Radishes are so pretty and very easy to grow! These beauties all came from our little backyard garden. I planted the Easter variety – which is just a multi pack. My favorite is when you are surprised with the watermelon radishes. I just think they are so beautiful! There are a lot of things you can do with radishes and typically that involves simply slicing them thin or eating whole. I wanted to share something a little different with you this time.
This is super simple. Quarter your radishes or halve if smaller. Place in an oven safe dish and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
Melt a stick of butter in a pan. Add sage leaves and simmer until the butter starts to froth and turn a little brown.
Remove the sage leaves and place on a paper towel to absorb extra liquid.
Pour the melted butter on top of the radishes and stir to coat well.
Place your sage leaves on top of the radishes. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then, uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until the radishes are fork tender. The last minute, turn your oven to broil to crisp up the sage leaves. Enjoy!
Brown Butter Sage Roasted Radishes
Ingredients
- 1 dozen radishes approx
- 1 stick butter
- 1 bunch sage leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Quarter or halve your radishes. Place in an oven safe dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter in a pan on stove. Add sage leaves and simmer until butter starts to froth and turn brown. Remove sage leaves and place on paper towel to absorb extra liquid.
- Pour butter over radishes and stir together to evenly coat.
- Place sage leaves on top of radishes and cover pan with foil.
- Bake in over at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until radishes are fork tender (check in 15 minutes).
- For the last minute, turn over to broil to crisp up the sage leaves. Enjoy!
“George’s” Chicken Soup
We are having just a couple of cooler days in the desert before we shoot up toward the 90s next week. The cooler days combined with being stuck in the house made soup sound like just the thing for dinner. One of our favorite soups both David and I enjoy is from George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, CA. If you have never been – it’s worth it! The views are incredible and if the seals and sea lions are plentiful, they are just high and far enough away that the smell won’t ruin your appetite!
This recipe is a pretty close play on their soup, which you can find their recipe online as well! We just made a few small changes. To start, we are using leftover pulled chicken. I am loving having all of the smoked meat leftover as there are so many different meals you can create! You can find my beer can chicken recipe on this site as well – make 2 or 3 at a time, pull the meat apart and freeze what you don’t eat for later!
Next, heat some oil in a pan and add your diced veggies, carrots, celery, onion and broccoli (stems and florets). I used approx 2 cups of each. I made a big batch as we like this leftover too! Cook for about 5 minutes until veggies are starting to soften. Add about 2 tablespoons each of basil, thyme and oregano (Mediterranean or Greek/not Mexican). Stir and cook together for a few more minutes. Heat your pan up slightly and add some white wine to de-glaze the pan, about 1 cup or a little more.
Next, add in chicken broth or stock – I used about 6 cups in this batch. Stir together well and simmer reducing the liquid by about 1/3. Add in your chicken. Cook for another 5 minutes and then add in 2 cans of black beans, drained, 3 tablespoons of worcestershire and hot sauce (your favorite brand). Simmer until you are ready to eat.
Before you serve, add in about 2 cups of coconut cream and mix together well. That is just about it! I like to add a dollop or two of Greek yogurt on top to add a little extra creaminess and cool the temperature down slightly. Enjoy!
“George’s” Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 cups diced broccoli stems included
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 tbsp basil
- 2 tbsp thyme
- 2 tbsp oregano Greek or Mediterranean
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups chicken broth or stock
- 3-4 cups shredded chicken, or cubed preferrably smoked
- 2 cans black beans drained
- 3 tbsp worcestershire
- 3 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 cups coconut cream
- greek yogurt, non-fat/plain optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in pan and add diced veggies. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add about 2 tablespoons each of basil, thyme and oregano. Stir and cook together a few more minutes. Turn heat up slightly and add white wine to de-glaze the pan.
- Add in chicken broth, stir together well and simmer until liquid has reduced by about 1/3.
- Add in chicken. Cook for another 5 minutes and then add in beans, worcestershire and hot sauce.
- Simmer on low until ready to serve.
- Add in coconut cream and stir together, cooking for a minute or so.
- Enjoy! Add a dollop or two of yogurt on top if you like!
Lamb Ragu
My husband and I both love lamb and we love ragu. We had roasted a fantastic lamb shoulder from our favorite local meat market and of course, I froze the leftovers. I personally think the lamb really makes this recipe, but if you aren’t a fan you could easily substitute about any of your favorite meats. We also made homemade pasta for the first time to go with this ragu that made it even that much better, but I made several completely different meals with this ragu that all turned out fantastic!
I think you are all going to be completely shocked when you hear how this recipe starts…. olive oil, diced onion and minced garlic – surprise! 🙂 About 2 tbsp oil, 1 onion and 1/4 cup minced garlic. Then, I add in about 1.5 cups of diced carrots. I prefer the organic, colored carrots – I swear they taste better, have a better consistency and of course, I’m growing them in my garden right now! You can use whatever carrots you prefer.
Next, add in about 1 pint of sliced baby bella mushrooms. Then comes the fun part.. add in your heirloom tomatoes, about 8 medium to large. You crush them by hand over your pot. Be careful – sometimes they like to squirt across the room or into an eye!
Add in a whole bunch of fresh parsley – just remove from the stems and throw it in. Then add your meat. We had pre-cooked lamb that I diced into large bite size pieces. You could add beef or chicken or really anything you like, but the lamb is the best. 🙂 Add about 2 tablespoons of dried oregano (I save mine from the garden and I also swear it’s way different than what you buy at the store), 3/4 can of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of smoked paprika, ground peppercorn to taste and crushed red pepper flakes. (again depend on your spice tolerance)
Simmer this down for about 15 minutes and add about 1.5-2 cups of a dry red wine. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes or longer. I always say the longer sauces simmer the better!
Serve over pasta or like we did the following weekend – over potatoes topped with an egg for a breakfast hash. Both were delish! And several friends enjoyed some of the leftovers as well – including ones that had never had lamb before.
Lamb Ragu
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/4 cup minced garlic
- 1.5 cups diced carrots
- 1 pint baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 8 heirloom tomatoes medium-large
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
- 2 cups pre-cooked lamb or other meat approx
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 3/4 can tomato paste small can
- 2 tbsp smoke paprika
- ground peppercorn to taste
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- 1.5-2 cups dry red wine
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in pan and add onion and garlic. Dice carrots and add to the mixture. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add mushrooms. Crush the tomatoes by hand into the pot. Have a towel handy as this can get messy!
- Add in parsley and your cooked meat (lamb). Stir together well.
- Add in dried oregano, tomato paste, smoked paprika, ground peppercorn and crushed red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- Add in about 1.5-2 cups of wine and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
- Serve over pasta, potatoes, rice or share what other ideas you might have. ~Enjoy!
“Game” Day Chili
I know most people have a favorite chili recipe. I have some “secret” ingredients we like to use, but honestly it never turns out exactly the same twice. This one turned out to be one of the top 3 in our long chili history so I decided I should record this recipe for future and in case you are looking for some different chili ideas.
Even though it is still rather warm here in Arizona – it is still football season! We love college football in this house – go MIZZOU! And chili just seems like a fitting meal during this season. This is something I like to make the day before or early in the morning so it can simmer for hours. Chili just gets better the longer you cook it and the more times you re-heat!
Ok – this is easier if you gather, dice, mince your ingredients beforehand, but also not necessary. First thing to do: set your oven to broil. Place a poblano (or similar variety) pepper close to the top of the oven on a pan. Keep an eye on it – when it starts to turn about 1/2 black, flip it over and char the opposite side.
Once it’s charred at least 1/2 way on both sides, remove from the oven and place in a food safe plastic container, paper bag or my preference – a sandwich or ziplock bag. Let it steam for approx 5 minutes and until it’s just cool enough to handle. The steam helps separate the skin which you are then going to peel off. You can see in the picture above, I’ve peeled almost all of the skin off – I left a tiny bit at the bottom (for the picture)so you can see what we are talking about. Once it’s peeled, dice that sucker up. No need to remove the seeds, but usually when you remove the top of a poblano pepper the seeds follow easily.
While your poblano pepper is in the oven – go ahead and heat some olive oil in your pan. This makes a huge batch so you are going to need a large pan. I prefer my large dutch oven, but anything with a lid works fine. Add about one medium onion, diced and one large jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced to your oil. Stir until the onions begin to sweat. Then, add in about 3 cloves of minced garlic. We like garlic in this house so I may have used more! Add in your poblano pepper and stir together well – keeping your pot over medium heat.
Ok – isn’t this already looking amazing? To the pot above, I added a blend of hot sauces. I like to see whatever different ones we have on hand and just mix a few in. I kept this batch pretty mild and added in a green chili and another medium sauce local to AZ – probably 2 tablespoons each.
Next, I added a small can of tomato paste. Stir the mixture until combined well and let cook for about 3-5 minutes until you have a pretty thick paste like mixture. Then, I added in my meat. In honor of game day we kept with the theme and used venison, bison and lamb – a pound of each, ground. I warned that this makes a big batch! (but soo good leftover, even frozen). Mix those together well and as they start to cook let’s add in our dried seasonings. I used 2-3 tablespoons of each: ground coriander, chipotle chile pepper, cumin and chili powder.
Next, instead of adding salsa or canned tomatoes, I had a large bunch (about 1.5 pint+) of cherry tomatoes. I sliced them in 1/2 and added to the pot. I want these to completely cook down – so if you don’t have as much time for your chili to simmer you might consider cutting them into smaller pieces. Next into the pot goes about 1/2 cup of brown sugar and then your beans. I used 1 can each of pinto, red kidney and chili beans.
And we are getting closer to putting the lid on this pot for several hours.. The remaining ingredients added in after the beans were: 1/4 cup yellow mustard, 1/4 cup dark, pure maple syrup, 1/4 cup Worcestershire, 1/4 cup of liquid aminos and 1 chocolate beer – I used Sam Adams chocolate bock. Any dark beer would do, but I liked the idea of the chocolate flavor. That might be a “secret” ingredient in my other chili recipes..?
That’s it for now – stir it together well and put the lid on that pot! Let it simmer for preferably 2-3 hours minimum 🙂
This chili is good as is, but my favorite way to serve it is “Cincinnati style” which means over pasta topped with cheese (cheddar), sour cream and diced onions – yum! I love the crunch from the diced onions. My husband loves to top with Fritos – specifically the twist ones. We like to make it almost like a taco bar with all of the topping options and let friends pick however they want to build their bowl.
“Game” Day Chili
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 jalapeno large, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 poblano pepper large
- 4 tbsp hot sauce mixed varieties or your preference
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 1 lb ground venison
- 1 lb ground bison
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 2-3 tbsp ground coriander
- 2-3 tbsp chipotle chili pepper
- 2-3 tbsp ground cumin
- 2-3 tbsp chili powder
- 1.5-2 pint cherry tomatoes sliced in 1/2
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 can red kidney beans
- 1 can chili beans
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup dark, pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire
- 1/4 cup liquid aminos
- 1 bottle beer Sam Adams chocolate bock
Instructions
- Broil Poblano pepper in oven on high until turning black – about 1/2. Flip and do same to other side. Once finished, remove and place into plastic baggie to steam. After about 5 minutes, once cool enough to handle, peel the skin off of pepper. Remove top, dice and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add onion and thinly sliced jalapeno. Stir over medium heat until onions sweat.
- Add in minced garlic, diced poblano pepper and your hot sauce and mix together.
- Add the can of tomato paste and stir together until mixture is a thick almost paste.
- Add your ground meat and mix together well. Add your dried seasoning: coriander, chipotle chili pepper, cumin and chili powder.
- Once your meat is all cooked and there is no more pink, add in cherry tomatoes. Stir together well and add in the brown sugar.
- Now add in your beans: pinto, red kidney and chili
- Add in your remaining ingredients: yellow mustard, maple syrup, worcestershire, liquid aminos and your beer.
- Stir everything together well. Make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of your pan. Turn heat down to low/simmer. Put the lid on and simmer for 2-3 hours (at least). Check and stire every once in a while so nothing sticks to the bottom of your pan.
Lemon Ginger Veggie Chicken Bowl
We’ve been super busy this summer.. job changes including lots of studying for David, company, travel, more company, etc. Finally we have a week at home with just us and decided we are staying in and keeping it simple for dinner all week. Time to RESET! I had some chicken already marinated and in the freezer and for whatever reason we kept skipping over the lemon ginger marinade. So I pulled it out to thaw and while at the salad bar at the grocery store over lunch grabbed a few ingredients to add!
The Lemon, Ginger chicken is a simple marinade: Olive oil, ground ginger, crushed red pepper flakes and lemon juice. Throw your chicken breasts with these ingredients into a zip lock bag and in the freezer. When you are ready to use, just pull out the morning of to thaw!
Next, I added about 1.5 tablespoons of ghee butter to my pan and heated over medium. I added in one bunch of broccolini – roughly chopped/separated into large “bite” size pieces. Stir into the melted ghee and sprinkle with a touch of salt, garlic powder, crush red pepper flakes and ground ginger.
I saw some gorgeous chanterelle mushrooms at the store earlier and grabbed them just in case.. so I threw them into the mixture as well. They were fairly small already – no need to chop. I then squeezed in the juice of one (juicy) lemon, a small bit of honey and some meyer lemon olive oil. If you don’t have meyer lemon, regular is fine as we already added fresh lemon juice. Stir over medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes.
Then I added riced cauliflower. I used a bag of frozen from Sprouts and threw it in straight out of the freezer. Stir this together well over medium-high heat for another 4-5 minutes, then lower to a simmer and cover.
I didn’t grab any good pictures of the chicken for you, but they were just simple, organic chicken breasts with some non-colorful marinade. We grilled them over medium-high heat on the grill until they reach a temperature of 160 degrees. The optimal temperate for chicken is 165 degrees, but taking it off the grill slightly early and allowing to cool a few minutes before slicing will bring it to temperate and not lose all of the juice.
Lastly, I decided we needed just a touch of a sauce or something to drizzle on top of the bowl. So I made a creamy ginger sauce. I mixed together the following in a small bowl: approx 3 tbsp of Greek yogurt (non-fat), 2 tbsp of coconut aminos, 1.5 tbsp meyer lemon olive oil, 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 squeezed lemon, ground ginger, garlic powder and just a dash of salt. Mix together until creamy.
Slice your chicken and place over top your veggie mix in a bowl. Drizzle with your sauce. And – enjoy! 🙂 We only used maybe 1/2 of the sauce or left – so we’ll see how long it keeps in the fridge.
Lemon Ginger Veggie Chicken Bowl2
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts large, organic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes approx
- 4 tbsp ground ginger approx
- 1.5 tbsp ghee butter
- 1 bunch broccolini roughly chopped/separated
- dash salt
- 4 tsp garlic powder
- 1.25 cups chanterelle mushrooms approx
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp meyer lemon olive oil
- 12 oz riced cauliflower frozen (1 package)
- 3 tbsp greek yogurt non-fat
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
Instructions
Lemon Ginger Grilled Chicken
- To make your marinade, mix together the following ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil, juice of one lemon, 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes and 2 tbsp of ground ginger.
- Place chicken and marinade in zip lock bag and marinate over-night or place in freezer for future use.
- Thaw chicken before grilling. Grill over medium-high heat until chicken is 160 degrees. Let rest for 4 minutes before slicing. (you could also cook in oven or on stove and just look for the same temperature)
Lemon Ginger Cauliflower Veggies
- Heat about 1.5 tbsp of ghee butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add in your broccolini and stir for 3-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle with a dash of salt, 2 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp of ground ginger and 1 tbsp of crushed red pepper flakes. (go light on the pepper if you are sensitive to heat/spicy)
- Add your mushrooms, 1 tbsp of honey, juice of 1/2 lemon and 1.5 tbsp of meyer lemon olive oil. Stir together another 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Pour your bag of frozen riced cauliflower into the pan (you can also use fresh!). Stir together well and reduce to a low/simmer heat and cover. Cook until your veggies are to your liking. I was multi-tasking and left them on a little longer than normal for us, but about another 12 minutes overall.
Creamy Ginger Sauce
- Mix together the following ingredients until smooth and creamy: Greek yogurt, coconut aminos, 1.5 tbsp meyer lemon olive oil, 1 tbsp of honey, ground ginger, 1/2 squeezed lemon juice, garlic powder and just a dash of salt.
Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce over Zucchini
Ok – I realized this is extremely similar to a recipe I have already posted. However, it turned out quite a bit different. Just a few small changes this time. I guess I will leave both recipes up so you can see the variations and pick what sounds best to you!
I know I have given several “zoodle” recipes already, but it’s summer time and there is nothing better than garden fresh veggies! I was visiting my parents last week and picked up lots of goodies at the local farmers market including these beautiful heirloom tomatoes, zucchini and yellow summer squash. This recipe is a favorite of mine and it’s so easy!
You can use any size tomato for this recipe – so if you are growing multiple varieties and want to use cherry tomatoes and large heirlooms go for it! If you have cherry tomatoes, I like to cut in half and if they are larger, just cut down accordingly – maybe into quarters. Spread them on a jelly roll pan. (that’s a baking sheet that has a lip around the sides) Drizzle on some olive oil, red wine vinegar, about a tablespoon or a little more of minced garlic, a dash of kosher salt and some red pepper flakes. The pepper adds some nice heat, if you are sensitive to spicy, then go light on the pepper flakes, but don’t worry we will balance out the heat later. Shake the pan around to make sure your tomatoes are all coated. Throw in the oven set at 375 degrees and bake until they are starting to burst. (cutting them in half saves some time here)
Next, let’s make our “zoodles.” And – oops! I forgot to take a picture so here is an old one so you can see what type of “zoodles” I used this time. My mom bought the same spiralizer I have and I thought it had the blade for the noodles that are more like spaghetti style set up, but it was the ribbon blade and I decided that was even better! I actually used about 3 small zucchini and one larger yellow summer squash combined.
Squeeze any excess water out by placing between paper towels. These really didn’t have much excess water as they were super fresh! Heat some ghee butter (or olive oil if you prefer) over medium-high heat and add your “zoodles.” Stir well to coat in your butter and then cover. I actually added a dash of water to help mine steam as I said these were super fresh and had almost zero excess water. If your zucchini is watery you won’t need to add any! These took about 10 minutes to cook through.
Once your tomatoes are starting to pop, you can pull them out of the oven and add to your cooked veggies. I use a spatula to scrape all of the bits from the pan as the juices make a nice, light sauce for summer.
Stir together your veggies and the “sauce” and then add some crumbled goat cheese. This makes for a super creamy, but still light sauce and also helps cut a little of the heat from your crushed red pepper flakes.
I like to sprinkle a little extra on top of each bowl just before serving. That’s it – I hope you enjoy! I’ve also made a similar sauce on top of regular pasta if you have been “zoodled” out like my husband would say.
Creamy Roasted Tomato Sauce over Zucchini
Ingredients
- 3 small zucchini
- 1 medium yellow, summer squash
- 1.5 pints tomatoes any size, add more if you like
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp minced garlic
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp chrushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp ghee butter can substitute olive oil if you prefer
- 5 oz goat cheese approx
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut your tomatoes into pieces and spread on a jelly roll pan. Add your olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss together to coat the tomatoes well and put in the oven.
- Make your zoodles. We used the ribbon blade on the spiralizer and loved the texture for this recipe. Squeeze any excess water between paper towels.
- Heat the ghee butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add your zoodles and stir to coat them in the butter. Cover with a lid and let steam for approx 7-10 minutes. The cook time will depend on the water content of your veggies. (the more water the faster they will cook).
- Once your tomatoes are starting to burst, remove them from the over and add to your cooked zoodles. Use a spatula to scrape off all of the extra bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Crumble the goat cheese and add about 1/2. Stir together well. Add more of the cheese to taste and top with a few crumbles before serving if you like. ~Enjoy!
Refreshing Broccoli Slaw
This is the slaw I was telling you about – the one we topped the Turkey Burgers with! This was pretty simple and turned out really yummy! I used the bagged (or boxed) broccoli slaw to start. It holds its crunch better 🙂 Still, when making slaw I like to make ahead a few hours if possible to let the flavors really mix together.
This is the base that I started with. Mostly broccoli with a few carrots and red cabbage mixed in. Next, I very thinly sliced some fresh radish. About two small ones. Same thing with a cucumber. I had a 1/4 of one left so I used that and another.
Add those to your bowl of broccoli slaw. And lastly, before the dressing I threw in some raw, organic kraut. Basically it’s fermented red cabbage. Fermented foods are good for your gut! I found the jar at sprouts in the refrigeration section. Here is a picture and link to their website for more information on the products!
After mixing those together well, we make the “dressing.” I started with my meyer lemon olive oil. This is something I will be keeping in my pantry from now on. I only used about 1 ounce. I then added in another ounce of citrus champagne vinegar. This is another item we keep on hand. Especially because we make our own salad dressings – as we all should. So much tastier and better for you! Next, I added in some dill weed and some greek yogurt. Probably about 2 tablespoons of the dill and about a 2/3 cup of yogurt. And the final touch, pure maple syrup. I’m also guessing about 2 tablespoons. You can start with less and add more to taste. You can use an immersion blender to mix this or just a tiny whisk works great too. Just mix together really well until it looks like this…
Mix Pour this into your bowl of slaw and stir together really well. Let it sit in the fridge to incorporate. Preferably a couple of hours, but at least 30 minutes. Enjoy it alone as a side or as a topping on your burger!
Refressing Broccoli Slaw
Ingredients
- 12 oz broccoli slaw
- 2 radishes
- 1.5 cucumbers
- 1/4 cup raw, organic kraut red cabbage
- 1 oz meyer lemon olive oil
- 1 oz citrus champagne vinegar
- 2/3 cup greek yogurt plain
- 2 tbsp dill weed
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Thinly slice your radishes and cucumbers. Mix together in a bowl with your slaw and kraut.
- Mix together remaining ingredients until you have a smooth, creamy texture.
- Add your dressing to your slaw mix. Stir together thouroughly. Sit in the refrigerator to let incorporate for at least 30 minutes, but 2+ hours is best.
- Enjoy alone as a side or as a topping on a burger or anything you can imagine!
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Peppers are easy to grow in the garden. I have had success with them both in the Midwest as well as in Arizona. Currently I am growing.. jalapenos, serranos, poblanos, bell peppers, anaheim, about 6 banana pepper plants (because they grow so well and there is soooo much you can do with them) and then what I thought was pepperoncini, but still have yet to determine what they actually are. I have stuffed all varieties, but find my favorites for this recipe are the banana, poblano , bell and anaheim peppers. I had one large poblano, a couple very large anaheim and quite a few medium size banana peppers ready to go so that is what I used this time around.
I cut the top off of each pepper, slit almost all the way down, but not cutting in half and remove as many seeds as you can. These are all pretty mild peppers so you don’t need to spend too much time worrying about removing each one. Then, I took some tomatoes, also from the garden, and squeezed them into a bowl. They need to be ripe enough for this, that you can actually squeeze them. I then threw in some of my dried oregano (also from the garden) – it has become one of my most favorite spices. I am growing extra right now so that I will have plenty to dry and store again before I use it all up! Next goes in the fresh parsley (a can is fine as well if you don’t have fresh). One thing I have learned about Italian cooking is that all of the best Italian recipes are heavy on fresh parsley. A few sprinkles of some smoked paprika and some fresh ground pepper finish of your mixture in the bowl.
I used ground pork again, you can use whatever ground meat you prefer or keep on hand. I like the mild flavor of the pork in this recipe and it also tends to be one we have on hand the most. I diced up a few of my smaller peppers and threw them into a tiny bit of oil and heated for a minute before adding my pork. Cook the pork all the way through and then add in your tomato and seasonings from earlier.
Stir together until heated through. Then, we stuff the peppers. Line the stuffed peppers in a baking dish. Top them with your favorite marinara sauce. Homemade is great, canned is just fine. If I am going to use a jar one of my favorites is the Sprouts Brand – organic, tomato basil. Come to think of it, I probably should have added basil in our spices above. I guess the sauce will help make up for that!
Try to spread your sauce out as evenly as possible, covering as much of the peppers as you can. This will help them become a little softer as they cook. Lastly, sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese on top. I baked these at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. We seem to think these are very filling and one large pepper is more than enough for a meal for myself! They are pretty darn good leftover as well.
Stuffed Garden Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 dozen peppers assorted sizes and kinds
- 6 fresh tomatoes medium size, approx
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh or jar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ground pepper
- 25 oz marinara sauce fresh or jarred (standard jar size)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the top off of your peppers and cut a slit down one side, almost all the way down. Wash out and remove seeds.
- Squeeze your fresh tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Peel and all. Add your spices including: oregano, parsley, paprika and pepper.
- Dice a small pepper or two (that you aren't stuffing) and add to the stove with just a bit of oil. Heat for a minute before adding your ground pork. Cook through.
- Add your tomatoes and seasonings from your bowl to your cooked pork and stir together until heated through.
- Stuff your peppers and place them in a baking dish. You can squeeze them up next to each other.
- Top with your marinara sauce. Spread evenly and cover as much of the peppers as you can. Sprinkle the top with fresh, shredded parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Enjoy!
Garden Zucchini Bowl
It is such a great feeling when are able to make entire meals (or most of the meal) from your own garden! I had some monster zucchini as my lead producers this year. We were headed out of town and I couldn’t risk them going bad so I spiralized and threw in the freezer to enjoy when we returned.
I love this spiralizer. I borrowed a similar one from a neighbor previously – Lindly. It might be the same one actually.. I ordered from Amazon. Zucchini really holds water and therefore tends to lose some density, especially when it’s been frozen. Fresh is definitely the best! I used 2 pretty large zucchini for this recipe.
Even when using fresh, start by wrapping your spiralized zucchini in between some paper towels. Try to get as much of the water out as you can.
These are the garden goodies I picked this day to use in this dish (minus the peppers – I didn’t include them). That’s fresh basil, oregano, parsley, cherry tomatoes (several varieties) and some fresh thyme.
Heat up some olive oil and add some minced garlic and a diced shallot. Cook for a few minutes and then add in a pound of ground pork. I also threw in some fennel seeds and crushed red pepper. Simmer until your pork is cooked through.
Slice your tomatoes in half or if you are using larger tomatoes you will want to quarter or smaller. Chop up your herbs (Basil, oregano, parsley, thyme) and add the tomatoes and herbs to your pork.
Next, I added approximately two cups of tomato sauce. I had some in the freezer from last years garden. I simply cook the tomatoes down on the stove, pour in a freezer bag and freeze until ready to use. You could use a canned one as well (but it won’t turn out as good – sorry!).
I let this simmer for a couple of hours. The longer the better, but if you are short on time – 20 minutes should suffice.
Lastly, I squeeze out my zoodles. Heat some olive oil and minced garlic for flavor and add the zucchini. It only takes about 7 minutes to cook through – maybe less. That’s it – place your zucchini in a bowl and top with as much sauce as you would like. Enjoy!
Garden Zucchini Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini large
- 2 dozen cherry tomatoes
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot medium
- 1 lb ground pork
- 4 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp fennel seed or more to taste
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp thyme fresh
- 3 tbsp basil chopped
- 3 tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp sage chopped
Instructions
- Spiralize your zucchini. Wrap in between paper towels to get the moisture out.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and add diced shallot and minced garlic. Cook until fragrant.
- Add ground pork to pan, fennel and crushed red pepper. Cook pork through.
- Add your sliced tomatoes and chopped herbs. Stir together well and add in tomato sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes or more.
- Heat some olive oil in another pan with some minced garlic. Add the Zucchini noodles and heat through approx 7 minutes. Use a medium-high temp to try and crisp up the zucchini a little more.
- Top the zucchini noodles with your sauce and serve hot.
Creamy, Roasted Tomato and Chicken Zoodles
Like usual, we had a few things in the fridge that needed to be eaten before going bad.. rotisserie chicken and cherry tomatoes were a couple of those things. I tend to overbuy tomatoes anytime I find beautiful heirlooms.. I just can’t get enough! Any day now we will start picking our own right out of the backyard! In my opinion there is nothing better than eating your own homegrown tomatoes. In my family we call the cherry’s “Karen’s candy.” That’s because my sister ate them as if they were candy.
I used a mixture of zucchini and yellow squash zoodles this time. You can make your own or at our local grocery store I like to purchase the Cece’s: https://cecesveggieco.com/products/#noodled. First thing I do is wrap my “zoodles” in paper towels to soak up any extra moisture. Then on to the tomatoes. Set the oven to 450 degrees. Roll your cleaned tomatoes onto a jelly roll pan with some olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add some minced garlic, crushed red pepper and some vinegar (I used champagne vinegar, red wine vinegar works as well). Toss together well and place in the oven for approx 10 minutes. They are finished when they start popping open.
Next, add a little oil (olive, avocado or ghee work) enough to coat the pan. Over medium heat, add a little minced garlic for flavor and throw in your rotisserie chicken. Stir occasionally until the chicken is heated through. Squeeze your zoodles in your paper towels and add them to your pan. Stir together until the zoodles are cooked through. Should take about 6-7 minutes.
Grab your pan of tomatoes from the oven and stir into the mix. Use a spatula to scrape any bits left on the pan into your mixture. Mix this together well and you are almost done. I wanted to make this a little creamy and decided to add some goat cheese.
Stir in just enough crumbles to make your creamy texture. The flavor of goat cheese is strong enough that you don’t need much. And it soaks up the juices in the pan well. If you are a goat cheese lover like myself, you can add a few extra crumbles on top of your bowl. That’s it – enjoy! How simple right?!
If you don’t like goat cheese you could use cream cheese or even a little plain yogurt. Also on the red pepper flakes – they add heat so if you are sensitive to spicy use sparingly.
Creamy, Roasted Tomato and Chicken Zoodles
Ingredients
- 4 Zucchini and/or squash Large
- 2 Pints Cherry tomatoes
- 4 Tbsp Olive oil Divided
- 2 Tbsp Minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp Red pepper flakes Approx
- 2 Tbsp Red wine or champagne vinegar
- 2 Tsp Salt Himalayan
- 1.5 Cups Rotisserie chicken
- 2 Tbsp Goat cheese Crumbled
Instructions
- Spiralize your zucchini and squash (if not already done). Place between paper towels to soak up moisture.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place cherry tomatoes and 1/2 of olive oil on jelly roll pan. Add pinch of salt, crushed red pepper and 1/2 of minced garlic. Mix together well. Place in oven for approximately 12 minutes.
- Heat remaining oil and garlic in pan over medium heat. Add the rotisserie chicken and stir until heated through.
- Squeeze the zucchini noodles and add to the pan. Mix together well until cooked to desired doneness. Approximately 7 minutes.
- Once your cherry tomatoes are popping open, remove from oven. Use a spatula to scrape all juice and any remaining bits from pan into zoodles mixture. Cook for a few minutes to let flavors mix.
- Add in your goat cheese crumbles. Stir until mixed together.
- If you love goat cheese like we do, top your bowl with a few extra crumbles.