Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Cook for three days in one effort

Hi all,
I always love roasted vegetables any time for the year...just love it.
A lot of vegetables roast excellent and they event freeze well for the next meal.
Three recipes follows three variations: roasted vegetable wrap, vegetable soup and vegetarian calzone.
The vegetable options include red bell pepper , green bell pepper, onions ( red or white your choice), garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes.

Recipe # 1
Roasted Vegetable Wrap :
3 cup big chunk pieces of red bell pepper
3 cup big chunk pieces of chopped green bell pepper
3 cup cut onion into 4 pieces ( first cut in to half and then another half)
4 medium sized zucchini cut into half long slit
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 table spoon of chopped jalapeno ( optional for spiciness)
olive oil to rub the vegetables
salt and pepper for seasoning

Method : Mix all the vegetables in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Put all the vegetables in the preheat oven for 15 - 20 minutes depending on your oven .
Now the above quantities you may want to divide in three containers use one for this recipe and save the remaining for the other two recipes.

Lets begin the first recipe of Roasted vegetable wrap
.
I like to keep it simple and since my vegetables are already roasted with olive oil and butter i try not to add too much condiment but yes I prefer to use the roasted tomato-spinach tortilla. Just warm the tortilla spread your veggies, sprinkle some cheese ( pepperjack works perfect) voila your dinner is ready. One healthy dinner for all.

Next recipe follows as Vegetarian Calzone:
Ingredients:
2 cup of each above roasted vegetables
1 and a half cup of marinara sauce
1 finely chopped small tomato
italian seasoning
mozzarella cheese
olive oil to brush the bread
bread dough prepackaged 16 oz 2 packets

Method:
Bring the bread dough to room temperature.
Roughly chop all the roasted vegetables and heat a medium pan and throw them all to reheat.
Now add chopped tomato and marinara sauce and the italian seasoning. At this point check for salt/pepper if needed.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Roll the bread dough in to flat bread  ( circle shape) and cut it into half making it a semi circle.
During this time your vegetables will be nicely heated and at the same time the sauce will be thick enough to add to your calzone dough.
Now to the dough start by using the half portion of the semicircle as you will be folding your calzone into a triangle. Make the first thin layer of  mozarella cheese and on top add a layer of vegetable mixture followed by another layer of cheese.
Follow the above method and make four more calzones.
Just  before putting them in oven make a slit in the center with the knife to let the air escape. Brush the top with the olive oil.
Cook them in the oven for 15 minutes.
Serve with marinara sauce.
Enjoy


Meal # 3 Vegetable soup:
Method:
Use all the remaining roasted vegetables  with garlic.
You will need a slow cooker. Put all the ingredients to your slow cooker.
Add 4 cups of vegetable stock and a cup of cannellini bean
1 can of tomato chopped.
Turn the cooker to low hear for 4-5 hours.
Soup will be ready in no time.
To serve garnish with Parmesan cheese and a basil leaf.

Enjoy your dinner.






Thursday, June 2, 2011

Chickpea Soup !!!

Hi All,
I was just thinking what to do with the chick peas. I love hummus so was wondering to get creative.
You will want to make an extra batch as kids will love it too and will serve as an emergency meal on those cranky days.

Ingredients:
4 cups  partially cooked chick peas
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1/2 cup green bell pepper finely chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
italian seasoning about a pinch
4 cups of vegetable stock
broken pieces of spaghetti

Recipe:
This recipe will serve about 4 -6 adult servings of soup.
You will need your slow cooker for this recipe. Mix all the ingredients except the spaghetti and 2 extra cups of water and put it on high for three hours or on low for 6 hour.
Just about to the end mix the broken pieces of spaghetti and let it simmer and cook until the needles are cooked.
Serve with tasted sourdough bread. Yum!!

Enjoy the dinner.
This meal will be a very good source of protein as we have chick peas as the primary ingredients.