Heart Shaped Ravioli with a Simply Delicious Sauce

I made this for Evan and I’s 2nd Anniversary in December! It’s a great special occasion dinner recipe and is sure to please! Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Prep: 1 hr

Cook: 30 min

Makes: 12 Ravioli

Ingredients:

Meat or cheese mixture of your choice, meat should be pre-cooked. I used bison.

Dough:

• 1.5 C. All purpose Flour
• 3 Eggs
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 TBS Olive Oil

Sauce:

• 2 Cups Chopped tomatoes with juice.
• 1 TBS Olive oil
• 1 TBS Garlic, minced
• 2 TBS Fresh Basil, chopped
• 2 TBS Shallots, minced
• Mushrooms, 1/2 Cup, sliced

Directions:

Dough

In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour and salt. Add eggs 1 at a time and continue to mix. Drizzle in oil and continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

Cut the ball of dough in half, cover and reserve the dough you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with flour. Form the dough into a rectangle and roll it through the pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at its widest setting. Guide the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. *Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue until the machine is at its narrowest setting. The dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick.

Dust the counter and dough with flour, lay out the long sheet of pasta. Use a heart cookie cutter (small) to cut the hearts.

Place a tsp of your meat/cheese mixture of choice on one heart and seal with another heart on top. Seal edges with fork or pastry sealer. Use

Boil in large pot of salted water for about 7 min. Strain.

Sauce:

• In a large braiser or skillet, heat oil, add shallots and garlic, cook for 1 min until fragrant.
• Add tomatoes and mushrooms, simmer for 20 min.
• Garnish with basil

Enjoy!

Grilled Shrimp with French Green Lentils and Roasted Carrots, Fennel, and Shallots

This healthy and earthy dish is very satisfying and simple to make. You will be happy you tried it I used the carrots and fennel from our CSA from JBG

 

Prep : 25 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Serves: 2

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup cooked green lentils
• 10 Large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, leave tail on.
• 1/2 Cup carrot, cubed
• 1/2 Cup fennel, shaved
• 1/4 Cup shallots, shaved
• 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 3 TBS olive oil
• Pinch of dill pollen
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions:

1. Make a vinaigrette with balsamic, 1 TBS olive oil, pinch of dill pollen, pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well.
2. Roast veggies on foil lined pan with 1 tbs olive oil and salt and pepper pinch for 20-25 min. Reserve in foil to keep warm. 
3. Heat medium skillet to high and saute shrimp in a TBS of olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
4. Mix roasted veggies, lentils, and vinaigrette together and serve shrimp on top.
5. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken, Carrots, and Mushrooms with Lentils and Wild Rice

This a great healthier  week night meal that is easy to set up and can cook in as little as 4 hrs in the crock while you are off at work or running errands.

This is not the greatest photo, but it was late and I was hungry

Prep: 10 min
Cook Time: 4-8 hrs
Serves: 4 ish

Ingredients

• 6-8 organic chicken thighs, remove fat (the ones I had were small so we had 2 each)
• 2.5 cups no sodium chicken stock ( I like homemade or Kitchen Basics)
• 1 cup blend of wild rice and lentils (pick your favorite)
• 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
• .5 cup chopped carrots
• .5 cup onions, chopped
• 1 TBS fresh lemon thyme
• .5 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. Place stock in pot, add rice, veggies,oil, and herbs: stir.
   
2. Add chicken thighs to pot, season lightly with salt and pepper. 
3. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. ( I do 4 on high)
4. Serve, salt and pepper to taste. 

Pizzettes with Fried Brussel Sprout Leaves Tossed with Crispy Bacon and Golden Raisins

Mini pizzettes for everyone! These are cute and delicious little pizzas that are sure to please any party guests. I have been on a pizza kick for my just about my whole life… I LOVE pizza! Ever since I learned to make my own dough- we no longer eat “delivery” pizza because it’s ALWAYS a disappointment for many reasons, it’s $$ for what it is, it makes you feel like crap, and it’s just simply not. that. good. We still enjoy going to local pizza places like Salvations and Rounders but that requires driving all the way into town which is not close.

Next time you need an appetizer plan for guest, try these babies out! You will not regret it!

Prep: 1hr

Cook Time: 10-15 min

Serves: 8 tapas sized pizzas

Crust/Dough

• 1 (1/4 ounce) Package active dry yeast
• 1 C. Warm water
• 1 TBS. Sea salt
• 2 tsp Olive oil
• 2 1/2-3 1/2 cups Bread flour
• 2 TBS Lemon thyme, fresh
• 1 TBS Chopped rosemary, fresh

Pizza Toppings

• Olive oil
• Fresh whole milk mozzarella slices, small ones (1-2 per pizza)
• Crispy cooked bacon
• Parmesan shavings
• Salt/pepper
• Golden raisins

Meyer Lemon and Sage Dressing

• 1 C. Sour cream
• 4 Sage leaves, chopped rough
• 1/8 C. Milk
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic, granulated
• 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
• 1 TBS Meyer lemon juice
• Blend above ingredients with a stick blender or regular blender. Place into ziplock bag and reserve in fridge.

Brussel Sprouts

• 2.5 C. Whole brussel sprouts,
• 2 C. Peanut oil
• Cut bottoms off sprouts and begin to peel the leaves apart, this may take a while, get a helper… place sprouts in a salad spinner or strainer to get water off the leaves.
• Heat fryer to 350 F
• Fry sprouts for 30 seconds, do in batches until done. Season lightly with salt add rasins to the batch after frying and toss.
• Don’t fry in advance do these while pizzas are cooking so they remain crispy

Instructions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed bowl.
2. Add sea salt, olive oil, herbs, and 2 1/2 cup flour.
3. Attach bowl and dough hook, turn to speed 2 and mix 1 minute.
4. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough clings to dough hook and cleans sides of bowl. Knead on speed 2 for 5 minutes. If making 2 pies split dough into 2 balls.
5. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top.
6. Cover, let rise in warmest place in house away from draft until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).
7. Punch dough down each ball.
8. Divide into 8 balls and roll out 8 little pies.
   * I like to par bake crust for 5-8 min to make it CRISPYYYYYY
9. Once par baked top with olive oil, mozzarella, and a dash of salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 min until cheese is melted.
10. Top with fried sprouts, bacon, parm shavings, and dressing!

Enjoy and Cheers!

New Year’s Eve 6 Course Meal at the Fawn House

This New Year’s Eve Evan and I had a dinner party for 6 of our good friends.  We have never been really big on going out to bars/restaurants/ downtown  for NYE, so we decided that we would do a 6 course meal and invite everyone stay at the house.  It worked perfect we all chipped in $20 a person and had a meal that was AMAZING and no one had to drive home afterward

You may notice something trending in this menu… can you guess what I got for Christmas from my Fry Daddy???

Here’s how it went down…

 

First Course: charcurterie sampler : chicken liver pâté, NY chorizo, sottocenere with truffles, cheddar farmstead block, olives, hot and sweet pickles and peppers, with a cracker and bread assortment

Second course: pizzette with fried brussel sprout leaves tossed with crispy bacon and golden raisins drizzled with a tarragon and meyer lemon cream sauce and parm shavings

Third course: 20 hr sous vide spiced pork belly on top a collard and mash mound

Fourth course: 5 wild mushroom risotto with 110 min egg

Fifth course: sous vide duck breast topped with  hibiscus flower and fried shallots on a bed of arugula

Sixth course: strawberry and champagne shortcake with dark chocolate snow and whipped cream sprinkled with pop rocks

If you were wondering…I got a Sous Vide Supreme!

 

HAPPY 2013 EVERYONE! CHEERS!

Vegan Italian Sausage – You won’t believe it’s not meat!

I recently did a 40 Day Yoga Challenge where I wasn’t eating any meat other than seafood. During that time Evan and I went to a party at our good friends Liz and Kyle’s house for some Paella! She made vegan Spanish chorizo for some of the other non meat eaters and I instead of using real meat (thanks Liz)! It was awesome, texture and all, that’s right… I said it… texture and all- and even better it wasn’t made from tofu! I made her version during my 40 Day Challenge in my own Paella at home with great results. So I decided to make an Italian version for fun a couple of nights ago. It turned out fantastic, even Evan was a big fan!

This Italian sausage goes great in pasta dishes or in a salad like you will see below. I’ll also include the nutrition facts  It contains 16 grams of PROTEIN!, pretty good for a vegan “meat”

I made this simple salad today for lunch: Baby Kale, Spinach, Red Onion, Cucumbers, Grape Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and of course my Italian Vegan Sausage. With a Greek Yogurt, Lemon, Sage, Sirracha Dressing. It hit the spot!

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Serves: Approximately 9 : 2 oz servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. Pinto beans, rinsed. You can use canned beans- I used canned organic beans…
• 1 C. Organic vegetable broth
• 1 TBS. Olive oil
• 2 TBS. Light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. Lemon zest
• 2 Cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 1/4 C. Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1/4 C. Nutritional yeast
• 1 TBS Basil, chopped very fine
• 1 TBS Oregano
• 1 TBS Marjoram
• 1/2 TBS Onion powder
• 2 tsp. Red pepper flake
• 1/2 TBS Black pepper

Instructions:

1. Set up steaming apparatus. (Large pot, little bit of water, steam tray, and lid.)
2. Lay out 3 sheet of foil to wrap sausage in. A sushi roller will help for this later.
3. Mash beans well in medium bowl.
4. Add all ingredients IN ORDER to bowl.
5. Once all ingredients are added, knead “dough” with hands until all ingredients are incorporated.
6. Divide dough into 3 balls, roll each ball out into a link shape and place each one on a separate sheet of foil. This is where the sushi roller comes in handy… Roll the foil around the link and use the sushi roller to roll and compact your link making it nice and firm. Twist off ends of foil and repeat with the rest.
7. Place sausages in steaming apparatus and steam for 40 min on low/medium.
8. Unroll- careful they will be hot and let cool. Then you can slice and cook up on the stove to get some crispiness if desired. DO NOT USE HIGH HEAT, they will burn.

Serve as you wish! On a salad, pasta, sandwich, wrap, the possibilites are endless.

Paella Made with Vegan Spanish Chorizo!

Happy Belated 2nd Birthday ZBD & Vegan Black Bean Burgers

Hello Friends! As the summer winds down, I hope to find some more time to blog. It’s been one crazy few months and I have not had a dull moment yet. I’ve missed blogging and reading your blogs so I’m very happy to get back to it. While I was away ZestyBeanDog turned 2 in July!  I missed it… does that make me a bad blog Mom?  Happy Belated Birthday ZestyBeanDog! 

These burgers are wonderful and great for a filling lunch or dinner. They are low in fat and calories and high in fiber and have a decent amount of protein. You can make these as is and they will be vegan, adding some low fat cheese  (as shown in picture above) will add some protein but will obviously not be vegan BUT tasty I will say these were awesome tasting but if you are expecting it to have the texture of meat, they will not quite (most freezer brands do not). I will be experimenting with that in the near future and see what happens. For now here is something not to be missed.

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 2 large burgers or 2 medium and 1 small

Ingredients:

• 1 Can low sodium black beans, drained well
• 1/2 Cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 TBS Shallots, diced
• 1 tsp. Chia Seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. Flax Seeds, ground
• 1 Clove garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp. Cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Black pepper
• 1 green onion
• 2 TBS water

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon. Transfer mixture to food processor (I love the Ninja).
2. Blend all ingredients in a food processor, pulsing for about 20- 30 sec. It should not be liquidy or too dry. It will however be soft. Mold into patties and place on a plastic wrapped plate, cover and let set in fridge for at least 20 min.
3. Turn skillet on medium and spray with pam or you can use regular olive oil. Once hot cook burgers for about 6-7 min on each side until golden brown and hot all the way through.
4. Serve on your choice of bun with any toppings you like! It goes great with some sauteed kale!  I love Cabot 75% as a reduced fat cheese, it’s very good!
   

Nutrition Facts for Black Bean Burgers includes 1/4 of a medium avocado.

Without Avocado

Farm Tomato, Hummus, Mozzarella, and Arugula Sando

Arugulaaaa it’s a VEGET-A-BLE

This sandwich is healthy, filling, and delicious. As an added bonus it’s under 300 calories,  254 cals to be exact, high in protein and fiber.I love simple sandwiches like this, especially when I’m tired of the same ole meat and cheese.

Nutrition Info:

• Calories: 254
• Fat: 10 grams
• Carbs: 31 grams
• Protein: 15 grams
• Cholesterol: 30 mg
• Sodium: 386  mg
• Net carbs: 24 grams
• Fiber: 7 grams
• Sugars: 2 grams
• Calcium: 30%

Prep Time: 5 min

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 Orowheat Sandwich Thin
• 1.5 oz Fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1 Tomato (small), sliced
• 1 TBS Hummus, I like to make my own.
• .5 C. Arugula

Spread the hummus on the lightly toasted thin, then add tomatoes, mozzarella, and arugula. Done!

Arugula and Prosciutto Pizza with Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and Serrano Basil Pesto

Evan made me this AMAZING pizza pie for my Birthday on Tuesday! It’s one of my favorite combos! It’s awesome! If you love pizza you MUST try this combo asap! He did a great job on everything, it was perfect.

Prep: 1 hr

Cook Time: 20-25 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Toppings

• 6-8 slices of Prosciutto di Parma
• 3-4 TBS Serrano Basil Pesto
• 8 oz Fresh Mozzarella, sliced into medallions.
• Salt, pepper, fine herbs (whatever you like).
• 1/4 C. Parmigiano reggiano, the GOOD stuff!
• Shaved Parmigiano reggiano for on top of arugula. Use a potato peeler.
• 1-2 Lemons, for juicing.
• 4 C. Baby Arugula

Crust/Dough

• 1 (1/4 ounce) Package active dry yeast
• 1 C. Warm water
• 1 TBS. Sea salt
• 2 tsp Olive oil
• 2 1/2-3 1/2 cups Bread flour

Serrano Basil Pesto

• 2 C. Fresh Basil Packed, big stems removed
• 2/3 C. Olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 C. Pine Nuts
• 1/2 C.- 3/4 C. Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese\
• 1/2 Serrano, seeds remain
• Salt and pepper

Process and salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed bowl.
2. Add sea salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cup flour.
3. Attach bowl and dough hook, turn to speed 2 and mix 1 minute.
4. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough clings to dough hook and cleans sides of bowl. Knead on speed 2 for 5 minutes. If making 2 pies split dough into 2 balls.
5. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top.
6. Cover, let rise in warmest place in house away from draft until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).
7. Punch dough down each ball.
8. Roll out dough as you like and place on your cooking surface. (stone, tin, pan, etc.)
   * I like to par bake crust for 5 min to make it CRISPYYYYYY
   To Top: lay down pesto, 1/4 C. Parm reg, Prosciutto di Parma, then place mozzarella on top
   Bake for 20 min and top with big bunches of arugula, shaved parm reg, and squeeze some lemon on there 
   Enjoy and Cheers!
   

Green Tomato and Bacon Pizza Pie

I bought some green tomatoes from Johnson’s Backyard Garden last Saturday and decided these babies are either getting fried or going on a pizza… Pizza it was and it was fantastic! Also today is the last day to vote for my Morel and Bacon Egg Rolls! If you haven’t voted yet ( I know many of you have, Thank you so much) please do! Vote here.

Prep: 1 hr

Cook Time: 20-25 min

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

Toppings

• 4 slices of Bacon, cooked until almost done
• Green tomatoes, 3-4 sliced (enough to cover pizza will depend on size)
• 8 oz Fresh Mozzarella, sliced into medallions.
• Olive oil, about 3 TBS
• Salt, pepper, fine herbs (whatever you like).
• 1/4 C. Parmigiano reggiano, the GOOD stuff!

Crust/Dough

• 1 (1/4 ounce) Package active dry yeast
• 1 C. Warm water
• 1 TBS. Sea salt
• 2 tsp Olive oil
• 2 1/2-3 1/2 cups Bread flour
• 1/4 C. Cornmeal

Instructions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed bowl.
2. Add sea salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cup flour.
3. Attach bowl and dough hook, turn to speed 2 and mix 1 minute.
4. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough clings to dough hook and cleans sides of bowl. Knead on speed 2 for 5 minutes. If making 2 pies split dough into 2 balls.
5. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top.
6. Cover, let rise in warmest place in house away from draft until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).
7. Punch dough down each ball.
8. Roll out dough as you like and place on your cooking surface. (stone, tin, pan, etc.)
   To Top: lay down oil, herbs, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place mozzarella on top, Then tomatoes, then bacon, Finally sprinkle with Parmigiano reggiano.
   Bake for 20-25 min until bubbly and golden
   Enjoy and Cheers!