Roasted Green Beans

These were absolutely DELICIOUS!  Seriously, the husband & I eat these eat these cold like fries just as easily as we eat them warm straight out of the oven.  That is...on the rare occasion that any are leftover :)

Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh green beans (or a bag of frozen fancy green beans)
• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• Salt & Pepper
• Zest from one lemon (save the juice for later)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Grab a jelly roll pan and dump green beans on the pan. 
3. Sprinkle seasonings, lemon zest, and garlic over the green beans. 
4. Drizzle the olive oil over the green beans and then toss with your hands until they are all coated with the seasonings and zest. 
5. Spread out in a single layer and slide your cookie sheet into the oven. Roast fresh green beans for 20–25 minutes and roast frozen green beans for an additional 10–15 minutes. 
6. When they are done, pull from the oven and put them on a serving platter. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top (from the lemon you zested) and serve.

My Changes

• I use garlic powder (or garlic salt and no regular salt) instead of minced garlic.
• No idea what a jelly roll pan is, I just use a plain ole' cookie sheet or my big lasagna pan (which can fit tons of these yummy things, thankfully).

Broccoli Bites

I hate to say it, but these were an epic fail.  I don't even know why.

Broccoli Bites

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained of liquid 
• 1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. With your hands, form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.

My changes:

• I followed this recipe almost exactly, other than using plain breadcrumbs rather than Italian (but I added Italian seasoning).  It was just really dry and tasteless.  Maybe more egg for moisture and some additional seasonings?

Hassleback Potatoes

I personally really enjoyed these...B said he preferred traditional baked potatoes.  He was probably just in a baked potato mood and not feeling like trying new things.  I'll try them again soon :)

Hassleback Potatoes

Ingredients:

• medium sized potatoes (about 1 per person)
• 1 clove fresh garlic, very thinly sliced
• butter
• coarse salt (sea or kosher)
• pepper
• sour cream (optional)
• dill (optional)
• fresh chives (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay each potato on its flattest side. With a potato peeler, peel the skin off the tops of each potato, but leave the bottoms of the skins in tact.
2. Take a sharp knife, and very carefully cut thin slices all along the tops of the potatoes, about two thirds to three quarters of the way down. Be careful not to slice all the way to the bottom. Slide a garlic slice or two into a couple of the slits of each potato.
3. Place potatoes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Dab the tops of the potatoes with butter and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
4. Bake for 1 hour, or until the tops are golden and crispy. Dollop with sour cream, and garnish with dill, chives, and more Italian seasoning.
    

My changes:

• If there was any problem with this, it was that it wasn't quite flavorful enough without the extra additions at the end.  I don't think I tried it with the dill, because I was looking more for a traditional flavor.  I think next time I would just add more butter and garlic to the potatoes as they cook.  It definitely wouldn't be hard to fix that tiny problem.

Healthy Egg Salad

I don't have many good things to say about this recipe, but I think that's mainly my fault.  I accidentally spilled a TON of pepper in there and that was just about all you could taste.  We managed to swallow some down but it was not good and the husband wishes I had just stayed with a regular egg salad recipe.

Healthy Egg Salad

Ingredients:

• 8 large eggs, boiled and peeled
• 1/3 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Cut each egg in half and place in food processor bowl. 
2. Pulse 10-12 times until eggs are broken up into small pieces, being careful not to overdo it and puree the eggs. (Or, chop the eggs with a knife.) 
3. In a separate large bowl, use a fork to whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, salt, and pepper.
4. Add the chopped eggs and mix lightly with the fork until well combined.

My changes:

• As I said, I used WAY too much pepper and that was not good.
• It was also a bit dry.  I'd recommend more yogurt.

Bacon, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

Bacon, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound dried rotini pasta
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado pitted and sliced

Directions:

1. Cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Strain. Run cold water over the top until the pasta is cooled.
3. While your bacon and pasta are cooking, whisk mayonnaise, lemon, salt, garlic powder, pepper and dill together in a bowl.
4. Stir cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado and reserved bacon into the dressing. Toss to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Serve.

My changes:

• I don't have white pepper (never even heard of it), so I used regular black pepper.
• I used regular tomatoes & just diced them because I already had them.
• I found this a little too lemony, probably because I used a bigger sized lemon than normal.  Something to think about.
• I don't really know what the avocado brought to the table in this instance.  Usually I really like it, but I think the mayo and lemon overwhelmed it in this case because I never tasted it.
• Hubs said it needs a LOT more bacon.  Oh, and that reminds me- I didn't chop the bacon into 1 inch pieces, just tore it by hand once it had cooled down after cooking.

Corn, Tomato, and Cilantro Salad

These corn/veggie "salads" are perfect for summer.  Seriously.  I don't really enjoy corn typically, but I'm trying to stretch my boundaries and eat more like a grown-up instead of a picky 2 year old.  And this is totally delicious and makes a wonderful side dish.  I served it with the Garlic & Shrimp Crostini but I think it would also be great for BBQing or grilling out.

Corn, Tomato, & Cilantro Salad

Ingredients

• 3 ears corn
• 2 Roma tomatoes. chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
• salt & pepper to taste
• Lemon-herb seasoning

Directions

1. Remove husks & silk from corn.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.
2. Let cool, then remove corn from husks & place in serving bowl.
3. Add all other ingredients to the bowl with corn.
4. Mix well and serve (chill if preferred).

My Changes

• The original recipe had a special way to do the corn...I did it the simple way.  You can click the link if you're interested.
• I used a bell pepper instead of a jalapeno, because we don't like those.
• I also used dried cilantro seasoning, because my store has been out of fresh.
• Next time instead of butter I might use olive oil.  Just feel like it will go better, and this was just a *tad* too sweet with the corn & butter.  
• I will definitely add more tomatoes.  The flavors here were amazing but the corn was definitely the star and as an avid lover of tomatoes, I think more of a balance would be preferable.
• I couldn't find lemon-herb seasoning, only lemon-pepper, so that's what I used.

CAT Salad

Okay, this may sound bad.  But it is Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad...which is a very long name to keep typing.  I served it with Tuna Burgers and it paired nicely.

CAT Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pint grape tomatoes (I used chopped Roma tomatoes because that's what I had)
• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 ears of fresh sweet corn
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

• Juice of 1 lime
• 3 tbsp vegetable olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Dash of cayenne chili pepper

Directions

Dressing 

1. Mix the lime juice, oil, honey, salt, pepper, garlic, and c. pepper and whisk to combine.

Salad

1. Remove the husks from corn and grill for 15 minutes/microwave for 5 minutes.  Cut corn off of cob and into bowl.
2. Cut tomatoes in half (if using grape) or chop (if using Roma/regular), dice the avocado, and chop cilantro.
3. Mix together and top with dressing.  Let sit 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle.

My Changes

• I forgot to add the cilantro.  I felt like a little something more was needed, and perhaps that was it.
  
• This was more on the sweet side for me, so I may add more salt/pepper/chili pepper next time.
• The upside is- this is SUPER easy to prepare and I will definitely be making it again.

Vegetable Tian

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
• 1 large sweet yellow onion cut in half and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 russet potatoes, unpeeled
• 1 zucchini
• 1 yellow squash
• 3 large Roma tomatoes
• Sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Dried thyme, to taste (I omitted because...I don't like thyme)
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking dish with olive oil cooking spray. 
2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. 
3. Add the garlic and cook for another 60 seconds. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the greased baking dish.
4. Slice the potatoes, zucchini, squash and tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices. 
5. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly into a spiral, making only one layer. 
6. Season with sea salt, black pepper and dried thyme, to taste. Drizzle the last tablespoon of olive oil over the top.
7. Cover with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
8. Uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake uncover for 25-30 more minutes.

My Changes

• First off, any changes I made are minor because this was delicious and a perfect veggie side IMO.
  
• My potatoes were way bigger than the rest of my vegetables, so mine wasn't quite as pretty as the website listed above.  Just something to think about.
• It was a bit hard to get everything in a perfect circle the way it appears in the picture above.  So mine didn't end up in a perfect one layer spiral...but that didn't affect the taste that I could tell.
• The onion/garlic mixture at the bottom of the dish didn't make it any easier to get everything lined up properly, so I might try sprinkling on top or in between the layers next time just to see what happens.
  
• I did not measure my olive oil, just kind of eye balled it.  This was good at first, but the next day when I heated up the leftovers they were a tiny bit soggy.  So definitely use the recommended amount.
  

Mexican Cornbread

I didn't actually follow this recipe exactly, but it was my basis.

Mexican Cornbread

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1/2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in cream corn, chiles, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of the pan comes out clean.

My Changes

• I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients, so I just used the cornmeal that I had on hand.  I mixed it per instructions on the bag and then added whole kernel corn (creamed freaks me out), chili peppers, & cheese as per the above recipe.   Then I cooked it for about 40 minutes.
• I think creamed corn might have been okay in this, because it was a tad bit dry.  But still freakin' delicious.
• If you make this recipe, please be sure to read the reviews because most people cut the butter & sugar in half, which can make a BIG difference.