Turnip Au Gratin

Lots of delicious turnips are being harvested now. Wanting something a little different, I created this recipe for turnip au gratin. It is fantastic!
Thinly slice turnips. I used a mandolin.

Layer turnips in a baking dish, overlapping a bit. Next lay slices of cheese. I use swiss and think the flavor is great, but use what you have (and like.)

Repeat with turnips and cheese, ending with turnips. Next make a white sauce
Melt 3 tbsp. butter. Whisk in about 3 tbsp. flour until smooth and cook for a couple of minutes. Slowly stir in about 1- 1 1/2 cups of milk. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until thick and bubbly. Pour over turnips. Top with bread crumbs and bake at 350* for about 35 minutes. Enjoy!

Mini Blue Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf

Tonight's homestead meal is mini meatloaves stuffed with blue cheese, roasted potatoes and a salad fresh from the garden. The blue cheese was the only store purchased item on the menu.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. whole wheat bread crumbs
1 egg
1 small onion
1 large clove garlic
1 large handful of kale~ spinach would work too, but kale is what we have right now
2 tbsp. minced parsley
4 tbsp. blue cheese, crumbled
Saute onion and garlic in butter until soft, Add kale and cook until wilted. Let cool. In a bowl combine all ingredients.

 Shape into 4 mini meatloaves. In the center of each meatloaf make a hole. Fill each hole with cheese and carefully close meat back around it.

 Drizzle with ketchup if desired. Bake 350* about 35 minutes. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

The boys are so used to eating these they won't eat cookies from white flour. This is an everything but the kitchen sink cookie. Feel free to add or take away ingredients that you don't care for but do use the whole wheat flour!!

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 sugar
3/4 brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal, we prefer old fashioned, not instant
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup nuts, any kind
1 package dark chocolate chips

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and blend. Add dry ingredients and vanilla. Mix in nuts, raisins and chips. Bake at 350* 10-12 minutes.

Grilled Vegetable Soup

As a side the other night I made grilled veggie skewers to toss on the grill.  They were made with the last of the garden vegetables that we are still harvesting. Red and yellow bell peppers, onions and okra along with some small eggplant and zucchini from a local market. Tossed with olive oil and a variety of herbs they were quite tasty. However, we did not finish them all and I had about a quart of veggies left. I am not big on these reheated so I pondered what to do with them. I hate to waste anything! Today they became an awesome soup.
I put all the vegetables in my vita mix blender along with some leftover chicken stock, about 2 cups, just enough to make a smooth creamy soup. I then transferred the soup to a pot, added about 1/2 cup of half 'n half and heated gently. Once nice and warm I topped with fresh basil and a handful of cheese. The soup was absolutely wonderful with a smokey depth from the grilling. I am sure this would be really good with roasted veggies as well.  Maybe beets, carrots and rutabaga? Topped with goat cheese...yum.

Mexican Rice

Tonight we are having beef and chicken fajitas. As a side, I created this rice with the last of the summer tomatoes, peppers from the garden, onion and garlic harvested earlier this summer and pulled from the pantry. Rice and spices are pantry staples and always on hand.

1 cup assorted peppers, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium tomatoes, cored and processed in the blender
1 1/2 - 2  tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 c beef stock (optional)
3 cups cooked brown rice

I precooked the brown rice in my rice cooker. You can precook rice stove top as well. (I just love how my rice cooker makes it so fluffy and it has a keep warm mode that is helpful if I get ahead of myself.)
To prepare the sauce:
Saute onions and peppers in butter until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute or two. Process tomatoes and pour in pan along with the beef stock. Add spices and simmer 5-8 minutes. Pour sauce over cooked rice until desired consistency. You may not need quite all of the sauce. Enjoy!

Marinated Chicken Breasts

The basil is overflowing in the garden and chicken is plentiful right now. I decided to make chicken sandwiches tonight with a side of broiled peppers filled with cheese, as those are plentiful as well!
I topped the sandwiches with lettuce, cheese and pickles canned earlier this summer. Chick-fil-e has nothing on this sandwich!
You will need:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Wash and dry chicken and place in a ziplock back
Mix marinade and pour over chicken. Let marinate several hours in the fridge turning bag every so often.

Marinade:
3/4 c. olive oil
juice of one lemon
2 garlic cloves, smashed
8 large basil leaves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Remove chicken from bag and grill about 11 minutes or until done.

This would be a great chicken to serve over a salad as well. Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza Dough

Pizza is a quick easy meal  for us, especially during the summer months with all the fresh summer vegetables coming out of the garden. Today's pizza was topped with roasted elephant garlic, the roasted Jaune Flammes tomatoes from yesterday (see life on the homestead blog), sauteed onions, mushrooms and Malabar spinach. Then we covered it with fresh crumbled goat cheese and mozzarella and a perfect pizza was created! Other combos might be garlic, summer squash and goat cheese. Of course it also makes a wonderful traditional pizza with a red sauce and meat.
You can use any kind of flour or combination of flours. Experiment with white, wheat and/or spelt to see what your favorite might be. This dough can be used right away or left to rise for several hours. I have found letting it rise produces a better crust but if in a hurry just use it right away.
Pizza Dough
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. yeast
2 cups hot water
5-6 cups flour
Put first 5 ingredients in a mixer attached with dough hook. Add flour a bit at a time until it pulls away from sides and cleans the bowl. Let knead for about 5 minutes. Let rise up to 5 hours or use right away.
Preheat oven to 425*. Divide into 2 balls. Roll out and place on stones or pizza pans. Barely prick with a fork and prebake for 7 minutes. Remove, add toppings and bake until crust is brown and cheese is melted.