Zesty Broccoli

4 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash crushed red pepper flakes

In a saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; add red pepper flakes and toss.

Source: where else...allrecipes.com! :)

Thoughts: I almost didn't post this because it's so super easy, but I had never in my life thought to season the water that the veggies would steam in, and holy crap, how freakin' delicious!! I actually forgot to add the olive oil to the water, and they were super good, so I don't even know if it would even make a difference in taste. You almost don't even need the pepper flakes unless you wanted a little kick. I'm totally going to try this with every vegetable I can think of...green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, brussels sprouts...the list goes on!

Rating: 5

Creamy Corn Casserole

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.

Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

Source: allrecipes.com

Thoughts: Yummy! It has an interesting flavor, slightly sweet when you first put it in your mouth, but it gets kind of bland except for the little bursts of corn. I didn't read the reviews until after, and a lot of people said to use less butter and eggs or add bacon and onion...there were a lot of suggestions to make it a little better which I will try out when I make this again. It also seemed perhaps a bit undercooked...but I wasn't sure if that's the way it was supposed to be since I've never had anything like this before! All in all a good dish, but could use some improvement.

Rating: 4

Turkey Chili

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can canned kidney beans - drained, rinsed, and mashed
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place turkey in the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Stir in onion, and cook until tender.

Pour water into the pot. Mix in tomatoes, kidney beans, and garlic. Add chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings

Source: allrecipes.com (my new favorite website??)

Thoughts: Wow, delicious!! I've never really cooked with a lot of spices (and I now have a full spice rack's worth!) but the combination really made this dish. I know I said I was a broth person in my last post, but not when it comes to chili...this was a little watery so the next time I make this (and believe me I will!) I'll probably cut it to 1 cup water, and maybe even add another can of beans. I loves me some beans! This was also a bit spicy, but in a good way. Not only was this simple to make, but it turned out really yummy...no real room for error in this one! It would probably taste great with some shredded cheese sprinkled on top, but I just had it with some tortilla chips. Yay!

Rating: 5

Savory Kale, Cannellini Bean, and Potato Soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup white wine
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups finely chopped kale leaves
1 small red chili pepper, seeded and chopped fine
ground black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir the onion until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 5 minutes more.

Pour in the chicken broth, water, and white wine; stir in the potatoes, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Add the cannelini beans, kale, chile pepper, and black pepper, and simmer, covered, for 30 more minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: allrecipes.com

Thoughts: I am a broth person, and this soup came out much more dense than I thought it would! Next time, I will cut back the potatoes, probably only to 1, and perhaps add another cup of liquid. I'm not positive that I got the right kind of chili pepper...I bought the only kind Safeway had, so it was probably meant to be a bit more spicy. This was my first time cooking with wine...I used a Pinot Gris on the advice of my friend Sarah (yay!) which I don't think I've ever tried before, so I'm not sure if I even tasted it in the soup haha. I actually had to borrow a bottle opener from my neighbor because I realized I didn't own one right as I was supposed to add the wine to the pot! I will definitely give this recipe another try with the modifications I mentioned.

Rating: 3

Veggie and Bacon Frittata

8 eggs
2 tbsp sour cream
1 zucchini
1/2 onion
1 orange bell pepper
4 pieces cooked bacon (crumbled)
3/4 cup shredded cheese (any kind)
1 tbsp oil

Adjust your top oven rack so the skillet will be 6 inches below the broiler; turn on broiler

Dice the onion and bell pepper, sautee in oil in a large oven-safe skillet, once these are cooked add diced zucchini and crumbled bacon

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sour cream together (it was the only dairy I had, but it usually calls for milk or cream)

Once the zucchini has lightly cooked, pour egg mixture and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese into skillet and stir until eggs are slightly cooked (you want to see cooked egg scattered throughout, but loose egg in between)

Scatter the remaining shredded cheese on top and put skillet under the broiler for ~4 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Vaguely remembering how my dad made frittatas, with some general help from About.com

Thoughts: This turned out better than I thought it would! I decided to experiment with bell pepper again...I could have done without it and put something else in its place (asparagus perhaps?) It was a little too sweet, although I did munch on some of it raw and liked it much better that way :) Anyways...I also could have really used a non-stick skillet! I don't own one (yet!) and it's definitely going to take a lot of elbow grease to get that pan clean. This also marks the first time I've used my broiler since I've lived in this apartment haha! I was also a bit nervous about using the sour cream as a substitute, but it turned out fine. I'm not sure if I would even be able to tell a difference if I didn't use it!

Rating: 4

Smoky Spinach and Chickpea Stew

Steamy!

1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp Spanish paprika
1 lb baby spinach (~2 bags)
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp salt

In a 4 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the tomatoes and paprika and bring to a boil; boil 1 minute

Add the spinach; cover and cook until the spinach wilts (3-4 mins)

Stir in the chickpeas and salt; cover, reduce heat and cook until the spinach is just tender and the flavors are blended (about 4 mins longer)

Serve over rice

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Thoughts: I didn't have Spanish paprika, but it said you could substitute chili powder which is what I did. It wasn't as "smoky" as I hoped, mainly because of my substitution! I used a little less spinach than called for, about 12 oz instead of 16 and I thought that was a good call...it would have been a lot more spinach than any other ingredient and I thought the proportions were good. This is considered a side dish so if you wanted it as a dinner, it would probably yield only 2 larger servings.

Rating: 3

Marinated Asparagus

2 lbs asparagus, trimmed
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)

Roast asparagus: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place asparagus in one layer on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and rub until asparagus is coated. Salt & pepper to taste. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, oil, sugar and ginger in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss well.

Cover & chill for 1 – 2 hours. Toss again before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

Source: My aunt Pat, not sure where she got it from!

Thoughts: I've made this once before as a Thanksgiving side dish and it went over pretty well. I could do without the walnuts, so that's why I put them as optional and didn't include them in this preparation...honestly, I didn't miss them at all! The fresh grated ginger is a must to get that punch of flavor. Try using low sodium soy sauce...you can't really tell a difference!

Rating: 5