Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad with Asparagus

Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad with Asparagus

This salad is refreshing and delicious!  I always make it in the spring when I have asparagus from our own patch.

Ingredients                                                             Serves 8
Dressing:
2 lemons, zested
1/2 c. lemon juice*
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

Orzo Salad:
1 lb. thin-stalked asparagus
4 c. chicken stock
4 c. water
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
3 c. orzo pasta
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions, whites and greens
1 lemon, thinly sliced

*Add more lemon juice directly to the cooled, finished salad if you like a sharper flavor.

DIRECTIONS
Dressing:
1. Place the lemon zest, juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a deep-sided bowl.
2. Add the oil in a thin stream while whisking the mixture vigorously to form an emulsion.  Set aside.

Orzo Salad:
1. Prepare the asparagus and lay the stalks in a heat-resistant 9" x 13" dish.
2. Pour boiling water over the asparagus, cover with plastic wrap and let sit until the water is slightly warm.  This no-fuss method produces perfectly cooked asparagus.
3. Remove the asparagus to your cutting board and cut diagonally in one inch pieces.  Set aside.
4. Place the chicken stock and 4 cups water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add the salt and tumeric and bring back to a boil.
5. Add the orzo and cook until tender - about 8 - 10 minutes.
6. Drain orzo but do not rinse.
7. Place the hot orzo in a spacious, heat-resistant bowl and add the asparagus and green onions.  Whisk the dressing if needed and pour it over the salad.  Mix well.
8. This salad is good hot, warm, or cold.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

My friend, Joan Thompson, gave me this recipe.  It is very quick and easy to put together and bake and is sooooo delicious!!!  You won't be disappointed.  Here's the recipe.

3/4 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 unbaked 9" pie shell
2 1/2 c. blueberries

Topping:

3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
5 Tbsp chopped pecans
1 tsp sugar

Combine sugar, sour cream, flour, vanilla, salt and egg and beat for five minutes.  Fold in the blueberries.  Put in unbaked 9" pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

For topping, combine ingredients, then sprinkle on top of the pie after it has baked 25 minutes.  Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Chill before serving.

Classic Texas Caviar

This recipe came from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 (15.8 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained

1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained

2 fresh jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and minced

1 small onion, cut into small dice

1/2 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into small dice

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

6 Tbsp red wine vinegar

6 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl; cover and refrigerate 2 hours or up to 2 days.  Before serving, adjust seasonings to taste, adding extra vinegar and salt and pepper.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Serve with corn chips.  This will keep for days in the refrigerator, if it lasts that long.

Variations:  You can use any beans you want.  I used one can of black beans and one can of garbanzo beans.  I substituted green pepper for the yellow pepper.  I also add a can of shoepeg corn if you can find it, or a can of regular sweet corn.  If you don't have wine vinegar, cider works just as well.  For some reason, I like to add a fresh diced tomato.  If the bunch of cilantro is small, I add the whole thing. (More cilantro is good, in my book)  I added an additional jalapeno pepper last time I made it and it was good.

2/13/13

A light bulb finally went on in my head as I was laying in bed last night.  I've been trying to figure out what kind of pie I want to make for the Habitat for Humanity pie auction on Saturday, February 23rd.  I was wanting something different.  Now, I have it!  However, I will have to try it out ahead of time to see if it will hold up long enough to take out to the pie auction at the Community Building.

This recipe comes from my mother, Gladys Arndorfer.  She usually makes it while wintering in Texas, where the grapefruit are fresh and plentiful.  It is a delicious, unusual, and refreshing fruit pie.

Grapefruit Pie

One baked 9" pie crust

Filling:
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. water (skimp a little)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch (be generous) 
1/8 tsp. salt
1 3-oz box dry strawberry jello
3 grapefruit, sectioned and membranes removed*
Whipped Topping

Cook sugar, water, cornstarch and salt until thick and clear, then add the jello and stir until dissolved.  Gently stir in broken sections of the grapefruit and pour into baked shell.  Chill until set.  Top with whipped topping.

*If you are not familiar with the procedure to easily peel and section the grapefruit, there is a You Tube video available.

Comment:  I made two pies to see how it would hold up but found that it wasn't going to hold up for the pie auction.  I had problems with the filling leaking under the crust due to the holes I poked in the crust before baking so it wouldn't bubble up.  On the second pie I even chilled the filling before putting it in the cooled crust, but it still leaked through the holes. While it is a good-tasting pie, it didn't turn out as pretty as I'd hoped and the whipped cream wanted to go flat.  It would be best to put the whipped cream on the slices of pie just before serving it.

I tried a Greek dressing recipe tonight and we found that we like it.  It's easy to mix up, but it is quite spicy so use it sparingly.  I halved the recipe.

Greek Dressing

1 c. olive oil
1 c. red wine vinegar
2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Dijon-style mustard

Mix together and shake well.

Comment:  We decided this was a little too "vinegary" so maybe reducing the red wine vinegar to 3/4 cup might be better.

1/27/13

Since I knew, according to the weather forecasters,  I was going to be iced-in today,  I planned to try some new recipes for Banana Breakfast Cookies.  I tried three recipes, all which tasted pretty much the same, except for the recipe that has cinnamon in it, which is the one I like most.  I have another recipe to try except that I ran out of oatmeal!   This recipe initially called for one ripe banana and 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce.  I figured since I had bananas to use and to give it more banana flavor, I added the additional banana and disregarded the applesauce.  I used Rice Krispies in my recipe.  Here is the recipe I like most.

Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast Cookies

4 T butter, softened

1 c. light or dark brown suger

2 eggs

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 c. chunky peanut butter

3/4 c whole wheat flour

3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. rolled oats

1 c. whole grain cheerios or crisp rice cereal

1 c. additional add-ins like dried fruits, nuts, coconut or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.  

Cream butter, brown sugar and bananas with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs and mix until combined.  Add vanilla and peanut butter and mix well.  

In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix just until combined.  Stir in rolled oats, Cheerios or Rice Krispies, and other add-ins.

Using 1/4 measuring cup or spoon, place 1/4 cup portions about two inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat.  Press down on each cookie to slightly flatten.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until edges are slightly browned.

Remove and cool on a wire rack.  Makes about 24 cookies. 

Cookies will keep up to three days in an airtight container or up to one month in the freezer.

Recipe taken from http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com