Food Glorious Food

A recent Saturday excursion to the Franklin Farmer's Market had me more excited than a sugar addict in a candy store. You know that song...the one that goes food glorious food, well need I say more? It was here that I discovered several local organic farms and was, needless to say, "tickled pink" with delight. Among them was Paradise Produce, a farm that delivers to practically my backyard twice a month. So, of course, I had to give it a try...and blab to all of my friends within a 5-mile radius that they had to try it too!


I pre-ordered my veggies which included a nice assortment of chard, broccoli, squash, zucchini, green beans, Yukon potatoes, carrots and raspberries. A pound of this, a pound of that. Click, click, order complete. When I arrived to pick up my produce, I was astonished by the quality and quantity of my bounty -- richly vibrant in color and superb tasty flavors. Nature's best! And maybe the farmer's pound is more like a baker's dozen for I was loaded to the hilt with food glorious food. From the farmer's garden to my plate. You can't get much better than that.

Now how were two of us going to eat all of this! Well, when in a culinary panic, I always turn to Cooking Light, where I found a recipe perfectly suitable for my produce and my palate! I blanched and froze my leftovers for the week so that I can continue to enjoy them in the weeks to come.

By the way, if you're reading this post, you have to be subjected to my shameless plug, so for more information on Paradise Produce, email paradiseproduce@yahoo.com .

Spring Vegetable Lasagna
from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
8 cups torn Swiss chard (about 3/4 pound)
2 cups chopped yellow squash
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Asiago cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
6 no-boil lasagna noodles (such as Barilla or Vigo)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chard, squash, onion, bell pepper, carrot, and salt; saute 10 minutes or until tender.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds. Add flour, and cook 1 minute. Stir constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook until thick (for about 4 minutes). Remove from heat; add 1/4 cup Parmesan. Stir until cheese melts.
Combine ricotta, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Asiago, and oregano in a bowl.

Spread 2 tablespoons milk mixture in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 noodles over milk mixture; top with half of ricotta mixture, half of vegetable mixture, and 1/2 cup milk mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining milk mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Asiago cheese and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes.

Yield 6 servings

Nutritional Information:
CALORIES 308(30% from fat); FAT 10.3g (sat 5.9g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 25.8g; CHOLESTEROL 53mg; CALCIUM 495mg; SODIUM 865mg; FIBER 3.3g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.8g
Cooking Light, APRIL 2001

Beef Vegetable Soup

Found this recipe online, it's a Paula Deen recipe so I knew it would be good! Looks like a lot of ingredients, but don't let it scare you. You're likely to have most in your pantry. As always, make it your own and include those veggies your family will enjoy the most! I used the chuck roast recipe...Kroger has their chuck roast on sale this week!

2 1/2 to 3 lbs beef short ribs or 2 1/2 to 3 lbs boneless chuck roast *
2 Tbs vegetable oil (if using chuck roast)
4 quarts cold water
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
3 Tbs dried parsley
2 Tbs beef bouillon granules
1 Tbs of each: dried Italian seasoning, House Seasoning (recipe follows), seasoned salt (plus extra for seasoning), Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of each: celery salt and garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper, extra for seasoning
2 bay leaves
1 cup each: diced celery, green beans (fresh or canned), frozen black-eyed peas, frozen butter beans, fresh or frozen cut okra, fresh or frozen corn kernels, diced potatoes
1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
Chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
If using chuck roast, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the roast in the skillet and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the roast from the skillet and cut into 1 1/2 to 2 in cubes; discard the fat. Replace beef cubes in a large stockpot. (If using short ribs, you can put them right in the pot with no preparation.)
Add the water, tomatoes, and the following ingredients through the bay leaves. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. If using short ribs, remove them from the pot and cut the meat from the bones, discard the bones and fat, and return the meat to the pot. Add remaining vegetables and macaroni and return the soup to a boil, stirring to distribute the ingredients. Reduce the heat to simmer for 45 minutes. Just before serving, season with salt and pepper and add fresh parsley. Remove bay leaves. To remove extra fat from the surface of the soup, swirl a lettuce leaf around the surface- it will pick up a lot of the fat.
*The chuck roast will yield more meat, but the bones from the short ribs give the soup an incredible flavor.

HOUSE SEASONING:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Cumin-Dusted Chicken Breasts with Guacamole Sauce

This recipe came from my favorite source..Cooking Light magazine. I never get rid of these magazines, I love the recipes that much!! I must admit that before this recipe I had never eaten avacado...in anything! Thanks to Courtney I now know that "black stringies" aren't supposed to be in a ripe avacado! Thanks Courtney!!!

Sauce:
1/4 c. finely chopped green onions
1/4 c. finely chopped parsley
1/4 c. fat-free sour cream
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 ripe peeled avacado, seeded and coarsely mashed
Chicken:
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

1. To prepare sauce, combine first 8 ingredients; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. To prepare chicken, combine sugar, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; sprinkle evenly over chicken. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over. Place pan in oven; bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until done. Serve chicken with sauce. Yield: 4 servings (serving size : 1 breast half and about 3 tablespoons sauce).

CALORIES 301 (27% from fat); FAT 9 g(sat 1.5 g, mono 4.8g, poly 1.3 g); PROTEIN 41.6g; CARB 12.5g; FIBER 3.6 g; CHOL 101 mg, IRON 2.1 g; SODIUM 575 mg; CALC 76 mg

Portobello Mushroom and Almond Pesto Lasagna

I found this recipe in this month's issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. It is, hands down, one of the best vegetarian lasagnas I've ever tasted and so easy to make! It's got a wonderful nutty, citrus flavor. I threw in some feta to add a little tang. Everything's betta with feta...right, Hollie?

Ingredients:

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 large portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

Two 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
3 cups (about 10 ounces) sliced almonds, toasted

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon

6 no-boil lasagna sheets

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions: Prep time: 30 min. Bake time: 45 min. Serves 4.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the tomatoes to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and cook until softened, 6 to 7 minutes.

2. Using a food processor, process the toasted almonds, Parmesan, garlic, lemon peel, lemon juice and remaining 1/2 cup olive oil into a coarse paste. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. In an 8-inch square baking dish, spread half the tomatoes across the bottom. Place 2 lasagna sheets on top. Spread a third of the pesto over the sheets; sprinkle with half the mozzarella and then half the mushrooms. Add another layer of lasagna sheets, pesto, mozzarella and mushrooms. Top with another layer of lasagna sheets, spread with the remaining pesto and then the remaining tomatoes. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

photo from Everyday with Rachael Ray

Sweet and Sour Meatball Simmer

This is one of our favorites! (Especially me because it's easy!)
Serve with a steamed vegetable for a complete dinner.
I found this recipe on Kraftfoods.com.

3/4 lb. homemade meatballs or (3/4 of 16-oz. pkg. frozen prepared)
1 medium each red and yellow pepper, cut into chunks
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup Catalina Dressing
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
3/4 tsp. each ground ginger and garlic powder
2 cups brown or white rice, prepared according to package directions

COMBINE all ingredients except rice in large skillet; cover.
Cook on medium heat 10 min. , stirring occasionally.

INCREASE heat to medium-high; uncover. Cook 8 to 10 min.,
or until sauce is thickened and meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.

SERVE over the hot cooked rice.

Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each
**variation.. can substitute 3 cups frozen vegetables for the peppers. Just add during last 6 min. of the final cooking time.