Ratatouille

I had to share this summer meal with you guys because we eat this at least once a week if not more. And you need to try it before all of these delicious summer veggies are out of season! I for one never thought I would like this dish. The name alone just doesn't sound appealing to me {pronounced rat-a-two-ee}. I definitely didn't think my husband would like it. But to my surprise he loved it and so did I! The following is a more traditional ratatouille recipe but read the notes below to find out how I tweak it...

Ratatouille

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups eggplant, diced
1 cup bell pepper, diced
1/8 tsp ground thyme
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 cup yellow squash, diced
1 cup tomatoes, diced
2 tbs fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parmesan cheese, grated

In a large sauté pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, stir occasionally. Sauté until the onion starts to become translucent. Add eggplant and ground thyme and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper to the pan. Sauté another 5 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash to the pan and sauté another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, fresh basil, salt and pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve over rice, pasta, crusty garlic bread or by itself! Then sprinkle {more like drown} the Ratatouille with parmesan cheese. Yum!

FYI: Our favorite way is over crusty garlic bread and eating it bruschetta style. But we've tried all 3 ways and each are delicious in their own right.

*Special Notes: The hubs and I don't like eggplant. So instead of eggplant I add an extra cup each of zucchini and yellow squash. I just didn't want to leave it out of the recipe for those of you who like eggplant or are feeling adventurous and might want to try it. If you plan on skipping the eggplant like we do, then just add the ground thyme with the bell pepper and then continue with recipe as follows.

Black Bean Soup

This soup is souper simple! Ha get it? Ok. I know. That was lame. As a family we are trying to eat less meat. It's just a health thing my husband and I have decided on. We try to make sure that about 90% of our meals lately are meatless. It's been hard! But this soup is tasty and comes with a kick!

Black Bean Soup
adapted from Betty Crocker


1- medium onion, finely diced
1- large clove garlic, finely diced
1- tbs olive oil
1- large celery stalk, chopped
1- large carrot, peeled and chopped
2- 14.5 oz cans vegetable broth
1- tsp dried oregano
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on preference)
2- 15 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
Lemon wedges








In a large saucepan, add olive oil, onion and garlic over medium high heat. Cook until onion is tender and translucent. Once onion is tender and translucent pour in vegetable broth and add the celery, carrots, oregano and red pepper flakes. Heat until boiling and then reduce heat so that the soup is simmering. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until carrots and celery are tender and easily pierced with a fork. While the soup is simmering drain and rinse the black beans. Reserve some beans to be mashed with a fork about 3/4 of a cup. Once celery and carrots are tender stir in the black beans and the mashed black beans in to the soup. Let the soup simmer for another 5-ish minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Yum!

Serves 4-6

Honey Roasted Carrots

We make homemade potato wedges all.the.time as a side for dinner {recipe to come soon! sorry we've been slacking} I was getting a little tired of potato wedges all of the time. Luckily, I remembered this recipe for honey roasted carrots. Soo delicious!

8 medium sized carrots, peeled and cut into pieces {or what I estimated to be about 3-4 big handfuls of baby carrots}

1 tbs honey

1 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil {very important for easy clean up!}. Toss carrots with honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out carrots even on the baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes or until browned and tender all way through. Enjoy!

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

My mom first originally made this for Troy and I awhile back. Now believe you me... I was skeptical. I'm not really a squash fan. My husband definitely not a squash fan. But believe it or not we both ended up going back for seconds! I love this because it's a whole meal in itself! Not to mention it's pretty darn healthy for you too!

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

very slightly adapted from Eating Well

Ingredients:

3 acorn squash, (3/4-1 pound each)

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbs chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes

1 15oz can black beans rinsed

1/2 tsp salt

Several dashes hot sauce, to taste

1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop and discard seeds. Place the squash cut side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 45 min.

In the mean time, brown the ground beef in a skillet. Add onion and bell pepper until tender. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salt and hot sauce. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the tomatoes are broken down. About 10-12 minutes.

When the squash are tender reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Fill the squash halves with the ground beef mixture and top with cheese. Place on the baking sheet and bake until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted. About 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

I'm alive, I promise. And I have been cooking meals, but honestly nothing that's blog worth. We've been busy. The husband is interviewing like crazy. And so far has four more interviews that he has to fly to. So when he's gone I don't really make dinner.

A couple weeks ago we had a few days of cooler weather, like in the 60s. It was time for soup. Squash are my favorite vegetables. They are cheap, last a long time and you can dress them up so many different ways. This time I used a butternut squash. They are tricky to cut, so unless you are strong I recommend letting the husband/boyfriend cut it for you. This soup had a nice kick to it because of the jalapeno, but it's not too bad.

2 T butter
1/2 onion, diced
2 t ginger
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 butternut squash-peeled, seeded and cubed
2 c chicken broth
1 evaporated milk
1 t sugar
salt and pepper
1 c sour cream

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion, ginger and jalapeno pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the butternut squash and chicken broth, and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until squash is tender. Stir in evaporated milk, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes. CAREFULLY, pour soup into a blender. Hold the lid of blender with towel and start to blend. Puree in batches (I was able to do it all at once in my blender), or if you have a hand blender you can blend it in the pot. Serve with sour cream.

Pumpkin Smoothie

We've been drinking a lot of smoothies lately. I recently got the book, The Food Bible. It's all about how the book can cure different ailments by the food you eat. Under the section I'm following I need to be consuming eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Which isn't too bad. Fruits and vegetables should be a big part if any diet. Everything I read always comes down to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less animal product.

Well I opened up a huge can of pumpkin purée and so we started having pumpkin smoothies. So good. I don't know why I waited so long to have one. It's really like eating pumpkin pie.

3/4 c pumpkin purée
1 frozen banana
1/2 c milk
Handful baby spinach {I always throw spinach into my smoothies, you can't even taste it. I've even done carrots and red pepper}
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t ground cloves

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If you like it more liquid add more milk and if you like it thicker add ice cubes or add less milk.
Drink with a straw. Yum!

Ham Fried Rice

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Chinese food. Unfortunately, most of the Chinese restaurants around here {while very much delicious} probably aren't the greatest choices for you. I absolutely love this version of ham fried rice that I've sort of adapted from several different recipes. It's full of veggies, super easy and delicious!



Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 tbs canola oil
one half of a small onion, minced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
2 cups carrots julienne style
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 cup ham, diced
4 cups brown rice, cooked
2 tbs soy sauce
2 eggs


Directions:
In a large non stick skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic and ginger and saute for about one minute. Add carrots, broccoli, peas. Saute for another 4-5 minutes. Next add the ham and rice. Cook until heated through. Once the rice is heated through make an empty space in the middle of the pan. Add eggs and scramble until fluffy. Stir them in to the rest of the ingredients. Add soy sauce and stir until well mixed. Serve.

Acorn Squash Peach Baked Chicken

Technically it's still summer, but Autumn is just around the corner and I'm getting so excited. Today was the first day it felt like it's cooling down, however looking at the weather forecast it's going to be back in the 80s soon enough. I'm not complaining, but I would like to be able to go to the park without sweating.

More proof that Autumn is coming are the squashes and gourds that are filling the bins at the grocery store. I picked up an acorn squash with no plans for it, but after watching a recent documentary, Forks Over Knives, I'm really trying to focus on more vegetables and fruits in our diet. We do pretty good, but there is always room for improvement.

I'm so happy I stumbled across this recipe. It was really good. I didn't have chicken thighs or legs, like the recipe called for, but I'm sure it would taste even better if I had. Or even a whole chicken. Once again it has rosemary. I promise I use other seasonings. This meal was so good my 2 year old ate it all up.

Acorn Squash Peach Baked Chicken
adapted from Taste of Home

2 small acorn squash
2-4 minced garlic cloves
2 T olive oil
4 chicken drumsticks & 4 bone-in chicken thighs {or 2 chicken breast cut into smaller pieces}
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1 T rosemary
1 t Kosher salt
1 can sliced peaches in 100% juice, undrained

Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Cut each half widthwise into 1/2 in slices; discard ends. Place slices in ungreased 13x9 baking dish. Rub garlic over squash and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. In a skillet, brown chicken in remaining oil. Arrange chicken over squash. Combine the brown sugar, rosemary and salt; sprinkle over chicken and squash. Bake, covered at 350 for 45 minutes. Pour peaches over chicken and squash. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

Breakfast Burrito

I got a request for a kid friendly meal. I don't know about you, but it's exhausting thinking up things to make for lunch for a toddler. Everything I read says they like repetition, but I'm pretty sure my son can only handle a pb&j, or noodles so much. But I hate doing a big meal for lunch when I still have to cook dinner. I'll be honest some days he just has snacks all day, because I don't feel like arguing. Often times I'll give my son greek yogurt for lunch with some granola and frozen blueberries in it. He loves it, and it's easy.

My son loves to eat things that come on sticks or rolled up. We've been known to put whatever meal we are eating on toothpicks because he will eat it up. Also if we call it baby he'll eat it. The other day he ate just vegetables from a stir fry because we called them baby carrots, baby peas and baby corn. Worked like a charm. The other day I made him a breakfast burrito for dinner. Oddly he likes beans and eggs so it was a perfect option.


1 egg, beated and mixed with milk {get cage free, there is a noticeable difference, the yolk is a better color and holds up better}
1/4 c black bean
1/8 c grated cheese
2 T chopped Kale
1 flour tortilla
1 T Coconut oil

Heat coconut oil in frying pan and satuee Kale for a few minutes. Add egg mixture and scramble together. You really can add whatever you like but I put sour cream, cheese, and mashed black beans on the tortilla topped with scrambled eggs and rolled it tight. It fit perfectly in my sons hand and he ate it up.

Sweet Potatoe Fries

I'm sure many of you have seen sweet potato fries popping up at many restaurants these days. We love them. I actually prefer them to french fries, though I still occasionally have a craving. Making sweet potato fries is very easy and doesn't involve a deep fryer. Sweet potato fries are not crispy, instead they are soft and delicious. The hard part is cutting them. Sweet potatoes are a lot harder to cut then a white potato, so watch your fingers.

Now many times when I go to buy a sweet potato I cannot find a sweet potato but yams. While researching the difference online I came across this blog that examined the difference. Turns out what we call a yam is really a sweet potato, though there are different kinds. After reading the blog it seems that what I usually pick up is a camote, they are bigger.
2 sweet potatoes
Lemon Pepper
Kosher salt
Italian Seasoning
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 475. Cut the sweet potato in half long ways. Cut in half again and then cut into strips. Line a baking pan with tin foil {saves on clean up} and drizzle olive oil coating the pan. Spread the sweet potato strips so they are even, then season to taste with salt, lemon pepper and Italian seasoning. Bake for 20 minutes.

Fried Zucchini Chips

I've been MIA for the past week. We went camping with my husband's family and then as soon as we got home I promptly came down with the flu or food poisoning. The mere thought of food has made my stomach turn. I've been living off of chicken noodle soup and jello for the past couple of days. It's been rather unpleasant. But now I'm back on my feet and ready to eat!

I've had my eye on this recipe for Zucchini Chips from 100 Days of Real Food for awhile. My mom and step dad have been growing a vegetable garden and dropped off some zucchini the other day and I knew just what to do with it! And it was tasty! I think next time I would also like to try baking them. The frying didn't exactly agree with my acid reflux ;)




Ingredients:
2 medium zucchinis
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Thinly slice zucchini in to 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices {personally I prefer the thicker slices}. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Put bread crumb mixture in to a shallow bowl. Take zucchini slice and dip in the beaten egg and then cover the zucchini in the bread mixture. Once all of the zucchini slices have been breaded heat the olive oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot add a layer of breaded zucchini slices to the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Once cooked, place on plate with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serves 4-6