Taster's Table Recipes!

Luau Pizza
(Penny Hughes)

1 Boboli Crust (prebaked Pizza Crust)
2 C cooked and shredded Chicken or pork
Enough BBQ sauce to drench the meat (mix together in bowl to coat)

Coat the Pizza Crust with BBQ Sauce (as you would for a pizza)
Top with the shredded meat/sauce mixture
Top with Cheese and desired toppings:

Monterey Jack Cheese
Or Pepper Jack if you like a little "heat"
Red Onion, green onions or both
Tomatoes
Pineapple
Bacon
Peppers

Bake (following Crust directions) until heated through and cheese is
thoroughly melted!

Lentil Soup
(Vonda Winfree)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise
Directions

Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. Serve immediately.



Bowtie & Asparagus Pasta
(Kenzie Price)

1 pkg. bow tie pasta
1/2 c. (1 cube) butter (the real stuff)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pint heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
10-15 spears asparagus, blanched
1/2 c. bacon, crumbled
1/4 c. toasted pinenuts (or to taste)
Parsley, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Boil bow tie pasta in salted water until al dente. Do NOT over cook.
In wok or heavy skillet melt butter. Add minced garlic and sauté a minute or so.
Add Parmesan Cheese and bouillon cube(s). When the bouillon cube is dissolved, slowly stir in heavy cream and salt & pepper. Add cooked pasta to cream sauce and toss until pasta is well covered. Add blanched asparagus. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, toasted pine nuts, parsley & Parmesan cheese and toss together. Serve immediately.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins
(Anne Forsnes)

2 cups boiling water
6 cups Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal
1 cup shortening
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
5 cups flour
5 teaspoons baking soda—sift this into the flour to remove any lumps
1 teaspoon salt

Pour boiling water over bran in a large bowl. Add shortening. Stir until shortening is melted and let cool. Add other ingredients. Stir to mix well. Use immediately, or cover and put in refrigerator and bake as desired. Batter will keep in refrigerator and bake as desired. Batter will keep in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Drop by spoonfuls into well-greased muffin pans. Bake at 400 degrees for about ten minutes. Test with toothpick for doneness.

(This recipe was wildly popular when I was raising my young family. It’s quick for breakfast or to go with soup or salad.)


Black Bean Dip

(Chris Leishman)

Mix together:
1 10 oz. can black beans- drained
1 cup "fresh" Salsa ( I use "Rojo's Fresh Cut Salsa"- Medium)
1/3 cup diced onions
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1 Tablespoon Lime juice
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Can add 1 diced avocado just before serving. Serve with corn chips or as filling in tacos.


Karjalan Piirakka (Karelian Rice Pasties)
Maija-Liisa Adams

Description:
These rice filled pasties originate in the Eastern part of Finland, Karjala, where my Mother was born.

Riisi Puuro (Rice Porridge)

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
3 cups boiling water
1/2 t salt
4 cups of milk (can use mixed powdered milk)
2 T margarine

Directions:
Steam covered for 20 minutes on low. Then start adding milk, stirring it well and let cook on a little higher heat. Stir occasionally, adding more milk when needed. Keep adding milk until it is all used up. It usually takes about 1/2 hour. Then add 2 T margarine and stir well. My Mother puts a coiled hanger on top of her burner to reduce sticking and I sometimes make the rice porridge in a slow cooker. If I make it for breakfast porridge, I add 1/2 c sugar and 1/2 c heavy cream as well.

Rye crust:
1 c water
1 1/2 t salt
1 2/3 c rye flour
2/3 c all purpose white flour
Mix water in bowl, salt, stir, add flours slowly. It will be a sticky messy job. If too sticky to roll, just add a little more flour. Can make ahead and put in a ziploc bag and roll out when ready. Roll it into a long rope and then cut about a 3/4" piece off at a time to roll out thinly.

Directions:
Roll out crust in a thin oval shape. Place rice porridge in the middle.
Pinch sides of crust up around the filling.
Place on cookie sheets close together.
Bake at 375 or 400 depending on your oven, until light brown. When light brown, open your oven and lift up one to make sure the bottom isn't brown. They do not taste good if they are. On the stove top, melt a stick of margarine and some water in a kettle. Use tongs to remove each pastie and dunk it completely in the mixture. Prepare a couple of old towels laid out with wax paper on them. Place the dunked pastries on the wax paper and then wrap the wax paper and towel combination up over them to keep them warm. This process softens them.

For egg butter:
1 cube slightly softened margarine or butter
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped,
a tiny bit of salt since butter already has salt
Mash and mix together.
Serve on top of karjalan piirakka alone or with or cheese and/or lunch meat.

Spinach Dip
(Marva Blatter)

1 cup mayonnaise
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (1.8 ounce) package dry leek soup mix
1 (4 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (1 pound) loaf round sourdough bread

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, dry leek soup mix, water chestnuts and chopped spinach. Chill in the refrigerator 6 hours, or overnight.
Remove top and interior of sourdough bread. Fill with mayonnaise mixture. Tear removed bread chunks into pieces for dipping.

Enrichment Pictures!

Konda did such a good job on her hooded towel (see the directions a few posts down!) that she had to try it on. . . I couldn't resist capturing it for all of us to admire!


Humanitarian Service--puppets and quilts

Peggy Roger's Enrichment Class : Preparing for the Harvest

In preparing for the upcoming harvest we should first, plan what we are going to need. I like to have a thirty day planning menu. I list all the foods I need to prepare the meals and then together Gary and I plan what we need to plant in the garden.

It is possible to plant many fruits and vegetables in Rexburg, more than you would think. In our backyard we have apple trees, a pie cherry and an eating cherry tree. We have pear trees, (you need two for the pollination) and we have a peach tree. We also have an apricot tree and we are growing grapes. Strawberries and raspberries do very well.

Be sure to understand the needs of your plants and fertilize them and spray for insects on schedule. Cherry trees especially need to be sprayed regularly. If you don’t take proper care of your trees, shrubs and lawn, you can infect your neighbor’s yard.

I have had great success with the Ball Canning book. You can usually pick it up at Walmart this time of year. Directions for preparing and preserving foods are exact and easy to follow. Knowing in advance how you plan to store your food will help in knowing how much to plant as well as planning your storage in the freezer or on shelves.

Gary and I just finished harvesting our carrots and parsnips. We blanched and froze around twelve quarts of carrots. They stayed nicely in the ground over the winter. Gary covers them with layers of old blankets and a tarp.

I am including some of my favorite canning recipes. Three of them are soup bases and one is Shannon Packer’s frozen fruit cocktail recipe. Call if you have any question. 356-7229.

Homemade Tomato Soup
Prep time: 5 minutes
(Canned in advance)
16 quarts tomato juice (set aside)
Cook until tender:
1 c. chopped green peppers
2 c. ground onions
3 c. celery
Add above ingredients to tomato juice
Then mix together:
1 ½ c. sugar
½ c. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 C. flour
Add dry ingredients to 1 quart of the cold juice, and then stir into remaining tomato mixture. Bring almost to a boil, stirring so it won’t burn. Process 12 ½ lbs. pressure for 15 minutes.



Frozen Fruit Cocktail 

(Shannon Packer)

2 cups sugar
1 lb grapes
1 2/3 c. crushed pineapple
Juice of 2 lemons (or ½ c. juice)
Juice of 3 oranges or (4 ½ cups juice)
1 cantaloupe
1 grapefruit (optional)
pears (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and freeze.

Basic Zucchini Vegetable Mix 

(Charlene Christensen)
1 c. onion minced
1 c. celery diced
2 T. margarine, melted
2 c. chicken stock or bouillon
2 c. carrots, sliced or diced
2 c. zucchini, sliced or diced
1 c. corn cut from the cob
1 c. green pepper, chopped
salt and pepper

Saute onion and celery in margarine. Add broth and carrots. Simmer for 20 min. Add zucchini, corn and green pepper and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Season. Pour into freezer container for future use in stews, soups, casseroles or squash fillings.

Bottled Stew

Fill quart jar one third to half full of sliced carrots
Add:
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. accent
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 beef or chicken bullion cube
1 Tbsp. pearl barley
¼ c. chopped onions
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1/3 c. chopped celery
Finish filling the jar with potatoes. Fill with hot water leaving ¾ inch headspace from top of jar. Pressure cook at 12 ½ pounds pressure for 40 minutes.