5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped red onion
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
1 pound yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
3 ounces aged Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 3/4 cup)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1 1/2 ounces French bread baguette, torn
1 (12-ounce) beefsteak tomato, seeded and cut into 8 slices
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes. Add bell pepper; cook 2 minutes. Add squash and garlic; cook 4 minutes. Place vegetable mixture in a large bowl. Stir in quinoa, 1/4 cup basil, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.
3. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, milk, cheese, and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to vegetable mixture, stirring until just combined. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7–inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.
4. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until coarse crumbs form. Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted. Arrange tomatoes evenly over vegetable mixture. Top evenly with breadcrumbs. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until topping is browned. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil.
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DINNER IN A PUMPKIN
BY: Jenny Layton, via The Happy Gal
Ingredients:
1 small/medium pumpkin, the size of a soccer ball, top cut open and cleaned out
1 1/2 lbs of ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 small can water chestnuts
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1 can low-fat Cream-of-Chicken soup
1 can sliced mushrooms
2-3 T. soy sauce
1 T. brown sugar
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start cooking your brown rice right away as it takes about 30-40 minutes to cook. Meanwhile, wash your pumpkin, and cut a hole on the top like you were going to carve a pumpkin. Clean it out well, seeds and all. Place it on a cookie sheet with a lip on it lined with tin-foil. Spray your pumpkin with cooking spray so it will have a shiny finish after it cooks. Set aside.
Brown the ground turkey with the onions and green peppers. Cook until no longer pink. Add the soup, soy sauce, brown sugar, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and cooked rice. Mix all together, and stuff the empty pumpkin with the meat mixture.
Cook at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pumpkin is soft. When serving, scrape the sides of the pumpkin and serve along with the meal.
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LAVENDER PINEAPPLE SHRIMP
BY: Peggy Nelson,via The Lavender Apple
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. Cleaned Shrimp ( I used the 26-30 )
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbs. lavender honey (or plain honey)
4 Tbs. cilantro ( can leave out if not fond of cilantro)
4 Tbs. chopped green onions
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
11/2 tsp. culinary Lavender crushed in mortar and pestle
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Clean shrimp and set aside. Combine all the rest of the ingredients for marinade. Marinate shrimp for at least 30 minutes. If you are sautéing shrimp, heat 1 Tbs olive oil and 2 Tbs. butter. Drain shrimp , and reserve marinate. Saute shrimp until pink and cooked through. In the meantime heat marinate in a small sauce pan and reduce by I/2. For grilled shrimp, grill for 3-4 minutes per side. If using bamboo skewers soak in water a couple of hours before use. Pour warm sauce over shrimp and serve.
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INGREDIENTS
2 Tbs. butter
3 cups peeled and sliced apples
Melt 2 Tbs. butter in a large skillet. Saute apples until soft, about 5 minutes. Cool
Streusel topping:
11/2 cups flour
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup melted butter
1.2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
11/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. lavender
1/4 tsp. salt
Stir together
Carmel Sauce:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup honey
Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan. Stirring constantly bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Cool before serving. Store in an airtight container. To re-heat microwave for 10 seconds.
Lavender Apple Tart:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground lavender
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Beat butter at medium speed until creamy, gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs 1 at a time until well blended. Combine flour, baking powder, lavender and salt. Add to butter mixture beginning and ending with flour . Beat on low speed until blended. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch spring form pan. Top with apples, drizzle with 1/2 cup carmel sauce, and sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes. To prevent excessive browning cover top loosely with foil. Cook until center is set. Drizzle with more carmel sauce before serving. Serves 8-10
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