Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers

I always have the hardest time planning a menu when someone is coming over for dinner.  I know I have mentioned this before, but I go back and forth between a million different things and it is enough to drive a person crazy!  We were having some friends over for dinner and I somehow finally decided to make these stuffed peppers.  They caught my eye because they had a different filling than other stuffed pepper recipes that I have seen and I thought they would be part of a fun meal.  

I'm not sure if I like prepping the actual peppers in the microwave, but I followed the recipe and did it anyway.   I'm not really sure if this filling was the best thing to put in a bell pepper, because these were very hard to eat.  They were good, but it was very messy and took a lot of effort to get a bite that had part of the pepper as well as the filling.  Luckily our dinner guests were good sports and they didn't seem to mind too much. 

 The filling was very good and would make a great dish by itself, maybe with some chopped red bell pepper added to the mix.  

Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers adapted from Family Circle magazine

6 medium-size sweet red bell peppers

1 cup whole wheat Israeli couscous

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 seedless cucumber, chopped

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

3 large scallions, trimmed and chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Prepare couscous according to package directions.

2. Trim about 1/2-inch off the tops of the bell peppers. Seed and core peppers.

Place the peppers cut side down in a microwave safe glass baking dish. Pour in 1/2 cup water and cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap, venting one corner. Microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Remove peppers from dish and set aside.

3. In a large bowl combine cooked couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, feta, scallions and parsley.

Add lemon juice and olive oil. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stuff peppers with an equal amount of couscous mixture, about a scant cup in each. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Chicken and Broccolini Stir-Fry

Stir- Fry is always a great option for weeknight dinners around here. I love how quick they are to prepare and also the versatile number of veggies that you can use in them. I saw this fun take on stir-fry in a recent issue of The Food Network Magazine and thought it looked delicious.

My kids have been snacking on sweet mini peppers lately, so I had no problem slicing up a few of them for this stir-fry. My family really enjoyed this meal and I hope you do too.

Here is the recipe for Chicken and Broccolini Stir-Fry
* I used rice wine vinegar instead of mirin

Colorful Lentil Salad with Rainbow Chard

The swiss chard in my garden is still doing really well and I wanted to make something really delicious with the bunch I picked recently. I wanted to use lentils and found a beautiful picture of a dish that combined the 2 ingredients I had been thinking about. I served this on the same night that we had the Panko Crusted Salmon. I think that salmon and lentils really compliment each other and these 2 dishes definitely made for a great dinner. We also had a fennel/celery salad.

If you can't find Pomegranate Molasses anywhere or it is too expensive, don't forget that you can make it yourself- Here is the post when I first made it a couple of years ago.

Here is the recipe for Colorful Lentil Salad
* I didn't use the sundried tomatoes
* I sauteed my swiss chard (stems included) with the onions and bell peppers, adding it after the onions and bell peppers had softened a bit
* I used less olive oil for the dressing and the sauteing
* I used a little bit of red wine vinegar instead of steeping liquid in the dressing

Thai Summer Slaw

This Thai Summer Slaw from Cooking Light is summer perfection. It combines napa cabbage, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber, bell peppers, carrots, radishes, jalapeno, and green onions in a light, slightly spicy dressing. It is crunchy, flavorful and completely delicious.

I was planning on making this for a potluck dinner that we were going to attend, but I forgot to buy a lime. I debated going ahead and making it with lemon juice instead, but I decided to wait, buy the lime and follow the recipe. I'm glad I waited! I don't think lemon would have given the dressing the right flavor.

The day I was planning on making this for dinner, I prepped all the veggies (the photo above) and the dressing and kept them in the fridge until I was ready to serve it. Cutting all the veggies took a little bit of time, but getting that out of the way earlier in the day really made this a fast and easy dish to serve. I grilled some tuna steaks to serve along with it and it was a really great dinner.

Here is the recipe for Thai Summer Slaw
* I only added a 3/4 tsp of sugar to the dressing

Italian Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

I found it!! I finally found it- Farro that is. I have been looking for it for quite a few months and couldn't find it anywhere. I have seen quite a few recipes that use it and even made one that was supposed to contain it. But, then a couple of weeks ago, I saw it in the bulk bins at EarthFare and bought a bag full.

I would say that the texture is similar to wheat berries or barley, but the flavor is a little bit different. I had tons of veggies from my garden and found this great recipe that combined farro and roasted veggies. It is a recipe from Jamie Oliver and it was wonderful. I was able to use zucchini, summer squash, and bell peppers from my garden and there was also fennel thrown into the mix. Roasted fennel is so delicious.

I made this when my sibling were visiting me and we continued to eat it throughout the week. The leftovers are great.

Here is the recipe for Italian Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Fennel and Pepper Salad

Okay, so we are on Day 2 of Snow, Ice and Cold Weather Cancels everything. Not that I am complaining. I would rather have my kids and husband home with me than have them off at work or school. How are we celebrating? Well, we stayed up late watching the NCAA football championship game, slept in this morning and now we are eating frozen yogurt sundaes for breakfast, in our pajamas, while watching cartoons. Good times!

This recipe from Rachael Ray's Look and Cook Cookbook is not something that you could whip up after being cooped up in your house for a few days, unless you always keep radicchio and fennel on hand. Maybe you do keep this things in your fridge at all times. I had to make a trip to the store, and quite a few grocery stores at that, to get my hands on some fennel.

I actually made this dish for a family dinner that we had before Christmas. It couldn't be easier to mix together, once you have all the ingredients on hand. The fennel, radicchio and bell peppers make a nice crunchy, flavorful combination. If you haven't had radicchio before, it can be a little bitter and spicy, but I think it has a really great flavor, especially when combined with these other ingredients. This recipe can be found in multiple places on the internet as well.

Recipe for Fennel and Pepper Salad
* I used a little less olive oil than called for to dress this salad

Ratatouille with Baked Eggs

Sometimes the simpliest dishes are the most delicious and flavorful. That was certainly the case with this Ratatouille. We are still experiencing warm weather, so I had some zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant and bell peppers, that needed to be used.

I didn't really feel like making soup or simply roasting my veggies (which would usually be my first choice), but I found a recipe for Ratatouille and it looked delicious.
I saw the idea to bake it with eggs in a recent issue of Everyday Food magazine and used that part of their idea, but a simplier basic Rataouille recipe than the one they included in the magazine.

To make this, all you have to do is chop your veggies, saute an onion, and then gradually add the veggies and stir. So simple.

I decided to serve this over quinoa, but it would be great with pasta or as a stew. It really is so versatile.

My son was not excited when he saw this on the stove, simmering away. He actually wrote me a little note that said "Really Mom, Eggplant?", and left it by the stove, but he ate it and decided it wasn't that bad. He even said it was good. So, that was enough for me. Victory!


I also wanted to share a cake I made this past weekend for my daughter's birthday. Not a great picture, but you get the idea.
She was very specific in her request- 3 layers of alternating sizes, pink cake (inside), purple frosting and real Littliest Pet Shop toys for decoration. I used this recipe for Vanilla Buttercream and it turned out really well. She loved it.



to make Ratatouille with Baked Eggs (from Everyday Food magazine)
After you are done cooking the Ratatouille on the stove-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 3/4 cup Ratatouille in each of four 2-cup ovenproof baking dishes set on a rimmed baking sheet. With the back of a large spoon, make 2 indentations in Ratatouille in each dish. (Alternately, place 3 cups Ratatouille in an 9 by 13 inch baking dish and make 8 indentations.)
Crack 1 large egg into each indentation. Season eggs with salt and pepper.
Bake until egg whites are set, 20 to 25 minutes.

Recipe for Ratatouille
* I used less oil than called for
*I added more dried thyme than called for and some Italian seasoning

Greek Panzanella

A couple of weeks ago we were having company over for dinner. I always analyze and then over analyze what I should make when people come to dinner. I never know if our way of eating will satisfy someone else's taste, so I get a little crazy about it.
I think about food all the time anyway, so I really just spend too much time thinking, planning, undoing my plans, and re-planning.

It's a process.

I finally narrowed it down to a menu that would savor the last of summer fall-ish type dinner. Since we were still enjoying 90+ degree days and all my favorite summer foods were still readily found at the farmers market, we went with the summer menu.

I wanted to try this Greek twist on The Barefoot Contessa's Panzanella, because the original version is a crowd pleaser that we love.
It turned out to be the perfect choice. Everyone was really happy with this dinner. Phew!

* note--I always toast my bread cubes in the oven, drizzling them with a little bit of olive oil, to get them nice and crisp and also to reduce some of the fat in this meal. I also reduce the amount of oil in the dressing.

Recipe for Greek Panzanella
* I used black olives instead of kalamata olives
* I toasted my bread cubes in the oven instead of sauteing them in oil- it uses less oil and gets them evenly crisped
*I reduced the amount of oil in the dressing by about half
* I left out the red onion

Purple-eyed Peas and Spinach

I don't know what to call this, so if you can think of a better name for it, go ahead and call it whatever you want. All I know is that it was really delicious.

I did something I have never done before in order to make this dish. I bought real bacon. I was at the Farmer's Market and a man talked me into buying these beautiful, fresh purple-eyed peas. But, since I am not a Southerner, I wasn't really sure what to do with them. I had never had fresh any color-eyed peas.
The man told me to cook them with a piece of fatback and I said "What?", because I don't know what fatback is and I really don't want to know. I knew that wasn't happening. Someone else mentioned a ham hock, but once again, not familiar with that.
I decided I would make my family happy and buy bacon. I know it can give great flavor to things, even though I prefer not to cook it or use it. I guess this was a special occasion.

We enjoyed this dish with Roasted Shrimp
and fresh corn on the cob.

Purple-eyed Peas and Spinach by Mary Ann
4 slices thick cut bacon
1 red onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 green bell pepper, minced
1 6-oz bag baby spinach
1/2 cup chicken broth- give or take
4 cups purple-eyed peas (you could use 2 15-oz cans drained, rinsed black-eyed peas)
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper

If you have fresh purple-eyed peas, put them in a large pot with double the amount of water as peas. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes, mostly covered.
Drain and set aside.

In a large saute pan, cook 4 pieces of bacon over medium-high heat until nice and crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate covered with a paper towel and drain the bacon grease, but do not wipe out the pan.

Add the red onion to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the red and green peppers and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add baby spinach and cook until wilted.
Add chicken broth and season with salt and pepper.
Let cook for a few minutes.
Stir in purple-eyed peas and remove from the heat.
Stir in chopped parsley.
Crumble bacon and sprinkle on top.

Summer Veggie Salsa

First of all the winner of the TERRA Chip giveaway- comment #21- Gabrielle, who says they eat TERRA Chips with hummus. yummy!

Here are the results-

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 29
Result: 21
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Now on to today's recipe. I saw this recipe for Summer Veggie Salsa on Playing House
and all the veggies just looked so delicious. I added some chopped jicama and green bell pepper just because I was cutting them up anyway and I love the crunch that jicama gives to things.
I made a great big bowl of this salsa and it was really great with baked tortilla chips.

I also topped salad greens with this salsa and loved it that way. This was so fresh and delicious.
I am going to make it again while it is still nice and hot outside.


Recipe for Summer Veggie Salsa
* I added some jicama and green bell pepper
* I used cherry tomatoes

Southwest Quinoa Salad

One of my favorite bloggers recently started a new blog. I loved her old blog, Cafe Johnsonia
(which she has kindly left up so people can still use her recipes) but, I really, really love her new blog- Fresh Clean Start.

It's all about getting to a healthier place and I absolutely love every single post.
When I saw her post about this Quinoa Salad, I could not wait to put it together.

I made this salad for our 4th of July get-together and since the recipe written was enough to serve 1-2 people, I at least quadrupled the salad ingredients, so that everyone could have some and hopefully there would be some leftover for me to eat for lunch sometime during the next week.

I cooked up a bunch of quinoa (something I always do, so that there will be enough for whatever I need during the week) and started chopping my veggies.
I used fresh corn on the cob that I got from the Farmer's Market and I also used some heirloom cherry tomatoes.
I added cumin, chili powder, paprika, and lime juice- tasting it along the way- until it was just right.

I really didn't know how well it would be received at our dinner, but many people really, really liked it. This made me happy, but also limited the amount of leftovers. Luckily, there was enough leftover for lunch one day and I served it over a big pile of salad greens as Lindsey suggested.

This really is so, so good and good for you. I can't wait to make a big batch of it again.



Recipe for Southwest Quinoa Salad
* I used heirloom cherry tomatoes
* I used fresh corn on the cob
* I sprinkled sunflower seeds on top

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

I love browsing through cookbooks. A few weeks ago we were at a book store and I was thumbing through one of Giada's cookbooks, I don't remember which one, but I saw this recipe for pasta with roasted veggies.

I love roasted veggies. It is the best way to eat any vegetable, in my opinion.
My parents and brother were still here when I made this pasta dish and it was really good.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe, but they were small ones. I subbed in asparagus for the mushrooms, mostly because asparagus was really cheap and my family loves it and because mushrooms aren't my favorite.
I also used whole wheat pasta because I always do and my family likes it.
I didn't use smoked mozzarella because it was too expensive for me to buy, but I am sure that adds something special to the flavor of this dish. I just used mozzarella.

The leftovers were fabulous. My brother and I were fighting over them to the very last bite.



Recipe for Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
* I used 1 lb of asparagus instead of the mushrooms
*I used regular mozzarella instead of smoked
*I used whole wheat penne

Caribbean Red Beans and Brown Rice

A couple of weeks ago I really wanted to make beans and rice. I don't know why exactly, it just sounded like a good option for a weeknight dinner.
I wanted to try Red Beans and Rice, so I searched for recipes online and in my cookbooks.
I kept looking and looking, but most of the recipes I saw had some sort of meat in them, either just for seasoning or to go along with the dish.
I wanted to try a recipe that was mainly just the beans and rice without any meat.

Since I have been using my Mayo Clinic Cookbook a lot lately, I decided to look there for a recipe and found one, with a Caribbean twist.
It also used brown rice, which made me really happy.

There is a unique combination of spices and herbs in this version- allspice and cloves- which add part of the caribbean flavors, as well as the cilantro.

I left out the hot sauce, mostly because I wanted my kids to be able to eat this without saying it was too spicy, but left in the cayenne pepper.

I also just used one kind of brown rice, instead of a combination.
You could probably substitute canned beans instead of cooking your own dried ones, just make sure to drain and rinse them and I would say use 2 cans.
Soaking dried beans doesn't really take that much effort, you just have to remember to do it the night before you are planning to make the dish.

We really liked this version of red beans and rice. It was full of flavor and very filling. A great weeknight meal.


Recipe for Caribbean Red Beans and Brown Rice

Greek Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is one of my favorite foods. My family loves it too.
Have you tried it?
I buy mine in the bulk section of the local health food store. I love red quinoa too.
It is better for you than rice, bulgur, millet, pasta, etc. Any of those things. It is a complete protein and you can prepare it in no time.
Make sure that you rinse your quinoa before cooking it. I put mine in a sieve and rinse it multiple times before I cook it. This removes the acidic, bitter coating that it has on it.
I made a Greek salad with my quinoa and also served some roasted acorn squash over some of my quinoa the next day.
It is so versatile. You can eat it warm or cold. Sweet or savory. You can add it to bake goods. Basically you can do whatever you want with it.
It is a super food.
I love it.
Greek Quinoa Salad by Mary Ann
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups baby spinach
feta cheese
lemon juice
olive oil
1/2 Tbls Greek seasoning

Combine quinoa, bell pepper, garbanzo beans, and spinach in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over the mixture. Drizzle with olive oil. Add Greek seasoning.
Toss all ingredients and sprinkle feta cheese over top.

Black Bean Pumpkin Chili with Pumpkin Cornbread

Chili and cornbread. They go together this time of year. Some people don't care for either of them, like my hubby, so I rarely make either.
I saw a post on Real Mom Kitchen about this cornbread, which contains pumpkin puree and whole wheat flour and I was very intrigued. She got the recipe from The Recipe Girl, so I went over to Lori's site and found out that she served the pumpkin cornbread with a pumpkin chili. Sounded like a great combination.
At first I was going to half the recipe for the cornbread, but then my hubby told me some friends were going to be stopping by for dinner and I figured this was the perfect time to serve both of these foods.
I changed the pumpkin chili recipe up a bit. I do not like beef or ground beef, so I thought that I would make a bean chili, but then decided to add some lean ground turkey since there were going to be so many people eating with us.
I also added a zucchini, since I had one I needed to use, and black beans. I changed the spices, so that it would be mild enough for my kids to eat and switched the toppings.
The pumpkin puree in the chili is very subtle- it adds texture, but not so much flavor.

The pumpkin cornbread was fabulous. I love cornbread-I grew up eating it all the time, so I really liked this version. It had a hint of sweetness, great spices and a nice pumpkin flavor. The best part is that my kids all liked it! I couldn't believe it. None of them like regular cornbread, I think because of the texture, but this cornbread was a winner. I was so happy about it.
The pumpkin cornbread also tastes good the 2nd and 3rd day after it is made, which is usually a problem with cornbread because it dries out. The pumpkin keeps this one tasting good for leftovers.

The friends who were supposed to join us for dinner didn't make it, so I actually saved the chili and cornbread and invited some other friends over the next night. Great thing about chili is it tastes better after sitting in the fridge and being reheated. The flavors were great.
If you like a spicier chili, up the chili powder or add a jalapeno.
And try this cornbread, it is really good!
Black Bean Pumpkin Chili adapted from The Recipe Girl

1 Tbls canola oil
1 lb ground turkey (93% lean)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red, yellow, or green bell pepper (I used all three)
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp chili powder
1 heaping tsp cumin
dash of oregano
pepper and salt to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken broth
toppings- greek yogurt, shredded cheese, cilantro

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey, onion, green pepper, and zucchini. Cook for a few minutes, until veggies are tender and meat is browned.
Add garlic and cook for additional minute.
Add tomatoes, black beans, pumpkin puree and spices. Add enough chicken broth to loosen it up a little bit, but not too much.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Garnish with greek yogurt, shredded cheese, and cilantro.


Recipe for Pumpkin Cornbread

Cuban Black Beans

(I have no idea how authentically "cuban" these black beans are. That is just the title the recipe had when I got it)
My sister sent me this recipe for Black Beans and said that they were the best ones that she had ever tasted. I believed her and decided I would have to make them.
I usually use canned beans when I cook, draining and rinsing them, but this called for dried beans, which you have to soak overnight.
I actually started this recipe in the morning and soaked my beans for 8 hours. It worked!

I didn't really know what to expect from this recipe, but it was worth the time. The taste was amazing. These beans are so flavorful, which really surprised me and by the time they were done cooking, the texture of the beans was perfect-not hard or crumbly.

I ate a big bowl of these plain and then added some cooked rice and chopped tomato when we ate them again.
These would make a great addition to a burrito or a nice side dish. Very, very tasty.
Thanks Audrey, for passing the recipe on to me!

On a little side note, has anyone seen these cute little mini pitas?
When we went to visit my sister (same one who gave me the BB recipe) this summer, she was making all sorts of cute things with these mini pitas.

I found them at Publix and now, we eat them all the time. I stuff them with lunchmeat, cheese and a spinach leaf and pack them in my son's lunch for school, we dip them in hummus, make pb&j sammies with them, and also make little breakfast bites, here I just filled them with scrambled eggs. I buy the whole wheat mini pitas and they are really fun to fill with different things. If you can find them, try them out!

Cuban Black Beans from my sister's friend, Sharra

Ingredients
1 lb black beans
6 cups water
1 large green bell pepper chopped
1 large minced onion
4 cloves minced garlic
A second green pepper minced
2/3 cups olive oil (I only used a couple Tbls)
4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tbsp dry wine (I omitted this)
2 tbsp vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
2 tbsp oil (I forgot to add this!)

Rinse Beans. Combine beans, water, chopped pepper. Soak overnite.
Cook covered for 45 minutes or until soft.
In a frying pan, saute onion, garlic, 2/3 cup olive oil, and minced pepper.
Take 1 cup of beans and mash into sauteed vegetables.
Pour sauteed veggies into bean pot.
Add 4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, oregano, bay leaf broken in half, and sugar.
Cook covered 1 hour.
Add 2 tbsp vinegar and wine.
Cook 1 hour uncovered to thicken.
When ready to serve add 2 Tbsp oil.

Homemade Tortillas and Turkey Fajitas

On a Saturday night, while my hubby was watching football, I needed to throw a meal together. I had been planning to make fajitas, but didn't realize we were out of tortillas.
I decided to make some from scratch.
I remember making them when I was growing up with oil, flour, salt and water.
I just couldn't remember the exact porportions.
I had some turkey breast fillets in the fridge, so I threw together the fajita marinade I usually use and let the meat marinate for awhile. Not as long as it should have, but I didn't have a ton of time.
I sliced up an onion and some bell peppers and made the tortilla dough.
While the dough was resting, I cooked up my turkey/onion/pepper mixture and then covered that, to keep it warm, while I made the tortillas.

My kids loved the tortillas. I thought they were pretty good, but next time I will probably use melted butter or olive oil for a little bit more flavor.

Flour Tortillas
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbls canola oil or melted butter
3/4-1 cup water

mix together flour and salt. Stir in oil. Add water bit by bit, stirring until dough forms. Knead until smooth. Divide dough in half, then in half again, and one more time, so that you have 8 dough balls. Cover the dough and let it rest.
When ready to make tortillas, sprinkle a little flour on a clean surface. Roll out dough as thinly as you can.
Warm a saute pan over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the hot pan and when bubble form, turn it over to the other side. It only takes about 1-2 minutes per side, or less.
Continue with other dough balls until all tortillas are formed.

One Year Ago-Raspberry Cream Sandwiches and Graham PB Bon Bons

Tuna Panzanella

I've mentioned before how much I really love Panzanella aka Bread Salad. Ina's recipe is the first one that I tried and I make it quite regularly.
Basically if I ever see a variation of Panzanella, I want to try it-like this Edamame Bread Salad that I posted about a couple of months ago.

I saw this really easy version of Tuna Panzanella in an issue of Good Housekeeping and found it intriguing.
I made it for dinner back in August and was really pleased with the results. My husband really liked it and asked for seconds (picking out the tomatoes, of course), but I still saw that as a success. I packed him the leftovers in his lunch the next day and he really enjoyed it.

I only made a couple of changes- I used cherry tomatoes and added a chopped yellow bell pepper to have more veggies mixed in there (and because I knew my hubby was going to pick out the tomatoes).
The recipe claims to be ready in 30 minutes and it was. Nothing tough here. The only thing you have to do is toast the bread cubes, open a few cans, and then throw everything else together.

If you have any tomatoes or basil that need to be used and want one last taste of summer, make this today!

Recipe for Tuna Panzanella

Ratatouille Tofu

I saw this really cute dinner idea in a recent issue of Parents Magazine.
It was called Dinner and a Movie and this was the tagline-"Rent Ratatouille, then have kids try the veggie side along with crispy tofu triangles".

Ratatouille is the title of a Disney/Pixar movie that was released in June 2007 that has a lot to do with food and cooking. It is pretty cute- I remember going to see it in the theater when it came out.

So, this idea sounded fun to me.
This take on Ratatouille is as easy as they come. The whole thing is ready in a matter of minutes.

I kind of spaced the fact that this magazine is geared towards small children and expected this meal to have more flavor. It was a little bit bland for me. If I made this version of Ratatouille again, I would definitely spice it up a little bit.

Some of my family members really like tofu and will eat it any way I make it. Others, like my husband, do better if it is in small cubes and mixed with other foods, so they can't really tell what it is. It usually takes awhile for him to say something like "This really isn't chicken, is it?"
He already knows the answer. The texture gives it away. The good thing is that the people in my family who don't love tofu will eat it and not complain too much. The crust on this tofu wasn't my favorite either, but I guess it would be good if you are trying to get a child to try tofu for the first time.

So, I guess what I am saying is that I liked the idea of this meal more than the actual flavors, but forgot that it was probably geared towards small kids who might not have too much experience with lots of herbs and spices or tofu, for that matter.

My advice would be to up the spices and herbs and if you have a favorite breadcrumb, cornflake, or panko coating- try that on the tofu instead. Also, if you are trying to get people excited about eating tofu for the first time, smaller pieces would probably be a great idea. The vegetables would also taste great if they were roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper, but that would add a bit more time to the preparation of the meal.

Ratatouille Tofu from Parents Magazine
2 Tbls olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 eggplant, cut into small cubes
1 zucchini, chopped
2 sweet peppers, chopped
1 Tbls fresh basil
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
salt and pepper
1/2 18 oz. package firm tofu, drained
1 Tbls polenta ( I used yellow cornmeal)
1 Tbls grated Parmesan cheese

1- Chop basil. Heat 1 Tbls oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, then add eggplant, zucchini, sweet peppers, and 3 Tbls water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper; remove from heat.

2- Meanwhile, cut tofu crosswise into 1/2-inch thick square pieces and slice into triangles. In a bowl, mix polenta and cheese and coat the tofu with it.

3- Heat 1 Tbls oil in another skillet on medium-high. Add tofu; cook for 2 minutes per side or until browned.
Serves 4


One Year Ago-Weekly Lunchbox

Sesame-Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa

Today life changes as we know it at our house.
College Football started on Thursday and that is when the craziness slowly started to appear, but today is when it will take over full force.
The Georgia Bulldawgs play their first game today and I can pretty much guarantee that I won't see much of my husband until January. At least he is passionate about something, right? I am looking on the bright side here.
Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit- but I learned the first couple years that we were married that GA football reigns supreme in the fall and I have just accepted it. There is nothing that is more important. But that also gives me lots of opportunities to make tasty food, so it is a good thing.
Here is to a great season! It is good to be back in the South!

Now, I have this thing for watermelon. I love it. A lot.
A couple of weeks ago I tried a fantastic tilapia dish with watermelon salsa- that was soo delicious!
I saw this recipe- Sesame Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa, on the cover of some sort of Cooking Light special magazine. The salsa ingredients for this one were slightly different, so I wanted to try it and compare the 2 watermelon salsas. This recipe also has great reviews on myrecipes.com, almost everyone who has reviewed it gave it 5 stars.

This chicken was really good and so was the salsa, but I liked the tilapia dish better. The watermelon salsas were fairly similar but had a few different ingredients- the one with the tilapia was spicier and I just like fruit salsas with fish better.
Don't get me wrong, if I had tried the chicken first and never had the tilapia, I would be raving about it even more. It was good.

I am soo excited for a 3 day weekend-football, hiking and time with family. Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!

Recipe for Sesame-Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa

One Year Ago-Smoky Black-eyed Pea and Rice Cakes with Spinach Garnish on Cornbread