Black Bean and Caramelized Onion Dip

The color of this dip may not make for the best pictures, but it is really delicious!  

Source: spabettie

Ingredients:

1 Sweet Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Butter 
1/2 tbsp Maple Syrup
Pinch of Sea Salt
1 tsp Dried Basil
1 15oz can Black Beans, drained
1/3 cup Cream Cheese 
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Onion Powder
Sea Salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. Make the caramelized onions (I make big batches and store them in the freezer)  See my recipe at link.
2. In a food processor, pulse beans until smooth.  Then add cream cheese, garlic, cumin and onion powder and salt and combine until smooth.  Then add caramelized onions to bean mixture and combine.  Ready to serve in a bowl, or on tortilla chips, crostinis, crackers, etc.

French Onion Rigatoni (aka French Onion Soup Macaroni and Cheese)

My love of caramelized onions is well known to anyone reading this blog.  I always have them on hand and I am continuously in search of more recipes using caramelized onions.  Well, Mac and Cheese with caramelized onions sounded like a match made in heaven!  Yum!  This recipe takes a bit of work, but it is really good!

Source: 30 days 30 ways mac and cheese

Ingredients:3 pounds yellow onions (7-8 medium), peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
3/4 pound rigatoni pasta
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup no salt-added beef broth
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Wisconsin Emmentaler Cheese, divided
2 slices white bread, torn into pieces
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Instructions:(Skip to the next step if you have caramelized onions already prepared)
Place the onion slices and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide, thick-bottomed sauté pan and
cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally and always spreading the onions out evenly
over the surface of the pan. Continue to cook the onions over medium heat for almost two hours,
scraping and deglazing the pan with a little bit of plain water as necessary. Once the onions are
cooked down to about 2 cups, remove the pan from heat and let the caramelized onions cool.


Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large pot of water, cook the pasta just until al dente,
rinse it thoroughly with cold water, drain well, and set aside.


In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the all-purpose flour, milk, beef broth, salt, and ground pepper. Continue to whisk the mixture over medium heat. When the sauce thickens up to the consistency of custard sauce, remove the saucepan from heat. Whisk in 1 cup of the grated Emmentaler cheese while the mixture is still hot; set aside.


Grease a ceramic or glass 9x12x3-inch baking dish; set aside. In a food processor,
pulse together the bread, the remaining olive oil, the remaining Emmentaler and thyme leaves until the mixture resembles coarse meal.


In a large mixing bowl, mix together the pasta, the cheese sauce, and the caramelized onions,
making sure the onion pieces are distributed evenly. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  (This is the perfect time to take a taste test!)

Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture all over the surface of the pasta mixture. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the pasta is heated through.

Turkey, Caramelized Onion and Spinach Pizza

I am a foodie and I admit that I am addicted to pizza, so this is my attempt to try to make the healthiest and best tasting pizza I can.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients
1 Udi's gluten free pizza crust (in the freezer section)
1/2 cup marinara sauce (no sugar added)
1/2 pound ground turkey (cooked)
1/4 cup caramelized onions
2 oz Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh spinach chopped

Instructions:
Top the pizza with the marinara sauce, cooked turkey, caramelized onions and cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 5-7 minutes.  Once you remove the pizza from the oven, top with chopped spinach and serve.

Sausage, Caramelized Onion & Basil Pizza

I watched the Giada De Laurentiis make this pizza on Food Network TV.  Pizza with no red (or white) sauce...I was intrigued.  Besides, it has caramelized onions and that is one of my favorite ingredients!  I had to try it and was not disappointed.

Source: Food Network
Ingredients:
1/2 (13 to 16-ounce) ball pizza dough

extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

1/2 cup caramelized onions (see my post)

1/2 pound spicy turkey or pork sausage, casings removed, crumbled

1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or blue cheese

1/8 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

 

Instructions

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.

In a large skillet, on med-high heat add sausage and cook for 6 min.  Using a wooden spoon to break up sausage.  Add caramelized onions and cook for 2 more minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 13-inch diameter circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Spread the onion mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake until the crust is golden and the cheese has melted, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped basil. Cut the pizza into wedges and serve.

Crostinis with Brie

Crositinis are great quick and easy appetizers!  The combination of creamy brie with crunchy french bread and the sweetness of caramelized onions...yum.

 

Brie & Caramelized Onion Crostini

Ingredients:

1 loaf of French Bread

Brie - 1 oz per crostini

Caramelized Onions (see my post)

 

Instructions:

Slice the bread thin, then layer with brie and onions.  Place on a pan in the oven on broil for just a minute or two until the brie starts to melt.

 

I also made another variation - Brie with Pear and honey.  This was one of those moments when you open up the fridge and seek creativity.  I chopped the pear into small pieces, removed the core and placed on the brie, drizzled with a little honey and put it under the broiler for about a minute.  It turned out great!

 



Pear & Gorgonzola Pizza

I am seriously addicted to the Pear & Gorgonzola pizza at California Pizza Kitchen.  So, I decided to try making it at home to see if I could could make it just a little bit healthier.   It turned out great, so I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 (16 ounce) package refrigerated pizza crust dough - I used the Whole Foods multi-grain

4 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese

1 pear, thinly sliced

1 caramelized onion ( 1/4 cup of pre-made caramelized onions)

2 Tbs. chopped hazelnuts

1 ounce Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (split between pizza and salad)

spring greens, tossed in Ranch dressing ( I used Bolthouse Ranch made with yogurt)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

Roll/Stretch crust out on baking stone and drizzle with olive oil. Bake crust for 6 minutes.

 

Remove and  layer with Provolone cheese. Top cheese with pear slices. Sprinkle with walnuts, caramelized onions and Gorgonzola cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 6-8 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned. Remove from heat. Top with mixed spring greens tossed in Ranch dressing.

Caramelized Onions

This weekend, I made another big batch of caramelized onions.  I realized that I had blogged about them enough that they deserved their very own post.  Yes, I love caramelized onions!  I almost always have some in my fridge or freezer. 

It is a bit of a time commitment to make them, so make a bunch! 

Ingredients:
Yellow Onions (I usually will make 3-12 onions at a time)

I slice each onion in half - lengthwise.
Then slice each 1/2 round thinly and toss in a great bit pot. (I use a dutch oven)
Once you are finished slicing...at this point I am usually crying in my kitchen from the onions.
Drizzle olive oil over your onions and heat the pot to medium.  Stir every few minutes and cook on medium for 30 minutes.

Then reduce heat to med/low (about 3 on a 10 point heat scale).  Cook for another 30 minutes continuing to stir every few minutes.

After an hour of cooking the onions are nice and golden brown. 

Here are just a few of the recipes where I have used caramelized onions!

Rigatoni D
Caramelized Onion Gruyere Quiche
Garlic Onion Tortilla Stack

I'm sure there will be more to come.  After you make a big batch of caramelized onions, use the label section on the right side of my blog - click on "caramelized onions" label for recipes that use caramelized onions!

Rigatoni D

 

I recently had a family dinner at Maggianos and like usual I ordered their "Famous Rigatoni D".  After sampling all the plates at the table the Rigatoni was still my favorite.  So, I decided to try to make it at home.  With a rotisserie chicken and caramelized onions in the fridge it was actually a quick week night dinner and absolutely delicious! 

Source: My version of Rigatoni D from Maggianos
2-3 Servings

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 oz.  sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup caramelized onions (see my post)
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1 rotisserie chicken - remove the breast meat and roughly chop
1/2 oz white wine (I used chardonnay)
3 oz. Marsala wine
4 oz. of Chicken broth
4 oz. of heavy cream
1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. fresh basil chopped - plus more for garnish
4 oz. rigatoni pasta
Small amount of shaved Parmesan cheese for topping
Salt & Pepper

Instructions:
Remove the breast meat from the rotisserie chicken and roughly chop into pieces.  

In a large pot on medium heat, combine the oil, mushrooms, garlic puree, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper and brown lightly.

Add chicken and caramelized onions to the pot.  Cook for 2 min.

Add the white wine, Marsala wine and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced half. (About 15 min.)

While this is reducing, add rigatoni to a pot of boiling salted water and cook 10-12 min.   Then drain.

Add cream and basil bring to the chicken pot and bring to boil while stirring, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 min.

Add the well-drained rigatoni to the chicken pot.  Mix together gently. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and basil leaves. 

Caramelized Onion Gruyere Quiche

Ingredients

1 refrigerated pie dough

1/2 cup caramelized onions - I make these in bulk and freeze them.  I use this recipe (click here)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 large eggs

Pinch nutmeg

6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

Steps:
1. Prebake the crust - preheat oven to 350 and roll your crust into a 9 inch pie pan.  Bake for 10 min using parchment paper topped with pie weights.  Then remove the parchment paper and pie weights and poke the bottom of the pie with a fork and bake for another 10 min until golden.

2.  After the crust cools slightly line the bottom with 1/2 of the grated cheese, then layer in the caramelized onions and top with the remaining 1/2 of the grated cheese.

3. Whisk together milk, cream, eggs and nutmeg.  Then pour over the cheese and bake for 35-40 min at 350.  Cool for approx. 10 min before serving.

Here is a link to the original recipe - click here

Garlic-Onion Tortilla Stack

I made a huge batch of caramelized onions - so I googled recipes with caramelized onions and found this "Garlic-Onion Tortilla Stack".  I watched the video from Guy Fieri and decided to give it a try. WOW - these are good.  The combination of roasted garlic, caramelized onions and cilantro on a tortilla was an amazing combination.  I made a half batch of the mix and then spread the mix on 6 tortillas and cut in half and stacked the halves on top of each other for a total of 12 layers. 

For the recipe click here

To watch the Guy Fieri video click here

Zucchini and Caramelized Onion Quiche

Heads up on this quiche - one of the ingredients is caramelized onions.  In order to make those see this recipe first - click here.  I must not cut my onions thin enough because it always takes me twice as long as the recipe says to get the nice golden brown caramelized onions.  However, I made a big batch - the full 12 cups of onions, so I will be using them in future cooking adventures.

This quiche has a full four cups of zucchini - so it has protein and veggies - all around great breakfast food.  For the full recipe click here

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart

I love Vidalia onions, so when I saw them in the store a few weeks ago, I bought a big box of them.  Now I am baking onions, caramelizing them and adding onions to almost everything!

My dad called this "fancy pizza".  Gotta love him!

I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com to see the full recipe click here.

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Gruyere Quiche with Oat Crust

I love a good quiche and this one certainly fit the bill.  I made my first one of these quiches and shared with family...so just a couple days later I made it again.  Yep, its that good!

The recipe link - click here

According to the recipe its only 270 calories...not bad for something that tastes so good.