Green Beans

I bought a bag of fresh green beans and wanted a new way to cook them so I tried this recipe and was pleased with it.  I was missing a few ingredients (cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika )  but the beans still turned out with plenty of flavor.

Here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/blackened-green-beans-recipe/index.html

Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic, Gorgonzola and Herbs

I almost never watch the Food Network but starting this blog inspired me to stop while I was channel surfing. I watched Guida De Laurentiis make these tomatoes and I had to try them. They were delicious and easy to make. Jake even liked them (if you can't tell he is my guinea pig).

I like that the ingredients were pretty simple. I was going to try one of her other recipes but the ingredients were harder to find and more ridiculously expensive.

I will definitely make these tomatoes again. They would be a great appetizer or side dish. I made them with Gorgonzola, which is a little bit more difficult to come by compared to Parmesan so I might try that next time.

I also cut the recipe in half so that I could sample them.
They were delicious.

Ingredients

12 Roma tomatoes, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup plain bread crumbs

3/4 cup finely crumbled Gorgonzola or grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon, remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Place the tomato halves, cut side down, on paper towels to drain, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Using clean hands, gently toss the drained tomato halves in the oil mixture until coated. Marinate the tomatoes for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and Gorgonzola cheese.

Place the marinated tomato halves, cut side up, on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Fill each tomato half with the bread crumb filling. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until slightly softened and the underside of the tomatoes are brown.

Arrange the cooked tomatoes on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Brussels Sprouts

So, I have never been a fan of Brussels Sprouts.  I think when they are cooked they stink.  It is hard because I know nutritionally they are supposed to be great for you so I want to like them.

 To piggy-back on another great recipe from Kristin, here is a great salad made  out of fresh Brussels Sprouts.  Now, I made this the other day and will have to be honest and say that Jake did not love this one.  So, if your husband is a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy then he may not like it either.  On the other hand, I think it is a great alternative for eating Brussels Sprouts-fresh not stinky.

Ingredients:

Brussels Sprouts 1 dozen

Fennel 1/2 tsp

Goat cheese 1/2 c.

*The amounts are guesstimates.  I kind of just felt it out. Sorry.

1. Wash the Brussels Sprouts

2. Finely chop up the Brussels Sprouts (like shredded cabbage) and place in a bowl.

3. Heat goat cheese in a sauce pan.  Be careful to heat it up on a low heat so that you don't burn the cheese.  Heat it up to the point that it is melted.  It doesn't need to go to the point of boiling.

4. Pour the goat cheese on the finely chopped Brussels Sprouts and stir it in.  The goat cheese should lightly coat the Brussels sprouts

5. Sprinkle fennel on top and stir in.

6. Eat.

Hubrich Lemon Pasta

This is what I had for dinner last night thanks to Kristin and the Hubrichs.  It was amazing!  I think you could also add a couple veggies to it like some chopped up Roma tomatoes and some sauteed asparagus.  Really though, this one can stand all on it's own flavor wise. Kristin cooked this for me about two months ago and I have been craving it since.  I finally received the recipe last night and I ran right to the store to get the ingredients. When Jake came home from a long day of studying at about 10pm he said, "What did you eat for dinner?  It spells delicious."

2 garlic cloves


Zest of Lemon

4T Butter

1 C Heavy Cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 nutmeg

1 C Parmesan

Lemon Juice from Lemon

In pan, melt the butter and cook the garlic and lemon zest until very fragrant. Add cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook until heated through. Set aside until pasta is cooked. Reheat sauce. Add Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Best with radiator pasta.

I couldn't find radiator pasta so I used bow tie.

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Today, since it is hotter than yesterday I decided to make another salad for lunch.  This is one of my favorite salads because it is a great way to get your veggies in.

Ingredients:

4-5 slices Bacon (I do turkey bacon)
1 c. Parmesan Cheese
 1/4 c.Craisins (other options are raisins or sliced up fresh grapes)
1 head Cauliflower
1 head Broccoli
 3/4 bottle Brianna's Poppy seed Dressing
1/4 c.Red Onions (optional, I usually choose to opt out)

Now. I don't usually measure this one out.  This is about an estimate of what I did for lunch today. You just wash and chop up the Broccoli and Cauliflower into bite size pieces. Then put them together in a large bowl. Then you cook up the bacon and chop it into small pieces and put it in the large bowl.  Add the Parmesan cheese, craisins and red onions if you like.  Then pour on the dressing and mix it all together and your done. 

Summer Salad

Right now in Delaware it is 86 degrees with 66 percent humidity. I was hungry for lunch and needed something cool and refreshing to eat. I decided to make a salad. I like to experiment with my food and so I decided that I would make a frozen fruit salad. It ended up hitting the spot because the frozen fruit was nice and cold in this blazing weather as well as delicious and nutritious. Here is what I had:

Spinach
Frozen Raspberries
Frozen Blueberries
Cashews
Feta Cheese
Poppy seed dressing