Southwest Salad

This an easy salad that comes together in 15 minutes. It is what I like to call a dump recipe. You just dump everything in a bowl. Okay, you might need to mix it a bit. Technicalities.

The recipe calls for red onion. I didn't have any in my house. I had plenty of yellow onion so I used that. It made for a stron flavor. Next time I will use red onion. It is a healthy recipe and quite colorful which makes a pretty setting for the table.


Southwest Salad
Preparation time: 15 mins
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 cup Whole Kernel Corn, drained
1 cup Red Bell Peppers, chopped
1 cup Green Bell Peppers, chopped
1/4 cup Red Onion, chopped
1 cup Reduced Fat Mild Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Directions
Toss together all ingredients and serve.

Roasted Garlic Potatoes

I made this dish earlier this week for my family. I had a meeting so left it in the oven on warm. All during my meeting, I was afraid my family wouldn't leave me any. I had never made it before so wanted to see how it turned out (especially before posting it on a blog). I got home ready to eat. I couldn't find the potatoes anywhere and was a bit miffed. I was tired and hadn't eaten in awhile. That isn't a good combination.

I checked the dishwasher and drainer for the container I cooked it in and couldn't find it. I then asked my oldest where the potatoes were. Her response? "What potatoes?" I head straight for the oven. Sure enough, there are my potatoes. Luckily, I grabbed some to go with my dinner before my potato-obsessive daughter heard I had found them. They turned out yummy! I did tweak the recipe I originally used to accommodate what I had on hand with personal tastes both before and after the taste test.

The Recipe:

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds boiling potatoes, chunked
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 (scant) teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1-1/2 teaspoons dried parsley, crushed

DIRECTIONS
In a large roasting pan, toss together all ingredients. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven, tossing occasionally. Cook one hour or until they are tender and golden.

Weekly Menu for November 3-8

Monday

Barbecue Beef Ribs

Baked Potatoes

Coleslaw

Carrot Coins

Tuesday

Venison Chili

Fresh Vegetables & Dip

Cornbread

Wednesday

Baked Potato Soup

Green Salad

Homemade Bread

Thursday

Chili-Cheese Tater Tots

Melon Slices

Carrot Radish Salad

Friday

Pizza (Cheese, Sausage)

Caesar Salad

Saturday

Chalupas

Spanish Rice

Fiesta Salad

Chunky Chicken Soup

I tried a new dish on my family last night. It was a hit and definite keeper. Usually when I make a recipe for the first time I follow the recipe closely. I did veer from that a bit as I know my family fairly well. I knew that a whole can of chiles would be too much so I cut the amount in half. Also I had no vegetable broth in my pantry so used fat-free chicken broth. I made some pumpkin-zucchini muffins to accompany the soup and had some leftover shredded zucchini and added that to the soup. Other than that and using Parmesan cheese instead of mozzarella for topping, I followed the recipe as it was written in my magazine, Simple & Delicious. I found it easy to assemble with basic ingredients. It would be a good recipe to use up leftover chicken, vegetables or even white beans.


Recipe and picture taken from December 2008 Simple & Delicious

SERVINGS: 5
METHOD: Stovetop - One-Dish
TIME: Prep: 20 min. Cook: 20 min.

Ingredients:
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) vegetable broth
2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions: In a Dutch oven, saute the chicken, onion and garlic in oil until chicken juices run clear. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Reduce heat; stir in the beans, vegetables and seasonings. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Garnish with cheese. Yield: 7 cups.


Nutrition Facts
One serving: 1-1/3 cups with 1-1/2 tablespoons cheese
Calories: 332
Fat: 6 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 44 mg
Sodium: 1387 mg
Carbohydrate: 41 g
Fiber: 12 g
Protein: 28 g

Eggplant Parmesan

I first tried my hand at Eggplant Parmesan last year when I had received some in a SHARE foods unit. I had never had eggplant before or at least that I can remember. I looked on-line for some ideas about how to prepare eggplant.

The first thing I found was that before cooking eggplant, it needs to be cut. I slice mine since I make the parmesan with breaded eggplant slices. The next step is to sprinkle salt evenly over the cut eggplant. Let it set for about 30 minutes. This brings out the extra moisture in the eggplant. I cut and salted mine before picking up three children for orthodontist appointments. That way I could start cooking when I got home. It didn't work out that way, but that is a different story. Oh yeah, two medium-large eggplants is enough for my family.

Once the eggplant has set, I pat it dry. Then it is dipped in whisked egg mixture followed by bread crumbs. I then cook the breaded slices in hot olive oil (couple of minutes each side). It can be baked by spraying the breaded eggplant slices with cooking spray and then baked for 3-5 minutes each side. After frying I drain off the excess oil from the cooked eggplant slices.

Now comes getting it ready for baking. My hubby doesn't like meatless meals. He thinks I am depriving him if I try to pull one off. He said this meal is filling, and he would never have guessed there was not meat. That is like scoring an 11 on a 1 to 10 scale around here. Back to getting the dish oven-ready, in a lasanga dish or other deep dish place some spghetti sauce enough to coat the bottom. Then I placed the cooked eggplant on the sauce. The next layer is sliced tomatoes and mushrooms (both fresh). I follow that with a sprinkling of shredded parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. I spread on some more sauce and repeat the layers. This last time I had some extra cooked eggplant so finished off by placing those on top of the last layer and more sauce & cheese. Gooey cheese is always the best.

I then bake the Eggplant Parmesan at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. I served it with salad, steamed veggie (i.e. green beans or broccoli) and some garlic bread. It is yummy, filling and healthy too. Eric wasn't allowed to have the breaded portion of the eggplant or cheese due to allergies. He did love the tomatoes from it, but threw the mushrooms. Eh, can't win them all.

Green Beans

One easy way to save on the food budget is to grow your own vegetables, fruits and/or herbs. I am fortunate that I have room for all three. A lot of room is not needed to grow your own. I grow the herbs in conatiners on my back porch along with a bush tomato in a pot. They will move inside for the winter. I have seen a "Salad Garden" grown on a small balcony of an apartment. There were a couple of tomato plant, cucumber vine and small box of lettuce plants.

From just this small patch of green beans I picked over FIVE POUNDS of beautiful green beans. That was just the first harvest too.

I like my beans frozen (hubby prefers home bottled). I wash the beans and trim the ends. Then I place a layer of them on cookie sheets to place in the freezer to flash freeze them. I find I can pull them out of the bag easier that way since they don't all freeze together. Hubby and Oren cleaned and trimmed the first batch for me. I took care of the flash-freezing and packing (got 5 one-quart bags).

I like to sautee the bean in butter and garlic or just steam them. From this batch I took enough to make a side dish for our dinner of roast with potatoes and carrots. I sauteed some sliced red onion in olive oil. I then added the green beans, garlic powder, pepper and basil. I also added some apple juice so to give a sweet taste and steam the beans (done best with a lid on the pan). I then added some sliced tomatoes (also from our garden) and cooked for a minute or so longer.