Three-cheese Veggie Strata

Ingredients:
- 2/3 stale baguette, sliced
- 1 onion
- 2 chili peppers
- 5 small tomatoes
- 10 mozzarella balls, quartered
- 3 eggs
- 1 C ricotta cheese
- 2 C milk
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt
- Pepper

Here's the story: I had a bunch of stuff I needed to use up. Among these were a partial and very stale baguette, and three eggs that had been hanging out in my fridge too long. Stale bread and eggs spells Strata, so that's what I made!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Butter the bottom of a round, deep 4-quart casserole dish

Slice up the baguette enough to cover the bottom of the casserole dish, then roughly chop the rest into crumbs and dump those in to fill in the holes

Dice up the onion, peppers (remove seeds), and tomatoes and spread it over the bread

Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste (keep in mind you're adding more s&p later)

Quarter the mozzarella balls and press those into the top

Break eggs into a 4-cup liquid measure and beat them
Add ricotta and mix in with the eggs until smooth
Add salt & pepper to taste
Add milk until the total volume is 4 cups
Stir/beat until smooth
Pour slowly over the stuff in the casserole dish, giving it time to soak in to the bottom

Sprinkle the top with parmesan, and additional salt & pepper if desired
Pop it in the oven, uncovered, for about 70 minutes or until the top is browned, edges are bubbly, and the middle has puffed up a bit
Remove and let sit for ten minutes
Scoop & serve with a big spoon!

I'm quite sure this would do very well as a make-ahead, spending one night in your fridge before baking.

Was the recipe easy to follow? I made it up as I went, so...yeah.
Did it taste good? Goodness, yes. You could pour 3 cheeses and some egg over just about anything and it would taste good.
Would you make it again? This was one of my semi-regular episodes of throwing everything I need to use into a casserole dish (or saute pan, or baking dish, or whatever makes sense for what I have) and calling it dinner. So, probably not exactly this, but I'm sure I'll keep using the same strategy over and over, and strata is often what comes out if we have old bread and eggs on hand! This particular version would have also been great with some additional herbs (basil, maybe?) or some protein (crab or bacon comes to mind, or some sausage).

Kohlrabi & Avocado Salad

The original recipe is here.



Ingredients:
- 3 medium Kohlrabi bulbs
- 2 ripe Avocados
- 3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 1 Scallion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Fresh ground Pepper
- 1/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese

Chop it up, mix it up, and serve. Yum.

My sister discovered this recipe after we got Kohlrabi from our farm share and had no idea what to do with it, having never heard of it before. So I'd eaten hers twice before I made it for myself last night.

I had only 2 kohlrabi bulbs, and 3 avocados, so that's what I used. I also didn't have scallions, but chose to use fresh garlic instead of powder, so I think the zing of fresh garlic mostly made up for the lack of scallions.

I also used an entire lime, since I just love all things lime lately, and the rest of the ingredients I didn't measure - just drizzled in what felt right. We didn't have any feta cheese, but I certainly didn't miss it, and even though I love feta in general, I didn't love it with this salad the first time Hannah made it, so no loss.

The main thing you definitely want to change about the recipe above is the amount of EVOO. Use less, no more than half as much. It is way too oily otherwise. The avocado adds fat already, so you don't need the extra oil for flavor.

And finally, my avocados were very soft, and I stirred things a little more than I should have, so the avocado cubes mostly got mushed up. Next time I'd hope for slightly firmer avocados (it can be really hit-or-miss with the grocery store's selection) and I wouldn't mix it up after each ingredient - I'd toss the avocado and kohlrabi with the lime juice (to keep them from turning brown, especially the avocado) and then wait to toss everything again until all the rest of the ingredients had been added.

Assuming most of you have never heard of Kohlrabi either, it is crunchy and white inside, a lot like jicama, altho it's supposed to taste more like broccoli (but I don't really taste the resemblance, which is good, because I don't much like broccoli). It looks like this, although the ones we've been getting are actually purple on the outside, and more bulbous - this picture makes them look more like brussles sprouts or something, which they don't at all. And if they're not trimmed, those little stalks are just the bottom of big leaves. Aah, here's a better picture:


Anywho, the questions:

Was the recipe easy to follow? You betcha!
Did it taste good? It sure did! It's a new family summer favorite, in fact.
Would you make it again? I'll probably keep making it as long as the CSA keeps giving us kohlrabi!

Sloppy Joe

Believe it or not, I had never made this for myself before. As in, from scratch, not from a can. Well, let me say, it's a great crock pot dish for a picnic or outdoor party.

Ingredients:
3.5 lbs lean ground beef
2 onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (or more, to taste)
1 can (12 oz) Contadina tomato paste
1 jar medium salsa (your favorite salsa - mild is fine too, or super hot!)
1/8 c ketchup
1/4 c grainy mustard
1 Tbsp mustard powder (or more, to taste)
1 tsp garlic powder
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook onions and bell peppers in a little bit of olive oil until tender.

Add minced garlic & cook for a few more seconds

Add ground beef; continue to cook until beef is done.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer everything from the pan into the crock pot, leaving behind all the liquid fat and other juices.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Set your crock pot for whatever length you like (how long until you want to eat dinner?); I did 4 hours.

If your sloppy joe has liquid sitting on top, it's probably from the salsa. Just cock the lid for a while until it cooks off.

Serve on a hamburger bun or your favorite sandwich bread - I used whole wheat sliders (mini hamburger buns), and it was delish! Another serving suggestion: cole slaw, on the side or right on top. Or cheddar cheese. Or whatever you want.

This makes a lot, but it is definitely freeze-able, or good for a big party, or great as leftovers all week long. Also great for re-purposing as a pizza topping, into a casserole, on a baked potato, over pasta (I can vouch for the yumminess of sloppy joe pasta sauce, which I did later in the week)...use your imagination!

I specifically mentioned Contadina tomato paste for two reasons: first, I wanted more than those tiny cans or tubes, and this was the only brand at my supermarket in a bigger can; and second, because of the ingredients: tomatoes. No preservatives, no salt, no spices - the lable says simply, "Ingredients: tomatoes." And that's what I like to see. I can add my own spices, thank you very much! Also, the recipes I looked at all called for lots of ketchup, but I love the richness of tomato paste, so I used it instead and added the salsa for some additional liquid (or my "sloppy joes" would have just been "joes" because they would have been so dry!)

Was the recipe easy to follow? Yup! Another simple one cobbled together from online recipes based on what I thought sounded good.
Did it taste good? It did, and it does! I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight.
Would I make it again? Definitely! Might even branch out with some additional ingredients, like mushrooms (which I forgot to buy, whoops!), or try it with ground turkey instead. Or try a vegan version with chopped-up mushrooms and black beans instead of meat!

Sangria

Ingredients:
1 bottle dry red wine (750 ml is standard bottle size) (I used a cheap red table wine)
2 c gingerale
1 c orange juice
1/2 c brandy (you can use cheapo stuff for this recipe)
1/2 c cointreau (triple sec is also fine, I just had cointreau on hand)
1 lemon, sliced
1 orange, sliced
2 limes, sliced
1 big, glass pitcher (so you can see the pretty citrus slices!)

The sliced citrus fruit is mainly for decoration - just slice it with the skin on (make sure to wash first and peel off any stickers), throw away the very ends, and toss all those pretty cross-sections into your pitcher.
Add the rest of the liquid ingredients.
Stir well.
Pop it in the fridge, and serve it cold! Over ice or straight.
One tip: I know from puting whole citrus fruit into tea that you don't want to make it way ahead of time, or the skin on the fruit will end up making the whole thing taste bitter. It takes a while for this to happen, so it will still taste great for your whole party, but if you want to make it ahead of time just don't add the fruit until the end. Better to refrigerate all the ingredients separately and then throw it together right before you serve it. It won't last long, trust me. This stuff goes down WAY too easy.

I've loved Sangria for a year or so, and was reminded how easy it would be to make myself when I went to my cousin's baby shower. Her mother-in-law makes some REALLY delicious sangria. I may or may not have had two full cups, in those BIG plastic party cups. YUM.

I was having a little gathering recently and decided to make it for myself, so I looked at a few recipes for it on allrecipes.com, and just kind of cobbled together what sounded good to me. I decided to go with all citrus and no apples or strawberries etc. just for the look of it, but other recipes call for additional fruit as well. I did NOT use simple syrup or sugar (I know the baby shower sangria had simple syrup in it) because I like the dry red wine still discernable, plus I figured there was plenty of sweetness already being added from the liquor, OJ, and gingerale. I was right. So I say NO to adding additional sugar!

I still want to get a hold of my cousin's mother-in-law's recipe, which I believe was simpler, but this was DELISH and I would make it again in a heartbeat. It was a really big hit at the party too - even the two pregnant ladies each had to try a teensy sip!

Was the recipe easy to follow? Heck yes! You just measure, pour, and stir.

Did it taste good? Way too good for my own good! Luckily at this party I was playing the hostess, so I only ended up having one small-ish glass because I wanted everyone else to be able to enjoy it! Next time I'll buy a double bottle of wine and make twice as much.

Would I make it again? I think I've answered this question already, don't you? I might even make it again tonight, all for myself.