Simple Sauteed Vegetables

Simple Sauteed Vegetables


This recipe is long overdue for my sweet friend Emily who is learning to cook and is wanting to introduce more vegetables into her family meals.  She had sauteed squash at a meeting luncheon we attended in April and thought it was amazing.  I assured her it was simple, simple, and I would provide more specific instructions.  Here's what I do (this time with Brennan's help).

These are the beautiful vegetables that Mary brought to Brennan and me last week (along with fun family movies!).  We sliced everything up kind of thick - organic squash, zucchini, kohlrabi (my first time!), and peppers. 


You can either spray the hot saute pan with olive oil spray or pour a little olive oil into the pan with the vegetables.  Spread them out and cook them on each side about 5 minutes.

We sprinkle them with garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper for a little flavor.

The red potatoes I did separately because the other vegetables had already started and I knew these would take a few minutes longer, being thicker.  We sauteed them with fresh rosemary from Mary's garden.  

 

Then we tossed all the vegetables together, added a little fresh parsley and a touch more sea salt and served.  We also microwave the leftovers the next day.

 

 

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Enjoy!

Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 

Another couple of good recipes to share with you from my latest cookbook read.

 

 

I didn't set out to fool my family into eating vegetables, so I was surprised when my 3 boys thought this dish was just potatoes. 

They almost seemed disappointed when they found out parsnips and cauliflower were also involved.

  They never did taste the parsnips.

 

This is a good side dish that heats up well the next day too.

 

Start by roasting a bulb of garlic in the oven.

Remove any loose garlic paper, then snip off the pointed end of the bulb, exposing the cloves.

Wrap the bulb in foil and roast for 30 minutes.

 

While the garlic is roasting, peel and chop 2 russet potatoes, 2 parsnips, and chop up a head of cauliflower.  Boil the vegetables in generously salted water, then reduce to medium and continue cooking until tender.

Drain the vegetables and return them to the pot.

Squeeze the garlic juice and cloves over the vegetables, and add a little butter (or margarine or olive oil), milk or vegetable stock, and sea salt to season.

 

Mash well.

Season with sea salt and black pepper and serve warm.

 

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Enjoy!

 

Warm Lentil and Potato Salad

Warm Lentil and Potato Salad

 

I found this recipe in this month's Southern Living and decided to try it for our Oktoberfest-themed wine club last night.

 

I found a very similar recipe online from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, near Germany.  The lentils were a great addition to a traditional warm German potato salad.  David and I really liked this dish, and I'm sure the boys will too.

 

I assumed this dish would take longer than it actually did.  I think you could cook and make up the entire dish in less than 30 minutes.

 

Cook 1/2 c of French green lentils in salted water for 20 minutes, then drain.

Clean red potatoes and halve or quarter them, cooking them in salted water for 15 minutes.  Drain.

 

Combine the potatoes and lentils in a serving dish.

 

 

 

While the potatoes and lentils are cooking, cook the remaining ingredients in a small skillet.

 

 

 

Cook bacon and crumble it, leaving the oil in the skillet.

Add sliced celery, chopped garlic, and finely chopped shallots and cook for 3 minutes.

Stir in red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

Gently stir potatoes, lentils, and dressing and top with chopped fresh parsley just before serving warm.

 

 

Really great German potato salad!

 

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Guten Appetit!

 

Sleepy Lettuce Soup

Sleepy Lettuce Soup

 

Gillian McKeith shares lots of health benefits to each of her recipes.  I won't go into all the reasons this soup is so healthy (you can read all about it in You Are What You Eat), but I can tell you we all really liked this soup.

 

It's really rich and creamy.

No one could believe there wasn't cream in this recipe when we played our regular game of "can you tell what the ingredients are?" at dinner.

 

I froze half of this soup and pulled it out the other night for a second dinner. 

David and I liked it so much the boys didn't get a helping that second night.

 

This is really "Potato Soup with Lettuce" in my mind.

 

Start by heating olive oil in a soup pot and cooking garlic and onion for a few minutes.

Add in peeled and chopped potatoes and let the vegetables cook a few more minutes.

 

 

Then add in water, vegetable bouillon, and oatmeal.  Yes, oatmeal.  The original recipe called for 1/2 c of millet, but I didn't have millet, so I went with plain oatmeal and it worked beautifully.

 

I brought the soup to a boil, then let it simmer for 15 minutes.



 

Then I added in romaine lettuce and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

Then used my handheld blender to blend it well.

You could also transfer the slightly cooled soup to a blender or food processor, then return it to the soup pot if you don't have a Smart Stick.

 

Add chopped parsley or chives and blend again.



Reheat, if necessary, and serve garnished with raw nuts or chopped parsley.

Creamy, rich, and subtle.

A delicious soup!

 

 



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Enjoy!

 

Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes

Umami Girl's

Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes

I thought this side dish sounded like a nice change from regular roasted potatoes, which we all love.

Carolyn at Umami Girl has some great recipes, so I was pretty sure I could pull this one off.

I cleaned a pound of fingerling potatoes and sliced them lengthwise.

They are supposed to be sliced about 1/4 inch thick, so I did the best I could.

I'm not known for my consistent slicing.

Then I combined the potatoes and vinegar in a pot and brought the mixture to a boil. 

I then let the potatoes simmer for 8 minutes until they were tender.

I let them cool in their liquid for 30 minutes and drained them well.

I patted them dry with a paper towel and tossed them with olive oil, Kosher salt, and black pepper.

Then I placed them on a baking sheet and broiled them for 7 minutes, flipped them over, then broiled them for 5 more minutes.

They taste great - like salt and vinegar potato chips that are so addictive!

Even Brennan, who doesn't care for vinegar tastes, liked the potatoes a lot.

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Enjoy!

Really Good and Easy to Make

Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

Real Simple's Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

This recipe I found in the September 2011 edition of Real Simple magazine.

I love that magazine!

I thought it sounded like a good alternative for a vegetable side dish.

We all liked it but I will tell you it may need a little extra salt.

Steam finely chopped broccoli for 3 minutes.

Peel and cube the potatoes and boil or steam them for 12 minutes.

Mash the vegetables together and combine with sour cream and butter or margarine.

I made this dish ahead of time then heated it after swimming.

It worked well!

Season well and serve warm.

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Eat Your Veggies!



Warm Green Bean and Potato Salad

Domestifluff Warm Green Bean and Potato Salad

I found this delicious-looking and Fall-sounding recipe on Kristen's Domestifluff blog and adapted it slightly for my family.

Last night I served it with BBQ Chicken and it was a real hit!

After eating a second helping David said, "I really like this.  You should make it again."

Without my asking.

Completely unscripted.

Definitely a keeper.

After boiling potatoes, you cook them along with garlic in a little olive oil, slightly mashing them so they can turn golden brown in spots.

You then remove the potatoes, and cook the bacon in the same skillet.

(I used turkey bacon and it was great.)

Once the bacon is done, you remove it and chop it.

Then cook the green beans for 5 minutes in the skillet, and return the potatoes and bacon.

Season with Kosher salt and pepper and serve warm.

Really, really good!

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Enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes

Easy Roasted Potatoes

This is a super easy side dish that everyone loves.

There's really not even a point to measuring the ingredients precisely.

Quarter red potatoes and toss with olive oil, Kosher salt, and pepper.
You don't need a ton of olive oil - a little goes a long way.

My family likes the texture of Kosher salt (or sea salt) vs. table salt in this recipe.

Then toss onto your baking sheet and cook at 375* for 30 minutes.

When the potatoes look roasted and you can pierce them with a fork, they're done!

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Delicious!