Helpful Hint: Bell Peppers

I was told by Alicia (she helped Kim and I start this co-op) that you can cut up your bell peppers the way you like them [strips or diced]. Place in baggies and freeze until you are ready to use them.

Josh and I tried this for fajitas last Friday and it turned out great!

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread/Muffins

6 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
15 ounce can pumpkin
1 1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2 Tablespoons vanilla
6 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cloves
4 cups shredded zucchini (uses ~4)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixing bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, and sugar. Add pumpkin, applesauce, coconut oil and vanilla.

In separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Slowly add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in shredded zucchini.

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon for topping in small bowl.

FOR BREAD:
Pour 1/2 batter into 4 greased 9x5-inch bread pans. Sprinkle 1/2 cinnamon sugar on top of each loaf evenly across 4 pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pans and carefully remove to wire rack.

FOR MUFFINS (my fave!):
Pour batter into greased muffin pans to about 3/4 full (or a little more if you like more muffin top). Sprinkle top of each muffin with cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes in pans and carefully remove to wire rack.

It made 36 muffins.

Sample Farmington Produce Co-op Basket

You may be curious what our co-op has to offer and what kind of savings you can receive from it. I took pictures of one week's basket:

We pay $17.00 for our basket each week. I did some price-matching at Smith's; it would have cost $26.72 to purchase the same produce from this particular basket.

Black Bean Quinoa

Black Bean Quinoa

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

¾ cup uncooked quinoa

1 ½ cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn

2 cans black beans, drained

½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion and sauté until lightly browned.

Mix quinoa into saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir frozen corn into saucepan and continue to simmer 5 minutes, until heated through. Mix in black beans and cilantro.

Honey Orange Glazed Acorn Squash

I suppose you could do this with our butternut squash too...

Honey-Orange Glazed Acorn Squash

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
2 medium acorn squash
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice

Stir together butter, sugar, and honey until smooth.

Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds and membrane. Arrange squash, cut sides up, on roasting pan. Spread half of butter mixture evenly on cut sides of squash. Bake squash uncovered, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Stir together  remaining butter mixture, zest, and juice in small saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter melts and brush half of orange-butter mixture evenly on squash.

Bake, uncovered, 20 more minutes or unti squash is tender and golden, basting occasionally with remaining orange-butter mixture.

Carefully transfer to a large serving platter. Drizzle with any remaining butter mixture

Pasta e Fagioli

I made this last night and it was a hit so I thought I would share! :)   And for my fellow impatient cooks, I didn't let it simmer 1 hour, it was more like 20-30 minutes and it was still yummy! We only have enough leftover for lunch today so I will double it next time.

 

Pasta e Fagioli

 

 

1 pound ground beef

1-2 large carrot, julienned

3-4 stalks celery, sliced/chopped

1 can red kidney beans, with liquid

1 can great northern beans, with liquid

1 can tomato sauce

1-2 cans V8 juice

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 pound ditali pasta

 

Brown ground beef in large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Add carrot and celery. Saute 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except for pasta and simmer 1 hour.

 

About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook pasta until al dente or slightly tough. Drain.

 

Add pasta to large pot of soup. Simmer 5-10 minutes and serve.

 

We serve with mozzarella on top.

Lori's Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chicken
4 boneless skinless breasts thawed, cut into 2" cubes
1 egg
2 T. good soy sauce
1 c. Flour
3T. Oil
Vegatables
2 carrots cut into matchsticks
1/2 onion coarsely chopped
1/2 green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 can Pineapple cubes in their own juice.
Sauce
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/3c. water
1/3c.good red wine vinegar
Juice from pineapple
2 T. cornstarch

Put cut up chicken in mixture of soy and whisked egg and marinate for at least 30 min. Put chopped veggies in a bowl and set aside.  Drain Pineapple and whisk juice with sauce mixture, save out 1 c. of sauce mixture in another small bowl and whisk it with the cornstarch. Drain some of the soy/egg marinade from the chicken and toss it with the flour until coated. Now you're ready to start cooking!  Heat oil in a large skillet  add chicken nuggets and fry until golden( these are really good "as is" if you ever want plain chicken nuggets!) Remove chicken briefly from pain and stir-fry veggies 1-2 minutes. Add your sauce mixture and bring to a boil.  Add cornstarch mixture and let it thicken, approx 1 minute.Add back chicken and add pineapple. It should be ready to serve!  Great over white rice!