Zucchini Parmesan with Garlic Polenta

I think I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of things in the kitchen. The Texas heat sure doesn't inspire me to cook though. It inspires me to order a pizza or go out for tacos and a beer. I just need to get creative and limit my time spent hovering over a hot stove. I don't particularly like sweating.

A friend shared this blog with me a few months ago and I've finally gotten around to trying one of her recipes. I love the author's logic. Eat 80% healthy and 20% good. I think the last few days I have been more like 60/40.

Onto the recipe.

3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salt

Pepper

Italian seasoning

Jarred marinara sauce (I used Muir Glen Roasted Garlic)

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups vegetable stock

3/4 cup polenta

2 Tbsp grated parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 450. Grease a large, rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

2. Toss sliced zucchini with olive oil until well coated. In a shallow baking dish, mix together bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. If you use seasoned bread crumbs you can omit the extra seasonings. Dip each slice of zucchini into the bread crumb mixture to thoroughly coat. Lay each piece in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

3. While zucchini is baking, heat marinara over low heat in a sauce pan. In a separate saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute minced garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add vegetable stock. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Whisk in polenta slowly making sure to break up any clumps. Turn heat down to low and continue stirring while polenta simmers. Cook for 20-25 minutes.* Stir in grated Parmesan.

4. Spoon some polenta onto a plate, top with zucchini slices and a couple tablespoons of marinara. Enjoy.

*For some reason when I cook polenta it never takes as long as the recipe says it's going to take. The original recipe said to cook for 35-40 minutes. Mine was done in half that time. I suppose it's possible that I'm doing something very wrong and my polenta would be way better if I cooked it longer, but I kind of doubt it. 

Right out of the oven.

Please excuse the color of my polenta. I used a really dark vegetable stock which turned my polenta an unappetizing brown mustard color.

Review - EXCELLENT! We all really loved this. Eli inhaled two bowls full. I couldn't believe it. I made the mistake of telling Josie I would make caramel corn after dinner so she needed a little help focusing on eating, but in the end she ate almost all of it. Jay and I both cleaned our plates. I'll definitely make this again. Hopefully next time I'll be able to use zucchini from my garden.

Ultimate Breakfast Cookie

It's not "Cookies for breakfast?" 

It's "COOKIES for breakfast!"

It's hot here in Texas, imagine that. Too hot to take the kids on our normal 10 o'clock walk to the park. I need to get out of the house earlier. I've contemplated waking them while it's still dark out, but Boy Child still doesn't sleep through the night, so I refuse to get out of bed before seven. In order to get out of the house quickly I need to feed these two munchkins breakfast in the stroller. I realize I could have purchased some sort of pre-packaged, foil-wrapped stuff but if you know me, you know that's not my style.


I found this recipe and tweaked it up to my (and the kids') liking.


3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup unsweetened, natural peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup high-fiber, high-protein cereal, crunched up a bit (I used Kashi Go Lean)
1/3 cup raisins


1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.


2. Whisk together flours, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.


3. With a wooden spoon mix butter, sugar, honey and peanut butter until well blended. Add egg and vanilla mix well. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Fold in oats, cereal and raisins. 


4. With hands roll about 2-3 tablespoons of dough into a ball. Flatten on prepared baking sheet. Cookies won't spread a lot so make sure you flatten them well. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.


Yield: 12 cookies

Review - Well I thought they tasted ok. Josie said, "Not yummy mama.  I don't like the raisins." Then she hid it in the refrigerator of her play kitchen. Eli took one bite and said "Tsee" and shook his head. The cookies turned out a little dry.  I think 1/4 cup of applesauce would help. The flavor was good, the texture was just off a little. I'll keep trying.

Tomato Basil Panini

Keeping up with a blog is a lot of work I'm finding. I don't know how these people find the time to blog multiple times every day or even once a day or even once a week. My biggest problem is that I haven't had any WOW recipes lately, everything has just been 'eh.' I don't want to share 'eh' recipes with ya'll. I want WOW!

These sandwiches are pretty WOW.  I only made one change from the original recipe and that was to add a layer of pesto. Everything's better with pesto. 

1 loaf crusty bread, not the $.99 squishy French bread

3 Roma tomatoes

1 package fresh mozzarella

1/4 cup basil leaves

pesto (optional)

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat your countertop grill or panini press. Slice bread, tomatoes and mozzarella. Brush outside of bread with olive oil. Spread a thin layer of pesto on inside of one slice of bread. Layer mozzarella and tomatoes and top with basil leaves. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle balsamic over the inside of the other slice of bread. Place on top of sandwich. Grill for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining ingredients. I ended up with 5 sandwiches. 

Review - Jay and I really liked these. I made a modified version for the kids with only tomatoes and mozzarella. The both picked apart the sandwich and ate the insides.  I think they have a hard time with the texture of the crunchy/chewy bread. I will definitely make these again.  I can't wait to try them with my own tomatoes from my garden. You could tweak the ingredients to your liking. Splurge on the fresh mozzarella though. It's worth it.

Black Bean Burger

I love black bean burgers. I love trying new recipes. I love trying new recipes for black bean burgers. These burgers have a ton of flavor and are super easy to prepare.

The original recipe makes a ton. Luckily you can shape the patties and freeze them. Toss them on a hot griddle directly from the freezer when you're ready to eat them.

4 cups black beans (2 cans, drained and rinsed)

1/4 medium red onion

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4 bunch of fresh parsley

1 Tbsp. sriracha

1 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs or Panko

1. Add the beans to a food processor along with everything except the salt, egg and bread crumbs Process until everything is combined and the mixture looks pasty with a few chunks.

2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with salt. Adjust other seasonings at this time as well. Make the mixture slightly stronger in flavor and saltiness than you want the burgers to be because once the bread crumbs and egg are added, the flavor will be diluted.

3. Whisk an egg and stir it into the mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs a little at a time. The resulting mixture should be moist chunks and crumbs. The mixture should stick together if squeezed in your hand. Form into patties.

4. Coat a skillet with a little oil and cook the patties for 7-8 minutes on each side. The patties should be brown and crisp on the outside and slightly firm to the touch. Be delicate when handling the patties, they are not as cohesive as meat patties but should hold their shape while cooking. Top with cheese if desired. Serve on buns.

Sorry this is a lousy picture.

Review - Excellent! We all loved these. Be careful not to add too much sriracha if your kiddos don't like spice. I added the full tablespoon and it wasn't too spicy for my monkeys. I froze the extra patties on a baking sheet and once they were frozen stored them in a plastic container.

Lentil-Bulgar Salad

I've been a bit of a slacker lately in the blogging department. I have kept up with my one new recipe a week goal, I just haven't gotten around to sharing those recipes with my little group of readers. I'm very sorry. 

This salad came from Moosewood. It's perfect for a hot summer day. You can whip it up in the morning and let it chill all day. The flavors intensify the longer it chills. The leftovers were great the next day too. 

1 cup dry lentils

2 cups water

1 cup dry bulgar wheat

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. oregano

2 Tbsp. freshly minced mint (or 2 tsp. dried)

2-3 Tbsp. freshly minced dill (or 2-3 tsp dried)

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1 small bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1 medium tomato, diced or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Place lentils in a medium saucepan, cover with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and partially cover and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until tender, but not mushy. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl. 

2. While the lentils are cooking, place the bulgar in a bowl and add boiling water. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

3. Add everything to the lentils and mix thoroughly. Serve with pita chips and fresh fruit.

My little helper (or monkey)

Review - I really liked this salad. The fresh herbs added a lot of flavor. I think this would also be good stuffed inside a pita pocket. I honestly don't remember if the kids liked this or not. It's been a few weeks since I made it. I'm pretty sure they didn't hate it, didn't love it.