Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds trimmed green beans, cut to 2 to 3 inch long pieces
• Salt
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion (or shallots)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• Freshly ground black pepper

1 Place the chopped onions in a small bowl of water. This will help take the edge off the onions. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

2 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (2 Tbsp salt for 2 quarts of water). Add the green beans to the water and blanch only for about 2 minutes or so, until the beans are just barely cooked through, but still crisp. Fresh young beans should cook quickly. Older, tougher beans may take longer. While the beans are cooking, prepare a large bowl of ice water. When the beans are ready, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the boiling water to the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain the green beans and the red onions.

3 Place the green beans, red onion, and chopped basil in a large bowl. Sprinkle in the olive oil, toss to coat. Sprinkle in the balsamic and Parmesan cheese. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Chill until ready to serve.

Asian Slaw

Ha!  Just cleaned off my desk and found this recipe buried at the bottom of a paper pile.  I made this several times this summer - great salad for summer BBQs and potlucks as it does not contain anything that will spoil in the sun!

Asian Slaw
Ingredients:
- 2, 3oz packages of ramen noodles
-2, 8.5oz packages of slaw mix
-1 c sliced almonds
-1 c sunflower seeds
-1 bunch of green onions, chopped
-1/2 c sugar
-3/4 c vegetable oil
-1/3 cup vinegar

1. Crush noodles and place in the bottom of a large bowl.
2. Then, add slaw mix, almonds, sunflower seeds, and green onions.
3. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, and vinegar.
4. Pour dressing over salad. chill for 24 hours.
5.  Toss before serving.

Balsamic Roasted Green Beans

These are AWESOME with garden fresh green beans!!

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh green beans, preferably thin French style beans
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 T finely grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450F. Trim ends of beans and cut beans in half so you have bite-sized pieces.
2.  Put cut beans into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour over, then stir so all the beans are lightly coated with the mixture. 

3. Arrange on large cookie sheet, spreading them out well so beans and mushrooms are not crowded. Roast 20-30 minutes, starting to check for doneness after 20 minutes.(I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper to keep them from sticking!!)

4.  Cook until beans are tender-crisp. 

5.  Season beans to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper, then sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan. Serve hot.

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, peeled and 1/4" sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups panko bread crumbs
• 6 cups marinara, divided
• mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 cup of fresh basil leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Zucchini Chips

• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs*
• 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fat-free milk
• 2 1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
• parchment paper 

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

*Use corn flake crumbs for GF version.

Chicken and Wild Rice Salad

This recipe is straight-up stolen from some girlfriends, but it's been shared so many times I'm including it here.  Mostly for my own sake so that I remember it and think to make it!  This is a great recipe for the rest of that rotisserie chicken you have left over.


Chicken and Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:
3 c cooked wild rice
1 c chopped celery
1 c red bell pepper
1/2 c green onion
2 c mayo (sub plain yogurt)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp celery salt
2-3 c chicken
2 c red grapes

1.  Mix and enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti

We were craving spaghetti the other night, but with these unseasonably warm temps meat marinara was sounding a bit heavy.  This is a light and refreshing alternative.  I'm sure it will make several reappearances at our table this summer.

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti
Ingredients:
-garlic, as much as you can handle :)
-2 Tbs olive oil per serving
-whole wheat spaghetti noodles
-3 lemons (mine were small), juiced
-basil, fresh or freeze dried
-walnuts, chopped
-shaved parmesan cheese

1.  Prepare noodles according to package directions.
2.  Warm oil and garlic over LOW heat.  Cook until garlic begins to brown, then remove from heat.
3.  Combine noodles, garlic oil, basil, lemon juice and walnuts. 
4.  Serve topped with parmesan.

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

I realize I'm probably going to get some of you thinking "No Way!" on this one, but let me tell you, it was great!  It even got a big thumbs up from the meat-eating hubby and the picky kiddos had clean plates.  I served it up on buns with salty chips alongside (if you're really cool, you put the chips right into the sandwich!).  This would be a great vegetarian option for summer BBQs.  Meat eaters could enjoy it as a side (it's a lot like baked beans).

Ingredients:
-2 c broth
-1 c dried lentils, rinsed
-1/2 c onion, diced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 c ketchup
-1/4 c honey
-2 Tbs brown sugar
-1 Tbs mustard
-1 Tbs cider vinegar
-Hamburger buns

1. Combine broth, lentils, onion, garlic, and salt in the crock pot.  Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, until lentils are tender.
2.  Whisk together ketchup, honey, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar.  Add to crock pot.  Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes.
3.  Serve on buns with pickles, chips, or any other bbq favorite!

Make-It-Up Spaghetti

I had some veggies that needed to be used up and warm spaghetti just sounded good this week with the cooler temps. The whole family gobbled this one up :)

Make-It-Up Spaghetti


Ingredients:
-1 large zucchini, sliced and quartered
-6-8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
-olive oil
-garlic, minced
-kale
-garbanzo beans*
-small cut pasta
-shredded parmesan
-toasted sunflower seeds

1. Boil noodles to al dente. Rinse and set aside.
2. In a large pan, simmer olive oil and garlic.
3. Add tomatoes and zucchini, let simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Stir in kale and garbanzo beans and simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
5. Mix in pasta.
6. Serve topped with sesame seeds and parmesan.

*This was my source of protein for our meal, but it would also be great with grilled chicken or shrimp.

Popsicles, Chocolate Covered Strawberry

One last hurrah for the popsicle stand here at our house. This is a good one and plenty of good stuff inside makes a no-guilt treat!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Popsicles

Ingredients:
-1 c. vanilla yogurt
-1 avocado*
-6-8 strawberries
-2 Tbs. cocoa
-Splash of milk

Dump all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 6 hours. Enjoy and good-bye, Summer!!


*Yes, avocado. I promise you can't taste it, but there is so much good stuff added when you include it and it gives a creamier texture. This is a great way to use up an avocado that's gone a little brown, unappealing to look at but still perfectly fine for consuming!

Garden Salsa

I played around with this recipe a lot last year, but ultimately discovered that keeping it simple was the way to go for flavor, at least that's my preference. There really isn't anything like fresh salsa, and served up top these restaurant fajita leftovers - yum!

Garden Salsa

Ingredients:
-tomatoes, seeded
-onion
-hot pepper
-juice of 1-2 limes
-cilantro

Roughly chop all ingredients and place in food processor. Pulse until items are finely chopped to your desired consistency. Chill before serving.

Gazpacho-style Pasta

The cucumbers are literally taking over my world. The garden, the CSA, they just won't stop coming! Many people have recommended gazpacho to me, but I've tried it before and something about cold mush doesn't appeal to me at all. It's not the flavor so much as the texture - bleh! So . . . when I came across this recipe for gazpacho pasta salad, I thought hmmmmm.... I think this might work!!

Gazpacho-style Pasta

Ingredients:
-1 box of small shell pasta
-1 large cucumber, cut into 1" chunks
-1 red pepper, cut into large chunks
-1 yellow pepper, cut into large chunks
-1 sweet onion, quartered
-1 hot pepper, cut into large chunks (pablano, jalepeno, etc.)
-1 garlic clove, chopped
-5-6 tomatoes, cut into small pieces
-2 Tbs olive oil
-2 Tbs red wine vinegar
-salt

1. Cook pasta to al dente.
2. Pulse cucumbers, peppers, onion, and garlic until finely chopped, but NOT pureed.
3. Mix well in a large bowl: pasta, processor contents, tomatoes, oil, vinegar, and salt.
4. Chill and serve.

Summer Pasta

Did anyone else catch Rachel Ray today? I happened to catch the first 10 minutes and it is so great that I did! This morning I was thinking I need to use up some summer squash and some corn on the cob so this recipe played right into my plan. I did roast the squash instead of grilling because it was more convenient for me to be all in the kitchen and not having to run out to grill every few minutes. I also boiled my corn before cutting it off the ears.

Rachel Ray's Penne with Grilled Summer Squash and Sweet Corn

Zucchini "Spaghetti"

With the arrival of my new mandolin today, I am super excited to more efficiently chop, julienne, and deal with the overwhelming amount of produce in my house. First stop, Zucchini "noodles". I've been wanting to try this for a long time but considered it a huge time-suck. Truth be told, it would be without the mandolin! (Seriously, how many times do I have to mention it before you buy one, too?! :) And might I add, this is a GREAT spaghetti option for my g-free friends out there.


Zucchini "Spaghetti"

Ingredients:
-2 large zucchinis, peeled
-marinara sauce
-parmesan cheese
-fresh chopped basil
-toasted sunflower seeds

1. Use the "thin julienne" setting on the mandolin to cut both zucchinis into a colander.

2. Sprinkle the "noodles" with a bit of salt and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. A lot of liquid will drain from the zucchini during this time.

3. Toss "noodles" in a pan over low to medium heat to warm the up; drain excess liquid.

4. Toss "noodles" with marinara sauce, top with cheese, fresh basil, and sunflower seeds.

Enjoy this absolutely GUILT-FREE, CARB-FREE pasta dinner!!

Grilled Watermelon Salad

Have an oversized watermelon in your house and tired of eating it raw? I NEVER would have thought cooked watermelon would be a good idea, but this turned out great! Even my soon-to-be kindergartener (who initially took one look at it and said, "Momma, I am NOT eating warm watermelon!") gobbled it up and asked for more after we coaxed her into taking just one bite. Who knew it was possible to make watermelon juicier and sweeter than it is raw!!

Grilled Watermelon Salad

Ingredients:
-Fresh cut wedges of watermelon
-Spring greens
-Feta cheese
-Balsamic vinegar
-Olives (optional)

1. Sear the watermelon on both sides on the grill (about 2 minutes on each side).

2. Serve topped with spring greens, feta cheese, and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. (Can add olives if you so desire - my family does not!).

Squashamole

Hold on to your hats, friends. This. Is. A. Good. One. Seriously, this is something I will be begging for come oh say, February! SO MUCH summer squash and zucchini coming in these days, this is a great, delicious, and no-guilt healthy way to gobble it up!! Thanks for the inspiration, RR!!

Squashamole

Ingredients:
-Several small summer squash or zucchini
-2 small onions
-head of garlic, separated but not peeled
-olive oil
-toasted walnuts
-shredded parmesan cheese

1. Slice squash/zucchini and onions lengthwise, toss to coat in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

2. Wrap garlic cloves (unpeeled) in foil.

3. Grill items from #1 and #2 on low to medium heat for 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through.

4. Combine in food processor: squash/zucchini from the grill, garlic squeezed from skins, toasted walnuts, and parmesan cheese.

5. Blend until smooth. Chill. Serve with tortilla chips.

Delish!

Marinara

My notes for marinara are more of a process than a recipe, so I'm formatting this entry a bit differently. Marinara flavoring can really vary depending on personal taste, so feel free to add, delete, modify to your own preferences!



When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you tomatoes . . . make marinara? Works for me. This is only a small harvesting from what's available in my garden and CSA at the moment so I've got a lot of cooking to do! (p.s. On another note, I have a bag full of lemons from the CSA in my fridge as well, maybe I should explore that homemade lemonade idea???)

1. Because I also had garden-fresh celery, carrots, and onions available, I started my marinara with a traditional mirepoix. I chopped the celery, carrots, and onion into very small pieces, added a head's worth of minced garlic and some olive oil. Put them over heat for 10ish minutes to let them soften and get the juices flowing.

2. I roughly chopped my tomatoes (for this batch, I used about 1 container pictured above). I like my marinara with bigger chunks of tomato, so that's how I cut 'em. You can dice yours finer if you prefer. Once chopped, add tomatoes to the mirepoix.

3. Add canned tomato sauce to achieve your desired thickness/thinness. I added 1 1/2 cans.



4. Add a generous amount of chopped fresh basil and oregano, brown sugar (I used 1Tbs for the whole pot), and salt/pepper. Let the pot simmer for 45-60 minutes. (Careful it is not boiling, just simmering.) As it simmers, taste and adjust herbs/seasonings until it tastes good to you.

5. When done, you can serve or freeze. See directions below for easy freezing.




Have you ever tried getting sauce from a pot into a ziploc? Not pretty. A good friend tipped me off to this easy and CLEAN method for freezing liquid goods. Shechele, if you're out there, thank you. My kitchen is cleaner because of you.

1. Take a ziploc bag and put it inside of a large measuring cup, folding the zipper over the edge. Use a mug to scoop sauce out of pot and into the bag.

2. Once full, zip most of the way closed, squeeze out excess air and lay flat on a cookie sheet. Put in freezer until solid. This makes the sauce super thin and stackable, great for long-term storage in an overcrowded freezer!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

With a garden and a CSA overflowing with zucchini harvest, what's a girl to do? There are only so many "healthy" dishes to be made. At some point, you have to help those veggies go sweet, right? :)


Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:
-1/2c butter
-1/2c oil
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/2 c buttermilk (or 1/2 c milk + 1/2 tsp lemon juice)
-1 3/4 c sugar
-2 1/2 c flour
-4 T cocoa
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking soda
-2 c pureed zuchhini

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan (or insert liners if making cupcakes). Mix all ingredients. Stir in zucchini. Pour into pan (or cups). Bake 40 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan or 18 minutes for cupcakes.

Optional toppings:
Add After Baking - Fruit, powdered sugar, cream cheese frosting
Add Before Baking - chocolate chips, brown sugar, walnuts

Simple Chicken with Fruit Salsa

This is a simple and seasonal. Enjoy!




Simple Chicken with Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:
-1 small melon, cut into 1/4" pieces
-2-3 pluots, chopped into 1/4" pieces (can sub peaches)
-Zest and juice of 1 lime
-fresh basil, chopped
-salt and pepper
-2-4 chicken breasts

1. Mix the melon, pluots, 1/2 the zest, all the juice, basil, salt and pepper together in a bowl to create a fruit salsa. Refrigerate to let the flavors mingle.
2. Rub the chicken with the remaining zest, salt and pepper. Grill until juices run clear.
3. Serve chicken topped with salsa. Great with a side of tortilla chips.

Mushroom-stuffed Zucchini

AAAhhhhh...... We are in that sweet spot of summer when it's cooled down enough to open the windows and turn on the oven but still warm enough to crave fresh, crisp produce straight out of the garden. Even better, my seasonal allergies haven't kicked in yet so I can still enjoy the amazing flavors!

For all you meat lovers out there, the mushrooms in this dish can easily be swapped out for ground beef, turkey, chicken, or sausage.

Mushroom-Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:
-1 large zucchini
-mushrooms, chopped
-2 sweet onions, chopped
-1 red pepper, chopped
-1 head of garlic, minced
-tomato sauce or marinara
-shredded cheese (I used a mixture of parm and motz)
-bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut the zucchini in half, the long way, and scoop out the seeds and center flesh until it looks like a boat. Shave the smallest amount possible off the non-cut side of each half so the zucchini will sit flat on the pan without rolling over.
3. Lightly brush a rimmed baking sheet and the zucchini with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tender-crisp.
4. Meanwhile, saute the chopped veggies and garlic in olive oil until soft.
5. When zucchini is done, remove from oven. Fill your cooked zucchini boats with the veggie mixture. Pour tomato sauce over the veggies. Top with shredded cheese and a dusting of bread crumbs.
6. Put assembled boats back into the oven until the cheese melts, then pop them in the broiler for about a minute to crisp up the top.