Looking for some new recipes to try this month? Recipe Club and Potluck attendees brought wonderful dishes to their most recent gathering in December. Discover recipes for delicious baked cranberry oatmeal, cozy vegetable lasagna soup, rich cannoli cream pie, and more below!
Baked Cranberry Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup chopped apples
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, or as desired
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit: Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
- Bring the milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to a boil in a saucepan; remove from heat.
- Combine oats, apples, dried cranberries, and walnuts in a bowl; transfer to the prepared baking dish. Pour the milk mixture over the oat mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 30-35 minutes.
Vegetable Lasagna Soup
This vegetarian soup is so good you won't even miss the meat! It's perfectly hearty and totally filling and brimming with tons of fresh vegetables. Then it's finished off with a generous dollop of mixed lasagna cheeses that melt perfectly into the hot soup.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups diced carrots (about 3 medium)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32 ounce) carton low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 medium zucchini, ends trimmed, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, ends trimmed, chopped
5 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme and rosemary
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 lasagna noodles, broken into bite size pieces (If you won't be serving the soup right away, consider cooking the noodles separately)
3 cups (packed) spinach, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional
For the Cheese Mixture:
- 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and carrot and sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute longer.
- Add in broth, water, tomatoes and tomato sauce, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a boil then add pasta, then reduce heat to medium low.
- Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally (loosen any noodles that may stick to the bottom when stirring), until pasta is tender, about 10 - 13 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a mixing bowl stir together mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta while seasoning lightly with salt to taste.
- Stir spinach into soup and allow to heat through until wilted (it will wilt quickly, about 30 seconds).
- Serve soup warm topped with spoonfuls of the cheese mixture (just swirl it lightly into your personal serving - it will melt quickly) and sprinkle with parsley if desired.
Get the full recipe and cooking tips from Cooking Classy!
Pastina Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced into large pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into large pieces
- 2 celery ribs, sliced into large pieces
- 1 parmesan rind (about 2-inches long)
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cup pastina or any tiny pasta variety, like alphabet, orzo, or acini di pepe
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
- Grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions
- Simmer the broth. In a large pot with a lid, stir together the broth, onion, carrots, celery, parmesan rind, and a pinch of salt. Turn the heat to high to bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Puree the vegetables. Discard the parmesan rind, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a food processor. Add a couple ladles of the broth and blend until the vegetables are fully smooth. Scrape the puréed vegetables back into the pot.
- Boil the pasta. Turn the heat to high to bring the broth to a boil. Once boiling, stir in the pastina. Cook until the pasta is tender, about 3 minutes or so. Remove the soup from the heat.
- Serve. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if it tastes flat. Ladle the pastina into serving bowls. Finish each bowl with a sprinkle of parsley and grated parmesan cheese and serve hot.
Get the full recipe and details from The Mediterranean Dish!
Easy White Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed well
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 green onions, chopped (with greens)
- 1 large peeled and shredded carrot
- 1 or 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup Kalamati olives, halved
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- Garlic powder, turmeric, paprika, cumin, sumac (or any mix of spices that you prefer), and salt and pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Feta cheese (optional, but the salad tastes better with it added!
Directions
- Add white beans, veggies, and parsley to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the lemon zest, spices, salt and pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil to a smaller bowl and whisk. Taste and adjust the flavors as you like, then pour into the salad and mix.
- Add feta, if using.
Tips
- This salad tastes better if made and refrigerated at least a few hours before serving-- even better the next day!
- If using dry beans, use just over 1 cup of dried beans. Soak the beans in water overnight, drain it, and then cook according to the package, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender. Drain and cool. I used navy beans and cooked the whole package. These freeze well for other recipes, like soups and chilis.
- Use any spices you like and any variety of vegetables. No exact rules apply. Enjoy!
Cannoli Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker crust
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 1/2 cups full fat ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup chopped lightly salted pistachios
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Directions
- Gather all ingredients, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Bake graham cracker crust in the preheated oven until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Add heavy whipping cream to a clean bowl, and beat with an electric mixer to stiff peaks. Set aside.
- Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together in another bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Fold in ricotta, vanilla extract, and salt until thoroughly combined.
- Gently fold whipped cream into ricotta mixture. Gently fold in chopped pistachios and mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the filing into the prepared pie crust and spread evenly. Chill in the refrigerator for 5 hours or up to overnight. Top with mini chocolate chips to serve.
Get the full recipe and details from All Recipes!
We hope you enjoy these new recipes from December's Recipe Club and Potluck! If you'd like to join in the foodie fun, Cromaine's next Recipe Club program takes place on Friday, January 10 @ 1:00 pm, and registration opens on Thursday, December 19 @ 9:00 am! We hope to see you there and at other Library programs.
Happy cooking!