I finally made my first batch of homemade spaghetti sauce!
Tag Archives: Vegetables
Easy Zucchini and Feta Egg Muffins
Back to school time is quickly approaching… Ugh! Although I am soaking up every last second of summer I do need to prepare somewhat for back to school. And also mentally prepare for the chaos to begin!
Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats
This was our dinner tonight and oh boy it was gooood! I saw the recipe a while back on Kevin’s site and had to try it. And now since it’s summer, zucchini’s at it’s best.
Since we already ate our own garden’s stock, I stopped at the local farmer’s stand on the way home a picked up a bunch. With zucchini, peppers and onions in season right now this meal is not only healthy, but affordable.
Veggie Egg Casserole
Our vacation is quickly coming to an end 🙁 It’s now time to start cleaning out the fridge.
Since we are all veggie lovers I had lots to choose from when making this veggie egg casserole. I decided on potatoes, pepper, onions, mushrooms, and fresh spinach, but any veggie combo will work.
Zucchini Fritters
The local produce stands are open for the summer! Nothing tastes better than fresh local produce. It is also awesome to support your local farmers.
Everything looks so delicious it’s hard to choose so I usually end up with a bunch of veggies and zucchini is one of them. I never have too many zucchini recipes. So when I saw this recipe on Closet Cooking I knew this would be perfect. Thanks Kevin!
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Now that summer is here I try to grill just about everything!
No way am I going to be inside cooking when I can be outside enjoying summer. And nothing says summer more than corn on the cob!
Thai Lettuce Wraps
I recently had some friends ask me to make some Paleo recipes. This is a great idea for me, since I am into crossfit and that’s the diet many crossfitters try to follow. So I had to do some research on what the heck the Paleo diet was and what they ate.
I came up with lettuce wraps! Quick, easy, and can be made with just about any meat and veggie combo you like. Or they could just be easily made vegetarian… mushrooms instead of meat. Works great as both an appetizer or a meal.
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons oil of choice, I used sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons tamari for gluten free, or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of garlic chili sauce, or more if you like spicy
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken, turkey, or pork
- 1 small zucchini, shredded
- 1 medium carrot, shredded
- 1/2 small cabbage head, shredded, or half a bag coleslaw mix to save time
- 1/3 cup green onion, chopped
- 1 handful of chopped cilantro for topping, if desired
- 1 head of lettuce to use for wrap, I used Boston bib, but I think romaine would work great too
Directions
- Mix all ingredients for the sauce in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cook ground chicken until no longer pink. Add veggies and sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add mixture to lettuce leaves, roll up and serve. They are a little messy to eat, but they are so good!
Enjoy!
Last Minute Skillet Pasta Recipe
Another crazy busy week night and I’m starving. Luckily, I had taken some sun dried tomato chicken sausage (free range chicken of course) out of the freezer recently. Now what to do with it?
I found some whole wheat bow tie pasta in the pantry and diced tomatoes. That’s a start! Of course I never made it to the store this weekend for fresh veggies. I’m really missing the local produce stands to quick stop at on my way home from work.
While digging through the fridge I found a jar of leftover sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and capers. I know, who keeps that stuff laying around in the fridge? I like to buy that stuff in bulk so I always have a meal to throw together. Of course fresh veggies would work wonderfully in this dish. Fresh peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, just about anything! Oh well, next time.
Considering the circumstances, the dish came out great!
Sun dried tomatoes contain many antioxidants that help fight many types of cancers and also help boost immunity. Just one cup contains 9 percent of the daily value for vitamin A and 35 percent of the daily value for vitamin C. Click here to learn more about the benefits of sun dried tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 package Italian chicken or turkey sausage (or no meat at all!) This recipe would also work with ground meat or shrimp.
- 1/2 to 3/4 pound of pasta, cooked (I used bow tie)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced1 large roasted red pepper, sliced into strips
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips
- 1/4 cup capers
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1/2 jar pasta sauce
- parmesan or mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook sausage in a pan with a little bit of water until no longer pink and cooked through. Drain water and saute until nice and brown. Cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in cast iron skillet (or a skillet you can put in the oven) over medium high heat. If you do not have one, cook in a regular skillet and transfer to a baking dish.
- Saute onion for a few minutes. Add roasted red pepper, sun dried tomatoes, capers, and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until garlic is cooked.
- Lower skillet heat to medium low. Add can of diced tomatoes and pasta sauce. Cook until nice and bubbly.
- Add cooked pasta and sausage and stir.
- Top with cheese and put the skillet right into the oven, or transfer to baking dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes.
Nutritional facts coming soon. I Promise. 🙂
Enjoy!
Thai Peanut Chicken Pasta with Vegetables
So you’re probably thinking…Peanut butter and pasta, really? Don’t be fooled, it really is a great combination! In fact, this is one of the most requested meals by my husband. It’s not very spicy and the peanut butter sauce adds a nice sweetness to the dish so if you’ve never had Thai food before, this is a great recipe to start with.
Ginger root is typically large and most recipes call for only a few teaspoons. Don’t let that ginger go to waste. Freeze it. When you need to use it again no need to defrost, it actually is easier to grate while frozen. Just simply peel away the skin and grate. Ginger root will last about 6 months in the freezer. Click here for more information about ginger root.
Ingredients
- 2 carrots, peeled
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided (you can use olive oil if you don’t have sesame)
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup of peanut butter (creamy or chunky, whatever you have)
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar (white vinegar will also work)
- 1 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce or sriracha (you can find this in the Asian section of the grocery store)
- 1 cup canned lite coconut milk (found in the baking isle or Asian section)
- 1 lb chicken breasts cut into strips
- 1 large red pepper cut into thin strips
- 1 pound green beans or snow peas
- 1 box of whole wheat spaghetti or linguine, cooked
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup peanuts for topping (optional)
Directions
- Shave carrots with a vegetable peeler and set aside in a bowl.
- Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add ginger and garlic, saute for about 30 seconds. Add broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and chili sauce. Stir together until peanut butter is smooth. About 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and stir until heated. Remove sauce from heat and keep warm with a lid on top of pan.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add peppers and green beans or snow peas, saute for about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Add chicken strips. Cook chicken strips until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Add the carrots, sauted vegetables, pasta, and peanut sauce to the cooked chicken in the skillet. Toss well so everything is covered with the sauce. I found that using tongs worked best.
- Top with fresh cilantro and peanuts.
Enjoy!