Green Vegetable Medley

This has been an Easter tradition for many years now. Sometimes we call it "Spring Mix". It is amazing how great this blend of vegetables tastes. They are just seasoned with a little butter, salt, black pepper and red pepper. How simple is that? I suggest every time you see pretty asparagus you make this dish. It is really that good. The original recipe called for mature spinach leaves torn and only 4 oz of fresh peas. We find it hard to find fresh peas so we adapted the recipe a little. We use frozen peas and baby spinach, which is always available. This dish is definitely not just for Easter.

Green Vegetable Medley
Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt

1 bunch thin asparagus, ends trimmed if tough

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 small leek, dark-green leaves trimmed, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (about 1 cup)

1 (5 - 6 oz) bag baby spinach

10 oz frozen green peas

Pinch freshly ground pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes

Directions

Place sliced leeks in a large bowl of water to let any sand settle to the bottom.

Fill a twelve inch skillet with about one inch of cold water. Place over high heat; bring to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add asparagus and simmer until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove asparagus from skillet, and transfer to serving plate. Season with a little salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Pour off water from skillet.

Return skillet to heat, and melt butter. Remove leeks from the surface of the water and add to the skillet. Cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Add spinach and peas, season with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes; cook until spinach is wilted and peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Turn the vegetables out of the skillet over asparagus, and serve immediately.

Easter Dinner Plate

shown with Baked Ham and

Two Potato Salad with Sour Cream

Linking to:
Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Easter Foods

Cucumber Melon Salad

I LOVE this salad! So refreshing! The lime and mint is so good with the melon. I have made it several times now. The recipe comes from Cuisine at Home. It is actually what they suggest as a side to the Turkey Lettuce Wraps I recently posted. I have yet to serve it with them though. It was great with the ham. Be sure to try it when those melons are at their peak this summer. You will not be disappointed.

Cucumber Melon Salad

Source: Cuisine at Home; July/August 2012

Makes 4 servings (5 cups)

Ingredients

2 cups cubed cantaloupe

2 cups cubed watermelon

1 cup seeded, thinly sliced cucumber

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. light brown sugar

1 Tbsp. minced lime zest

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint or basil

Coarse salt to taste

Directions

Combine cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumber in a bowl.

Whisk together lime juice, brown sugar, and zest, then toss with fruit mixture to coat. Stir in mint right before serving; season with salt.

Per serving: 87 cal; 0 g total fat (0 g sat); 0 mg chol; 17 mg sodium; 22 g carb; 2 g fiber; 2 g protein; 2 WW Points Plus.

Linking to:
Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Melon

Baked Beef Dip

I remember my Mom making this to bring to family friends when they would play cards for pennies. It was also at most New Year's Eve celebrations and Super Bowl game parties. It is very savory and creamy. I think she served it with Ruffles potato chips. Today we love it with pretzel crackers or chips. It is great hot or cold. If you do serve it cold be sure to toast the pecans first. This is one of the dishes my sister brings to food days at work. We made it  Saturday night so she could take it to work for an Easter treat for all of those who had to work.

Baked Beef Dip

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

1 (2.25 oz) jar of sliced dried beef, rinsed and chopped

2 (8 oz) pkgs. of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

4 tsp. minced onion

1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 cup chopped pecans

Flip Sides Pretzel Crackers

Directions

Combine all ingredients except pecans and crackers. Spoon into baking dish and top with nuts. Bake in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving with crackers.

Variation: Don't bake, serve chilled with toasted pecans. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Shown before baking

Linking to:
Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Finger Foods for Parties

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter full of faith, family, food and fun. Our usual family tradition is Seafood Gumbo on Good Friday. Ham, Potato Salad and Green Vegetable Medley for Easter dinner. But we have made two Seafood Gumbos already this year, so we are skipping that tradition. This Easter we are having another brunch. My dear sister has to work again. So Easter morning is our best chance to celebrate together as a family. We will have our ham, a frittata, hashbrowns and fruit for brunch. Then we will make a non-traditional potato salad and the Green Vegetable Medley for the evening meal. I will be sure to share recipes and photos real soon.

Easter Menu

Brunch
Baked Ham
Asparagus and Gouda Frittata
Shredded Hashbrowns
Cucumber Melon Salad

Sister's Work Potluck
Baked Beef Dip

Dinner
Leftover Baked Ham
Two Potato Salad with Sour Cream
Green Vegetable Medley

Dessert
Easter Eggs
Grasshopper Pie


Linking to:
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Easter Foods

Italian Style Vegetable Soup

Last week I made Southwestern Style Vegetable Soup inspired by a can of light Progresso soup. This week it was an Italian Style Vegetable Soup also inspired by Progresso. This has to be my favorite. I used the same base of onions, carrots, celery and garlic in both soups, but the garlic really shines in this soup. It really adds a sweetness to the soup. It was great plain but I experimented with other garnishes. Of course Parmesan is great, but parsley and lemon zest is AMAZING! It adds a bright and fresh component to the soup. So so good! The only thing I might do different next time is use mini penne pasta. The regular size was a little big for a soup spoon.

Italian Style Vegetable Soup

Serves 12; generous 1 cup serving

Ingredients

1-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped

2 carrots, diced

2 celery ribs, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp Italian seasoning

8 cups vegetable stock

1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup frozen green beans

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup whole wheat penne pasta

2 cups baby spinach leaves

Optional garnishes:

Parsley, chopped

Lemon zest

Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery, sauté until onion in translucent. Add garlic; continue to sauté about a minute. Add flour and stir to combine. After flour has cook a minute, add tomato paste. When tomato paste is fragrant, add Italian seasoning, stock, tomatoes and green beans; bring to a boil. Add green peas and penne, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat add spinach. Serve with Parmesan or with parsley and lemon zest as a garnish.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving: Calories 79.2; Total Fat 2.0 g; Saturated Fat 0.3 g; Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g; Monounsaturated Fat 1.3 g; Cholesterol 0.0 mg; Sodium 857.3 mg; Potassium 239.1 mg; Total Carbohydrate 14.0 g; Dietary Fiber 2.5 g; Sugars 4.5 g; Protein 2.3 g; 2 WW PointsPlus.

Linking to:
Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Jam Hands:Recipe Sharing Monday 
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Mondays with Countrified Hicks
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays Link Party
Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky

Cheesy Lasagna Casserole

This recipe is adapted from a recipe that my favorite person in the world gave me. We made it when I was visiting for New Years. It was originally made with full fat ingredients and Owens brand hot sausage. It made a lot! I enjoyed it but wanted to lighten the recipe and make a smaller portion. I used all light and low fat ingredients. It was delicious! Tastes like mac and cheese meets lasagna. I love the sour cream and neufchatel cheese in the cheese layer. It is a little tangy, so different and delicious. I did cut the recipe in half and I was scared it would not fit in the 8x8 baking dish. (Look at the photos) It filled that dish to the tippy top. I baked it on a cookie sheet covered in foil just in case. But to my surprise everything shrunk. The cheese melted into the noodles and there was very little that bubbled over. I think this is a great comforting family meal.

Cheesy Lasagna Casserole

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients

8 oz egg noodles

1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped and divided

4 oz neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat), softened

6 oz low fat cottage cheese

3 oz light sour cream

1-1/2 cups 2% cheddar cheese, shredded

8 oz reduced fat pork breakfast sausage

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 (24 oz) jar of pasta sauce

Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set neufchatel cheese in a mixing bowl to soften.  Cook egg noodles one minute shy of package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat; cook green pepper and half of the onions until onion is translucent. Place in bowl with the neufchatel cheese, add cottage cheese and sour cream; mix until well combined.

Add sausage and remaining onion to nonstick pan season with red pepper flakes, fennel and black pepper; cook breaking up the sausage into crumbles. Cook until browned and cooked through.

Spray a 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. Layer the dish as follows; all of the cooked egg noodles, press down to condense, all the shredded cheddar cheese, all of the neufchatel cheese mixture and then the cooked sausage. Cover the entire dish with pasta sauce and top with Parmesan cheese. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes covered; uncover and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Serve.

Linking to:

Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Jam Hands:Recipe Sharing Monday 
Love Bakes Good Cakes: All My Bloggy Friends
Mondays with Countrified Hicks

Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays Link Party

Shepherd's Salad

This salad is fabulous!! The original recipe came from an old Weight Watcher's cookbook. The recipe served twelve. I modified the recipe to serve four and used herbs my family enjoys. I use one part parsley and half parts mint and oregano. I chop everything in a small dice. It would make a great salsa with pita chips. It is best served fresh, but will keep in the refrigerator overnight not longer. If stored in the refrigerator it will release a lot of liquid but is still delicious. I great side with grilled proteins like chicken and fish.

Shepherd's Salad

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

1 english cucumber, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 small red onion, diced

1/2 cup mix of fresh parsley, mint, and oregano, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

4 oz. feta, crumbled

Directions

Combine everything but feta in a bowl; toss to combine well. Add feta and toss again.

Linking to:
Buns in My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Jam Hands:Recipe Sharing Monday 
Mondays with Countrified Hicks
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays Link Party
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Cucumber