Veggie Kabobs

       This is one of my favorite fast, easy dinners.  It takes a little forethought because you need a variety of veggies that aren't being saved for other meals to do it, but that's rarely a problem for Farmer's Market addicts like us.

       All you need is 4 - 6 different kinds of veggies, some Earth friendly re-usable skewers, a touch of olive oil (optional), and seasonings of your choice.  Last night, I used onion, zucchini, summer squash, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes.  I was really sad when I realized I forgot the pineapple chunks!  Other good choices include cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, and all kinds of peppers.  That's another glory of this meal: it's so flexible that you can make it often, but it can always be different.  Especially if you have family members like MacGyver and Punky, who don't like to eat the same thing very often.

      Chop your veggies into hearty, bite sized chunks, keeping them big enough to easily skewer, but not too big to be bite sized.  I cut everything up into one big bowl so I can season it all together.

      I mist the veggies with just a touch of olive oil so the seasonings will stick.  Sprinkle with your chosen seasonings.  Last night I used garlic, pepper, garden fresh rosemary, and a touch of ground bay.  Be very careful with ground bay as it can cause upset stomachs. It's better to used bay leaves, you can even put the leaves on the skewers between the veggies.  Be creative with your spiced for variety.  I'm thinking of doing some Indian seasoning next time.

       Shake up the bowl to evenly distribute the seasonings, then just thread them onto the skewers in whatever kind of pattern you choose.  Older kids will enjoy doing their own, and littler ones can help pick their own veggies.

      Once your veggies are skewered, you can either throw them on the grill or broil them.  They are a great summer grilling out meal.  But last night time was my main concern, so I broiled them on a cookie sheet on high.  Broil for about 5 minutes (depending on your broiler), then turn.  Your goal is veggies that are just starting to brown all the way around.

      For even more variety, you can baste your veggies with a sauce.  Punky is a total BBQ addict, so as a special treat for her last night, I basted the veggies with BBQ sauce for the last couple minutes of cooking.  Use only sauces free of high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and artificial colors.

       You can also use Teryaki, curry sauce, korma, etc.

       These are fun to eat right off the skewer, but easier if you slide them off into a bowl. 

      This is a really great, all veggie dinner, and it only takes about 20 minutes to cook, including veggie chopping!

Black Bean Burgers with Veggies

       Tonight, I made the delicious Black Bean Burgers from Happy Herbivore.  The are fast, easy, and have very few ingredients.  I added onions and garlic to the recipe.

       On the side, we had some of the most beautiful swiss chard I've ever seen.  I just wilted in gently by sauteeing it with a touch of garlic.  It is from one of our two favorite farms at the Farmer's Market - organic, local, and totally sustainable. This one is a very small family farm.  And swiss chard is packed with nutrients.  I always feel great after eating swiss chard.  The camera on my phone doesn't begin to capture the vibrant colors of this chard.

       For our green bean casserole, we use vegan cream of mushroom and local, organic beans.  I recommend Amy's brand for the cream of mushroom.

Green Curry Vegetables

      It's no secret that I'm not a fan of processed foods, including jarred sauces.  The majority of them contain too much salt, sugar, or oil - not to mention preservatives and artificial colors, and most of them are much easier to make at home than people tend to think.

      That said, there are some nights when a mama (or daddy) just needs a break (these happen about once a week in our house!), and a good jarred sauce can be the answer to creating a delicious, healthy, homecooked meal in 20 minutes or so.

      For this reason, I always keep one or two jars of sauce in the cupboards.  I've sorted through and read the ingredient and nutrutional informations on dozens of sauces att the grocery store to try to find the most nutritious, and least processed, ones.  This is one of our favorites:

      World Foods Green Curry.

      It's also great for one of those nights when you've made everything on your meal plan, don't have much food in the house, and have no idea what to cook.

      Just take whatever veggies you have on hand - last night I had an onion, 5 organic carrots, 2 organic zuchinni, and a bag of frozen green beans on hand.  I was also going to add asparagus, but decided that would be better grilled on it's own.  So, you take what you have on hand, toss it in the wok (or big pot),  lightly stir fry it, add the sauce, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Bam.  Healthy and delicious.  I made ours with quinoa because it's high in protein.  And we were out of pretty much everything else...

       What kind of sauces do you build meals around?

Spaghetti

       Spaghetti is a great go-to quick and easy dinner.  We pretty much always have whole wheat noodles and a couple jars of organic spaghetti sauce in the cupboard.  And if we really are dealt just a SUPER busy night with nothing prepped ahead of time, there's no harm in just throwing the two together and calling it good. But I'm pretty sure we all know that's not really my style.

       I honestly don't think we've had spaghetti that was just noodles and sauce in years.  It can still be quick and easy: If I'm pressed for time, I'll just throw in a can of beans and a bag of frozen spinach or other frozen veggies.  Boom, that's it. Still quick and easy, but definitely a more nutritious, satisfying, and rounded out meal.

      And if I have a few minutes, I like to dice up an onion and a couple peppers and some basil from the garden and sauteé them for a few minutes before adding the sauce.  And I always like to throw in some leafy greens. The nutritional benefits of leafy greens (kale, spinach, collards, mustard or turnip greens, chard, . . .), are so amazing that I see no reason not to slip them in at every possible point.  Note: like onions and garlic, kale benefits from being allowed to sit for a few minutes after being chopped and before being heated.

      Just ten minutes of chopping for a drastic improvement in flavor, nutrition, and texture.  And if your kids don't like chunky veggies in the sauce or bulk at the idea of greens in spaghetti, throw the veggies in the blender or ninja for a few seconds before stirring into the sauce. It really is just that easy.

      Last night we had spaghetti, not because we were particularly rushed, but because I was too lazy to invent something else (it's rare, but it happens).  I added an onion and, from the garden, a red pepper, a green pepper, and some fresh basil. I also threw in a good about three cups of chopped Farmer's Market kale.

       Lastly, I added some Boca fake meat crumbles. I don't like cooking with fake meat, because it's processed and sometimes has artificial colors, but MacGyver loves it once in a while and we happened to have some in the freezer. I'm also a big fan of Veggie Patch brand meatless balls (ok, they're called meatless meatballs, but I call them meatless balls in hommage to La Vie Boheme from Rent).

       What is your favorite quick and easy dinner?
       Do you doctor your spaghetti?

Farmer's Market Ravioli

Tonight we had caprese ravioli we get from a guy at the Farmer's Market. I sauteed up zucchini and squash, also from the Farmer's Market, with a small onion in a little bit of grapeseed oil with some oregano and bam.  MacGyver made a delicious vegan sauce from almond milk and a bunch of basil and sweet red peppers from our garden. He roughly blended it all then boiled it down with a little sherry.  Delicious!