vegetable pan bagnat

http://www.recipe.com/vegetable-pan-bagnat/

Here's yet another warm-weather recipe my entire family loved. It's adapted from Vegetarian Times magazine, but I switched out the mushrooms for turkey lunch meat, so it's not vegetarian. But it's still full of good veggies!

Pan bagnat is a sandwich found in the south of France. It's pressed with a weight and refrigerated to allow juices to "bathe the bread," which is the literal translation of the term.

Ingredients: (it looks like a long list, but it's not too hard to throw together.)
1 8-inch round loaf of crusty bread, preferably with rosemary. (mine was just whole wheat)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used an olive oil sprayer)
 1 large clove garlic
2 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 6-oz zucchini, ends trimmed
3 4-inch portobello mushroom caps, gills removed (or in my case, lunch meat, or mashed beans, or shredded smoked salmon)
1 8-oz pkg. tomato and basil hummus (any hummus would be fine. I could only find sun dried tomato hummus, so I used that and then sprinkled on a little dried basil.)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into sticks and then broiled w/ a little oil until edges brown.  (or a jar of roasted red bell peppers, drained)
1 packed cup baby arugula leaves (or spinach, or whatever)
1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Halve bread horizontally, using serrated knife. starting 1/2-inch from edges, remove about 1 inch soft bread from center of each half, making hallows for filling; lightly brush (or spray with manual sprayer) with oil. (The recipe says to rub with the garlic, but whatever. Who has time for that, when you'll be getting the garlic flavor in a minute, anyway...)

Squeeze garlic clove through press into bowl; add 2 Tbs. of oil, soy sauce and mustard, and whisk to blend. Pare zucchini lengthwise with vegetable peeler into paper-thin slices, omitting seedy center. (this is where you cut the mushrooms into thin slices also, if you're into those...), then add zucchini and mushrooms to dressing. Toss. Marinate 10 minutes.

To assemble sandwich, spread bread hollows (top and bottom) with hummus. Over bottom half of bread, layer zucchini slices (don't worry if it looks like soggy pasta here. It settles down in the fridge), peppers, mushrooms, arugula, and tomato slices. Grind on black pepper to taste, and replace bread top. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; place on large plate and top with heavy pot lid (I just put a pan on top of it, since I didn't have a heavy lid). Refrigerate at least 4 hours (mine was only 3, and it still tasted great), or up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, unwrap and cut into 6 wedges (I cut mine into four, then cut one of those in half, because our youngest kids don't eat as much).

Tijuana Torta

This recipe is adapted from Eating Well magazine. You can see a picture of this sandwich, if you can't picture what a torta should look like. My family really likes this sandwich and actually asks for seconds and thirds.

1 15-oz. can black beans, or pinto beans, rinsed
4 tablespoons prepared sasla
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 ripe avocado, pitted
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 16- to 20- inch long baguette, preferably whole grain (I buy two whole wheat batons that are a little longer than a foot)
1 1/3 cups shredded cabbage

Mash beans, salsa, and cumin in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mash avocado, onion and lime juice. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths (I cut mine into whatever size I think each family member will be able to eat). Split each piece horizontally, then pull out some of the bread from the center to hollow it out a little. Spread a layer of the beans on one side, and the avocado on the other, put a layer of cabbage on it, then close the sandwich and serve.

7-Layer Greek Dip

This recipe is adapted from Our Best Bites. It's one of my family's favorite hot-weather meals. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it's really easy and pretty fast. Plus, it can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a while.

1 6-oz. container of Greek yogurt (I like Chobani's non fat)
1 tsp dill weed or Greek seasoning (go for a mix that just has herbs)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 c. hummus (I don't actually measure this, I just put in however much looks good)
1 c. diced cucumbers
1 c.  diced tomatoes
1/2 c. chopped (or sliced) Kalamata olives
1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley (I don't think I've ever added this, but whatever. add it if you love parsley)

combine yogurt, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice, mix well. Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish. Then spread a layer of hummus. Create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, feta cheese, and parsley. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (althought we usually just eat it immediately and it's still great).

We like to eat it with torn flat bread, or even spread on top of a flat bread, like a pizza. But you can also eat it with pita chips, fresh veggies, or chips.

Cauliflower Soup

This soup is one of my favorites (and the rest of my family really likes it too).  It comes together pretty quickly so it can be ready if I only have an hour before dinner.  I love to make cheddar and garlic biscuits to go with it (like the ones from Red Lobster - see my other post from today).  So when cauliflower is on sale, pick one up and make this yummy soup!

4 Tbs. margarine

2 med. onions, chopped

2 med. carrots, grated

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lg. head cauliflower, chopped (I chop mine really fine so it is similar in size to the other veggie chunks)

6 cups chicken broth

¼ cup dried parsley

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

½ tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. dried tarragon (I never have this so I leave it out)

6 Tbs. Butter

½ cup flour

1 cup milk

¼ cup sour cream (optional)

Sauté onions, carrots, celery and garlic in 4 Tbs. margarine (I saute in the pot I will be using for the whole thing).  In a 4-quart Dutch oven or stockpot, simmer chopped cauliflower, sautéed vegetables, chicken broth, parsley, salt, pepper, basil and tarragon for 20 minutes, covered.  Make a medium white sauce by melting 6 tablespoons butter in a small pan and stirring flour into butter.  Gradually add milk.  Cook until thickened.  Add to soup.  Right before serving, stir in ¼ cup sour cream, if desired.  Do not boil.  Makes 4 quarts soup.

**Notes:  For a lower calorie version, omit the white sauce part of the recipe.

pasta and bean soup

This soup was really good, even though it was a little too hot in my tiny kitchen as I cooked it. It will be great in the winter! I adapted this from a Family Fun recipe.

Ingredients:
3 14-oz cans reduced-sodium broth (I used two veggi, and one chicken, since that's what I had)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary, or 1 Tbsp dried (I only had dried, but wished I had fresh because it was hard fishing the rosemary out later)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 15-oz can white beans, rinsed
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup medium pasta shells (I only had spirals, and it worked fine)
2 C individually quick-frozen spinach (I only had fresh baby spinach, so that's what i used)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Combine broth, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper in a 4 to 6 quart soup pot, bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer over medium low-heat for 20 minutes to intensify flavor. Meanwhile, mash 1 cup beans in a small bowl (I was going to skip this step, then decided "what the heck" and just did it. I'm glad I did, it made the soup a little creamier)
2.Scoop garlic cloves and rosemary from the broth with a slotted spoon (I had a mesh scoop that worked great). Add mashed and whole beans to the broth, along with tomatoes; return to a simmer. Stir in Pasta, cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pasta is just tender, about 10-12 minutes (I actually put my spinach in here, too, but whatever).
3. Stir in spinach, cover and cook just until spinach has thawed, 2-3 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan.

We all liked this soup a lot, and it was great as leftovers for lunch today!

Spicy Mexican Salad

More hot-weather recipes! We've become part-time raw-vegans :)  My kids seem fine with it (they asked for more 3 times...), Chris seems fine with it, and I don't have to turn on the oven. The best part is that I can chop the veggies whenever I feel like it and keep them in the fridge.

I got this recipe from the facebook page, Raw Recipe a Day.

Salad:
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 ripe avocados, finely diced (I think I may have only used one?)
2 ribs celery diced (If you don't know what a rib is, it's one piece of celery)
1 large red, orange or yellow sweet pepper, sliced into matchsticks (I only had a green bell pepper and I diced it, and it tasted fine.)
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, packed
3 green onions, sliced

To make the salad, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Spicy Mexican Dressing:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (one small lime)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp flax seed oil (which I didn't have and therefore didn't add)
2 Tbsp tamari (I just used soy sauce)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 cloves garlic, minced (I didn't have fresh garlic, so just sprinkled garlic powder on it)
1 tsp minced red or green chile (I only had chile powder)
1/2 tsp ground cumin

to make the dressing, combine all the ingredients, add the dressing to the salad and serve or chill up to 2 hours.

pork sandwich

It’s a miracle! I’m posting a recipe J

This is from the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook (I know, I know, Marianne got rid of hers because the food wasn’t that good…but a lot of it IS). Every time I make this, Chris says it’s his favorite, so I decided I should share it with you, too.

First you make the herbed pork tenderloin, then you can make the coleslaw to go on the sandwich. Here’s my adaptation of the recipe:

Herbed pork tenderloin:

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried, but fresh is better)

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 pork tenderloin (the recipe calls for just a loin roast, but tenderloin is better)

2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350* then mix the ingredients together and rub it all over the tenderloin. You can either grill the tenderloin on each side until the outside browns, or you can brown it in a pan. I like to use a pre-heated cast iron grill. Once brown, stick the entire pan in the oven for 30 minutes. Slice into thin slices and put on bread or buns along with a scoop of coleslaw on top.

Coleslaw with orange-cilantro vinaigrette:

¼ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup 100% orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed or “not from concentrate”)

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 ½ teaspoon honey

package shredded cabbage with carrots (about 10 oz)

½ cup slivered red onion

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

Mix it all together (it says to refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but I’ve used it immediately and it tastes fine) and scoop onto the pork sandwich.

enjoy J

Baked Corn

Ingredients:

1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn 1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn 1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup butter or margarine, melted 2 eggs 1 (12 ounce) package corn muffin mix

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Combine the whole-kernel corn, cream-style corn, sour cream, melted butter or margarine, beaten eggs and corn muffin mix. Mix well and pour into one 9x13 inch baking pan.
3.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes.

Sauteed Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

I saw this recipe in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. I like asparagus and thought that this recipe is easy and fast so i should give it a try. And i am sharing it with you guys! :)

• 2tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp red-wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 1/2-inch lengths

1. Whisk together mustard, vinegar, and 1 Tbsp oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until asparagus are just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. (If the spears begin to brown, reduce heat to low.)

3. Transfer asparagus to a serving dish. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, toss and serve immediately.

serves 4.