American Chop Suey

I have no idea where the name for this dish came from, it's something my Nana used to make using condensed soup, onion, ground beef and macaroni. I'm not knocking it, I gobbled the stuff up as a child but, it's not something I would serve myself now. I recently made a macaroni dish that reminded me so much of it that I decided to go ahead and try to create a healthier version and with this week's share I had plenty to work with.

I gathered the ingredients:

I'm trying to make this as much a "one pot" meal as I can. So first I boiled the pasta. While that was happening,  I put the food processor to work - this is because I find it's best with my children to get things as fine as possible in a casserole. So I pulsed up those peppers and onions. Once the pasta was in the strainer I threw some oil in the pot and added those peppers and onions.

Now that all the water from the vegetables has evaporated, I add the garlic followed by the ground beef. I am not going to tell you what mix to use here, I grind my own and it tends to be on the lean side. You don't want too much fat because it's not going to get drained off and the dish shouldn't be oily but, you also don't want the beef to get dry either. Add the chopped tomatoes once the beef had browned (yes, I used my food processor again, it's already going to need to be washed.)

Once the tomatoes are in add the can of tomato sauce. If I had more tomatoes I would have used all fresh and crushed them in the food processor, but it wasn't an option. Add the basil and oregano. I gave everything a stir let it simmer for a minute or two. Time to mix in the pasta! If things are too dry at this point add some water. 

Taste for salt and pepper and serve! Otherwise you could top with mozzarella and place it under the broiler for a couple of minutes until it gets all melty then serve. 

Steffanie's American Chop Suey

Ingredients:

13.25 oz. whole wheat pasta (rotini or macaroni work well)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 green bell pepper, chopped fine

1 red bell pepper, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 lb. ground beef

14 1/2 oz. tomatoes, diced

14 1/2 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

2. In the same pot heat 1 tbsp. oil and saute the peppers and onion until translucent and most of the water has evaporated. Add the garlic and saute 30 sec. more. Add the ground beef, cook until browned. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the spices and taste for salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta, combine well. Check for salt and pepper one last time and serve.

Spaghetti Squash Genius!

Oh beautiful winter squashes. A couple of weeks back we got a lovely spaghetti squash in our share. A little happy dance happened when I got home as it is one of my FAVORITE alternatives to eating pasta (oh insulin resistance, I could totally live without you). A couple of days later I had the sad day of cutting it open only to find it rotten. Blessedly we were able to get another squash a week or so after that that has been sitting on my counter waiting for the perfect pairings - well, that and for us to finish eating what I hadn't frozen of the summer squashes.

Today was the glorious day when I dove in an made some deliciousness. My lovely friend brought over some beautiful tomatoes from her garden. Remember the recipe for Tomato Basil Spaghetti well replace the spaghetti with roasted squash, add some shrimp and omit the Parmesan (or not) and you get this fabulous dish: 

Tomato Basil and Shrimp Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 med. Spaghetti Squash

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 small onion, sliced very thin

1 small cubanelle pepper, halved and sliced thin

2 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed

1 lb fresh tomatoes, small diced

8 oz. raw shrimp

1/4 c. fresh basil, chiffonade

salt and pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash lengthwise and place on a cookie sheet. Roast for 45-50 minutes or until fork tender. Shred with a fork and set aside.

In the last 10 minutes or so of the roasting, heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet on medium. Add the onion and pepper, saute until translucent. Add the garlic and tomatoes, bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp in one layer, when they are just cooked on one side, flip and add the spaghetti squash and basil to the pan. Turn off the heat and toss with 1/2 tsp of salt, a few grinds of pepper and a good measure of high quality EVOO. Enjoy.

Vegan Bean and Summer Squash Chili

We have meatless Friday's in our house. It can be challenging to find things that my family would enjoy that were different from week to week. My husband loves chili and we had a ton of squash one year so I came up with this variation on my chili recipe.

Diced up peppers (you can use any combination from this weeks share, though if you throw in the Anaheim peppers cut back on the chili powder), onion, and celery (I threw in some scallions to this batch). 

Time to add in the spices and the tomatoes. I used canned here because that's what I had on hand but fresh work just as well as long as you use equivalent weights.

Add the squash and simmer 15 minutes, then add in the beans.

Once it comes back to a simmer it's done :-) Serve over some brown rice if you like or just by itself. 

Vegan Bean and Summer Squash Chili

Ingredients

• 2 onions, about 2 c., chopped fine
• 3 peppers any color, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cans, 28 oz., crushed tomatoes or fresh roma tomatoes pureed to the same weight
• 1 small can tomato paste, optional
• 3 tbsp - 1/3 c. chili powder (I like the 1/3 c.)
• 2 tbsp. cumin
• 2 tbsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. dried leaf oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander, optional
• 2 vegan boullion cubes (mine prepare 4 c. of liquid) such as Not Chicken Broth
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 lb. dry kidney beans, cooked (or 2 cans of kidney beans)
• 1 lb. summer squash, diced (seeded is good too)

Directions

In a large pot, or dutch oven, saute the onions, pepper, and celery until the onions are translucent.
Add the tomato products, bouillon and spices and bring to a simmer (do not over salt at this point most vegetable broths are VERY salty you can always add more salt at the end if you need it).
Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the diced squash and simmer another 15 minutes. You can add a little water or the liquid from cooking the beans if the chili begins to look too thick at any point.
Add the beans. Bring this back to a simmer and serve over rice or by itself.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

This one is for our fellow blogger who asked me how I make my Stuffed Pepper Soup this morning. We have a plethora of peppers from this week's share and it's my husband's favorite use for them :-)

I started by dicing up 2 of the bell peppers. Added 1/2 of a red onion that I had from last weeks share, a handful of baby carrots sitting in the fridge and some celery tops (LOADS of celery flavor there). 

I sauteed all of this in olive oil for a few minutes until everything gets softened and the onions are translucent.

I had a little over 1/2 a pound of cooked hamburger leftover from Monday night's hamburgers. I just broke those into pieces and added them to the pot.

Now I got a super deal on some canned tomato soup so I'm using it here but you can add virtually any type of tomato, cooked or canned to this recipe to equal out to the weight. You're looking for 28 oz. total. Also add in 2 cups of your favorite beef broth or bouillon equivalent.


Simmer and stir for about 30 minutes until everything has cooked through and the flavors have melded. Add 2 cups of cooked rice (I like brown but any type will work) and serve. Delicious and filling you'll be coming back for seconds.

Steffanie's Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients:

2 Green Bell Peppers, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 c. onion, minced
1 c. carrot, diced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 lb ground beef
2 cans condensed tomato soup
1 - 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 c. beef broth
2 c. cooked rice
salt and pepper 

Directions:

If the ground beef is raw, brown in a large pot and set aside. In the same pot add the olive oil and the first 4 ingredients. Saute over med-high heat until softened and the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, ground beef and Italian seasoning. Once you can smell the garlic add the tomato and broth. Bring to a simmer and reduce the soup to low. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the cooked rice, bring back to a simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Note: If you would like to make this soup in advance DO NOT add the rice - it gets all mushy. The soup can be portioned out and stored in the freezer. To reheat, thaw and add the rice once hot.

Grandma's Stewed Zucchini

My sister has talked about making my Grandma's Stewed Zucchini for a few years now.  I think it was the word "stewed" that turned me off.  Boy was I wrong!  How could I believe that any recipe from my Italian grandmother could NOT be good?  And this, my friends, is good!

I called my grandmother up and asked her what she does with zucchini.  "You don't want to make zucchini bread," she says, "It's way too much work.  Make some Stewed Zucchini."

When I let her give me the recipe and it started with bacon, I figured it went well this week.  Saute up bacon and onion in a pot.

 While the bacon is crisping, slice up zucchini.  "Don't cut it in chunks," Grandma said, "you want thin slices."  I used up the zucchini and squash we got in our pick up last week.  I wish I hadn't chopped the big old pieces in half!  Then add just enough water to cover the zucchini and simmer it until the zucchini is tender and the water is gone.

I didn't get a picture of the water gone.  I used WAY too much water and then I didn't have enough tomato sauce so I put in some tomato paste with the broth that was left in the pot.  Once the water is gone, add 3 cans of tomato sauce.  Season with parsley and a bay leaf as well as salt and pepper.

Once the pot returns to a simmer, beat up 2 eggs, temper (add a little bit of the hot mixture with the eggs at a time, whisking constantly until you have about 1/2 cup of liquid + egg) and add the eggs to the stewed zucchini.  Let warm again.  Then you are ready to eat!

Frank and I had our Stewed Zucchini last night with meatballs (on the side - we didn't have time to let them cook in the sauce).  I just ate it plain for lunch yesterday!

Week 3 - What a Bounty

I'm really excited for this week's share. My family has been praying for our farmer's since they told us about their grasshopper invasion. The photos they sent to members made my heart heavy. I'd never seen so many grasshoppers and neither had the farmers. 

When I saw what the share had to offer though, we were very thankful!

I have grand plans for this produce. The yellow squash, peppers, some onions and chard are going into a vegetable soup. The tomatoes are getting combined with some of my basil and super special olive oil for a delicious pasta dish. The zucchini is being made into bread for the kiddos. The potatoes are going to be roasted on the grill with butter thyme and rosemary to go with some chicken or whatever meat I have currently in the freezer. The cucumbers are going to be turned into a yogurt sauce for chickpea cakes. The kale with be fried up into sausage pasta. I imagine every once of produce will be consumed before the next share will be picked up. 

Here's today's dish:

I started by placing a large pot of water on to boil with some salt. Then diced all of my tomatoes. I reserved a pint jar full for tomorrow's vegetable soup which left me with just under a pound of diced tomatoes. 

I then minced a small onion (from last week's share). Placed my favorite 12 inch cast iron skillet on to heat with a good amount of olive oil. This is when I realized I was out of fresh garlic... garlic powder was going to have to stand in. I sauteed the onions until translucent and added the tomatoes.

A minute later the pasta was cooked so it got added to the pot.

I turned off the heat and I chiffonade basil, added that along with a touch of garlic powder and salt.

Basically the dish was done. Except the finishing, which I wasn't able to get a picture of as my phone died in the process :-) such is my life. The final step is plating - drizzle an excellent quality extra virgin olive oil over the pasta and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Needless to say my children where very quiet at the dinner table tonight.

Tomato Basil Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 13.5 oz. box of whole wheat spaghetti

2 tbsp. olive oil (don't waste the extra virgin here)

1 small onion, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed (substitute 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)

1 lb. fresh tomatoes, diced

1/4 -1/2 c. fresh basil, chiffonade

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Place a stock pot with 4 quarts of water on high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and allow to boil. Once rolling boil add the pasta and cook according to package directions (no longer!)
2. While water is coming to a boil heat a 12 inch skillet with 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Once hot saute the onion until translucent, a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, followed by the tomatoes. Cook for a minute until heated through. Add the al dente pasta right into the skillet along with some pasta water if things get too tight. Kill the heat add the basil, salt and pepper to taste. Toss liberally and serve drizzled with good olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

I hope you enjoy this simple, fresh classic.