Veggies Galore

I've come to the realization we just don't eat enough veggies. I personally could eat veggies all day every day. In fact if I didn't like a good, juicy burger every now and some crunchy bacon from time to time, I could almost be a vegetarian. But my husband, well he's another story. He would eat nothing but meat, bread, potatoes, and pasta if he didn't have a loving wife that insisted he eat other things that are good for him. I don't always bother making all the veggies I like because I would be the only one eating them. But I've become pretty creative at incorporating some veggies into our meals. He's much more willing to eat vegetables if they're in something rather than just piled on a plate screaming "I'm a veggie, I'm good for you!". Ok, so they don't really scream at you but they might as well as far as he's concerned. So tonight for dinner I crammed as many vegetables into our dinner as possible. I made a really yummy veggie rice pilaf to go along with our spicy Cajun shrimp which I just sauteed in some olive oil and garlic, and sprinkled with Cajun spice mix. We also had some steamed yellow squash and broccoli (for me) and corn on the cob (for him). Such a great dinner!

Veggie Rice Pilaf

1/4 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 large green bell pepper,chopped
1/4 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup brown rice
salt and pepper

Begin by cooking the rice and set aside. Then finely chop all the vegetables. Heat a skillet over medium heat with about 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add chopped veggies to the pan and saute 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and let simmer another 3 minutes or so. Add the pressed garlic and stir. Last, stir in the cooked rice, remaining broth, salt, and pepper. Let cook another 3-5 minutes until some of the broth is absorbed. Serve warm.

The Breakfast of Champions

I love days when I actually have time to make breakfast instead of just heating up some instant oatmeal or eating a bowl of cold cereal. Everyone knows the breakfast foods that you actually have to cook are so much better than ready made foods. Homemade waffles, pancakes, biscuits, hashbrowns....mmm. Can you tell I'm big on breakfast? Another one of my favorite breakfast foods, or actually anytime foods, is the omelet. You can pretty much add anything you like to it from ham to veggies to various cheeses. The only problem I have with the omelet is that I can never get it to flip right. It never looks as pretty as it does at a restaurant when you go out for breakfast or brunch. But whatever, it still tastes good which is what really matters. And if all else fails, you can have scrambled eggs with stuff mixed in. : ) Today I decided to use up some of the veggies in my fridge and came up with this. Delicious!


Three Egg Garden Omelet

3 whole eggs
2 Tbsp milk or cream
1 Tbsp each finely chopped green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms
2 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for the top if you like
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Whisk eggs, milk, and all veggies in a bowl. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Let it cook for about 2 minutes until the edges start to look done. Sprinkle the cheese over the omelet. Test the edges with a spatula to see if the omelet is ready to flip. When ready, fold each side of the omelet to the middle and cook another minute or so. Top with additional cheese and veggies if desired.

We ate dinner unusually early tonight. As if my husband doesn't work enough hours each week, he has to go back in for a couple hours this evening. Well I couldn't send him back to work on an empty stomach. I've been planning on making this for a week or so now and finally decided to try it out tonight. As I was eating dinner, I was trying to think how I would describe this dish. With each bite all I kept thinking was "sweet, savory, and southern". Very original, right? But really if you break it down, it is. The dish itself reminds me of a rustic, country pot pie. Then there's the combination of the roughly chopped savory vegetables and broth with the slightly sweet cornbread topping. Each component is very different, but the flavors somehow meld together so well. Overall, it was surprisingly delicious. We had this as a main dish for dinner tonight since we're both still under the weather and not eating much, but it would also be a great side dish as well. In fact, a dish worthy of a spot alongside your Thanksgiving turkey or on your Sunday dinner table. I would suggest doubling the recipe though if making this for a large group.

Autumn Vegetable Cobbler

Ingredients

1 small onion, sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 small red potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup water
2 medium leeks, halved lengthwise and cut into slices
2 cups chopped fresh spinach*
1 cup vegetable broth (I used chicken broth since that's what I had on hand)
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I didn't have fresh so used 1 Tbsp dried parsley)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cornbread Topping -(I used a box of corn muffin mix but you can click on the link to view the original cornbread topping recipe.)

Preparation

Sauté sliced onion in hot oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until tender. Add potato, carrot, and 1/4 cup water; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add leeks and spinach, and cook 3 minutes or until spinach wilts.

Whisk together vegetable broth and flour until smooth. Stir broth mixture, minced parsley, soy sauce, and salt into spinach mixture. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring often, 5 minutes or until thickened.

Spoon vegetable mixture into a lightly greased 8-inch baking dish. Drop Cornbread Topping by heaping tablespoonfuls onto hot vegetable mixture.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until golden. (I would suggest checking this around 20 min. Mine turned out very dark brown at 20 min.)

*Chopped kale, collard greens, or turnip greens may be substituted.

*When preparing the leeks, slice and separate them and then float them in a bowl of water. If there is any dirt in between the layers, it will fall to the bottom of the bowl.

Yield

Makes 4 servings

Southern Living, OCTOBER 2001

Source:
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