Trash Treat--Carrot Soup

We went diving again. We didn't find much but we found lots of cherries. Hmmm...what to do with them? In the meantime, here's what we did with those 2 pounds of carrots we found last dive.

Dumpster items used

-Carrots

-Milk

Recipe (Epicurious)

Preparation: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 1.5 cups chopped onion (optional) 1 tablespoon finely chopped & peeled fresh ginger 1.5 teaspoons minced garlic 1 1/4 pounds medium carrots* 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 1 1/3 cups) 1.5 teaspoons grated lemon peel 3 cups of chicken stock 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 4 tablespoons sour cream 1 small carrot, peeled & grated

Procedure Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, saute 4 mins add ginger and garlic saute 2 mins. Add chopped carrots tomatoes and lemon peel, saute one minute, add 3 cups of chicken stock bring to boil. reduce heat cover partially, simmer until carrots are tender about 20 mins. Cool slightly. Puree soup in small batches in blender. Return soup to pot. Mix in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill) Bring soup to simmer thinning with more stock if desired. Ladle in bowls. Top each with sour cream and grated carrot *(We roasted our carrots at 450 degrees F on a lightly greased baking pan for 15-20 mins before blending them to bring out more flavor)

Trash Treat--Breakfast Casserole

Dumpster items used

-Mushrooms

-Milk

-Eggs

-Mozzarella cheese

-Golden potatoes

Recipe (Personal collection)

Preparation: 45 minutes
Serves 4 to 6 persons

Ingredients:
6-8 medium golden potatoes 8 eggs, slightly beaten 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup ½ cup milk	1 small yellow onion, diced (optional) 2 cups cooked sausage, crumbled 1 cup  sliced mushrooms 3/4cup grated cheese, your choice

Procedure Peel potatoes. Microwave for 4 to 6 minutes or until the potatoes are almost cooked through but still firm enough to dice. Remove from microwave and set aside to cool enough for handling. Pare and dice the onion. Preheat a large nonstick frying pan. Add a small amount of cooking oil and sweat the onions and sausage until the onions are just tender and the sausage is browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sliced mushrooms until heated through. While the vegetables are sweating, cut the, cooled, par-cooked potatoes into sugar cube-sized pieces. Add half the milk to the vegetable and sausage mixture. Cook and stir until the soup mixture is hot and bubbly. Add the diced potatoes in batches, folding them into the soup mixture. Lightly grease a baking casserole dish with butter. Pour this mixture into a casserole dish. While this is sitting, take out and beat the 8 eggs lightly and pour over the casserole mix evenly. At this time pour the remaining milk over as well. Cover and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked all the way through. Remove the casserole from the oven and set on a heat-proof surface. Uncover and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Recover and let sit for 10 minutes for the cheese to melt. I think the dish will be good with whatever your favorite cheese is. Enjoy.