This is a print preview of "Week 25, Vol I, December 25, 2009" recipe.

Week 25, Vol I, December 25, 2009 Recipe
by Cari Snell

This week's recipes and shopping list includes:

Dinners of the Week:

Turkey Pot Pie

Goat Cheese and Salmon Risotto

Quick Pizza Dough with Your Choice of Toppings

Slow Cooker Brisket

Hearty Winter Baked Ziti

Dessert of the Week:

Key Lime Pie

Snack of the Week:

Pure Maple Granola Bars

Dinner One: Turkey Pot Pie

Recipe from Damion of The Urban Spork

Prep Time: 20 min/Total Time: 45 min. Serves 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: A fabulous way to use up left over turkey, this dish is tasty and convenient as you can throw in a variety of leftover vegetables and make the topping with either prepared puff pastry or pie crust.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 tablespoons flour

4 cups stock (turkey or chicken)

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups shredded cooked turkey

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 prepared puff pastry or pie crust

egg wash – 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion until tender. Stir in celery and carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes and simmer until tender.

Stir in turkey, parsley and peas. Pour mixture into baking dish.

Top mixture with puff pastry (or pie crust) and brush with egg wash. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until crust is golden. If your puff pastry looks nicely browned and puffed, but collapses when removed from the oven, it hasn’t been baked long enough – either raise the temperature and/or bake longer.

Dinner Two: Goat Cheese and Salmon Risotto

Recipe by Dianne of Diannes Dishes

Prep Time: 15 min/Total Time: 30 min. Serves 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: Risotto is very much the mix and match dish. You could use thyme, rosemary or any other herb that strikes your fancy instead of dill. You could use chicken, scallops or shrimp instead of salmon. You could even make a completely vegetarian option using other veggies in place of meat. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4 button mushrooms, chopped

a pinch of sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1-2 teaspoons of dried dill

1 cup of Arborio rice

2 – 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth and/or water

2 cups of green peas

1 ½ -2 cups (10 - 12 ounces) of baked salmon*

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of goat cheese, crumbled

(*Note: Bake salmon fillet with a little olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and some dried dill for 8-10 minutes at 350 F until it's done through and then flake the fillet with a fork.)

Directions:

In a large skillet sauté onion and mushrooms until tender with a little sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper and dried dill. (Note: I like to add more dill, but if you want you can add less.) Add Arborio rice and stir into the onions and mushrooms to mix.

Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice, to toast the rice a bit.

Next add enough broth or water to cover the Arborio rice.

Bring to a quick boil then reduce to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. (Note: You may need to add more liquid as the risotto cooks. I usually start out with broth and then add 1 cup of water as needed as the process goes along. On this dish I ended up only adding 1 additional cup of water, but sometimes it may take two or three more additions of water or broth until the rice is tender.)

Add the peas and salmon and stir to mix and heat through. Remove risotto from the heat and stir in Parmesan and goat cheese until melted and let risotto sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Dinner Three: Quick Pizza Dough with Your Choice of Toppings

Recipe from Kelly Rudnicki’s Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book

Prep Time: 15 min/Total Time: 40 min. Makes one 14-inch or six mini pizzas.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: Ridiculously easy to throw together, this dough can be frozen for up to two months when wrapped well and placed in a re-sealable freezer bag.

Ingredients - Dough:

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)

1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

Ingredients – Toppings:

1 small can of tomato or pizza sauce

pizza toppings of your choice

1 to 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the yeast and warm water with a wire whisk, and set aside. In the bowl of a sand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the sugar, salt, olive oil, and flour with the yeast mixture for about 1 minute, or until combined. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a floured board, and kneed about 15 times. Cut into desired portions.

Place the dough on a nonstick baking pan. Top as desired and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the topping is warmed through.

Dinner Four: Slow Cooker Brisket with Rice and Carrots

Recipe from Asch of Foodbuzz Community

Prep Time: 30 min/Total Time: 4 - 8 hours. Serves 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: Prep this meal the night before, refrigerate then place it in the slow cooker the next day at the appropriate time. Make rice and carrots when you get home and dinner is served!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 1/2 – 4 pound Beef Brisket, trimmed of excess fat

1/4 cup olive oil

2 thinly sliced yellow onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 cups rice

6 large carrots

Directions:

On a large plate stir together flour, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Coat the brisket evenly with the flour mixture, shaking off the excess; reserve the remaining flour mixture. In a large frying pan over high heart, warm the oil. Add the brisket, fattier side down, and cook until browned on the bottom, about 7 minutes. Turn the brisket over and brown the second side, about 7 minutes longer. Transfer the brisket, fat side up, to the slow cooker.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the frying pan and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and cayenne and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the reserved flour mixture and cook for 1 minute longer. Pour in the broth and vinegar. Raise the heat to high, bring to boil and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the pan bottom. Add the sugar and tomato paste and stir until evenly blended. Pour over the brisket.

Cover and cook on high heat setting for 3-4 hours or low heat setting for 6-8 hours. The meat should be very tender when pierced with a fork.

Prepare rice and carrots.

Transfer brisket to a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, skim off the excess fat from the surface of the sauce. Slice the meat across the grain. Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve.

Dinner Five: Hearty Winter Baked Ziti

Recipe by Colleen of Foodie Tots

Prep Time: 15 min/Total Time: 60 min. Recipe adjusted to serve 4.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: If you choose to, spinach can be substituted for the kale. To make this meal vegetarian, use ground round instead of sausage and add a little more salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (225 grams) ziti noodles

1/2 cup kale leaves, torn

6 ounces Italian sausage, crumbled (if using links, remove casing and dice)

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2 small yellow onion

2 small carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1 (14 ounce can) crushed tomatoes

salt and pepper

1/2 pound (454 grams) whole milk ricotta

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, Romano and parmesan cheeses

Directions:

Bring water to boil in a large stock pot.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until evenly browned. Remove sausage from pan and set aside, covered.

Lower heat to medium low and add garlic and onion. Cook 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add carrots and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in oregano, sausage and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt if your sausage is already salty).

While sauce simmers, cook pasta for 6 minutes (or 2/3 of minimum recommended cooking), adding kale for the last minute. Drain.

Stir together pasta, kale, ricotta and 1/2 of the sauce. Pour into 9×13-inch baking pan. Pour remaining sauce over top, then spead shredded cheeses evenly over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until cheese is golden.

Dessert of the Week: Key Lime Pie

Prep Time: *30 min/Total Time: 45 min. Makes one 10 inch pie.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: This pie is delightfully simple to make and delicious. If you can’t find any key limes, you can substitute regular limes instead. *Prep time reduced to 15 minutes if you use bottled key lime juice.

Ingredients - Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter or you can cheat and buy 1 (10 inch) pie crust

Ingredients - Filling:

1 (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk or lite condensed milk

3 egg yolks (keep whites for meringue)

2/3 cup key lime juice (fresh or bottled)

Ingredients - Meringue:

3 egg whites

5 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon key lime juice

Directions - Filling:

Mix condensed milk and egg yolks. Add key lime juice. Mix. Pour in pie crust.

Directions - Meringue:

Combine egg whites and lime juice in a bowl. Beat until foamy with electric mixer. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Beat at high speed until the white forms stiff peaks. Spoon onto filling.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven 10 to 15 minutes or until brown.

Snack of the Week: Pure Maple Granola Bars

Recipe from Marcy Goldman’s The New Best of BetterBaking.com

Prep Time: 20 min/Total Time: 40 min. Makes 12 – 16 bars.

Can I Get the Recipe Tip: These bars are extremely satisfying and resoundingly maple-y. They must be refrigerated or frozen before cutting. Maple extract intensifies the maple flavor, but it can be omitted if you have a hard time finding it. Pure maple syrup is a must.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 7- by 11-inch brownie pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla and maple extracts. Stir to blend. Stir in the egg, then stir in all the remaining ingredients. Pat the mixture into the prepared pan.

Place the pan on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top seems set and dry. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze or refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into squares.

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