Vegetable Polenta Bake

This is really good and a good recipe to use when you have lots of leftover vegetables in your fridge that you need to get rid of.  This is also Kevin approved.  In his words that means it doesn't taste like cardboard.  He was skeptical and then proceeded to eat half of an 8x8 dish of it.

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 large zucchini, sliced
• 1 large yellow squash, sliced
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce - I used more than this but I like things saucy
• 1 can diced tomatoes - I didn't use the whole can but I wanted some chunky tomatoness in it.  
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese - I left this out because I didn't have any
• polenta sliced 1/2" thick

I didn't really follow the suggestions for the amount of vegetables very closely I just threw in things I had one hand.

1.  Cut up all veggies and saute them in olive oil until slight soft.  I cooked the carrots, onions, and peppers by themselves for a little and then added the squash and zucchini.  

2.  After veggies are cooked add the sauce and diced tomatoes to the skillet.

3.  Line an 8x8 pan with the polenta slices.

4.  Pour veggie sauce mixture on top of polenta and then cover with mozzarella cheese

5.  Bake for 30-40 at 350 degrees minutes until heated all the way through and bubbly.

Barbacoa Beef

• 3 lbs beef eye of round or bottom round roast, all fat trimmed - i used a chuck roast
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 lime, juice
• 2-4 chiptoles in adobo sauce (to taste) - be careful as these are spicy, 2 would be good for those not really into spicy food - you get these in the hispanic aisle at the grocery store.
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• salt and pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Place garlic, onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano, chiptoles, cloves in a food processor.
2. Trim all fat off meat, cut into 4 inch chunks. Season with salt and pepper and brownon high heat in 1 tsp oil.

3. Place browned meat in crock pot, cover with food processed spices, water, and 3 bay leafs.  Cook on low for 8 hours or longer (mine cooked for like 12)

You can eat this over rice, over a salad, or in a taco.  All are good.

Arroz Congri (Cuban Rice and Black Beans)

This is a tasty, easy, and super healthy dish.  I thought it was slightly bland (but Im an avid under seasoner) so I added some hot sauce when it was finished, but it may help to just add some more spices in the beginning. It is also Kevin approved.  He put cheese on top and really enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper, chopped
• small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice - the original recipe called for white but I only had brown
• 15 oz can black beans (don't drain)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a heavy medium sized pot, heat oil on medium heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic and saute until soft

2. Add rice, beans, water, cumin, bay leaf, oregano and salt and pepper.

3. Simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice absorbs most of the water and just barely skims the top of the rice.

4. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minute (don't peek). Make sure you have a good seal on your cover, the steam cooks the rice. After 20 minutes, shut flame off and let it sit, covered another 5 minutes (don't open the lid)

Carrot Nut Bread

I used this recipe that I found online.  I made some changes to it and it turned out pretty good; Kevin really likes it with peanut butter on top.  I think next time instead of using all of the oil I am going to use mushy banana instead to make it more moist and healthy.  You could also use apple sauce if you don't have someone allergic to it in your household like I do.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

3/4 c oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4-1/3 c milk

1 1/2 c flour - I used 1 cup white flour and 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c walnuts

1 cup carrots - about two large carrots

Directions:

1.  Cream together sugar and oil

2.  Add egg and vanilla and mix well

3.  In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts (i read if the nuts are coated in flour they are less likely to rise to the top of the bread)

4.  Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk until well blended.

5.  Fold in the carrots 

6.  Pour into a well greased bread pan

Bake for around 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees

Let cool and remove from pan

Granola bars

I got this recipe from smitten kitchen and just adapted it a bit to what I like and had on hand.  I like that this recipe doesn't include any butter or corn syrup just good ol' honey.  The big thing I forgot to do was line the pan with parchment paper so I ended up with only a few bars and a bag of what looks like granola.  Nonetheless they are super delicious, so much better tasting then the store bought ones.  Also, if you buy some of the items in bulk really they are not very expensive to make, it really just depends on the nuts you choose to use. 


Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup nuts - sliced/chopped - you can whatever kind of nuts you want. I used a mixed variety.
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I could only find sweetened but it still turned out well)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed - the original recipe called for wheatgerm but I could not find that to save my life - not even at Trader Joe's
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt - If you accidentally bought salted nuts like I did leave the salt out.
1 1/2 cup dried fruit - any mix you like works
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

I bought a mixed bag of craisins, chocolate chips, and a variety of nuts just cause it was on sale for cheap. Then just seperated it by hands and chopped the nuts up some more.

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter an 8×12-inch baking dish (lacking this, I used a 9×13-inch) and line it with parchment paper. - this is very important

2. Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the flaxseed.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

4. While the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in - wet hands work best

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares — your best serrated knife is great for this.

6. You can store these in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or two,or in the fridge since they get softer at room temp.  It all depends on what you like.

Eggplant and Goat cheese sandwich

I was looking for a way to eat more veggies and I stumbled across this sandwich and I am officially obsessed with it.  It is delicious especially on sourdough bread (another one of my current obsessions). This is the basic recipe but you can modify it and add whatever veggies it want.  I added cooked mushrooms, onions, summer squash, zucchini, and tomatoes.  All worked well. This recipe makes 2 smaller sandwiches

Ingredients:
4 (1/2 inch thick) eggplant slices
olive oil
1 red bell pepper
4 slices sourdough (or whatever you fav is)
2 TBS pesto - I just bought some at the store
1 cup spinach or arugula
pepper
soft goat cheese

Directions:
1. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet.  Brush both side of the eggplant with some olive oil and top with a little pepper.
2.  Cut bell pepper in half and discard seeds. Place these halves skin side up on the baking sheet with the eggplant; flatten then with your hand.
3. Broil for 4 minutes and turn over eggplant.  Don't turn over the pepper.  Broil for 4 additional minutes and then remove eggplant.
4.  Broil red pepper for 7 additional minutes or until blackened. Place pepper in a ziplock bag and seal. Let stand for 15 minutes; peel and discard skin.
5. Lightly toast bread.  Spread pesto on one slice and goat cheese on the other.  Place 2 slices of eggplant and 1 piece of bell pepper on each sandwich.
6. Toss spinach/arugula with 1 tsp olive oil and black pepper.  Divide this mixture between the two sandwiches

Fresh tomato salsa

This is a really simple and delicious salsa, well I guess it is closer to pico de gallo.  If you want to make it more salsa like you can add a bit of tomato paste to it.  This recipe makes a pretty large batch

Ingredients:
3 tomatoes, chopped - I just used whatever tomatoes were on sale.  mine were pretty big if yours are small add a few extra tomatoes.
1/2 c finely diced onion
1 jalapeno pepper - I used a small one from my plant seeds and all and my salsa came out very spicy.  You could also use 2 Serrano chilies if you like
1/2 cup fresh cilantro - chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime juice - about a lime

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix together all the ingredients and chill for about an hour in the fridge before serving.