Garlic-Parmesan Pita Chips

I bought a bag of pitas from the store with the intent of using them as wraps for lunch and whatnot, but rather than them being pliable, doughy and delicious they were dry and broke when I tried to roll them into a wrap. So here I was, stuck with a bag of pitas, not wanting to eat them and definitely not wanting to throw them out. Ah hah! Pita chips had to be easy, right? Right! Armed with a sharp knife, olive oil, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese I set out to not waste an entire bag of perfectly, albeit dry, pitas. Success!

Garlic-Parmesan Pita Chips

• 6-8 whole pitas
• extra virgin olive oil
• block of Parmesan cheese
• garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut pitas into wedges, like you would a pizza, using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Using a pastry brush, brush one side of each wedge with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper on the brushed sides of each pita wedge and arrange on a cookie sheet, seasoned size up. Bake for 20 minutes, until crispy.

Green Monster Smoothie

Just in time for St. Patty’s Day, I present to you with this lovely green monster smoothie. While I don’t intend on drinking these this Sunday (hey, I *am* Irish after all!), these smoothies have been my go-to for breakfast or lunch on most other weekends. They make a great, nutrient-packed meal replacer, as you are pretty stuffed after drinking one. I like them because they’re easy and quick to make when I don’t have much in the fridge or I’m nursing a hangover, much like I will be this Sunday. As always, ingredients are easily customizable to what you have available. I’ve subbed frozen spinach for fresh, greek yogurt for milk and so on. One thing to note from my experiments though, whether it’s fresh or frozen, you always need a banana. That’s what she said. HA! I just said what you were thinking. But seriously, you need a banana to help “overpower” the flavors of the other ingredients. I’ve tried it without banana and it just tastes like a weird milk and spinach smoothie. Gross.

Green Monster Smoothie

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 banana, cut in thirds
• 6 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Add ingredients to a blender and blend, blend, BLEND! Depending on your blender, it may take a few minutes to get everything smooth or you may need to stir the mixture up halfway through. I like my smoothies to be drinkable through a straw so you may need to add or subtract liquid until you reach your desired consistency.

Super Easy Super Bowl Recipe Roundup

Having a Super Bowl party or going to one, but don’t have a dish figured out yet? Any of these crowd-pleasing recipes will work in a pinch!

Soups & Chili/Snacks

Cook-off Chili

Quick Turkey Chili

Cheeseburger Soup

Mini Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

Dips

Roasted Red Pepper and Gorgonzola Dip

Fresh Salsa

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

Guacamole

Main Dishes

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork and Coleslaw

Tex-Mex Macaroni and Cheese

Baked Penne

Grilled Margherita Pizza

Meatball Subs

Desserts

No-Bake Nutella and Strawberry Cheesecake

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Brownie-Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

Apple Crisp

Monster Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Granola

What’s super easy to make, healthy and also makes a really tasty snack? GRANOLA!

I really can’t understand why I ever spent money on granola in the past. I guess just always assumed I couldn’t make it at home. Well, you already know what happens when you assume. That’s right. I’m a total ass for never making this before. There’s a whole heck of a lot less sugar in my version then there is in the store bought stuff. Plus, you know all the ingredients that are going into it and it’s totally customizable. Oh AND it’s WAY cheaper! My grocery store charges almost $7 per pound for the pre-made stuff. My version probably costs around $2! It really doesn’t get much better than that.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1/2 cups nuts or seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup dried fruit or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the oats and nuts or seeds. Add in all ingredients except dried fruit or chocolate chips. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 15 to make sure all pieces bake evenly. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool before adding dried fruit or chocolate chips.

Mini Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

Mini Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped jalapeños, fresh or canned

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil, egg and jalapeños, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into muffin tins. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cook-off Chili

I’ve got a lot of secret ingredients that make this chili out of this world, but my biggest secret is tasting it along the way. If it’s getting too spicy, I add more sugar. If it’s too sweet, I add more heat. It’s all about finding the right balance of ingredients and the only way to really do that is to taste it. I’m also notorious for just using whatever I have of hand. Leftover taco beef? Sure, throw it in the pot! Only have frozen peppers or canned tomatoes? Totally okay! Use what ya got! This is my basic chili recipe and then some of the substitutions I used this time are in parenthesis.

Cook-off Chili

• 1 pound ground beef
  (I added 2 hot chicken sausage links, casings removed)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 to 8 peppers, chopped
  (I used a combination of bell, banana, jalepeno and poblano)
• 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
  (I used 4 fresh diced tomatoes and 1 can of crushed)
• 1 to 3 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons hot Mexican chili powder
• 1-1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 1-1/2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon parsely
• 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  (I used 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Seasoning)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine
• salt and pepper to taste

Notes: If you use lean beef or turkey be sure to add 1 tablespoon of olive oil when browning. If you like it spicy, but don’t have any hot peppers, add up to 3 tablespoons of hot sauce (I use Frank’s) to give your chili heat.

In a large stockpot over medium heat, cook the beef and sausage until browned. Add the onions, garlic and peppers and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cover. Simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour. After 1 hour, taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.

Roasted Cabbage

Our farm share provided us with our first (of many) heads of cabbage this past weekend. Last year, I got so sick of it that I started leaving it behind at the pickup location. I just had no idea what to do with it and they kept getting bigger each week. We got sick of coleslaw really fast and I tried making soups with it, but it just wasn’t hitting the spot. This roasted cabbage is pretty tasty when served with pierogi and kielbasa and would delicious on a cold day. I’m going to try my hardest not to let any go to waste this year so I’d love to hear your recipes and suggestions.

Roasted Cabbage

• 1 large head of green cabbage
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice cabbage into 8 wedges, making sure to keep a part of the core intact with each wedge and place on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil. In a small dish or mason jar, mix together the remaining ingredients. Use a pastry brush to brush the both sides of the cabbage with the olive oil mixture and season generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Roast for 15 minutes on each side.

Fresh Salsa

I hate that I need to go to a Mexican restaurant to eat good salsa. It actually kind of drives me a bit nuts. I’ve tried buying a ton of different brands from the grocery store and nothing compares to the fresh stuff. Luckily, our farm share has been providing us with an abundance of tomatoes and I happened to have one dinky jalapeno growing in my garden. Note in the picture above the jalapeno is the same size as a small clove of garlic and those are cherry tomatoes shown next to it! My poor garden really suffered this year because I forgot to water and it hasn’t rained much. Oopsie! Anywho, this salsa is close to what you’ll get in a good Mexican joint, but make sure to taste test (preferably with tortilla chips) and adjust seasoning as you wish.

Fresh Salsa

• 6-8 fresh tomatoes (I used a combination of plum, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes)
• 1/2 white or red onion
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1 jalapeno
• 1/4 cup poblano peppers
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Rough chop all ingredients and pulse in a food processer until desired consistency is reached. This will make enough to fill a large mason jar.

Raw Kale Salad

Kale showed up in our farm share for the first time this summer and I was actually pretty excited about it. (I know. I’m lame.) I was excited because I tried this amazing raw kale salad at a restaurant a few months ago and have been patiently waiting to make it when it was in season. I really never thought I could like kale this much because our relationship has always been a little love-hate. I think it was because I never really knew what to do with it. That is, until I discovered this salad.

Raw Kale Salad

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive or canola oil
• 1 finely diced green onion, white part only
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch of kale, washed, stems removed and chopped
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 2-3 stalks of celery, diced

In small bowl combine vinegar, oil, onion, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients and top with dressing. Mix by hand, sort of massaging the kale so it begins to break down. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. It will taste best if used within a day.

Ratatouille Pasta

We actually got to make a trip out to the farm last weekend and pick up our groups 39 bags of vegetables. We took Spencer’s truck and thank goodness because they just barely all fit! So in between running around last week, celebrating our anniversary and traveling to Baltimore for Labor Day weekend I somehow miraculously found time to cook up some of the veggies in last weeks farm share. Minus all the chopping this recipe was quick, delicious and packed full of healthy summer vegetables. Use whatever you have on hand and experiment!

Ratatouille Pasta

• 2 cups Cavatappi pasta
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 spring onion, finely diced
• 1 small eggplant, cubed
• 1 zucchini, cubed
• 4 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 banana pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper, to taste
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• parmesan cheese, to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large skillet add olive oil, garlic and onion and saute until translucent. Add all remaining ingredients to skillet and allow to cook down for about 20 minutes or until vegetables have softened. Add pasta to vegetables and garnish with fresh basil or parsley.