Summer Vegetable Chili

One of our absolute favorite meals to make at our house is three bean chili.  But when the weather turns warmer, it just seems a bit too hearty for a summer dish.  Don't take me wrong, we still make it in hot weather from time to time, but when I saw this recipe for Summer Vegetable Chili in this month's Food Network Magazine, I knew it would be a good alternative to try out.

It takes less than an hour to make (and goes quicker if you have two of you in the kitchen chopping the veggies) and tasted delicious.  Our market didn't have fire-roasted frozen corn, just the regular kind, but I thought it tasted delicious and the corn was maybe my favorite part, so I don't think I was missing anything.  Not to say I won't try it with fire-roasted eventually if I find it elsewhere, but I don't think it makes or breaks the meal if you have regular corn instead.  Also, if you leave off the cheese and sour cream there's no dairy in this, which is always a nice option.

As per our usual chili tradition, we ate it with tortilla chips, though the original recipe says to have it with a side of warmed corn tortillas.  Maybe you're supposed to rip them up and dip them?  I wouldn't think you'd make a burrito out of it, so not sure how that would work, but I guess it's personal preference.

Summer Vegetable Chili (from Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 poblano chili pepper, seeded and diced
2 portobello mushroom caps, chopped
2 cups frozen corn (preferably fire-roasted), thawed
2 14oz cans no-salt-added pinto beans
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and/or fresh cilantro for topping (optional)

Directions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add all but a few tablespoons of the chopped red onion.  Stir in the garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion  begins to soften, about 3 min.
- Add the poblano, mushrooms and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 3 more minutes.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups water and /2 tsp each salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then stir and reduce the heat to medium.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the chili is thick, about 20 min.  Season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the chili among bowls.  Top with the cheese, sour cream and/or cilantro; sprinkle with the reserved red onion.

Three-Vegetable Penne with Tarragon-Basil Pesto

I think I found the secret to making Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals in about 30 min - get your husband (or whoever) to wash and prep everything while you make the dish.  Seriously, this was the first time one of her "30 minute express lane" meals took well under an hour.  Maybe it was about 40 min, but that was because we also had to clean some dishes in the sink first.

A few months back while browsing through Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals I came across this recipe for Three-Vegetable Penne with Tarragon-Basil Pesto.  It just sounded so good I knew I needed to make it immediately!  Of course I ended up eating it as soon as it was ready and not taking any pictures so I couldn't blog about it then, but when my husband and I were coming up with our menu for last week and knew that we wanted some good, considerably healthy summer meals my mind immediately went to this recipe.  There's nothing too fancy about it so aside from the cleaning and cutting of the veggies and herbs, it's pretty simple to make.

What I also like about this meal is that it also doesn't make a mess.  Yes, you have to clean the food processor (which is always so much fun) but I toss it all together in a large Pyrex bowl, then serve from that and when we're done eating I just pop the lid on the bowl and put it in the fridge.  And this reheats well for an easy lunch or dinner later that week.

Three-Vegetable Penne with Tarragon-Basil Pesto  (recipe by Rachael Ray)

Ingredients
Salt
1 lb penne rigate pasta
1/2 lb asparagus, rough ends trimmed
1 small zucchini
1/4 lb haricot verts or regular green beans, end trimmed
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup fresh basil (about 20 leaves)
1/2 cup fresh tarragon, leaves stripped for 10 to 12 stems
handful of fresh parsley
zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 cup grated parmesan
coarse black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.  Salt the water, add pasta and cook to al dente; it should still have a bite to it.
- Cut the asparagus spears on an angle into 2-inch pieces.  Cut the zucchini into matchsticks.  Cut the haricot verts or green beans on an angle into 2-inch pieces.
- When the pasta has been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the vegetables to the pot.  Boil the veggies and pasta together for 2 minutes.
- While the pasta is cooking, toast the pine nuts in a small dry skillet until golden, then cool.
- Place the nuts, basil, tarragon, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, parmesan, and a little salt and pepper in the food processor.  Turn the processor on and stream in the olive oil until a thick sauce forms.
- scrape the pesto into a large, shallow serving dish or serving bowl.  Add a ladle of hot, starchy pasta water to the pesto.
- Drain the penne and veggies and immediately add them to the pesto.  Toss to coat the pasta and vegetables evenly.  Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Potatoes in Bechamel Sauce

When I lived on my own and wanted to make potatoes as a side dish, I'd break out a box of Betty Crocker's either Scalloped Potatoes or Potatoes Au Gratin.  These boxes come with the powdered sauce and dried out potatoes (yum, right??).  As I've become a better cook, I've been trying to cut out processed foods, especially dehydrated veggies that come in boxes.  When I was having friends over and opted to make a fish dinner, I knew I wanted to make potatoes as a side, so I looked through The Silver Spoon cookbook and found this recipe for potatoes in bechamel sauce.

I've never made bechamel sauce, so I was intrigued by this.  I knew that I wanted to make these potatoes.  They were pretty easy to make, too.  I think that next time I want a side of potatoes and not just roasted ones, then I would make these (as long as I have plenty of cooking time).  And they came out pretty delicious, as well!

Bechamel Sauce (from The Silver Spoon)

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups milk 
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional ***I did use nutmeg)
salt
pepper

Directions
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.  Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste.
- Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir in all the milk, making sure the sauce is smooth between each addition.
- Return the pan to the heat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously until it starts to boil.  Season with salt, lower the heat, cover and summer gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes.  The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and not run off.
- Remove the pan from the heat.  Taste, add more salt, if necessary, and season with pepper and/or nutmeg.  Bechamel sauce should not taste floury.
- If the sauce is too thick, ad a little more milk.  If too runny, boil for a little longer.

**For a richer sauce, replace half the milk with the same amount of heavy cream.  For a lighter sauce, add half milk and half water.

Potatoes in Bechamel Sauce (from The Silver Spoon)

Ingredients
2 1/4 lbs potatoes
2 tbsp butter, melted, plus extra for greasing 
scant 1/2 cup of light cream
1 quantity of Bechamel Sauce (recipe above)
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

Directions
- Cook the whole, unpeeled potatoes in plenty of salted water for 45 min, then drain, peel, and slice.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an ovenproof dish with butter, arrange the potato slices, slightly overlapping, in it, and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir the cream into the bechamel sauce and pour the mixture over the potatoes to cover.  Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and melted butter.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbling, then serve.

Brussels Sprouts with Almonds

I always joke that Jews and Italians are very similar - most things revolve around food and guilt.  This would explain why two of my best friends are both Italian.  When I received the  The Silver Spoon cookbook I was excited;  apparently it's a book that most Italians have in their collection.  I knew that I couldn't make a handful of the recipes in here (pork, shellfish, etc) and would have to amend some to fit kosher restrictions, but there were many recipes I could make as published.  When I had friends over for dinner I opted to make a meal entirely from this book.  The posts this week are the ones that I made for this meal.

I honestly don't understand why Brussels sprouts have a bad rap.  If I could eat them with every meal, I would.  The easiest (and delicious) way we make them are to just add a little salt, oil and roast until crispy.  But it's always nice to mix things up a little and try out new ways to enjoy your favorite veggies.  For the side dish I opted to try out this recipe for Brussels sprouts with almonds.  It came out very tasty and I would definitely consider making this again with a dairy or parve meal.

Brussels Sprouts with Almonds (from The Silver Spoon)

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 garlic clove
zest of 1 lemon, chopped
1 1/2 tsp unflavored bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Directions
- Cook the Brussels sprouts in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain thoroughly, place on a serving dish and keep warm.
- Heat half the butter in a skillet, add the almonds and the garlic, and stir-fry for a few minutes.  Add the lemon zest, season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.  Remove and discard the garlic.
- Melt the remaining butter in a small pan and stir-fry the bread crumbs until golden, then stir into the almond mixture, spoon over Brussels sprouts, and serve.

Sesame Green Beans

As I've mentioned before, up until recently I was not the biggest fan of vegetables, especially green beans (just ask my mother-in-law!).  But as I've tried to expand my palate and eat healthier, I knew it was one of the foods I would try to conquer.  A few weeks ago I finished my Saturday morning run and stopped off at the farmers market nearby.  I picked up some kale, some tomatoes, and then decided to just go for it and bought some green beans.  I wanted to do something a little more interesting than just steaming them (plain, unseasoned green beans were why I was convinced I didn't like them in the first place!).  I was making a chicken dish that evening, so I had to find a recipe that didn't call for butter or cheese.  I did a search on Allrecipes.com and came across this one for Sesame Green Beans.  Sounded good to me!

This recipe was super easy to make.  One warning - when you add the green beans to the sesame seeds & oil, stand back, the sesame seeds pop!  It's not like you can just cover it with a splatter guard and leave it, because you need to keep stirring the beans.  I usually make this on a rear burner and then wipe down the stove (and wall) afterward.

It calls for chicken broth, but if you're having it with a dairy meal, you can always use vegetable or No-Chicken broth.

I am happy to say that I am now a green bean lover.  I've made this recipe 3 times in the past month so I knew I had to share it!

Sesame Green Beans (originally posted on Allrecipes.com)


Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 pound fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add sesame seeds.
- When seeds start to darken, stir in green beans
- Cook, stirring, until the beans turn bright green
- Pour in chicken broth, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and cook until beans are tender-crisp (about 10 min)
- Uncover and cook until liquid evaporates (***I have never had to do this, it's always been gone by the end of the 10 min) 

Baked Zucchini Chips

A few weeks ago, we were making sweet potato burgers and I wanted a side dish for it that was quick, easy and healthy.  As I wandered through my local market I came across the zucchini and thought 'what about making some sort of chip?!'.  As per my usual, I pulled out my phone, googled "zucchini chips" and this page popped up.  Sounded like exactly what I was looking for!  Since it said "seasoned breadcrumbs" I decided on some with garlic & herbs seasoning.  The chips were pretty easy to make, though mine didn't turn out ultra-crispy.  But they were pretty delicious.  The recipe says it yields 4 servings, using 2 medium zucchinis.  My husband and I cleaned the plate between the two of us.  But, they're pretty healthy, so we didn't feel too bad about it afterwards!

Baked Zucchini Chips (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients 
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg whites

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). 
- In one small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, pepper and Parmesan cheese.
- Place the egg whites in a separate bowl.
- Dip zucchini slices into the egg whites, then coat the breadcrumb mixture.
- Place on a greased baking sheet. 
- Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn over and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until browned and crispy.

Spanish Chicken and Veggie Kugel

It's Passover once again.  Growing up, Passover was the time of year when you order a ton of candy from the catalog you brought home from Hebrew school, and then spent the rest of the week eating things out of a box marked Manischewitz that probably tasted like cardboard (the food...not the box).  In recent years, though Manischewitz foods and mixes have gotten a bit better, I've also realized that I can still eat like a normal person with minimal adjustments (if any) to my recipes.  This week I will be blogging several of my family's recipes that have become a staple of our Passover diets for years in addition to a few new recipes.

When my husband and I sat down and looked at this year's calendar and figured out our holiday schedule, we decided to spend the first seder up in Massachusetts with my mom's family and the second night at his parents' home.  We wanted to spend some time this holiday with my father's parents, so we invited them over to our apartment for lunch.  I looked over my recipes and aside from making my grandmother's gefilte fish (recipe to be posted later this week) for an appetizer  I chose to make as our main course Spanish chicken with a side of veggie kugel.

The veggie kugel recipe is from my friend (and bridesmaid) Jamie.  She sent it to me a few months back and mentioned as an aside that if you swap matzah meal for the flour, you can make it for Passover.  It includes potato, carrots, zucchini (which I admit I had never tried prior to making this the first time!), onion and a few binders, then it cooks for an hour.  So simple!

The Spanish chicken is a recipe that my sister-in-law (and also a bridesmaid) gave me at my shower in the recipe book they put together for me.  It seemed pretty easy and the flavors seemed to be something that most people would enjoy (chicken stock, white wine, garlic...what's not to like?!).  It came out super moist.  I ended up doubling the recipe and cooking it in two separate roasting pans so I didn't have to layer everything, so I added about 10 min to the cooking time and an extra 5 to the broiling time.  Below is the single batch recipe.

I literally spent all day yesterday cooking, so I intend to share lots of recipes over the next few days.  Whether or not you celebrate Passover, you'll be able to add at least a few of these to your cooking repertoire.

Spanish Chicken (original source unknown)

Ingredients
3lbs chicken (I used leg quarters and drumsticks)

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

5 cloves garlic

8oz white wine (I used Kedem white cooking wine, which was kosher for Passover)

8oz chicken broth

Directions

- Rub Chicken with oil

-Place 4oz wine in food processor.  Add garlic and whirl until blended together.  Add 4oz chicken broth in processor and whirl together.  Add salt to taste.

-Pour mixture over chicken (add the other 4oz of wine and broth if the mixture does not cover the chicken) and marinate overnight.
- In morning, flip pieces to marinate both sides.

-Place chicken and marinade in baking dish (if you already had it in a roasting pan, just flip chicken right-side up and use same pan).
- Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 min.

-Remove foil, baste chicken and continue to bake, uncovered, for 45 min.

-Baste chicken (and remove excess liquid if chicken is too covered but don't remove it all) and broil for 5 minutes to darken the chicken.

Veggie Kugel (from Jamie at Skinny Apple, Fat Appetite)

Ingredients
2 lg carrots, grated

2 med zucchini, grated

2 med potatoes, grated

1/2 cup onion 

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil                                        

3/4 cup flour (or matzo meal during Passover)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- In a food processor grate carrots, zucchini, potatoes, and onion (If you want a good arm workout feel free to use a hand grater).
- In a large bowl use a whisk to combine eggs and oil.
- Add all remaining ingredients except for the flour and stir.
- Add in flour (or matzo meal)
 - Pour ingredients into a greased 9 x 13 pan, bake at 350 degree for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts - yes, those things that you made the face about as a child and still KNOW you don't like even though you've never actually tasted them - they are one of my new favorite foods.  I have to admit, that was me, too, until I tried this recipe at my husband's request.  Brussels sprouts can actually be delicious if cooked the right way (then again, pour enough butter over anything and I'll think it's yummy!).

My husband and I bought the book "Just Married and Cooking" by Brooke Parkhurst and James Briscione shortly before our wedding. We have made a few of their recipes (their spinach and artichoke dip is to die for!) and a few weeks ago was looking for ideas for a side dish.  I was a little hesitant about the Brussels sprouts, but when my husband asked if we could make it, I decided to go for it.  We've now made this recipe twice and I would probably eat them every day if I could.  It is so simple to make.  You chop, mix, roast (I clean the bowl while they are in the oven so I can use it again after), heat up the butter, mix it up, zest a lemon, and toss everything together.  Honestly, it takes very little prep time.  While making a new recipe there's usually a point where I 'm convinced I messed up and ruined the whole thing.  This didn't happen at all with this recipe, it's that easy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts (from Brooke Parkhurst and James Briscione)

Ingredients
1 pound Brussels sprouts, cut in half
1 cup minced yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I use the jarred kind)


Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine the Brussels sprouts, onion, garlic, and olive oil in a large bowl.
- Toss well and season with salt and pepper.
- Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until tender and lightly browned on the edges, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer to a large bowl.
- Melt the butter in a small saute pan over high heat until it begins to brown.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the almonds to toast lightly.
- Pour the butter and almonds into the bowl with the Brussels sprouts.
- Add the lemon zest and Parmesan and toss to coat.
- Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Cover to keep warm until ready to serve.