Roast Vegetables

Tonight Dad and I tried something for the first time: Rutabaga. I guess it's also called a yellow beet. Anyway, I remember last Fall when I was visiting Talena, we roasted some red beets that were wrapped in aluminum foil, then peeled and cut them up and put them in a green salad. I didn't expect to like them, but I did. In fact, they were really good. I've tried canned beets before, which I didn't like because they were pickled. I've tried boiled beets from the garden before, and they just tasted like dirt. But that roasted beet, now, it was good.

So here's how I did it tonight: I peeled the beet and cut it up, and I peeled the rutabaga and cut it up, and I peeled an onion and cut it up. Then I put them all in a plastic bag with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper and shook them around. Then I dumped them into a glass cooking pan and baked them in a hot oven for about an hour. I actually baked them at too hot of a temperature, and they got a little overdone. But they were still really good. Something about the little bit of oil at the hot temperature causes them to caramelize and turn sweet on the outside. The little bits of onion that stuck to the bottom of the pan were especially sweet and yummy.

Serve that with some baked salmon, a generous serving of dark salad greens, and a bite of dark chocolate for dessert. Mm-mm! I ate like a queen tonight!

Here's the recipe where I got the idea.

Garden Vegetable Soup

I'm putting this recipe on here so I have quick access to it. This version came from here. In fact, I think I'll add her blog and a few others to the sidebar of this blog.

WEIGHT WATCHERS ZERO POINTS GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUP RECIPE

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 1 1/4 hour
Makes 9 cups

6 cups broth 

Cooking spray
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoons garlic, minced 
1/2 cabbage, chopped 
1/2 pound frozen green beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large zucchini, diced

Bring the broth to a boil in the microwave. (This is a time-saving tip that can be skipped if there's no hurry.)

Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini are tender. Serve and enjoy!

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES 
 BROTH Canned broth or bouillon granules work fine but for more freshness, consider using Homemade Vegetable Bouillon or Light Vegetable Stock. 
 GARLIC Use garlic from a jar or substitute about four cloves minced garlic. 
 CABBAGE Fresh cabbage is best but you can use a bag of pre-cut slaw, just look for the biggest chunks you can find versus the fine angel-hair slaw. Don't skip the cabbage, somehow it makes the soup. 

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 61 Calories; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 13 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb10; 701 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; 4 g Protein.  WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points .5 & WW PointsPlus 1

WHAT? HOW DOES A ZERO-POINT RECIPE HAVE POINTS? This soup is low-cal, low-carb, high-fiber and no-fat. But hmmm. What about the claim that it has no points in the Weight Watchers world? I suppose so, since all the ingredients are "free". But the way I calculate points, a calorie's a calorie and so I count every one of them whether from chocolate cake or fresh vegetables. In my book, Garden Vegetable Soup counts as 1 point but if you want to count it as Zero Points, go ahead. Either way, it's a winning recipe.

Bountiful Baskets

Today I ordered my first bountiful basket. I am really excited! It was $16.50 (including shipping and handling) plus a $3 fee for a first time buyer. I ordered on Monday and got my food today. Here is what I got:

2 spaghetti squash

2 (gigantic!) sweet potatoes (seriously, they are bigger than my kids head!)

1 head of cauliflower

1 bunch of asparagus

10 clementine oranges

1 bag apples

7 bananas

1 (10.5 oz) package of mini tomatoes

5 pears

1 (8oz) package of sugar snap peas

Do you think I got my moneys worth? I hope I did! I am excited to use it all. One kid opened the peas and ate half a package already and another kid gobbled down two oranges and an apple and declared the apples "better than the best apples that I've had!"

If you want to sign up for a bountiful basket too, you can go here: http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

I am not even going to try to explain it, just check out the website.

Chicken pot pie #2 report

Keeper!

The biscuits weren't the best, but they were good, and the sauce and filling was really good.

There are many variations that could be done with this recipe. Just so you know, the original idea came from that Cooking for Two Bride and Groom (I think it's called The I Do Cookbook) cookbook that my cousin wrote. She has a recipe in there for biscuits that are made with sour cream, and they are very light and fluffy. Whatever works!

Chicken pot pie #2

This chicken pot pie is also made with canned chicken and frozen mixed vegetables, but instead of pie crust it uses Bisquick. Only I didn't have enough Bisquick, so I supplemented with a little whole wheat flour. And the picture, above, shows just the filling stuff, minus the biscuits. I added them after I took the picture.

Drain a can of chicken from the cannery, reserving the broth and putting it into a pot. To the pot of broth, add 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. Put a lid on it and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat. Strain the broth off the vegetables into a measuring cup by pouring the vegetables and broth through a sieve. Put the vegetables, in the sieve, aside.

In your pot, melt a tablespoon of butter, and saute 1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup celery, chopped, until soft.

Add enough water to the reserved broth to make 2 3/4 cups of liquid. Add a teaspoon of chicken bouillon granules. Use a wire whisk to stir in 1/2 cup of white sauce mix. Dump the liquid in with the celery and onion and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with wire whisk, until mixture thickens and gets bubbly.

Stir the reserved frozen mixed vegetables into the sauce, along with the can of chicken, and any other leftover cooked vegetables you may have in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare a recipe of biscuits according to the Bisquick package directions. If you are about a half a cup of Bisquick short, try adding 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour to the dry ingredients before stirring in the milk.

Pour the chicken-vegetable-sauce mixture into a casserole dish. Pat chunks of dough into biscuit shaped blobs and place on top of mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown.

I'll take a picture when it's done and post it and tell you how we like it.

Fresh Salsa

I was at Fred Meyer last week and they were having a cooking demo to try to sell me on a nifty product that chops stuff up and makes life oh so simple. Anyway, the lady doing the demo threw together this salsa in like two minutes. It was so good! I almost paid $30 for the cheap plasticy product she was selling. Instead I just bought the ingredients I saw her use, came home, and made myself some salsa with a good old fashioned knife. Mine was almost as good as hers! And it took me longer to make but it was still easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a yellow bell pepper
• 1 roma tomato
• 1/2 of an onion
• handful of chopped cilantro (cutting it in with your shears works nicely)
• Big squeeze of a fresh lime
• a snip of a hot pepper (optional, I didn't do this)


Chop up vegetables and cilantro and combine them in a bowl. Squeeze in the lime and stir it all up. Scoop with some chips and enjoy the super fresh flavor!

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As you can see this recipe doesn't make much. I was worried mine wouldn't work out so I didn't make much for starters. It did work though and even my youngest two kiddos enjoyed it!

Basic Vegetable Soup

2 carrots, sliced

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups cabbage, chopped

1 14.5-oz. can tomatoes

1 can water

1 tsp beef bouillon

1 cup frozen cut green beans

1/2 dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 small zucchini, sliced

Spray a large saucepan with cooking spray and saute carrots, onion and garlic over low-to-medium heat until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and continue to saute a couple of more minutes until cabbage begins to soften slightly. Add tomatoes, water, bouillon, green beans, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until green beans and cabbage are cooked. Add the zucchini and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until soft. Serve warm.

Menu and Shopping List

Brown Rice
Cucumbers
Lemons
Zucchini
Cabbage
Potatoes
Onions
Squash
Oranges
Spinach
Bananas
Strawberries
Lettuce
Peppers
Cauliflower
Pork chops
Fish
Frozen green beans

Monday
Breakfast: Grain Compote with fruit
Lunch: Tuna Sandwich with spinach and celery, orange
Dinner: Apple pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrots, spinach-strawberry salad
Snacks: Apple, Popcorn, green smoothie popsicle from freezer (last week's green smoothie)

Tuesday
Breakfast: Pancake and peaches
Lunch: Vegetable Soup (see below), bread and cheese
Dinner: Pizza with veggies, strawberry-banana smoothie, chocolate chip cookies
Snacks: green smoothie, apple, popcorn

Wednesday
Breakfast: Grain compote with strawberries, apples
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Bean enchiladas, corn, green salad
Snacks: green smoothie

Thursday
Breakfast: pancake and peaches
Lunch: Vegetable Soup
Dinner: leftovers
Snacks: apple, orange, veggie tray

Friday
Breakfast: Grain compote with strawberries, apples
Lunch: Tuna sandwich with spinach and celery
Dinner: Spaghetti noodles with chicken-vegetable prima vera
Snacks: apple, orange, green smoothie

Saturday
Breakfast: pancakes and peaches
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: fish, mac & cheese, carrots-broccoli-cauliflower
Snacks: apple, orange, green smoothie, popcorn

Here's the Vegetable Soup Recipe that I plan to use. I got it from Weight Watchers when I did that program a couple of years ago:
2/3 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup diced onion
3 cups fat-free broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
1 1/2 cups diced green cabbage
1/2 cup green beans
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced zucchini
Spray a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray, heat. Saute the carrot, onion, and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato poaste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until beans are tender. Stir in the zucchini and heat for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.