Vegetarian

Smothered Green Beans

I can never get enough of green beans cooked this way, and while it’s more common to see them as a BBQ side simmered with bacon or salt pork, this is actually my favorite. An onion, some garlic, and I like a bit of celery too. The flavor comes from apple cider vinegar and smoked paprika. I would love to tell you where I got this recipe, but it’s almost 30 years old, and with so many adds and changes, I honestly have no idea. That said, if you look up smothered green beans, especially Southern-style, you’ll find all kinds of variations on this. I don’t know why I’ve never posted it – but I am making an effort to start to include my older “recipes by rote” so I don’t lose them!

Continue reading →
0 CommentsLeave a comment

Butternut Squash and Leek Risotto

This was a really lovely risotto recipe from Bon Appetit that can be used as a meal itself, or as a side. The original recipe called for more fresh herbs than I had on hand, and I would definitely recommend using them if you have them, but dried worked well. I thought the leeks were a really nice, mild flavor. We will definitely do this one again!

Continue reading →
0 CommentsLeave a comment

Vegetable Pot Pie

This was a great vegetarian option for pot pie, and pretty easy too.  It was not the healthiest thing ever made (cough, butter, cough), but as most Ina recipes go, it was also very good.  And possibly a little over the top – note I did not use the Pernod (I did throw in a couple of star anise while it was simmering, though), and it turned out fine. 😉  Definite make again.   Use with your favorite pastry crust, or store bought – both would be fine.  This should make two pies.

vegpotpie.jgp

Recipe!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Butternut-Squash-and-Sage Wontons

These things were like crack, seriously. Delicious, and although (very, very) time consuming, they were easy. They went like crazy at our Halloween party, and I will definitely be making them again for future parties.  This recipe came from Food & Wine.

squashdumplings

Recipe!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Zucchini Chips

Much like our green beans, our squash is out of control this year too, and we were looking for ways to use it up.  I found a few different suggestions out there for zucchini chips, and decided to give one a go – they are AWESOME.  Seriously, if you have a ton of extra squash, this is an awesome use for it.   I found this on a blog call Add a Pinch and I made no changes.  You can definitely play around with it and make all kinds of flavors, though.  I do think without a mandolin slicer, this would be a serious pain, but you could still do it.

zucchinichips

Recipe!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Feta Basil Dip

So this was pretty much delicious.  And ridiculously easy.  I made this as a dip for apps before dinner with my Mom, and we all gave it two thumbs up.  Found this on a Buzzfeed listing of best dips, of all places, and it came from a blog called Domestic Superhero.  This would be great to bring to a picnic, and it’s best if you can let it chill overnight, but a couple of hours would do.  Serve it at room temperature.

fetabasildip

Recipe!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Pepper Pasta Salad

I saw this in this month’s Cooking Light, and was really intrigued.  I love pasta salad, and this one was different and interesting.  I brought it to the Hunt’s puppy naming party, and it went over pretty well!  I thought it was tasty, but that being said, it WAS a lot of work.  I did use sweet paprika in place of the Aleppo pepper.  Also, the original recipe called for Freso peppers, and I didn’t use them, so though the original recipe was, “Triple-Pepper Pasta Salad,” this was just two peppers for me. 😉  I would make it again for a special occasion, or big picnic etc, despite the work – I think it was worth it. 🙂

pepperpastasalad

Recipe!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Pepper, Corn, and Black Bean Chowder

This was a great, quick soup for lunch with a lot of flavor.  Recipe came from Cooking Light – it was supposed to be a way to use up leftover stuffed peppers, but I just broiled the peppers on their own.  The recipe called for red peppers, but I used green and it was great.  You could definitely add anything you like to this – ground turkey or beef, shredded chicken, etc.  We’ll make it again.

pepperchowder

Recipe!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Roasted Baby Spring Vegetables

This was a very pretty side dish for Easter.  Roasted veggies are always great, and I really liked the touch of white vinegar.  This is a Cooking Light recipe, and the only alteration I made was to use baby purple potatoes instead of fingerlings, and to lower the cooking temp to 400 to accommodate other dishes I had cooking (it was originally 500, which seems pretty high to me).  We enjoyed this and the leftovers also make a nice lunch.

springveg

Recipe!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

Garlic Zucchini Spirals

So I pretty much refuse to refer to veggies cut with a spiral-cutter as “noodles,” but that doesn’t make them any less awesome.  This was a great side dish, and if you were so inclined, you could make a main dish out of it as well.  Standby, we may even be trying this in March. 😉  Anyway, this is a prep method we will definitely continue to use.  This was tossed with garlic, red pepper flakes, and a little bit of parm to go with a main dish.

Continue reading →

3 CommentsLeave a comment