Honey Roasted Butternut Squash and Cranberries

There are so many recipes with the ever popular Butternut Squash. This one sounds intriguing.

Honey Roasted Butternut Squash and Cranberries
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, peeled + chopped
a hearty drizzle of olive oil (approx 1-2 TBSP)
salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
2 cups fresh cranberries
2-3 TBSP honey [or extra, to taste]
1/4 cup finely crumbled feta
ground cinnamon, to taste (optional)
fresh or dried parsley, to garnish (optional)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly drizzle or spritz a baking sheet with olive oil.
Add cubed squash to the sheet along with another drizzle of olive oil.
Sprinkle with a light layer of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, based on taste preference.
Roast at 400 F for 25 minutes on the center rack.
At the 25 minute mark, pull out the oven rack, and add your fresh cranberries to the roasting pan.
Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the cranberries have started to soften and burst a bit.
Remove from oven and add a sprinkle of cinnamon (approx 1/8-1/4 tsp depending on preference) along with feta and honey.
Garnish with parsley for a burst of color and dig in while it's hot!

Thanks to peasandcrayons.com

Greek Feta Salad

Historic Queen Creek Olive Mill offers a great tour explaining the process of growing, harvesting and processing olive oil. Shopping in their unique store and restaurant is an additional surprise. You can pick up a copy of Tastes & Treasures there.

Greek Feta Salad

Ingredients:
1 small head of Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
3 tomatoes cut up, or grape tomatoes
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 cup green or black olives
1/2 lb. Feta cheese, sliced or cut into chunks

Dressing ingredients:
1/4 cup Greek extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 pinch oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Chill lettuce. Combine dressing ingredients. When ready to serve, toss all vegetables and olives. Top with cheese and serve with dressing

Orzo Salad becomes Main Dish

Barbara Cardinal created her own version of Orzo Salad from page 159 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook. We love creativity in the kitchen!
Her comments, "My husband and I had it for dinner  - I added some cooked chicken I had on hand.  It makes a great main dish salad too.  Very versatile.
Here are my changes:
- Did not saute the mushrooms.  Just chunked them and added them raw.
- Eliminated the garlic (I am not a garlic fan in salads)
- The asparagus was the very very thin stalks.
- Put in some green as well as red bell pepper.
- Doubled the amount of dressing, added some sugar and some more salt.
- Eliminated the feta cheese, since I did not have it on hand." 


Orzo Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives

Ingredients Dijon Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Ingredients for Salad:
1 pound asparagus, blanched
16 ounces orzo
1/4 cup olive oil
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup drained oil-pack sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions for the Vinaigrette:
Whisk the lemon juice, shallot, vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl until combined. Add the olive oil gradually, whisking constantly until the olive oil is incorporated.

Directions for the Salad:
    Slice the asparagus spears diagonally into 1 inch pieces. Cook the pasta using the package directions until al dente and drain. Toss the pasta with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a bowl and cool to room temperature. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the shallots and garlic. Sute for 5 minutes. Toss the mushroom mixture with the pasta.
    Add the asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper, green onions, feta cheese, mint, Parmesan cheese, olives and basil to the pasta mixture and mix gently. Add the vinaigrette and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Garnish with teardrop or pear tomatoes and sprigs of Italian parsley. Serve at room temperature. You may prepare up to 1 day in advance and store, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Serves 8 or more.

Celebrate 4th of July with Red and Blue

Red Beet Salad and Blueberry Pie
Two great recipes to present on this festive weekend. Thanks to www.bigblendmagazine.com for inspiration for these foods. You could also make Blueberry Muffin Tops page 198 Tastes & Treasures. They are delicious.
Happy Birthday America.

Red for Beet Salad
Ingredients

8 large beets
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced thin
3 tablespoons feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

Rinse the beets very well and boil until fork tender (about 15 minutes.) Drain and use a knife to peel, then cut into bite-sized pieces.

While the beets are boiling, put the balsamic and brown sugar into a sauce pan and reduce over medium-high heat until the balsamic vinegar is thick like maple syrup.

Finally, put all of the ingredients in a bowl with a lid. Cover the bowl and shake well to mix. Serve.

Blue for Blueberry Crunchy Pie Ingredients
1 premade pie crust
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup grape juice
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 frosted cornflakes

Directions

Get the butter out to soften!

Now, take your pre-made pie crust and blind bake it according to package directions. (Blind baking refers to baking the crust without any filling.) Set aside to cool.

In a saucepan, add the blueberries, grape juice, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally and cook until about half of the blueberries have popped. This usually takes about 10-15 minutes.

While the blueberries are heating, put the butter, brown sugar, and cornflakes into a bowl. Work the butter with your fingers until the cornflakes are coated

Preheat your oven to 350. Construct the pie by pouring the blueberry filling into the crust and topping with the buttered cornflakes.

Bake until the butter is melted and the cornflakes are browned, about 12 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Pam Ryan's Red and Green Salad

Here is another tasty recipe served at a Historical League meeting. Thanks to Pam Ryan for sharing it with us on the blog. Easy to make, healthy and great presentation.

Red & Green Salad

2 pkgs. Spinach &/or romaine lettuce
1 C. toasted almonds
1 pkg. craisins
Red onion
4 oz. feta cheese – crumbled
8-10 slices bacon – fried, drained, & crumbled

Dressing (enough for two salads)
½ C. each peanut & canola oil
¾ C. sugar dissolved in ½ C. wine vinegar, heated in microwave
¾ tsp. garlic
½ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp. white pepper
½ tsp. cayenne pepper (if you want more bite to your dressing)

Note: Pam suggested adding chicken to it for a heartier salad.