Ratatouille

We have not had a whole lot of success in our garden, BUT we have had success with eggplant and tomatoes (previously also turnips, beets and radishes).  So I polled my facebook foodie friends for ideas on what to do with eggplant.  Here is my first attempt at a recipe.  I must say it was actually pretty tasty. Q says it needs meat, but I tried to explain to him that eggplant is a meat substitute, he didn’t care. 

Here is the recipe I used.

1 onion, sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 tablespoons olive oil

a 3/4-pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3/4 pound small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 1 1/4 cups)

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
In a large skillet cook the onion and the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and heat it over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add the eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is softened. Stir in the zucchini and the bell pepper and cook the mixture over the moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occassionaly, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the oregano, the thyme, the coriander, the fennel seeds, the salt, and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the basil and combine the mixture well. The ratatouille may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.
Read More http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/Ratatouille-12164#ixzz1m86Hx1iA

You can find it and more fresh veggie recipes on my CSA pinterest board

Mango Chicken Curry in the Crockpot

I adapted a recipe to make it crockpot friendly.  The original recipe I used can be found HERE
*I purchased the already peeled and sliced mango in the fridge section of Costco, and I was unable to find yellow curry paste, so I used curry sauce.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (but there was plenty of sauce, I could have easily used more breasts).
2 mangoes* (peeled and sliced)
1 jar yellow curry sauce*
curry powder
1 can coconut milk
cucumber
cooked rice

Directions -
Blend together one can of coconut milk, 1 mango, half jar of curry sauce, 1.5t curry powder.  Place mixture and chicken breasts into crock pot. Cook on high for 4-5hrs.  Serve over rice with diced mango and cucumber slices.

Butternut Squash (more CSA recipes)

 

Another use for our CSA Butternut Squash, I used this Rachel Ray Recipe to make a deceptive Macaroni and Cheese Dish.  This is only half of the recipe, the other half I threw in the freezer.  It was good, but wasn’t my favorite or the kids, I think it might taste better if you threw some ham into it or something to make it a more hearty main dish.

CREAMY ONE POT PASTA

Another dish I made (and forgot to take pictures, sorry) with our CSA broccoli and our own garden cherry tomatoes – It’s a spin off of a Pampered Chef recipe..

Creamy Pasta with Broccoli and Tomatoes -

Ingredients -
1T olive oil
4 large garlic cloves peeled and sliced
3 cans chicken broth (5 1/4c)
1 lb shortcut pasta (like penne)
1 head of broccoli (2c)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
4 oz cream cheese
1/4t salt
1/2t pepper
1 1/2 t dried oregano
1 1/2t dried basil
Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions -
1.  Place garlic and 1T of olive oil into an 8qt stockpot, cook over medium heat 2-3minutes or until garlic is golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat; add broth.  Return to burner; increase heat to high.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Add pasta; cover and simmer vigorously 8-10min or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm, stirring occasionally.
2.  Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets and set aside with tomatoes.
3.  Cut cream cheese into cubes.  Add vegetables, cream cheese, salt and black pepper, oregano, and basil to pasta; stir until cream cheese is melted and fully incorporated.  Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook an additional 2-3min or until vegetables are tender.  Top with Parm.

Spicy Chicken with Dates and Butternut Squash

Living Social Deals had a CSA deal recently, and it actually had a local pick up, so I jumped on the deal!  We picked up our first box of produce this week, and I was left pondering exactly what to do with this great stuff, some of which I have never used before.  There really wasn’t anything to exotic, it was all stuff I had heard of…but I still hit the web and my foodie facebook friends for suggestions of what to do with a few of the items. 
Tonight we used the Butternut Squash, part of the onion, an apple and an orange for our meal. 
I found this recipe on Rachel Ray’s website, and had most of the ingredients on hand already, and the things I did not have I had substitutions, I also adapted the recipe for the crock-pot.  (I try to use my crock pot and microwave as much as possible to cut down the energy use and the heat production in the house).
Here is my adjusted recipe as I made it in the crockpot…please see the original recipe as linked above.
into the CROCK POT: 
2.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
1 c chicken stock
1/2 onion sliced
about 1 c of dried diced dates (mine already came diced)
1T ground cumin
1T ground coriander
3T Spicy brown mustard (or 1T turmeric if you have it)
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper

Cook on low @8hrs, or high @5hrs 

1/2 butternut squash - seeded, peeled, and cut into bits-sized cubes
*I only used half, b/c I wasn’t sure how it would go over with the kids, so I didn’t want to ‘waste’ any of it.  I put the other half aside for another recipe I want to try. 
Arrange squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in 400degree oven for about 30mins.  Toss into the crockpot shortly before serving. 

Serve on top of quinoa

2c chicken stock
1c quinoa
orange zest
Cook as directed (typically about 15mins)
Top with diced almonds (about 1/2 c)

I also served apple and orange wedges on the side.