Holy Zucchini

I wish I had a garden.  I currently do not because I kill anything that grows.  Luckily, we have awesome neighbors on both sides who both have gardens and share.  So, THIS is what my dining room table looked like after my neighbor, Elaine stopped by and brought 4 tomatoes, 4 zucchinis, and 5 cucumbers.  Yikes!

 My mom is having a birthday party for my dad and brother today, so I decided to make zucchini brownies and zucchini lasagna.

Zucchini Lasagna
-Ingredients:  
1 large zucchini, or two medium sized ones
Salt and pepper
olive oil
~ 1 to 1-1/2 cups of sauce (I did not have time to make my own, so I used some leftover vodka sauce)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup of shredded mozarella

Preheat oven to 350.  I do not have a mandolin so I cut the zucchini into about 1/4 inch thick circles..so I guess this was more like zucchini parmesan than lasagna.  Toss the rounds in a couple drizzles of olive oil and put on a cookie sheet in an even layer.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Then just layer!  In a medium sized casserole dish, layer sauce, zucchini, sauce, cheese, zucchini, sauce, cheese.  I am going to put mine in the oven at my mom's at 350 for about 35 minutes or until cheese is melted.   This is what it looked like prior to going in the oven

 

Zucchini Brownies:

I am NOT a baker.  I have an issue with measuring I think...I don't like the fact that I can't just throw things in :)  So I needed a little bit of a template for brownies.  I used this recipe for the structure and then made some modifications.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups shredded zucchini (the recipe said diced, but I like it shredded)

-1/2 cup applesauce (I used this in place of the vegetable oil)

- 1 tsp. vanilla

-2 cups of flour (I too, used one cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat flour)

- 1 -1/2 t. baking soda

- 1 t. salt

-3/4 cup white sugar (the recipe calls for 1- 1/4 cup but I put some agave nectar in instead

-1/4 cup agave nectar

-1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa)

-1/4 cup milk.  (The recipe did not call for this but my batter was pretty dry, probably because I did not use the oil or blend the zucchini and added whole wheat flour)

Preheat to 350.  Combine zucchini, vanilla, agave and applesauce.  The recipe said to blend it, but I like the chunks of zucchini throughout the brownie.  Combine all the dry ingredients.  Add the wet into the dry and stir well.  This is where I added the milk since it was still pretty dry.  The batter will be pretty thick.  Spread evenly into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Do not overbake.  The recipe said 30 minutes but 25 was plenty.

Greek Yogurt Frosting:

-1 cup plain Greek yogurt

- about 1 cup powdered sugar (to taste and consistency)

-about 1/4 cup milk (to consistency)

- 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together until desired consistency.  This actually turns out more like a glaze.  I could not get it thicker and did not want to add much more sugar.  Tastes pretty good though!

 

Now for the real test....will my dad eat it???  :)

In other news, we had my baby sister-in-laws bridal shower and bachelorette party yesterday in Ohio.  It was a busy day and night but we had such a blast!  Can't wait for their wedding!  Thought I would post a picture of the veggie tray I made for the shower.  Happy Sunday everyone!

The Facebook Era

So, I began this thing a few months back where I would take pictures of the meal I made and post it on Facebook, kind of like, "haha look what I am eating!"  But, I would not post recipes or any information.  So I think I will post a few of the favorites with some "recipes" to go along with them.  You could call them the Facebook All-Stars!

Salmon BLATs
Today's superstars:  Tomato and Avocado.  I LOVE avocados.  I have eaten them right out of the skin with a spoon.  We have all heard of a BLT...and actually now more and more common has become a BLAT where you add avocado.  Tom (my husband) and I need protein in our meals.  We like to eat the veggies, but still need the animal protein!  So I figured I would add some salmon.  My brother, Scott got me a panini/grill press for Christmas last year so I put it to good use.

Ingredients:
- Crusty bread (It can be hard to find whole wheat Ciabatta, but I did find one with sunflower seeds in it!)
- Salmon filets
- Tomato
-Lettuce (I used spinach...the darker, the better!)
- Avocado
-Mayo with a splash of hot sauce
-Bacon(regular or turkey)

Cook up the bacon to desired crispiness.  Always start it in a cold pan!  Pat well with a paper towel and set aside.

I sprayed the press and used the grill plates to cook the Salmon, about 6-7 minutes.  Then I assembled the sandwiches on the bread with salmon, tomato slices, avocado slices, spinach and spread on about 1 tsp. of the mayo.  Then I gave it a good squish and put it in the panini press.  If you do not have a panini press, you can use a grill pan and push down with the bottom of another skillet ontop of the sandwich.

These were yummy...but way too big!!

Chicken with Parsnip Puree and Roasted Asparagus
Parsnips caught my eye at the grocery store this day.  I don't think I had ever really had them and said, its like a white carrot, how bad can it be?  Turns out, delicious!

Ingredients:
-Hormone free thin sliced chicken breasts (4)--I use the Natures Basket from Giant Eagle
- Rice bread crumbs (or whatever kind you have)
-1 egg, beaten
- 2 TBSP. flour with a sprinkle of paprika, salt and pepper
-5-6 medium sized parsnips; peeled and chopped into even pieces
- 3-4 small potatoes; peeled and chopped into even pieces
-~3-4 cups chicken stock (or you can use water..I like the added flavor
- A shot....or 5 :) of hot sauce
- half a bunch of asparagus
-Tbsp. of olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.  After you chop your potatoes and parsnips, put them in a pot and pour enough chicken stock(or water) to cover them.  Bring to a boil and let them cook until tender.  Once tender, (about 15 min) drain the stock but KEEP ABOUT  A CUP OF THE LIQUID.  I used an immersion blender(from my parents for my birthday...are you finding a gift trend?) to puree it.  You can use a blender or even just mash and mix really well instead.  I added back about a half cup of the stock to get it creamy and the hot sauce.
While the veggies are boiling, season the chicken with salt and pepper, dip in the flour mixture, egg, and breadcrumbs, respectively and put on a sprayed oven pan.  Put them in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Put the asparagus on a sheet pan, toss in the olive oil and season with whatever you'd like (I used garlic salt).  Put in the oven for about 15-20 min.  Ideally, you'd want the oven temp a bit higher for the asparagus, but most of us only have one oven, right?

This was yummmmy.  I used the potatoes to give it some texture, but I think the parsnips could have stood alone.  Ill probably eliminate the potatoes next time.  The crisp from the chicken was a good texture to go with the creamy puree.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
I just made this one this past weekend.  Can I just say Tom and I both love LOVE quinoa!  If you have not had it, I suggest you do.  It's easy too cook and delicious...not to mention very good for you!  We had a cookout the night before and I made a quinoa salad with sauteed onion, garlic, tomato, spinach, fresh basil from Soergels and fresh mozzarella with but a touch of butter to make it come together.  We had a good bit left over, so I decided to make stuffed peppers with it.  Soergel's had gorgeous green bell peppers grown there that weekend, so I picked two up.

Ingredients:
-quinoa salad (put whatever you want in it...but see mine above)--cooking directions on quinoa pacakage
- Two green bell peppers
- half pound of lean ground beef or turkey
-14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
-about 1/4 cup grated parm cheese.

Preheat oven to 350.
Brown the ground meat.  Drain, pat dry and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil and salt it.  Cut the peppers in half lengthwise.  Remove seed and membranes.  Put in the boiling water for about 5 minutes to soften the peppers then remove and set aside in a square glass baking dish.
In a large skillet, mix about 1 to 1-1/2 cups of the quinoa salad, the cooked ground meat, and the can of tomatoes until blended and heated through.
Stuff the peppers with the mixture.  Bake in the oven for about 15 min.  Add some grated parm for 5 minutes with oven on broil at the end.

You will NOT need a side dish with these!  I might add, they are delicious reheated the next day...for lunch...and dinner!!

Ciao for now, going to finish watching the Pirates game.  Go Bucs!!

Up and running!

Hello everyone!  Thank you for making your way to my blog.  Let me first start by saying I have no qualifications in nutrition or food science whatsoever!  I just LOVE to cook and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that fruits and vegetables are good for you.  That being said, I do, however, try to keep up with current food information and as best as I can eat "clean" food.  My motto is "80-20".... eat clean food 80% of the time and allow myself to slip off the wagon no more than 20% of the time. 

My goal is to find produce at local farmers markets or grocery stores and let them inspire a dish that I can share with all of you.  I also want to try as much different produce as possible and come up with recipes for them.  I also may go on tangents here and there as well about totally unrelated stuff...so stay tuned.

Finally, a shout out to my long-time friend Adam for coming up with the name of the blog...and to everyone else for their great suggestions!  I try to give credit where credit is due :)

Check back soon for some recipes!