Several years ago, we received a promotional mailing from American Express.  We normally toss these straight into the trash, even before opening, but for some reason, we were intrigued by this one.  Food & Wine: Does it get any better than that?!  We love to eat, cook, and drink wine.  Sign us up!

Tonight’s recipe is one of our favorite finds from our Food & Wine subscription.  I just looked at the publication date when I looked up the recipe: 2009!  Yikes!  How has it been 6 years that we’ve been making this one on a regular basis?!  Time really does fly!  But, that should tell you just how good this one is!

One of my favorite parts of this recipe is the pesto.  You could follow the pesto recipe for anything.  (I love a good pesto in the summer!)  This sandwich really comes together quickly, which is another plus.  We often use our panini press to grill the zucchini AND grill the sandwiches, but I was out of counter space the other night and chose my trusty grill pan instead.  I bought a veggie pack from Trader Joe’s (SO GOOD – I don’t know why I don’t do it more often!) to serve on the side.  It included mushrooms, red onions, and asparagus, and I added some mini bell peppers that I needed to cook.  Just sauteed in a pan with some EVOO, and our meal was complete!

Grilled Gruyère-and-Zucchini Sandwiches with Smoky Pesto

(From Food & Wine)

Ingredients

1 packed cup basil leaves
1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped (I just throw the garlic into my food processor first, chop, and then add in the remaining ingredients)
1/2 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Salt
One 8-ounce zucchini, cut into 4 lengthwise slices
4 English muffins, preferably Bays, split (Look for a whole-wheat option!)
4 ounces Gruyère or Appenzeller cheese, cut into 8 thin slices

Instructions

In a mini food processor, combine the basil, garlic and paprika and process until finely chopped. (Put garlic clove in whole, chop, then add the basil and paprika.)  With the machine on, gradually pour in the 3 tablespoons of olive oil until blended. Season the pesto with salt.
Light a grill. Brush the zucchini slices with olive oil and season with salt. Grill over high heat until nicely charred and just tender, about 2 minutes per side. Cut each zucchini slice in half crosswise.
Grill the English muffins, cut side down, over low heat, until just soft, about 30 seconds. Turn and grill until the muffins start to brown, about 1 minute. Spread the cut sides of the muffins with the pesto. Layer 1 slice of cheese, 2 zucchini pieces and 1 more slice of cheese on the bottom halves of each muffin. Close the sandwiches and brush the tops and bottoms with olive oil. Grill the sandwiches over low heat, turning, until they’re crisp on the outside and the cheese is melted, about 4 minutes total. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve right away.

Bon Appétit!

Today’s recipe incorporates two of my foreign ingredients: eggplant and tofu.  I consider them to be “foreign” because I don’t exactly feel comfortable preparing them.  As a result, I tend to avoid them.  (I think I may have mentioned that already here and here 😉 )I’ve been trying to be better about getting out of my recipe rut, though.  Let me just tell you that this recipe is so worth it!

Hubby always calls when he’s on his way home from work.  He has about a 45 minute drive, so a lot of times, this is my cue to start or finish dinner.  We almost always sit down to eat dinner as a family when he walks in the door.  It’s a fun routine of ours, and I think it’s one of the reasons Munchkin enjoys mealtime so much.  Tonight when Hubby called, he asked what was on the menu for dinner.  When he heard the words “eggplant” and “tofu,” he said, “Sounds delicious!”  (Please imagine the most sarcastic tone here!)  When he walked in the door, though, he said “It smells good in here!  I could smell it from the driveway.”

We each took a bite and both agreed that it was, in fact, delicious.

Thai Basil Eggplant

(Adapted from Vegetarian Gastronomy)

Ingredients

1 eggplant
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 white onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 14-oz. block firm tofu
2 cloves garlic, minced
basil leaves
EVOO

For the sauce

4 1/2 TBS Plum sauce
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tsp sweet chili sauce
2 tsp whole wheat flour

Directions

To Prepare the Eggplant

Cut off the top and bottom tips.
Slice the eggplant into strips 3/4 inch wide by 2 inches long.
In a large skillet, heat 2-3 TBS EVOO on medium heat.
Add the eggplant pieces and toss to coat them in oil.  Add about 1/4 cup of water, reduce heat to simmer, and cover.
Check the eggplant every 5 minutes. Stir the eggplant and add water or oil as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Once eggplant is cooked, but not mushy, turn off the heat and set aside in the pan.

To Prepare the Tofu

Cut the tofu block in half. Place each half in a clean paper towel one at a time and squeeze gently to remove excess storage liquid (without breaking up the tofu).
Cut the tofu into 1/2-Inch cubes.
In another skillet, heat 2 TBS EVOO over medium heat, and pan fry the tofu until golden brown on all sides.

To Prepare the Sauce

Whisk all sauce ingredients until flour has completely dissolved.
Once the tofu is done, set it aside in a separate bowl.
In the same skillet, add 1 TBS EVOO and heat on medium-high. Add the thinly sliced onions and bell peppers. Saute until they are cooked but still firm. Add the minced garlic half way through.

To Prepare the Dish

Add the cooked tofu and veggies to the pan with the cooked eggplant. Turn the heat up to medium and stir in the sauce.
Once the pan is hot, turn the heat down to low-medium and mix frequently until the sauce slightly thickens and coats the eggplant and veggies. This should only take a few minutes.
Turn off the heat and add some freshly chopped basil. Mix once more and serve hot with some quinoa or brown rice!

Bon Appétit!

A couple months ago, I finally branched out and tried a cauliflower dish for Meatless Monday.  I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed it that I’ve been trying to be better about breaking out of my comfort zone.  Especially when it comes to Meatless Monday, I find myself preparing the same dishes, mainly because I’m not quite sure of how to fix it.  (This week, I’m attempting tofu AND eggplant in the same dish 😉 )

Last weekend was a little bit of a doozy.  Munchkin was up all Saturday night with a dry cough (Thanks, allergies!), and it took him a couple days to get over it, which meant little sleep going on in this house.  Monday, I just couldn’t get both of us out of the house, and I was scrounging for a meal.  Hubby had made a Costco run and had stocked us up on veggies, so I knew I could throw something together for dinner.  Then, I remembered that we had tortillas and cauliflower in the fridge.  That combo sounded intriguing.  Again, I was surprised by how GOOD cauliflower can be!  And, let me just tell you about the tortillas.  Hubby found these at Costco, and let me just tell you that they are AMAZING!  With only five ingredients, they have got to be the closest thing to homemade that you can get from a store.  (I keep thinking that I’ll try making my own from scratch, but don’t hold your breath!)  These are actually uncooked, and all you do is heat them in a dry pan for about 30 seconds each side.  Easy Peasy!

Hubby and I FINALLY managed to prepare our taxes last Monday night (Nothing like waiting until the last minute!), so I didn’t have time to blog, but I did want to share this recipe with you.  (Better late than never, right?!)  Hubby purchased turbo tax about a month ago, but when he went to install it on our iMac, he learned that our OS was outdated.  Ugh!  I love Apple products, but I’m getting really frustrated with our iMac.  There are several updates that we don’t qualify for with this particular OS.  We either have to purchase a new OS or a new computer.  Aggravating.  We ended up borrowing our neighbors laptop (Thanks, K!), but we’re definitely going to have to figure out something for next year.  Part of me wants to go back to the laptop, but I just can’t decide.  😉

Cauliflower Tacos

Ingredients

2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
Juice of 1 lime
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS water
1 cup of chickpeas (I had some in the freezer)
1 small head cauliflower, washed and cut into bite-size florets
Tortillas (Seriously, try these!)
Greek Yogurt (Fage is my favorite to substitute for sour cream as a topping)
Shredded cheddar (Buy a block and shred it yourself!)
Sriracha

Instruction

Cauliflower Tacos

I have a couple of go-to meals I use when I’m trying to use up what’s in our fridge and when I don’t have a lot of time to prep.  We had quite an eventful weekend around here, complete with a trip to the ER to tend to Munchkin after he suffered a febrile seizure.  Those of you with experience or medical training probably already know that these seizures are not uncommon.  But, however commonplace they may be, they are no less terrifying!

I was actually getting ready for a dear friend’s baby shower (picture me in my bathrobe with a towel around my head) when I heard Hubby calling to me, “Babe, what’s he doing??”  Hubby carried Munchkin in his arms to me, and his little body was just twitching away.  I calmly said, “He’s having a seizure,” and then proceeded to enter complete panic mode.  My first instinct was to call our pediatrician’s office, but I got the automated message.  At this point, Munchkin had stopped seizing and was now just laying limp in Hubby’s arms.  We both tried to rouse him, but he was unresponsive.  Breathing, but he wouldn’t open his beautiful eyes.  I dialed 911, and waited.  For what felt like an eternity.  In the meantime, Hubby said he would just take him to the hospital.  We literally live less than a mile from the nearest hospital, and although it’s not a children’s hospital, in the moment he decided any medical attention was better than waiting on an ambulance.  Like I said, complete panic mode.  I watched Hubby pull out of the driveway, told the 911 operator who had FINALLY answered that we no longer needed assistance, and scrambled to put clothes on.  I grabbed jeans and a sweatshirt, slipped on my slippers, and pulled my wet, un-brushed hair into a ponytail.

The ER doc and nurses were wonderful, and although they are not used to dealing with babies, they kept us all calm.  I really appreciated the doctor taking the time to explain everything to us but also not rushing to worst case scenario.  He and the nurses were also honest about their limitations and assured us that they would consult with our pediatrician and the children’s hospital as necessary.  After about five hours in the ER, we were discharged, and ALL of us were exhausted.

For those of you not familiar with febrile seizures, they are caused by a sharp increase in temperature in a short amount of time.  We knew Munchkin was warm and not feeling well when we woke up Saturday morning.  We took his temperature and got a reading of 100°.  We usually let fevers ride so that they can fight whatever needs fighting in his little body, so we decided to just watch him throughout the day.  About 45 minutes later, Hubby noticed his little body twitched a couple of times.  He registered that that may not be normal, and then Munchkin began seizing.  The actual seizure lasted for probably a minute and half, which felt like an eternity but apparently is not too terribly long for a seizure.  (Some febrile seizures can last up to 15 minutes!  I cannot. even. imagine.)  Thankfully, we were able to rule out any serious cause of the seizure, but we were also left with practically no explanation as to what caused his fever in the first place.  Most likely a virus of some sort.

We visited our pediatrician today to go over Saturday’s events and to make sure nothing else was going on.  They worked us in, right in the middle of Munchkin’s usual nap time.  He was a trooper, but he passed out as soon as we got home and ended up sleeping a lot longer than I thought he would.  I also found out at his appointment that he had the beginnings of an ear infection.  After all of the weekend excitement, our doctor prescribed an antibiotic to keep us out of the ER.  😀  I spent the afternoon researching gut flora after antibiotics.  Such a fun topic 😉  This is Munchkin’s first round of antibiotics, so I’m hoping to avoid any nasty side effects.  He’s also gotten a little finicky about taking his fermented cod liver oil, so I also looked at recipes for vitamin gummies.  I found some great ideas for gummies and popsicles that will hopefully get us back on track quickly!

At any rate, I did not have time to menu plan this afternoon, and after Munchkin woke up from his nap, I was running out of time to get something on the table.  That’s when I thought of one of my favorite scrounge meals: Frittata!  We almost always have eggs in the house, especially now since they make such a great breakfast for Munchkin.  Frittatas are also a great way to use up any veggies that may be on their way out.  Because you’re sautéing them, you won’t notice if they aren’t the freshest.  Serve with a side salad and a baguette for a complete meal.  Or, embrace “breakfast for dinner” and serve up a fruit salad and maybe a buttermilk biscuit 😉

Veggie Frittata

Ingredients

2 TBS EVOO

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 zucchini, quartered lenthwise and sliced

8 oz mushrooms (my local grocery store often runs “manager specials” on mushrooms that need to be eaten pronto; this is a great use!)

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

1 handful kale (I had some in the freezer that I threw in; no need to thaw!)

1 large pinch herbes de provence

Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup white wine

4 oz goat cheese

8 eggs, beaten

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Heat EVOO over medium high heat in an oven proof skillet.  Add garlic.  Cook for about 30 seconds, then add onion.  Cook for a couple minutes, then add zucchini and mushrooms.  Add salt, pepper, and herbes de provence.  Cook until mushrooms, zucchini, and onions have softened.  Meanwhile, lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add cheese.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow to cook down.  Add the kale and tomatoes, and cook until warmed through.  Add the egg and cheese mixture and reduce heat to low.  Once eggs begin to set around the edge of the pan, place in the oven to finish cooking for about 10 minutes.

Veggie Frittata

Bon Appétit!

One of Hubby’s favorite menu requests is baked brie.  Almost every time he’s in charge of a Costco run, he comes back with a wheel of brie to ensure it makes it onto the next week’s menu.  Who can blame him?  Cheese and crackers is a always a favorite.  We love to make it a complete meal with a side salad, some fruit, and maybe some charcuterie (on non-meatless days, that is 😉 ).  And, don’t forget the wine!

I’ve been making baked brie for so long that I don’t even remember where my recipe originated.  I actually have two ways of making it:  1) with brown sugar and 2) fruit preserves, which is how I prepared it tonight.  Both are equally delicious, and we often have a tough time deciding which way to go.  So tough, in fact, that a lot of the time I end up doing both – half a wheel for each!  I decided to just go with fruit tonight.  Munchkin picked out cherry preserves at the store today – great choice!  Blackberry and raspberry are also top picks.

I also added caprese salad to the cheese plate, mainly because Munchkin LOVES tomatoes, and we had two left from making tomato soup last week.  Just enough for him!  (He ate almost the entire selection of caprese himself!)  This is a great meal for these early Spring nights when all we want to do is soak up every last second of sunshine rather than worry about what’s for dinner.  Munchkin literally cried when we had to come in for the night.  We are all SO over winter and rainy weather!  A week and half of colds and sore throats in this house has not helped.  Tonight, we are thankful for daylight savings time, a later sunset, and warmer weather on its way.

Baked Brie

Ingredients

1 Wheel of Brie Cheese

Fruit Preserves (choose one without corn syrups!)

Filo dough, thawed

3 TBS butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.  Cover the top of the wheel of brie with fruit preserves.  I used about 3 TBS, but use more or less to your liking.  Place preserves-side down on top of a stack of filo dough.  2 layers at a time, fold the filo up around the wheel and brush with butter to seal together.  Turn the wheel 90° or so with every layer so that the cheese is completely covered.  When finished, brush the entire outside with butter.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Brie

Bon Appétit!

This recipe has quickly become one of our favorite cold-weather dishes.  It cooks in the crock pot, and it will feed a party!  It makes plenty to eat, freeze and give away!  Just serve with some tortilla chips and any of your favorite chili toppings.  To reheat, add a little chicken stock.

Chicken Quinoa Chili

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed with boiling water

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (low sodium)

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (low sodium)

1 can green chilies

2 cups black beans, cooked (or 2 15-oz cans)

1 cup frozen corn

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

3 chicken breasts

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp chili powder

Instructions

Season chicken with salt and pepper and place at the bottom of the crock pot.

Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.

Cook on low 5-7 hours.

Remove chicken and shred, then return to crock pot and stir.

Chicken Quinoa Chili

Bon Appétit!