Creamed Onions

 A Thanksgiving staple growing up I still love creamed onions. I think that's about the only time we had them. I think the trick this year might be finding pearl onions. I'm sure I've seen frozen ones but these days it's hard to find basic frozen vegetables. I haven't seen fresh ones either. I'll be hitting the grocery stores again probably on Tuesday and will see what I can find. 

Creamed Onions

serves 4

 

1 lb small pearl onions

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/4 c milk, warmed

salt & pepper

If needed, peel the onions then cook in a cup of lightly salted water until tender; drain.

To make the white sauce - melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly until tlhe paste cooks and bubbles a bit but don't let it brown. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste; lower the heat and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes more. Remove from the heat, add the onions, and reheat.

from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook

Boston Brown Bread

 This!! This recipe makes having an instant pot totally worth it! Traditional New England Friday night dinner is hot dogs, baked beans, and brown bread. It took a while but I did find a really good baked bean recipe that we love (and honestly it's become easier with my IP, the dried beans cook quick, add the other ingredients and throw it in the oven for a few hours). I've looked at brown bread recipes off and on for years, wanting to make it at home since only one grocery store around here carries it but it just wasn't something I wanted to tackle. A few months ago I got the idea to make it in my instant pot and poked around the internet to see if I could find a good recipe. I looked a bit, forgot about it, looked some more, found a few, lost them, looked again, found this one, made it, tweaked it, made it again...perfection!

 If you don't know what brown bread is, it's a dense, dark bread baked in a can, filled with raisins, flavored with molasses. Right there, the reason to plan ahead, you need to save 4 15oz size cans to make your bread. Make sure the lids come off cleanly so you don't cut your hand filling the cans or getting the bread out. Four cans fit perfectly in the IP.

While this bread is the perfect companion to baked beans you can also eat it for breakfast or with a cup of tea later in the day. Serve with butter or cream cheese.

 Boston Brown Bread

makes 4 "loaves"

 

1 c raisins & 1 c boiling water (optional)

2 1/2 c wheat flour

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 c buttermilk

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1/2 c molasses 

Place raisins in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 10 minutes or until puffed up. drain. 

Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk baking soda into buttermilk, whisk in the egg, then stir in the molasses. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated then fold in raisins.

Spray 4 15 oz cans with non-stick spray. Pour batter into cans, filing about 1/2 full. Tap cans on counter to remove any air bubbles. Cover each can with a piece of foil to keep water out. Put 1 1/2 c water in the bottom of your instant pot, add the steamer rack then put your cans on the rack. Put the lid on, set the valve to 'sealing' and set your IP to manual, 35 minutes. When it's done let it naturally release for 10 minutes then manually release any remaining pressure. Carefully take out the cans and use a knife to loosen the bread from the cans. Let cool on a wire rack.

Serve with butter or cream cheese.

Modified from 12 Tomatoes

Vegetarian Skillet Stuffed Shells

This is SO good! It does take a bit of time but is totally worth it. One pan, cooks on the stove, makes plenty for dinner and some leftovers (at least in our family). The shells are stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, spinach, and ricotta; while the recipe calls for crimini mushrooms I used a mixture of two different kinds of mushrooms because that's what I could get in the amount I needed.

Skillet Stuffed Shells

serves 4-6

 

18 jumbo pasta shells

 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c dry white wine

5 oz. baby spinach

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 c marinara sauce

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 c ricotta

3 oz finely grated Parmesan (about 1 cup), more for serving

2 tsp dried oregano

Cook shells in a large pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally until very al dente, about 9 minutes; drain. Run under cold water to stop the cooking; drain again.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over high. Add mushrooms and cook stirring occasionally, until they release juices, then are dry again and nicely browned, 5-6 minutes; season with black pepper and 1 tsp salt. Reduce heat to medium, add wine, cook stirring until reduced by half, 1-2 minutes. Add spinach, cover and cook until beginning to wilt, 1-2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until spinach is completely wilted and most of the liquid is evaporated, 2-4 minutes more. Transfer mushroom mixture to a large bowl.

Cook garlic and butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until garlic is fragrant and beginning to brown, 2-3 minutes. Add marinara sauce and red pepper and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook stirring occasionally until warmed through, 6-8 minutes.

While sauce cooks, add ricotta, 3 oz Parmesan, oregano, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt to the mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Spoon about 2 Tbsp of mixture into each shell. The shell should be filled to capacity but not overstuffed.

Nestle stuffed shells into hot sauce in skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat until shells are warmed through, 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan, serve. 

from epicurious