Garden creations – Page 2

Jalapeño popper chicken bombs

Dinner, Garden creations

These were AMAZING! I am not sure they are healthy but nevertheless.

4 large jalapeños

2 chicken breasts

1/2 pound bacon thin sliced and not maple flavored

1 8 ounce container plain cream cheese

2 green onions sliced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons bbq sauce. I used Stubbs

Using a jalapeño coring tool or a knife, remove the center of the jalapeño.

Mix together the cream cheese, bbq sauce, garlic and green onions. Stuff each jalapeño.

Butterfly each chicken breast and then pound very thin. Add salt and pepper. Wrap ine jalapeño inside of each prepared chicken breast. Cover each with bacon. Secure in place using toothpicks. Grill at 250-300 for about 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is at 165 degrees.

These are really better for a charcoal grill than a propane unless you like fires. We used our green egg.

I expected them to be pretty spicy. Jalapenos are all different. These were pretty hot to start but the spicy really dissipated when cooked this way. It ended up pretty sweet and I was a little disappointed. We love our poppers!

Asparagus and zucchini saute with sun dried tomatoes

Garden creations, Side dishes

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 sundried tomatoes in oil thinly sliced

1 zucchini chopped

1 bunch asparagus cut into thirds

salt and pepper

Saute the garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add the tomatoes. Cook 1 minute. Add both the asparagus and zucchini and cook 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

This was found on the HEB website. I love my garden zucchini but sometimes I run out of ways to cook it. This was very good.

Creamy dill cucumbers

Garden creations, Side dishes

1 cucumber, sliced thin

1/4 red onion, sliced thin

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon dill

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

Mix all of the seasonings. Pour over a bowl containing the cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before eating.

This also works with yellow onion.

Pickled red onions

Garden creations, jalapeno

1 red onion thin sliced

1 jalapeno thin sliced

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper

2 garlic cloves smashed

1.5 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Dissolve the sugar and salt into the vinegar. Pour all of the liquid over the onions, jalapeno, black pepper and garlic that are placed into a mason jar. Refrigerate at least 24 hours. This will store refrigerated for 2 months.

My favorite use for these is on a grilled hot dog or bratwurst.

Corn vinaigrette salad

Garden creations, Side dishes

I cooked way too much corn on the cob yesterday. Today I wanted to use it and be lazy. It was actually perfect.

1 ears cooked corn – remove kernels from cob

1/4 red onion, finely diced

1 rib celery, finely diced

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cidar vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup shredded parmesan

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all of the vegetables together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and lemon juice. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic. Pout the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Sprinkle with parmesan and mix. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before eating.

Grilled corn

Garden creations, Side dishes

I grew up eating boiled corn in Missouri. I was hesitant to eat grilled corn. It really is good. I might like it better than boiled now just because of the variations in spices.

Open the corn husks and remove the silks. Wash the corn and be sure to completely soak the husks. Season the corn. Tonight we used garlic powder, black pepper, and salt. Fold the husks back. Grill at 250-300 for about 30-40 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes. Spray the husks with water as cooking so it doesn’t burn or catch fire.

Butter after removing from the husks.

Baked cod with sauteed tomatoes garlic and zucchini

Dinner, Garden creations, seafood, Uncategorized

Fish Fridays are my favorite days. It isn’t every Friday but I wish it were. I like this one because it is super fast, all of this could have been from my garden if it were later in the year, and it is a flavor explosion.

Start with fresh cod. We used 1.25 pounds for 2 adults and nibbles for the kids.

Preheat oven to 375. Place olive oil in 13×9 pan. Cover with 1 teasspoom salt and some lemon juice and bake for about 15-18 minutes or until 145 degrees.

While this is baking, prepare the veggies.

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons butter divided

3 cloves garlic slices

1 pint cherry tomatoes halves

1 large zucchini in slices

1 tablespoon sweet basil

1 teaspoom red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoom salt

1/2 teaspoom chicken bouillon granules

juice of 1/2 large lemon

1/4 cup water

Melt the butter in oil in a skillet on medium to medium high. Add the garlic. Cook about 2-3 minutes. Do not burn. Change heat down if needed. Add tomatoes. Blister for 1-2 minutes. Add lemon juice, basil, red pepper, salt, and chicken boullion. Cook about 5 minutes. Add zucchini. Cover and remove from heat. (I like zucchini semi crisp but cooked so leave in a minute longer if you like it cooked more). Add 2 more tablespoons of butter.

Serve over the fish with steamed white or brown rice. We poured a small amount the tomatoes over the cooked fish and let it set for 5 minutes before eating too. My kids won’t eat the sauce but I took fish out for them before covering it with sauce.

Calzone

Dinner, Garden creations

You may or may not like my choice of toppings but here it is. Pizza tends to be a very personalized thing. I like that we can change each calzone to meet everyone’s tastes. It is not a slop of (too much) melted cheese like most pizza is. Less cheese actually means it is healthier. I like that I can put as much sauce on it as I want while I eat and my kids can have no sauce (they hate it).

This is often listed as a 30 minute meal. Yes, it does bake in about 10 minutes. I would never make it on a weeknight even with my shortcuts of prepared sauce and dough because the assembly just takes a little time.

The picture above is my favorite frozen pizza dough. I can make my own, but let’s be real… I work and have 2 kids under 5.

The other good part of this meal is my meal planning. This takes a lot of ingredients but only a very small amount of each. The leftover veggies are great for meals later in the week. For example… a pasta dish or mushroom sauce over steak.

1 jar prepared pizza sauce

8 ounces tomato sauce

cooked italian sausage

pepperoni

Diced onion

Diced green bell pepper

basil

mushrooms

shredded mozzarella

1 egg beaten mixed with 1 tablespoon water

corn meal for non-stick surface and rolling

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Place the pizza sauce and tomato sauce in a pan and simmer it on low. This will give a very rich tomato flavor.

Divide the thawed dough into 3 pieces. Place some corn meal on a cutting board and stretch the dough as thin as possible without breaking it. You can use a rolling pin or your hands. Try to maintain an oval shape.

Layer the toppings as you see fit on 1/2 of the oval. Fold over the un-used half of each oval. Press the edges firmly together. Transfer to a baking sheet or pizza stone. A pizza stone really does crispen the dough more. (I got lazy tonight and had soggier “baking sheet” crust.) Using a sharp knife, pierce small holes in each top dough. See my examples below.

Brush the top with egg wash.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven using pizza peel. Dip in the prepared sauce while eating.

Serve alone or with a salad.

Baked spring veggies

Garden creations, Side dishes

It really cannot get any more simple. A grilled piece of fish (salmon), tender white rice, and a baked vegetable dish makes a perfect light yet healthy meal. Not only is it good for us, the whole meal cooks in under 30 minutes.

2 roma tomatoes diced large

handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1 onion thick chopped

1 zucchini thick chopped

1 yellow bell pepper thick chopped

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of dried sweet basil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Stir once after 7-8 minutes.

Easy black beans

Garden creations, jalapeno, Side dishes

This side dish is so simple. It really can go with any meal, but my favorite is to have it with tacos, over nachos, or with smoked pork and rice. It has no added oil or fat. The flavor all comes from vegetables.

1 can black beans – drain and rinse

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced yellow onion

1 small jalapeno – sliced

1/4 tomato diced – any kinds work

1 tsp cumen

1.5 cans of water – use the rinsed bean can

1 tsp chicken bouillon

1 handful fresh cilantro leaves

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the liquid turns a bit cloudy.

This never quite tastes the same. Sometimes I add a bit of leftover bacon. Sometimes I add fresh garlic. It is always fantastic. I have to say the combination above is my favorite. Tonight i made the same thing bit with pinto beans instead of black beans. Still wonderful!

Here are the peppers I picked yesterday. It is November and the garden is still going strong!

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