Corn Salad

We had this as part of our dinner a couple nights ago. It was Erin's idea, but unfortunately the picky eater that she is, she ended up not liking it. But I thought it was delicious.

It's a great side dish for a summer meal, especially next to something off the grill...

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Corn Salad

Veggies:

Corn
Peas
Grape Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Cellery

Dressing:

1-2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp dried basil

 

Mix up and serve cold.

Mashed Cauliflower with Sauted Mushrooms

The other day, dinner didn't look like it was going to make enough for all of us. So Sean improvised and came up with a SPECTACULAR side dish. He can't take all the credit, though, as part of the idea came out of our Nutrition Action newsletter (the mushroom part).

I don't care for mushrooms too much, but both of us were amazed at the flavor of this. Definitely a repeat side dish.

Mashed Cauliflower with Sauted Mushrooms

1 16oz. bag of frozen cauliflower
1 medium chopped potato (peeled or not)
2 Tbsp butter
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

10-12 sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp balsalmic vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Cauliflower

Boil the potato until it's starting to get soft. Add the cauliflower and bring back up to a boil. Cook until both are soft enough to puree. Puree with an immersion blender, food processor or blender. Add butter, garlic powder and salt.

Mushrooms

Saute mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat until well browned. Add balsalmic vinegar and soy sauce and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Tahini

Our half-used jar of Tahini

Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds, usually found in Middle Eastern dishes. It's very nutritious and can be used in a lot of ways.

From MindBodyGreen, here are
10 Reasons to Eat Tahini:

1. It’s rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron. 
2. It's a good source of Methionine, which aids in liver detoxification. 
3. It’s one of the best sources of calcium out there. 
4. It’s high in vitamin E and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15. 
5. Helps to promote healthy cell growth. 
6. Prevent anemia. 
7. Helps to maintain healthy skin and muscle tone. 
8. It has 20% complete protein, making it a higher protein source than most nuts. 
9. It's easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content, which is great for assisting in weight loss. 
10. It is high in unsaturated fat (good fat!)

Here's what it says on our bottle of Tahini:

High in protein and other nutrients, it is a flavorful base for appetizer spreads, a topping for pasta or falafel, or an ingredient in soups and salad dressings. Tahini is also ideal for desserts and confections such as halva.

We've been using our jar to make hummus and salad dressing. I thought I'd share these delicious recipes...

(just to be aware, the jar is expensive...around $7. But you'll certainly get a lot of use out of it.)

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Homemade hummus on a yellow pepper

Hummus

(original recipe is from allrecipes.com: Hummus...this is very well reviewed. We modified it only slightly)

2 cups canned chickpeas (or cooked chickpeas*)
1/3 cup tahini
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 cloves of garlic (or a sprinkle of garlic power)
1 tsp salt
sprinkle of paprika
1/4 cup olive oil 

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except olive oil. As it's mixing, slowly pour in the olive oil until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

*Instead of a can, buy some dried chickpeas (much more cost effective and no added salt). Soak them in water overnight, boil them in water for about 45 minutes. 

Easy Ways to Spice Up Hummus 

Hummus is great with veggies (like carrots, broccoli, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, celery), bread, crackers and chips.

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Tahini Salad Dressing

(idea based off of a Rachael Ray recipe...but drastically simplified)

1/4 cup tahini
2 Tbsp soy sauce
drizzle of vegetable oil
sprinkle of lemon juice
sprinkle of white sugar

Mix together. Easily double or triple to keep on hand in the fridge.

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Broccoli and Cabbage Salad

Mix together:

- fresh broccoli
- red cabbage
- sesame seeds

(cashews and/or raisins would also be good)

Top with Tahini Dressing listed above.

Smack N' Cheese

One of our kids' favorite meals is our simplified version of Rachael Ray's Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, or as we call it: Smack N' Cheese.

It's an easy way to add a healthy vegetable to a classic, and it tastes amazing.

Smack N' Cheese with side dishes of roasted broccoli and potatoes

 

Smack N' Cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups cooked butternut squash
1 1/2 cups milk (preferably whole milk, or half and half)
1/4 cup onions
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles

Bake a medium butternut squash at 400 for about an hour (until soft). Scoop out 2 cups and set aside.

Saute onions and set aside.

In a pot on medium-high heat, combine shredded cheese and milk. Stir until cheese is melted. Add butternut squash, onions, salt, and garlic powder. Puree with a hand blender (or put all ingredients into a blender).

Cook noodles and combine with sauce.

(This served two adults and 3 kids with no leftovers)

How to cook delicious roasted veggies

A couple years ago, Sean and I watched a "how to" video on roasting vegetables (we were doing it wrong). It has vastly improved our veggie side dishes and some of our main dishes that have veggies in them. When they're roasted (correctly) they have such a great flavor. And it's super easy.

How to Roast Veggies

(the ones we roast on a regular basis are: broccoli, cauliflower, onion, red or green pepper, zucchini, and sometimes turnips and beets)

Chop everything into medium size chunks (not tiny, not huge) and all roughly the same size. Combine everything in a bowl and coat with oil and salt.

Line a baking sheet with foil and grease with cooking spray. Spread the veggies out in one single layer. Do not overcrowd or they will just steam instead of roast.

Bake at 500 for about 10 minutes. Wait until you see some edges getting blackened.

(just salt is fine, but other spices can certainly be added)

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This adds a great side dish to almost any meal, but don't forget about roasting your veggies in some of your main dishes as well to add some flavor.

One of our favorites is to do some pasta in Alfredo sauce with roasted broccoli and red pepper. And sometimes we'll add some cut up sausages or small pieces of bacon.

Lunch Today: Butternut Squash Grits

I didn't have any lunch for the kids today, so Sean suggested baking the butternut squash we had and making squash grits (which we've made in the past as a side dish for dinner). So that's what we had...and they loved it - all 3 of them. The older two had 3 bowls each.

(recipe below)

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Lately, butternut squash has gotten to be one of my favorite vegetables. It's so sweet and delicious. I often cook one to puree as baby food for Luke, and I find myself sneaking bites in between his.

In addition to making baby food out it or having it as a side dish with butter & brown sugar, we also make the above mentioned squash grits, butternut squash soup (I'll post the recipe next time we make it), and another one our kids love: Smack N' Cheese (basically noodles and cheese sauce with butternut squash mixed in...will also post that recipe at a later date).

As a side note, the raw inside of a butternut squash can cause a skin reaction - it does for me and I've read this can happen. I am careful not to touch it, using a fork to hold it if I need to peel it.

2 ways I cook a butternut squash

On the Stovetop:

1. Peel and chop the squash into large chunks (remove the seeds on the inside)
2. Boil in a large pot of water until squash becomes tender (about 20 to 30 minutes)
3. Drain water

In the Oven:

1. Cut the ends off and cut in half lengthwise, remove the seeds
2. Place face down in a glass baking dish
3. Add about a quarter inch of water
4. Bake at 400 for about an hour (give or take depending on size)

 

Butternut Squash Grits

3/4 cup quick grits

1 cup pureed butternut squash*

1/4 cup parmesan cheese 

1 to 2 tablespoons of butter

salt to taste

Cook and puree one small-to-medium butternut squash. Set aside.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup quick grits. Reduce heat to medium-high and let cook 3 to 5 minutes, uncovered.

Stir butter, squash and parmesan cheese into the grits. Salt. Eat. Enjoy.

*try pureed sweet potato or pumpkin