had never made summer rolls before and it seemed finicky. Then I was over at a friend’s house for dinner and that is what we made! It was a bit tricky, but not as scary as I had imagined. She was a pro, so I asked her to help me make my shrimp and strawberry rolls. Then I looked at the recipe for the photo I loved, and wasn’t a big fan of the ingredients. I wanted noodles instead of cabbage, and mango instead of bell pepper. So I switched some things around.

Then we got to work! She was skeptical of my flavor combo, but ended up loving it. You can see the progression here from back to front where I put the ingredients on in the wrong order so the pretty parts didn’t show, then exploded one, then finally got some decent rolls. The good news is – it doesn’t matter if you don’t get the best looking rolls, they still taste amazing! (more…)

23
Feb
2016

Slow Cooker Parmesan Tomato Soup

categories: Recipes

I have been really digging the slow cooker lately, I think it’s the long dreariness of the middle of winter. This soup is sure to brighten even the dreariest day, warm you up, and make you smile. Plus it is easy and mostly hands off.

Tomatoes, onion, celery, and carrots soften for hours with chicken broth, oregano, basil, and bay. Then you make, essentially, a bechamel and stir it in along with Parmesan to make it thick and creamy an luscious. This simple but lovely soup was met with rave reviews from the friends I served it to. I hope you enjoy!

Slow Cooker Parmesan Tomato Soup
adapted from Today’s Mama

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
4 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup flour (use sweet rice flour to make it gluten free)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups whole milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, chicken broth, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

About 30 minutes before serving, melt butter over low heat in a saucepan and add flour. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes until the floury smell is gone. Slowly stir in the milk, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth.

Add to the vegetables along with the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Taste for seasoning and add additional basil and oregano, if needed.

Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

One Year Ago – Apple Galette with Salted Bourbon Caramel
Two Years Ago – Daube Provencal (French beef stew with red wine)
Three Years Ago – Spiced Carrot Soup with Crispy Chickpeas and Tahini
Four Years Ago – Roast Beef Sandwiches
Five Years Ago – Aji de Gallina; Kheer

08
Feb
2016

SRC – Slow Cooker Honey Parmesan Pork from Jessie Weaver

categories: Recipes

It’s time for the first Secret Recipe Club post of 2016! Yay! My assignment this month was Jessie Weaver, The Vanderbilt Wife.

Jessie is a wife and mother of 3, she started her blog as an encouragement to write regularly. She also hoped to support women who feel imperfect, writing that she is an awful housekeeper and lazy. I love that, because I am also those things and I don’t even have the excuse of being busy with kids. She is really down to earth and I like that about her writing.

I felt like there weren’t a ton of recipes for me to choose from, but the ones that I liked, I REALLY liked. My top picks were Oxtail Stew, Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash, Honey Parmesan Pork, and Boozy Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies.

I’ve been really digging the slow cooker lately, so I decided to go with the Honey Parmesan Pork.

Start by browning a boneless pork roast on all sides (I made a half recipe, so this roast is only 2 lbs). (more…)

14
Oct
2015

Caramelized Onion and Burrata Pizza

categories: Recipes

I love homemade pizza, you know this. And I really love burrata on homemade pizza – it is so creamy and gooey and just heavenly. It’s great with tomatoes in the summer, but when paired with caramelized onions it becomes this luscious and sophisticated fall combination.

The onions are caramelized slowly with butter (this takes time and patience), and finished with balsamic vinegar. They are piled on pizza dough and topped with torn burrata, no sauce needed.

Then it is baked and topped with fresh basil. Oh. My. Gosh. It is just so good – rich and creamy and perfect.

My thanks to Melissa from Smells Like Brownies, for suggesting that we make this and for teaching me to stop rolling my pizza dough out so dang thin! (more…)

25
Aug
2015

Grilled Vegetable Flatbread

categories: Recipes

This week Melissa and Sarah take their vegetarian lunch adventure to the grill! Woohoo! We’ve been meaning to grill all summer, but for some reason every time we pick a day it starts to rain. This time was no exception – rain was forecasted starting in the afternoon – but we decided to try and grill before it started, and we succeeded! Finally!

This flatbread had been kicking around in our minds for a while, the product of brainstorming, and I am so pleased with the way it turned out! Crispy grilled flatbread topped with pesto, grilled and fresh veggies, feta, and fresh basil – the epitome of Summer.

First, we made the flatbread dough – which is very easy and requires no yeast or rising time! Just flour, salt, baking powder, water, milk, and oil mixed together. (more…)

10
Aug
2015

SRC – Lemon and Basil Chicken Salad from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures

categories: Recipes

It’s my first Secret Recipe Club post!!! I had been wanting to join the SRC for a while, but wasn’t sure that I met the posting requirements, because I don’t always post every week. I also didn’t have a recipe index for a long time, so that is something that I have been working on. I finally felt like the time was right and asked to join, and here I am with my first post! Yay!

My assigned blog was Renee’s Kitchen Adventures, and I had such a great time looking through it. Renee is a stay-at-home mom and former nurse (labor and delivery – what a special unit!), and her story reminded me a lot of my mother. She talks about trying to be healthy and lose weight, and posts healthy recipes based on Weight Watchers points. I, too, am trying to be healthy and lose weight, so I loved that about this blog. Even though our ideas of what constitute healthy food are a bit different (I think fat is healthy), I think this blog will be a great resource and inspiration for me. I also love how accessible and family friendly Renee’s recipes are. I think I tend to only post about the really complicated stuff, which maybe isn’t so great.

As I was reading through Renee’s most recent recipes, I saw a lot that I wanted to try. I love that she has a lot of s’mores recipes, and especially that she made s’mores krispy treats – because I did the same thing! I also really liked the sound of this Almond Joy Poke Cake made with coconut oil, coconut oil is the best! She writes that she isn’t ashamed to use boxed cake mix as a shortcut, and I feel the same way! I don’t post about them much, but I love to make poke cakes or dress up cake mix in other ways (pro tip: use 1 extra egg, milk instead of water, melted butter instead of oil).

I’ve been baking way more than usual lately, though, and what jumped out at me the most was this Creamy Lemon and Fresh Basil Chicken Salad. It has been super hot and humid lately, so this is exactly the kind of thing I want to be eating right now. (more…)

18
Jun
2015

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

categories: Recipes

I give full credit to Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) for this idea. I’d heard of cauliflower pizza crust before and thought I should try it, but I never got around to it. So I was really glad when she brought it up and suggested we try it.

It turns out that cauliflower crust is really easy! It doesn’t taste or feel like traditional crust, but it is yummy and chewy – I liked it! I was surprised that I could actually pick up a slice and it held together. So whether you are gluten-free, looking for low-carb, or just like to try new things, I highly recommend this pizza crust!

The first step is to pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until very fine. Then place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave to steam. Carefully remove the plastic wrap and transfer to a cheesecloth lined colander to cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, twist the cloth and squeeze to release as much moisture as possible. Like really squeeze this thing to death, I’m not joking. You may need to take turns with a cooking buddy like we did.

When you’ve removed as much moisture as you can, add mozzarella, Parmesan, oregano, garlic powder, red pepper, salt, and an egg. Use your hands to combine into a dough. (more…)

03
Jun
2015

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

categories: Recipes

Have you ever had squash blossoms? It’s kind of weird to eat flowers, right? But these delicate blooms (stuffed with ricotta cheese and herbs, battered, and fried) are so, so delicious. They are also extremely perishable and only last a few hours at home. So it is best to cook them right away.

I’ve only ever had squash blossoms in restaurants before, but as soon as I saw them at the farmers market, I knew that I had to try making them myself. I really wanted to go with a stuffed and fried recipe, which is what I’m used to eating. But I found a bunch of other cool recipes I’d like to try if they still have them at the market next week – soup, quesadilla, fritatta. (more…)

02
Oct
2014

Pasta with Sausage and Peppers

categories: Recipes

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been for the past 2 weeks, the answer is – vacation! I will be writing about that for sure, but before I get to it I want to talk about this pasta that I made before we left. My friend Melissa (you know her by now) was also going out of town, a little before we were, and gifted me several of her home-grown bell peppers and tomatoes. I wanted to use them to do a take on sausage and peppers in pasta form because I’m, well, me.

So I browned some sliced sausage, and then threw in an onion, the peppers, and the tomatoes to saute. Then I tossed in cooked whole wheat penne along with pasta water, a splash of cream, and some Parmesan to make a sauce. And finally, I topped it with some fresh basil and parsley. Fast, easy, and hearty. Thanks Melissa! (more…)

Tag: basil