Chicken & Fall Vegetable Soup
November 2, 2011 - Written by Diana
Staying with my mom while she recovers from her surgery, I made Chicken & Fall Vegetable soup for dinner. Soup makes you feel good when you are sluggish and don’t want something heavy, especially if your throat is a little sore too. My mom is a fan of almost all vegetables, and since the fall vegetables are in season, this is the perfect time to make this soup. It is easy to prepare but will take longer than 30 minutes because it takes a while for the carrots and butternut squash to soften. The soup was served in a bowl over warmed wild rice. The rice would absorb the stock from the soup so we precooked the rice separately and then put a couple of tablespoons in the bowl and ladle the soup over top. The leftovers were stored as single servings in the freezer for meals on busy evenings after I left to go back to my family and home.
Mom can’t eat onions or tomatoes; acidic vegetables and fruit upset her tummy. If you feel it could use a few more vegetables, feel free …
Farm Market Veggies and Leftover Spaghetti
August 4, 2011 - Written by Diana
My son’s specialty is now making spaghetti with sauce. The most difficult part was NOT overcooking the pasta, believe it or not. He’s not too keen on figuring out portions, which is why he just makes a whole box (pound) of pasta every time. While this could cause some problems with waste, I’ve found a way to take the leftover pasta and make another meal with it using farm market and garden veggies. Saute a few veggies, add in the pasta, a little more oil and white whine, toss until heated along with some herbs from the garden and voila you have a great dish. We served this topped with a luna burger. I had the garden thyme, my husband had a barbecue . My daughter said she wanted real meat, but my son crumbled the burger up and mixed it in with the pasta. My husband and I just broke off pieces with the fork then grabbed up some pasta and veggies on the same fork and ate it that way. Let me tell you, it …
Keep It Simple – Crockpot Beef Stew in Red Wine
May 19, 2011 - Written by Diana
As you know, I am a big fan of keeping it simple. You can ruin a dinner by fussing too much. My dad was a perfectionist and though his meals were technically perfect, sometimes there were other factors. Ask my mom how her friends loved dinner with my dad when his perfect meal didn’t show up until 9:00. Ask how much we loved running out to the store at the last minute to pick up the perfect ingredient, that he couldn’t do without because the recipe called for it, and he didn’t do substitutions. Some of my favorite meals take just a few ingredients and a little bit of time. Spending a couple of hours preparing an appetizer that disappears within a couple of seconds can be such a let down and who wants to come home to start a really in-depth dinner, when you just want to relax? This stew is super easy, fast and delicious. I start meals like this before I go to work. The first one home adds the carrots and …
Cumin’d Lentils and Carrots from The Heart Smart Diabetes Kitchen
May 20, 2010 - Written by Diana
This delicious idea comes from The Heart Smart Diabetes Kitchen recipe book, that I received to review. This is the first time I made lentils, and I am pleased to say I enjoy them a lot. My daughter isn’t so sure, my son and husband both liked it too. My mother is a fan of lentils (though we’d have to leave out the onions for her) so we may have it again this weekend. This dish was easy to prepare and took less than 45 minutes total to come together. Cumin’d Lentils and Carrots were a great side dish along with our NuWave Rosemary Chicken for dinner on Sunday.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tbs canola oil
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced onions
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/3 cup dried lentils
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin, divided
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook carrots and onions 8 minutes or until richly browned, stirring frequently. Add water, lentils and 1/4 tsp cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover tightly and simmer 25 minutes or until lentils are tender. Remove from …
Farfalle with Creamy Peas and Carrots
March 25, 2010 - Written by DianaWe had to stop ourselves from eating too much for dinner tonight. Another family weeknight meal that came together quickly. Pasta comes together quickly and goes great with most veggies. The carrots were thinly sliced using a mandolin and added along with peas to the sautéed onions and pancetta. Cream and parmesan were added in and heated up along with some parsley. Toss with the cooked farfalle and dinner is ready. We made a pound of pasta, so we’ll have enough for a leftover meal too. I had to put a restraining order on my son though. He’s forbidden to touch the pasta for a snack – otherwise the rest of us will go hungry.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb farfalle pasta cooked and drained according to directions
- 1/2 onion sliced thin
- 4 oz pancetta
- 1 …
Gingered Carrots & Kohlrabi
November 15, 2009 - Written by Diana
Kohlrabi, kohlrabi, kohlrabi, kohlrabi, kohlrabi, kohlrabi, kohlrabi. There’s a joke that goes – If you say the name of something 7 times it’s yours for life, and then some girl says – John, john, etc. It doesn’t matter how many times I say kohlrabi, my mental picture doesn’t match up with that name and I go blank trying to remember. Kohlrabi is a nice crunchy vegetable, similar to a turnip, but tastes more like a cross between cabbage and turnips to me with a little bit of sweetness. My sister in law adds it to salads, or just peels and slices it up for people to chew raw. My dish was baked, bringing out another level of flavor.I peeled off the leaves, scraped off the skin and julienned the kohlrabi along with some carrots. I used my frozen ginger in this dish, which smells so wonderful when grating. I did all the mixing right in the baking dish, so it’s truly a one pot dish. Even though this would have served more , with my …
