Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Oven Roasted Asparagus

 We got some fresh asparagus at a produce stand, and so I searched for a good recipe.  I found one here, and it was delicious!  I didn't do the lemon juice, but everything else was great!  Simple, and fast.  A perfect veggie side dish!

  • 1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
  1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
  2. Place the asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Danish Potato Soup

 I made this with the leftover ham bone from Easter.  It was so good!  I used 4 potatoes, and I only had a couple of green onions, and only dried parsley.  I have heavy whipping cream, so I diluted it with milk.  It was really easy, and delicious.  Lots of veggies!
Danish Potato Soup
  • 1 ham bone
  • water
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 6 green onions, sliced
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
  • 2 cups chopped cabbage
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup light cream
  • ground nutmeg
In a soup kettle, bring ham bone and 2 quarts water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until meat pulls away from the bone. Remove ham bone. When cool enough to handle, trim any meat and dice. Discard bone. Return ham to kettle along with potatoes, onions, celery, parsley, cabbage and carrots; cook 40 minutes. Stir together flour and 1/4 cup cold water. Slowly pour into the soup, stirring constantly. Bring soup to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in cream. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle a dash of nutmeg on each bowlful just before serving. 

Vegetable Quesadillas

I made these on Thursday night.  I didn't have any peppers or yellow squash, but it was so good.  I can't wait to try it with the full recipe!  Granted I used full fat cheese, and white flour tortillas, but mmmm!!!
Vegetable Quesadillas
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
  • 1/2 cup chopped yellow squash
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • cooking spray
  • 6 (9 inch) whole wheat tortillas
  • 1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
  1. In a large nonstick pan, cook red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and mushrooms in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until just tender. Remove vegetables from pan.
  2. Coat the same pan with cooking spray, and place one tortilla in pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese evenly over tortilla, and layer 3/4 cup of the vegetable mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle another 1/8 cup of cheese on the vegetables, and top with a second tortilla. Cook until golden on both sides, for approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove quesadilla from pan, and repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut each quesadilla into 8 triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve hot.