Bacon wrapped asparagus

Who doesn't love bacon? This is just a nice new way to have asparagus and it looks super pretty on your plate. Great for having guests because it looks like you did a lot of work.

In a tiny little sauce pan, simmer about 1/4 cup (or more) of balsamic vinegar, pepper, 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar, and about 4 tablespoons butter. Now this all depends on how much sauce you want to make, and you can sweeten it to your liking.

Let that reduce for just a few minutes.

Take your asparagus and trim the ends to your liking. Now take make a small bundle of asparagus and wrap your bacon around it. Place your wraps in a small baking disk and pour sauce over.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until asparagus is soft and bacon is cooked.

Stuffed Magda

If you can't tell, I love madga. This recipe is literally the best way to use magda because it goes so well with sausage and tomatoes. This recipe was originally a stuffed pepper recipe, but I have found it to be amazing with Magda. Original recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bobs-stuffed-banana-peppers/
Since the original recipe is huge, I tweaked it down to size for what I was using.

Start by cutting the ends off your squash and cutting it in half lengthwise.

Scoop out the center. This doesn't have to be perfect, because you can scoop more out after it has softened in the oven.

Place in a baking pan facing down and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 350 until the magda has softened some. You can pretty much bake the madga while you are making your mixture and cooking your sauce.

While the madga is baking, finely chop 1/2 cup onion and about 1/4 cup celery. Add to a skillet and saute with butter for about 5 minutes.

 Add in one 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes and one 8 ounce can tomato sauce. Now, I didn't have the tomato sauce so I chose to add some cherry tomatoes from the garden instead and adjusted my seasoning accordingly.
Season with basil (fresh if you have it), parsley, oregano, pepper and 2-3 cloves garlic. Let that all simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix 1 pound italian sausage, about 3/4 cup bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, black pepper, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce.

By now your magda should be soft and can be removed from the oven. If you want to scoop more out at this point you can.

Don't forget to salt and pepper your magda!

Fill the magda with your sausage mixture and top with your tomato sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for about 35 minutes until sausage is cooked through and sauce is boiling in the pan.

Magda bread

Wow it's been a while since I posted anything! Well my favorite vegetable (magda) is fully in season now and we have been eating it quite frequently. I have some growing in my garden and it always seems like one day I go out, decide it needs another two days or so and the next time I go out I have two pound squash.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until my mom suggested I make bread. I used a regular zucchini bread recipe but used shredded magda in place of the zucchini.

Just a note, I have found that if I mix in the wet ingredients first and add the dry last nothing gets stuck in the bottom of the mixer.

Start with two cups shredded magda (or zucchini)

Add in 3 eggs, 1 cup vegetable oil, and 2 tsp vanilla
Then ad 1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix well

Grease your loaf pan and pour in your batter, bake at 350 degrees for about an hour depending on the size of your loaf pan

Blueberry Pie

Blueberries are now in season! They are just starting to come in and the berries look great. I went and picked today just for this pie.

So I made this recipe for the first time today and its pretty good.

For the crust I just used store bought frozen crust. I know, I should be making my own but I'm just not good with a rolling pin. And even though I bought a crust, it was just not behaving today so don't laugh at my edges.

Start with five cups fresh picked blueberries.

Mix 1/2-3/4 cup sugar depending on the sweetness of your berries. Mine were a little tart so I used 3/4 cup. Mix in 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, a pinch of salt, and 1 tsp lemon juice. I actually totally forgot the lemon juice when I made mine.

Mix all together. I smashed my berries just enough so some juices could start mixing with the cornstarch. Pour into your 9 inch pie crust. Top with a little dab of butter and make your lattice crust.

I baked my pie at 400 for about 20 minutes and then lowered the temp to 350 for another 25. At this point my pie was done. Make sure you put a cookie sheet under your pie because the juices are going to bubble over.

Be sure to let the pie completely cool before you cut!! If you cut too soon the pie will be a runny mess. Serve with some vanilla ice cream or cool whip.

Hope you enjoy!

Crispy baked chicken tenders

This chicken tender recipe uses the same breading mixture I use on my pork chops. It makes for deliciously moist yet crunchy chicken tenders. This is a great way to cook chicken breasts if you don't like cooking breasts much.

Start by slicing your chicken breast into small pieces.

Set up your station with your flour (be sure to pepper), buttermilk, and your breadcrumb mixture (italian breadcrumbs, crushed corn flakes, and seasoning).

Dredge chicken tenders in flour, then buttermilk, then breadcrumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes until nice and crispy.

Again, super simple, yet delicious!

Magda!!

Magda is in season!!! This is a middle eastern squash also known as Kusa, or Calabasa. It is very similar to zucchini in texture but has much more flavor. Magda is sweeter and has a bit of a nutty flavor to it.

The skin is softer than other summer squash so it does get nicked easily, but on the other hand you don't have to peel it.

You can cook or use magda exactly the same ways you would use zucchini, but you don't need to go as heavy on the seasoning. Magda pairs excellently with tomato or italian sausage.

Now I have never found Magda anywhere but Aufdenkampe family farm, so if you don't live in my area, good luck. We have found the correct magda seeds from Park Seed company and ordered online. I currently have some growing in my garden.

Now I will leave you with a simple recipe for baked magda.

Cut off the ends of your magda and cut into spears

Drizzle olive oil over the magda and season with Goya, pepper and dried basil. I use dried basil from my garden from last year rather than fresh because I think the fresh basil would overwhelm the squash.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. You can cook this longer if you prefer a softer squash.

This is so simple, yet so delicious!

Pork Chops

I actually really hated pork chops growing up. It wasn't until my dad made me a pork chop with corn flakes that I actually started eating and enjoying it. Now I make pork chops regularly and thought I would share my version with you.

Before you start, I try to let my meat warm up to room temperature because it cooks more evenly.

For the breading I use a mixture of crushed corn flakes and seasoned italian breadcrumbs. About a 50/50 mix. I also season my breading with Goya, garlic powder, pepper and basil. Don't forget to also salt and pepper your flour.

Dredge your pork chop in flour first, then buttermilk, then breadcrumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

I served this with sauteed green beans and onions. I simply threw green beans and onions in a skillet with a little olive oil and seasoning, covered and simmered until soft. Here's a tip, if you add a spoonful of sugar it helps with the carmelization of the onions.