Greek Salad with Cannellini Beans, Feta, and Tomatoes

 

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, peeled, and sliced thick (seeds removed)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (I like to take seeds out)
Some thinly sliced onion
1/3 C Jarred Muffalata
1/2 C Feta cheese, crumbled
 

Dressing:
 
1 Clove garlic, minced
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 t. oregano
1 T. Red wine vinegar
1/4 C olive good olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk the dressing ingredients well, and pour over the salad. Toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes: 

I made this up, which was similar to another Greek salad I've made. This time I didn't have any Kalamata olive, so I used the Muffalata. I also added a few black olives, sliced.  

Tzatziki Dip

Ingredients:

2 C. Plain whole yogurt 

1 Medium cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, coarsely grated (or chopped into small pieces)

2-3 Cloves Garlic, finely minced 

2 T. Olive Oil, or a little more 

1 T Dried dillweed 

1 to 2 t. Fresh lemon juice

1/2 t. Salt 

1/4 t. Pepper

 

Additional Olive oil for garnish 

Directions:

  1. Place a piece of cheesecloth in a colander and pour in the yogurt. Place the grated cucumber in another colander and allow both to drain for 3-4 hours. Pat dry the cucumber with a paper towel. 

2. Mix all ingredients, except the oil for garnish, and chill. When ready to serve, pour a little olive oil on top. 

3. Serve with pita bread, crackers, or sliced vegetables. 

Serves 6-8

Note: 

I now use Fage yogurt, which is already strained, so you can skip the part for the yogurt, but you will still need to drain the cucumber.

Broccoli Mushroom Noodle Casserole

I made this for a cookbook club dinner yesterday. It's from Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. There were two books to select recipes. 

 
6 Servings
 
Ingredients
 
2 stalks fresh broccoli, including stems, peeled and chopped
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 -2 T butter

Salt

Pepper

1/4 C dry white wine
3 Eggs
3 C ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, (or a combination)
1 C sour cream
3 C uncooked wide egg noodles

1 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 – 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs or 1/4-1/2 cup wheat germ

 
Directions

 
Sauté chopped broccoli, mushrooms and onion in butter till tender. Salt and pepper lightly. Toss with wine.
 

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in ricotta/cottage cheese and sour cream.
 

Boil noodles in salted water till slightly underdone. Drain and butter.

 
Remove sautéed vegetables from pan to cheese mixture with a slotted spoon. Add noodles and either 1/4 cup bread crumbs or 2 T wheat germ. Mix everything.
 

 

Spread into buttered 9x13 baking pan.

 
Top with more breadcrumbs or wheat germ and grated cheddar.
 

Bake covered for 30 minutes at 350.

 
Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.
 

My Notes:

The recipe wasn't really clear on the amount of broccoli, so I chopped up two large broccoli heads and later held  a bunch back, as it was way too much. 

I used baby Bella mushrooms; and added a clove of chopped garlic and some Trader Joe's truffle powder seasoning to the vegetable mixture.

I used a combination of butter and olive oil for the vegetables. 

I used ricotta cheese. 

I used Italian breadcrumbs. 

I added more cheddar cheese to the topping, as one cup really didn't cover the entire dish.

Overall, this was very good. 

You can add cooked grilled chicken to the mixture for added protein. 

  

Lemony Dressing

 Recipe from Cheryl Noll, 15 July 2023 

Cheryl made a delicious pasta salad with a wonderful dressing for our recent book club: 

As requested, here is the recipe for the pasta salad lemony dressing. Use on your favorite salad! Enjoy!

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C white balsamic

3 T. fresh lemon juice

Minced garlic (to taste)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Notes:

Her pasta salad included pearl mozzarella, tomatoes, orecchiette pasta, and lots of fresh basil - like a Caprese salad with pasta.

Here's a link to a similar recipe (but use her lemony dressing):

https://www.simplyscratch.com/caprese-pasta-salad-2/

Lentil Salad

I purchased a box of steamed lentils from Trader Joes.  I made this salad for a recent pool party/book club.

Ingredients

1 lb bag of Trade Joes Lentils 
1 yellow bell pepper, diced 
1 small celery stick, diced
2 T diced onion
1 green onion, chopped
1 T chopped fresh parsley
Dash of hot sauce
Dash of Cumin and curry powder
Splash of red wine vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz or so of feta cheese

Directions:

In a large bowl, break up with lentils, as they are vacuum sealed and needs to be fluffed up. It's easy to do by hand, rather than by fork.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the feta cheese, and toss to mix.  Gently fold in the feta cheese. 

Place in a serving bowl and top with more feta cheese to finish. 

Notes:

Adjust ingredients if needed. 

Next time I'll use a red bell pepper to add more color. And I may add some diced cherry tomatoes.

I may also make a lemon-dijon dressing the next time I make this.

Loaded Cauliflower Casserole

This is a recipe that my friend Trish made for our 4^th of July party. It’s Keto friendly. Recipe from:  https://www.smalltownwoman.com/loaded-cauliflower-casserole/
 
12 Servings 
 
Ingredients:

2 lbs cauliflower florets cut in bite size pieces
1 box (8 ounces) cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese finely shredded
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese finely shredded
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
6 slices crispy cooked bacon coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (reserve one tablespoon for the top)
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
 
Directions:

Steam the cauliflower until fork tender; approximately 10 minutes. Drain well in a colander.
 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
 
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix until creamy and smooth. Gently stir in cauliflower, 1/2 of the bacon, and chives. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
 
Spoon into a casserole dish and top with the remaining bacon. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Top with remaining chives and serve.