Roasted Mexican String Beans

I was lucky enough to see yellow string beans at the farm this week and just knew I had to try them!  Sure green beans are everywhere, but I had never cooked with YELLOW beans before!  I pretty much always cook my string beans in a skillet, but I wanted to try something new this week.  Sometimes the skillet takes too much time, or the rest of the meal is taking up the entire stove top.  I wanted to see if roasting would be a nice alternative.  You know what?  It worked!  This simple recipe compliments any Mexican meal and is a great way to add an unexpected veggie to the mix!  

Ingredients

1 pound string beans, trimmed

5 larger garlic cloves, finely chopped

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander seed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the beans in a large rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with oil and toss to coat and spread into a single layer.
3. Evenly sprinkle garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper over the beans.  
4. Bake until lightly browned and shriveled, about 20-25 minutes, turning once while cooking.  

Adapted from Food Fitness Fresh Air

Caramelized Onion and BBQ Panini

As the weather gets cooler, I am on the hunt for more warm foods.  One of my favorite cold-weather meals is a panini.  It is simple, quick, and always satisfying.  This little experiment turned out to be a big winner!  Caramelized red onion, cheddar, and my favorite BBQ sauce come together in one big bite after another.  I even spiced mine up with some crushed red pepper flakes to take it to the next level.  YUM!

Ingredients

Crusty bread (I use a french miche)

1 large red onion, sliced

butter

cheddar cheese (and/or pepper jack cheese)

your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and sweet, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat your panini press to medium high.  Butter the outside of the bottom piece of bread.  Spread an even layer of BBQ sauce on the inside of the same piece.  Top with a layer of cheese.  Add a layer of caramelized onion.  Top with a little more cheese.  Spread an even layer of BBQ sauce on the inside of the top piece of bread.  Butter the outside of the top piece.
3. Place the sandwich in the panini press and cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown.  Let stand about a minute before serving.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Ring Finger Tan Line

Weekly Menu

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I enjoyed a little time off from the blog last week to really focus on my family and celebrating Thanksgiving.  It was a lovely change of pace, but I am happy to be back with you all!  :)  I decided to keep with a simple meal plan this week and thus did not select a ton a veggies, but have some great uses for them.  We selected some kale, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and yellow wax beans.  We will be having the following this week:

• Caramelized Onion BBQ Panini with Coleslaw
• using the cabbage and carrots

• Mushroom and Black Bean Burritos with Mexican Roasted Yellow Beans
• using the yellow wax beans

• Breakfast Pizza with Sauteed Broccoli
• using the broccoli

• I will be having the Kaleslaw for lunch
• using the kale

Simple Sauteed Cabbage

I have only ever tried raw, uncooked cabbage in dishes like coleslaw, fumi salad, and the like.  Well, I have been missing out!  The farm had some beautiful cabbage this week and I just had to pick some up.  The weather had been cooling down and I really didn't want a cold salad, so I decided to try something new.  WOW!  This is not only one of the easiest side dishes ever, it is so delicious!  I can't believe how much flavor is packed in this simple recipe!  If you have never tried cooked cabbage, you owe it to yourself to try this recipe.  It's perfect for these cold weather evenings!

Ingredients (serves 2 as a side)

1/2 large head of cabbage

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Directions

1. Remove core of cabbage and discard.  Place cut side down and thinly slice as you would for coleslaw.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add cabbage, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.
3. Saute 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender and just starting to brown.  Serve warm.

Adapted from Ina Garten

Weekly Menu

Happy Thanksgiving week everyone!!  Hopefully you will all enjoy extra time with family.  We are having a very small Thanksgiving dinner this year (just my immediate family of 4), so I have total freedom in menu planning!  I'm kind of excited for the change of pace and the chance to build some traditions of our own.  We picked up some great produce at the farm this week and even have a brand new veggie to try: romanesco broccoli!  I am so excited to try it because it might be the coolest looking vegetable ever!  Along with the romanesco broccoli, we chose some chard, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, kale, zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, and cauliflower.  We also picked up some pie pumpkins and red potatoes from another farm that are not pictured.  With that, we will make the following:

• Gardein Crispy Chicken Wraps with Sauteed Cauliflower
• using the lettuce, tomatoes, and cauliflower

• Penne Alla Vodka with Baked Zucchini Rounds
• using the tomatoes and zucchini

• Thanksgiving Menu!
• Roasted Romanesco Broccoli, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Chard With Feta, Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin Pie Martinis!  We will be trying the Vegan Seitan Wellington from Native Foods Cafe as a main course (something I have been wanting to try for years!!)

• We will be making Baked Parmesan Kale Chips for snacks.

Hearty BBQ Chicken Salad

I am always on the lookout for main-dish salads.  We like to try and have one meal a week that is a dinner salad.  It can be challenging to find a salad that not only pleases my meat-eating husband, but also my 3 year old.  This one is a long-time favorite of the whole family!  It is packed with chicken (we use Gardein), black beans, potatoes (you heard me!), tomatoes, and corn.  The BBQ sauce on the chicken combined with the avocado and blue cheese vinaigrettes (that's right, 2 dressings) give this salad so much flavor.  There is truly something in this salad for everyone!

Ingredients (makes 2 large entree salads)

for the avocado vinaigrette

1/3 C olive oil

1/4 C rice vinegar

1 small shallot, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp peach jam

1/2 ripe avocado

salt and pepper to taste

for the blue cheese vinaigrette

1/3 C olive oil

1/4 C rice vinegar

1 small shallot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp peach jam

1/2 C sour cream

1/2 C blue cheese

salt and pepper to taste

for the potatoes

3/4 pound red potatoes, washed

3 Tbsp butter

1 medium shallot, minced

1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

for the chicken

1 package Gardein Chick'n Scallopini

your favorite BBQ sauce

for the salad

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped

1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

6 oz black beans

1/2 C fresh or frozen corn

(Don't believe that a 3 year old eats this?  Here is how I serve it to her.  I just cut everything a little smaller and mix the dressings for her.  She LOVES it!)

Directions

1. To make the dressings - place the ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth.  
2. To make the potatoes - boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until fork tender.  Remove the potatoes and cut into large bite-sized pieces.  Drain the water from the pot.  Return the pot to the stove and melt the butter.  Add the shallot, parsley and potatoes.  Stir to coat evenly.  Keep warm until ready to serve.
3. To make the chicken - cook Gardein according to package directions.  Slice into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a bowl and combine with BBQ sauce.
4. To plate the salad - lay out the greens on a plate.  Top with corn, beans, tomatoes, chicken, and potatoes.  Drizzle both dressings on top.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I am loving that the weather is changing and getting cooler, which means...SOUP!  Seriously, is there anything better on a cold night than a hot bowl of soup?  I don't think so!  This soup is comfort in a bread bowl.  The combination of broccoli, carrots, garlic, onion, and cheese is to die for!  The whole family loved it and can't wait to make it again.  If you are looking for a delicious soup for a cold evening, look no further! 

Ingredients

5 Tbsp, butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 C flour
1 1/2 C half and half
1 1/2 C milk
1 qt Imagine No-Chicken Broth
3 carrots, grated
1 pound broccoli
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
8 oz sharp cheddar, grated
8 oz Colby jack cheese, grated
4 oz pepper jack cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and onions and saute until tender.
2. Add the flour and whisk until evenly combined.  Add in milk, half and half, and broth.  Bring to a light boil.  Add broccoli and carrots.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Season with nutmeg, cardamom, salt and pepper.  Stir in cheeses.  Cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Sugarcrafter