Bell Pepper Egg Cups

I've made several versions of the baked egg cups. Some had bacon, some had sausage, some had veggies. The other day I decided to make the baked eggs in a half of a bell pepper. I wasn't sure how this might work and if the liquid from the cooking pepper might make the eggs runny or keep them from setting, but they turned out beautifully! I added cheese to mine, so these are primal rather than paleo, but you could omit the cheese if you don't do dairy. You can add any mix-ins that suit you: veggies, meat, cheese, etc. I used mushrooms, onions, broccoli and cheese in mine. Now I'm thinking of other foods that may be cup-like...can I make a baked omelet in a giant mushroom or in a tomato? May have to give those a try!

Bell Pepper Egg Cups
3 Bell Peppers cut in half, and seeded
6-8 eggs (depends on size of your pepper and size of your eggs)
1/2 onion diced
2-3 button mushrooms diced
small hand full of shredded cheese if desired
Any other mix-ins you like!
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Half and seed bell peppers. Place them in a baking dish with sides to catch any egg that leaks out. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs with a fork and add salt and pepper. Pour about 1/3 of a cup of egg into each bell pepper half. Add any mix ins you like then top up with remaining egg. Bake for about 20 minutes or until eggs are set. If you are using more watery veggies it may take a little more time to cook. Enjoy warm!

Rosemary Lemon Carrots

On those nights when I'm super busy and haven't had a chance to take a walk in the garden to "shop" for veggies, I'll sometimes break into the baby carrots that are usually in my fridge. I've discovered I really like my carrots with some lemon on them and an herb or 2. Baby carrots are also great to bring along camping for snacking or for a side dish to go with that fish you caught or sausage you just cooked over the fire. I've included cooking methods for microwave, oven, grill and campfire coals. Enjoy those carrots! 

 

2 C baby carrots or chopped regular carrots

1/3 C lemon juice or 1/2 lemon

2 tsp dried or 1 Tbs. fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Microwave method:  Place baby carrots in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour lemon juice over carrots then sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover lightly and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Pierce carrots with a knife or fork to test for tenderness. Continue microwaving in 30 second increments until carrots reach desired tenderness.

 

 

Foil cooking method: Take a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up on all sides a bit forming a bowl. Place baby carrots and ½ of lemon in the foil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Fold foil around contents sealing into a pouch. Place pouch on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes or until tender. You can also throw the foil on the grill or in hot coals if you are camping.

Grilled Eggplant with Garlic and Walnut Oil

An eggplant came in my veggie box the other day...I really have no idea what to do with an eggplant. So, I decided to wing it. :) That's what I do.

You can never go wrong with garlic and oil, really. So, I sliced my eggplant into 1/2 inch strips and marinated it in some walnut oil and crushed garlic for about 1/2 hour. I, then, grilled the strips for about 5 minutes per side and served with this amazing pesto to which I'm now addicted.

If you've never tried eggplant, give it a try. You may find it's one of your new favorites.

Grilled Eggplant with Garlic and Walnut Oil
1 Eggplant sliced into 1/2 inch strips
1 t crushed garlic
1+ C olive or walnut oil

Mix oil and garlic in a shallow wide dish. Let sit for a few minutes then add strips of eggplant coating both sides. Let eggplant marinate for about 30 minutes. Place eggplant strips on a grill over medium heat. Grill for about 5 minutes per side or until flesh is fairly soft. Serve warm with pesto...or without. :)

Spinach and Walnut Pesto

What do you think of pesto? I've never been much of a pesto person and hadn't made pesto at all until yesterday. Boy, have I been missing out! I had some cilantro, spinach and garlic in my veggie box this week, and decided I'd give pesto a go. One recipe I found for making basil pesto used a mortar and pestle to crush everything together, but I don't have a mortar and pestle, and like to use power tools for heavy duty mixing like this. So I fired up my blender to get everything mixed together well.

I had planned to make hamburgers for dinner last night and thought a pesto topping would go well with the yummy grass-fed beef I had on my grill. I've also eaten it as a dip for steak and eggplant. Although the kids wouldn't touch the green goodness that was pesto, Hubby loved it and kept finding more things to top with it. So, this goes in the keeper file!

Spinach and Walnut Pesto
1 Bunch of spinach (about 2 C)
1/2 C fresh cilantro
1 C walnuts
1/4 C lemon juice
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 C olive or walnut oil
extra oil as needed

Trim stems from spinach and cilantro. In a blender or food processor add all ingredients except the extra oil. Pulse and push down the spinach to get everything incorporated adding extra oil as needed to lubricate the mixture. Serve on just about everything!

Sauteed Broccoli, Radishes and Scallions

I've never been a huge radish fan. I usually grow them in my garden because they are so fast to mature and easy to start, but they've never really been my favorite veggie. The spiciness of a raw radish is just too much for me. Even in salad or with dip, it's just too much bite for me. There are some vegetables that I always thought were supposed to eat raw. Radishes were one of those...until very recently when I threw some into a pot of soup just to see what would happen. Guess what? They were delicious! I've found that cooked radishes don't have that spicy bite that the raw vegetable does. So, I've been throwing radishes into a lot of my cooked dishes lately. Most recently I had a mish-mash of veggies in my refrigerator and decided to put them together to see how they would taste. They were very tasty and this combo will go on my list of favorites. If you've never tried to cook your radishes, you're in for a treat!

 

 

 

 

Sautéed Broccoli, Radishes and Scallions

2 C chopped broccoli

1 bunch of radishes chunked (about 1 C)

1 bunch of scallions/green onions sliced into 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 C Water or broth

2 T Coconut oil

2 t toasted sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

 

Melt coconut oil in a skillet. Lightly sauté the broccoli and radishes until they are slightly browned. Add Water or broth and scallions to pan, cover and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove lid and let liquid evaporate, add toasted sesame oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Serve warm.

 



Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

I think I found the easiest side dish ever! I was running out of ideas for making a side dish from a head of cabbage the other day when I decided to try roasting it. I'd heard of people doing this, but I'd never tried it. But I couldn't just throw it on a roasting pan, I had to jazz it up a bit. And what's better to jazz things up that bacon?!? So I put a slice of bacon on top of each cabbage wedge, drizzled it with a little olive oil and vinegar and roasted it. YUM! I think next time I might add more bacon, but other than that, it was perfect!

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon
1 head of cabbage (I used green cabbage)
4-8 slices of bacon
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C vinegar of choice (I used apple cider vinegar)
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375F. Wash cabbage and cut head into quarters. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper then place cabbage in the bowl. Coat cabbage with vinaigrette then place cut side down on a cookie sheet. Lay 1-2 strips of bacon over each cabbage wedge. Roast for about 30 minutes or until bacon is crisp and cabbage is softened.

Roasted Beets and Sunchokes with Rosemary

My veggie box has recently arrived containing a vegetable I had heard of only on cooking shows: the sunchoke also known as the Jerusalem Artichoke. I really had no idea what to do with this vegetable; so the first time it arrived I chopped it and put it in soup. The taste was similar to potato. This time, I decided to roast it along with beets that came in the box as well. I added some olive oil and some fresh rosemary and salt. Let me tell you, roasting is the way to cook a Sunchoke! ...beets, too!
 

Roasted Sunchokes and Beets with Rosemary
1 lb golden and/or red beets (about 6 large or 10 small)
1 lb sunchokes (about a dozen)
3 Tbs Olive oil
2 Tbs fresh rosemary (or about 1 Tbs dried)
salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 410F. Scrub beets and sunchokes then cut into 1 inch pieces - no need to peel them! Put veggies into a bowl with rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil. Massage oil and rosemary into veggies with your hands...or you can just use a wooden spoon to stir. Place veggies in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until you can easily pierce the veggies with a fork.