February 16, 2021

Recipe: One-Pot Beefy Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb lean ground beef

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups (40 oz) chicken broth

1 can (14.5 oz) petit diced tomatoes

1 can (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

½ cup (4 oz) dry white wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

¾ tsp dried oregano

10 dry lasagna noodles, broken into pieces

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz whole milk ricotta cheese

½ cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

extra chopped fresh parsley for serving

Directions

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and crumble in the ground beef, stir occasionally. Cook for 7-10 minutes or until the meat is browned. Season with some salt & pepper. Mix in the garlic.

Add the chicken broth, diced & crushed tomatoes, puree, wine and herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles. Reduce heat to a simmer and place the lid on. Continue to cook for about 20 minutes or until the noodles are cooked to your liking.

While the soup is cooking combine the ricotta and parmesan. Slice the mozzarella.

Spoon portions of soup into oven safe bowls. Top with a dollop of the ricotta mixture and mozzarella. Broil for 3 minutes or until browned to your liking. Serve hot, topped with parsley and basil.

~ Marla Meridith

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November 30, 2020

Recipe: Vegan Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped zucchini

1 cup chopped sweet potato

2 cups chopped brussels sprouts

1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes

6 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 15 ounce can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp dry white wine

1 tbsp chopped italian parsley

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

7 oz orzo or small pasta, cooked to package directions

Directions

Cook pasta to package directions, drain and set aside.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrots, zucchini, sweet potato and Brussels sprouts. Cook 6-8 minutes (until fragrant and softened) stirring occasionally so veggies don’t stick to the pot.

Add in the broth, diced tomatoes, wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. In the last few minutes stir in the beans, rosemary and parsley.

Place some pasta in each bowl and ladle soup into bowls.

~ Marla Meridith

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October 20, 2020

Recipe: Sheet Pan Roasted Veggies with Feta

Ingredients

2 broccoli crowns, sliced into florets

1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

½ red onion, sliced

½ zucchini, sliced into half moons

½ lemon, cut into slices

1 8 ounce block of feta cheese

6 mini bell peppers, sliced in half

¼ cup olive oil

sea salt, pepper and dried oregano

Directions

Pre heat oven to 400˚ Fahrenheit.

Slice all the veggies, lemon and feta. Place on an unlined sheet pan in a single layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with quinoa, rice or pasta.

~ Marla Meridith

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August 6, 2020

Recipe: Strawberry Almond Baklava

Ingredients

4 cups fresh strawberries, quartered

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, divided

¾ cup water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp cornstarch (if needed to thicken)

1 (16 ounce) package phyllo pastry dough

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted

1 cup slivered almonds

½ cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit with the rack in the middle.

In a saucepan, heat the strawberries with 3/4 cup sugar, water, lemon juice, vanilla and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer, cooking for 30 minutes until the sauce thickens into a jammy consistency. Whisk in the cornstarch if needed. Set aside to cool and thicken a bit more.

Brush the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with melted butter, add a layer of phyllo pastry, brush with more butter and add another layer of dough. Do this until you have 6 layers of pastry dough lining the dish.

Layer on a thin layer of the strawberries and then the almonds. Place a layer of phyllo dough, then some melted butter. Do this for 5 layers of dough. Continue these layers until you have 3 layers of strawberries/almonds, always brushing melted butter in between layers of phyllo dough. For the top layer, use 10 sheets of phyllo dough brushing butter between each. Brush the top layer with butter too. Score/slice the dough with a sharp knife into desired portions.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Top with 1/2 of the syrup and let cool. Serve with more syrup.

While the baklava is baking make the maple sauce. Boil the remainder of the granulated sugar (1/2 cup) with the maple syrup, the rest of the cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves into the maple syrup forming a syrup.

~ Marla Meridith

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July 20, 2020

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.

Place the peanut butter, sugar and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until well combine.

Make small balls (about 1 1/2 inches) with your hands and evenly space apart on the baking sheet. Using the back of a fork make a criss- cross pattern on each cookie.

Bake for 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before enjoying.

~ Marla Meridith

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July 16, 2020

Recipe: Quick Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs ripe tomatoes

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ lb whole wheat spaghetti

¼ cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for topping

freshly grated parmesan for serving

Directions

While the pasta is cooking. Roughly chop 2/3 of the tomatoes. Over a large bowl, grate the rest of the tomatoes using the large holes of a box grater.

Combine the chopped and grated tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, sugar, garlic and pepper in the large bowl. Let rest 10 minutes for the flavors to combine.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Immediately place the pasta back into the pasta pot.

Add the tomato sauce into the pasta with the 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid. Cook over medium heat until hot and the cooking liquid is absorbed. Mix in the 1/4 cup chopped basil during the last minute.

Serve immediately with more basil and parmesan cheese.

~ Marla Meridith

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July 10, 2020

Recipe: Skillet Banana Bread with Double-Crumb Topping

Ingredients

Banana Bread

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

¾ cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, room temperature

3 medium sized very ripe bananas, mashed (to equal 1 1/4 cups)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

Double-Crumble Topping

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚ with the rack in the middle.
Grease a 10″ cast iron skillet (or any heatproof skillet) with butter or vegetable oil.

For the Banana Bread

Melt the butter and let it cool to room temperature. Mix the cooled butter with the brown sugar in a large bowl. Mix in the egg, mashed banana and vanilla.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in another bowl.

Add the banana mixture into the flour mixture, combining well. Do not over mix.

Transfer the batter into the prepared skillet, smooth with top with the back of a spoon or spatula. Top with the crumble, pressing the crumble gently down into the batter with your fingers. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out virtually crumb free. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

For the Double-Crumble Topping

Combine the sugars, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add the flour and stir with a rubber spatula until mostly combine. Using clean fingers, mix until everything is well combined.

~ Marla Meridith

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July 7, 2020

Recipe: Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and cooked to package directions

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 large English hothouse cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 orange, yellow or red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

½ chopped red onion

1 pt cherry tomatoes, quartered

6 oz crumbled feta cheese

1 (15 ounce can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

⅔ cup chopped Italian parsley

½ cup chopped fresh mint

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cook quinoa to package directions with the 1/2 tsp salt. Transfer cooked quinoa to a large bowl, fluff with a fork and let cool to room temperature.

Dressing: Whisk lemon juice and garlic powder in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil.

Toss the cooled quinoa with the dressing veggies, chickpeas, feta, mint and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

~ Marla Meridith

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July 2, 2020

Recipe: Skillet Brown Sugar Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp Kosher salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup whole milk

1 cup + 1 tbsp light brown sugar

juice from 1 lemon

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups fresh blueberries

Serve with

freshly whipped cream

vanilla ice cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350˚ Fahrenheit with the rack in the middle. Melt the butter in the oven in a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Remove from the oven when it’s melted.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl combine the milk, vanilla, lemon juice and 1 cup of the brown sugar. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until smooth. Toss the blueberries with 1 tbsp of brown sugar. Pour the batter into the buttered skillet. Top with the blueberries.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes then serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

~ Marla Meridith

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June 30, 2020

Recipe: Triple Berry Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp Kosher salt

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 ¼ cups whole milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ lb 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 cup fresh blueberries

½ cup chopped strawberries

½ cup raspberries

turbinado sugar for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with liners.

Whisk together the dry ingredients: both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. In another bowl mix together both sugars, melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Fold in the berries.

Place 1/3 cup batter in each muffin cup. Top with Turbinado (coarse sugar) Bake for 20-25 minutes. Insert a wooden skewer in the center and if it comes out virtually crumb free then the muffins are done. Let cool a few minutes then transfer the muffins to racks to cool completely.

~ Marla Meridith

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June 25, 2020

Recipe: Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

Ingredients

12 oz Cavatappi, macaroni or bow tie pastacook to package directions, rinse in cold water when done

1 (8.4 oz) pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

1 (8 oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil, no need to drain the oil

1 cup chopped red onion

1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped

2 cups baby spinach

2 tbsp freshly chopped basil

2 tbsp freshly chopped Italian parsley

5 oz shaved parmesan cheese

Champagne Vinaigrette

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup Champagne vinegar

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 pinch granulated sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cook pasta to package directions. Drain and toss with cold water. Set aside.

Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients.

Toss everything together in a very large serving bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

~ Marla Meridith

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June 22, 2020

Recipe: Mason Jar Ice Cream (No-Churn!)

Ingredients

Base Ingredients (Vanilla Ice Cream)

½ cup chilled heavy cream

2 tsp granulated sugar

¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

1 salt

Chocolate

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Maple Walnut (Omit Granulated Sugar)

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

¼ cup chopped walnuts

S’mores

¼ cup chopped chocolate, crushed graham crackers, mini marshmallows

Mint Chip

¼ cup chocolate chips

¼ tsp peppermint extract

Strawberry (or any fruit)

¼ cup chopped fresh strawberries

More Mix-Ins

nutella, caramel, dulce de leche, m&m’s, fruit jam, peanut butter, instant coffee, etc.

Directions

Pour all of the ingredients for the flavor you want into a clean pint-sized (8 ounce) mason jar. Shake for 3 minutes. Freeze for at least 3 hours. Let sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.

~ Marla Meridith

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