Category Archives: Vegetables

Creamed Corn Casserole

Posted in Food and Drink, Side Dishes, So easy even Julie can do it!, Vegetables by

This past weekend was really fun because I had a friend visiting from my hometown!  We decided to stay in and cook both nights to save money, so I got to learn a new recipe from her: Creamed Corn Casserole.

This dish is southern cooking at its best!  I honestly thought it was a Paula Dean recipe, but she said that it originally came from her mother-in-law.  To go along with it, we made pea casserole (similar to green bean casserole) and grilled brats and hamburgers on the grill. The corn complimented it perfectly!

Usually when we grill out, I’ll throw some corn on the with cilantro paste as a side dish as I talked about here, but this was a good alternative.  I think it was probably my favorite thing from the whole cook-out itself!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans creamed corn
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2 Tbs. flour, leveled
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • crushed Ritz crackers for topping (I was out of these, so I substituted bread crumbs.)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except crackers.  Top with crackers.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, until no longer soupy.

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Summer Salads

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Side Dishes, Vegetables by

I haven’t posted about food in a few days because I have been spending time with my family for our annual family beach trip.  We do this every year, and I always look forward to it!  On the first night, my mom prepared a feast for us, complete with fried chicken, fresh Mayport shrimp, and a couple of salads.  Here I’m going to share the recipes for both the Edamame Salad and her Pasta Salad, both of which are great for a crowd and can (and should!) be prepared in advance.

The rest of the weekend was full of relaxing, going out to dinner and swimming.  I wish I could fast-forward time to next year just so I can enjoy a weekend like that again!

Both of these recipes are healthy (my mom is following the Wheat Belly diet, so I know these aren’t bad for your health!)  The bean salad is particularly filling, and the leftovers made a great snack for the rest of the weekend!

Edamame Salad

Ingredients:

  • 5 Tbs. red wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lb. package frozen, shelled edamame
  • 3 cups frozen corn kernels
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients except edamame, tomatoes, onions, black beans and corn.

Bring large pot lightly salted water to a boil.  Add soybeans and boil 3 minutes.  Add corn and continue cooking 1 more min.  Drain very well and pour into bowl with dressing.  Gently mix in tomatoes, green onions and black beans.  Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.

Mom tip: Microwave limes 30 seconds to get more juice!

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Edamame Salad- packed with delicious veggies!

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz. rotini, fusilli or shell pasta, cooked and drained
  • 5 cups vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, red onion, broccoli, can artichoke hearts (cut into pieces,) roasted red peppers- whatever sounds good to you!
  • 3/4 cup mayo
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp. mustard, dried
  • 1 tsp. hot sauce
  • 1 tsp. paprika

Directions:

Stir together mayo, sour cream, mustard, hot sauce and paprika.  Set aside.

Combine pasta and veggies.  Mix in dressing.  Cover and refrigerate at least four hours.

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Mom’s Pasta Salad- a lighter version full of “goodie”

Zucchini “Crab” Cakes

Posted in Food and Drink, Main Dishes, Vegetables by

When my friends were visiting the other day, we went to brunch at Fly’s Tie Irish Pub.  Generally, I would not have trusted this place for food of any kind, but they recently redid their kitchen and I’d heard lots of good reviews.  It did not disappoint.  I got shrimp and grits (mmmm,) but I had a bit of food envy for the lump crab cakes my friends ordered.  They were unbelievable!  My boyfriend doesn’t really like crab, but when I was thinking of some food to make this week, I was seriously craving more bites of crab cakes.  That’s when I was reminded of this delicious recipe I first made a few years ago.

I’ve made this recipe a couple of different ways, and it’s always good.  When I first made it, I shredded both squash and zucchini into the cakes, but today only the zucchini was on sale.  I’ve also added Parmesan in the past, but it’s just as good without it.

This particular recipe comes from Carzy Cook, and I like that it uses less butter than my past zucchini cakes.  And by less butter, I mean I used a whole stick in the past versus 2 Tbs. in this recipe.

I love that the cakes come across like they have meat in them, even though they are strictly vegetarian.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups shredded zucchini (basically 3 zucchinis)
  • 1/4 cup onions
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 Tbs. butter, melted
  • 1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 8 oz. tomato sauce

Directions:

Mix together zucchini, butter and egg.  (Remember that you can add shredded yellow squash at this point two if it’s available!)  Add breadcrumbs, Old Bay, flour and onions.  Stir.  Heat vegetable oil over medium high heat.  Shape zucchini mixture into patties and fry on both sides until browned.  Serve with tomato pasta sauce for dipping.

Tangy Avocado Corn Salad

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Side Dishes, Vegetables by

This recipe was put together based on my exhaustion driven trip to the grocery store.  I get back from a week long trip, go to school orientation, then work all day today.. all I wanted was a delicious, healthy dinner with fish.  I decided to take my first stab at grouper, which turned out pretty well, but is so basic I’m not going to write up a post (I’m talking salt, pepper, lemon butter sauce on 450 for 20 minutes basic.)

This, on the other hand, turned out great considering I unpacked the groceries when I got home and had no idea where to begin.  I had three ears of corn and two avocados.  While I love both of these ingredients, I felt a little stuck.  With a little creativity, I was able to create something I’ll definitely be making again!

Ingredients:

  • 3 ears of corn, cooked and cut off the cob
  • 2 avocados, sliced
  • 1/4 red onion, diced

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
  • 4 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 Tbs. cilantro paste
  • 1 tsp. garlic salt
  • salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients to create the sauce.  Stir well to loosen the cilantro paste.  Set aside.

To quickly make the corn, my mom recently taught me a little tip.  Just microwave the corn in the husks and they not only bake themselves, but are easier to peel!  Win-win in my book.  The length of time varies based on the amount of corn you have.  For three, it took 5 minutes.  For one I’d leave it in 2-3 minutes.  Use your judgment.  Cut the corn off the cob.

Cut the avocado into bite-sized pieces.  Mix in with corn.  Mix in diced onions.  Stir in sauce.

Avocado Shrimp Salad

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Seafood, Vegetables by

We have a surplus of tomatoes from our garden, so I have been trying to find some creative uses for them outside of the traditional salad.  They are so delicious, I want to eat all of them, but it’s hard to find a way to use one everyday- and this is with giving some away to anyone who expresses interest!

Of all the uses for tomatoes I’ve found, this is one of the best so far because it combines the tomatoes with my favorite veggie- avocado!  The recipe was originally found at Apron Strings, where they were challenged to make a vegetarian meal. I love eating meatless meals, seafood and avocado, so how could I go wrong here?

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 1 tsp. lime zest
  • 2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
  • 1 Tbs. cilantro, chopped finely
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Salad Ingredients:

  • 2 avocados
  • 1 tomato
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb. shrimp
  • 1 more Tbs. olive oil
  • 1/2 Tbs. paprika

Directions:

Combine dressing ingredients.  Strain to remove lime zest.  Chop avocados, tomato and green onions into bite sized pieces.  Toss together.  To get the shape, I put the salad in individual ramekins, then flipped onto the plate.

In a separate bowl, toss shrimp in olive oil.  Coat with paprika.  Grill in a skillet on medium until cooked.

Creamy Corn

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Side Dishes, Vegetables by

I found this recipe the other day by the Budget Savvy Diva and thought it looked delicious!  It’s also a good way to spice up a meal without breaking the bank.  It is pretty rich, so I recommend serving it with something light!  This will get people who don’t typically like veggies eating them without hesitation!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. corn (fresh or thawed)
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • 3 oz. cream cheese
  • red pepper flakes
  • pepper

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine corn, butter and cream cheese.  Once cream cheese melts and corn is heated through, season with red pepper flakes and pepper to taste.  Easy and yummy- love!

Jim’s Chicken Caesar Salad

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Jim's Specialties, Main Dishes, Vegetables by

This recipe is brought to us by my friend and new regular contributor, Jim Lewandowski.  He is a phenomenal cook, and has inspired many of the dishes I have created.  He is a trained chef, but don’t be daunted to try these recipes!  You will be surprised at what you are capable of!

Not only is the salad dressing in the recipe the best Caesar dressing I’ve ever had, but the recipe itself includes only 325 calories!  The salad dressing can be stored if you do not use it all in one day too. Trust me, this is the best kind of salad- filling, tasty and healthy!

Salad Ingredients:

  • 1 bag romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan
  • 1 cup croutons
  • 1 1/2 boneless chicken breast, cooked and shredded

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs. lemon juice
  • 3 Tbs. low-fat plain yogurt
  • 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. anchovy paste (the key ingredient! Don’t leave it out, even if you don’t like anchovies…)
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

To make dressing, combine all ingredients, except olive oil, in a food processor.  With the processor running slowly, add in the olive oil until the dressing is creamy and smooth.  Make salad as desired and enjoy!

Cucumber Salad

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Side Dishes, So easy even Julie can do it!, Vegetables by

This salad is healthy, easy and delicious!  I got this low-calorie salad from the butter-queen herself, Paula Deen.  I made it last night with the Poppyseed Chicken, and it was so good together because it was very light, while the chicken was heavy with cream.  I think this would be a great dish to serve a luncheon!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cucumbers, sliced (as pictured)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • a handful of sliced onion
  • 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2 Tbs. fresh parsley
  • pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together.  Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

Pecan Green Beans

Posted in Food and Drink, Side Dishes, Vegetables by

This side dish is an automatic crowd-pleaser!  Who doesn’t love pecans?  I’d make it all the time if pecans weren’t quite so expensive!  Luckily, sugar snap peas are very inexpensive.  To be honest, I usually get the Green Giant frozen sugar snap peas because they taste just as good as fresh ones.  If you buy them when they’re buy one get one free, they are only $1! 

Ingredients:

  • sugar snap peas
  • 1 small bag of pecans
  • 1 Tbs. butter

Directions:

Prepare peas any way you want!  For the frozen peas, just steam in microwave.  For fresh, broil over medium heat in an inch of water.  Heat butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.  Add pecans and saute.  Add steamed sugar snap peas to pans and turn a few times until coated in butter.  Enjoy as a side dish!

Baked Eggplant

Posted in Food and Drink, Side Dishes, Vegetables by

I taught myself how to cook, so look at my recipes as if I can do it, so can you!  This recipe takes a little multi-tasking, but it’s completely worth it!  I will be experimenting with eggplant in the upcoming weeks because I have some growing in my beautiful garden!

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup, divided
  • 3/4 cup milk, divided
  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 1 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed dried basil
  • 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
  • Several dashes ground red pepper
  • grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat to 400.  Combine egg, 1/3 cup soup, and 1/4 cup milk.  Cut eggplant into 1/4 in. thick slices.  Dip into soup mixture, then crumbs.

In a skillet, heat oil.  Saute eggplant slices, a few at a time for 2 minutes per side.  Add more oil when needed.  Arrange slices on a cookie sheet.

In a bowl, combine remaining soup, milk, sour cream, basil, garlic powder and pepper.  Spoon mixture on top of eggplant slices.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.