Posts Tagged ‘vegetables’

We recently joined South Mountain Veggies. They deliver local and organic fruits and vegetables. Amongst other awesome things (delicious apples, a whole watermelon, fresh corn on the cob, and more!) was a head of broccoli. I knew I wanted to roast it that same night. This is very simple.

Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli

1 tbs olive oil

salt to season

1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut up the broccoli into large pieces. Keep the florets whole and leave some of the stem on. Spread evenly onto a baking sheet.

Sprinkle olive oil all over the broccoli, then salt to taste.

Cook for about 20 minutes or when the broccoli begins to turn brown.

Finish by sprinkling Parmesan cheese on top. Serve hot.

This will be going into my monthly rotation. It came together quickly and had plenty of flavor. You can always add your own seasonings. Next time I may throw in some Old Bay.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lbs. potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
4 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream or 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 c. Ranch dressing
4-5 slices chopped bacon, cooked
2 c. cheese
2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1 t. garlic powder

Directions:

Boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain and return to pot. Slightly mash potatoes before adding
any other ingredients.

Add cream cheese, sour cream (or sour cream and ranch), bacon, 1 c. cheese and the
seasonings to the potatoes. Stir until well combined.

Transfer the potato mixture to a small casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese. Refrigerate or bake immediately at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

I believe I found this recipe just searching online. This is a crisp and cool salad for summertime. I let mine sit overnight to let everything meld together.

Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

½ cup sour cream
3 tbsp mayonnaise
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 clove of garlic, mashed to a paste
1/3 cup onion, chopped
6 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
salt/freshly ground pepper
3 medium cucumbers or 5 baby cucumbers (I used seedless), thinly sliced or chopped

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, mayo, vinegar, sugar, garlic and onion. Mix well and
toss in the cucumbers, dill and salt/pepper. Don’t be afraid to salt the salad well. The
cucumbers will release their water, thinning out the dressing, but it’s still great. Cover or place
in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, if not overnight. This is great chilled
or room temperature so it makes for a great picnic or party side.

I served these with my Creamy Ranch Dip. I forgot to pat them dry so some of them were a little floppy still, but most of them came out perfect. I found this recipe in a King Arthur’s Flour catalog.

Oven Baked Zucchini Strips

Ingredients

Canola or olive oil cooking spray
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), cut into 1/2-by-3-inch sticks
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 475°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine flours, cornmeal, salt and pepper in a large sealable plastic bag. Dip zucchini in
egg white, shake in the bag to coat, and arrange, not touching, on the baking sheet.
Coat all exposed sides with cooking spray.

Bake on the center rack for 10 minutes. Turn the zucchini and coat any floury spots with
cooking spray. Continue to bake until golden and just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes
more. Serve hot

My hubby finally bought me a food processor for my late birthday/late Chanukah present. I LOVE it! The first thing I did was make lattkes with it. Oh did I make a lotta lattkes. Instead of taking ages with the box grater it just took a few minutes. Thank you hubby! These are great for breakfast or a side to any meal. I put in a few drops of vanilla as well. You can very easily double or halve this recipe.

Latkes

Ingredients:

5 potatoes
2 onions
3 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
between 1/4 to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
oil for frying

Directions:

Peel potatoes.  Place potatoes and onions in a food processor fitted with a shredding blade. Drain mixture well.

Pour potato mixture into a large bowl. Add beaten eggs. Add salt and pepper. Add enough
flour so that the mixture holds together. Add a few drops of vanilla if desired.

Pour 1 inch of oil into a large, deep frying pan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Carefully drop 1/4 cup of the potato mixture into the hot oil. Flatten the pancake slightly so the center will cook. Fry for several minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
Drain on paper towels. Serve with sour cream or applesauce.

My hubby ate these right up, and he’s not a big fan of veggies. This is a side dish I’ll add to my normal rotation now. Fast and delicious, anyone will love these.

Roast Carrots with Maple Syrup Glaze

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

3 large carrots, cut into thin 3-inch long strips

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the oil and carrots in a medium-size roasting pan or an
ovenproof skillet or baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Roast on the middle shelf for
about 15 minutes, or until almost tender when pierced with a small, sharp knife. Drizzle on the
maple syrup, toss well to coat all the carrots, and roast another 10 minutes, or until tender and
glazed with the syrup

I have been dreading making this. I’ve been afraid of burning the crust, too much sauce, just..in general screwing this up. I finally got up the courage to make this. Yet again I find myself wondering why the heck I waited so long! The dough I made a couple of nights beforehand. The sauce is my usual homemade pasta sauce. I crisped up some bacon and used that on the meat pizza along with the peperoni. The veggie pizza I used red onions and mushrooms. So many possibilities for you and your family! This is a cheaper and tastier version of store bought pizza.

I have gotten over my fear and will add this to my menu every month now. I halved this recipe so it would just make two pizzas. The full recipe will make 4 12 inch pizzas.

Homemade Pizza with No Knead Dough

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions:

Mix the water, yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil in a 5-quart, lidded container (or bowl).

Mix the flour in, without kneading. Use a wooden spoon, a stand mixer, or a food processor.
Cover, not airtight, and let sit at room temperature for about 2 hours, until the dough rises and
then flattens on top.

Store in the fridge, keep it covered, but not air tight, and use within 12 days.

On the day you are going to make pizza, bring the dough out of the fridge. Dust the surface of
the dough with some flour and pull off a one pound chunk (using a serrated knife or kitchen
shears), this is about grapefruit size. Put the rest of the dough back in the fridge to be used
another day. Using floured hands quickly shape into a ball and then roll out, just like you roll
any other pizza dough. Using flour when needed to keep it from sticking. There is no need for it
to rest, you can proceed directly with your pizza recipe!

To make the pizza, add sauce and toppings.
Bake the pizza in your oven at 450° F for about 15-20 minutes until the crust is light
brown.

I’m not sure where I found this one, I think this was on one of the sites featured on SeriousEats. If you grow zucchini this recipe will be even cheaper for you. We rent so I can’t grow a garden. Someday when we have a house I will. I had to purchase the zucchini. I only used one, I had almost 2 cups worth. I flash froze these as well to serve to Eli as a snack. He loved them of course.

Summer Zucchini Bites

Ingredients:

2 c. grated zucchini
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. sharp cheddar, grated
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. fresh parsley, finely chopped

Makes approximately 24 mini-muffin sized bites

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Butter a mini-muffin tin, set aside.

2. In a large glass bowl add two eggs and beat lightly with a whisk. Then, add the zucchini, onion, cheddar, bread crumbs and parsley and combine them with a wooden spoon.

3. Using your hands or an ice-cream scoop, fill each muffin cup just to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the top is browned and set.

To freeze: Let them cool, then place on a baking sheet and set in the freezer for 30 minutes. After the time is up you can put them in a Ziplock bag. To reheat, throw them in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds.

I know these aren’t in season yet but I’ve been dying to have these again. It’s been such a long winter! Another simple side dish to go with any meal.

Zucchini and Squash with Onions

1 yellow summer squash

1 zucchini

1 sweet onion

1-2 green onions

salt and pepper to taste (herbs de Provence optional)

olive oil to saute

Cut the zucchini and squash into thin disks. Chop the onion and green onion roughly. Heat your saute pan to medium and put enough olive oil in the bottom to just cover it. Add the zucchini, squash, and onions. Stir to coat all the veggies with the oil. Add seasonings to taste. Stir occasionally and cook until the veggies begin to brown.

This is a simple side dish that goes well with anything. I add a little Herbs de Provence for more flavor. This is entirely optional. You can season these however you like, I love lots of garlic.

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes

1 pound baby red potatoes, quartered

olive oil to coat potatoes

garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, fresh cracked black pepper, herbs de Provence

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut potatoes into quarters and place on a baking sheet. Add the seasonings in the quantity you desire. Pour on enough olive oil to coat the potatoes. Mix oil and seasonings with your hands to distribute everything evenly.

Cook for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes are turning brown.