tomato – Chocolate 'N Children

August 14, 2015August 10, 2015

Food Friday – Veggie Mac & Cheese

I have lots of random veggies that I don’t usually cook with a lot in my fridge these days, so I’m trying out new recipes. I’m loving how sweet the orange and yellow peppers are.

Veggie Mac & Cheese

1 can of corn, drained or 3 corn cobs with the corn cut off
1 yellow pepper (or any pepper of your choice) – diced
1/3 cup sliced okra
Handfull of cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsp butter
salt & pepper to taste

Mac & cheese of your choice – I made a slightly spicy mac & cheese

Make your macaroni and cheese according to package directions or follow your favorite recipe.

Place butter and vegetables in a skillet over medium heat, cook stirring often until peppers are slightly softened. Season as wanted with salt and pepper.

You can mix the veggies in with the mac and cheese or put them on top like I did. Cheese and veggies are such a delicious combination!

August 13, 2015August 10, 2015

CSA – Week 13

This week there were some veggies that I haven’t had yet. It’s so much fun having all these tasty vegetables to cook with!

Basil, fortunately, I love basil because I’ve had a lot of basil these past few months.

Potatoes, me and the kids love baked potatoes and these are delicious.

Yellow peppers, or “apples” according to my 2yr old. The yellow ones are so sweet.

Cherry tomatoes. Since I’m the only one who likes tomatoes, cherry tomatoes are perfect because I can grab just a few at a time for a salad or dish. My 2yr old thinks they’re awesome “balls” so he’ll actually sample them.

Acorn squash. I don’t cook with this often, but I do love squash.

Okra. I didn’t know okra could be red as well as green. This okra is delicious.

August 7, 2015July 31, 2015

Food Friday – Spanish Eggs

I prefer to mix my veggies in with my eggs while cooking the eggs, but to accommodate picky eaters I just added the veggies on top of my eggs after cooking everything.

These are fast and easy meal option.

Spanish Eggs

1 Bell Pepper – I used red
1 Small red onion
1 cup of corn kernels (it’s about 2 or 3 cobs worth of corn or 1 can, drained)
1 handfull cherry tomatoes (I only used 4 because I’m the only one who will eat the tomatoes)
2 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Dice your pepper and onion. Heat a skillet on the stove and melt your butter. Add all the vegetables to the pan and cook, stirring often, until softened and onions are translucent. About 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While your veggies are cooking scramble your eggs.

Top scrambled eggs with veggies and add cheese or salsa on top if wanted.

July 30, 2015July 29, 2015

CSA – Week 11

Wow! 11 weeks of veggies already! Now that we’re well into summer, the last couple of boxes have been really great. Here’s this week’s box.

More onions. These red torpedo onions are strong but so very tasty cooked! I just cry a LOT when I’m cutting them up.

Corn. Last week’s corn was so delicious. I’m so excited to have more!

Baby potatoes. My girls were super excited. We made baked potatoes. I’m hoping for more in the next box.

Eggplant. I’ve never seen eggplant like this, but it’s actually easier to use because it’s in smaller portions, I can kind of sneak it into dishes and hope no one notices – let’s just say that they haven’t been impressed with my eggplant cooking skills. “It’s squishy” has been the most common comment.

I made some spaghetti sauce and tossed some eggplant in. My 6yr old caught me and asked what I was putting in the sauce. “Eggplant” I told her, “I’m going to puree it all when it’s cooked, so you won’t even know it’s in there.” 6yr old looks at my like I’m crazy, “but I know it’s in there!” She totally missed the point. She did eat the sauce for dinner and loved it. It’s amazing what you can hide in a puree.

Red and yellow peppers. I love peppers.

Tomatoes – these look a little rough, probably from the week of non-stop rain we had. They’re still tasty though and made great spaghetti sauce.

Cantaloupe, a favorite fruit at my house. This one didn’t have a ton of flavor but it was nice and juicy, so still pretty tasty.

July 23, 2015July 23, 2015

CSA – Week 10

This week’s csa box has some super tasty vegetables!

Red onions again. These are so delicious!

Eggplant. I’m not very good at cooking with this vegetable, but I love the color of it.

Carrots. Lots of little carrots, this was probably the last of them for a while.

Basil, I have plenty in my freezer already I’m thinking that I’ll try dehydrating some and see how they turn out.

I’m excited about corn. We love corn and haven’t had it in our box yet.

Cucumbers. I’m thinking I’ll make more pickles!

Cherry tomatoes. They’re so yummy!

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

CSA – Week 6

I’m having so much fun with these CSAs. Here’s what came in this week’s CSA.

More beets. This is not my favorite vegetable, but after having them for weeks, I’m staring to discover some ways to use them that me and the kids all like.

Green onions. I’ve started putting these in everything, and I’m finally using them up as I get them!

Swiss Chard. I didn’t think the kids would eat this, but I’ve been putting it in dishes and as long as it’s cut small enough the kids are eating it without a problem.

Parsley. No basil this week, but I have a bit left from last week, and now I have parsley as well.

Lettuce. It’s a good thing we like salads. I’ve gotten lettuce every week.

Tomatoes. I love these tomatoes. They’re so delicious!

Squash. This vegetable is a favorite at my house. And these look so delicious.

Celery. I tried one of these plain and it was so strong! I didn’t realize how much more flavor locally grown would have. I’m loving this in soups and it would be great with peanut butter as well.

June 11, 2015June 9, 2015

CSA – Week 4

This week we have beets again. I made more pickled beets because I think the kids will like them. I’m just hoping I like them. I’m not a fan of beets.

Cauliflower. You can’t see this in the picture, but the undersides are purple. The girls were so excited about this! I’m not going to have any trouble getting them to eat it however I make it.

Radishes. Currently, I’m grating them into salads and everyone eats them this way. I even like them this way.

Green onions, four weeks in a row. I have got to come up with something other than slicing one in a salad!

Tomatoes. Last week’s were so delicious. I’m not having any trouble eating all of these.

Greens. It’s not broccolini, but something similar to kale. It’s a bit strong but I still like it.

Red lettuce. This stuff is so tasty. I love it in salads.

Kale. I still haven’t found a recipe for kale that the kids will eat. I’m going to try something new this week.

Come back tomorrow and see what I’ve been cooking!

June 5, 2015June 2, 2015

Food Friday – Beets and Tomatoes

I had 5 giant tomatoes in my CSA box. 5. I love tomatoes. But they’re giant. No one else likes tomatoes, so when I cut one up I have to eat it all somehow. They’re delicious tomatoes and I’ve enjoyed them.

Tomato Basil Salad

1 medium size tomato or 1/2 a large tomato
1/4 cup cubed cheese – I used baby swiss
4 sweet basil leaves – broken in pieces

Slice tomato in squares, toss tomato, cheese, and basil together. Add a little salt, oil, or vinegar if desired. Enjoy.

And I just had to show off a sliced tomato. Isn’t it delicious looking!

Beets was a real stumper. I haven’t made beets since, well, ever. I’m not really fond of the taste ether so I haven’t eaten them since I can’t remember when. But, they came in my CSA box and part of the reason for getting a CSA is to try new things. I only had enough beets for 1 jar so I didn’t want to bother with canning just one jar. I decided to go with the refrigerator version.

Refrigerator Pickled Beets

3 medium sized beets
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic – peeled and sliced
Beet juice as needed

Wash beets well and remove tops and stems. Place in a pan of water and boil until fork tender (about 25 minutes) Remove from water, peel, and slice into rounds. Place in Mason Jar.

While beets are cooking, heat sugar vinegar, water, and garlic on the stove. Simmer 5 minutes then set aside to cool.

Pour sauce over beets in mason jar. Top off with beet juice (leftover in pan from boiling the beets) as needed to fill the jar.

Put lid on the jar and refrigerate. The beets will be ready to eat in 1 week. They will keep in the fridge for 1 month or so.

June 4, 2015May 27, 2015

CSA Week 3

There were so tasty things in my box this week. And some vegetables I’m not that familiar with. Be prepared for fun recipes tomorrow!

More green onions – I have got to find a use for this. This is 3 weeks in a row, and they’re all sitting in my fridge…

Radishes – the recipe I tried last time was pretty good. But no one in my family really likes radishes, so I’m going to have to try something different. Also, I have the tops this time. I’m thinking I’ll try a pesto and see whether I like the carrot top pesto or the radish top pest best.

Beets – I’ve never ever cooked beets. I’ll be looking at lots of beet recipes this week! They have the tops too. I’m pretty sure I can use these like any green similar to kale. I’ll be finding out what the taste difference is!

Spinach – we love spinach salad! I doubt I’ll have enough to do more than just salads. Especially since this is our preferred way to eat spinach.

While we’re discussing salads, here’s a head of red lettuce. I see some delicious salads in my future!

More Kale – I love cooked greens but the kids and my husband are not impressed. I’m going to try kale chips this week, maybe those will be better received…

Tomatoes – I love tomatoes. And these are huge and delicious looking. Can’t wait to start eating these.

Come back tomorrow to see what I did with all these familiar and unfamiliar vegetables.