Fall Squash Medley

Looking for ways to use your summer squash? We have had a lot of crookneck squash from our garden. We have enjoyed eating it. I have found I just wash the squash and leave the skin on. My preference is to not have mushy squash, so I cook it till is just barely soft (al dente). I also like it not cooked a lot because it keeps its pretty bright colors. Here is one way that my family really enjoyed.

Ingredients

3 T coconut oil or olive oil

1/2 white onion chopped up small peieces
4 garlic cloves minced
2 C sliced washed mushrooms
2 C chopped up crookneck squash
1 1/2 C chopped zucchini
salt and pepper to taste
herbs of choice I used some fresh thyme and marjoram

Directions

1. Heat up skillet to medium heat pour in the oil. Let it heat up.
2. Stir in onion and garlic cook about 2 to 3 min.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook another 2 to 3 min.
4. Stir in the squash and cook stirring often. Cook until the squash is just soft.
5. Add salt,  pepper and herbs of choice. Dish into serving dish. Grate cheese on top if desired.
Serve right away.
*If you have left overs they would be delicious in your pizza or spaghetti sauce. Yum! 

Shitake Mushroom and other Vegetables Omelet

This was a nice breakfast for our holiday today. It was loaded with a lot of great vegetables. I was excited that my son enjoyed eating it. He sometimes is not a fan of lots of vegetables. The Parmesan cheese was a nice touch. The dried mushrooms worked great I have never used them before. :)

Ingredients: 2 servings
1 whole egg
3 egg whites
salt and pepper
2 T oil
1/4 Green pepper diced in pieces
1/2 C dried shitake mushrooms
1/2 C purple onions chopped
1 small jalapeno diced in pieces
2 Roma tomatoes chopped in small pieces
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 T oil (I used grape seed oil)
fresh Parmesan cheese grated

Directions:
1. Beat egg and egg whites together for a couple minutes. Heat frying pan on medium heat.

2. Pour in half the mixture. Swirl around in the pan. Heat and then lift up edge and let uncooked egg slide under. Let cook a couple minutes.

3. In the meant time. Heat another pan and pour in the oil. Throw all the vegetables into the oil and cook until tender about 5 min.

4. Scoop a couple spoonfuls of cooked vegetables on one side of the omelet. Fold the other half on over the top of the vegetables. Grate some cheese on top.

5. Repeat the process with the remaining egg. Serve warm. Top with salsa or ketchup.

Fried Brown Rice with Chicken and Vegetables

The weekend was a nice one, it just goes by way to fast. I just love when my husband is home. I went to bed feeling so very happy. Last night was one of those nights it is hard to go to sleep. I just love savoring the good feeling. It just felt really nice. I love my family. "It's a wonderful life."

It was time to cook dinner yesterday, and I thought of making fried rice. It was a wonderful easy meal. I got some family members to help in cutting up the vegetables, and it made it a quick meal. I loved that it was a nice light meal. Which made a perfect meal for a Summer evening. We enjoyed eating it outside. The other thing is it didn't heat up the kitchen, and it was a fast clean up. The best part was my family loved it, and said they would like to have it again. It was nice to use the brown rice to make it a nice healthy meal with the vegetables. It was a winner all the way around.

Ingredients: serves 5-6

2 C chicken tenders cut in small pieces

1 T thyme
1 tsp sea salt with iodine
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper (adds great flavor)

2 garlic cloves minced

2 T coconut oil or another oil

2 carrots cut up in small pieces

1 small bunch of green onions chopped small pieces

2 small cans of mushrooms or fresh mushrooms

1/2 onion diced in small pieces

3 eggs beaten

3/4 C water

3 to 3 1/2 C cooked brown rice

1 T soy sauce*optional

* You could add other vegetables too

Directions:

1, In a skillet pour in oil and let melt. Then cook chicken with garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme until nice light golden color. Set aside in a bowl.

2. In skillet spray with oil or put in a 1T of oil. Pour in vegetables, and let cook a couple minutes till tender-crisp. Then add the water and cook another 2-3 min. Set aside.

3. In greased skillet on medium heat scramble eggs until lightly cooked. Then add the cooked vegetables, rice and chicken mixture. Then add 1 T of soy sauce if desired. Combine and heat through 3-4 min. Then serve.

Quinoa and Eggs Mexican Style

It is fun to find new ways to eat quinoa. It is especially nice when my family enjoys my new creation too. This was one of those times. The other great thing is it is a nice meal for the Summer because you don't heat up the kitchen. This could be served anytime of the day too. :)

Ingredients:

1/2 C quinoa
1 1/2 C water
1 T butter
1/2 C milk
7 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper :)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 large can of diced tomatoes drained or small can (drained)
1 small can chopped mushrooms (drained)
4 green onions chopped
1 small can of diced green chilies
1/2 C grated cheese
cilantro for garnish (You could mix some in too)
salsa

Directions:

1. Rinse off quinoa in a strainer. Put in a skillet and let it toast, while stirring a couple minutes. In a sauce pan boil the water. Stir in the quinoa and turn down the heat. Put on the lid and let the water absorb, and let it get tender. Stir it occasionally.

2. In a bowl beat eggs, salt, pepper, garlic and milk together.

3. Heat a skillet pour in the butter. Then pour in the egg mixture. Let it cook about 3 minutes.

4. Then add the mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, chilies, and cooked quinoa. You could add 1/4 C water if there is not enough liquid. Stir and then put on the lid a few minutes. Make sure the heat is not to hot. (medium low)

5. When the mixture has thickened nicely add the cheese and put the lid on long enough for the cheese to melt. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with salsa

I just served it out of the pan. Less dishes. :)

Whole Grain Steak Soft Tacos

"Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. 'There is a great work for the Saints to do,' he said. 'Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ' (Deseret News, Aug. 8, 1860, 177).

"The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 119

This quote makes me happy! It makes me think about Spring. It also makes happy to think about the things that we can create and do each day. Each day has new opportunities for us to create in so many ways. What are you going to create today? Being in the kitchen is a great way to create. I love it.

This recipe is my latest creation. We had steak a couple nights before. It was a great way to use the leftover steak. I liked all the vegetables in it. My taco was 3/4 vegetables and 1/4 steak. It is a nice meal for this time of year.

Ingredients: Serves 4 or more

1 to 1 1/2 C cooked steak chopped up

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1 leek chopped in small pieces

1 onion chopped up small pieces

1 C bell peppers (yellow and red) chopped up

1 C mushroom chopped in small pieces

3 or 4 roma tomatoes chopped

2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

6-7 wholegrain tortillas

2 T oil

*I used 1 1/4 C of this too.

salsa and sour cream if desired

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan. place garlic, leek, and onions and stir and cook 3-4 min. or till soft. Then add remaining vegetables and cook until softened.

2. Then add steak and cook for a couple minutes to heat it all the way up. Serve in tortillas shells.

Now you can make your own creation. :)

Whole Grain Bolognese

This tasted really good. I kept going back for more sauce. :) I loved the flavor. I didn't have whole grain spaghetti, so I broke up lasagna noodles it worked out great. I think the Bolognese (Italian name for a meat based sauce) would work with any kind of pasta, rice, barley etc... I hope you enjoy it too!

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 onion chopped up finely
2-4 garlic cloves minced (I love garlic!)
1 tsp rosemary
2 tsp oregano
1/2 to 1 T basil
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (added a nice mild bite to it)
2 tsp Italian seasoning* Optional I just had it on hand so added some more! :)
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef (I used turkey worked great!)
1 28 oz can plum tomatoes with liquid chopped up
4 T ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 water
1 small can of mushroom pieces with liquid
10-14 oz of pasta, rice, barley or ?
1/2 to 1 tsp of pepper
salt to taste
garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in the pan, add the onions and garlic. Cook on med heat for about 3 min. Then add herbs and cayenne and cook a couple more minutes. Then add the meat. Cook an stir often until thoroughly browned. Drain off any excess grease.

2. Stir in the canned tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire, pepper, mushrooms and water. Bring to a boil while stirring. Cover the pan and lower the heat. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes. Stirring it occasionally.

3. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain off all of the water.

4.Scoop pasta of your choice, on to a plate. Then pour on the bolognese. :) Garnish with the grated Parmesan cheese.

Brown Rice Pilaf

Since I was using my pressure cooker already for the meat, I decided to just cook the rice on the stove. lt had been a long time since I had done that. I was very pleased with the results. It turned out very light, it was a wonderful pilaf. This too was a popular item. (Like the roast yesterday) I think only about 1 cup was left.
I served this with the roast I posted yesterday. It makes a great combo.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 C brown rice
5 C water
1 small can of chopped mushrooms or fresh
2-3 minced garlic
1 T thyme
1/2 T butter
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste after it is cooked.

Directions:

1. Pour water into pan. Pour in the rice. Bring to boil.

2. While the water is preparing to boil, get a small frying pan. Pour olive oil and mushrooms and garlic into pan. Saute for a couple minutes.

3. Then when water boils add the mushroom mixture, and butter. Stir and let cook on med. to low heat. (You can add another 1/4 to 1/2 C water if it is too dry before it is done. It is done when it fluffs up, and nice and tender.

*I have been happy with the Lundberg Family Rice brand.

* I had leftovers for lunch today and mixed it with a bunch of vegetables. Still very light and good.