The Well Floured Kitchen

Shallot Parsley Butter

Posted on May 23, 2013 | 5 Comments

Herb Butter. A quick and delicious way to crank up the flavor on so many foods. I chose shallots because they have a delicate onion flavor that is not overwhelming. Parsley is a pretty innocuous herb that has a bright fresh flavor. (Can an herb be innocuous? If you saw how my husband reacts to thyme you may start to think so.)

Some places I might use this butter:

on top of a baked potato
to fry an egg
as a sauce for pasta
a topping for crostini
on top of steamed veggies
on top of sauteed chicken
corn on the cob

So many choices. And so versatile, try other herbs, whatever is growing in your garden. (If thyme is innocuous in your house- go for it, I will come visit). Here’s another reason to make herb butter. Did you ever buy a bunch of parsley(or any herb) for one recipe and then can’t figure out what to do with it before it goes bad? Roll it into butter and you can store it in the freezer. Continue reading →

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Posted in Condiments, Recipes

Tagged butter, Condiments, flavored butters, herbs, parsley, shallots

Italian Meatballs in Red Sauce and Exploring BPA Free Tomato Choices

Posted on May 20, 2013 | 5 Comments

Surely I can’t give you a recipe for meatball sandwiches, without providing a recipe for the meatballs themselves. I know it’s May, and you may be thinking that you don’t want a pot of meatballs and tomato sauce simmering all day in a hot kitchen. No worries, this recipe is for your slow cooker to do the work.

But first lets talk about the tomatoes…

Everyone loves a juicy summer tomato, and they absolutely make the best tomato sauce. So clearly the best choice would be to can your own organic tomatoes each summer to enjoy year round. Realistically my garden doesn’t produce enough tomatoes(yet!) for a year’s worth of sauce, and canning takes an enormous amount of effort that many people may not have time for.

So here are some options for the rest of us.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Dinner, Real Food, Recipes

Tagged bpa, italian, meatballs, tomato sauce

Open Faced Italian Meatball Sandwich with Pepper Pesto and Provolone

Posted on May 16, 2013 | 1 Comment

Meatball subs. I love em’, meatballs are definitely one of my comfort foods. But seriously who can eat them without making a mess? They practically demand that you drip sauce down your chin. And my 7 year old wearing his clean baseball uniform? That was a recipe for disaster, so these open faced sandwiches were my solution.

The kids immediately asked if they should use a fork to eat them. Umm..yes, please don’t try to balance a round meatball on a flat piece of bread. Continue reading →

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Posted in Dinner, Recipes

Tagged bread, meatballs, pesto. provolone, sandwiches

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto with Sunflower Seeds

Posted on May 14, 2013 | 8 Comments

Traditionally pesto is made with pine nuts. I do love pine nuts, but wow have they gotten pricey lately. So I decided to switch things up with a little more affordable choice. Sunflower seeds are full of Vitamin E, magnesium and selenium, so it’s great to use them in other ways besides just roasted and salted as a snack.

Another benefit of this pesto, my kids ate peppers without complaint. Peppers are one of the few veggies that none of them like. I was very pleased to find a way we could all enjoy them. I roasted my own, but you can definitely just use the ones in the jar to save time.

What do you get when you combine red peppers, green basil, and brown sunflower seeds? Kind of a brownish color. Yes I admit this is not the most vibrant colored pesto. It actually tasted great about two peppers earlier but I added 2 more to improve the color. But I promise the flavor is out of this world. Continue reading →

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Posted in Sauce

Tagged basil, pesto, roasted peppers, sauce, sunflower seeds

Blackberry Pomegranate Smoothies

Posted on May 10, 2013 | 5 Comments

I love my immersion blender. I use it almost everyday to puree soups, make hummus, blend tomatoes, but most often to make smoothies. It is smaller and quicker to wash than the big blender, although at the rate my three kids are growing, I’ll need to make blender size batches of smoothies soon enough.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Drinks, Recipes

Tagged blackberry, pomegranate, smoothie, yogurt

Zucchini Pappardelle with Shaved Pecorino

Posted on May 8, 2013 | 8 Comments

A super fast and elegant side dish made from the most humble of vegetables. Took me about 10 minutes to prepare. Shaving the zucchini gives it a unique texture and look that has a certain wow factor. The pecorino adds a nice salty bite.

The zucchini is completely raw, leaving many of it’s beneficial nutrients intact, such as vitamin C and potassium. We don’t often eat as many raw veggies as I would like, so I just love serving up the zucchini this way. Continue reading →

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Posted in Recipes, Sides

Tagged Lemon, Pecorino, side dish, zucchini

Avocado Lime Potato Salad

Posted on May 6, 2013 | 7 Comments

Potato salad is the quintessential summer food. I usually make a french style potato salad with a vinaigrette, since I don’t like mayonnaise. This is to the great dismay of my husband, who loves traditional potato salad and hates the french style. He was very excited when I served this dish up, a potato salad with a creamy dressing we both enjoyed, peace restored..

Another reason I avoid potato salad is I can never seem to cook the potatoes just right. I get distracted and the potatoes are overcooked and no longer the pretty slices needed. (I may or may not have placed the prettiest slices on the top of the bowl for these pictures…).

This potato salad would go great with some Mexican Beef Sliders. I did serve this up yesterday which was Cinco De Mayo, but that was completely coincidental. Why wait for a holiday to have some delicious Mexican inspired food? Continue reading →

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Posted in Recipes, Sides

Tagged Avocado, lime, potato salad