This was by far the best side dish (and not to mention, the easiest) one that I have probably ever made! This was a combined idea between my hubby and myself, that went along with the comfort food meal that I made for him on Friday. He went grocery shopping with me, and decided that he wanted to try some summer squash and zucchini. He wasn't sure how he wanted it cooked, but he knew that he wanted these flavors. I told him tons of different ways I could cook it, and let him decide which one he wanted. I let him know that they could be roasted, fried, sautéed with garlic, etc. He chose them sautéed with garlic...any mention of garlic added and we are pretty much both sold on the cooking technique.
So, I started off by peeling both the squash and zucchini. I then sliced them pretty thin, and through them in a pan with some garlic and a little olive oil. I just let them hang out and get golden brown before flipping them. The cooking process probably took about 10 mins total. The result was beautifully done and golden veggies with a hint of garlic flavor. I then finished this off with some salt and pepper (of course).
The only thing we could both say between mouthfuls of veggies, was mmMMMmmmm. :) Who knew that vegetables could taste so good?
Recipes are wonderful for so many reasons. I literally sat on my couch the other night and read through my favorite cookbooks...for the millionth time. Not only are there tons of recipes that I want to try, but they also give me ideas for recipes that I can create. Right now, my favorite cookbook is Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis. I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE her! Her cookbook is exactly how I envision mine to be, and I just love her recipes. I feel like my tastes are still growing and developing, so every time I read her recipes, I find more things that I never would have thought to try, but now sound amazing to me.
I saw a recipe for her Pizza di Spaghetti, which made me think of what Italian Comfort foods I love and should make for dinner tonight. So, when I get home tonight and my hubby asks what's for dinner, I will be prepared! Tonight I am making Spaghetti with Italian Eggrolls (which are total comfort food for me) and garlic bread. I am going to also make too much Spaghetti, so that I can make Giada's Pizza di Spaghetti tomorrow night, or the night after for dinner.
Two dinners are now planned out this week, before I am asked the dreaded question, and I have to say, I am a little proud of myself :)
I also have to let you know in advanced, I will blog tonights dinner, tomorrow, but I was told at the beginning of my blog, that I am not allowed to share the secret recipe of my families Italian Eggrolls, and also, they won't look anything like they are supposed to (I am still mastering the technique). So just to warn you ahead of time, tomorrow's blog will be just a tease, sorry! :)
As you all know by now, I am addicted to anything eggplant, especially if it's roasted! So it was only natural that during the winter I would fantasize about how not only to heat up my house with the oven on, but what I could make with eggplant that isn't at its peak ripeness. So while sitting in my favorite chair, staring out at the snow one afternoon, I came up with the idea to make an eggplant sauce.
What could be better, and how could I go wrong with roasted eggplant, tomatoes, and garlic? I couldn't think of anything that would taste better, and over the years I have tweaked the recipe and added some other wonderful ingredients to enhance the sauce, such as cream, white wine and a variety of spices. This is a recipe that I hold dear to my heart for one reason or another, and am constantly thinking about how to make better. I recently decided that peeling the tomatoes after they are roasted would make the consistency of the sauce better, and since doing that, I finally feel like the recipe is perfected! I have never measured this recipe, so things are definitely just approximated and you can try different amounts until the taste is perfect for you. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1-4 garlic cloves, peeled and cracked
Heavy Cream
White Wine
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Spaghetti Seasoning
Dried Parsley
Basil
Preheat the oven to 425. Then place eggplant, cherry tomatoes and garlic on a sheet pan and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes. You will know when these are done because they will be slightly charred, but mainly a nice brown color (plus they will smell delicious). Take them out and let them cool. Then peel the skins off of the tomatoes. Once that is done, take everything from the sheet pan and put it into a food processor. Then add the rest of the ingredients, with a splash of white wine and a splash of heavy cream. With the food processor running, stream in Olive Oil until you get the desired consistency.
Before eating, you just want to place the sauce in a sauce pot and simmer until you burn off all of the alcohol, unless you would like to get a little tipsy by eating your pasta :)
Every time I am asked to make green bean casserole, I am so frustrated that the recipes that I have call for either frozen or canned green beans. I love using fresh produce when I can, especially in the summertime when I can go down to a farmer's market and just pick up the freshest items, so fresh green beans for a green bean casserole seems like a no-brainer. However, after several attempts to use fresh green beans, it became very clear to me...they need to be cooked a bit before they are cooked in the casserole, because 30-35 minutes just isn't enough time to get them as tender as my family would prefer.
When I cook green beans normally, I boil them in water for about five minutes and then sautee them with garlic, butter and a touch of olive oil until they are done to my liking, and have amazing flavor from the garlic and butter. Finally, it hit me! Why not just cook the green beans like I normally would, BEFORE mixing them into the casserole! HOLY COW! I can't believe it took me so long to realize that the solution to my casserole issue was right in front of my face.
Ingredients:
1 10 3/4 oz can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp soy sauce
Pepper
About 1 lb fresh green beans, ends snapped and cut
1 1/3 cups french fried onions
Tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic
Olive Oil
First, you want to cook your green beans. As I said previously, I boil mine for about 5 mins, and then toss in a pan with olive oil, garlic and butter. Set aside once they are cooked. In a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, combine cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, 2/3 cup french fried onions and green beans. Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Remove and top with remaining french fried onions and place back into oven for an additional 5 mins.
This is a recipe that was one of my favorites from my childhood. I can remember a segment on our local news channel at noon everyday where a guy name Mr. Food would create a recipe. My mom loved this portion of the show! Most of the things that he made were either not good, or sounded good but came out completely terrible. This is the one recipe that my mom made over and over of his, and since I am not an apple pie eater, this became the apple cake that she would make for me since I am not a fan of pie. The smells that float around my house from making this cake remind me of my childhood, and the recipe could not be simpler, but the outcome is amazing.
Ingredients:
2 medium apples, skins removed and diced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 egg beaten
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl combine egg, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and sugar. Then gradually add flour, only stirring until everything is combined. The slowly add the apples, folding them in until combined. The batter is only enough to cover the apples, so don't be alarmed by the lack of excess batter. Pour mixture into a 9in pie pan, and cook for 30 mins. You can top this with whip cream, powdered sugar, or ice cream!
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