Vegetables

Ingredients
Pie shell, homemade or store bought such as Pillsbury
¹⁄₄ teaspoon kosher salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely sliced
2 pints cherry and grape tomatoes, quartered or halved based on size
¹⁄₂ cup fresh mozzarella, cut into small pieces
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400*F.  Spread pie shell in 9 inch pie plate and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.  Remove crust from oven but leave oven on. 

3. Meanwhile, place all tomatoes in large bowl and toss with salt, pepper, garlic, and basil.  Let sit 10 minutes.  Toss with mozzarella. 

4. Combine Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs in small bowl. 

5. Spread half tomato mixture in pie shell and top with half of bread crumb mixture.  Repeat with remaining tomatoes and bread crumbs. 

6. Bake until warmed through, about 20 to 30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Boulder Locavore.  It was really tasty and the tomatoes still retained a lot of their fresh flavor.  My pie fell apart while I was cutting it, but it was still scrumptious.  Definitely a keeper recipe for summer tomatoes. 

Shown here with Balsamic Chicken with Pine Nuts.

Ingredients
2 pounds chard
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (made from 2 slices of fresh bread ground in a food processor)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh dill or parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk, cream, half and half, or a mixture of cream and stock
1 cup soft goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions
1. Separate the leaves and chard stems. Wash well, and then coarsely chop the leaves. Trim the stems, wash well, and then dice them into small pieces.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has begun to brown a bit, about 20 minutes. Add the chard leaves, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and cook until wilted and tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400*F and lightly oil a 2-quart gratin dish. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet and add the bread crumbs, garlic, and dill or parsley. Cook, stirring for about a minute, then transfer to a bowl and return the pan to the heat.

4. Melt the last tablespoon of butter, stir in the flour, and then whisk in the milk. Simmer for 5 minutes, season with ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and add to the chard mixture. Add the cheese, and then taste the mixture before seasoning with salt and pepper. 

5. Pour the chard mixture into the prepared dish and cover with the bread crumbs. Bake until heated through and golden on the surface, about 25 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Comments
This recipe is from Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets.  Art declared this to be the tastiest recipe I’ve made for swiss chard and I actually ended up making it again the following week.  Quite a success story.  It’s very easy, although not super friendly to your dishwasher due to using two pans and a baking dish.  It’s definitely worth it. 

Shown here with Mustard Crusted Tilapia.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, thinly sliced
32 ounces mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₂ cup white wine

Instructions
1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add shallot and cook until softened, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and ³⁄₄ teaspoon salt.  Increase heat to medium-high, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their moisture, 8 to 10 minutes. 

2. Remove lid, add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep golden brown and tender, 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir in thyme and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until liquid is nearly evaporated, about 1 minute.  Season with salt and pepper to taste then serve. 

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from the 2011 Cook’s Country Annual.  It’s a super basic recipe for sautéed mushrooms.  I love that they have proved the whole “don’t crowd the pan” thing wrong in the case of mushrooms because this is the method I have always used to cook mushrooms – just pile them all in the pan.  These are great served with steaks or anything else you love to eat with mushrooms!

Cook’s Country 2011

Ingredients
1 small bag baby carrots or 2-4 handfuls
3-4 potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes
¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 450*F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. Toss carrots and potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread on baking sheet in single layer.  Bake 30 minutes then stir well and continue baking until fork tender.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This is just a simple recipe for roasting veggies.  You can certainly add spices, like garlic or rosemary, if desired.  You can also add other veggies if desired.  Just be conscientious of size and cooking time so that everything finishes together.

Shown here with Slow Cooker Pot Roast.

Person - Gwen

Ingredients
1 pound tomatoes, cut into small pieces
²⁄₃ cup red onion, finely chopped
¹⁄₄ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and chill in refrigerator. 

Comments
This recipe is from epicurious.com.  It’s another super simple one that gets better with age/time in the refrigerator. 

Shown here with Chicken Shawarma, pita bread, Tahini Sauce, and Tabbouleh.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
2 acorn squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper
5 tablespoons maple syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¹⁄₈ tablespoon cayenne pepper

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475*F. Halve squash through stem, seed, and cut each half into 4 wedges. Toss squash, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Arrange squash, cut side down, in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bottoms of squash are deep golden brown, about 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring syrup to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and cayenne until smooth. Cover and keep warm.

3. When bottoms of squash are deep golden, remove from oven. Flip squash to other cut side and brush with half of glaze. Bake, rotating baking sheet, until squash is tender and deep golden all over, about 15 minutes. Flip and brush with remaining glaze.

Comments
This recipe is from the 2011 Cook’s Country Annual.  I had two acorn squashes leftover from the market season and this was a great recipe to use them up.  The glaze was great and we devoured all of the slices. 

Shown here with Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin.

Cook’s Country 2011

Ingredients
For the filling
20 ounces fresh baby spinach
¹⁄₄ cup water
12 ounces feta cheese, rinsed, patted dry, and crumbled into fine pieces (about 3 cups)
³⁄₄ cup Greek yogurt (not the non-fat variety)
4 green onions, sliced thin
2 large eggs, beaten
¹⁄₄ cup fresh mint, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground black pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon table salt
¹⁄₈ teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the phyllo layers
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¹⁄₂ pound phyllo, thawed (Sheets should be around 14x9 inches.  I had to cut mine in half to achieve this.) 
1 ¹⁄₂ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions
1. Place spinach and water in large microwave safe bowl. Cover bowl and microwave on high power until spinach is wilted and decreased in volume by half, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from microwave and keep covered for 1 minute.  (I had to do this in two batches.) 

2. Remove spinach from container and transfer to colander set in sink.  Using back of rubber spatula, press spinach against colander to remove excess liquid.  Transfer spinach to cutting board and roughly chop.  Squeeze in kitchen towel to remove as much excess liquid as possible.  Place drained spinach in large bowl and add remaining filling ingredients.  Mix until thoroughly combined. 

3. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425*F.  Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Using pastry brush, lightly brush 14x9-inch rectangle in center of parchment with melted butter. 

4. Lay 1 phyllo sheet on buttered parchment and brush thoroughly with melted butter.  Repeat with 9 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter. 

5. Spread spinach mixture evenly over phyllo, leaving ¹⁄₄-inch border on all sides.  Cover spinach with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter and sprinkling each with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.  Place 2 more phyllo sheets on top, brushing each with butter. 

6. Working from center outward, use palms of your hands to compress layers and press out any air pockets.  Using a sharp knife, score pie through top 3 layers of phyllo into serving size pieces.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.  Bake until phyllo is golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool on baking sheet 10 minutes or up to 2 hours.  Slide spanakopita, using parchment, to cutting board.  Cut and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the Cook’s Illustrated 2011 Annual.  Art and I love it but Lance found it to be a little on the sour side.  I thought it went very well with the soup and leftovers were fantastic both cool and toasted in the toaster oven.  The phyllo layers were lovely and crispy and the spinach mixture had tons of great flavors due to the spices and mint. 

Shown here with Avgolemono Soup.

Cook’s Illustrated 2011

Ingredients
¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ cup cider vinegar (I used red apple balsamic.)
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds mustard greens

Instructions
1. Heat oil and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

2. Stir in vinegar and pour over greens.  Season with salt and pepper then toss well.  Serve immediately. 

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from epicurious.com.  The original recipe calls for mixed greens, but I used all mustard greens.  Sadly, the dish sucked.  We tossed the leftovers and didn’t eat very much of it with our meal either.  It might be better with different greens, but I don’t think I’ll give it another go to find out.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
1 pound Brussels sprouts (I used frozen.  If using fresh, trim and halve if large.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400*F. 

2. Place sprouts in rimmed baking sheet and toss with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. 

3. Roast 30 to 35 minutes or until tender.  Stir every 5 to 10 minutes for even roasting. 

Comments
This recipe is from Two Peas and Their Pod.  I’m quite a lover of Brussels sprouts but don’t often make them because I have this idea that no one else likes them.  Art actually had seconds because he enjoyed them so much and Lance, not always a fan of “green things,” enjoyed his as well.  The balsamic added a bit of a nice, fruity flavor to the sprouts and I enjoyed them quite a bit.  This recipe is a keeper. 

Shown here with Balsamic Sirloin Tip Roast.

Internet - Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients
4 pounds frozen sweet corn
16 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
³⁄₄ cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt

Instructions
1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook on LOW for 4 hours.  Stir well and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from Bluebonnets and Brownies.  I admit, I love creamed corn.  I only want it about once a year, but I’ve been looking for a good recipe for that yearly craving for a very long time.  It seems like most every recipe I’ve found requires canned corn or canned cream corn and I am not interested in eating, or cooking with, either of those things. 

This recipe, however, called for no strange ingredients and was awesome.  It was everything I wanted, creamy, warm, filling, great corn flavor.  Fantastic.  Art actually had multiple servings, which shocked me because he wasn’t expecting to like it at all.  If I wasn’t so attached to the dishes I currently serve at Thanksgiving, this recipe might almost make the menu. 

Take note that it is a HUGE recipe with the 4 pounds of corn.  I put about half of it into the freezer.  You might consider halving things if 4 pounds of corn would be a ridiculous amount for your family. 

The corn is shown here with “random steaks.”  Art grilled up some mock tender steaks as well as a flat iron from the CSA.  All were scrumptious with just a bit of Weber Garlic and Herb seasoning.

Internet - Bluebonnets and Brownies