Carrot Soufflé

The carrots in this make it quite sweet. If you make it and would like it sweeter, you can add more sugar.

Ingredients:
2 lbs Carrots, chopped up
1/2 cup Melted Butter
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Place the chopped up carrots into a steamer and steam them until they are soft.
3. Drain the carrots and mash them up.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
5. Place into a 2-qt casserole dish.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot; can be enjoyed cold as well.

I've made this and substituted margarine for the butter, and egg whites for the whole eggs. I thought it tasted great both ways :)

Roasted Potatoes

Use any combo of 'taters suitable for baking that you like. Here's a combo we like:

Ingredients:
3 cups raw, cubed Red-Skinned Potatoes
3 cups raw, cubed Sweet Potatoes
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Basil (dried works well)
1 Tablespoon Rosemary (fresh is wonderful, finely chopped, of course)
1-2 teaspoons of Olive Oil (a healthy splash)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Cube the 'taters into about 1/2"-3/4" cubes. (Think homefries.)
3. Dump all the 'taters into a large bowl- with a lid, if possible.
4. Add olive oil to the taters and mix to evenly coat all of your 'taters
   (if you're using a bowl with lid, place the lid on the bowl and shake it up).
5. Add the herbs and salt. Replace lid, if you have one, and again, mix/shake well.
6. Spread the 'taters onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
7. Cook them for about 30 minutes, turning them over once or twice during cooking.

Mediterranean Cous Cous

I served this with Spiced Curry Shrimp and Mediterranean Kale and it was wonderful together.

Mediterranean Cous Cous

Ingredents:
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup water or vegetarian broth (I used the reserved liquid from the steamer when my kale was done cooking)
2/3 cup Cous Cous
2 Tbsp Parsley
2 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and cubed (um... if you don't have tomatoes handy, you can do what I did and throw in a few tablespooons of salsa!!!)
Lemon Juice
Pine Nuts

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil and add cumin. Stir for a few minutes, then add salt and broth (or water) and bring that to a boil. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in the cous cous and cover the pot tightly. Let stand off any heat for 5 minutes.
3. Remove cover and fluff cous cous with a fork. 
4. Add parsley, tomatoes (or salsa!) and a couple of squirts of lemon juice. 
5. Add some pine nuts... You can decide how crunchy you want it to be. I added lots because I enjoy lots of flavor and texture :)

Prep from start to finish: About 7 minutes. Nice and quick! Easy, too!

Salad with Grape Tomatoes and Hearts of Palm

One of my favorites. Hearts of palm are sort of similar to an artichoke heart. They're insanely delicious. They are also high in fiber content and low in calories... Can I get a "hell yeah"?!

Here's a recipe for a single serving.

Salad with Grape Tomatoes and Hearts of Palm
This recipe makes enough for 1 salad.

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Baby Spinach
3/4 Cup Mixed Field Greens
A handful of Grape Tomatoes, halved
5 Sticks Canned Hearts of Palm, sliced horizontally into 1" pieces
1-2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinagraitte Dressing (I use fat free)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in desired proportions.

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: Zero! Eat it now!!!111

Salad with Oranges and Almonds

I've fixed this salad for a lot of summer picnics and it's always a hit. Very simple to make! Not sure on exact quantities here- so adjust them to your tastes.

Salad with Oranges and Almonds
The following recipe makes enough for 6-8 people, I guess?

Ingredients:
1 or 2 Cans (depending on how orangey and sweet you want it) Mandarin Oranges, drained
Baby Spinach and Mixed Field Greens, enough to fill a large bowl
1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
Balsamic Vinagraitte Dressing (you can add to the salad or leave out and let people add their own)


Directions:
Combine all ingredients in desired proportions.

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: Zeeero! Ready in 5 minutes.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

I took 3 or 4 different recipes for Pumpkin Soup and added/adjusted things from each until it tasted how we wanted. We've made several batches of pumpkin soup with small changes here and there, and the following is how we've gotten it to taste best.

The first time I made this soup, I actually bought a pumpkin from the store, cut it in half, scooped out the insides (and of course roasted the seeds with some salt as a snack, RIDICULOUSLY YUMMY), cooked the pumpkin in the oven for a couple of hours, then peeled the skin off and pureed it.... Um, www.sonotworththetrouble.org . Seriously, you may think doing every. little. thing. from scratch like that will make you some kind of domestic goddess....
Man, just buy the pureed pumpkin in a can!!!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup
This recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients:
29 Ounces Canned Pumpkin (unspiced*)
14.5 Ounches Vegetable Broth (or Chicken Broth)
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Dash Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/8 Teaspoon White Pepper
1 Pint Half & Half
Pine Nuts, if desired

*seriously. UNSPICED.
I accidentally got the spiced kind one time, and thought I could get away with omitting the cinnamon/nutmeg etc. from the recipe and it would be fine... it was GROSS.

Cook:
In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients except half & half. Mix well.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Reduce the heat to low and stir in half of the half & half until well blended.

Cover and simmer until heated through.

Serve immediately with the remaining half & half on the table, for people to add to the soup as they wish. Pine nuts (toasted in the oven if you like) can be sprinkled in a small pile on top of the soup as a garnish.

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: 20-25 minutes. Ready in about 30 minutes.

Chayote Squash with Pine Nuts

We discovered the sheer joy and happiness that comes from the Chayote Squash last summer. They look like a pear, but have a more firm consistency similar to an apple. And in the middle? A scrumptious little seed that you can cook along with the squash and give it a more nutty flavor. Hence why this past weekend, I decided to try the squash with some toasted Pine Nuts. Oh, yes!!!! Sooo good.

Chayote Squash with Pine Nuts
This recipe serves 2-3 people as a side dish.

Ingredients:
2 medium to large chayote squash (the size of apples or larger)
1/3 cup Pine Nuts
2 Tbsp. Extra virgin Olive Oil

Cook:
Cut the chayotes into bite size pieces.

Heat the EVOO in a large skillet, over medium-low heat.

Add the squash to the pan and cook for a few minutes, then add in the pine nuts.
Continue to cook over medium-low heat and turn the squash and nuts frequently. The nuts will fall to the bottom of the mixture and continue to sit on the hot surface of the pan, making them nice and toasted.
The chayotes are done when tender and can be easily stabbed with a fork, like a cooked apple. I like to get them a little browned, too, if I can, sometimes increasing the heat a little to do so.

Prep time: About 10 minutes to cut up the chayotes. Cook time: 20 minutes. Ready in about 30-40 minutes, depending on how long you cook your chayotes.

Mediterranean Kale

I got this recipe from the site http://www.whfoods.org/ . It's one of my favorite cooking/food websites. I try to make one of their recipes at least once a week, even if just a side dish, because I like trying new things- especially new HEALTHY things!

Mediterranean Kale
This makes enough to serve 2-3 people as a side dish.
http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=recipe&dbid=95


Ingredients:
2 bunches of kale (i used enough to fill up my metal steamer)
2 tablespoons* of lemon juice
1 teaspoon* of soy sauce (i use kikkoman less-sodium soy sauce)
3 medium cloves* of garlic, pressed
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

* Adjust these to your taste... the great thing about this recipe is you can start off by adding the flavorings little by little to the kale and if it's not strong enough, gradually add more until it tastes how you want.
In my case i only used 1 clove of garlic, but that's because i really don't care much for garlic at all.

Cook:
Prepare your kale by washing it thoroughly, then discard the thick stalks of the leaves. I ripped my kale into 2"-3" sized pieces.
Bring salted water to a boil, and then steam kale in a steamer over the water for 7-9 minutes or until it is tender.
Toss in a bowl with the other ingredients (add them all at once, or just add them gradually if you're unsure). Serve.

Yum!

Prep time: 15 or so minutes (if you're like me... I am not a fast kale washer-cutter-upper.) Cook time: <>

Seasoned Kale

If you're like me, you probably eat more than your fair share of Ramen noodles. And if you're really ghetto (like me), you sometimes eat them raw as a snack.
Yum!

But what to do with the left over flavor packet? I have just zee theeng!

Ghetto Kale
This makes enough to serve 2-3 people as a side dish.

Ingredients:
1 Ramen Noodles seasoning packet*
3-ish cups water
Kale

*for vegetarian version, use Top Ramen Oriental flavoring (i am pretty sure this is vegetarian, someone correct me if i'm wrong!) or a vegetarian bouillon cube, etc. :)

Cook:
Wash your kale throroughly.
Rip it off the stalks and into 2"-3" sized pieces.

Boil water in a small saucepan. Pour in the seasoning packet.

Place your kale into a metal steamer (I always use a metal steamer to cook my kale- I've tried it a few ways and it always comes out best this way). Place the steamer over the boiling water, reduce the heat of the water a little (cause you don't want too much to evaporate), and steam for 8-9 minutes or until it starts to become tender.

Take the kale out of the steamer and add it to the the boiling seasoned water for an additional minute.

Pour everything into a collander (or do what I did and just use the steamer to drain your kale) and serve!

Prep time: 15 or so minutes (if you're like me... I am not a fast kale washer-cutter-upper.) Cook time: 10 minutes. Ready in about 25 minutes.