Monday Recipes

It's Monday, time to start the week. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Roasted Asparagus and Pink Lady Punch. Enjoy!

CHICKLESS POT PIE

This comes from country star Trisha Yearwood, who also has her own show on The Food Network (called Trisha's Southern Kitchen). The recipe starts off, “Trisha Yearwood's vegetarian take on chicken pot pie is just as decadent without the meat. Although the luscious vegetable filling with peas, carrots and potatoes could be a meal on its own, wrapping it in premade pie dough seals in flavor with a crispy crust.” Total Time: 1 hr 25 min; Prep: 25 min; Inactive: 10 min; Cook: 50 min; Yield: 8 servings; Level: easy

Read more online at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/chickless-pot-pie-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup small diced potatoes

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup butter substitute, such as Earth Balance

1/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 3/4 cups vegetable broth

2/3 cup almond milk

Two 9-inch unbaked pie crusts, lard free

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a jelly-roll pan or baking sheet with foil to place the pie on before cooking; it will keep any filling from dripping into the oven and burning.

In a medium saucepan, combine the carrots, peas, potatoes and celery. Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the onions in the butter substitute until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, celery seed and garlic powder. Cook for 2 minutes to get the flour taste out. Slowly stir in the broth and then add the milk. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the drained vegetables.

Roll out one of the unbaked crusts to a 13-inch diameter and place in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Pour the mixture into the bottom crust. Roll out the second pie crust and place on top. Seal the edges and cut small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. If the top of the pie becomes too dark, loosely cover with foil and continue cooking. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

PINK LADY PUNCH

Not sure where this one came from, though I'm thinking maybe from one of my mother's cookbooks that she bought to raise funds for some group or other...

This, as well as other yummy recipes, can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

4 C cranberry juice

1 1/2 C sugar

4 C pineapple juice

2 qts. chilled ginger ale

Add sugar to cranberry juice. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add pineapple juice. Chill. Pour into punch bowl & add ginger ale.

WATERMELON PUNCH

Years ago, I was a bride’s maid at a friend’s wedding. A friend of the couple held the reception dinner; this punch was served with the hors d’oeuvres. I’ve added ginger ale to the recipe; it’s good either way.

This, as well as other yummy recipes, can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

1 watermelon

1 T honey

6 oz. can orange juice, undiluted

2 liter bottle ginger ale

Put watermelon (excluding rind and seeds) in a blender—and blend. Pour juice through a strainer into a large bowl. Add orange juice and honey, stir, and add ice. Add ginger ale just before serving.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Servings: 4

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/225.shtml

Ingredients

1 lb fresh asparagus

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 tsp olive oil

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Arrange in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. With a pastry brush, paint the oil on the asparagus spears.

Roast until tender but still crisp, 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of stalks. Turn spears occasionally for even cooking and to avoid browning.

Place asparagus spears on serving platter. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with lemon wedges.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 76; Protein: 4 g; Fat: 7 g; Sodium: 71 mg; Cholesterol: 3 mg; Carbohydrates: 6 g; Exchanges: 1 Vegetable; 1 Fat

FARFALLE WITH ARTICHOKES, PEAS, FAVAS AND ONIONS

This is from Martha Rose Schulman in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “The vegetable ragout that accompanies the farfalle here is inspired by a more labor-intensive, longer-cooking Sicilian spring stew called fritteda. The Sicilian version would also include fennel, and a lot more olive oil.”

Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in “Pastas of Spring” and can be viewed online here.

Check out “How to Make Pasta” by Samin Nosrat.

Ingredients

Juice of 1 lemon

4 medium or 2 large artichokes, or 8 baby artichokes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound spring onions or scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 pounds fava beans, shelled and skinned

2 cups shelled peas (about 2 1/2 pounds fresh peas in the pod)

2 teaspoons chopped mint

3/4 pound farfalle

Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino (or a combination) for serving

Preparation

Fill a bowl with water and add the lemon juice. Cut away the stem and the top third of each artichoke, break off the leaves and trim them down to the bottoms, placing them in the water as you go along. Quarter them and slice large quarters about 1/4 inch thick. Save the leaves and steam them; serve them as a first course or a side dish.

Drain the artichoke hearts and dry on a clean dish towel. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy lidded skillet or Dutch oven. Add the sliced artichoke hearts and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add the onions (or scallions) and cook, stirring, until the onions are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the peas and favas, 2/3 cup water and salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender. Taste, adjust salt and add pepper to taste. Stir in the mint and remove from the heat, but keep warm while you cook the pasta.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt to taste and the pasta. Cook al dente, usually 10 to 11 minutes for farfalle. Add a ladleful of the cooking water from the pasta to the vegetable mixture and drain the pasta. Toss with the vegetables and serve, with Parmesan or Pecorino, or both.

Tip

Advance preparation: The vegetables can be cooked a day ahead, and will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a skillet, adding pasta cooking water to moisten.

BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALAD

This comes from Rachel Ray, star of The Food Network's 30 Minute Meals. Total Time: 25 minutes; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Inactive Time: 15 minutes; Yield: 4 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at:http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/black-bean-and-corn-salad-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, half a palm full

2 teaspoons hot sauce, just eyeball the amount (recommended: Tabasco)

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, eyeball it

Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let stand at least 15 minutes for corn to fully defrost and flavors to combine, then toss and serve. The corn will also place a quick-chill on this easy side-salad as it defrosts - no need to refrigerate!