Category: VEGETABLES

MEXICAN LASAGNA~HEALTHY MEALS

This is a huge piece of lasagna. Enormous. I’m totally full. This recipes makes a LOT of food. It’s a great recipe to freeze individual portions for quick lunches or dinners. Packed with protein, this cheesy, tasty sauce is full of flavor but isn’t spicy at all. You do need a big baking pan for this, I think that I used an 11 x 17 in. pan. You probably could split it and use 1 – 9 x 13 pan and 1 – 8 x 8 pan and just freeze one. I might just do that next time.
MEXICAN LASAGNA
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 red pepper, chopped
1 can of corn or frozen corn
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chil peppers
1 (8 ounce) jar taco sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sour cream
12 – 8 inch, whole wheat tortillas, toasted
1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the ground turkey for 5 minutes. 
  • Add the onion, peppers and garlic, and sauté for 5 more minutes. 
  • Drain any excess fat. 
  • Mix in the tomatoes, green chile peppers, tomatoes with green chile peppers, taco sauce, corn, black beans and refried beans. 
  • Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. 
  • Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture in the bottom of a 11 x 17 pan. 
  • Cover with a layer of 3 tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then 1/2 of the sour cream. 
  • Repeat tortilla and meat layers, spreading sour cream on one more layer, until all the tortillas are used, topping off with a layer of meat mixture and cheese. I use 3 tortillas on each layer, 2 side by side and one cut in 1/2 spread over the open area. 
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

Total calories = 3789
8 huge servings = 473 calories per serving
12 servings = 316 calories per serving

Fire Day Friday: Vegetable Burritos

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, I made a recipe for vegetable burritos that came from a recipe pamphlet from RoTel. Okay, carbon dating and fossil records show it was actually just over 15 years ago.

We loved it back then and thought it was an impressive recipe. That was back when I was just learning to cook for Alexis and my new family. Tonight we dragged this one out of the archives and upgraded it to how we would have made it now compared to back then.

Fire Roasted Vegetable Burritos with Cilantro/Roasted Pepper Queso

Source: NibbleMeThis

1 cup long grain rice
2 ea vidalia spring onions (green onions if you can’t get them)
1 ea red bell pepper
1 ea poblano or cubanelle chile
1 ea cherry pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
1 ea serrano pepper, finely diced (skip if you want mild, double if you want hot)
1 cup refried beans
1 cup salsa
6 ea flour tortillas (mission sized burrito tortillas)
6 oz Mexican Dipping Cheese (We get El Viajero brand)
4 oz milk
1/4 cup cilantro

Start your grill to direct high heat at about 500f (skip if using your broiler and oven)

Cook your rice according to directions.

Grill the green onions just enough to get a slight browning on them (about 1 min a side). Fire roast or broil your peppers until blackened on all sides. The fire roasting brings out the best of the veggies.


Don’t be afraid that they are “too charred”. That makes them easier to peel and won’t affect the final flavor. This one wasn’t done enough yet, just to give you an idea.


Place the peppers in a plastic zip top bag, they’ll steam on their own for 5 minutes.

Cut the ends off each pepper and slice down the length of one side to open them up. Remove the seeds from the inside. Flip and lightly scrap the charred skin off with the sharp edge of a knife.

Dice the green onions.

As soon as the rice is finished, stir in the green onions, red bell pepper, and cubanelle/poblano pepper (reserve the cherry pepper for the cheese sauce). Stir in 1 cup of the cheese and the serrano pepper.

Taste the rice mixture for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Repeat for each tortilla:
Spread about 3 Tbsp of refried beans on the tortilla. Top with 1/2 cup of the rice mixture. Sprinkle more cheese and 3 Tbsp of salsa on top. Roll up burrito style and place seam side down in a casserole dish. (Click here for a photo tutorial of how I fold mine.) Top with a few sprinkles of more shredded cheese.

Place the dish in your oven preheated to 350f (or in our case, a grill set up at 350f for indirect heat) and cook for 25 minutes.

Cut the queso cheese into 1/2″ cubes and put into a small sauce pan. Add the milk, cilantro, and diced cherry pepper and warm until melted over medium/low heat.

Serve the burritos with the sauce poured over the top or on the side.

Don’t let the minimal amount in the picture fool you. As soon as the pictures were taken and my burrito was cut up, I ladled a good bit of that queso sauce all over my burrito!

In case you’re interested, here’s the original version. It’s a lot easier and still good.

Vegetable Burritos
Yields: 6

Ingredients
1 Pam non stick spray
1 can (12 oz) Rotel (Diced tomatoes/chilis)
1 cup instant rice
1/2 cup water
1 Green pepper
2 Green onions
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 cup refried beans
10 8″ tortillas
1 cup salsa
Black olives to taste

Instructions
preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x 12 x 2 baking dish w/ spray. In medium saucepan, combine Rotel, rice & water. Heat to boil, reduce heat, cover, & simer 1 minute. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in pepper, onions and 1 cup cheese. Spread 3 table spoons beans over each tortilla. Layer rice mixture over beens and sprinkle on more cheese & salsa. Roll up and place seam down in prepared baking dish. Cover w/ foil. Bake 25 minutes.

PICKLED CARROTS

Pickled Carrots

(makes 2 cups)
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1 pound carrots (peeled and cut to match stick size)
  • Mix the water, vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolves.
  • Place the carrots in a container and cover with the pickling liquid.
  • Let pickle for at least and hour and store in the fridge for up to a week.

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GORGONZOLA BACON GREEN BEANS

GORGONZOLA BACON GREEN BEANS
1/4 pound thick bacon, chopped
1 small bunch green onions, sliced
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup Gorgonzola crumbles

  • In a large skillet cook bacon until crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on papertowels.
  • Add onions and green beans to bacon drippings and stir fry until crisp tender.
  • Drain off any remaining bacon drippings.
  • Toss onions, green beans, bacon bits and gorgonzola crumbles.

Buffalo Chickpea Patties

I’ve been enjoying a lot of vegetarian meals lately. I LOVE beans, they are healthy and cheap!

I’ve made bean patties before but so far, these are my favorite. I got the recipe from Veggie by Season and I even attempted to copy her presentation!  It looked so nice! 

I liked how she pureed some of the oats, I think that led to them sticking together better.  They made a very nice appetizer! 

We ate these with a delicious Apple and Caramelized Onion Pizza. 
Buffalo Chickpea Patties
Adapted from Veggie by Season
1 – 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 c. buffalo sauce, I used Franks
1 egg white
1 small onion
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper

For serving:
Buffalo sauce
Ranch or blue cheese
Carrot Sticks
Celery
Cucumber

Add chickpeas to a bowl, use a potato masher or fork to mash, some chunks are okay.  Add the buffalo sauce to the chickpeas. 

Add half the oats to a food processor, pulse to create a crumb, add to the chickpeas. Then add the rest of the oats. Beat the egg white into the chickpeas.  Grate onion into the chickpeas, finally add the garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Combining ingredients well. 

Heat a griddle over medium, spray with nonstick spray.  Use a 1/4 measuring cup to portion out chickpea mixture onto griddle.  Cook patties for about 5 – 7 minutes, until crispy and brown, flip gently and cook for another 5 – 7 minutes.  Serve immediately to retain crispness. 

I served these as an appetizer and got about 7 patties.  You could make larger patties and serve as a burger as well. 

Total calories = 616 calories
7 patties = 88 calories per patty

ONION PANADE aka DINNER BREAD PUDDING

I found this awesome recipe for Onion Panade over at Stone Soup.   She called it the ultimate comfort food or a savory bread pudding so I needed to try that. She flavored with golden brown onions and the fragrance of thyme. Rustic bread provides the perfect contrast of textures.  I changed it up a bit.  You’ll find my changes in red.

I had couple of pieces of Havarti cheese left so tore them into pieces and added them the last few minutes of baking.

1 large Vidalia onion 

1 red onion, sliced into rings

1 large bunch green onions, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/2 medium loaf rustic bread (1/2lb), torn in to chunks I used sourdough buns that I had in the freezer for future croutons
5 ounces cheese, grated or crumbled
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken pieces
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees 
  • Cut onion in half lengthwise. Peel, then slice into half moons about 1/4inch thick. 
  • Heat 4 – 5 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan. 
  • Cook onion stirring occasionally until soft and golden brown. 
  • Stir in the thyme. 
  • In a medium heatproof dish layer about a third of the onions. Sprinkle over some of the bread and cheese. Repeat until all the ingredients have been used. You want to be able to see a little of each on the top. 
  • Bring stock to a simmer.
  • Pour over the onion dish. 
  • Season. 
  • Cover and bake for 30 minutes. 
  • Remove cover and bake for another 20 – 30 minutes or until the top is golden and crunchy and the stock has been absorbed by the bread.

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DECONSTRUCTION: HOW STUFFED CARROTS BECAME A CARROT CASSEROLE

I’m always on the look out for great ways to spice up vegetable recipes.  I found what sounded and looked like an awesome recipe in a magazine for a carrot side dish recipe.  I was excited to make it, but then oh so disappointed.  They looked pretty, but they tasted awful.  So, we sat around the dinner table deconstructing AND reconstructing the recipe!  My family is so good at dinner conversation.  Well, maybe not, but at least they tell me what they don’t like and then help turn it into something they will like.

 

The original recipe:
BAKED STUFFED CARROTS
12 medium carrots
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons grated onion
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
1/8 teaspoon paprika
  1. Place carrots in a skillet. Add 1 inch of water.  Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until crisp tender.  Drain.
  2. Cut a thin lengthwise slice out of each carrot.  Scoop out carrot, leaving a 1/4 inch shell, set shells aside. Place the removed carrot in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped.  Transfer to a large bowl; add mayonnaise, onion, horseradish, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Spoon into carrot shells.
  3. Place in a greased 13 inch x 9 inch baking dish.  Combine the crumbs, 1 tablespoon butter and paprika; sprinkle over carrots.  Drizzle with remianing butter.
  4. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tender. 
Do you remember Gilligan’s Island Season 3, episode 20?  No, I didn’t know the number or season either, but I remember the episode well.  Gilligan discovers a crate in the lagoon and pries off the lid, which falls face side down of course, and inside are all these beautiful seeds.  Mary Ann immediately plants a garden and they all have their favorite vegetables.  Because the seeds are radioactive they produce bigger and “better” vegetables that gives each castaway a special ability.  These were 2 1/2 inches in diameter!
I present to you the Gilligan’s Island Carrots:
THE RECIPE WORTH MAKING:
BAKED CARROT CASSEROLE
12 medium carrots

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large bunch green onions, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/8 teaspoon paprika

  • Place carrots in a skillet. Add 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes or until crisp tender. Drain. Cool.
  • Slice carrots into 1 inch lengths and then into 4 pieces each.
  • In a small skillet melt 1 tablespoon of butter.  Saute’ onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant. Drain of fat.
  • Transfer to a large bowl; add mayonnaise, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
  • Toss with cooled carrots until well coated.
  • Place into a greased 9X9 baking dish. Combine the crumbs, 1 tablespoon butter and paprika; sprinkle over carrots. Drizzle with remaining butter.
  • Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until tender.

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BACON BALSAMIC GREEN BEANS & CARROTS

BACON BALSAMIC GREEN BEANS & CARROTS

3 large carrots, cleaned and sliced (about 2 cups)
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut bite sized (about 2 cups)
1 bunch green onions, sliced
3 tablespoons almond slivers
4 slices thick bacon, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • Cook the carrots and green beans in boiling water for 3-5 minutes until crisp tender.
  • Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
  • Drain and set aside.
  • In a hot skillet brown bacon until crisp.
  • Remove with slotted spoon to drain on a papertowel.
  • Add green onions and saute’ until tender.
  • Add almonds and saute a minute more.
  • Remove almonds and onions with slotted spoon to drain on papertowel also.
  • Add brown sugar and vinegar to skillet and blend well until sugar is well dissolved.
  • Add green beans, carrots, onions, almonds and bacon.
  • Toss until well coated.

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TEX-MEX GREEN BEANS

This recipe originally called for ALL processed ingredients ~ from canned green beans to sweet and low, Hormel bacon bits and Campbell’s soup. I brought it into the “from scratch” world and it was a huge success around here!
TEX MEX GREEN BEANS
4 cups fresh green beans, chopped
1 Vidalia onion, sliced thin & chopped, divided
1/4 pound bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili seasoning
2 + 2 tablespoons butter 
3 tablespoons flour 
1 cup pureed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups milk
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a saucepan, over medium heat, sauté chopped onions in 2 tablespoons butter until translucent. 
  • Remove from the heat. 
  • Whisk in the flour so that no lumps remain.
  • Slowly whisk in the tomato puree. 
  • Return to the heat and add salt to taste. 
  • Cook until just boiling.
  • Let cool 10 minutes then slowly stir in milk.
  • Set aside.
  • In a large skillet brown bacon pieces until crisp.
  • Remove to paper towel to drain.
  • Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and saute’ green beans, onion rings and garlic until tender crisp.
  • Add brown sugar, chili seasoning, tomato soup and bacon bits.
  • Combine until well blended.
  • Bake 10-15 minutes.
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Italian Green Bean & Tomato Salad

 GREEN BEAN & TOMATO SALAD
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and washed
3 cups grape tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, sliced
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
salt & pepper taste
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  • Add green beans and blanch 3-5 minuted until just tender.
  • Drain and rinse with cool water.
  • Whisk together the oil, vinegar and seasonings.
  • Toss together the green beans, tomatoes and onions.
  • Pour marinade over and toss well.
  • Chill 24 hours before serving.

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ASPARAGUS WRAPS

ASPARAGUS WRAPS
12 asparagus spears
6 slices bacon
1 can Pillsbury breadsticks

  • Snap off bottoms of asparagus spears.
  • Wash and dry 12 spears of asparagus.
  • Wrap bacon around bottom of each stem and place on cookie sheet.
  • Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees until bacon is cooked through.
  • Wrap 1 breadstick around each stalk.
  • Bake according to package directions.


Snap off bottoms of asparagus spears.
Wash and dry 12 spears of asparagus.

Wrap bacon around bottom of each stem and place on cookie sheet.
Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees until bacon is cooked through.

Wrap 1 breadstick around each stalk.
Bake according to package directions.

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Sesame Garlic Green Beans


Sesame Garlic Green Beans

1½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons minced garlic (jar)

Cook the green beans for 5 minutes in boiling water.

While the beans are cooking, combine the soy sauce, sugar and oil, set aside. Spray a sauté pan with PURE. Over a medium heat sauté green onions and garlic until soft. Add the beans. Stir several minutes until well coated. Add soy sauce mixture, stirring constantly until most of the liquid is absorbed.
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