January 5, 2012- Cauliflower Au Gratin and Salad

Cauliflower Au Gratin and Salad

We haven't tried this recipe but saw it in one of our many cookbooks and decided to try it. The cauliflower is more of a side so we needed to have something else with it so we had a salad as well. The cauliflower au gratin is really simple to make. You boil cauliflower florets, lemon, and chopped onion in a cup water for about 6 minutes and then drain out the water still keeping the onion and cauliflower. Meanwhile you preheat the oven at 425 degrees and take a 9x9 pan and coat it with some olive oil and your choice of herbs (we used oregano and thyme), we also added about 2 crushed garlic cloves and you put the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes. You then place the cauliflower and onion in the pan and mix it around with the olive oil. You can drizzle additional olive oil if you like. You then sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Our salad was romaine lettuce with peas and kidney beans, with shredded cheddar cheese and some ranch dressing. It was a really good and simple dinner.

December 15, 2011- Cannellini al Gratin with Crescent Rolls

Cannellini al Gratin with Crescent Rolls

This is a recipe from our Vegetarian Times magazine. It is cooked in a Dutch Oven and tastes delicious. I would call this comfort food as well. It is a simple recipe but takes some time to cook in the oven. it is onions and carrots sauteed with garlic. You also add two cans of cannellini beans. There is some white wine and vegetable broth. The only seasoning is thyme. You combine parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle it on top with some olive oil. It bakes covered for 25 minutes then uncovered for 15 then it has to cool for about 15 minutes. We also have them with crescent rolls. It is a really delicious meal.

December 12, 2011- Cream of Zucchini Soup

Cream of Zucchini Soup

This is our first time trying this soup today. Nick made it so it was extra special :) We were inspired to try this soup because we had some cream of zucchini soup with kale at Fresh Choice. This soup is a little different because it has rice in it. It is a rice and onion soup base. You can use water or broth or milk or a combination. Since Nick is lactose intolerant we did a sort of combination of milk and broth. The zucchini soup has zucchini and sour cream. The zucchini base is blended in batches to make it smooth. And then you mix it all together. We actually had the soup with the sour cream served on top which was good. We served the soup with some Parmiaggo rosemary rolls from Trader Joes. Yum!