You may have heard of the Neighborhood Hope Project, College Church's recent local mission trip--a very cool event. I took on the ambitious (I didn't realize how ambitious at the time) task of feeding the 60-100 workers dinner each night for the whole week. The vision was to provide delicious and healthy meals using local products and sustainable resources. This is one of the many great recipes I came across and served that week. You will love it, I promise! I'm sure Anna would second that. She helped me that night!! I wish I had a picture for you. It is a beautiful salad!

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables (Barefoot Contessa) Ina Garden Recipe

SERVES 6

1 small eggplant, peeled and ¾ inch diced

1 red bell pepper, 1 inch diced

1 yellow bell pepper, 1 inch diced

1 red onion, peeled and 1 inch diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup olive oil (or less)

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

½ lb orzo pasta or rice-shaped pasta

For the dressing

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

To assemble

4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)

¼ cup pignolis, toasted (pine nuts)

¾ lb good feta, ½ inch diced (not crumbled)

15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan.
3. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.
4. Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender.
5. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.
6. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.
7. For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables.
8. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil.
9. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.

Thanksgiving Recap

The turkey was fantastic. I think my favorite part was the gravy (so was Jenny's), which covered up my less-than-fantastic mashed potatoes (my sister and I both employed the "cook your potatoes early and keep them warm in the crockpot" idea to our own demise), but the whole thing was simply fabulous. And yes, RaChelle, my turkey cooked way faster than I expected, moving dinner up a whole hour. Yikes! Maybe it WAS a good thing I'd done the potatoes first!

There was some debate before about what stuffing recipe to use, and I hemmed and hawed until, seriously, Thanksgiving morning about whether to just use glorified Stove-Top or stuff my bird with something more exotic. The result? Compromise--I used the Apple, Sausage, and Parsnip Stuffing with Fresh Sage recipe linked to the turkey recipe, with a few alterations:

1) I did not use parsnips. Seriously, what are parsnips?
2) I used ground, Jimmy Dean-type sausage instead of sausage in casings. It was the "savory" kind (no hot sausage), and actually had sage in it, which was awesome.
3) Instead of the sourdough, I simply cooked up a box of Stovetop and mixed the rest of the ingredients in with it. I know, totally cheating, but I adore Stovetop, so why waste my time toasting sourdough when what I really want is a fancied-up box mix?

It was delish. I only had a 12 lb bird, and I think this stuffing recipe is for a 20 pound bird, plus extra on the side (and since Jason's dad doesn't like sausage I had to make regular stuffing on the side anyway), so I cut the recipe to about a quarter, give or take a few apples. I am very sad it is all eaten up, but I'm glad it was eaten up by Jason, who has never liked stuffing before.

The other thing I am sad about is that there is no more tapioca salad, which is my all-time favorite holiday (and any other day I can eat it) recipe. For the record, here is the recipe:

Tapioca Salad
Boil together in a saucepan:
2 c. water
4 T. minute tapioca
1/2 c. sugar (or Splenda works)
Once the mixture comes to a boil, take it off the stove and let it cool.

Once cool, mix in:
1 can fruit cocktail (drained)
1-2 chopped bananas
1 c. frozen strawberries or raspberries
1-2 c. cool whip (the recipe says 1, I like more)

Chill until ready to serve.

Okay, so I'm sad that the tapioca salad was all gone by the end of the weekend, but I did make it again for our Sunday school party on Saturday. My flight from Idaho was so late that by the time we made it to the party everyone was done eating. I am not sad that I got to take most of it home with me...