Sweet potatoes roasted

The above photo is more caramelized— cooked at 425 f for 40 minutes but microwaved 2 minutes prior to make cutting easier 

 Easy — if you cook them longer than I did they will caramelize more. Makes a super sweet potato!!

Ingredients 

Potatoes

Olive oil salt

Dried thyme 

Parchment paper

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400F

Place parchment on pan.

Cut potatoes in half leaving skins on.

Brush both sides with olive oil. On the skinless side sprinkle salt and dried thyme. Turn them face down on the parchment. 

Cook 40-45 minutes or until caramelized if desired.

Note : to make them easier to cut before cooking you can microwave them for a minute.

Squash soup

 Nice tasty soup with summer squash on a rainy day 😀

• 1 lbs. ground beef OR ground vegan crumbles
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 shallot or 2 green onions sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 zucchini cubed to bite size
• 1 summer squash cubed to bite size
• 1-2 yellow  or red or green bell pepper cubed to bite size
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 4 small red potatoes chopped with skin left on
• salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese and fresh basil (optional) for garnish

DIRECTIONS 

Brown onion ,garlic, bell peppers,and meat or vegan crumbles in large pot using a bit of olive oil if needed.

Add all other ingredients except for parmigiana and fresh basil. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until veggies are done. Can serve with the added parmigiana and basil if desired.

Zucchini corn cheese casserole

 Super yummy. Idea from https://pinchofyum.com/sweet-corn-zucchini-pie

Go to above link for original recipe. The recipe called for pie dish but I did it in my square casserole.

What I used:

1 and 1/2 to two tablespoons butter

1/2 large onion

Cup frozen corn

4 cups chopped zucchini 

4 and 1/2 ounces chopped mushrooms from a can

1 tablespoon dried basil 

1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 

4 eggs

7 ounces cheese- used combo mozzarella and sharp cheddar 

directions

In large iron skillet melt butter and toss in zucchini, onion,and cook till almost tender medium high heat. Add corn and mushrooms cooking till tender (total cooking time about 10-15 minutes)

Meanwhile-Preheat oven 375. Beat eggs, seasonings, and chopped cheese.

Pull pan from heat and let cool a few minutes. Grease pan . Mix veggies with egg cheese mixture and pour into prepared pan. I actually pored veggies into prepared pan and then mixed the egg cheese mixture into it.

 Bake covered about 25-30 minutes until it looks set. Uncover and cook 5-12 minutes or until edges start to brown. Cool a bit before slicing or spooning 😜

Veggie pasta sauce with zucchini

Above photo before blending.

 The original recipe which calls for cream cheese with the veggies can be found here https://elavegan.com/veggie-pasta-sauce/#recipe

 I used cottage cheese instead of the cream cheese and I did 2 versions -/ one for hubby with tomatoes and one Gf one for me without the tomatoes. 

2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used fresh plum tomatoes- Roma)

1 and 1/2 cups chopped zucchini 

2 minced cloves of garlic

1 small onion chopped

1 cup bell pepper chopped ( I had orange and yellow ones)

1/2 teaspoon Italian spice blend

1/2 cup vegetable broth

5.3 ounces of cream cheese ( I used cottage cheese)

Salt and pepper if desired

Fresh basil and cooked pasta of choice

Directions- basically you mix all ingredients but not the pasta or basil and bake at 390 F.  I cooked mine for about 40 minutes then blended and served on pasta with fresh basil. The recipe just called for 22 minutes and letting the cream cheese brown. But it depends how big your veggie chunks are— you can leave some not blended  mixed in with blended as I did in the first photo— all depending on how you like. I also added a bit of parmigiana when serving.

Go to link for more details.

Yes and I still had more zucchini 😂 I did 2 recipes and actually used 2 cups of chopped squash in both recipes and still had some of this big guy left!! Was wonderful fresh squash!

Zucchini rice casserole

  

Tasty— note it took mine 30 additional minutes than the recipe called for! BUT probably because I had foil blocking the heat- foil was on my bottom rack! For directions go to https://12tomatoes.com/julia-childs-zucchini-gratin/?utm_source=glp-12t&utm_medium=social-pin&utm_term=20200916&utm_content=photo&utm_campaign=julia-childs-zucchini-gratin   but Add 30 minutes to the covered baking part of the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 to 2 1/2 lbs zucchini
• 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 cup onions, minced
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk, as needed
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For direction go  to the link given above— so instead of 50 minutes covered I added 30 more for a total of 80 minutes.  Then 10-15 minutes uncovered. However my oven took longer because I had foil on my rack which I didn’t realize can make the oven less hot— so next time take note 🧐

 

Scalloped potatoes

 

Nice snd tasty but since I couldn’t use the broiler with my glass pan for the end of the recipe I had to cook it way longer to get the potatoes done and also brown-/ so just a reminder to myself. Go to link for directions, but add lots more time for me https://www.spendwithpennies.com/scalloped-potatoes-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-142543

• ▢ ¼ cup butter
• ▢ 1 large onion diced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ ¼ cup flour (me 1/4 cup corn starch instead)
• ▢ 2 cups milk
• ▢ 1 cup chicken broth
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 3 pounds white potatoes sliced about ⅛" thick
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste

Scrambled eggs with cottage cheese

Makes for a light and fluffy slightly cheesy egg- nice

 3 eggs

1/2 cup cottage cheese

Salt and pepper 

Toast

Directions mixup eggs and cottage cheese. Cook in iron skillet—. You can use a bit of butter in pan if desired. When done serve on toast.

You can vary amounts of course.

Sautéed veggies for taco or sandwich or pasta

 Nice for grilled sandwich with melted cheese added or just with hummus or whatever— good in tacos and wraps. You can use with black beans or in pasta , eggs, etc

1 onion

1 large bell pepper of whatever color

A package of mushrooms I used 8 ounces

Minced garlic 

Optional: spinach or kale

Seasonings: 1/4 teaspoon of each: onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, salt

Fresh basil at the end— cheese if desired 

Directions 

Sauté onions with a tad of olive oil for 5 or more minutes until turning brown. Add peppers, onion, and seasonings cooking until desired tenderness. When finished add chopped fresh basil if desired— fresh oregano would be good as well.

Black bean salsa

 

Easy and nice. Also-Nice with sliced avocado right before serving.

Mix all together// better to make ahead a few hours to get the flavors blended. 

Note: had this recipe in a notebook and I found it online some years ago, but I can’t find the link.

Vegetable rice casserole

 A beautiful veggie filled rice casserole!! Found the dish here

https://12tomatoes.com/one-pan-rice-vegetables/#recipe

What a wonderful way to have fresh veggies and rice!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice, uncooked
• 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter

FOR THE VEGETABLES:

• 1 red onion, halved and cut into wedges
• 1 bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 1/2 head broccoli, chopped into florets
• 2 zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup olive oil

FOR THE SEASONING MIX:

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

1. 
   
2. Preheat oven to 400°F and set aside a 9x13-inch baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the paprika, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
4. To the baking dish, add the rice, broth, water, garlic, sliced carrots, and butter. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the seasoning mix and stir to combine.
5. Cover tightly with foil and bake 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, add red onion, bell pepper, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and olive oil to a large bowl. Add remaining spice mix and mix well.
7. Remove rice from oven and increase heat to 425°F.
8. Uncover dish and arrange vegetables on top of the rice. Drizzle with more olive oil and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
9. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Push vegetables to one side, fluff rice with a fork, then toss the two together.

The second time I made this the timing worked as above. The first time I did below:

Note: I actually at step number 9 instead of cooking for the 30 minutes had to add 20 extra minutes. So step number 9 took a total of 50 minutes.—might depend on how many veggies you put in it. Also I had foil on the bottom rack which stops the flow of heat— now I know ! I used yellow and orange for the bell pepper as I had some of those needing to be used up. I only had room for one large zucchini instead of 2.

Cannellini summer pasta

 Easy, fast, nice flavors 2-3 servings 

Ingredients 

1 -2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoons ground dry sage

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans drained and rinsed

3 plum tomatoes chopped (Roma tomatoes )

1/8 cup of white wine vinegar or you could use a fourth cup white wine- I like the kick of the vinegar 

Few handfuls of fresh basil (use amount you desire- I used the leaves from 3 long stocks) chopped

Black olives and green olives sliced— used a few each

Parmigiana 

2-3 cups of  dry penne pasta (or pasta of your choice)

Directions 

Cook pasta and while it is cooking do the following:

Place olive oil in pan with sage and garlic— warm up a bit for a minute or so. Add the beans and heat on medium for about 3 minutes or until heated up nicely. 

Add white vinegar and simmer anther couple of minutes.

Add tomatoes  and smash some a bit and heat another minute.

Remove from heat. Add chopped basil and chopped olives. Serve on top of penne or pasta of choice. Top with parmigiana 

Flat bread GF

 Very yummy—takes minutes—  makes 4

Ingredients 

1 cup King Arthur measure for measure gf flour 

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon  plain yogurt 

1/4 cup warm water

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt 

Minced or powdered garlic, oil, fresh basil or any herbs you desire.

Directions 

Mix flour, baking powder, salt in small bowl

Pour in heated water, yogurt, olive oil— mix till you can form a ball—-adding more yogurt if needed.

Heat a skillet on medium high heat

Divide ball into 4 parts and then roll between parchment paper. 

When iron skillet is hot cook as you do pancakes — one at a time—flipping over when one side is done. Only took mine about a minute per side!

Brush one side of finished flat bread with oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and herbs if desired.

Note: for a version without oil go here https://nannykimsrecipes.blogspot.com/2021/02/flat-bread-gluten-free.html?m=1

One pot Mac and cheese

 I made this with GF brown rice penne. It has been ages since I have had creamy  homemade Mac and cheese!! Yum! For some reason the colors in the photos were off 😄

Ingredients 

12 ounces of Evaporated milk separated- see directions 

3 and 1/2 cup water

3 cups pasta of choice (me gf brown rice penne)

Salt and pepper 

2 teaspoons corn starch

1 teaspoon dry ground mustard 

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese grated

1-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions 

Place the water and just 1 cup of the evaporated milk into 12” iron skillet. Add the dry pasta and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a  low boil and turn down the heat to simmer for 8-10 minutes or until pasta is done —mixing off and on while simmering.

Mix the 1/2 cup evaporated milk you set aside with the mustard and cornstarch. Add to the pan mixing until it thickens some. 

Remove pan from heat. Mix grated cheese one handful at a time until all is added and blended. Add butter and mix. . Add salt and pepper if desired.

Bob’s whole wheat quick bread

 

My hubby makes this every week— he loves it toasted.  It is quick compared to most recipes. Only one rising and that is in the bread pan  .

Summer garden sandwich

 So tasty- pictured on gf bread - the green on top that stained my bread is just due to my avocado fingerprints 😳😜

Toasted bread

Slices of carrots, cucumbers, avocados, and tomatoes with a spreading of red pepper humus! So good!!

Strawberry shortcake oatmeal breakfast

 This is wonderful! Awesome flavors— feels like a dessert!

Ingredients 

1/2 cup whole rolled oats

3/4 cup milk of choice

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup 

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon chia seeds

3/4 cup sliced strawberries 

Directions 

Mix all together the night before — nice in a jar. Stir a few minutes again after the first stirring. Serve in the morning 😀 

Chicken stroganoff

 Decided to give this a try-/ we found the wine tended to curdle the cream, but it tasted good. We don’t usually use cream much 😀 4 servings 

1 small onion chopped

1 small can of chopped mushrooms (could do fresh)

2 chicken breast filets (we used some grilled frozen that we cooked up earlier) sliced up or chicken tenders

1 cup white wine

 1/2 cup or a bit more water

1 bunch fresh parsley 

Salt and pepper 

1 cup of half and half cream

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 a lemon juiced

Directions 

Place chopped onion in large pan with wine and water some salt and pepper.Simmer loosely covered 10 minutes until onion is done . Add chicken, cream, milk, mushrooms and most of the parsley. Simmer 10 minutes. When done squeeze in some lemon juice (which also can curdle it ).

Optional: add garden peas during last 5 minutes. 

Serve on rice or noodles 

Optional: sprinkle with parmigiana 

Lemon coconut milk rigatoni dish

 I decided to try this as it was a one pot dish. I would use 1/2 the lemon next time, but it is a quick easy dish. served 2-3 . ps this would be tasty with tuna as well!

Ingredients 

10 ounces uncooked rigatoni (me brown rice spirals  gf)

1 onion chopped

3 minced cloves of garlic

1 lemon juice and zest (me— do half a lemon we found the whole lemon a bit too much) and quite good omitting this when using tuna as an option)

1 cup water

1 can coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Olive oil

Optional—see below under optional 😆

Directions 

1.  Sauté onion 5-8 minutes in a bit of oil in large pan (I used a 12 inch iron skillet).

2.  Add garlic and sauté a minute more.

3.  Add the remaining ingredients cooking at medium or medium high heat for 15 minutes until sauce thickens and rigatoni is done, stirring occasionally—adding more water if needed as you are cooking.

😁Optional— I added a bit of fresh spinach and frozen peas , fresh oregano, fresh basil during last few minutes. We served with a bit of parmigiana.

Really great with tuna added at the end— 1/2 of a lemon works perfectly.

Crockpot chicken parmigiana

 Very easy and tasty

1 tablespoon or so of olive oil

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs (me- gf)

1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup parmigiana 

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves or next time I will try boneless skinless thighs. ( breasts tend to be less tender)

Sliced mozzarella to cover each piece of chicken 

1 ( 25 ounce) jar of marinara 

Pasta of choice 

Directions 

Place oil in bottom of crockpot. Dip chicken in the beaten egg

In separate bowl mix crumbs, parmigiana, and seasonings. Dip  the egg coated chicken in this —spooning the mixture to cover the chicken. 

Place chicken in bottom of crockpot. 

Place mozzarella on top of each piece of chicken. 

Pour the sauce over all.

Cook low 6-7 hours or high 4.

Serve over pasta or rice.

Lamb and rice with dill sauce

 This is good as just lamb and rice , but would also be great in pocket bread or a wrap. Serves 4

Ingredients 

1 pound  ground lamb

Seasonings: salt and pepper 

Optional seasonings:  

             2 teaspoons dried mint

              1 clove minced garlic

              1/4 teaspoons dried thyme 

               1/4 teaspoons dried marjoram 

               1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 

                1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 

Olive oil

1 cup basmati or jasmine rice

2 cups chicken broth

For the sauce—

Plain yogurt as much as you want

Cucumber

Lemon

Fresh dill 

Olive oil

Directions 

Place a bit of olive oil in a pot. Season your lamb as desired with your preferred seasoning. Ie see recipe ingredients above. Brown lamb 5-8 minutes. Drain off fat.

Mix your rice into the meat in the pot and heat a bit and then add the broth. Cook covered about 18-20 minutes until rice is cooked. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes still covered.

Meanwhile make the sauce. Peel the cucumber and seed it. Grate it up and squeeze out the liquid. I only used 1/2 of a cucumber for 2 servings. Add in some plain yogurt — the amount you like- and lemon. I used 1 teaspoon  lemon for 2 servings. Add fresh chopped dill in the amount you desire. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the sauce.

Serve the rice lamb combo with sauce on top or on the side.

Strawberry mud cake

A refreshing dish

 Easy , tasty, 

Ingredients 

1 quart (32 ounces) heavy whipping cream

1/2 (heaping) cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 pounds strawberries, sliced

3 sleeves (about 30) graham crackers (about a normal box)

Directions 

Combine the whipping cream with sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks.

Divide strawberries in 3 parts

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch pan with whipped cream.

Cover with a layer of grams. Top with whip cream, then strawberries.

Repeat with grams, whip cream, and strawberries 

Do 3rd final layer with grams, cream, strawberries 

Cover with plastic wrap and place in frig for a minimum of 2-3 hours. Better longer it sits ie even over night.

Cut and serve

Note: below doing a small dish of  Gluten free Oreo cookies with strawberries and cream since I was out of gf crackers for me— the rest of the family can enjoy the big dish above. AND it is FANTASTIC with Oreo cookies in place of gingerbread!

Not pictured— I did add another layer of whipped cream under those Oreo cookies 

Garam masala chicken

 

Such an easy crockpot dish

Ingredients 

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 cup diced onions 

1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces) draining is optional 

2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garam masala divided (see directions)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

Salt to taste at end of cooking

Directions 

Place chicken on bottom of crock- sprinkle onion over. Mix the tomatoes with all of the spices but reserve half the garam masala to the end of the cooking time. Add tomatoes with spices to cover chicken. Cook low 8 hours or high 4 hours. At end of cooking time shred chicken with 2 forks and add the yogurt and the rest of garam masala. Serve over rice or noodles. Also could add black beans to this at end of cooking and serve in wraps or tacos. Salt if needed.

Would be good served with avocados or picante sauce too.

Gf puff pancakes

 So easy and so delicious 

Ingredients 

6 eggs

1 cup of milk ( I used drinkable coconut milk)

I cup King Arthur gf measure for measure flour ( you can use regular all purpose flour if you don’t need gf)

Pinch of salt

5 tablespoons butter ( me use less!)

Directions 

Place butter in 10” iron skillet ( some say you can use a 13 by 9 inch pan. Place in oven and set oven to 425 F so butter melts. 

In a separate bowl -Mix eggs, milk, then add flour and salt mixing well.

When oven reaches 425 remove pan from oven and pour in egg mixture. Place back in oven -Cook 30 minutes or until it browns and starts getting crispy. Note:It puffs way up and then collapses as it cools. Serve with berries and maple syrup— good with added whipped cream or sweetened yogurt too. Below is how much it puffs.

Note to self— I used my 9” pan and did one less egg, 1 less tablespoon butter, a bit less flour and milk— however the butter overflowed onto the foil while it was puffing so 🙂 next time even less butter .