Asiago Chicken Pasta

I love pasta.  Especially pasta salad and summer is the perfect time for a delicious easy side dish to go along with grilling!  This recipe has been a favorite of my family for around 15 years now.  Its a classic.  Simple to make you can either make it ahead and then warm it up or serve it warm right away.

Ingredients:
1 box gemelli pasta (cooked)
4 green onions
1 red pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 hunk of Parmesan cheese (or 5 oz. already shredded)
1 hunk of Asiago cheese (or 5 oz. already shredded)
4 chicken breasts grilled & chopped
olive oil
red wine vinegar
Italian seasoning
garlic salt

 Directions:
1. Cook pasta and set aside.

 2. Chop red pepper, green onions & garlic cloves.  You can use a food processor if you want to speed up the process. 

3. Grill chicken & chop then set aside.

4. In a large bowl add pasta, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic salt & Italian seasoning.  Mix and taste. 

5. Add grilled chicken and most of the the cheese and mix.

4.  Add remaining cheese on top and serve!

So Moist Veggie Chicken Burgers

So I have been attempting to add vegetables into more of our food and this is one recipe that was a hit at our house.  The finer you grate and cut up the veggies the less you will realize that they are even there.  Try these burgers out and you won't be disappointed!

Servings: 7 or 8 Burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Chicken
8 oz. Mushrooms (chop fine)
1/2 cup Yellow Onion (chop fine)
1/4 cup Grated Zucchini
1 cup Oatmeal
2 Tbsp. Ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper

STEP 1: Cut Mushrooms & Onions then add to large bowl.  

  STEP 2: Grate Zucchini and add to bowl. 

 STEP 3: Mix in Ground Chicken, Oatmeal, Ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, Salt & Pepper. 

 STEP 4: Form into approximately 7-8 burgers & grill for about 10 minutes per side until no longer pink.

STEP 5: Place on a bun and finish with favorite toppings and sauce.  

Homemade Redskin Potato Salad

So Memorial Day weekend is almost here and I thought I would share a few of my favorite recipes to please a crowd.  Today I start with homemade redskin potato salad. Its honestly the only way I like potato salad.....no yellow stuff for me!  Its also the ideal way to use the onions from the garden as well as delicious red skin potatoes.

Every time I make this salad someone asks me for the recipe. I have to give all the credit to my friend Kara for originally providing the recipe. (Thank you for changing my view on potato salad).  

Ingredients:
3 pounds unpeeled red potatoes
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup green onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:

STEP 1: Bring salted pot of water to a boil.  Wash potatoes and dice them into cubes.  

STEP 2: Add red potatoes to the salted water and cook until tender/firm for 15 to 20 minutes. 

STEP 3: Chop the green onions and celery. 

Civilization without Onions?

I have to agree with Julia Child, "It's hard to imagine civilization without onions."  In our household I cook with onions all the time.  They add amazing flavor and taste to dishes.  I discovered that onions have been grown for at least 5000 years or more. They are easy to grow, transport and like a variety of soils and climates. They provide fiber and are high in vitamin C along with other great health benefits. 

This will be the third year that we have grown onions in our garden.  However, this is the first year we have started them from seed indoors instead of buying onion sets at the garden center. We planted the seeds in flats on March 2nd then placed them under grow lights.  (Start them 9-10 weeks before your Frost Free Date). 

Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions (started from seed)

This year we chose Yellow Sweet Spanish.  They are a reliable producer and popular for their sweet flavor.  Known as a long day onion they need 15 hours or more of sunlight and are best grown in the North.  They can be used as a bunching onion which is really nothing more than a young onion planted from seed harvested 30 days after planting (also known as scallions or green onions).  They mature to a one pound globe shaped onion in 95-100 days. 

The week before planting I started by hardening off the seedlings. You can read more about this process by reading my previous post here: Hardening off Seedlings

This past Sunday it was time to plant our onion transplants! Our garden plan for this year is drawn below.  I decided to plant onions in Bed #2 & #4 this year.  I also planted lettuce in Bed #4 that same day. 

2014 Garden Layout

BED #4: Ready for Onions & Lettuce

The easiest way to get the seedlings out of the tray was to use a plastic spoon which scooped them out without destroying the plant.  I planted 9 seedlings per 12" x 12" square using the Square Foot Garden Method.  

Planting seedlings using a plastic spoon 

Seedlings planted!

BED #2:(on left) Planted with 36 Onion seedlings.

 After planting the seedlings I then cover the raised bed with row cover fabric (pictured below) to give the seedlings extra protection from insects, squirrels and frost.  

BED #4:(on right) Currently planted with 19 Garlic, 36 Onion seedlings & 42 Lettuce seedlings.

CARING FOR ONIONS: 

1. Keep soil consistently moist until bulbs enlarge. One inch of water per week (more for sweet onions). Keep in mind that onions will look healthy even if they are bone dry. When tops start to fall over withhold water. 

2. Cover with a layer of mulch.

3. Fertilize every few weeks with nitrogen for large bulbs. Stop when onions push soil away and bulbing process has started. 

Our harvested Onions last year (along with other veggies)

ONION PROBLEMS:

1. If an onion sends up a flower stalk cut it from the plant immediately or the bulb will be reduced. (From our pictures below you can see that this happened to us last year) That must be why our onions only grew to about 1/2" round. 

2. In May or June onions are sometimes attacked by the onion fly.  You can protect your crop with row covers.  

April 8th 2014

Next week I will plant the Parsley and 2 weeks later Carrots!

Spicy Meatball Soup (in a Slow Cooker)

  
I didn't feel like going to the store the other day (ever happen to you?)  So I pulled out everything that I thought could make a meal.  I always buy Turkey Meatballs when they are on sale (because they are a family favorite) and so I had some in the freezer!  I came up with this yummy soup that was simple to make in the Slow Cooker.  It has a little kick to it to spice things up!  If you don't like spice then simply buy the plain canned peeled tomatoes.

Spicy Meatball Soup           
Makes 6 to 7 servings

Ingredients:
12 oz. Turkey Meatballs (I use Honeysuckle Italian Style)
2 Yellow Onions

4 Large Carrots
Mushrooms (optional)
8 oz Pasta (I used Whole Wheat Penne & some leftover Noodle Style)

Canned Peeled Tomatoes with Jalapeno Peppers

3 (32 oz) low sodium Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth

 1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. garlic salt 
Mexican Shredded Cheese (optional for topping)

Instructions: 
1.  Wash, peel and cut Carrots.  Add diced onion and mushrooms (optional). 

Seven Vegetable Tortellini Soup (in a Slow Cooker)

Cold. Cold. Cold.  It was 4 degrees outside today and comfort food was the perfect solution to warm our spirits.  This soup has 7 different vegetables and is healthy and delicious! 

Its also a fun soup for our little one to help me make.  I would cut up the vegetables then put them on the plate which he added to the bowl.  Enjoy making this soup and keep in mind you can add or delete vegetables to make it your own.   

Butternut Squash, Zucchini, Carrots, Asparagus, Scallions, Spinach & Tomatoes

Seven Vegetable Tortellini Soup           
Makes 6 to 7 servings

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash- cut into 1 inch cubes

2 small Zucchini- cut into 1 inch cubes

4 Carrots

1 bunch of Asparagus

1 bunch of Scallions

5 oz of fresh Spinach 

Canned Diced Tomatoes (or fresh)

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. garlic salt 

1 package (9 oz) of Cheese Tortellini

3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

3 (32 oz) low sodium Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth

NOTE: If there is a vegetable you don't eat you can just leave it out of the soup!  You can also make it gluten free by leaving out the Tortellini.  

Tortellini, Chicken Broth, Diced Tomatoes and Spices

Instructions:
1.  Wash, peel and cut Carrots, Zucchini and Butternut Squash and add to slow cooker.  (For how to cut Butternut Squash see the end of this post).  Add cut Asparagus and Scallions to slow cooker.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Tomato & Onion

Today I was craving something simple, yet tasty.  This Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Tomato and Onion was a perfect combination of ingredients.  Of course if the tomatoes had been homegrown from this summer it would have been better, but I did my best with what I had at hand. (Guess I will just have to make this again come July!)

Ingredients:
1 slice Cheddar Cheese (or 1/4 cup shredded cheese)
1 slice Mozzarella Cheese (or 1/4 cup shredded cheese)
Parmesan Cheese
2 slices Wheat Bread
2 Red Onion slices
Tomato- variety of your choosing
(I used several grape tomatoes I had on hand)

Instructions:

STEP 1: Butter both sides of the bread.  

STEP 2: Layer with Cheddar, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.    

Cheese layered with Onion and Tomato

STEP 3: Cut 2 slices of Onion and Tomato and place on top of cheese.  

STEP 4: Cook for approximately 4 minutes per side or less until golden brown.

 STEP 5: Cut sandwich in half and serve warm.

June 20th Update

I have been checking on the garden in the morning and again in the evening.  This is the time of year that the Squash Vine Borer attack so I am watching closely.  We had to remove our row covers because the plants were outgrowing them (and some plants need to be pollinated by bees).  We had no idea that everything would get so big so fast.  We did make a taller row cover for BED #2 (which you can see below in the picture).  This is an experiment so we will see if it works.   

For reference BED #1 (Asparagus) starts on the left.

Evidence that my little helper has been digging in the dirt!

Zinnias are just starting to bloom!

Tomato plants on deck.

BED# 1- (pictured below) Asparagus, Parsley, Tomatoes (just planted) & Basil (just planted).

Baby Tomato plants & Basil plants (just planted after removing Peas)

Asparagus are very happy.  Next year we can start harvesting them.  
For the first year we just let them fern out.

My amazing Asparagus Beetle catcher!

Each day I check for Asparagus Beetles and I find them on the plants!  I use the glass jar pictured above and I have it filled with water and some liquid dish soap.  I find the beetle put the jar under it and knock it in.  This is much easier than trying to get them with your fingers. 

BED# 2- (pictured below) Cauliflower, Broccoli, Corn, Pole Beans & Winter Squash.

Help the Cauliflower & Broccoli are falling out of the beds!

 

Our first sign of Broccoli!

I made a mistake by planting the Winter Squash plants that I had already started indoors with the corn and beans.  We were trying to do the 3 Sisters Iroquois tradition but I wasn't patient and planted the Squash before the corn and beans.  I had to add cages to the Squash so it wouldn't take over.  This will be interesting!

More detail of Squash, Corn & Beans

 CENTER OF GARDEN- (pictured below) Two Watermelon plants.  This is our first year to try them.

Growing in ground between BED #2 & #3

BED# 3- (pictured below) Onions, Carrots, Bush Beans & Summer Squash.

This bed is out of control!
(Next year we need to pick some of the Onions earlier so they don't overtake the Carrots)

Onion blooming??

(3) Summer Squash in back of BED #3

 BED# 4- (pictured below) Bush Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant & Cucumbers.

 

Female bloom on Zucchini

The Zucchini are happy!