Browsing Tag

onion

Tasty

How to Cut an Onion

September 11, 2014

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I hate cutting onions.  I’ve tried everything – put it in the freezer, wear googles, using the Slap Chop… but I honestly will avoid certain recipes if I have to dice an onion.  Luckily since my college roomie taught me how to easily chop an onion (thanks Erin!), I really don’t have any more excuses… but if you want to be sous chef – I definitely won’t turn you away.

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Here is how I chop an onion…

Step 1. Cut off the roots/both ends of the onion

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Step 2. Remove the skin

Step 3. Cut the onion in half (be sure to cut in the same direction of the lines on the onion)

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Step 4. Lay the onion cut side down and slice top to bottom stopping 1/4 inch of so from the bottom (you don’t want to cut all the way through)

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Step 5. Rotate the onion 90 degrees and slice completely through from top to bottom

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Step 6. You should be left with little squares (a few little chops here and there can help to break apart any pieces that snuck their way through any chopping.)

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Voila!

For “How to Slice a Watermelon” click here!

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Tasty

Quinoa & Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

December 9, 2013

Quinoa Sausage Squash

Most Sunday’s result in me being over the whole “cooking thing,” despite the fact I love a great Sunday dinner.  But this past weekend I sucked it up and got to the kitchen and tried a recipe that has been on my mind for awhile.  The best part(s)?  It was quick, beautiful AND delicious.  And guess what – even J ate it (he usually see’s quinoa and runs).

It also was the perfect recipe to take for leftovers the next day!

Filled Acorn Squash

Quinoa & Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Adapted from Bite by Michelle

  • 2 acorn squash, halved & seeded
  • 3/4 cup quinoa, cooked according to box’s directions (I used tricolor)
  • 4 links hot Italian turkey sausage, meat removed from links
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 10 fresh sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 Granny Apple, unpeeled & seeded & chopped
  • 1/4 cup dried Bing cherries
  • Freshly grated Parmesan
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt/Pepper
  1. Line baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment and drizzle with olive oil.
  2. Place squash halves cut side down (I rubbed them around in the olive oil to make sure they were coated well) and roast for 25 minutes until tender.
  3. Heat a skillet over medium high heat (this is the first time I used my cast iron pan… eeeekkk!!) and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
  4. Once warm, add onion, bell pepper, garlic, sage and pecans. Saute for 10 minutes.
  5. Add sausage and break up with a spoon (I kept the veggies on one side of the pan and uncooked meat on the other). Once the pinkness is gone, stir the mixture together and remove from heat.
  6. Fold in cooked quinoa, apples and cherries and fill cooked squash halves with mixture.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan and be prepared to have your taste buds become EXTRA happy!

Cranberry Apple Quinoa filled Acorn Squash

*My tip is to chop everything finely and evenly.  It makes it look beautiful and makes the flavors really develop when you truly are getting a taste of each ingredient in every bite!

Bon appetit!

Tasty

Hearty Soup

October 30, 2013

Butternut Squash Soup with Pumpkin Seeds

I love the fact that soup is such a versatile food item – it can be a great snack, lunch, starter, dinner… it is relatively easy to make, and (as they say) good for the soul (or is that just chicken soup?!).  One of my favorite soups is my sister Taylor’s homemade Butternut Squash soup.

Squash Soup

So make sure to hit up your local farmers market – pick up some butternut squash, celery, onion, carrot, garlic and herbs and get to the kitchen!

From Threads – By Taylor Feezor

TATA’S BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP:

  • 1 butternut squash (halved… or if you are me and have been told many elaborate stories of forewarning injury due to watermelon or squash cutting by your mother…. quartered)
  • 1 head of garlic
  • olive oil
  • sea/ kosher salt
  • fresh thyme
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1 carrot
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • drizzle of garlic and jalapeno olive oil after the soup is bowled

1. Halve or quarter your squash. The rinds are thick, so BE CAREFUL. I quartered mine because my new knives terrify me (I draped kitchen towels on the other end of them to get a nice grip when cutting down through them… recommend!), and noticed after baking that I might have lost some moisture doing this. The cut edge also was less soft than the inside. Do half if you HAVE THE COURAGE.

2. Take the seeds out, remove as much pith and fiber as you can from them. You are going to put these on the baking sheet and make seeds to use for later. FUN!

3. Drizzle olive oil, rub on the surfaces with your hands, sprinkle salt, stuff the cavity with fresh thyme if you have it, sprinkle whole squash with dried thyme if you don’t.

4. Cut tip off of head of garlic, place in middle of baking sheet. Sprinkle with too much olive oil, too much salt. Mix butternut seeds with this extra, cascading olive oil. Keep the whole bit near center of pan to keep things from burning. Some seeds strayed from the pack and the edge ones got burnt immediately.

5. Bake everything at 425 for 40-60 minutes. Squash is done when a fork goes through easily. You’ll know. During this baking time, I threw in a loaf of parbaked bread from TJ’s (12 minutes), and quartered leeks with olive oil and salt on another pan. They get crispy and taste like onion shoe strings (30 minutes). Great on the side, and this whole party in my oven (squash/seeds/garlic/bread/leeks) helps cut down on the old PG&E Bill.

6. WHILE ITS BAKING:

Pan fry yellow onion, thinly sliced celery and carrots in olive oil until everything becomes soft and translucent in a huge ceramic pot (or something that you will eventually be able to add everything to and run through it with a hand blender). Add 4 cups of chicken stock (trick I like…. add a little more of the bullion base than you should to the water. I think it is what made this so good).

Take out butternut, scrape it with a spoon after its cooled a little, add to your big pot of other stuff. Add 4 cloves of roasted garlic to the soup. Run through everything with a hand blender for about 5 minutes. If you want more protein, add the cubes of turkey breast from Thanksgiving your mom gifted to you when you moved in. Drizzle top with the garlic and jalapeno olive oil, and enjoy!

A big congrats to Christa Pulling – the winner of the PopSugar Must Have Box giveaway!!

Tasty

Farm to Fork

August 28, 2013

Breakfast Tostada

Step 1: Chop Swiss Chard – saute stalk separately from the greens with garlic, salt and olive oil

Assemble 1st layer: Swiss Chard

Assemble 2nd layer: Lentils (rinse canned lentils and warm on the stove or microwave) – you also could use black beans

Step 3: Chop sweet potatoes and saute with chopped onion, garlic and olive oil (add herbs if you wish!)

Sweet Potatoes Assemble 3rd layer: Sweet Potato Mixture

Sweet PotatoAssemble 4th layer: Eggplant (saute chopped eggplant or any other squash you like)

EggplantStep 5: Fry eggs

Assemble 5th layer: Top eggs with chopped heirloom tomatoes and basil

TomatoStep 6: Enjoy!

089The joy of this meal is you can use whatever you have in your fridge/garden/kitchen – an “everything but the kitchen sink” type of meal if you will… get creative!  This is also a great meal to top with your favorite hot sauces… mine being the green Tabasco 🙂

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Tasty

Spanglish Sandwich

August 14, 2013

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Ten years ago my family created our famous go-to breakfast sandwich based off the one from the film Spanglish.  It is so simple, but when made with ingredients from my mom’s garden, and organic produce… it is taken to the next level.

Egg Sandwich

Spanglish Breakfast Sandwich

Assemble the following between toasted sourdough toast:

  • Sliced heirloom tomatoes
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Sliced onion
  • Maple bacon
  • Sliced avocado
  • Fried egg
  • White cheddar cheese

004I recommend cooking the bacon, then frying the egg in the rendered bacon fat… shred the white cheddar on the hot egg and voila!  You also can put a little mayo on your toast, but I think it’s just as yummy without it!  Good morning!!!

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