growing recipes. growing belly.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Zucchini Bread

9:16 PM Posted by patty , No comments
We recently got a bunch of organic zucchini from my aunt.  Whenever I think of zucchini I think about this delicious zucchini bread served at our local salad place.  This isn't that recipe, but it comes fairly close.  

Zucchini Bread
(adapted from Paula Deen | makes 2 loaves)
ingredients


  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups sugar -- original recipe calls for 3 cups, but that's just asking for diabetes
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 standard loaf pans with nonstick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. 
  3. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. 
  4. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. 
  5. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. You can also bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.




Friday, August 10, 2012

Zucchini and Red Onion Flatbread Pizza

5:43 PM Posted by patty , , No comments
Last week The Husband randomly came home with a bag of shrimps and flatbreads.  I made shrimp scampi from the shrimps, but now I'm left with a very large bag of flatbreads and a dilemma... "Just what do I do with so much flatbread?" Thankfully I found this recipe and was able to use up all the flatbreads. The original recipe is much fancier, I simplified it because I didn't have 40 minutes to spare. So here's my version, it's fast, easy, delicious and healthy. Definitely one for the books... er.. blog.

Zucchini and Red Onion Flatbread Pizza
(loosely adapted from epicurious)

ingredients

  • vegetable spray
  • 8 flatbread
  • Alouette garlic-and-herb cheese spread
  • parmesan cheese
  • 2 red onions
  • 2 long zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
  • chopped fresh Italian parsley - optional
directions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with the vegetable spray, or use a silicone baking mat and place the flatbread directly on it.
  3. Spread a layer of Alouette garlic-and-herb spread, then sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top of the spread.
  4. Layer zucchini and red onion
  5. Spray the top of the vegetables with a little cooking spray and sprinkle with a some pepper
  6. Bake in oven until the edges are brown, roughly 10 minutes.
  7. Sprinkle some parsley.


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Smoky Corn Chowder

10:11 PM Posted by patty , No comments
It must be corn season, because there's a sale for fresh corn almost every week.  As much as I love munching on the kernels off the cob, I was itching for a little variety.


Smoky Corn Chowder
(makes for 4 servings)

ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
 
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 Tbs. smoked paprika

  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper

  • 4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
 
  • 4 cups chicken stock

  • 1 cup cream

  • coarse salt and freshly ground pepper


directions
  1. Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain. Drain all but 1Tbs. bacon fat, if you have that much in the pot.
  2. Add the onions to the pot and sauté 5 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, crushed red pepper and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté another minute.
  3. Add the fresh corn to the pot and toss to combine. Sauté. 
  4. Add the stock and cream to the pot. Stir to combine. Keep on a low simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
  5. With an immersion blender, place it in the pot and pulse it a few times until about half of the soup becomes creamy, still leaving whole kernels as well. If you don’t have an immersion blender, ladle about a cup and a half of the soup into a blender and pulse until creamy. Pour back into the pot and stir to combine.
variations
shrimp - Saute the shrimp in bacon fat, remove then continue with Step 2.  Garnish with shrimp.
potato - After adding the onions and sautéing, add potato and rest of Step 2.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

8:13 PM Posted by patty , , No comments
Another lemon recipe to add to the list.  I wasn't too sure how this dish was going to come out since I ended up straying a lot from the original recipe.  It couldn't be helped, we were missing ingredients and I needed to improvise.  The result was still a delicious meal, perfect for a hot summer day. It's a dish that taste light, but feels deceivingly heavy.  The initial bite is a punch of lemony tartness, but then you find yourself hankering for another bite.

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca
(adapted from cooking light)
ingredients

  • 4 (4oz) chicken cutlets
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • Italian seasoning
  • 4 strips of bacon
  • 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp cornstarch
  • linguine


directions
  1. In large pot, cook linguine. Drain and set aside.
  2. Dice the chicken and sprinkle evenly with salt & italian seasoning
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add bacon & chicken to pan. Cook until done and then remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
  4. Combine broth, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. 
  5. Combine pasta, chicken and sauce.