Adventurous Palates (original) (raw)

I have accumulated, in odd ways, the following produce in my fridge that MUST be used this week. I have a wide variety of proteins in my freezer and pantry (and don't eat pork), so any suggestions for using up or preserving this bounty is most welcome.

two acorn squash
two avocados
bananas (both fresh and frozen)
two mangoes
oranges
apples
pears
cherry tomatoes (pint)
four homegrown tomatoes with black spot/bottom issues
three cucumbers
three zucchini
large eggplant
red potatoes
onions
carrots
celery
one plum
two bunches red beets
head green cabbage
handful of kale
asparagus
and a bounty of fresh basil in the garden (as well as a double batch of pesto sans cheese in the freezer)

I also have two jars of pickled beets still in the fridge, so that's out as an option.

Made this yesterday for dinner and it was quite tasty. Enjoy!

photo copyright ME

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
16 ounces salsa
1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can black beans, drained
2 small cans sliced black olives with jalapeno peppers
1 small yellow onion cut into chunks
1/2 red bell pepper cut into chunks
1/2 green bell pepper cut into chunks
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Directions

Place first three ingredients in crock pot.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.

45 minutes prior to serving, remove chicken, shred and return to crock pot. Add cilantro, black beans, corn, olives, and chopped veggies. Continue to cook on Low.

To serve, use chicken mixture as filling inside tortillas or plate it with a side of spanish or yellow rice.

Add desired condiments.

Serves 8.

Cherry-Peach Crisp

Ingredients :

2 cups Quaker oatmeal
2 cans Peach pie filling
2 cans Cherry pie filling
1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 stick melted butter (unsalted.)
1 and 1/2 Tsp. all-purpose flour.
1 tsp. cinnamon

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Last night we made meatloaf with roasted carrots, new potatoes and homemade biscuits.

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I know I went a little crazy with pics in this post, but we had so much fun doing this I really wanted to share the whole process. :)

I'd been threatening to try this out for weeks and tonight I finally got around to it. It turned out really good, so here's the recipe:

1 pack boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1 1/2 cups pure orange juice
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp ground ginger (I didn't have any fresh)
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Combine the juice, ginger, and honey in a bowl and place the chicken in the mixture to marinade for about 30 minutes.
Scoop the chicken out with a slotted spoon and place in a hot skillet. When it's almost cooked through stir in the carrots.
Once done, pour the chicken and carrots into a bowl and put about 1/2 cup of the remaining marinade in the pan. When it starts to boil whisk in the flour and then add the rest of the marinade. Continue to whisk until hot and smooth.

That's it! I served it over white rice and it was delicious. ^_^

Cross-posted

yummy recipe I'm sharing with ya

This recipe is from a currently very popular cookbook called Veganomicon. This book is great if you like taking whole ingredients and turning them into yummy healthful dishes. It helps if you are vegan/vegetarian but I've snuck several recipes past some omnivores and they had no idea they were eating healthy vegan stuff.

Walnut mushroom pate

3 TBS olive oil
1 cup dices yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried tarragon
3/4 tsp. salt
freshly gound black pepper
1 pound cremini mushrooms
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts
3/4 cup cooked white beans
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
up to 1/4 cup broth

Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute for 5 minutes, then add garlic, thyme, salt tarragon, pepper, cook for another minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes or until soft.

While the mushrooms are cooking place the walnuts in a food processor and process until very fine.

Add mushrooms to walnuts, along with blasamic, beans and last tbsp. oil. Puree until smoothe, adding the broth 1 tbsp. at a time as needed. Pate should resemble a smoothe, thick paste. Store in airtight container, chill for at least one hour. Serve with crackers, crudites, on sandwiches or pitas!

I have been inspired by a sample stand at Whole Foods Market. They were giving away bites of Appalachian Trail Bars made by Ninth Street Bakery using whole grains and organic ingredients and sweetened with organic brown sugar. I got the chocolate chip flavor.

I plan to cut it into quarters and top it with granny smith apple cubes, then a sauce made from all natural peanut butter, soy yogurt and agave syrup. Vegan, low fat, low sugar, all natural whole grain dessert for four!

It's the beginning of the month and we haven't gone grocery shopping yet and I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner. So I scrounged up some things and put it together and I was shocked to find out that it was actually quite tasty!

First bake some cornbread

Ingredients for when the cornbread is baking:
1lb hamburger
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon orange peel
1 package of Uncle Ben's 90 Second Wild Rice

Brown the hamburger and mix in the Onion Soup mix, garlic salt and orange peel. Drain any grease. When that is fully cooked microwave the rice and then add it into the hamburger mixture.

Take a piece of buttered corn bread and break it up into a bowl. Add the hamburger/rice mixture over the top of that. Eat!

I didn't know if it would taste good at all. It really doesn't look too appealing lol, but it's extremely good! Even my two kids loved it! lol

So I guess concoctions really do add up to something good!

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Ratatouille (serves 6) * not a slow cooker recipe*
2 lbs ripe, well-flavored tomatoes
1/2 c olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into chunks
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 large eggplant, cut into chunks
2 zucchini, cut into thick slices
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
salt and ground black pepper

1. To peel the tomatoes, plunge them into a bowl of boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove them using a slotted spoon, and then refresh in cold water. Peel off the skins and coarsely chop the tomato flesh.
2. heat a little of the oil in a large, heavy pan, and cook the onions for 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, and cook for about 2 minutes more. Drain. Add the eggplant and more oil, and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the remaining oil and zucchini, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain.
3. Add the garlic and tomatoes to the pan and cook gently, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes, until they are fairly pulpy but have retained a little texture. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, if required.
**Note: Eggplants no longer need to be salted to draw out the bitter juices, however, this salting process does help prevent them from soaking up too much oil during cooking. So, if you have the time, it is worth sprinkling the eggplant chunks with salt and leaving them in a colander in the sink for about 30 minutes to drain. Rinse them well, and pat dry with paper towels before frying.

So I've been on a health food kick lately and I'm looking for good fruit recipes, preferably with little or no added sugar or fat. Anybody got any good ones?