Summer Vegetable Chili

Summer Vegetable Chili

My son is enamored with a pet rat. The first thing I heard as he got off the bus his first day of school was that his classroom had a new pet, a hairless rat. Apparently they are also getting two hamsters next week. He is obsessed now. At the library he wanted all books on rats and he talks about it constantly. I think it's pretty cute. We have three dogs and three cats, but we haven't had any small pets since before he was born. Before kids my husband and I had dwarf hamsters and I grew up with gerbils. I haven't allowed my boys to have any small pets yet, since they are a little small to be able to understand being gentle. Having a classroom pet is the perfect compromise. My oldest son feels an attachment and responsibility for a small animal and I don't have to do the daily care etc. I love it. With last week being the first week of school I didn't do a lot of cooking, but this weekend it's back to the kitchen. Today I tried a new recipe for Summer Vegetable Chili from the June 2013 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

Owingsville, Kentucky

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few modifications to the original recipe. First I always use canola oil instead of vegetable oil, I prefer it for heart health. I bought regular frozen corn since I have never seen fire-roasted at the stores near me. Additionally I purchased regular beans and tomatoes not low sodium since the store I went to only had one variety. I cooked the beans on high for the 20 minutes of cooking time, watching it closely to ensure that it did not burn. Using a dutch oven is a great way to make chili, it heats evenly and is big enough to make big batches. I found that I had to add more salt at the table, but that is more of a personal preference, if you like food with less salt it would be fine as written.

Country Roads Kentucky

The mushrooms in this recipe really made the dish. They allowed for the chili to have a lot of flavor. Plus my husband who isn't a big fan of vegetarian chili really liked this recipe. With the mushrooms it was definitely more male friendly. My two boys were skeptical, but after tasting it they ate their whole bowls. The recipe states that it only makes 4 servings, but after my family of 4 had a dinner sized portions there was more than enough for at least another meal.

For the recipe go to Summer Vegetable Chili.

Summer Vegetable Chili

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

An easy vegetarian chili recipe that has great flavor from the addition of portobello mushrooms. Makes enough servings for multiple meals.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 4

Perfect For Summer Grilling Season: Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad Recipe

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad

There are weeks I love complex meals. I will spend hours in the kitchen making the perfect recipe. Then there are days like today where I want simple comfort food. Hence why I currently have pinto beans in the crock pot and I will be making cornbread later in the afternoon. There is something about the beginning of summer that makes me want to have something warm and comforting one more time before the weather and humidity make me want nothing more than cold iced tea and lemonade. To me pinto beans are not only part of what I love about West Virginia, but they make me remember what I love about food and cooking, sometimes the simplest of dishes are the best. One simple dish that I love in the warm summer months is salad. Cold side salads are such a great option, they are cool and refreshing. Last week I tried a new recipe for Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad from the June 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make changes to the original recipe. First since I have three males to feed I doubled the recipe. One chicken thigh for each person just wouldn't have cut it. I think I may be the only food blogger that does not have a mortar and pestle, so for the garlic paste I used the side of a knife. I use this method frequently and it is a perfect substitute. My outside grill is still out of commission so to cook the chicken thighs I used my indoor electric grill. It would also work well under the broiler.

To me the star of this dish was the cucumber salad. It was light and the perfect palate cleanser for the chicken thighs. The flavor of the rub on the chicken was great and would work well with other cuts of chicken (such as breasts) or even fish. At under 2 dollars a serving this is an inexpensive meal option for summer.

For the recipe go to Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Mint Salad.

Recipe for Grilled Turkey Burgers with Pineapple Salsa

Grilled Turkey Burgers with Pineapple Salsa

With the weather getting warmer it has been project week in my house. During the spring I set aside a couple of weeks to do all the projects that I have put off for the last year. This year it is painting furniture, my dining room and re-staining a few tables. I have completed half of the things that I need to finish so that's a start. It always seems ten times harder to finish anything with a 4 and 6-year-old. My youngest loves doing his workbooks, but hates playing by himself. Plus he is in a phase where he wants to to everything with mommy. So tonight after my husband got home I painted the dining room while he worked on a painting project of his own. I have been a little behind on my posts and cooking this week since I have been busy, but I should be back to normal in another week. This week I tried a new recipe for Grilled Turkey Burgers with Pineapple Salsa from the Food Network Canada.

Pineapple Salsa

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 27 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First my mother-in-law gave me a number of frozen turkey patties that had sat in my freezer for months. So instead of making the turkey burgers from scratch, I utilized the frozen patties. All the red peppers at my local grocery store where not usable, so I substituted a yellow pepper instead. I chose to include the jalapeno in the salsa, but seeded it since my kids would be enjoying some. I served regular buns for the rest of the family and gluten free for me.

The salsa in this recipe is really delicious. It made the store bought burgers much better and was also delicious as a sweet side salad the next day. The taste of the fresh pineapple was sweet and blended nicely with the strong flavors of the onion and jalapeno.

For the recipe go to Grilled Turkey Burgers with Pineapple Salsa.

Nacho Burgers with Homemade Hamburger Buns

Nacho Burgers with Homemade Hamburger Buns

Burgers. The word can mean a whole paragraph to a lot of people. Growing-up my dad was very lacking in the cooking department, so much so that he was able to ruin boxed macaroni and cheese on multiple occasions. However, he completely redeemed himself when in came to the grill. Not just any grill, it had to be charcoal and it had to be done just so. I'm not exaggerating, there was a whole art. The hamburgers that my dad made on the grill where a treat and one of my favorite foods growing-up. I didn't think I would ever meet another man so much in love with his grill and grilling. Then I met my husband. Over the years I have heard rant after rant after rant about the superiority of a charcoal grill and how great hamburgers can be when done right. In the summer we still grill a lot, but in the winter I have moved our grilling indoors. I agree with my husband and dad that the taste isn't as great, but my feet stay warm and the burgers are still delicious even when done on my indoor open faced electric grill. In the summer we will go back to the giant grill and side smoker, but in the meantime we will enjoy our chicken and beef inside. This week I tried a new recipe for Nacho Burgers from the March 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

Gluten Free Version of Nacho Burgers

This recipe has 7 ingredients in the salsa, 8 in the cheese sauce and 7 ingredients for the actual burgers. It takes 35 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes to the recipe. First as I try to always do I ground my own beef. It really takes very little time to grind your own meat either in a food processor or like with the attachment I use on my mixer. The texture is phenomenal and the quality is significantly superior. Instead of using store bought buns I made my hamburger buns from scratch. They are easy to make and are great for sandwiches. Since I eat gluten free I substituted brown rice flour for the all-purpose in the cheese sauce. When making the sauce add a little bit of milk at a time in order for the sauce to thicken correctly. If you add the milk all at once it will be too thin. I substituted non-fat milk for the milk in recipe since it is the only milk we keep in the house. I cooked the burgers on my indoor electric open faced grill. The cooking time was slightly longer, especially since I make sure that my burgers temp correctly since my kids are eating them.

Food and Wine magazine claim that these are the best burgers ever. Hmm. I did think that the toppings were delicious, the cheese sauce was nice and the salsa was great both on the burger and with the chips as a side. However, it would be a stretch to say it is the best burger I've ever had. The actual patty is just plain beef, no fillings, no nothing. I think that the recipe could be improved by adding more to the patty itself, such as cayenne, garlic powder, ancho something that keeps the flavor but also adds a little bit of moisture. It would be nice if the cheese sauce was in the burger instead of on top, incorporating the cheese or adding more to the burger itself would take this burger from being okay to being great.

For the recipe go to Nacho Burgers.

Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions and Homemade Bread

Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onion and Homemade Bread

Today the weather was mild and it made me think about spring. I love spring and I am so ready to start my garden and enjoy the warmer weather. One of the other things i love about spring are the vegetables. In my house spring vegetables means one thing, ramps. Haven grown-up in Seattle I had never heard of a ramp before moving to West Virginia. Then I happened to marry someone from the edge of the Monongahela National Forest and the heart of ramp country. The first year we were married his mom brought us a large bag of dirty roots, I thought she was crazy. Then my husband explained that they had to be cleaned first and then could be used the same way as a onion or leek. I feel in love with them. Now every March I start asking my mother-in-law if the ramps have started to appear. With the warmer weather and start of March I am busy thinking about all the dishes that I will make this spring. Onions in general are a big spring item in my household and this week I tried a new recipe for Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions from Redbook Magazine.

Gluten Free Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 33 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 sandwiches. I made two versions of this sandwich, one for my husband and two boys and one for me. For my version I used gluten free bread, which I made from scratch and for the version for my family I made homemade crusty bread using the Dutch oven. For the cheese I followed the suggestion and used Gruyere and Sharp Cheddar. Instead of grilling the sandwiches on the stove I used my indoor electric griddle. I love using my griddle, it reduces the chance of burning and the crust always comes out even.

I served the sandwiches with tomato soup and the combination was delicious. The recipe for the tomato soup will be up on my blog tomorrow night. My boys ate their servings without the onions. They aren't fans of onions, but love grilled cheese sandwiches so they loved them none the less. My husband absolutely loved the sandwiches with the homemade bread and ate three for dinner. This recipe was definitely a hit and can be modified to use whatever type of cheese you prefer.

For the recipe go to Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions.

30 Minute Roasted Tomato and Pancetta Pasta

Gluten Free Tomato, Red Onion, and Pancetta Pasta Topped with Goat Cheese

My oldest is in another food phase. Currently he has decided that he isn't eating cheese. It's somewhat amusing since cheese used to be one of his favorite foods, but now he will pick it out. My guess is that he has learned some of these habits from my husband and I . While we both love food we also have definite opinions on what we do and don't like. For example my husband eats a vegetable and beans at every meal as part of his diet. I am horrible about vegetables. I eat more than enough fruit, but I only eat vegetables at dinner (this will be one of my food habits that I will be working on in the next year). My husband is the opposite, he can eat more spinach than anyone I know, but hates any fruit. So I try to find foods that everyone in my family can compromise upon. Tomatoes and pasta are two foods that my family absolutely loves. Tonight I tried a new recipe for Roasted Tomato and Pancetta Pasta from the Everyday Food insert of the March 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used gluten free pasta. Second my store doesn't carry cherry tomatoes during the winter so I substituted grape tomatoes. I also increased the cooking time by ten minutes, used canola oil instead of olive oil and pressed down on the tomatoes after they were roasted to ensure that they were fully burst. Finally, I topped the servings with goat cheese.

My oldest son loved this recipe. He ate his whole serving, which is the most he has eaten for dinner in weeks. My husband liked the flavors, but thought that the total amount of pancetta should be doubled or swapped for uncured chopped bacon. Then again the males in my family think that everything needs more bacon. I did not add the extra pasta water at the end, but instead poured the juices from the roasted tomatoes into the pasta, which created a nice flavor.

For the recipe go to Roasted Tomato and Pancetta Pasta.

Butternut Squash and Tomato Posole

My blog readers are probably getting tired of me expressing my love of butternut squash, but I am going to do it again. I love butternut squash and fall cooking in general. As I have stated before the flavors of fall are comforting and delicious when the weather gets cold. Butternut squash to me is one of the staples of fall cooking. It is extremely versatile and can be used in pastas, soups, stews, chili and baked goods. It is also a great way to hide vegetables for kids in muffins and breads. Stew is a staple in my house during the fall and winter. I am always cold once the weather gets cooler so I make a lot of hot stews and soups in order to stay warm. When I first started cooking stews for my family we all fell in love with posole. It is a satisfying and delicious dinner and I make it frequently. Last week I tried a new recipe for Butternut Squash and Tomato Posole from Eating Well magazine, which looked like a great new vegetarian posole recipe.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total of 45 minutes, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 5 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I normally buy whole butternut squash, but my store was out so I bought already cut butternut squash. The recipe suggests breaking up the tomatoes by hand, I find this messy. The method I always use is to place the tomatoes in a Ziploc bag, squeeze out the air and then crush the tomatoes by hand in the bag. Much less messy and an easy clean-up. I let my posole cook slightly longer than the recipe suggested. At 30 minutes the squash was more firm than I like. Make sure to fully rinse your canned beans. If the beans are under rinsed they will have a metallic taste, which is unappetizing. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With 10 grams of fat and 9 grams of protein this is a satisfying meal without being high in fat. The fresh avocado and cilantro on top gives the posole a nice well-rounded flavor. I will say that this recipe isn't overly spicy so if you like spicier posole I would suggest adding a small amount of cayenne. This recipe in addition to being healthy is also inexpensive, costing less than two dollars a serving.

For the recipe go to Butternut Squash and Tomato Posole.

Mushroom and Spinach Korma

In the last couple of years I have started to feel my age. There are now cracks and creaks in my knees and shoulder even when it's not raining and it takes a lot more work to keep in shape. My husband won't admit that he has been struggling with the same signs of aging, but his back massager has been getting a lot of use in the last year. So I have been gradually making changes to my family's diet, with the most important being adding more vegetarian and vegan recipes into my weekly meal plans. I have been happily surprised with how well my two boys have taken to eating less meat, they actually love beans and will pick them off of other people's plates. My husband was a little more resistant at the beginning, but now enjoys meatless meals as much as most meat recipes (with the exception of bacon). As I was looking through the January/February issue of the Food Network Magazine I noticed a recipe for Mushroom and Spinach Korma that promised 14 grams of protein and being completely vegan.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I was unable to find light coconut milk at the first grocery store that I went to, but I was lucky enough to find a can at the second store I visited. When I started the recipe I discovered that I had ran out of ground coriander, so I left it out the recipe completely. I chose not to add fresh cilantro to the finished product, my two boys aren't big fans of cilantro as a topping. One word of warning this dish will be bland unless you salt to taste. It takes a lot more salt than the recipe states, additionally I added cayenne pepper to add a little bit of spice since my family likes spicier foods. I did find that my finished recipe was a lot more liquidy than the photo in the magazine. Obviously the magazine photo either used whole coconut milk or used non-food items (such as glue for milk) for food photography. I understand why magazines use this practice, but it can be frustrating for home cooks. It is also one of the main reasons I started this blog so that readers can see what recipes look like in a real kitchen. Enough of my mini-rant, I followed the rest of the recipe as written.

I love mushrooms and so do my two boys. This recipe has a great taste from the mushrooms and fresh spinach. It isn't a traditional korma, but it is still a very good vegan recipe. The leftovers heated up very well the next day for lunch and it made more than enough for a dinner for my family of four plus two lunches. I did notice that the leftovers the next day were more solid with far less liquid. Make sure to add enough salt and a little bit of cayenne will bring out more flavor. Overall, a delicious vegan recipe that I would definitely make again.

For the recipe go to Mushroom and Spinach Korma.

Food Network Magazine Roasted Carrots

Sorry I have been so absent on-line. Currently, I am on day four of no internet at home. On a positive note the phone company is coming to install DSL on Friday! Having no Internet has been weird for me since I grew up in Seattle and had Internet before anyone I knew. I never knew how wired I was until I didn't have access! I am going to try to still do some short posts this week so I don't lose all my followers, so here goes!

In the last couple of weeks I have been experimenting with new vegetable side dishes. My youngest is obsessed with spicy foods, but has decided that he currently doesn't like vegetables. In order to combat this new trend I have been trying as many different ways to prepare fresh vegetables as I can. The January/February issue of The Food Network Magazine had a number of great side dish recipes including one for Roasted Carrots.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes approximately 30 minutes to prep and cook and makes 4 servings. All the ingredients are basic and I either had in my pantry cupboard or were easy to find at my local grocery store. I did find that the carrots were too crunchy for my tastes when roasted for 20 minutes, I suggest leaving them in the oven for closer to 30 minutes. Instead of walnut oil, which I have never been able to find in my area, I substituted canola oil. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband really liked these carrots. He normally isn't a large carrot fan, but he loved the combination of the raisin, walnuts and roasted carrots together. I am happy to report that both of my sons also ate this dish without complaints and even snacked on the leftovers the next day. Overall, a very easy recipe that takes little prep work and was well received by my whole family.

For the recipe go to Roasted Carrots.

Food and Wine Nacho Burgers

Burgers are a popular food in my house. Not plain tasteless burgers, but burgers that are thick and juicy and full of toppings. Turkey, chicken, beef, veggie, you name it, my family will devour it with zealous. In the summer I make burgers approximately once a week, but in the fall and winter I scale back my burger making. It has been months since I've tried a new burger recipe and I figured it was about time to try a new one. The January 2012 issue of Food and Wine Magazine had a recipe for Nacho Burgers that looked full of flavor and perfect for a cold weather burger recipe.

This recipe has 6 ingredients in the salsa, 7 ingredients in the cheese sauce and 7 ingredients in the burgers. The  recipe takes 35 minutes of total time and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients with the exception of the blue corn chips which I didn't notice I needed before preparing the recipe. One thing that the recipe neglects to mention is to add the milk gradually to the flour and butter in the cheese sauce. If the milk is added all at once the cheese sauce won't thicken properly. I found that my sauce took a little longer than five minutes to fully thicken and another 5-10 minutes of cooling. I chose to grill my burgers on an indoor grill since it is winter and honestly I find it much easier. Additionally I made my burgers smaller since half of them were for my kids. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These burgers turned out delicious. The burger recipe is your basic burger recipe, it is the sauce and salsa that make this dish so yummy. The cheese sauce is the best part of the recipe and was very popular with my three-year-old. It also re-heated well the next day with leftovers, and even worked with the veggie burgers I had in the freezer. A great fall/winter burger recipe with delicious toppings.

For the recipe go to Nacho Burgers.

Better Homes and Gardens Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas

As I've stated numerous times before I love fall. The spices, the tastes, the smells, everything about fall cooking appeals to me immensely. Growing up fall was full of family functions and tons of baking and cooking by my mother. Coming from a very large family, she was used to making enough food to feed an army, so family functions involved a large amount of prepping and cooking. Fall vegetables were one of the highlights of the fall season in my household, a tradition which has translated to my own much smaller family. One of my favorite vegetables in the fall are sweet potatoes. The November issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas, which looked simple, full of fall flavor, and delicious.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes approximately 30 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of roasting time, and serves 8 people. All the ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. Be sure to watch the vegetables carefully and stir approximately every fifteen minutes. The tops of the vegetables will otherwise burn, especially the red onions. Instead of dried rosemary, I used fresh snipped rosemary. I prefer the taste of fresh herbs when available to their dried equivalents. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

There are few things better than fresh, roasted vegetables. This recipe is simple, and full of flavor. I appreciated how the recipe lets the vegetables speak for themselves, without adding unnecessarily spices. My two boys particularly appreciated this recipe, especially the carrots. The flavors are simple and delicious and overall, a great fall recipe.

For the recipe go to Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas.