Category: eat less meat

1. Tuesday, August 30

   Easy Asian-Style Green Beans

   Last time I tried to make a nice, homemade dinner that involved some effort, I threw my sciatica into a tizzy. I could barely walk to the dinner table to eat! So, until baby boy arrives in a few short weeks, I’m trying to take it easy in the kitchen. Which is nice in one way, but at the same time I am really craving some good home cookin’ right now. I’ll have to put my mom to work when she comes to visit next month!

   

   What this “taking it easy” business means is that, even though I have menus planned each week, there are plenty of nights where I’m plum worn out and things don’t go as planned. Last night was no exception. But we were all starving, so I grabbed the Costco orange chicken out of the freezer along with the Trader Joe’s dumplings and got “cooking.” Since rice, chicken and dumplings don’t have any vegetables, I grabbed a bag of green beans that we received from our CSA last week and decided to sauté those up.

   

   Nate is a big fan of green beans, so I’m always hoping I cook them well since I know they are one of his favorites. Last night he kept saying how good they were, so I decided they were blog post-worthy! And they were really easy. Which, for me, was the best part!

   Easy Asian-Style Green Beans
   From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner
   - A bunch of fresh green beans
   - Olive oil
   - Salt and Pepper
   - Soy Sauce
   - White Sugar

   Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet that has a lid. Add the green beans and sauté over medium heat until they brown on the sides a bit. Reduce heat to medium-low and put the lid on the pan. Let cook a few minutes until they are as tender as you want them to be, stirring occasionally.

   Remove the lid, splash evenly with soy sauce, sprinkle with salt and pepper and about 1-3 teaspoons of sugar (just to cover the beans evenly). Stir and serve!

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 8:01 am   11 Comments
   Categories: CSA, eat less meat, featured recipes, Healthy Eats, Recipes, side dishes, simple side dishes

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2. Thursday, July 28

   Roasted Nectarines and Burrata

   The first time we had burrata was at Cafe Borrone. Burrata is an Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream (source Wikipedia) and that is just what it tastes like…a super creamy and light mozzarella. It has an outer mozzarella ‘shell’ which is filled with this delicious creamy cheesiness. YUM. The owners of Cafe Borrone first had burrata on a trip to Italy and immediately knew they had to make it themselves when they got back to the States. When Nate and I had their burrata, it was served alongside grilled peaches and tomatoes with a toasted baguette. And it was downright heavenly.

   Cafe Borrone’s burrata platter.

   Last week I had some nectarines that needed to be eaten pretty quickly, so I picked up a package of burrata at Trader Joe’s. I roasted the nectarines in the oven (grilling would work beautifully as well) and served them alongside the cheese, with fresh baguette. It was delicious. Roasted or grilled peaches are also amazing and of course grilled or roasted tomatoes would be great with burrata, too! The possibilities are endless!

   Roasted Nectarines/Stone Fruit (to serve with burrata, other cheeses…or ice cream!)

   You could use peaches, apricots, plums or pluots instead of nectarines…whatever sounds good to you or whatever you have lying around the kitchen, just go with it!

   Cut nectarines in half and remove pit. Place in oven-safe dish. Drizzle with a bit of melted butter. Roast in a 350-degree oven until fruit is soft and looking a bit carmelized. Here’s where I stink…I can’t remember how long I roasted them for! Probably 10-20 minutes…but I promise next time I roast some stone fruit, I will come back and update this recipe with an accurate cooking time.

   

   You can peel the fruit prior to roasting or afterwards…or not at all. Whatever you prefer. I peeled mine after they roasted – one of the nectarines peeled easily and the other one was more stubborn.

   Serve with burrata or other yummy cheeses. Or top with ice cream for a wonderful dessert!

   

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:03 am   9 Comments
   Categories: CSA, eat less meat, fab faves, Recipes, side dishes, sweet things, the goods

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3. Thursday, July 21

   Watermelon Salad with Tomato and Cucumber

   Last Friday night I did something I haven’t done in a while…I actually picked up a magazine (in this case Martha Stewart Living) and read it cover to cover. And I’ve decided I should do that more often because I was inspired to make a fabulous dinner on Sunday night. Of course, by the end of preparing all the food my sciatic nerve was literally screaming at me and I hobbled around the rest of the night (yes, I’m officially a hobbling pregnant woman…no more heels for me, boo-hoo!), but our dinner was worth the pain.

   

   One of Sunday night’s creations was a Watermelon Salad with Tomato and Cucumber. There was a recipe for this salad featured in the magazine that involved making a fancy basil oil. I’m sure it’s wonderful, but I simplified things a bit in my preparation. I loved the salad – super easy to prepare and the oh-so-summery flavors all blended so nicely together. I wasn’t entirely sure what the girls would think. They love watermelon, and this savory twist on a favorite fruit seemed a bit risky. But I’ll tell you what…every person in the family happily gobbled down the salad! It was a great success! Will definitely be adding this salad to the rotation, at least during the summer when all of these lovely ingredients are fresh and in season!

   

   Watermelon Salad with Tomato and Cucumber
   Adapted from a recipe in the August 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living
   - Half a watermelon, cubed (I know, so exact…my watermelon was medium in size)
   - 2-3 handfuls of small tomatoes, or 2-3 larger tomatoes sliced into wedges (I used a bunch of baby tomatoes we have growing on the back porch)
   - One cucumber, chopped into bite sized pieces
   - Olive oil (about 1-2 tablespoons)
   - Salt and Pepper
   - Fresh Basil, about 5-10 leaves chopped
   - Original recipe calls for 4 oz crumbled goat cheese – I left this out because we were having another cheese-based side dish, but also I just wanted straight up produce in the salad

   Combine the watermelon, tomatoes and cucumber in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to cover the fruit and veggies. Sprinkle with the chopped basil, about 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat evenly and serve!

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 8:09 am   9 Comments
   Categories: eat less meat, Healthy Eats, Martha Stewart, Recipes, side dishes, simple side dishes, Way Gourmet

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4. Tuesday, June 21

   A Healthy Twist on Classic Potato Salad

   When I discovered my next Newman’s Own “Own It” recipe challenge with Martha’s Circle involved utilizing one of their salad dressings, I immediately knew what I was going to make. Back when I was first married and still learning how to cook, Nate’s Gram Maynard was the one to teach me how to make potato salad. I loved her potato salad. Simple and classic, it always hit the spot. Not too sweet and not filled with too many surprises. (I’m not a big fan of surprises in potato salad.)

   

   Gram had a trick, one that I have never forgotten and have always used since. Once the potatoes are cooked and cut, instead of using vinegar, she would toss the potatoes in Italian dressing. You get your vinegar in there, along with a bunch of built-in seasonings. It’s a genius idea that I absolutely love.

   

   Since I needed to also add a “twist” to my potato salad recipe, I decided to go for a healthy twist. In fact, I went for three healthy twists on this classic!

   1. Replace the bulk of the mayonnaise with fat-free yogurt…less fat and the health benefits of yogurt to boot!
   2. Leave the skins on the potatoes…that’s where are all the vitamins are!
   3. Throw in some cauliflower…easily hidden, most people won’t even know it’s there (Nate didn’t notice after eating a whole serving) and this nutrient-packed veggie adds an additional healthy kick to the salad.

   

   And guess what? This healthier version of the classic potato salad tastes just like…potato salad! Go figure. Seriously, it tasted just like the much less-healthy version I used to make. These twists are here to stay!

   

   Classic Potato Salad with a Healthy Twist
   From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner
   - 3 pounds potatoes of your choice (I used russet this time around)
   - 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped small
   - 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, chopped then steamed
   - 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
   - 1/4 – 1/2 cup Newman’s Own Lighten Up Italian Dressing
   - 1/3 cup mayonnaise
   - 2/3 cup fat-free strained Greek yogurt or other thick yogurt
   - 1/2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
   - 1/8 tsp. dry mustard
   - 1/2 tsp. salt
   - 1/4 tsp. pepper
   - 1/4 tsp. paprika

   

   Chop unpeeled potatoes into 1″ cubes. Add to a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and lightly boil 5-10 more minutes, until potatoes are easily pierced by a fork but not falling apart. Drain potatoes and put in refrigerator until cool. Feel free to fish out potato peels that have fallen off any potato pieces…some of them may do that after cooking.

   Mix together the potatoes, eggs, cauliflower and onion. Pour Italian dressing over the mixture and toss to cover.

   

   Mix together mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, dry mustard, salt, pepper and paprika. Add to potato mixture and stir to combine.

   Eat!

   

   P.S. Part of my participation in this project with Martha’s Circle was my recipe featured in a Newman’s Own advertorial in Everyday Food (kind of like the last recipe I did with them, which appeared in Martha Stewart Living).

   CHECK. IT. OUT. My name, blog, recipe and photo are on the inside front cover of the July issue of Everyday Food! Somebody pinch me! Get out there and get a copy for your scrapbook!

   

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 7:38 am   15 Comments
   Categories: eat less meat, featured recipes, Kitchen Tips, Martha Stewart, Recipes, side dishes

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5. Tuesday, April 26

   60-Second Maple Brussels Sprouts

   A while back I shared a video showing how to make 60-second Brussels sprouts (thanks once again to my culinarily-geniused friend Lindsay for sharing that with me so long ago). The idea behind the recipe is that you slice the brussel sprouts thinly, allowing them to cook quickly (hence the 60 seconds), which keeps the sulfur from emerging and stinking things up.

   

   Nate’s parents were here for Easter and Nate’s dad loves Brussels sprouts. Pat was telling me how her niece Morrigan recently roasted Brussels sprouts with maple syrup, and that they were deeeeee-licious. I then told Pat about this quick cooking technique, which she had never tried. We decided to combine the two ideas and created a very delicious side dish for our Easter feast last week.

   It’s quick, it’s easy, and the subtle sweetness of the maple syrup complements the flavor of the Brussels sprouts really nicely. I may never use lemon again!

   

   60-Second Maple Brussels Sprouts
   - 15-20 Brussels sprouts
   - 1 tablespoon olive oil
   - 1 tablespoon butter
   - 2 tablespoons maple syrup (the real stuff!)
   - Salt & pepper to taste

   To see how to prepare the Brussels sprouts, click here and watch this handy dandy video. Here’s what you do in words: cut the Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise, cut out the core, then thinly slice the sprouts, so it looks like sliced cabbage for coleslaw (see photo above).

   Heat the olive oil and butter over high heat in a large skillet, preferably with high sides. Once the pan is hot, add the maple syrup, stir quickly, then add the Brussels sprouts. Cook them for 60 seconds, stirring throughout the cooking time. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, then serve immediately.

   

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:04 am   24 Comments
   Categories: eat less meat, Healthy Eats, Recipes, side dishes, simple side dishes

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6. Thursday, April 14

   CSA Fun: Green Garlic

   I officially have my first item from a CSA bag that I have never eaten before. And the winner of this coveted title is…green garlic.

   Here she is.

   

   I felt like I had to get it. After all, the farms where my produce comes from are in an area that is the garlic capital of the country. Green garlic is essentially young garlic that is often pulled by farmers to thin out the crop (although also harvested on purpose as it gains popularity). Green garlic has a milder flavor than garlic and is, apparently, delicious.

   

   So, what am I gonna do with this here green garlic? I don’t even know what it will look like when I cut into it! I’m thinking I might chop one up and sauté it with the asparagus we received in the same CSA bag. If any of you have ever used it and have ideas, please share! I need your wisdom!

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:36 pm   18 Comments
   Categories: CSA, eat less meat, Healthy Eats, the goods, Way Gourmet

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7. Thursday, March 17

   Butternut Squash Cauliflower Leek Soup…my first CSA creation!

   Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! Every year I try to plan a fantastic green feast. And this year I still don’t know what I’m doing! However, I just took a gander at what we ate last year, and it was great inspiration. I think we’ll have green chicken piccata, green mashed potatoes (potatoes from our CSA bag) and baby broccoli (also from our CSA bag). I’m sad I didn’t get a corned beef to cook, but maybe we can get one on sale tomorrow and enjoy it a few days late!

   

   I do have a good non-green recipe to share with you today, however. Last week I was planning to make butternut squash soup, since I had ordered butternut squash with my CSA bag. When it arrived, I got two baby butternut squashes. While super cute, they weren’t going to provide quite enough squash for the recipe. However, I had three leeks in the bag and a beautiful head of cauliflower, so I made some modifications. The result – a deliciously buttery soup with great flavor!

   Butternut Squash Cauliflower Leek Soup
   From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner
   - 2 small butternut squashes (or the equivalent amount…probably about 2 pounds or so)
   - 3 leeks, green tops cut off, and leeks cleaned and chopped into 1-inch pieces
   - 1/2 head cauliflower
   - 2 T butter
   - about a teaspoon ground ginger
   - 5 cups chicken stock
   - salt and pepper to taste

   Half butternut squash and roast in the oven until easily pierced with a knife, 45-60 minutes. Steam cauliflower until cooked but not mushy.

   Melt butter in large soup pan. Saute leeks in butter 5-10 minutes, until soft. Add ginger and let cook a minute or two more. Add broth and bring to a boil. Carefully add cauliflower and scoop out the butternut squash from the skins and add to the pot as well. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20-30 minutes.

   Carefully blend soup in batches until it is all smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Eat!

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:11 am   8 Comments
   Categories: CSA, eat less meat, Healthy Eats, main dishes, Recipes

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8. Thursday, March 3

   My First CSA Bag!

   As you may recall, my New Year’s Resolution was to join a CSA. Yesterday I picked up my first CSA bag! We truly are blessed with beautiful produce throughout the year here in California. The girls and I were super excited to get home and see what was inside. I decided to join Eating with the Seasons. A good friend highly recommended them and I liked that I can get eggs included with the weekly delivery as well as select what produce I want each week based on their supply. And, so far, their customer service has been really great, so I’m excited to work with them!

   

   Even though I can choose what I want delivered, I forgot to log-in last week, so this week’s bag was full of surprises. Happily, everything we received is produce we normally eat. Phew! I know part of the reason I am doing a CSA is to challenge myself to try new produce, but I must admit it’s nice to ease into the experience with food I know.

   We’re starting out with a Small bag each week to get a good idea of what we will use. Here is what we received this week. A dozen organic, local, humanely-raised eggs for only $4.50 (I’m getting this bi-weekly). Awesome, right? For veggies, a bunch of carrots, a HUGE acorn squash, two heads of butter lettuce and two big crowns of broccoli. For fruit, a bag of kiwi fruit, four apples and 6 tangelos (one of which I am eating right now – it’s delicious!).

   

   I have to say, I already feel more invested in my produce. How often do I let it go bad in the fridge? More often than I like to admit. But I’m determined to not have that happen with my CSA produce. Hopefully this means we end up eating more fruits and veggies overall! I’m very glad I made this our resolution and that we are finally jumping on the CSA bandwagon. I think it’s going to be a great experience.

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:11 am   17 Comments
   Categories: CSA, eat less meat, Healthy Eats

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9. Thursday, February 10

   Santa Fe Salad

   Tonight we’re having Santa Fe Salad. I’ve linked to the recipe before, but I’ve never written about it. So here we are!

   

   I modified this recipe from a salad I used to order at a restaurant in San Diego. The biggest reason I like this salad is the cornbread croutons. They are YUM. I suppose ranch dressing doesn’t hurt either.

   Santa Fe Salad
   - 2 hearts of romaine, chopped up
   - 1 granny smith apple, chopped
   - Handful or two of cubed gouda
   - Cornbread croutons (see below)
   - 3 handfuls of corn (canned or frozen or fresh…whatever you’ve got!)
   - 1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
   - Chopped walnuts (optional – I always leave these out)
   - Thinly sliced red onion (also optional)
   - Chopped cooked chicken (optional – I never do the chicken, actually – but it would be a yummy addition)
   - Ranch dressing

   Combine all the ingredients and eat!

   

   Cornbread Croutons
   - Cornbread – premade is fine, jiffy mix is fine, I followed the simple recipe on the back of the cornmeal box for an 8″ x 8″ pan
   - 3 tablespoons butter, melted

   Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cube cornbread. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and brush/drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping the croutons over every 5 minutes so the bottoms don’t burn. Serve with Santa Fe Salad or any other salad that strikes your fancy. And, as I’m typing, I’m even thinking this might be a fun topper for chili!

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 3:21 pm   17 Comments
   Categories: eat less meat, Healthy Eats, main dishes, Recipes, side dishes

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10. Wednesday, January 26

    Lettuce Wraps

    Not only did I actually get my grocery shopping done this week, but I finally made the lettuce wraps I’ve been planning for two weeks. Yea!

    

    These lettuce wraps were TASTY. We loved them and I’m so glad I finally tried my hand at lettuce wraps. I followed my friend Kristen’s recipe over on Dine and Dish, except I made a chicken mix instead of using ground beef. I also used green onions as a topping at the end, rather than cooking them into the meat. You could easily take either approach.

    I feel like most restaurants where I’ve had lettuce wraps serve them with iceberg lettuce. Kristen’s recipe called for Boston bibb or butter lettuce, which I liked better…it still had some crunch, but the leaves are more maleable and didn’t break when you wrapped them up.

    

    Our girls loved putting their lettuce wraps together. I let them spoon the chicken mixture onto their lettuce and sprinkle their green onions over top. They thought that was really fun. In terms of actually eating the wraps, well, Anna loved the filling, and Cate liked the lettuce. But I was able to get Cate to eat her chicken filling as well, she just didn’t love it as much as Anna. Bottom line, they’re a little tricky to eat as wraps for kids, but overall I think a mostly kid-friendly meal.

    Lettuce Wraps
    Modified from Dine and Dish (the Dine and Dish recipe uses ground beef, which Kristen says is delicious…so head on over to Kristen’s site for the ground beef version)
    - Boston bibb or butter lettuce leaves (one head), rinsed and patted dry and set aside
    - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into small cube-sized pieces (if you want to make this vegetarian, substitute the chicken for diced tofu)
    - 1 can water chestnuts, diced into small cube-sized pieces
    - Handfull of shiitake mushrooms, diced into small pieces (I actually didn’t add mushrooms this time around, but it’s an option)
    - 1 tablespoon cooking oil
    - 1/2 onion, diced into small pieces
    - 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pushed through a press
    - 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    - 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
    - ground ginger
    - 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
    - 1-2 tablespoons Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
    - 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
    - 2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil
    - 1 bunch green onions, chopped

    Heat oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add chicken, onions and mushrooms (if using). Saute until chicken is cooked through. I lightly sprinkled some salt evenly over the chicken during this step.

    Sprinkle chicken evenly with ground ginger. Add garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the chicken mixture and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts and sesame oil and heat through. (If you want to cook the green onions into the meat, add them with the water chestnuts and cook until the onions are just wilted.)

    Serve over lettuce leaves, topped with green onions, soy sauce and chile sauce.

    Speaking of chili sauce, I picked up this bottle of Maggi Sweet Chile Sauce at Safeway and it is YUMMY. It’s got some heat and a nice sweet flavor. So glad I stumbled on it at the store!

    

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:17 am   31 Comments
    Categories: eat less meat, main dishes, Recipes, the goods

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