Balsamic Glazed Vegetables

I don’t remember where I found this recipe (somewhere on the interwebs), but the original recipe called for regular balsamic vinegar.  I’ve made these veggies a couple times now, with regular balsamic and white balsamic...I definitely preferred them with the white balsamic.  You can use all different veggies in it, so it’s a great recipe for using up random veggies in the fridge.  I also like it because I always make brussel sprouts exactly the same way, and they’re great, but it’s nice to have at least one other way to prepare them.  Alrighty…here we go…

Ingredients

1 ½  - 2 lbs of your choice of carrots, brussel sprouts, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini (I used 1 lb brussel sprouts, 4 medium-large carrots, ½ head of cauliflower)

½ cup water

½ cup white balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic vinegar)

1 tbsp butter

salt & pepper

Have I mentioned that I grew up under the rule of having
green, orange/yellow and white veggies with every meal?

Instructions

Place the veggies in a pan with the water and vinegar.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Remove the lid and turn the heat back up.  Allow the water to boil away and the vinegar to reduce and glaze the veggies, about 5-7 minutes.  When the veggies are glazed, add the butter to the pan and turn veggies all around to coat.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

All ready to serve with venison cube steaks
(thanks to my "little" brother, the deer slayer).

enjoy!

 ~ j

Scallops with Kale and White Beans

*warning *** my photography skills are deteriorating*** but hey, I actually got a shot of this one* 

I got this recipe from Whole Foods – modified it slightly – and bam, it became one of my new favorite meals.  We planted kale for the first time this year and have decided that we like it.  It holds up its texture unlike other greens, so you don’t need as much as you would for spinach.  We like it, and are definitely planning on planting many more plants next year.  

Besides having few ingredients, it only dirtied one pan! SCORE!  I think the simple nature of this dish really allows the scallops to shine.   It's got a delicious earthy taste from the kale and the salty goodness of the sea from the scallops.  And, as a bonus, it’s good for you- low in fat and low in calories, high in fiber and vitamins!  Sometimes, the ‘good for you’ meals seem to be lacking in flavor or zing, this one does not disappoint. 

 

 What you need: Serves 4.

1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed

1 lb scallops

10 medium sized kale leaves, destalked and torn into quarter sized pieces

5 garlic cloves (I probably used more, you may want to use less)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red pepper

½ lemon

dash of sea salt

What you do:

Heat a pan over medium heat, add half the olive oil and garlic, sautee for a minute or two then dump in kale, sautee for 2 more minutes, add beans and red pepper and let them warm up, stirring frequently.  When they are warmed - maybe about 5 minutes – transfer to a bowl (I used the bowl we served them in) and cover to keep warm.  Into the pan, add the other half of the olive oil, turn up the heat to medium-high, and sear the scallops on each side, about a minute depending on size, juice lemon over the top,  and place over the bed of the kale/bean combo. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve right away.  From start to finish, even with prep, this meal only takes about 15 minutes. Excellent, I say!  

Enjoy!

-h

Veggie Sides

I missed my recipe last week, but in my defense I was out of town for the better part of the week…and that’s my only excuse.  So here’s a recipe to make up for last week, and I'm planning to post another later this week.  In my book, that will still keep me at a recipe a week.  :)  And have you noticed my new white, square plates?!  They were a Xmas gift from mother-in-law, and I think they make my food photos look so much nicer…I love them!

I cooked a bone-in ham a few weeks ago for the first time.  I’m not going to bother with that “recipe,” because I did nothing but follow exactly what the plastic wrap on the ham told me to do (325 degrees F for 10-12 minutes per pound of ham).  But I thought I would share the sides I made to go with the ham.  These are very basic veggie side dishes that you could put with just about any meal, and you can definitely change up all the amounts of ingredients to your own tastes…in fact, I don’t even give measurements here on my mashed potato recipe, because I have no clue what I do (and this time I was just scraping the bottoms of containers for whatever was left in them).

Colorful!

Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

4 large carrots - washed and cut into bite-size pieces

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1)  Steam carrots to desired softness.

2)  Melt butter and sugar in pan, add carrots and sauté until evenly coated.

Brussel Sprouts with Garlic

Ingredients

1 lb (I think) Brussel sprouts - washed, trimmed and cut in half

2 tbsp olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, minced

Salt & pepper to taste (optional)

Instructions

1)  Heat oil in pan over medium heat, add garlic and sauté for a minute or two. 

2)  Add brussel sprouts cut sides down, also add salt and pepper if desired.  Sauté for a few minutes, until cut side is just starting to brown, then stir sprouts around (not worrying about what side is down).  Cover pan with lid and continue to cook until you reach desired softness (I prefer mine crunchier, Squatch prefers his a bit mushier).

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

Potatoes, washed and cut into small pieces

Whole garlic cloves

Milk

Sour cream

Butter

Parmesan cheese

Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (basil, oregano, parsley, chives, etc…)

Salt & pepper

Instructions

1)  Boil potatoes and garlic cloves in large pot of salted water, until potatoes are very soft.

2)  Drain water from pot, then add milk, sour cream, butter and parmesan cheese.  Mash with a potato masher or hand-held electric mixer.  Mix in herbs and salt & pepper.

enjoy!

 ~ j