Vegetables
Curried Chickpea Chicken Stew: Cooking Healthy with a Modified Kitchen
As some of you may know, I have been operating our home with a “remodeling in process” kitchen. Due to an unfortunate mystery leak from the back corner of our 30 year old refrigerator, we have a forced kitchen repair in progress. We decided it was due time to do some remodeling, so we have turned our unfortunate event into a blessing of a new kitchen. I have spent the past few months learning a whole new vocabulary as I have become educated in appliances, countertops, backsplashes, hoods, knobs and pulls, etc….the list goes on and on. We are approaching the demolition day and I am getting excited to see how it all turns out. In the meantime…I have been cooking in a small space that I set up in my laundry room and a tiny bit of available countertop space in the kitchen. I have had to be very creative with the recipes I have tried because most of my kitchen supplies are packed away in bins in the playroom.
So, in honor of “National Nutrition Month” I have been experimenting with healthy Crock Pot meals. My favorite one to date is Curried Chickpea Chicken Stew.
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken (you can use a combo of breasts and thighs)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 onions chopped fine
4 cloves garlic smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes undrained
2 (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
2-3 cups chicken broth
In a saucepan heat olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add salt, pepper, curry and cumin and stir on low until combined. Pour this mixture into crockpot. Add chicken, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and chicken broth. Cook on low for 8 hours …
Read MoreLight Minestrone
On these rainy and cold winter nights, one of our favorite things to have for dinner is a big bowl of steaming hot soup. This recipe is loaded with healthy veggies and has a fresh and light flavor. The addition of a small scoop of pesto and a sprinkle of grated parmesan on top adds a special richness and yummy flavor. This soup freezes well for at least 2 months, so I made a big double batch of this to put in my freezer. i will be sharing freezer-friendly recipes like this over the next few weeks as I get ready for our kitchen remodel.
NEW LIGHT MINESTRONE
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced leek, white and light green parts only (about 2 leeks)
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1 cup thinly sliced celery
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 cups unsalted chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
2 cups chopped yellow squash
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup uncooked pasta
5 ounces Lacinato kale, stemmed and chopped
1 Tablespoon oregano or Italian seasonings (adjust as needed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
1/4 cup homemade or high quality pesto (Trader Joe’s)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add leek, carrot, celery, and garlic; cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Place 1 cup cannellini beans in a small bowl; mash with a fork. Add …
Read MoreBaked Falafels with Spirulina Green Sauce
Our family LOVES Mediterranean food. I love falafels, but have been looking for a baked falafel recipe for a long time. I finally found one that looked good and revised it with more herbs and spices and additional protein supplied by adding quinoa to the falafel mixture. We had falafels tonight with hot pita bread, homemade hummus, tabouleh and lots of fresh vegetables. I did not have spiraling powder so I substituted my green food powder that I put into my smoothies each morning. The resulting sauce was spectacular. Delicious!!
Ingredients
¼ cup quinoa
1 ½ cups fresh parsley
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
1 (15 oz) can unsalted garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons minced yellow onion
Spirulina Sauce
¼ cup tahini
2 lemons juiced to yield 6 Tablespoons
¾ teaspoons spirulina powder (I used my green vegetable powder that I add to my smoothies)
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh cilantro
¼ cup water
Red cabbage
Pita bread
Hummus
Tabouleh
In a small saucepan, cook quinoa in ½ cup water. Bring to a boil, turn to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Let cool. in a food processor place cooked quinoa, parsley, flax seed, oil, garlic, cumin, turmeric and salt. Process until mixed slightly.
Add garbanzo beans and onion and pulse to grind coarsely. Do not blend. Leave a bit of texture in the mix. Drop the mixture by rounded tablespoons onto parchment or foil that you spray with nonstick spray. Fresh balls down a bit into 16 small patties.
Place under preheated broiler (rack on the second-to-top notch) and broil 9-10 minutes. Flip …
Roasted Lemon Chicken with Root Vegetables
The smell of a Roasted Chicken brings back memories of a chilly fall afternoon working on projects while it rains outside. This recipe combines a Mediterranean lemon zesty flavor with oregano and garlic. It is best if you have time to marinate the chicken the night before but you can do it all in one day as well. The root vegetables that roast alongside the chicken enable you to have your whole meal roasted and prepared at the same time. Serve with a big green salad and some crusty french bread and you are all set.
Ingredients
1 whole 3-5 pound organic chicken
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 lemons
3 Tablespoons fresh ginger
4 cloves fresh garlic
2 Tablespoons honey
1-2 Tablespoon canola oil
2-3 teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoons red chili pepper flakes
3 parsnips washed, peeled and cut into chinks
4 carrots washed, peeled and cut into chunks
4 red potatoes cut into chunks
1 red onion cut into chunks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup fresh parsley
Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Place in a roasting pan (spray with cooking spray) with 4-5 inch high sides. Sprinkle the chicken and the cavity with the black pepper. Cut one of the lemons in half and cut one half into small chunks. Slice the other whole lemon and the remaining half into circles to decorate the chicken before you roast it. Place the small chunks of lemon, the garlic, ginger, honey and canola oil into a blender or Cuisinart and blend until smooth. Stir in the oregano and the red chili pepper flakes. Spread mixture all over chicken. Decorate with lemon circles. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for the afternoon. 
Remove from refrigerator and let stand 30 minutes. Place cut up root vegetables in …
Tremendous Tacos
Did you celebrate National Taco Day this past Tuesday?
I love tacos, so this is officially my new favorite food holiday! I was excited to try this new taco recipe from Mealime, but looking at the recipe I just knew it needed something in the tacos besides beans.
Beans are high in protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, potassium and minerals, BUT can also be hard on the stomach SO I added sweet potatoes to this recipe to increase the health benefits! Sweet potatoes have the health benefits of potassium, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and soluble fiber PLUS they are delicious.
These tacos also have the added benefit of being vegetarian, so they are great on your wallet and your waistline. I always try to incorporate more plant-based meals where meat it either not a part of the meal or is just an “accessory” to the meal.
Sweet Potato and Black Bean “Tremendous Tacos”
(adapted from Mealime’s Black Bean Tacos with Tomato & Avocado Salsa)
- 1 avocado
-
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed
- 2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
-
½ small bunch cilantro
-
½ pint grape tomatoes, halved
-
1 lime
-
1 medium red onion
-
8 small corn tortillas
-
black pepper
-
2 tsp chili powder
-
1 tsp cumin
-
1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
-
cooking oil of choice (coconut, olive, or avocado)
- Cheese, shredded
- 1 cup rice
- Chicken or vegetable broth (optional for cooking rice)
- Rinse rice. Cook in chicken broth or vegetable broth according to packaging.
- Peel and cube sweet potatoes. Add to a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring water to boil and boil for 8-12 minutes (depending on size of your cubes). You will know sweet potatoes are done when you can easily stab with a fork. Once done, drain water and
Colorful Summer Salad
Today is another beautiful summer day and I am out tending my vegetable garden. In comes another bowl of tomatoes and I decided I wanted to try a summer salad recipe that would be a fun side dish to accompany any BBQ meat or could be eaten as your main meal. I know many of you have made Cowboy Caviar and I love that recipe but my hubby does not like avocado. He does LOVE salsa though so I made this colorful summer salad based on our homemade salsa recipe with a few variations.
Ingredients
8 medium tomatoes (I used 4 different types of heirloom tomatoes)
1 large red onion
2 ears of corn
1 large orange pepper
2 bunches cilantro (1-2 cups)
1 hot jalapeño pepper
1 mild jalapeño pepper
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
½ cup red wine vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic smashed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sesoned pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon Pilarcita’s hot and spicy Mexican spice blend (this blend has chili peppers, salt, garlic, onion, lemon and orange peel as it’s base)
Chop the tomatoes, onion, orange pepper and mix in a bowl. Dice the jalapeño peppers and chop the cilantro fine and add to the bowl. Add the drained and rinsed black beans and stir salad. In a small bowl, mix oil, vinegar, garlic and spices. Mix well and pour over the vegetables. Stir well and refrigerate for an hour or so before serving. This is a great salad to take to a potluck BBQ because it make a large bowlful of a beautiful colorful summer salad. Will store for 4-5 days in a tupperware container. If you want to serve it for your main meal, you can put on a bed of greens and serve …
Read MoreRatatouille-Fresh from the Garden
Do you have a garden full of veggies? My garden is overflowing with an abundance of veggies so this recipe is a wonderful way to utilize them. Here is a delicious dish to prepare and serve in a variety of ways…Most often this is our side dish served with BBQ skewers of chicken or beef, but I sometimes will add white beans or grate some parmesan cheese over the top and serve it as our main dish. You can also eat it cold stuffed in pita bread with hummus…..wrapped in a warm tortilla or naan bread with arugula and goat cheese…or serve cold on a bed of greens with toasted pine nuts and a scoop of quinoa. Enjoy this delicious recipe for a summer favorite.
Ratatouille is a stewed vegetable dish from the French Provencal traditional menu, originating in Nice.The French word touiller means to toss around. In most recipes, the key ingredients are the same but the process of cooking the dish vary between each chef’s preference. Some sauté all the vegetables together and simmer on the stove top, some sauté the vegetables separately and layer and bake. Our family favorite (recipe below) is as delicious as any I ever tasted when traveling in France and is the easiest recipe of them all!! Ratatouille was a family favorite of ours way before the Pixar animated “RATATOUILLE” movie was released in 2007. The movie brought awareness to the delicious French dish but many were put off by the lengthy steps to prepare the recipe. You no longer need to be intimidated because you can try our family favorite Ratatouille and wow all your friends. Most often this is our side dish served with BBQ skewers of chicken or beef, but I sometimes will add white beans or grate some …
Read MoreZucchini Soup
Our summer days are hot and the nights are a bit cooler. I love this zucchini soup recipe because it uses up my abundant zucchini crop. This soup is a light and scrumptious meal to serve on a summer night with a piece of crunchy sourdough bread or on a cooler fall evening with a grilled panini or quesadilla. You can actually serve this soup hot or cold. You can easily double the batch for a crowd. One summer when I was young, I was left in chafe of our family garden while my mom was traveling in Europe. I made at least 10 batches of this soup. We served it for company, gave it to friends, and froze a few batches so we could enjoy it all fall. When you freeze the leftover soup and defrost it for later use it tastes just a delicious as the day you made it.
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion chopped fine
1 Tablespoon olive oil
6 zucchini cut into cubes
6 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon vinegar
4 Tablespoon arrowroot
1-2 teaspoon dill weed (fresh is best)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup plain yogurt
Saute onion in oil in a large soup pot. Add zucchini and broth. Bring to a boil and turn to medium and cook until zucchini is soft. Take a bit of the broth out of the pot and pour into a 1 cup measure. Add the vinegar and arrowroot and stir until dissolved. Add the vinegar, arrowroot, broth mixture to the soup pot and stir until blended and the soup starts to thicken. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Blend in food processor or Vitamix adding yogurt and seasonings. You can serve this soup cold or hot.
Succotash
A great way to cook up some of your favorite vegetables is with a succotash twist. Enjoy this easy showstopper recipe with whatever meat you can grill up on your BBQ. Serve this up with some shredded BBQ chicken made in a crockpot-recipe coming next week…….
- 2 TBS coconut oil or olive oil (if you want a touch of coconut flavor, use coconut oil)
- ½ diced onion
- ½ diced bell pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 TBS paprika
- 1 TBS tumeric
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 2 stalks of corn (corn cut off)
- 1 tomato
- 1 zuchinni
- 1 TBS cumin
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- Saute the onions, bell peppers, and garlic
- Add paprika, tumeric, and cilantro. Cook for 3 minutes
- Add the corn, tomato, zuchinni and cook for 5 minutes
- Add the cumin and chiken broth and bring to a boil
- Add the parsley, salt, and pepper at the end.
What is one of your favorite side dishes to serve at your summer BBQ?
…
Zucchini Stuffed Quinoa Boats
Summer is here and if you have planted a vegetable garden you may be harvesting the first crop of zucchini, peppers and tomatoes. 
Here is a delicious way to serve zucchini. These stuffed zucchini quinoa boats can be your side dish with turkey burgers or chicken on the grill or you can eat them as your main dish because they are packed with protein and veggies.
Ingredients
6 medium zucchini (3 large zucchini forgotten in the garden for a few days)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic smashed
1 onion finely diced
1 yellow or orange bell pepper finely diced
2 roma tomatoes or 1 large tomato chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 sprigs of fresh thyme chopped fine (2 teaspoons dried thyme)
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
4 basil leaves chopped
3 cups cooked quinoa (I used red quinoa)
½ cup grated parmesan
½ cup grated mozzarella
¼ cup pine nuts
Wash and cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out the center portion of each half zucchini and dice up what you have scooped out.
Saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add peppers, tomatoes and chopped zucchini and stir until all vegetables are soft. Add thyme, salt, pepper, chopped spinach and basil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add cooked quinoa and parmesan cheese and stir until blended.
Fill zucchini boats full of the quinoa mixture and sprinkle pine nuts on top. 
Bake in 375 degree oven for 30-45 minutes depending on the size of your zucchini. Sprinkle grated or sliced mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 5 minutes more until cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!!!