Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds (And a mini Fresh Fork Week 7 Recap)

July 23, 2013July 22, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

I’m slacking off this week. Thursday after our CSA pickup, I didn’t take a picture of everything we got. Shocker, I know … but I can assure you that nearly everything has been eaten AND enjoyed already. Here’s what we got:

1 whole chicken, approx 5 lbs
1 lb yellow wax beans or green beans
1 shallot
1 candy onion
1 bunch swiss chard
1 pint blueberries
1 quarter peck cling peaches

We haven’t used the chicken yet (I hope to make something yummy this weekend …. and don’t worry, I hope NOT to have another giblet incident again) but have already enjoyed the blueberries, peaches, swiss chard, beans and onion!

Here are some photos instead of how we’ve enjoyed the food:

Perfect snack – blueberries and peaches!

Dinner! Veggies are all Fresh Fork – sauteed swiss chard, balsamic marinated salmon, and yellow beans with lentils, onions & toasted almonds (recipe below!)

And now – what we did with all the yellow string beans. Besides eat them as snacks – because I definitely did that. Yes, I brought a baggie of them into work – they were so sweet and perfect as a crunchy snack! But then I only had 1/2 pound left for dinner (shh don’t tell B that I ate the rest) – so I had to supplement them with some other stuff, like lentil and onions – which meant they actually came out awesome! Even B really liked them – he asked me multiple times how I had made them, and not in a weird, eew how did you make this type voice, so I take that as a good thing.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions Lentils and Toasted Almonds ~ I Crashed The Web

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds

Here’s what you need:

12-15 almonds
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 candy onions, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound yellow string beans with the ends cut off
1/4 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth if you are a vegetarian
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups lentils, already cooked (or 1 15-oz can if you don’t have any prepared)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once preheated, toast the almonds on a baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes or until they start to take on a darker color and begin to smell. Watch them – you do NOT want them to burn!
While almonds are toasting, boil some water in a large pot. Add the beans and cook for about 3-5 minutes until they’ve begun to soften slightly. Drain beans.
In a large nonstick pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and diced onions and cook until onions are translucent. Add half of broth and cook until broth starts to disappear.
Add beans and rest of broth and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until beans start to get tender. Add the Italian seasoning and lentils. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until entire dish is warmed through. Transfer beans to a serving bowl.
Sprinkle with toasted almonds and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!

Finely chop the almonds and toast for 5-10 minutes at 350.

Get some awesome onions from your CSA. You may have to clean them off.

Dice the onions and sautee with garlic. Add part of broth and cook until broth cooks down.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds {I Crashed The Web}

Boil the trimmed beans for a few minutes.

When onions are soft, add green beans, rest of broth and cook for a few minutes. Then add seasoning and lentils and cook a little more.

Put in a fun plate and top with toasted almonds.

Enjoy!

For other Fresh Fork Recaps:

Meatless Monday: Roasted Beets Recipe (And a bonus post – how to get beet juice stains off a white dress)

July 15, 2013July 6, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

A week or so ago, B and I picked up our CSA for the week and I was delighted to find fresh beets! I LOVE beets and find them so delicious in so many things – in a salad with goat cheese, roasted, on top of a pizza, just alone as a snack, or even in smoothies or juices (ok confession I’ve never had a juice with beets but I’ve seen them at the West Side Market at the stand where B gets his frozen strawberry lemonade and I’ve thought about getting it). B, however, doesn’t really like beets. Still, he said that whatever I did with them he’d try the recipe.

So, what did I do? I called my mom. I asked her what she does because she roasts beets quite often. She told me how she roasted them (in the oven, in foil, and then tosses them in a mustard vinaigrette) and to be careful because beet juice stains everything(the counter, your hands, etc. ) so not to be careless/quick (which I often am when cooking). That is foreboding – make note. And here’s the recipe:

oven roasted beets mustard vinaigrette

Roasted Beets with a Mustard Vinaigrette

Here’s what you need:

3-4 medium beets, cleaned and prepared (chop the top, bottom and greens off- but save the greens! You can saute them like spinach)
salt/pepper
dash garlic powder
3 Tablespoons olive oil, separated (1 Tb plus 2 Tb)
2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 glove of garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Using a brush, coat the beets with approximately 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Create an aluminum foil pocket for the beets. Put the beets in the foil, wrap the foil around them, and put in the oven.
Bake for approximately 45-55 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce through the beets.
While beets are roasting, make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbs olive oil, red wine vinegar, pressed garlic and dijon mustard.
After beets are done roasting, wait until they are room temperature and then remove from their foil pouch and peel the beets. The skin should come off very easily. Pour dressing over peeled beets.
Enjoy!

cut the ends off the beets

Enjoy!

So I made the recipe, as she shared with me, and the beets came out great! They were delicious, juicy and even B didn’t hate them. Which is a good thing – he generally hates beets and think they taste like dirt. AND I didn’t get juice ANYWHERE. I was feeling kinda cocky actually, thinking wow I am such a good beet roaster. I didn’t get beets on the counter, or on me.

The next day I brought some into work as a snack. I ate them super carefully, as I was wearing a white dress and didn’t need any beet juice on my dress. I finished eating them and couldn’t believe my luck – I was clean! As I was bringing my bowl into the kitchen, I noticed I had dropped a beet. I picked it up from the floor – and BAM. It slipped out of my hand. Onto my dress. It literally ROLLED DOWN MY DRESS. I had a DARK RED line of stains down the front of my dress! I ran to borrow a stain stick from a coworker. The little Tide To Go stick just didn’t do it – it wasn’t big enough to handle the entire dress.

Luckily I had been in meetings from 8 a.m. through 2 p.m. that day and had about an hour free until my next meeting – so I ran home. Well sorta – I power walked back to my apartment, called my mom, and asked her what to do. She suggested soaking it in a stain remover solution and then washing it on cold water. She also suggested I treat it with seltzer water, but I had literally just finished our seltzer earlier that week. So soaking then washing was what I was going to do.

This is what happens when you spill beets on your white dress …. okay maybe not really

Here’s what I did:

I sprayed the dress liberally with my Shout Stain Remover Spray and let it sit for about 10 minutes while I found something new to wear and checked my email.
I tossed the dress in the wash, on cold. In addition to detergent, I also added two Tide Stain Release Boost packs to the laundry machine.

And here’s what happened:

THE DRESS IS AS GOOD AS NEW!

Yup. Sorry, no before/after pictures – I didn’t take a picture of the dress with the beet juice all over it. But I promise, it was ugly. I’m not sure if I’ll have the courage to roast beets anytime again soon …and if I eat them, I may have to wear a garbage bag!

Fresh Fork CSA Week Two And Kohlrabi Slaw {Recipe}

June 21, 2013June 21, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

B and I picked up our third week of our Fresh Fork Market CSA goodies last night and have already started to enjoy some of the new goodies. But you’ll have to wait to hear about that – because this post is to share with you what we did with week two. (Week one, plus my roast chicken recipe is here)

Stuff at the Fresh Fork pick up (Week 2)

So, what did we get last week? Week Two included:

1 package pork chops
1 bulb kohlrabi (yes, it’s a thing that you eat, not an alien like it sounds or looks like as I will prove to you below despite what B thinks)
1 bunch collard greens
1.5 lb. bag organic rolled oats
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch mustard greens
1 quart strawberries

Let me show you:

Fresh Fork Week 2

So what did we make this week?

Strawberries – we just ate those. B actually ate them exactly a week after we picked them up – he likes strawberries when they get a little overdone and start to taste like they have champagne or something in them. It’s gross. Don’t get me wrong – the idea of strawberries soaked in champagne is awesome (and I know it’s been done) but the idea of strawberries a little overripe? Ick. But that means I can eat them when they’re fresh, B can eat the ones I don’t finish when they’re ripe. We make a good team like that.
Spinach – I sauteed it as soon as I got it and ate it for breakfast the next morning with my usual eggs and lentils for breakfast.
Collard greens – I made B some oven “fried” chicken, with collard greens and mashed white beans for dinner one night. I sauteed them with some leftover chicken stock from last week’s chicken, plus some oil and garlic. Not too bad!

oven fried chicken white beans collard greens

Oats – tbd. May make some cookies. Or oatmeal. Or oat bars. Who knows! I have plenty of recipes in mind, like Special K cookies, Monster cookies, chocolate peanut butter caramel oat bars, or perhaps something new.
Pork, mustard greens and garlic scapes – B made a delicious mustard pork with the mustard greens and garlic scapes. I am not typically a pork chop fan – but it was really good!

fresh fork pork, mustard greens and garlic scapes

Kohlrabi – Kohlrabi slaw! Yup. Kohlrabi slaw. The newest best refreshing unique side dish to bring to your summer bbq. Or just to lunch. See below.

This is a picture of Kohlrabi from Wikipedia. The entry “alien” also directs there. (kidding)

Kohlrabi – the alien vegetable. What do you do with it? How do you cook it? How do you know it’s not an alien? B doesn’t think it looks like an alien but take a look at the side by side comparison I’ve shared with you, below.

You tell me. Kohlrabi? Or alien?

Apparently it is a vegetable (B is always right but don’t tell him I said that) and you can roast it (which I did … it was delish!) or make a slaw (which I also did, that B liked). The slaw was super easy and required practically no ingredients, so I’m sharing it with you!

So here’s a recipe for you to enjoy the next time you find yourself with this funny little alien vegetable.

easy kohlrabi slaw {i crashed the web}

Easy Kohlrabi Slaw

Here’s what you need:

3 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
1 kohlrabi
4 carrots
salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what you do:

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar and mustard.
Peel kohlrabi and carrots. I used a carrot peeler for the carrots but a knife for the kohlrabi to make sure I removed the entire outer hard shell.
Grate the kohlrabi and the carrots into the salad bowl. Mix well until the carrot and kohlrabi are well coated with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste.
You’re done – enjoy! It’s a nice refreshing slaw that goes well with burgers, chicken, or even on its own!

kohlrabi carrot slaw

Meatless Monday: Easy Roasted Cauliflower

March 25, 2013March 25, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Disclaimer: this is a non-recipe post. What’s a non-recipe? It’s something that I typically just throw together, without following instructions. Or measuring things. Something that you just do but don’t really think about (or something that didn’t seem blog-worthy at first). But I decided to actually pay attention and write down what I do, so I can share it with you!

B’s been eating a lot of vegetables lately and this is one of the easiest, no-hassle ways to prepare one of his new found edible vegetables, cauliflower. It takes 5 minutes to prepare and then just sits in the oven while you go about your business. Think about all you can do in the 45 minutes it takes for this to cook! Go work out (only if you’re not leaving the building. I wouldn’t recommend having your oven on 375 without anyone around!), prepare more parts of your meal, make some lentils (the take about 30 minutes from the bag and is cheaper than the can) to go with the cauliflower, read a trashy magazine, catch up on your DVR, give yourself a manicure … think about it!

Easy Roasted Cauliflower

Here’s what you need:

1 head of cauliflower
1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced or diced
Sea salt and black pepper

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Chop up cauliflower. Remove the stems and leaves and chop florets into 1/2 inch pieces.
Place chopped cauliflower on a baking sheet covered with Pam. Or spread foil sprayed with Pam on a baking sheet for an easy clean up. Drizzle cauliflower with olive oil.
Add salt and pepper and garlic.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until brown and crispy.

A whole head of cauliflower made enough food for B and me for dinner, plus I got leftovers for lunch the next day!

Chop your cauliflower (this is the longest part of the process)

Season with garlic, pepper and salt (or other spices, like rosemary!)

Eat it! I served mine with lentils, fish, Brussels sprouts and sauerkraut

This is a 4HB friendly recipe (without the modifications, below).

Modifications:

This is the basic roasted cauliflower recipe. I’ve also made it where in addition to the above steps, at about 10-15 minutes before it’s completed I’ve added Parmesan cheese or other shredded cheeses (cheddar, gouda, etc.) for a slightly cheesy roasted cauliflower. I’ve also added breadcrumbs for added crunch!

Meatless Monday: Spicy Kale with Yellow Pepper and Onions

March 18, 2013March 25, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day! I made it outside for a few hours and judging by what I witnessed downtown, most of you were having a good time. While I didn’t enjoy any corned beef this year (still meatfree for Lent!), we did enjoy some green food – including a kale dish like this one.

As B has started eating more slow carbs, one of my challenges has been to find new and not boring bean/veggie/meat (or other protein) combos. B would be perfectly happy eating the same meals day in and day out. Me? Maybe for lunch, but half of the fun in eating is the cooking! And half the fun in cooking is trying new recipes. So, last week for dinner, we were debating on the bean/veggie/meat combo when I suggested cooking up some Kale with Peppers and Onions for our veggie. Not a kale fan, B was skeptical. As I was putting it together, B even made the comment that he expected the ratio of peppers and onions to kale to be a little higher than he was expecting (meaning – “You’re using too much kale!”). Plus, when I had made the Kale with Lentils and Sweet Potato recipe a few weeks ago, he wasn’t sure he liked the texture of the kale, but this was due mostly to the fact that I may have forgotten to remove the stem from many of the kale leaves. Whoops! I was determined to leave a better impression this time, so I included one of B’s favorite ingredients – Cholula sauce!

As we sat down to eat our meals, I ate in silence. I didn’t want to ask … but I was dying to know what B was thinking. After a few bites it was clear. It was a hit. “We should have this again,” B told me. YES!

spicy kale with yellow pepper and onion

Spicy Kale with Peppers and Onions

Here’s what you need:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium yellow pepper, sliced
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped (if you like garlic a lot, feel free to make it 3)
1 bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped / torn into small pieces (about 4 cups)
1 – 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 – 2 teaspoons Cholula sauce (depending on your taste for heat, use more or less) or your other favorite hot sauce
1/3 cup vegetable broth

Here’s what you do:

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat.
Dice the onion, yellow pepper and 2 cloves of garlic. Add to pan and let soften.
Tear kale from stem and chop or tear into bite size pieces. Remember to remove the stem! (This reminder is courtesy of B)
Once onion and pepper are translucent, add the kale and vegetable broth. Feel free to add more garlic at this time too 🙂
Add hot sauce and hot pepper flakes. Turn heat to medium-low, put lid on pot, and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
After about 10 minutes, remove lid and turn heat down. Add more hot sauce if you like and cook until the liquid is absorbed
Enjoy!

I served mine with baked tofu and some black beans for a complete Four-Hour Body friendly recipe.

Saute the pepper, onion and garlic

Chop/tear up the kale. Don’t forget to remove stem!

Add chopped kale to translucent pepper and onion. Add hot sauce, hot pepper flakes, vegetable broth and more garlic if you want.

All done! Check out how much the kale cooks down.

Enjoy! Here’s how I served mine:

SPICY KALE WITH yellow pepper & onion, baked tofu, avocado and black beans

Some questions to ponder:

Have you tried any slow carb diets or the Four-Hour Body? What’s your favorite meal combo?
Are there certain meals you have over and over again and never get tired of them?
What’s your favorite way to cook/eat kale?

Meatless Monday: Eggplant, Potato and Pepper Stew

March 11, 2013April 28, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

A few weeks ago I finally reactivated my library card! This means trouble – I now have a ton of library books on my night stand, and even more on hold. In between all the best-sellers and fiction books, I also made room for a few cookbooks. The first one, Meat Free Monday, is by Paul McCartney and has a collection of meatless meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – for a whole year. I tagged a few recipes, including one for a meatless dinner stew.

I really really enjoyed the recipe – the book said it made 4 servings, but B and I had dinner, and I froze 5 cups for leftovers, even a few without potatoes for B, who is starting a low-carb diet this week.

vegetarian eggplant, potato and pepper stew labeled

Eggplant, Potato and Pepper Stew (slightly modified from the Meat Free Monday Cookbook)

Yields 5-8 servings

Here’s what you need:

3 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into large chunks
1 eggplant, cut into large chunks
1 zucchini, chopped into chunks
2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 tbs dried oregano
2 14-oz cans stewed tomatoes
1 1/3 c vegetable broth
14-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
4 tbs greek olives, chopped
Feta and parsley for topping

Here’s what you do:

Heat half of olive oil in a large pot. Add onion and celery, cook until tender but not colored. Add garlic and saute for another minute.
Add the remaining oil, chopped peppers, zucchini, and eggplant to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add potatoes, oregano, canned tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to low
Simmer for 25-30 minutes until veggies are tender.
Add beans and olives, cook for another 5 minutes.
Taste the stew! Add salt, pepper or other spices as needed. Serve with crumbled feta and chopped parsley.
Chop the veggies ahead of time … it’s easier

saute the celery, onion and garlic first

Let the stew simmer

closeup of stew

Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Vegetable Stew

February 24, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

As I shared with you earlier, I gave up meat for Lent and thus have been experimenting with quite a few new and different recipes. Dinners, typically chicken, pork or sometimes steak, are now slightly different and require a little more though process. So far (yes, only oneish weeks in) it’s been going well and I’ve had tons of fun trying out all the new recipes I’ve found.

I was on Pinterest a few weeks ago making a board of all the recipes I want to make when B said to me, “Why don’t you actually look at some of those cookbooks you own?” I realized he was right – I’m always finding recipes from blogs, Pinterest, etc. but hardly ever taking advantage of the zillion cookbooks I have! So I took out the first book that I could see – my Bon Appetit cookbook I got as a wedding gift from my brother’s wedding “date.” I marked off a few recipes and decided that this week was perfect to make the Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Vegetable Stew.

I baked some cornbread, made the stew on Monday night and B and I enjoyed it on Tuesday. B’s rating? He’d “definitely eat it again” (which means it’s a winner).

Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Vegetable Stew

Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Vegetable Stew

(slightly adapted from Bon Appetit cookbook)

Here’s what you need:

2 TBS olive oil
½ onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup tomato sauce
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 ¼ cups canned vegetable broth
2 ¼ cups water
1 cup dried lentils
1 15 to 16 oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
12 baby carrots, cut into ¼ inch rounds
1 cup frozen lima beans
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 oz bag fresh spinach leaves

Here’s what you do:

Heat oil in large pot over medium low heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until soft and golden (about 10 minutes)
Add tomato sauce, coriander, caraway and cayenne; stir one minute.
Stir in broth, water and lentils. Increase heat to high and bring everything to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are almost tender, about 15-17 minutes.
Add garbanzo beans, carrots, frozen lima beans and parsley. Cover and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
(If you want, you can cool this and refrigerate this a day ahead. Bring it back to a simmer before continuing. This is what I did – just make sure to add the spinach before serving)
Stir spinach info stew. Cover and cook just until spinach wilts, about 3 minutes.
Enjoy! Serve over rice (which I did not do; I don’t like rice) or with cornbread (which I did do because I love cornbread).

After B and I enjoyed the stew for dinner, we had about 3 cups leftover which were great for lunches the next few days.

Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Vegetable Stew

Meatless Monday / Week

February 18, 2013February 18, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Happy Monday! To all of you that have off today, please think about your friends working and try not to continuously post about sleeping in, being bored, relaxing, and so on. But of course enjoy your day off 🙂

This week will mark the first full week of my meatless meals during Lent. AND B and I only have two things going on this week (I know, it’s hard to believe), meaning we’ll likely eat at home three full nights together. So what do we have planned?

Yesterday/Sunday: Veggie Crock Pot Casserole (we’ll be eating leftovers for lunch this week) and corn bread

Monday: Fish with roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts
(lunch will be leftover veggie crock pot casserole)

Tuesday: Garbanzo Bean, Lentil and Vegetable Stew (from my Bon Appetit cookbook) with corn bread
(lunch is planned out with some people)

Wednesday: Spicy Black Bean Burgers (made on Sunday night and frozen ahead of time)
(lunch will be leftover veggie crock pot casserole and a salad)

Thursday: B and I both have things after work so we’ll probably eat on our own
(lunch will be out as I have an all day meeting)

Friday: Out to dinner for Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week!
(lunch will be out with coworkers)

Next week is a little crazier, with me only home for dinner on Monday and possibly Wednesday … but here’s to week one!

A few questions for the three of you that read my blog (hi Mom, Jane and Cari!):

Have you ever gone meat-free? For a week? A day?
What are your favorite vegetarian meals? (Seriously, please share!)
What do you give up for Lent?

meatfree

Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash

February 9, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

This recipe comes from another attempt to take B up on his new offer “to try anything that I make even if it’s vegetables” (including vegetables he doesn’t like, like squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, spinach, chard, arugula … the list really just goes on).

I’d call this one a hit. B ate his whole half-stuffed squash (along with some chicken) and mine made a perfect dinner. I made the whole recipe (2 squashes = 4 servings) and had leftovers the rest of the week for lunch. I kid you not, I think it got better each consecutive day!

vegetarian stuffed acorn squash

Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash (from Eating Well)

Here’s what you need:

2 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 tsp plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup tomato sauce (homemade is always the best!)
8 cups chopped chard leaves (about 1 large bunch)
1 15-ounce can white beans or chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Here’s what you do:

Cut each acorn squash in half and remove seeds. It’s easiest to do this if you microwave each squash for 40 seconds first – it will make them soft enough to cut in half.
Cut a small slice off the bottom of each squash half so it rests flat. Brush the insides with 1 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place in a 9-by-13-inch (or large enough) microwave-safe dish. I used a pyrex so I could also put it in the oven. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on High until the squash is fork-tender, about 12 minutes.
While squash is microwaving, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring, until starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add garlic to cooking onion and cook for about 1 minutes. Stir in water, tomato sauce and the remaining salt and pepper.
Stir in chard, cover and cook until tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in white beans and olives; cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
Preheat broiler. I put mine at 500 degrees F.
Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a bowl. Remove squash from microwave (they should be fully cooked) and fill each squash half with about 1 cup of the chard mixture. If not already in a broiler-safe dish, place in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Broil in the center of the oven until the breadcrumbs are browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
Enjoy! Serve alone or as a side dish.

ingredients vegetarian stuffed acorn squash

Here’s what you need

vegetarian stuvegetarian stuffed acorn squashffed acorn squash

Fill microwaved squash with bean mixture.

Serve with a side salad!

Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini

January 29, 2013January 29, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

My friend Alisa was in town from Finland (yes, the country) last week for a few days. She’s a friend from high school – and was one of my bridesmaids – and I hadn’t seen her since my wedding more than a year ago! Trips back from Finland are hard to make – it’s expensive and long – so Alisa doesn’t get to make it back to the U.S. to see her family in NY often. That’s why I was excited to hear she was going to make the trip not only to the U.S., but also from NY to Cleveland with her boyfriend to see me!

It was a quick trip – and during the week, so I was working during the day – but I’m so glad I got to see Alisa and meet her boyfriend Jiri. We planned a few fun Cleveland activities for them – local food, visiting the lake, checking out the public library, taking the bus to University Circle to see the art museum – to see the city. We ate dinner at Greenhouse Tavern one night (Alisa and Jiri are very into Farm to Fork, local food, etc.), but the second night Jiri requested something American – steak! So I tried to think of a fun side dish to serve with our steak and mashed potato dinner that B was making, that was also gluten free, since Jiri had just started a GF diet.

I found it! This recipe had shown up in one of my daily Real Simple emails and I had printed it out to try sometime – and although it doesn’t shout “serve me with steak and potatoes,” I did. And it was great! It was also great leftover with my lunch the next day.

quinoa stuffed zucchini (gluten free and vegetarian)

Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini (slightly modified from Real Simple)

The original recipe says one serving is one zucchini – if this is your meal, I’d agree, otherwise a half a zucchini will serve perfectly as an accompaniment to a main dish. Yields 8 half stuffed zucchinis.

Here’s what you need:

½ cup quinoa
4 medium zucchini
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans or chick peas
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ c pine nuts (original recipe called for chopped almonds, but I only had pine nuts on hand)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ c diced onion
¾ c grated parmesan cheese
4 tbs olive oil

Here’s what you do:

Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
Cook quinoa according to directions. (you’ll probably need to combine quinoa with 1 c. water and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Once boiled, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 13-15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is soft.
While quinoa is cooking, cut zucchini in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Assemble zucchini halves in a large baking dish, skin side down and cut side up.
Quarter cherry tomatoes, chop garlic and dice onion.
After the quinoa is cooked, fluff it with a fork. Mix in the canned beans, cut tomatoes, pine nuts, chopped garlic and diced onion.
Add in ½ c of the parmesan cheese and 3 tbs of the oil.
Spoon the quinoa mixture into the zucchini.
Top the zucchini with the rest of the oil and parmesan cheese.
Cover baking dish with foil and bake 25-30 minutes, or until zucchini is tender to a fork. Remove foil and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes until the top is slightly golden.