Tag Archives: summer vegetables

Simple Summer Ratatouille

Posted on 08/15/2012 by Cookinfanatic | 3 Comments

What do you do when you receive a boatload of vegetables from a good friend’s garden but only cook whatitseems once a week….?

Why make ratatouille of course!!!

All you need is a little bit of (unsupervised) stove time, a pile of veggies and a jar of marinara and you are good.to.go.

Oh yea. Plus some fun toppings & sidez for serving

This is a dish that we had often growing up, so it’s sort of a comfort food for me.

Fanatic mom made many variations on this, which is the beauty of it, you can make it just like you like it with whatever you have on hand!

While it may not be traditional, today’s version went a lil’ something like this:

Lil’ onion, garlic, zucchini, summer squash…

Green pepper, eggplant, tomato…

Tomato sauce, salt, pepper, dried oregano and basil…

Simmered away while spending a lazy sunday on the couch.

And before you know it, a hearty healthy summerfied meal is on the table!

This time around I topped with some freshly shredded cheese (highly recommend!) and some Italian chicken sausage, which I simply sliced and browned in a skillet.

I also served with a new food obsession of mine courtesy of Trader Joes: Garlic bread w/ Parmesan, Asiago and Monterey Jack cheeses.

Allz I’m sayin’ is TRY IT. Seriously y’all, this bread is ridiculous

Healthy. Easy. Delicious. And you know how I feel about THAT

Enjoy!

Simple Summer Ratatouille

Serves 3-4

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large green peppers, chopped
3 banana peppers, chopped
2 large zucchini/summer squash, chopped
1 medium eggplant, chopped
3 large tomatoes, chopped
1-2 tblsp dried oregano & basil (to taste)
sea salt & black pepper (to taste)
1 tblsp olive oil

**use whatever veggies you like / have on hand**

1. Chop all the veggies. This is the “hardest” part of this dish. After that it’s smoooooth sailin’….

2. Add olive oil to a pot over medium heat, throw in onion for 3-4 minutes until it softens. Add garlic, cooking another 1-2 minutes while stirring, until fragrant.

3. Now just throw in the rest of the vegetables and seasonings, giving a good stir and cooking for another 5 minutes or so.

4. Pour in pasta sauce and bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover, cooking over low for another 30-60 minutes depending on how much time you got. You want the flavors to really blend and the veggies to get fork tender fall apart soft, so the longer the better I probably let it go over an hour until it was dinner time.

To serve: shredded cheese, sliced chicken sausage, garlic bread.

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Posted in Easy Yummy Dinners, Meatless Meals, Recipes

Tagged pasta sauce, ratatouille, summer vegetables

Summer Pasta w/ Sweet Oranges, Tomatoes & Spinach

Posted on 06/21/2012 by Cookinfanatic | 5 Comments

Well well… look who finally got back into the kitchen

And I’ll tell ya. I’m sure glad I did!

This simple summer recipe combines flavors that you probably never thought would go hand in hand…

And until tasting for myself I’m not sure I thought they would either!

But let me tell y’all. This.Just.WORKED.

What’s great about this dish too is that it’s best served at room temperature.

So it’s no big deal to leave out for a little while on a hot day like today (near 100 degrees whaaa?!)…

No mayo. No meat. No problem?

A simple toast of the pepitas (pumpkin seeds).

Which you can find in the bulk bins at any grocery store that has them (I got these from Kroger).

A quick sizzle of tangy red onion and spicy jalapeno.

Combined with warm, cooked whole wheat pasta and fresh spinach…

Until just slightly wilted.

Seasoned with salt and pepper and cooled for a few minutes.

Then layered with bright ripe tomatoes and sweet juicy oranges.

Plus a handful of fresh cilantro.

A drizzle of sweet white balsamic vinegar & a splash of olive oil to finish.

Followed by a quick toss.

Then topped with a perfectly ripe slice of avocado.

And served!

Perfect summer time meal for dining al fresco…

Or at the kitchen table if dinner outside in 90+ just isn’t your thing

Either way. You’ll more than enjoy what this unique pasta dish has to offer!!

Such a surprise in each bite with the sweet bursts of orange, creamy melt in your mouth avocado, juicy ripe tomatoes and toasty pumpkin seeds.

And the simple, slightly sweet dressing really brings out all the flavors.

By the way, white balsamic vinegar is a bit sweeter than your usual balsamic and can be found at most grocery stores. It’s a kitchen staple of mine!

I’ll bet that you’ve never had anything like it. But will go back for seconds… maybe even thirds

Oh yea. And if you’re feelin’ crazy. Top it with some grilled chicken, shrimp or scallops. I think they’d all go wonderfully!

Summer Pasta w/ Sweet Oranges, Tomatoes & Spinach

Serves 3-4

1/2 package whole wheat angel hair pasta, cooked & drained
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 jalapeno w/ seeds, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
5 oz. (half bag) fresh spinach
3 tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
2 oranges, peel removed & diced
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
olive oil
white balsamic vinegar
sea salt & black pepper to taste

1. Boil pasta according to direction. While pasta boils, chop fruits & veggies.

2. Once pasta is done, drain and set aside. Add pepitas into pasta pot over medium-high heat to toast, just about 5 minutes. Remove from pot. Lower heat to medium and add 1 tblsp olive oil followed by jalapeno and onion. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes, or until soft.

3. Add pepitas back to pot along with warm pasta and fresh spinach, sea salt and black pepper. Toss to combine and warm through so that spinach starts to wilt. Turn off heat and cover, allowing to sit about 3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

4. Remove from pot and place pasta mixture into a large bowl to cool for 5-10 minutes. Then add tomatoes, oranges, cilantro, 1 tblsp olive oil and 3-4 tblsp white balsamic vinegar*, tossing gently to combine.

Serve with sliced avocado, which should be sliced up while eating to get a creamy piece in each bite!

*if you can’t find white balsamic vinegar, use regular balsamic with a sprinkle of sugar

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Posted in Dee-lish Dinner, Easy Yummy Dinners, Meatless Meals, Mexican recipes, Recipes

Tagged cilantro, orange, Pasta, pepitas, recipe, summer vegetables, tomato

Our Favorite Make-at-Home Crab Cakes

Posted on 04/10/2012 by Cookinfanatic | 9 Comments

If there’s one thing I know it’s that Fanatic Mom makes some of THE best crab cakes around…

Her go-to recipe based on this Phillips original is seriously a no fail ridiculously delicious dinner option y’all

She’s used both Panko breadcrumbs as well as saltines in lieu of the Ritz crackers/breadcrumb suggestion too and both work wonderfully.

Oh yea, she also uses Old Bay for the seasoning but just goes a little lighter than the called-for amount. No need to overpower the taste of that delicious crab meat, ya know

We really like the Phillips jumbo lump crab (unless using fresh) too. It may be a bit pricier but seriously worth the end result!

These are best when prepared ahead of time and chilled in the fridge to firm up before cooking.

Then just a quick pan-fry in a bit of olive oil to get a nice brown crust and cook the crab cakes through is all you need. Just be gentle when ya flip these suckers, they need a lil’ TLC too

To go with the crab cakes, a medley of corn, zucchini, sweet red bell pepper and onion will do just fine.

With just a touch of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper to season.

It’s really just that good without anything else. Simplicity, so underrated

And make sure to chop the veggies really small, everything being close to the size of the corn. For some reason that just makes this side dish even better?

To finish out the meal, a box of simply seasoned cous cous.