Mediterranean Three Bean Salad

While browsing around for new year's recipes back in January, I ran across one on Allrecipes.com that caught my eye. It doesn't look like much from the ingredient list, but it's a real hit among people who have tried it. As usual, I put my own tweaks on it and here's what I came up with: 

• 1 15.5-ounce can great northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15.5-ounce can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 15.5-ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 13.75-ounce can marinated artichoke hearts, chopped. Reserve liquid to add to final product.
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (tops and onions)
• 2 large tomatoes, diced (1 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes works fine for this, too)
• 2 small cans sliced black olives
• 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• Salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably overnight. If the vegetables soak up all the vinegar and oil, you can add a splash of each to the dish just before serving.

Please use green onions and fresh parsley for this dish! Those two flavors are really what pulls it all together. I don't have a photo right now but I will post one as soon as I make it again. This stuff is delicious with tortilla chips or pita triangles as a dip or served alongside lamb chops or broiled fish as a side. 

Produce Bin Vegetable Soup

If it's not completely obvious from the previous posts, I'm a pretty frugal shopper. I've seen much discussion on frugal vs. cheap. I've come to the conclusion that frugal means you're selective with your purchases, determining what's the best value for your money; whereas cheap means you're going to buy the product that has the lowest price tag. 

Being frugal in the kitchen also means I'm going to do my best to use whatever groceries I've purchased before they spoil. It has been said that the average American family throws away over $500 in spoiled food each year. 

Five.Hundred.Dollars. Let that sink in for a moment.

Where most people come from, that's a LOT of money! For me, that's a great weekend away, a couple of coach flights, or a darn good payment on a week at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean! 

For your budget or family, that same $500 might represent something else. Perhaps an extra car payment to give yourself financial breathing room at the holidays? Maybe that new TV for the bedroom? Tickets to a concert? Or maybe you just want to see that bit of padding in your savings account? 

Whatever your best idea for that money, I think we all can agree that it doesn't need to go in the garbage can in the form of spoiled, expired food.

This is where I can help!


Here's what I did tonight with my extra vegetables, and you can do it too:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can light red kidney beans
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• Half a package of frozen green peas
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1/3 small package of baby carrots, sliced
• 4 red potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 small head of cabbage, thinly chopped
• 3 cups water
• 2 beef bullion cubes
• 2 vegetable bullion cubes
• Salt, Pepper, Parsley, Rosemary, Herbes de Provence, Celery Seed, Oregano, Thyme

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot. Saute onion and garlic. 
2. Add carrots, water, and bullion cubes. Heat to boiling and stir to dissolve bullion cubes. Boil for five minutes to soften carrots.
3. Stir in potatoes, turn heat down to medium and simmer for five minutes. 
4. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, green peas, zucchini, cabbage.
5. For the seasonings, I do not have measurements. I simply added and tested along the way. You can do the same, using any combination of what I used or use your favorites. Add the seasonings of your choice, then simmer on low-medium heat for 20 minutes. 

The basic idea here is to use a base of bullion or broth, plus sauteed onion, tomatoes and tomato sauce, then add whatever vegetables you have on hand. There are no cut and dried rules here. Each pot of soup will be different from the last, depending on what vegetables you're trying to use up. This version is almost fat free, and would probably be considered low calorie. Add broccoli, corn, alphabet noodles, ground chuck, chicken...make it whatever you want! You could easily put a theme on it: chicken breast chunks, cilantro, corn, and black beans instead of kidney beans would give it a Mexican flair and could be served with a squeeze of lime and tortilla chips on the side. 

Go, experiment, and report back with your spin on the humbly satisfying, frugal, hearty Produce Bin Soup!

Greek Lemon Potatoes--Ellinikos Lemoni Patatas

Ahhh, Greek food! 

It summons visions of whole lamb roasting on a spit, stuffed grape leaves (dolmades), vegetable salads dressed with delicious garlic stuffed olives and feta, baklava, and for home cooks like me: roasted potatoes.

The first time I tried Greek food was at a Cheshire Bridge Road restaurant in Atlanta, Taverna Plaka. This place is a GREAT night out for adults after 9:00 PM. They really get into the music and dancing, with signs on the wall that warn you to "Dance on Tables at Your Own Risk." Yes, they DO want you to dance on the tables. It fits in well with the rest of the Cheshire Bridge Road environment. If you've been, you already know what I mean. If you haven't been, you owe yourself a visit!

Really. 

So go. Have some gyros, lamb chops, kebabs, a traditional Greek salad (just don't expect lettuce--a traditional Greek salad is tomatoes, onions, olives, cucumbers, feta and dressing) some saganaki, and a few shots of ouzo. If you don't have a blast, then you're just a fun sponge. 

My first visit there got me very interested in delicious Greek food. Ever since, I've read about it, cooked it, eaten it, attended festivals dedicated to it and have enjoyed every succulent bite along the way! 

Hopefully these potatoes will inspire you to say, "Opa!" 


Serves four. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

• 6 medium-large red potatoes, about 2-3 lbs.
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.25 teaspoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (1/2 Tablespoon dried)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large lemon

1. Scrub potatoes. Cut into quarters lengthwise, then chop into small pieces. Peel them if you want. I prefer mine with skins.
2. Add potatoes, salt, garlic, parsley, oregano, rosemary, and olive oil to large bowl. 
3. Roll lemon around on counter to help juice release. If it still feels very firm, zap it in the microwave for about ten seconds. Slice in half and squeeze juice into the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Watch for seeds! 
4. Pour into metal baking dish. To minimize clean up, line pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. 
5. Bake, uncovered for 40-45 minutes. Stir halfway through to redistribute marinade over potatoes. 

I really enjoy these with nothing more than a fork. They'd be fantastic alongside a lamb burger, a Greek salad, or Greek chicken. They can be served hot, served cold and the leftovers can easily be reheated in the oven at 425 for 7-10 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetables

While browsing around the slow cooker subreddit on Reddit, I ran across a recipe that caught my eye, maybe because it was something other than the 53,000 pulled pork recipes that are most commonly seen in slow cooker recipe collections. I took the basic recipe of Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli from Emily Bites, tweaked it a little more to my liking, with produce I have on hand in the kitchen at the moment. 

This recipe is an easy one for sure, since it is a slow cooker dish. It isn't one of the set-it-and-forget-it types, though, since it does have a few steps. In order to not overcook the veggies to mush, it is necessary to split up the meat cooking time and the vegetable cooking time.

The idea that a flavorful delicious Asian inspired dish doesn't have to be wok-tossed or flash fried is a new concept to me! I hope to find more recipes of this nature in the future. For now, this is what is cooking in my kitchen:



Serves 4 without rice accompaniment, 6 with rice accompaniment

• 1 pound uncooked lean top round roast, sliced into thin bite size pieces
• 1 cup beef broth or 1 cup water + 1 beef bullion cube
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chili oil or 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Red pepper flakes, optional, if you want it spicy
• 1/4 cup dry red wine, optional, but adds a nice depth of flavor. I used an already open bottle of pinot noir. 

Cook on low for two hours. Add: 

• 1/2 medium onion, sliced 

Cook for one more hour on low.

Then add:

• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 Tablespoons cold water. Stir into meat and sauce thoroughly to combine. 

Now for the other veggies...

• Any combination you like of 4 cups of fresh broccoli florets, zucchini pieces, mushrooms, baby pickled corn, snow peas, bell pepper, water chestnuts...whatever you like. I chose to use broccoli, zucchini and mini sweet bell peppers because they're what I had in the produce bin. You can use frozen vegetables if you like or are crunched for prep time. Stir in your veggies, recover, and cook until tender, another 20-30 minutes. 

Note that the recipe does not call for additional salt. You will likely have plenty of salt between the soy sauce and broth. After vegetables are added, do a taste test to see if more salt is needed to season things properly for the last half hour of cooking. If you are concerned about sodium intake, you can use low sodium versions of both soy sauce and broth. 

Also, I used a regular sized 5 quart slow cooker. For the larger models, cooking times may be longer since the area inside the cooker takes longer to reach cooking temperature. 

Shepherd's Pie

Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, it only makes sense that I've got Irish food on the brain. One of the easiest hearty Irish dishes is Shepherd's Pie. I had half of the package of ground beef left over from the meatloaf, and when I did my grocery shopping, I picked up a package of frozen peas and carrots to make some of this yummy stuff. 


What you'll need for the main part of the dish: 

Serves six.

• 1.5 lbs ground beef (traditionally, it's ground lamb, but whatever. Mix the two if you want)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1-12 ounce package frozen peas & carrots 
• 1 beef bullion cube + 1 cup water OR 1 cup beef broth
• Several generous splashes of Worcestershire sauce, about 4 Tablespoons
• All purpose seasoning of your choice, about 1 Tablespoon (I used hamburger grill seasoning because it goes so well with beef)
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper, about 1/2 teaspoon
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tablespoons cold water

And for the potato topping: 

• 2.5 lbs russet potatoes, diced. Peeling is optional. Leave the skins on if you like em in your mashed potatoes.
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 3 Tablespoons sour cream 
• 1/2-2/3 cup milk or cream
• Paprika
• Parsley

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
3. Drain and add butter, sour cream, milk or cream. Mash until smooth enough to spread but still retaining some texture. Set aside.
4. Brown ground beef in large pan. Drain off excess fat.
5. Add onions, garlic, parsley, black pepper and all purpose seasoning to pan. Cook, covered, until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes or so. 
6. Stir in bullion cube and water or beef broth. If using a cube, cook on medium-high heat until cube is dissolved and liquid boils. If using broth, heat until liquid boils. 
7. Add cornstarch slurry and stir quickly to avoid lumps.
8. Add peas and carrots. Cover and cook over medium heat for three minutes or so, just long enough to take the chill off the peas and carrots.
9. Spread potatoes over top of the meat & veggie mixture. Top with a few sprinkles of paprika. 
10. Broil until potatoes have some nice color. 
11. Sprinkle on some parsley for color and flavor. Allow dish to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Unfortunately I don't have my own photos of this. I was too eager to dig in and did just that before I stopped for a photo :D 

This photo is from of Joy of Kosher. 

Don't let the richness of the ingredients scare you away if you're watching your intake. You certainly could lighten it up with ground turkey instead of ground beef. A substitute of chicken or vegetable broth in the potatoes instead of milk or cream could cut a lot of the calories out. I don't recommend using margarine for ANYTHING--EVER--because it's disgusting and has a water content that screws up your food. However, if you're watching your calories, you could consider it...or just cut the butter down by half. Sour cream can be easily replaced by plain non-fat Greek yogurt, or omitted entirely.

You absolutely can cheat with instant potatoes if you have them and are crunched for time. 

Too, make it your own. Add mushrooms if you like them. Broccoli? Corn? Cauliflower? Tomatoes? No meat at all if you wanna go vegetarian? Why not?! It's your dinner...play with it! 

Enjoy!

Mmm mmmm....Meatloaf, lightened up!

Let's talk a quintessential comfort food: Meatloaf. 

The concept brings to the table usually only two types of people...those who love it and those who loathe it. In my anecdotal experience, there isn't much room for in between when it comes to this Sunday dinner staple. This version of it incorporates a couple surprise veggies to lighten the calorie load and contribute to that important daily vegetable intake. 

Obviously since I'm writing about it and about to share a thrown together recipe with you, you have already guessed that I'm a meatloaf lover. Perhaps it's the memory of having it with the family at dinner as a child. Perhaps it's the delicious way with it that Edna's Restaurant in Chatsworth has. They serve it only on Tuesdays, by the way. Whatever it is that elicits fond memories, I sure do enjoy it and I hope you'll enjoy my version of it that I'm sharing here!


Six servings

Preheat oven to 350░

• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
• 1/3 green bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry in paper towels
• 1 egg
• 6 ounces prepared bread crumbs (store bought, in canister)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, or marinara or spaghetti sauce
• 1.5 Tablespoons hamburger grill seasoning
• Couple pinches of salt

1. Mix onion, bell pepper, carrot, zucchini, garlic, tomato product, salt, hamburger seasoning and salt in large bowl. 
2. Add ground beef and egg. Mix thoroughly. Go ahead and use your hands. It's just not the same if you don't!
3. Once those ingredients are combined, mix in the bread crumbs a couple ounces at a time. It takes a little smooshing around to get them all absorbed, but it will happen. Again, hands are the best tools for this job. 
4. Shape into loaf on broiler pan. This will allow the grease to drain off during cooking, and allow it to cook more quickly than a loaf pan. 

Bake for about 35 minutes. While it is baking, make the glaze. Stir the following ingredients in a small bowl:

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 3-4 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar 
• A few grinds of black pepper

Remove from oven and spoon the glaze over the meat, covering as much of the top and sides as possible. Return to the oven and bake for another 35 minutes. Allow meatloaf to rest for 7-10 minutes before slicing. 

Serve with your favorite mashed potatoes, green beans, or green peas, and fluffy yeast rolls to round out your comfort food meal. 

So you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, huh?

Oh, the poor misunderstood and abandoned Brussels sprout. 

The very idea of these little green nutrient powerhouses is enough to make some people turn their nose up--waaaaay up--while lamenting about how disgusting they find them: 

• My mom used to make me eat those nasty things!
• They're gross!
• They're slimy!
• They stink!
• They make my stomach hurt!

Yeah, yeah. I've heard about all the excuses that people give to shun these beautiful green miniature cabbages. I'll tell ya now it's probably because all the times they've tried them, they were nasty, slimy, gross, and stinky! 

I'm gonna tell you how to do them with consideration of preserving the inherent goodness that makes them so darn good for ya. One 3.5 ounce serving provides more than RDA of Vitamin C, a decent amount of Vitamin A, 3.8g fiber, and a compound called sinigrin, which helps protect against colon cancer. You get all this and more for a mere 179 calories and about 9g carbs. 

What's not to love about that?!

Since boiling Brussels sprouts takes away much of the good stuff (and makes them gross, slimy, and stinky), we're going to do something else. We're going to roast them. 

What you'll need to turn yourself and your guests into believers:

-About four side dish servings-

• 1.5-2 lbs fresh Brussels sprouts
• About 1/4 cup olive oil (I couldn't care less if it's EVOO. My name ain't Rachael Ray, so use whatever version of OO you have.)
• 2-3 minced cloves garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Whatever herb you'd like to toss in...or not. It's your dish. Experiment a little! I used chopped fresh rosemary because I happened to have it on hand, and a generous sprinkle of Herbes de Provence. 

The method to the sprout madness:

1. Preheat oven to 400 °
2. Clean the sprouts. If you were lucky enough to find them on the stalk, cut those bad boys off. Pick off any yellow or damaged outer leaves. 
3. Cut each sprout into quarters, lengthwise. 
4. Toss sprouts in a bowl with remaining ingredients. Stir to coat the pieces with the olive oil and seasonings. 
5. Lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. 
6. Layer the quarters on the sheet in a single layer. 
7. Bake for about 8-9 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, stir a bit (you should see some brown outer layers where the heat is working its magic on the natural sugars. Mmmm!)
9. Bake for another 8-9 minutes. 

Watch them carefully to be sure they're not burning. Depending on your oven calibration, they might need to be stirred more often to avoid scorching. That's it. You are now ready to enjoy the sweet, tender pieces alongside your entree, or as part of a delicious veggie plate. 

If you're the type who likes a little meat seasoning with your veggies, I've seen many recipes that incorporate crumbled up bacon pieces that are stirred in before serving. I enjoy them just like this. 

Now go out there and grab some Brussels sprouts, make some believers, and save a few colons!