Summer Squash Tart

Last year I planted my first garden in our new house. The deer devoured the peas and beans, the weeds overtook the tomatoes, and the zucchini and yellow squash never pollinated.

This year is only slightly better. The deer have devoured the peas, beans, AND tomatoes, but they left the squash alone and I actually have one from the garden! I put it to immediate use in this pizza-style veggie tart.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups cups cut up squash, such as pattypan, yellow summer squash, or zucchini
• 2 red and/or yellow sweet peppers, cut into wide strips
• 1 large sweet onion and/or fennel bulb, cut into wedges
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt or salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 of a 17.3-oz. pkg. frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet), thawed (or, um, a pizza crust if you didn't pay attention well enough to the ingredients and purchased a refrigerated pizza crust from Wegman's. Yeah, that works too.)
  
• 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. snipped fresh thyme
• 1 cup purchased refrigerated creamy Parmesan dressing
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat sides and bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread squash, sweet peppers, and onion wedges in pan. Toss with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes or until tender, stirring once.
2. Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, cut Parmesan cheese in thin strips. Set aside. On lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry to 13x9-inch rectangle. Remove baking pan from oven. Add tomatoes to pan. Toss vegetables with balsamic vinegar and half the Parmesan cheese. Spread vegetables evenly in pan. Lay pastry over vegetables, tucking in edges. Return pan to oven; bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
3. Remove pan from oven; cool 5 minutes. Invert a 15x10x1-inch baking pan over pan with pastry. Carefully invert pans together; remove 13x9 pan. Transfer any vegetables that stick to finished tart. Sprinkle tart evenly with remaining cheese and 2 teaspoons of the thyme. In small bowl stir together dressing, chopped onion, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme. Cut in squares. Serve tart warm or at room temperature with dressing.

VERDICT

What a great summer dish! I think I may throw on some mushrooms next time, but the taste was great and I used my first ever garden-grown squash! Yeah!

Nutrition Info:
Calories277 * Total Fat (g)23 * Saturated Fat (g)3, * Monounsaturated Fat (g)2, * Polyunsaturated Fat (g)0, * Cholesterol (mg)7, * Sodium (mg)256, * Carbohydrate (g)15, * Total Sugar (g)4, * Fiber (g)2, * Protein (g)4, * Vitamin A (DV%)0, * Vitamin C (DV%)101, * Calcium (DV%)8, * Iron (DV%)3, *

Chili-Rubbed Steaks with Pan Salsa

Yes, yes, I know it's been a long time since the last post. Let's not belabor the point, ok?

Now then, it's summer time, the local sweetcorn is finally ready, and there's nothing like a steak on the grill.

Unfortunately this recipe was intended to be made in a skillet. No worries, I'll just grill it anyways.

And it was intended to be chili-rubbed. Which I realized I was out of after the first shake of the spice container.

Sigh.

But it was still a steak, and there was still sweetcorn, so we had a good dinner regardless of my failings to follow this recipe.
We will attempt it again in the fall. So here is the recipe in case you are better at following directions than I am:

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces 1/2-inch-thick steaks, such as rib-eye, trimmed of fat and cut into 2 portions
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Sprinkle both sides of steak with chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook, turning once, 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a plate, cover with foil and let rest while you make the salsa.
2. Add tomatoes, lime juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pan and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro and any accumulated juices from the steaks. Serve the steaks topped with the salsa.

VERDICT

Like I said, I didn't follow the directions very well. So there wasn't much chili-flavor. And I added the garlic to the tomatoes (seriously, how can you not?). It was still a good meal, but I imagine it's much better with the chili-rub to complement the tomatoes.

Nutrition Info:
Per serving: 192 calories; 8 g fat (2 g saturated fat, 4 g mono unsaturated fat); 52 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrates; 26 g protein; 1 g fiber; 350 mg sodium; 514 mg potassium

Spaghetti with Zucchini and Yellow Squash

It's that time of year- fresh veggies from the farmer's market!!! I'm hoping my garden will produce some edible veggies this year too- but that's looking rather doubtful as a deer came through last night and ate the tops off all my pea and bean plants.

Anyways, here's a fun recipe that uses squash and zucchini.INGREDIENTS

1 BOX	Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti
4 TABLESPOONS	Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 CLOVE	Garlic, Chopped
2	Zucchini, Sliced With Peeler
2	Yellow Squash, Sliced With Peeler
14 OUNCES	San Marzano Tomatoes, Canned
1/2 CUP	Water
TO TASTE	Salt
TO TASTE	Black Pepper, Freshly Ground
4 LEAVES	Fresh Basil, Cut Into Strips
1/2 CUP	Parmesan Cheese, Grated

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until slightly yellow in color.

Cook Spaghetti 1 minute less than recommended cook time on package. Meanwhile, add zucchini and yellow squash to the skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Add tomatoes and ½ cup water. Season with salt and pepper.
Drain Spaghetti and add to the skillet. Toss with the sauce. Let pasta continue to cook in the skillet for 1 minute. Turn off heat and toss in basil.

Top with Parmesan cheese before serving.

VERDICT
Oh, yum! The only changes I made were to make regular pasta (becuase whole grain pasta is just gross) and I used extra garlic (you can never have too much!)

Very tasty dish- great as a side or on its own.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

I have to admit- making pasta over the stove and in the oven in the middle of summer is the last thing I want to make. Unless you have central air and the heat doesn't bother you. Even then, hot pasta dishes in the middle of summer are pretty useless.

unfortunately I'm way behind with uploading recipes and pictures, so this March recipe is just being uploaded today. In what is almost July.

So save this recipe for October. Or January. But definitely save it, it's a classic.

INGREDIENTS

1 container (16 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Low Fat Cottage Cheese

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked, drained

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 large tomato, chopped

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix cottage cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning until well blended. Spoon 1 heaping Tbsp. of the cheese mixture evenly into each pasta shell. COMBINE spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; spoon half of the sauce mixture into 13x9-inch baking dish. Place shells, filled sides up, in baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce mixture over shells. Cover with foil. BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Uncover; top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, an additional 2 min. or until cheese is melted.

VERDICT
This half-eaten pan picture says it all. Cheesy and hot and filling... you'll definitely want to save this recipe for the cold-weather months.

Ginger Pork Stir-Fry

I love stir-frys. I tolerate pork. Lets see how mixing the two together work out.

INGREDIENTS

1 pork tenderloin (3/4 lb), thinly sliced. Or, two pork chops. Whatever is easier!
1 TBS grated, peeled ginger
1 cup chicken broth
2 TBS teriyaki sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 lb. Chinese pea pods, strings removed along both edges
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
3 green onions, cut into 3-inch pieces (huh? That would only be 2 pieces per onion stalk. I was confused- I sliced them much thinner)
DIRECTIONS

1. In medium bowl, toss pork and gingerroot. In cup, mix chicken broth, teriyaki sauce, and cornstarch.
2. In nonstick 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Add pea pods, zucchini, and green onions and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove to bowl.
3. In same skillet, heat remaining vegetable oil; add pork mixture and cook, stirring quickly and constantly, until pork just loses its pink color. Remove pork to bowl with vegetables. Stir cornstarch mixture; add to skillet and heat to boiling. Boil 1 minute until sauce thickens. Stir in pork and vegetables; heat through.

VERDICT

Very yummy! Very, very yummy! The pork was tender, the ginger flavor was delicious, and the rice cooked in my new rice cooker was perfect. We have a winner for pork!

Bruschetta Chicken

Spring is officially here, which means there will be more grilling recipes in coming weeks. As soon as the rest of the snow melts off the grill. Until then, here's a taste of summer with fresh tomatoes and chicken.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup egg substitute

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 pound)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs; place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken. Loosely cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until top is browned.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.

VERDICT:

There is so much to taste in this chicken recipe! The tomatoes! The fresh basil! The parmesan! It all melts together to make one delicious dish.

The only downfall was my overcooking capabilities. The chicken was still very much raw when I took it out after 20 minutes. So I gave it an extra 10. Too much time. That, plus the extra 5 without tinfoil, then the extra 5 with tomatoes... overcooked chicken. But it would have been delicious!

Asparagus Steak Oscar

This recipe was a bit tricky to start. Someone left the grill outside all winter instead of bringing it into the garage. So that same someone had to shovel it out. Of a snowbank. But it was worth it to have a grilled steak again!INGREDIENTS

· 1 envelope bearnaise sauce

· 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed

· 1/4 pound fresh crabmeat

· 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

· 2 tablespoons butter

· 1 tablespoon lemon juice

· 4 beef tenderloin steaks (1 inch thick and 3 ounces each)

1/8 teaspoon paprika

DIRECTIONS

Prepare bearnaise sauce according to package directions. Meanwhile, place asparagus in a steamer basket; place in a large saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender.
In a large skillet, saute crab and garlic in butter for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Stir in lemon juice; keep warm.
Grill steaks, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°; well-done, 170°). Top with crab mixture, asparagus and bearnaise sauce. Sprinkle with paprika.

VERDICT

This was good, but very rich. Crab is rich enough as it is, adding on the butter, garlic, and bernaise sauce was too much. The bernaise sauce was great on the steak and asparagus though!