Zucchini Fritters

I love zucchini, but I was getting a little sick of just sauteeing it. So here is a great simple, yummy, new way to eat zucchini. We had a 3 1/2 lb. monster zucchini that had been sitting on our counter for awhile and I decided that it finally needed to be used. I had seen recipes for zucchini fritters and had been wanting to try them for years and so here was my chance. I hope you enjoy these delicious fritters. It is my favorite way to eat zucchini!

Yield: 3 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups zucchini, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup grated colby jack cheese
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put grated zucchini in a colander over the sink. Add salt and stir to combine; let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain zucchini well. Squeeze longer than you think. 
2. In a bowl, combine zucchini, flour, colby jack, garlic, and egg; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Scoop tablespoons of batter for each fritter (See note below), flattening with a spatula, and cook until the underside is nicely golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 1-2 minutes longer.

Notes: Using a cookie scoop works great to get the right amount on the skillet.

Adapted from Damn Delicious

Roasted Vegetables

Roasted vegetables is one of my favorite side dishes in the fall and winter months. It's easy and absolutely delicious (though it does take a bit of time). This is my absolute favorite way to eat yams. There is something amazing that happens to them when they are smothered in the flavorful sauce and roasted for an hour. Sometimes I think of getting rid of all the other vegetables and just making a pan full of yams. But then I think of the delectable bites of potato and carrot and I remember that I actually do like all the vegetables on the pan - the yams may just disappear faster than the rest.

This recipe is very adaptable. You could do whatever combination of vegetables you'd like - cauliflower, broccoli, beets, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, etc. You need about 5 pounds of vegetables for the sauce, but other than that feel free to get creative! (But I do highly recommend the yams. Can you tell I love them?)

Serves: 6 people

INGREDIENTS
1 yam, diced
2 potatoes, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Chop all the vegetables and put into a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, melt butter and mix in vinegar, mustard, garlic and salt. Pour over the vegetables. Stir to combine.
4. Spread the vegetables on two baking sheets, leaving space between the vegetables. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Stir vegetables every 20 minutes or so. The vegetables are done when they are soft and browned slightly (or more than slightly - I like mine on the darker side).



Recipe inspired by roasted vegetables my uncle brought to family dinners growing up.

Curried Cauliflower

Lately I've been on the hunt for interesting side dishes. You can only eat steamed broccoli so many times before your ready for a change. Recently I had a head of cauliflower sitting in my fridge that needed to be used. I love steamed cauliflower with butter and salt and pepper, but my husband is not so happy to eat it in that form. So in my search of a way to make it more palatable to him I found this simple recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I can't claim any credit for it since it was perfect the beginning. But it is so good, I just have to share. My husband declared it an acceptable way to eat cauliflower and I made it again the next day it was so good. I call that a win.

One last quick note. The curry is a really subtle flavor here so even those who don't love curry flavor may be persuaded to eat this. I hardly noticed it was curry flavored.

Curried Cauliflower 
Servings: 4-6

INGREDIENTS
1 medium head cauliflower
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

DIRECTIONS
1.    Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
2.   Wash and core the cauliflower and cut the florets into bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl.
3.   Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil, salt and curry powder.
4.   Turn out the cauliflower onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes, stirring every 6-7 minutes, until the cauliflower is browned in spots and is crisp-tender.
5.    Serve immediately.

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Lemon Rice

More carbs, I know.  I promise we'll get some healthier recipes out there soon.  But for now, enjoy carb overload.  This lemon rice is to die for.  The first time I tasted it, I'm pretty sure my eyes popped.  The lemon was stronger than I expected and in a good way.  I've had a lot of bland "flavored" rice dishes in my day.  This one far exceeded my expectations.  Not under or over doing it with flavor.  It is just perfect in my book.  I'm salivating just thinking about it.  

I always serve this rice with lime chicken, though I'm sure it would be delicious with many other dishes.  It also is delicious as breakfast.  I may or may not be guilty of eating every tasty morsel for breakfast the day after.

Lemon Rice

1/3 cup lemon juice
4 tbs. butter
1 tsp. salt
2 cups brown rice
3 & 3/4 cups chicken broth, hot
black pepper to taste

In a large, wide saucepan bring the lemon juice, butter, and salt to a boil. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed. 

Add the hot chicken broth, cover, and cook on low until the rice is cooked, about 45 minutes.  Remove from heat with lid still on and let rest for 10 minutes to ensure the moisture is all absorbed.  Stir in black pepper and more butter, if desired. 

Recipe from my mother-in-law.

Homemade Chunky Applesauce

A few weeks ago I ended up with a large bag of apples.  I made apple cake, apple pancakes, and ate several apples.  I still had about eight apples left, but they weren't tasting quite as fresh.  What to do?  Make applesauce!  Homemade applesauce is so good!  I love it when it is hot and drizzling it with a little cream and sprinkling a little sugar on top.  It is also good just on its own.

Ingredients:

8 apples (I used fuji, honey crisp, and ambrosia apples)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup water

1. Peel, core, and dice the apples.  Place in a pot with a lid and lemon juice and water.  Cook over medium low heat stirring every few minutes.  As they cook they will start to get soft and break down.  I generally try to help this process along by smashing some of the apple chunks against the side of the pot with the spoon.

2. Serve, enjoy, or freeze!

Variations:  If you would like cinnamon, feel free to add it.  Not a fan of chunky applesauce?  Run it through the blender.  If it is too thick, add more water.

Crockpot Refried Beans

Refried beans are the best!  They are so easy to make from scratch- I don't even soak the beans, just dump everything in the crockpot, turn it on, and then mash everything all up.  The onion disappears and you are left with some pretty incredible beans.  I left all the seeds in the jalapeno and no one complained about the heat, but if you are really worried about it you can take the seeds out and you will get the flavor, but not the heat from the beans.  Now as a small disclaimer, these aren't actually refried, but they are fat free and tasty as can be.  They pair with about any Mexican or tex-mex type meal and also freeze great!

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional- sometimes I add this, sometimes I don't)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water

1. Rinse beans in a colander and pick out any shriveled or questionable looking beans.

2. Add all ingredients, except the salt to crockpot.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

3. Remove about 1/3 of the liquid, but save it for later.  Add the salt and mash the beans with a potato masher right in the crockpot.  I still like some texture to my beans, but if you want them totally smooth, I bet an immersion blender would also work great here.  If they are too thick, add some of the reserved water/ broth until they reach desired consistency.  Keep in mind that they do thicken quite a bit as they sit, so make them runnier than you like to eat them.  Enjoy!

Roasted Asparagus

I love spring and one of my favorite spring veggies is asparagus.  I did not enjoy eating asparagus as a child.  I remember being served boiled asparagus that was both mushy and stringy all at the same time.  I tried it again as an adult and realize that when it is prepared well, I actually love asparagus.  There are so many ways to prepare it that are so much tastier than boiling.  Roasting brings out the sweetness and the texture is awesome.  The ingredients and process are so simple, you will be amazed by how tasty this is!  Now pick up some asparagus next time you are at the store.  It is the cheapest and freshest at this time of the year.

Take a bunch of asparagus and wash and break the ends off.  Asparagus has a natural breaking point where the tough, woody bottom naturally breaks.  Snap off the ends and toss with about two teaspoons of olive oil.  Lightly sprinkle with coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.Spread out on a cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Enjoy!

Spanish Rice

I created this recipe when I needed another side to stretch a meal.  I didn't want to spend much time and needed something without strange ingredients.  I was quite pleased with the results and have made it several time since.

2 cups rice (Either white or brown rice works well)
2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup salsa
1 1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1. Dump everything into a rice cooker.

2. Stir it just a bit, close the lid, and turn it on.

3. Enjoy!

Wasn't that easy?