Spinach & black bean enchiladas

Spinach and Black bean enchiladas

Date: August 18th, 2011

Recipe: http://ellysaysopa.com/2011/03/07/meatless-monday-chipotle-and-tomatillo-sauced-black-bean-enchiladas/

Modifications: I doubled the amount of cream cheese because we had half of a package left and I wanted to use the whole thing up.

Time to table: 75 minutes

Servings: 4 adult dinner, 2 toddler dinners

Ben: Love

Erin: Like

Annie: Love

Notes: We used a salsa verde recipe from our CSA newsletter this time that used some stuff from the box (tomatillo, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro) and we used a green pepper instead of a red pepper because that’s what we had on hand. This was a delicious recipe that we’ve made before and we’ll definitely make again as it’s so easy and would probably be a good freezer meal. I used a dry, white cheddar cheese that didn’t melt too nicely and while it tasted fine, the pics don’t make it look too appetizing.

Annie eating enchiladas

Spinach and Black bean enchiladas

Spinach and Black bean enchiladas

Posted in black beans, cheese, cream cheese, csa, garlic, green pepper, greens, Mexican, onion, spinach, vegetarian | 1 Comment

Veggie cobbler

Veggie Cobbler

I put sriracha on mine.

Date: August 8th, 2011

Recipe: Source: Simply Organic Cookbook

Crust:
1 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-purpose flour (used bleached all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour or cornmeal (used cornmeal)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, grated
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup buttermilk

Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, minced
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (again, used bleached flour)
2 cups milk or vegetable broth (used milk)
1/4 cup Madeira wine (did not use this)
2 tablespoons chopped sage
3 cups cooked vegetables – we used eggplant, zucchini, and sweet peppers, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

To make the crust: in a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal or whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and parsley. Add the butter and cheese and stir in the buttermilk just until blended. Refrigerate while you make the topping.

To make the filling: Prehat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 3 quart baking dish. I do not own a 3 quart baking dish, so I used a 2 quart dish. It did end up bubbling over just slightly at the very end, so we put a cookie sheet under the dish.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and whisk in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes, or until the mixture turns golden brown. Slowly whisk in the milk or broth and wine, if using. Whisk until slightly thickened. Add the sage, vegetables, salt, and pepper.

Transfer the creamed vegetables to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Drop the crust mixture by the tablespoon on top of the vegetables. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Time to table: 90 minutes

Servings: 4 adult dinner, 2 toddler dinners

Ben: Like

Erin: Like

Annie: Love

Notes: I have to admit that this was better the last time we made it, which makes me sad because I remember it being so damn good. Still used up a lot of CSA veggies and it was a hit with Annie, so this was still a winner in spite of it taking a long time to make. I actually made the crust and filling on Sunday night and kept them separated in the fridge overnight and then assembled it (5 minutes) and cooked it (45 minutes) on Monday after work. We had the leftovers on Tuesday night for dinner, and they were even better than the first day!

Veggie cobbler

Precooked cobbler

Veggie Cobbler

Finished product

Veggie Cobbler

Annie eating it up!

Posted in cheese, csa, eggplant, one dish meal, shallot, summer squash, zucchini | 1 Comment

Beans & veggies over rice

IMG_1350

Date: August  5th, 2011

Recipe:

  • 0.5 cans of refried black beans
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 0.5 of an onion, diced
  • 1 cup sweet potatoes, diced
  • handful of spinach
  • 0.5 cups shredded cheese
  • 0.5 cups water
  • 1 cup dried rice
  • seasonings to taste (I used red pepper, chili powder, garlic granules, and cumin)
  • sour cream to top with
Cook the rice according to directions. While the rice is cooking saute the sweet potato and onion. Add the garlic for another minute or so. Add the refried beans and water and mix it together well until the water has evaporated or mixed in. Turn off the heat and add in the cheese and spinach and continue stirring until the spinach has been mixed in and is wilted.
Spoon some rice into a bowl and top with the black bean mixture and then top with a dallop of sour cream.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: 1 adult lunch, 2 toddler meals

Ben: Love

Annie: Love

Notes: This was one of the best lunches I ever made while working at home, I think it was the sour cream that put it over the top. I initially wanted to make a taco or quesadilla, but realized that we were out of tortillas, so the rice was a fallback, but this was DAMN good. Annie enjoyed it as well, in spite of the spinach that was hidden the the black beans. I’m going to make this again for dinner so Erin can tell me how awesome I am.

Posted in black beans, cheese, garlic, greens, lunch, one dish meal, onion, rice, sour cream, spinach, sweet potato | 2 Comments

Grilled stuffed banana peppers

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Date: August 3rd, 2011

Recipe:

  • 1 cup dry rice, cooked
  • 0.5 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 0.25 cups cilantro, chopped
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cups shredded cheese
  • 1 T cumin
  • 1 t chili powder
  • 1 t paprika
  • 5 banana peppers sliced in half with the ribs and seeds removed
Cook the rice according to directions, towards the end of the rice cooking, saute the onions for a few minutes until translucent and add the garlic for an extra minute or so. Combine everything except the banana peppers in a mixing bowl.
Fill the banana pepper with the mixture and prepare the grill. Grill the peppers for 7-10 minutes, until they are charred on the bottom and soft.

Time to table: 40 minutes

Servings: 2 adults, 1 toddler

Ben: Like

Annie: Love (she only had the filling, not the peppers)

Notes: We got 5 banana peppers in our CSA box and this was a great way to use them, especially since Erin was not home for dinner. These were spicier than I thought they’d be, so it was a good decision to only have Annie eat the filling. Erin did have the filling the next day for dinner as some leftovers and thought it was good.

Annie eating rice

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Stuffed Banana Peppers

Posted in banana peppers, cheese, chicken, cilantro, garlic, onion, rice, sour cream | Comments Off on Grilled stuffed banana peppers

Broccoli and carrot orzo

Orzo with chicken, broccoli and carrots

Date: August 2nd, 2011

Recipe: http://weelicious.com/2011/03/08/carrot-broccoli-cheese-orzo/

Modifications: I probably used more cheese than called for, but I wasn’t measuring. We also added some chicken pieces. (Update: We almost never add chicken now, and usually double this recipe. We do throw in 1-2 cans of white beans for protein and it’s a GREAT addition and obviously way faster/cheaper than chicken. It also can be easily frozen and is great for a quick kid meal)

Time to table: 20 minutes with premade chicken

Servings: 3 adults, 1 toddler

Ben: Like

Erin: Like

Annie: Like

(Edited to add Luke: LOVE LOVE LOVE – he shovels this in – usually 2-3 bowls)

Notes: This meal was a great way to sneak in some veggies that Annie actually seemed to like, the copious amounts of cheese doesn’t hurt 🙂 As you make this dish, you don’t get too excited for it, but it is surprisingly flavorful and incredibly easy to make, a big win!

Annie eating orzo

Posted in broccoli, carrot, cheese, chicken, garlic, pasta, shallot | 2 Comments

Veggie hash with scrambled eggs

IMG_1298

Date: July 31st, 2011

Recipe:

  • 1 potato, diced
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 large bunch of kale, chopped
  • 1-2 cups shredded cheese
  • 4 eggs
Saute the potato and onion until nearly done, but not quite. Add the garlic and kale and cover until the kale has softened and the potatoes are done. Top with the shredded cheese and let it melt while you scramble the eggs.

Time to table: 25 minutes

Servings: 2 adults, 1 toddler

Ben: Like

Erin: Like

Annie: Like

Notes: This was made in an attempt to use more CSA stuff, those boxes can be daunting sometimes! Annie seemed to like this, though she rarely turns down eggs or cheese, so that was kind of expected.

Eating potato kale egg cheese

Posted in cheese, eggs, garlic, kale, onion, potato | Comments Off on Veggie hash with scrambled eggs

Beet barley “risotto”

Barley risotto

Date: July 27th, 2011

Recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/dinner-tonight-golden-beet-barley-risotto-recipe.html

Modifications: We had five smaller beets, so we used them all and I just added a little more barley to make the whole dish bigger. I also added some frozen shredded pork that we had to add some protein.

Time to table: 1 hour

Servings: About 5 adults

Ben: Like

Erin: Like

Annie: Dislike

Notes: Annie, again, not a fan. She has been seeming less interested in our meals lately, which is a bummer for her and us. Unfortunately we can’t have spaghetti every night (until winter at least), so she’ll have to learn to deal. Erin and I agreed that the lemon flavor in this dish was a bit much, if I make it again I will for sure cut back on the lemon juice in the beet mixture.

Barley risotto

Having just added the garlic and barley.

Posted in barley, beets, feta, garlic, onion, pork | Comments Off on Beet barley “risotto”

Grilled chicken with green bean casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Date: July 26th, 2011

Green been recipe: http://realmomkitchen.com/534/green-bean-casserole/

Chicken marinade recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-garlic-marinade-for-chicken-331278

Modifications: I didn’t use the sumac in the marinade.

Time to table: 45 minutes (grilled the chicken while the casserole was baking)

Servings: 3 adults, 1 toddler

Ben: Like

Erin: Like

Annie: Dislike

Notes: I’m not a fan of green beans, so I was glad to find something that would use up all of them at once 🙂 My sister came over with her two kids so we nearly ate all of the casserole, no help from Annie, who didn’t seem to like anything tonight.

I forgot to take ANY pictures so Erin hurriedly snapped one of the nearly gone casserole and of Annie “eating” so that will have to do this time.

Grace and Annie

Annie playing with her food while cousin Grace watches.

Posted in cheese, chicken, garlic, green beans, sour cream | Comments Off on Grilled chicken with green bean casserole

Pasta with vegetables

Pasta w/ veggies in a cream sauce

Date: July 19th, 2011

Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/07/farfalle-with-zucchini-a-yummy-summer-meal/

Modifications: We used a zucchini and a summer squash because that’s what we got in our csa box.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: Enough for 4 adults and 2 toddlers

Ben: Dislike

Erin: Dislike

Annie: Dislike

Notes: This didn’t turn our nearly as well as the last time we made it. Annie was NOT A FAN. I think I used too much pasta which diluted the creaminess of the sauce, so it just kind of tasted like pasta with veggies and no sauce, not very tasty at all. I’m making spaghetti sauce tonight and we’ll use the leftovers with some red sauce. Better than chucking them 🙂

Pasta w/ veggies in a cream sauce

Posted in basil, cheese, chives, csa, garlic, onion, pasta, summer squash, tomatoes, vegetarian, zucchini | 1 Comment

Spaghetti with fried eggs

Pasta with Eggs

Date: July 20th, 2011

Recipe: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/recipe-of-the-day-spaghetti-with-fried-eggs/

Modifications: Since this was just for me I only used three eggs. I also added sauteed spinach cause we had some, and you might as well make it a little healthier, right?

Time to table: 10 minutes, but I had leftover pasta so I didn’t need to cook any.

Servings: 1 adult

Ben: Like

Notes: This was really good, but a little rich with the undone egg yolks. I needed to use up the eggs and pasta though, so it was perfect for that.

Pasta with Eggs

Posted in csa, eggs, garlic, greens, pasta, spinach | 2 Comments