Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

I had baking and other things to do yesterday, so I decided that something in the slow cooker was in order.  In looking at slow cooker recipes online, I happened upon one that was for a turkey breast.  I thought it would be far enough away from Thanksgiving to have turkey.  I decided to make it more-or-less how I would make a turkey for Thanksgiving, herbs and all, and was impressed by the results.  The turkey was moist and had a good flavor, just without the oven being tied up for hours.

Serves 4

1/2 onion, cut into pieces
2 sprigs fresh thyme
9-10 fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 cups water
2-3 lbs turkey breast with bone and skin
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Scatter onion pieces over bottom of slow cooker.  Add thyme, sage, garlic salt, and water.  Place turkey on top of this and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook turkey on low for 7-8 hours.  Remove from slow cooker carefully, as turkey will likely fall apart.  Cut into pieces to serve. 
3. If desired, reserve broth for another use.  Use a slotted spoon to remove onion pieces and herbs, then pour broth into a container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

I still had squash sitting on my counter from the last CSA delivery, so I decided to try making homemade ravioli.  I have only had this as a frozen entree and I figured if it tastes good even frozen, I might as well take a swing at it. I made my own pasta dough for this ravioli, but the internet assures me that wonton wrappers can also be used if you don't want to take the time to make pasta.  Overall the nutty flavor of the onions and the creaminess of the squash really worked together.

Makes

Butternut squash
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup coarsely chopped onion (about one small)
Dash salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Fresh Pasta or wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
Desired sauce (I used alfredo, but sage butter sauce like this one would also be fantastic)

1. Prepare butternut squash using same technique as used on pumpkin here. Puree can be made and refrigerated a couple of days in advance.
2. Melt butter over low heat in a small skillet.  Add onions and cook--still over low heat--until onions are caramelized.  Resist the urge to turn up the heat here; the low slow cooking gives the onions a nutty sweet flavor that cannot be rushed.  This caramelization can take 20-30 minutes.  You can use this time to do something else, but be sure to stir the onions every few minutes so they cook evenly.  Once onions are uniformly brown and very soft, remove from heat.
3. In bowl of a food chopper, mince sage.  Add caramelized onions and process until paste forms.  Add squash and cheese; process until well combined.
4. If using pasta, roll pasta out thinly.  Using a circle cutter, cut rounds of dough.  Place enough filling to fill but not too much as to have trouble sealing in center of rounds.
5. If using wontons, flatten wrapper on counter.  Place filling in the center.
6. Brush edge of wrapper or pasta with egg-water mixture.  Seal edges with fork or fingers.  If making immediately, drop ravioli into boiling water.  If storing raviolis, place on cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.  To store, freeze ravioli on cookie sheet until solid and then store in airtight container until ready to use.
7.  Boil ravioli for 3-5 minutes or until they begin to float.  Remove from water with a slotted spoon as they float up.  Serve with desired sauce.

Breakfast Pizza

This breakfast pizza is like an entire breakfast on a crust.  I use a whole wheat crust because I think it tastes like toast, then top it with all the breakfast things I like most.  It might sound like it takes a long time, but a lot of it is baking time.  I like to make it on days when I intend to be home in the morning--Labor Day this time, but I have also made it for New Year's Day or Christmas--so the time is less of an issue.  Notice that the tags of this recipe include the ingredients in the gravy.

Serves 4-8

1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 batch sausage gravy
1 raw potato
4 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded pizza cheese

1. In large mixing bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in water.  Allow to puff for 5 minutes.  Add oil and whole wheat flour.  Stir well to form a batter.  Add enough of the all-purpose flour to make a stiff dough.  Turn onto floured surface and knead until it is smooth and hard to fold.  Cover with inverted bowl and allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. If gravy is not made, make gravy.  Set aside.
3. Shred potato into very cold water.  Remove shredded potato to paper towels and cover with more paper towels.  Apply pressure to squeeze out excess water.  Set aside.
4. Scramble eggs with the 2 tablespoons water.  I do this in a microwave-safe bowl, but you can also do it in a skillet on the stovetop.  Set aside.
5. Grease 16-inch round pizza pan.  Stretch the whole wheat pizza crust dough between your hands until it covers the bottom of the pizza pan.  Bake crust in a 375 degree oven for 5 minutes.
6. While crust is still hot, smooth gravy evenly over it.  Sprinkle evenly with shredded potato and scrambled eggs.  Top with cheeses and put back to bake in 375 degree oven.  Bake another 20-30 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.  Allow pizza to cool for 5 minutes before cutting.  Cut into wedges and serve hot.

Sausage Manicotti

With a lot of herbs to use and some free time in the afternoon, a more complicated dinner seemed in order.  The way I made this dish it took some time, but notice that there are substitutions listed.  Making this dish with sausage and marinara, it has a lot of flavor from a lot of different herbs.  It was just a nice bonus that it also got rid of a lot of my excess herbs.  Notice that the tags of this post are for all of the ingredients, including what is in the sausage and the marinara.

Serves 3

1/2 batch fresh sage sausage or 8 oz sausage
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 egg
7 manicotti noodles
1 1/2 cup marinara without meat or canned marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Brown sausage in skillet.  Place crumbles in heatproof bowl and cool for 5 minutes.
2. Stir Parmesan cheese, ricotta, and garlic salt into sausage crumbles.  Add egg and mix well.  If necessary, refrigerate until you are ready to use.
3. Cook noodles according to package directions.  Undercook noodles slightly.  Rinse noodles in cold water and allow to sit in cold water until used.
4. Placing your hand over one end of the noodle, spoon filling into other end.  The filling does not need to reach your hand.  When one end is full, flip and place your hand over full end and fill the other end of the noodle.  Full noodle should be placed in a greased 8-inch square glass pan.  Fill remaining noodles in this manner and place in one layer in pan.
5. When all noodles are full, pour sauce over filled noodles.  Smooth sauce over noodles and top with cheese.
6. Bake manicotti in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and brown.  Serve hot.

Fresh Sage Sausage

I still had a bunch of fresh sage leftover from last week and from even later.  Fresh sage keeps pretty well, I have learned, but this was really needing to be used.  I chose to brown it in crumbles to use in manicotti and to make more sausage gravy (as I might have mentioned, I plan almost to a fault; I have a plan for each of these) but it can easily be made into patties and served as breakfast.  Without the preservatives, this sausage really shines with herb flavor.

Makes 1 lb

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Generous dash ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 pound ground pork

1. Toss mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, ground black pepper, sage, and brown sugar together in the bottom of a mixing bowl.  Crumble ground pork over spices and mix until well combined.
2. In large skillet, brown seasoned meat.  If making patties, shape into patties and brown in skillet until done. 

Week 13 Box

I didn't do a great job with using last week's box, so this week the goal is to get it gone before another box shows up. We'll see how that goes.

• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Okra
• Green peppers
• Sage
• Thyme
• Tarragon
  

Roasted Cornish Game Hens

I have always wanted to try making Cornish game hens.  When sage and rosemary appeared in the box this week, I thought I would make something chicken and potatoes.  One of our grocery stores had twin packs of game hens on sale and I figured now was as good a time as any to try them.  I don't really know how you would eat them delicately--since I always imagined them being something you would eat at a fancy restaurant--but my husband thought they tasted awfully good.

Serves 2

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 small onion, quartered and separated into sections
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh sage, plus two leaves for garnish
1/2 lemon, cut into slices
2 Cornish game hens (2-3 lbs total)
1/2 cup water
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Grease a roaster or dutch oven.  Line the bottom of the roaster with onion, celery, garlic, rosemary, sage, and lemon slices. 
2. Brush game hens with softened butter.  Place game hens over vegetables in roaster.  Flatten sage leaf over breast of hens, if using, and brush sage with butter.  Any leftover butter can be dropped into roaster around game hens.  Sprinkle hens with salt and pepper and pour water around hens in roaster.
3. Roast game hens in 375 degree oven, uncovered, for 1 hour or until thigh meat tests done.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.  Discard vegetables for serving.

Week 10 Box

I've been sick the past few days, so you might notice that the entries have less of a description of what the food tastes like.  Mostly I have been tasting metallic, so I don't really feel comfortable talking about how things taste.  The vegetables in the box this week look really good, though.

• Potatoes
• Onions
• Okra
• Zucchini
• Grape tomatoes (those are from my bushes)
• Sage
• Basil

Sausage Gravy

My mom used to make sausage gravy for breakfast some Saturdays.  Making it for dinner is still fantastic.  I might have changed the recipe a bit from Mom's--I threw in a lot of the herbs I still had in the refrigerator from the CSA--but the idea is still the same and it's still delicious.

Serves 4

10 oz package sausage
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
2 tablespoons fresh sage, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.

1. In a large skillet, brown sausage over medium heat until done.  Try to chop the sausage into the smallest pieces possible.  Leave on heat.
2. Toss flour with sausage until evenly distributed.  Stir in herbs.  Pour about 1/2 cup milk into sausage and stir to loosen.  Add another 1/2 cup and stir again.  Add remaining milk and stir well.
3. Stirring constantly, continue to cook and stir over medium heat until gravy is bubbly and thick.  If thinner gravy is desired, add more milk.  For thicker gravy, mix another tablespoon of milk with 1/4 cup milk and add to gravy. 
4. Once desired consistency is reached, serve immediately (gravy will thicken if left standing).  Pairs well with biscuits (as shown below), grits, or potatoes.

Tortellini with Sage and Brown Butter

During CSA season last year, I heard a lot about the virtues of the sage/brown butter sauce.  In the interest of full-disclosure, I'll mention that I did try to make it last year and ended up burning the sage.  Needless to say, brown butter cannot be used to brown bacon.  Try number two tasted a lot less like burned leaves.

Serves 2-4
Small bag dried cheese tortellini
1 cup snap peas, cut in half
1/8 cup finely chopped sage
2 garlic scapes, finely sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

1. Cook tortellini according to package directions.  In last 3 minutes of cooking, add snap peas and cook all until done.  Drain and set aside.
2. In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt butter.  Cook butter until it turns frothy and butter begins to brown, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic scapes and sage.  Cook and stir until garlic is cooked and sage is crispy.  Remove from heat.
3. Squeeze lemon half over pan to release 1-2 tablespoons of juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well.  Add cooked tortellini and snap peas to brown butter sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for serving.

Week 3 Box

The amounts in this week's box were of a more-manageable size, which I appreciate. It has been extremely hot and humid here, so I would think the summer vegetables are growing early and the late-spring ones are probably dying early.  It also means that this week's box contained a lot of herbs.  Using those will be a special challenge.

• Spinach (smaller quantity)
• Snap peas
• Lettuce
• Collard greens
• Sage
• Dill
• Thyme
• Oregano