Zucchini and Parmesan Orzo ~ page 108

I know this doesn't look like much in a pile here, but it was very tasty to make up for it's simple look. I just had two zucchini on hand, the recipe calls for 2-3...I usually do three. So it felt a little skimpy on the veggie part, but still very flavorful. I think chopped fresh spinach would be a great addition to this, I might try that next time.
Here is Evelyn happily stirring away! She sure loves to cook and she always does it in style! Check out the old flower girl dress (that we use as a dress up dress) she is sporting!!
This went very well with salmon and steamed broccoli. I diced the zucchini pretty small so my girls wouldn't detect it as easily, it worked like a charm! They gobbled it up without realizing they were eating a veggie.
The following day I was sick...with a sore throat. All I wanted was a brothy soup. After searching the fridge for something to make a soup out of I saw these orzo leftovers. I heated up 2 cups of broth on the stove and added 1 1/4 cup of the orzo leftovers. It was quite good for an instant soup! Although the zucchini floated to the top and the orzo to the bottom making the zucchini more noticeable...Evelyn wised up and asked me to take all the "green squares" out of her soup! I hope everyone is staying warm out there! --Carissa

Summer Squash Oregano ~ page 106

What makes this dish so fresh tasting, is summer ripe tomatoes, peeled, and stirred in just until hot, and a good freshly grated Parmesan cheese melted on top.

I made this recipe couple weeks ago when I was keeping four grandkids while Carissa was in the hospital having baby Sylvia. Lillian, or course, wanted to help. The recipe calls for both yellow squash and zucchini, however, I neglected to buy the zucchini this time, so I just used all yellow squash, which is fine if you need to.

Evelyn wanted a turn to help too, so she put in the Parmesan. The burner is turned off at this point, the pan covered, and the retained heat melts the cheese.

You know how some dishes say "summer" to you? Well, this is one of those. Very delicious with the vegetables of the season.

Brown Rice and Broccoli with Mushrooms ~ page 92

This is a fresh, light tasting version of the old classic broccoli and cheese casserole. I (Janice) have been making this for 35 years. The recipe calls for frozen broccoli, but we eat fresh broccoli so often at my house, that I just steam extra the day before I want to put together this recipe. Over the years, I changed the grated sharp cheddar cheese to 1/4-inch cubes of cheese instead.

Here is the assembled casserole just before baking.  The reason for the cubes of cheese, is that they stay partially intact, so you get a nice bite of cheese with each forkful, but the other ingredients stay a little bit separate from the cheese, which makes their flavors stand out more. This is a wonderful healthy dish for enjoying brown rice.

Cheesy Scalloped Potato Sticks ~ page 93

I fixed this cheesy potato side dish tonight for my two little grandsons, Gabe and Elias (I am taking care of them for a week while their parents are on a trip). Let me tell you--this is a VERY kid friendly dish. They loved it! Both boys gobbled it up and asked for seconds. (I did make them eat their steamed broccoli before they got more of this yummy dish though.)

The raw potatoes are cut into French fry-size pieces.

Just barely cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer just 3 minutes.

I like to drain the potatoes in a colander and shake them to dry--this will help the creamy sauce to cling to them.

A white sauce flavored with dry mustard is poured over the blanched potatoes, then a sprinkling of sharp cheddar cheese...and just 30 minutes in the oven, and this dish is ready for the dinner table. ~Janice

Green Bean Toss ~ page 97

I can't believe I have missed out on this recipe until now.  This was Carissa's, but I had never tried it. Green beans can be so boring, but this takes it up to company level with very little effort. 

I love my electric steamer. It cooks any vegetable to perfection without any trouble. Carissa gave me this steamer for Christmas one year, and I often wonder how I ever did without it.

Mix up the dressing with the onion and herbs in the serving bowl while your green beans are steaming. I toasted my walnuts 5 minutes, then set them aside until the last minute to keep them crisp. I added some small diced (raw) red bell pepper, just because I had some I needed to use up; it is a great addition.

Toss everything together and you are ready to serve this tasty, delicious side dish. I guarantee you will make this often! It is supposed to serve 4, but the two of us ate it all...

Squash Dressing ~ page 105

And finally, here is a close-up of the squash dressing. I halved the recipe since we're a small family (two grown-ups, two little kids who don't always eat very much), and it was the perfect amount. I might add a little more cheese the next time I make this recipe - but that's mostly because I really love cheese! My hubbie liked it very much and said he would eat it again - even though he claims not to be a big squash fan...so I think that speaks pretty highly of the dish. :) ~Cathy

Spinach and Onion Couscous ~ page 104

As I mentioned in my previous post, this was one of the side dishes I prepared to accompany the citrus (roasted) pork tenderloin. It's definitely super-fast, and it actually makes quite a lot, so you'll have a great side dish for at least a few meals! ~Cathy

Spinach and Onion Couscous ~ page 104

I just started using couscous a few years ago--I don't know if it has been around forever, and I just didn't notice, or why I didn't know about it. Not sure. But it is my new quickie side dish. I especially like it in the summer, when I don't want to heat the kitchen up, but I don't want cold salad either.

Here are two kinds of couscous that comes in a box. Carissa just recently told me about the one on the right--called giant pasta pearls. I found it at the health food store. (Couscous is just pasta--tiny balls of it that don't have to cook, they just kind of rehydrate in hot liquid for 5 minutes.) Carissa's sister-in-law, Holly, made this recipe with the giant couscous for a crowd of probably 50 or more people for her brother Andrew's rehearsal dinner. I dropped by and got to taste it, and it was great! I really liked the large size of the couscous. One nice thing about this recipe, is that it can sit out for a long time, and is still very good at room temperature--which makes it wonderful for a buffet dish or pot luck. But today, I used the regular size couscous for this recipe. (The large size does need to cook longer, so that needs to be factored into this recipe...)

You can do this whole recipe in a skillet. I sautéed the onion and garlic, then piled in my fresh spinach. I cooked the spinach for about a minute till it wasn't overflowing the pan...

Then just dump in the dry couscous and the hot chicken broth (which I made with boiling water and granular chicken bouillon) and cover the pan and remove from heat. After 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and stir in the lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper. You probably wont need extra salt because chicken broth is always very salty on its own. Pretty fast, huh?

Here is a vegetarian meal with Spinach and Onion Couscous along with Squash Dressing, just one page over in the cookbook. If my garden tomatoes were ripe (they will be in about 1 week!) I would have just served this recipe along with a plate a fresh sliced tomatoes, and called it a light summer meal.

Green Bean Toss ~ page 97

I made these to go with lasagna last night. Such a nice change from my normal garlic green beans. I made the dressing ahead of time and had the onions and parsley in the bottom of the bowl. The nuts I toasted ahead of time and set aside to keep crunchy till eating time. Then at the last minute I tossed it all together with the hot beans. Perfect! A friend that was over eating with us, kept saying..."gosh I love these green beans!" So, I'd say they went over very well! One guest even commented that asparagus would be good treated like this....might just have to try that sometime. Oh, and I forgot to buy red onion...so I used a yellow onion, and it was just as good, just make sure you mince the onion very finely since it is raw in this dish.
--Carissa

Slow-Roasted Grape Tomatoes ~ page 87

These slow roasted grape tomatoes may not look like much, but let me tell you they are packed with flavor! When I find these on sale, I usually buy a couple boxes of them to make this recipe. When cooled, what I don't eat right away, I put in a covered dish with a tiny bit more olive oil, and they will last in the fridge for several weeks.

Just cut the tomatoes in half and drizzel with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Sometimes I add some fresh herbs.

Spread out with a clove of garlic to slow roast...later you can squeeze out the roasted garlic from its skin and mix the garlic in with the tomatoes. Roast for about 3 hours, or till just barely starting to crisp up a little. They make the house smell wonderful.

The interesting thing about roasting grape tomatoes, is that even if the fresh tomatoes are not very tasty, they suddenly become infused with potent flavor when they are roasted. I put them on a salad today, but I more often use these little wonders in pasta recipes for an extra bright punch of flavor.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Jalapeño Sour Cream

Every time I make sweet potatoes with this topping, I am amazed all over again at how good it is! I used to choose the smallest of sweet potatoes when I baked them, but now I want the biggest one, just because of this sweet/hot/sour topping! The maple syrup, minced jalapeño, and lime juice mixed with sour cream or yogurt either one, is just a great combination. I didn't have the bacon bits today, so I just mixed my green onions into the sour cream mixture.  I served this with the Boneless Chili Short Ribs on page 155.

Garlic Green Beans & Carrots ~ page 95

I made these veggies for some friends that were coming over for dinner the other night. It was a very stress free dish since I steamed the green beans and carrots the night before. All I had to do was a quick saute' right before dinner. Just make sure you don't steam the veggies too much. I like to serve this as a main vegetable dish since it gives guests 2 veggie options, in case they don't

care for one veggie. --Carissa