Savory Carrots

A quick easy side dish for savory carrots. I am not a carrot fan normally, but in my quest to eat healthier I found these to be pretty good. Nice flavor, good for your waist line.

Ingredients:
1 pound carrots (Baby or sliced as you like)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil (I just sprayed the pan with pam)
1 Leek
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Dash pepper
1 Leek or 1/2 an onion
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Servings: Depends on how many carrots you want to eat, probably 2-4

Instructions:
In a skillet, saute carrots and garlic in oil (or use a EVOO sprayer on occasion) for 3-4 minutes, then add leeks and saute for 1-2 minutes. Careful not to burn the leeks, if they are browning too fast turn down the heat or move onto the next step.

Add water, salt, thyme and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 8-12 minutes or until carrots are tender and most of liquid has been absorbed. If there is too much cooking liquid left when carrots are finished remove lid and cook for a minute. If you run out of water before they are finished, add a dash more until finished.

Once the vegetables are done, removed from stove and toss with Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

Recipe From: Inspired by Allrecipes.com

I am not a fan of carrots in general, just not really my think. But vegetables are good for me so I should eat them. I am really not a fan of glazed carrots, sickly sweet and nothing tasty. But these are savory, garlicy and with just a hint of cheese.

You could easily use half an onion or shallots instead of leeks, but I happened to have a leek on hand to use. Just make sure to saute the onions or shallots before adding the carrots for their little saute.

I also didn't use the extra oil, I just make sure to spray everything on occasion with my olive oil mister of if was getting sticky. I also used a good non stick pan and this helps cut down on the needed fat.

Dijon Braised Brussels Sprouts

Made these for Christmas this year and the sauce is incredible. If you don't think you like Brussels Sprouts, try this recipe. Of course, I love Brussels Sprouts when done properly and this is going into regular rotation. They are in season this time of year and was able to find a whole fresh stalk to use.

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs brussels sprouts, halved and any wilted outer leaves removed
1 tablespoon olive oil to coat the pan
Salt & pepper to season
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
2 to 3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (I skipped due to time, but would be a good addition)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon smooth dijon mustard

Servings:
I think we got 4 servings out of a whole stalk of Brussels Sprouts.

Instructions:
Trim sprouts and halve lengthwise. Oil a sheet pan and place Brussels Sprouts cut side down and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 450 degrees F for 10-20 minutes until golden brown (or fully cooked). If they didn't brown the oven wasn't hot enough or there wasn't enough oil in the pan. I like the caramelized flavor the browning gives them. When done, make the sauce by adding the wine and stock and reduce by about half. Lower the heat and add the mustard and cream. Either add all the Brussels to the pan or spoon over the top in a dish. Voila! Quick deliciousness and relatively healthy.

Recipe From:
Smitten Kitchen

Christmas Dinner of Mustard Glazed Lamb Ribs, Herb Popovers, and the Dijon Braised Brussels Sprouts. Rest of the recipes coming...

KFC Coleslaw

This is a rip off of KFC's Coleslaw which is a sweet tangy and little bit creamy slaw that goes well with BBQ, well, and fried chicken. It wont over power the rest of your food, but will compliment it.

Ingredients:
DRESSING:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

SLAW:
1 head of green cabbage
1 medium carrot (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons minced onion

Servings: 10-12

Instructions:
Chop cabbage into chunks and shred with a mandolin, or chop it fine by hand. Do the same with the carrots and onion. In my case I used the larger size shredder on my mandolin for the cabbage but used the smaller size for the carrots and onion. Combine them all in a very very large bowl.

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, whisk well. Pour dressing over the slaw and turn to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving to allow the cabbage to soak up the marinade. Overnight is best.

Recipe From: AmandasCookin.com

Make sure you use a HUGE bowl (or Tupperware) for the initial shred and marinade. One head of cabbage, once shredded, turns into a LOT of cabbage. And you will need to turn and stir etc. I ended up dirtying more than one bowl discovering I was out of room. Once you let things sit over night it will condense down some, but at first you have a LOT of slaw.

I also made up a second batch of the dressing for my own slaw. I would advise, for a more tangy flavor, making the slaw and dressing the night before. Mixing and letting it sit in the fridge turning it over occasional to keep it well mixed. The next morning, drain out the excess dressing and then "reapply" fresh dressing (so you make two batches of the dressing) before serving. This step is not needed, but I thought it gave it a more tangy, less watered down feel to it.

When I made it, I forgot to drain the old dressing off and just added the new, leading to a lot of dressing. I think the drain and redress will produce the best results. If you want to go the extra step redress the slaw but this stuff is tasty without doing anything else at all!

I accidentally used white wine vinegar and not vinegar, because that is what I had, so I guess less of an accident. The slaw still came out fantastic but with a little less bite to it. So if you want to tone it down, white wine vinegar works great, want to kick it up, use regular.

Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella salad with Basil Vinaigrette

This is pretty much a caprese salad by another name. The basil Vinaigrette that is in this recipe will become a staple in my house from now on. Very easy and very fresh. The dressing would go well on any salad or with steak, chicken and possibly fish.

Ingredients:
For the dressing:
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large basil leaves, chopped
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:
1 large ripe tomato, or 2 medium tomatoes
4-6 large basil leaves
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese (regular or buffalo mozzarella)

Servings: serves 2 as a side

Instructions:
In a blender, combine the mustard, vinegar, garlic, chopped basil leaves, salt and pepper. Process until fairly smooth. Then, add the oil in a stream (through the hole in the lid of the blender), until all is well incorporated.

Cut the tomato into 1/4-inch thick slices. Wash and dry the basil leaves. Slice the mozzarella into 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange the tomato, basil and cheese on a platter.

Pour as much of the dressing as you like over the top. Season with additional black pepper, to taste.

Recipe From: ThePerfectPantry.com

I love a good caprese salad, but it is something I have never tried to make at home. I also usually don't make my own dressings, just as easy to go out and buy one that is pretty tasty. But todays culinary adventure has me rethinking that strategy.

I used my immersion blender to whip up the dressing really quick instead of a food processor. Tossed all the liquids in the chopper attachment and rough chopped the garlic and basil. Pulsed the heck out of it until it was all nice and "whipped" up. No pesky streams of olive oil or anything like that. The chopper gets going so fast it all comes together just the same.

A great quick no fuss side. Comes together in maybe 15 minutes and tastes like you slaved over it. And make sure to use the best mozzarella you can find along with the best tomatoes, the dressing is amazing but the salad is simple and needs good ingredients for the base.

Basil Hummus

An awesome basil twist on traditional hummus. If you have a basil fan in the house this is going to send them over the moon. Full of flavor and an excellent party dip that will surprise everyone. It would be good with most chips and also veggies and cheese.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cups sweet basil leaves, packed
~3 cloves garlic, smashed then minced
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (1.5-2 lemons)
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
Several dashes Tabasco**
1 teaspoon tomato paste
**Optional but Jason says it kicks it up a lot

Servings: Almost 2 cups of hummus

Instructions:
Heat the pine nuts in a small skillet on medium high heat. Stir them when they start to brown. When most of them have lightly browned, remove them from the pan into a bowl to cool. (Reserve a few pine nuts for garnish.)

In the bowl of a food processor (I used an immersion blender), place the basil leaves and the garlic. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, most of the pine nuts, olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt, tomato paste, and a few dashes of Tabasco. Pulse several times, for several seconds each time, until the hummus is smooth. Add more Tabasco and salt or lemon juice to taste.

Serve with pita wedges, crackers, bread sticks or rustic bread. Veggies and cheese will also go well with this dip.

Recipe From: SimplyRecipes.com

I have a dirty secret, I love... or perhaps I should say I am obsessed with basil, well and garlic. There are just no better tastes out there, hm, well and cheese. But I love basil and this recipe pretty much takes hummus and makes it awesome by adding a basic pesto.

I think, but have yet to try, adding some parmigiana cheese to this dip which might make it even more awesome. If your a garlic fan, add a few extra cloves, I think I tossed in about 5 of them. I also left out the Tabasco sauce but Jason added some to his little private dish of the stuff and said it made it for him. But then he thinks everything needs hot sauce, everything. It disgusts me.

I also whipped this all up in my immersion blender. I rough chopped the basil and the garlic and then pulsed it a few times. Then I added all the liquids and pulsed this into a liquid. Added one can of beans, mixed it well and then added the other can of beans and blended it well. Thick and fantastic.

So if you have the space for a food processor, more power to you, but you can do pretty much anything a food processor can do with the Kitchen Aid Immersion blender and chopper attachment. Saves a LOT of space, also replaces a blender unless you make a lot of drinks.

Artichoke Gratinata

A much healthier side dish than the standard artichoke dip but with all the flavor still there. Simple flavors combine to make this delicious side dish with a lot less guilt.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (or 2 cans, drained)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Marsala wine (or red table wine)
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan

Servings: One 6x11 baking dish

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Warm the olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the artichoke hearts, parsley, salt, pepper and cook until the artichoke hearts are starting to brown at the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Transfer the artichoke mixture to a 2-quart baking dish.

Melt the butter in the same skillet used to cook the artichokes. In a small bowl mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs. Stir in the Parmesan and top the artichokes with the bread crumbs. Bake until the top is golden, about 10 minutes.

Recipe From: www.foodnetwork.com Diada de Laurentiis

I thought this recipe sounded interesting for Italian night, I really enjoy artichokes, a vegetable I seem to have come to love late in life and this one looked tasty. Turns out it was, it also whipped up in minutes!

The major change I made was to use red table wine, we just couldn't fine Marsala wine, but the dish came out fine. I also doubled the topping because when I put the dish together it just didn't look right. Maybe it was because I used a long narrow dish, maybe in an 8x8 it would have looked better. In any case I think the extra topping added flavor and some crunch. Since I had to use canned artichokes the extra crunch was nice.

Cold Vegetable Pizza

This is a quick and easy cold appetizer pizza, great for barbecues and a nice alternative to plain old crudités without much extra work.

Ingredients:
2 cans (8 oz each) 1/3 Fat Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 package (8 oz) 1/3 fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon crushed garlic (stuff in the jar works great)
1-2 cups small chopped vegetables (carrots, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes etc)

Servings: 40 squares ~1.5"x1.5"

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 373 F. Roll each package of dough onto a greased cookie sheet or appropriately sized pan (two 6x10, or press the dough into a sheet pan etc). Press seams together so no cracks are showing. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool.

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic. Blend well. Spread onto cooled crescent roll base. Top with chopped vegetables, cut and serve.

Nutritional Information:

Recipe From: Pillsbury Dough Magic Cookbook

This recipe can be made ahead of time, but wait to assemble it until right before serving as the bread will get soggy if you make this the night before.

You can also use all full fat crescent rolls, cream cheese and sour cream but in this recipe you wont notice the added or missing calories and fat. Stick to the healthier options if you have them, but it will be just fine if you can't find them.

This is one of my most requested items to bring to pot lucks and cook outs! I feel a little guilty because it is so easy and requires no time at all. The most time consuming part is chopping the vegetables and that doesn't take much time either. Quick, easy and pretty tasty.