Aly Pearson sent me this recipe for baked oatmeal. It would be great with the fresh blackberries.

It is copied from melskitchencafe.com . (My all time favorite source for recipes!)

Baked Oatmeal

from melskitchencafe.com

*Note (Update 10/2010): Look to the comments to see how others have varied this oatmeal both in applesauce amounts and other creative ways. As for me, I've edited the recipe to use less brown sugar than the original and have substituted half the oil with applesauce. All changes are reflected below!

6 cups oatmeal, either quick or old-fashioned

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup applesauce

2 cups milk

4 beaten eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve with milk and/or fresh fruit.

The recipe can be easily halved and baked in an 8X8-inch pan.

Rachel Christensen sent this recipe for green beans. I've never cooked with shallots, but I'm pretty sure you could substitute for regular onions.

Here is that recipe for green beans.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

• 2 pounds green beans, trimmed

Preparation

Combine vinegar and shallots in heavy small saucepan. Boil over medium heat until most vinegar is absorbed (about 1 tablespoon liquid should remain in pan), stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to small bowl; cool completely. Add butter; mix with fork until blended.

Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Drain. Refresh under cold water; drain. Pat dry with paper towels. (Balsamic-shallot butter and beans can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill.)

Combine beans and balsamic-shallot butter in large nonstick skillet. Toss over medium heat until beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

A Few Recipes

Now that we're back from our little Thanksgiving trip, I'm ready to use the "odd" items from our basket last week. I thought I'd share a few recipes I'm excited to try. And I'm sharing a few tried and true FAVORITES!

Broccoli:
Quick: Cut broccoli to desired size and put into microwave-safe container or ziploc bag. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Add a few pads of butter. Microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on quantity and desired tenderness.

Roasted: Cut pokey stuff off the outside of the stalks. Cut broccoli all the way down the stalks in strips. Put on foil-lined baking sheet sprayed with pam. Spray Broccoli with pam (or coat with olive oil), sprinkle with salt, and other desired seasonings. (I use garlic powder, fresh parmesan cheese, Montreal steak seasoning). Bake on 400 for about 15-20 minutes or until desired tenderness.

Roasted quick method: Microwave broccoli for 2-3 minutes, follow roasting directions, but just low broil until cheese is golden brown, or until broccoli is tender.

Roasted Asparagus:

Wash and break off ends. Either coat with olive oil or spay asparagus with pam after you put it on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with desired seasonings. (I use salt, pepper, fresh parmesan cheese). Bake @ 400 until tender.

Herb Roasted Red Potatoes
(I make these all the time--Easy and yummy!)

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/08/herb-roasted-potatoes.html

Butternut Squash Soup:
(This looks yummy--It will be tonight's dinner. There are all sorts of ways to use butternut squash on allrecipes.com)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-soup-with-a-kick/detail.aspx

A Few Ways to use your Cranberries:
(If you haven't already!)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/orange-cranberry-upside-down-cake/detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/green-salad-with-cranberry-vinaigrette/detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/frosted-cranberries/detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cranberry-orange-loaf/detail.aspx

Cheesesteak Sandwiches

I found this recipe that uses green peppers and yellow onions, both of which we received in this week's basket.  It looks incredible, I think we may have to try it this week. This recipe is courtesy of our best bites cook book.

Cheesesteaks

1 lb. steak (you really can use any cut; since you’re going to slice it up and season it heavily, there’s really no need to splurge on a fillet mignon.)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
Provolone
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Hot sauce (like Tabasco or Cholula; optional, I suppose, but super yummy!)
4-6 Hoagie rolls
Okay, your job here will be made infinitely easier if you have a food processor. THIS recipe is what food processors were made for. One reason some people may not like steak sandwiches is that the steak is cut too thickly. If you have a food processor, you can fit it with the slicing blade, partially/mostly freeze your steak, and get paper-thin slices of steak for your sandwiches. Also, you can slice your onion and green peppers, making this recipe a breeze! As always, you should consult the manufacturer’s instructions to make sure it’s okay to use the food processor to slice meat, but, generally speaking, the rule of thumb is that if you can pierce the meat with the tip of a sharp knife, it’s okay to put it in your food processor.
All righty then, onto the recipe. Slice bell peppers and onions (preferably in the food processor). Set aside. Slice frozen meat (again, food processor). Set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add steak and stir-fry. Season heavily with salt and lots of freshly-ground pepper. When meat is about half-cooked, add peppers and onions. Stir occasionally, cooking until most of the liquid is evaporated and meat is cooked through. Season with hot sauce to taste. For me, I don’t want them super spicy. But I like a little bite. As far as hot sauce goes, Tabasco is not my favorite. Shhhh. Don’t tell my dad or the hot sauce police in my state of residence; I may be shunned forever. I prefer Cholula–it’s not quite as hot, so I can actually taste the flavor of the sauce, not just the heat. I also love that it has a nice smokey flavor to it. And the fact that if I get a little crazy with the hot sauce and add more than 3 drops, I haven’t ruined everything. But I’m also a wuss, so take that into your hot sauce considerations.
Anyway, enough hot sauce yammering. Slice buns and spoon steak mixture inside. Top with cheese and place under broiler for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly toasty. Enjoy!

7.27 Basket

Ughhh......For some reason ordering this time was extremely difficult.  Prices on EVERYTHING seemed way higher than normal.  Things I had a lot of requests for were really expensive.  Anyway here is what we got:

Red delicious apples, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, bananas, kiwi, apricots, canteloupe, yellow onion, green peppers, green leaf lettuce, mushrooms and corn.

I really wanted to get another pineapple because the last one was so good, but the price on those was really high.  I also ordered corn because so many people had requested it, but just an FYI you will only get 2 ears each because they were 2/$1.  Which is not a stellar price, but since everyone wanted it, I decided to order it.  Ok, I think that is all.  See you all tomorrow.

7.13 basket

Hello everyone!  Sorry I have been slacking when it comes to updating the blog and getting the voting up.  This summer has been crazy, fun and busy all rolled into one.  Here is what we got this time:

gala apples, pears, bananas, oranges, pineapple, peaches, plums, mangoes, strawberries, grapefruit, kiwi, tomatoes, red onions, broccoli, romaine lettuce, and celery!

That is 16 items!!!  Prices are outrageous for avocados right now....which I really wanted this time.  See you all tomorrow!

6.15 Basket

Produce is ordered....here is what we got:

Fugi apples, kiwi, strawberries, oranges, mangoes, bananas, red grapes, peaches, cantaloupe, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, red bell peppers, garlic, red potatoes, and zucchini!!!

See you all tomorrow!