Category: Vegetarian

Kale and Beet Chips

Appetizers and snacks, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

Hey there! I am here with another idea for summer veggies. Make them into chips! I did my chips 2 ways; kale and beets. Crunchy and healthy.

For the kale- tear or cup off the leaf from the rib and stem. Discard the rib and stem. They are just too fibrous to eat. No bueno. I sprayed a cookie sheet with Pam. Then I sprayed the kale with Pam and salted it just a bit. You could use olive oil. That is fine. Plus, it has no fat or calories, so it is a bit more figure friendly. But if you have olive oil spray, that would be fine as well. Still healthy! Cook at 450 for about 15 minutes. This stuff cooks fast, so be on the watch so it doesn’t burn. I don’t mind when it turns a little brown, but more than that and it is unedible. 014

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for the beets- slice very thin, preferably on a mandolin. Use the guard and be careful! I treated the beets the same way as the kale. Pam and a little salt and pepper. These take a bit longer. Mine went about 30 minutes. 015

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These are a great way to eat kale and beets even if you don’t think you like kale or beets. The kale has this amazing salty crunch that just sort of melts in your mouth after each bite. The beets are a mix of sweet and salty and are just beautiful. I think next time I will gild the lily and add a sprinkle of grated ginger. Ginger and beets go hand in hand.

EASY Yummy Veggie Lasagna

Pasta, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

Here is another vegetarian meal brought to you by my farmer’s market veggies. I made a huge pan, knowing full well that I am the only one eating it. Whatever is leftover in a few days will go straight to the freezer for future consumption.

This lasagna was super easy to make. Store bought sauce, pre-shredded cheese, no boil pasta, and lots of sliced veggies. I threw this together in less than 10 minutes, baked for about 45 minutes until the cheese on top was bubbling and starting to turn brown. The end product was super cheesy yet still light and full of summer flavors! You can mix and match your sauce and veggies and even add in ground meat if you want to make it non-vegetarian. Or serve it as a veggie side pasta to some chicken parm etc.

EASY Yummy Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients
jarred sauce- I used a mixture of alfredo and vodka sauce. I find that for lasagna 1 container of thick sauce is never enough, so I experimented with 1 regular sized Vodka Sauce and 1 small jar of light mushroom alfredo sauce. Perfect amount! I love making different homemade pasta sauces, but I love the convenience and ease of a jarred sauce. I try to keep a couple in my pantry for quick dinners.

1 small bunch of kale, chopped- just the leaves- the ribs and stems are too fibrous to chew-
1 large or 2 small summer squash, sliced
2-3 summer tomatoes- I used one large yellow and 1 small red
1 package of no cook lasagna
1 pound of shredded mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350
Spray large oven safe casserole dish
put a bit of sauce spread on the bottom
add kale, then some cheese, then pasta, add sauce
add squash, then some cheese,then pasta, add sauce
add tomatoes, then some cheese, then pasta, add sauce

Bake for 45 min-1 hour until cheese is bubbly and brown. That combo of the mushroom alfredo and vodka sauce is unbelievable. It is rich and creamy, yet somehow still manages to feel light and delicate. It pairs perfectly with the veggies, which just kind of melt into the pasta and sauce. This is an awesome recipe to use some pretty amazing farmer’s market ingredients. I hope you give it a try!

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Veggie Pesto Pasta

Pasta, Vegetarian

Hey guys! Hope you are having a great weekend! Yesterday I went veggie crazy at the farmer’s market, per usual. I concocted this veggie pesto pasta using all my farm fresh ingredients. You could throw in some grilled chicken or sauteed shrimp in at the end. Pasta Perfection!

Veggie Pesto Pasta

Pesto- There is nothing like a summer fresh homemade pesto! Original pesto has basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan mixed with olive oil. I like to play around with my pesto, so here is how I made it this time.

In my food processor, I mixed together the following things…
2 cups packed greens- 2 good handfuls of mixed greens I got from the market; spinach, arugula, romaine, and kale.
3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Veggie Pasta

I sauteed a chopped onion, a handful of cherry tomatoes, 1 sliced squash, sliced sweet peppers (1/3 each of red,yellow,green), and 1 sliced jalapeno. I added 1/2 box of bow tie pasta (use whatever kind of pasta you have/like) to the veggies. Save some pasta water. Add a few tablespoons of your pesto. Add in a bit of pasta water. Mix well.

With all those beautiful colors and flavors, this pasta looks and tastes just like summer!

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Make It Your Own Boxed Pasta Salad

Pasta, Salads, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great 4th of July celebrations with your friends and family! We all got together with some friends, had a fish fry, kids played together, and had fun with cheap grocery store fireworks as well as a large firework display at a nearby park. Tons of fun! I brought a bottle of wine, a pasta salad, and some dessert. Lots of great food!

I love making pasta salads. They are so easy and fun, because the combinations are endless. Homemade pasta salad is easy, but there are a lot of great boxed mixes out there to have in your pantry for those nights when you need something fast to throw together. Here I took a couple of boxes of Simply Pasta Salad (there are lots of different kinds out there, but I just stuck to the regular Italian flavor) and added in a few fresh ingredients. I added halved cherry tomatoes, fresh cubed mozzarella, and sliced black olives (kalamata).

You could totally add in fresh basil, grilled chicken, shrimp, broccoli, chopped bacon, pesto sauce, etc. Be creative and use what you have already in the fridge! Make extra to have enough leftovers for lunch. This is a great summer meal!

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Roasted Eggplant Dip

Appetizers and snacks, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Vegetarian

So yesterday I bought a beautiful eggplant at the farmer’s market. I was thinking of what I could do with it; parmesan, rollatini, pasta, lasagna, etc. I was researching online to see what else was out there. Apparently, there are tons of ways to prepare eggplant. I kept seeing tons of different recipes for dips.

Babaganush is a eggplant dip served in many greek and mediterranean dishes. I have had it many times before, but I have never made it. Traditionally, it calls for tahini paste. Tahini is made from sesame seeds that are soaked in water and then crushed to separate the bran from the kernels. The crushed seeds are soaked in salt water, causing the bran to sink. The floating kernels are skimmed off the surface, toasted, and ground to produce an oily paste. Fun fact for the day!

Anyways, I didn’t have any tahini paste handy, and I did not want to make a special trip to the store to buy any, so I improvised with what I had. I ended up adding more olive oil and some red wine vinegar. I only used 1 eggplant here and ate half of this dip in one sitting with some carrots and pita chips. I would say one eggplant for every 2 people if you have a bunch of eggplant lovers. I also LOVE garlic, so I added 2 cloves. You can certainly use less or sub garlic powder for less intense garlic flavor.

Roasted Eggplant Dip- serves 2

1 eggplant- cut in half, salt and pepper, and add plenty of olive oil. Cook in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Let it cool.

Scoop out your eggplant filling. The skin should easily peel off. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, and 2 garlic cloves finely minced. You could even pulse this all in a mini-food processor if you wish. I added a shake of Mrs. Dash.

Serve with chips, veggies, or crusty bread. You could even use this as a spread on a sandwich. If you like eggplant, you will love this dish!

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