ROASTED GREEN BEANS WITH MUSHROOMS

Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms

The last few recipes I posted were from the South Beach Diet. Today I have another. I roasted the vegetables in oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan. I enjoyed them and ate most of them by myself. The key is not crowd the cookie sheet. Spread the veggies out so the cook and brown evenly.

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans Trimmed and cut

1 container mushrooms, sliced evenly

1 ½   tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash the mushrooms and drain. While, the mushrooms are drying. Trim the ends of the beans and cut them into bite sized pieces. Cut the mushrooms into slices ½ inch thick.

Whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Coat the vegetables with the mixture and spread on the cookie sheet. Roast for 20- 30 minutes. Cook until all the water is evaporated. Season the beans to taste with salt and pepper. Add grated parmesan.

ROASTED VEGETABLES

Roasted Vegetables

Oven roasted vegetables are delicious! All you need is a hot oven, salt, pepper and olive oil. You can roast any vegetable you want. The flavors seem to come alive. This has changed my relationship with veggies forever. Give it a try…

Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini, cut into small pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces

1 green bell pepper, cut into pieces

1 pound asparagus, cut into small pieces

1 onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place all vegetables on a roasting pan. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Get them coated well. Spread in a single layer in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.

VEGETABLE QUICHE CUPS

Vegetable Quiche Cups

Fast can be fabulous! Breakfast you can take with you, when you are on the go. Use them for brunch. Make a bunch, freeze and reheat when you are in the mood. I used spinach, green peppers and onions.  Change the vegetables to suit your taste.



Vegetable Quiche Cups

Ingredients:

1 package spinach 8 ounces

4 large eggs

¾ cup shredded low fat cheese ( I used cheddar)

¼ cup diced green bell pepper

¼ cup diced onions

Cook the spinach in a pan with a teaspoon olive oil until wilted. Cut into small pieces.

Line a 12 cup muffin pan with baking cups. Spray the cups with cooking spray.

Combine the eggs, cheese, peppers, onions, and spinach in a bowl. Mix well. Divide evenly in the muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Or until a knife comes out clean.

ZUCCHINI CARROT AND FETA FRITTERS

 Zucchini Carrot and Feta Fritters

The fritters are super easy and quick to make. I love zucchini because you can use it in so many different ways. I’ll be sure to make this again in the summer when my garden is full of zucchini. They are also really good the next day when they are cold.

Zucchini Carrot and Feta Fritters

• 4  zucchini grated and then squeezed (about 1 full cup)
• 2 carrots grated
• ½ cup Feta cheese
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• thyme, mint, parsley (about 2 teaspoons of each chopped)
• 1 clove of garlic crushed
• 2 Tablespoons of flour
• 4 small spring onions finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of crumbs (I like to use Panko Asian crumbs because they are crispier)
• salt and pepper
• oil for frying
• Tzatziki for dipping ( I used cucumber garlic)
• lemon wedges to serve

Grate the zucchini and then place in a tea towel and ring out all the liquid, you want these to be as dry as possible. Put in a bowl and add the flour and coat the zucchini. Add all the other ingredients and mix to combine. Heat the oil in a non- stick frying pan and fry dollops of the mixture, turning when golden brown on the one side. Drain on paper towel and serve with fresh lemon wedges and Tzatziki.

BIKINI MARTINI

Bikini Martini


Bikini Martini

• 1 fluid ounce coconut rum
• 3/4 fluid ounce vodka
• 1 fluid ounce pineapple juice
• 1 dash grenadine syrup

Combine rum, vodka and pineapple juice in a drink shaker. Shake firmly until frothy. Pour into a martini glass and add a touch of grenadine in the middle.

CHICKEN MARSALA

Chicken Marsala

This dish is quick and easy. So, delicious my husband was asking for more, but what else is new?  I just added onions and capers to the mushroom mixture. This classic recipe is pure perfection!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

      1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating

      1/2 teaspoon salt

      1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

       1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

       4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick

      4 tablespoons butter

      4 tablespoons olive oil

      1 cup sliced mushrooms

      ½ Vidalia onion

     2 tablespoons capers

    1/2 cup Marsala wine

     1/4 cup cooking sherry

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat the chicken pieces in the flour mixture.

In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms, onions and capers.  Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear

RIGATONI WITH BROCCOLI AND SAUSAGE

Rigatoni with broccoli and sausage

It’s been a busy week. Today, I got to have some time for me. I went mountain biking. As the kids come home from school with next week off. I decided to make a simple meal. This is Emeril’s Rigatoni with Broccoli and Sausage. I lightened it up by using chicken sausage. I also left out the anchovy, because I don’t like them. All I can say is this dinner was simple and comforting. “A perfect end to a perfect day”. BAM!! Dinner is served!

Rigatoni with broccoli and sausage

Ingredients:

Coarse salt and pepper

1 pound rigatoni

2 heads broccoli, cut into florets

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 anchovy fillets, minced

1 pound sweet Italian sausage casings removed

Parmesan, grated for serving

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to the package instruction. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add broccoli and cook until bright green and crisp- tender. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and broccoli.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, anchovies. ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Add sausage to pot and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through. Remove from heat, return pasta and broccoli to pot, and add oil mixture. Toss well to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats the pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan.