Zucchini and A Lot of it...

When we were at Jenn's house on Saturday she gave us each a HUGE zucchini to take home with us. I was happy to take it because this year my garden isn't really producing right now...things are growing but not big enough to pick. Of course this happens the year I found a bunch of recipes I want to try out using zucchini and I have none from my own garden yet. I also refuse to buy in the store since I know I will have some eventually.

Since all the recipes I wanted to make calls for shredding I decided to make it easy on myself. I broke out my food processor. Well to my surprise I got a total of 10 cups of shredded zucchini.

I decided since I had so much I was going to try out the Zucchini brownies Jenn make and another recipe I found out there in the world of blogs: zucchini cakes on The Pinoeer Woman Cooks blog. Check out her blog for the recipe and pictures of the whole process. Below are my pictures of the finished product.


Review: I have to say right off the bat this one is a keeper! It was easy to make and the flavor was really good. The recipe calls for 1 large zucchini shredded. Honestly I don't know how big a large zucchini is because if you get one from a home garden...well lets just say it could be a baseball bat. The ones from the supermarket are usually much smaller and a large one there is really a small one from the garden. So I used about 3 cups but I think next time I might try to use a little bit more. I would have this time but the baby woke up and I had to put the mixture in the refrigerator until I had time to cook them. I also used Italian flavored bread crumbs because that was all I had and I used grated Parmesan cheese.

Chinese Fried Rice...Mama style

This past weekend Mike and I had another cooking lesson with his Grandmother. It is one of our favorite thing she makes Chinese Fried Rice and of course we just had to get the recipe. Like all of her recipes there really isn't one. She just adds what she feels is the right amount of ingredients to the dish. So it was something worth watching her make to get everything correct.

Mama's Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients
6 cups cooked rice
3/4 lb bacon, chopped in pieces
2 boneless pork chops, cut into tiny pieces
1 bunch scallions, all the white parts and 1/2 green chopped
5 eggs, beaten
2 cans (15 oz) bean sprouts, drained and rinsed
2 tsp vegetable oil
soy sauce

1) If you don't have leftover rice cook the rice and let cool. Cut up the pork, bacon and scallions and put in bowls.

2) In a large pot heat up a couple of teaspoons of oil. Add the pork chops to the pan and cook for a few minutes until no longer pink. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water to the pot, lower heat and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes until the pork is completely cooked. Remove lid and cook until all the water has evaporated. Remove pork from pan and set aside.

3) Cook bacon in the pot until it is cook to your liking. Add the pork back to the pot and stir. Add the scallions to the pot and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the beaten eggs to the pot and stir to combine and cook. Once eggs are cook add the bean sprouts to the pan.

4) Add the cooked rice to the pot a couple of spoonfuls at a time and mix after each addition.

5) Once all the rice has been added, start to put in the soy sauce. Add some soy sauce an stir until the color of the rice is an even brown and the salt level is good.

6) Increase the heat and fry the rice. Stir to mix rice, sauce and ingredients evenly. Cover and lower heat to get it up to an eating temperature. It is now ready to eat.


Review: This is really one of my favorite things that Mama makes and I never realized how easy it was. She usually serves the rice with country style spareribs glazed in a sweet and sour sauce. I found out that she would just buy a sweet and sour sauce at the store, brush it on the ribs and bake them in the oven...how easy is that! I really can't wait to make this on my own very soon.

Confetti Corn

I am always looking for a simple and quick side dish to make with dinner. I always feel like it is an after thought and I usually just heat up whatever frozen/canned veggies I have on hand. The other day I was looking in one of my cookbooks and came across a recipe that I thought fit the bill.

Confetti Corn
Barefoot Contessa: back to basics.

2 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 small orange bell pepper, 1/2" dice
2 tablepoons butter
Kernals from 5 ears of corn (4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil, minced fresh chives, and/or minced fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the bell pepper and saute for 2 more minutes.
Add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Over medium heat, add the corn, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn just loses its starchiness. Season to taste, gently stir in the basil or other green herbs, and serve hot.

Review: Wow is this recipe a keeper...easy, fast and tasted amazing. I didn't do exactly as the recipe is written above but I didn't really change much. I used a yellow onion instead of a red one, and I used a red bell pepper instead of the orange one it calls for. I also didn't add the butter to the pan because I ended up using more oil then I should of. I also am so mad at myself because I have fresh basil and parsley in my garden and I totally forgot to use it. Well this dish was so yummy that I am going to make it again and use the herbs. It could only make it better.

May Recipe: High Plains Steak with Peas and Pods

Wow, so it has been a busy week! We are in process of renting out our condo and I am still finding some time to make some new recipes! Yay me!

I was thumbing through Cooking Light July 2008 and ran across two different recipes: High Plains Steaks & Peas and Pods. They were noted as recipes for the July 4th holiday. So, it's a few days past, but I am also over a month past due on my May "Beef" recipe. Luckily I had a piece of London Broil in the fridge and some snap peas my dad had gotten me Upstate (as I love these peas - you can eat the outside and inside!).

High Plains Steak(s)
Cooking Light - July 2008

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 (8-ounce) sirloin strip steaks or 1 lb. London Broil
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. Prepare grill.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub mustard mixture over both sides of steaks. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand 30 minutes.
3. Place steaks on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3 ounces)

Nutritional Information:
CALORIES 155 (30% from fat); FAT 5.2g (sat 2g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.2g); IRON 2.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 10mg; CARBOHYDRATE 0.7g; SODIUM 427mg; PROTEIN 24.6g; FIBER 0.2g

Weight Watchers Points: 4

Peas and Pods
Cooking Light - July 2008

Ingredients:
3/4 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 cups fresh or frozen petite green peas, thawed
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped
fresh mint (or basil)

Directions:
1. Steam snap peas, covered, 2 minutes. Add green peas to pan; steam 2 minutes.
2. Combine peas, butter, and salt in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with mint (or basil).

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)

Nutritional Information: CALORIES 87 (29% from fat); FAT 2.8g (sat 1.8g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.1g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 7.5mg; CALCIUM 42mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.7g; SODIUM 105mg; PROTEIN 3.4g; FIBER 3.4g

Weight Watchers Points: 1

Review: I cooked a 1" thick steak for 5 minutes on each side and it came out perfectly medium. The steak was very good with just a hint of mustard. Next time I think I will try the horseradish mustard or maybe even just horseradish to kick the taste up a notch. The peas were soooo good - I think that's partially due to the fact that they were straight from the farm stand, but even the frozen peas that I defrosted were tasty. Very quick and easy meal! Yum!

April Recipe: Garlicky Green Beans

So, for my April recipe, I got my inspiration from another recipe. I LOVED this recipe! (Oops, skipped right to the review on that one!) I LOVE garlic and haven't made green beans in awhile - out of the habit due to having to cut both ends and just seems to take forever, though I would guess you could use the frozen green beans, which are all ready to go. Of couse, gourmet chefs may leave it on for effect, or perhaps use haricots verts (sold in your local Costco, if no where else).

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon margarine, melted
4 large garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
1 large fresh rosemary sprig, chop up rosemary (throw away sprig)
1 teaspoon EVOO
1 pound green beans, cut off ends, cut beans in 1-inch pieces (or leave longer for effect =)
S&P
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves


Directions:
1. Combine melted margarine, garlic, and rosemary in small bowl; put aside.

2. Heat oil in nonstick frying pan over medium heat until just smoking. Add beans, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat slightly, add water, cover, and cook until beans are bright green and still crisp, 2 minutes. Remove cover, increase heat to high and cook until water evaporates (if not already evaporated), 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium, add margarine mixture and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until beans are crisp-tender, lightly brown, and beginning to wrinkle, 2 to 3 minutes longer, but don't burn garlic! Top with parsley and plate (seasoning with salt and pepper, as needed). Serve immediately (if you cover until ready, the beans will start to wilt).



Review: I really enjoyed this, although my husband's first comment was "wow! garlic!" haha So, if you like less garlic, feel free to use less cloves. I think the fact that my garlic is slightly older (than the average bear), it could have made them more potent. Good thing we were both eating garlic though! *nudge nudge* lol I will definitely make this again.

Garden Fresh Tomatoes

When we moved into our house the previous owners had a veggie garden. They didn't plant anything this year because they knew they were moving but my next door neighbor had extra tomato plants and planted them in the veggies garden for us. They are ripe and I have been picking a couple every few days.

So far we enjoyed them in a Tomato and Mozzarella salad, on grilled cheese burgers, and tonight I picked 2 and roasted them.

My inspiration for doing this is because I got my new Everyday Foods mag last week and there is a recipe in there for Garlic-Roasted Tomatoes.

Garlic-Roasted Tomatoes
serves 8
prep time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

4 large beefsteak tomatoes (about 3 lbs), cored and halved crosswise
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 8 thin slices
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Place tomato halves, cut side up, on a large rimmed baking sheet. Dividing evenly, top with butter and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Bake tomatoes until tender, 40 to 45 minutes.

My Review: OH MY GOD!!! Not only did my house smell amazing from the garlic roasting in the oven but the tomatoes actually tasted very yummy. I really don't like raw tomatoes which was one reason I wanted to try this recipe. I told Heidi and Karen if it doesn't taste good at least it made my house smell good. To my surprise it came out great and I enjoyed the taste very much. I can't wait to make this recipe again!

Baked Whole Cauliflower

So cauliflower was on sale this week so I bought one. I usually just cut it up and steam it. But I decided I wanted to do something else. So I look for a recipe. I found Baked Whole Cauliflower. It was really good. Here's the recipe

1 head of cauliflower
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 pinch of dried oregano

1. Clean cauliflower and trim off leaves and any brown spots. Place whole head of cauliflower into a steamer basket, place the basket in a large pot, and one inch of water. Cover, and bring to a bowl over medium heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until tender.

2. Preheat the oven to 375. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, melted butter, season with garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Mix well. Place the head of cauliflower into a baking dish, and coat with the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown

My review of this recipe is that it was really tasty and the presentation of the whole head was nice, but next time i think after steaming it, I might just cut it up and than sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top of it. I would definitely make this again.