summer vegetable bake

Thanks to a new CSA-type thing that I joined 

(Homegrown Grocery---> http://www.homegrowngrocery.com/) 

and to my friend Nicole's garden, 

I may never have to grocery shop again :) 

Slight exaggeration, but I am so excited about all my fresh, 

local, organic produce, milk, eggs, homemade granola, etc... so fun! 

We're having this vegetable bake for dinner tonight, so it may be risky to post this before I eat it, but what could go that wrong with these ingredients?!

Ingredients: 

-a couple yellow squash

-a couple zucchini

-an onion 

-a few tomatoes

-2 cloves garlic

-red pepper flakes

-s&p

-dill

-parmesan cheese 

Directions:

Mince garlic and a little bit of the onion. 

Spray bottom of small baking dish with cooking spray and sprinkle a little bit of the

 diced onion and minced garlic along the bottom. 

Slice zucchini, squash, onion, and tomato thinly. 

Arrange vegetables in pretty rows, using whatever pattern you like.

 I did zucchini, squash, tomato, onion. 

Sprinkle the remaining garlic on top along with some sea salt, pepper, a few dashes of dill and red pepper flakes. 

Drizzle lightly with olive oil. 

Bake at a 400 for about 30 minutes covered. 

Uncover, sprinkle some parmesan cheese (or another cheese if you'd prefer) on top and bake uncovered for about another 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and it looks cooked and delicious. 

enjoy! :) 

grilled asparagus with lemon zest

This is too simple to be considered a "recipe", 

but here goes nothin'. 

This is a very easy way to add a fresh, 

new spin to asparagus. 

All you need:

asparagus (1 bunch)

olive oil (1-2 Tbs)

lemon zest (of about 1/2 a lemon)

s&p

fresh herbs

All you do: 

-trim asparagus (break off the ends. asparagus make a 

natural break with the last few tough inches of the stalk)

-heat grill (I used an indoor grill pan)

-toss asparagus on grill and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and lemon zest 

-grill until tender, but crisp, rotating as necessary

-serve with chopped fresh herbs sprinkled on top (mint or basil)

Simple, healthy side to compliment almost anything this Spring.

Oh yes, happy Spring!! My favorite :) 

Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms and Balsamic

quick, easy, snappy, healthy, addicting, yummy, snazzy, tangy... green beans.

who knew a green bean could have so much going on?!

these do. promise.

Ingredients:

fresh green beans

balsamic vinegar

fresh sliced mushrooms

sea salt

pinch of pepper

extra virgin olive oil (or flaxseed oil)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Wash and trim green beans. In large bowl or on foil-lined baking sheet toss green beans with a few splashes of olive oil, a couple pinches sea salt, a dash of pepper, and about 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (these measurements can all be left up to your own preference).

Roast on foil-lined baking sheet for about 10 minutes. While beans are in oven toss mushrooms with about a teaspoon of balsamic and another splash of olive oil.

Toss mushrooms in with beans and roast for additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

my favorite way to eat corn...thanks, Mom!

What you'll need:

5 ears of corn (with all their clothes on..if you know what i mean. corn clothes=husks)

3 big cloves of garlic

about 2 T olive oil

about 1/2 tablespoon of butter

a little salt

a little pepper

a dash of cayenne pepper

What to do:

-Bring a big pot of water to a boil

-put all 5 ears of corn (husks and all) in the pot of boiling water

-boil for about 3 minutes

-remove from boiling water with tongs and place under cold water

-remove husks and cut corn off the cob

-heat olive oil and butter in skillet

-add garlic and corn

-saute for a couple minutes

-season with salt, pepper, and cayenne

it's crunchy and sweet and ohh so good.

enjoy!

smoked gouda sweet potatoes

I tried a different spin on sweet potatoes this Thanksgiving. Instead of the pecan/marshmallow/gooey sweet goodness on top.. I made sweet potatoes with rich smoked gouda and lingering cayenne pepper flavors. Quite tasty, if I do say so myself. 

What you need:
4 T butter
3 T heavy whipping cream, divided
1/2 t coarse salt
1 t sugar
1/8 t cayenne pepper (or more if you like more kick)
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices (cut as thin as you can!)
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
2 green onions, chopped

What to do:
Heat the butter, 2 T of the cream, the salt, sugar, cayenne and sweet potatoes in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, stir to coat the potatoes. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 30 to 40 minutes (I had to cook mine longer than the recipe says and I added a little skim milk in the last few minutes of cooking.), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add the cheese and remaining tablespoon of cream; cover for 1 to 2 minutes until the cheese melts. Mix thoroughly to mash the potatoes. Top with crumbled bacon and onions just before serving.

favorite salad at the moment

I don't know if it's the ingredients or the dressing or just how pretty it looks, but this salad is an easy crowd pleaser and a very quick healthy dinner. And again, this is one you can add to or take away from or use another dressing if this isn't your thing. Enjoy!

what you need for the salad:
-fresh spinach leaves
-grape tomatoes
-1 avacado, sliced
-almonds
-crumbled feta
-dried cranberries and/or pomegranate seeds

what you need for the dressing:
2 T red raspberry jam with seeds
2 T red wine vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste

what to do:
Combine as much of these things together as you'd like, mix dressing in a jar and shake, add as much dressing as you'd like. Ta-da!

apple cider roasted vegetables

You can alter this recipe and use pretty much any vegetable you choose. I chose parsnips, rutabaga, baby carrots, and mushrooms. mmm!

what you need:
-about 5 parsnips (or 1.5 lbs), peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
-1 lb. bag baby carrots
-about 3 large rutabaga, cubed
-1 lb. baby portabella mushrooms **
-4 T brown sugar
-4 T olive oil
-2 T apple cider vinegar

what to do:
Heat oven to 450. Place vegetables in roasting pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. Pour over the vegetables and toss to coat well.
Cook until tender, about an hour, stirring halfway. **Add the mushrooms during the last 10 minutes, toss to coat well, and finish roasting. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

black bean soup & drop biscuits

The other night my mom asked me what I was planning to make for dinner. She thought my idea, black bean soup, sounded fantastic too so she made it the same night. I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself  considering that: 1. my mom is the best cook I know (no, seriously!) and 2. she's been cooking for quite a bit longer than I have, but all that to say...her soup turned out much better! I'm going to share her recipe instead of mine :)  (they were almost the same, but I like that hers called for more black beans, half of them pureed, and less rotel) Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients (for soup):
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T olive oil
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup chopped celery (optional)
4 ears corn, kernels removed
1 orange, juiced
2 26 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can mild rotel tomatoes
1 vegetable bouillon cube
water
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin

Directions (for soup):
Heat olive oil in large pot. Add onion and saute till beginning to soften. Add garlic, carrots and corn (and celery). Stir in tomatoes and orange juice. Process one 26 oz. can black beans in food processor with a little water, pulsing till chopped but not too mushy. Add all beans, vegetable bouillon, water to desired consistency and season. Cook till carrots are slightly done and soup is very hot.
*Serve garnished with mandarin orange segments, avocado slices and greek yogurt or sour cream.

I made these drop biscuits (from Cooks Illustrated) to go with our soup! They were delicious, if I do say so myself :)  

Ingredients (for biscuits):
2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t sugar
3/4 t table salt
1 c  cold buttermilk (I used non-fat)
8 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus 2 T butter for brushing biscuits

Directions (for biscuits):
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and 8 Tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl, sitrring until butter forms small clumps.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl. Using greased 1/4 cup dry measure, scoop level amounts of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Makes 12 biscuits.
Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 T of melted butter. Sprinkle with sea salt.