vegetable pie

This is one of my favorite dishes. It's rich and comforting, it's full of vegetables, and it's (relatively) good for you. My mom has made it for years, and I started making it shortly after I got married. It's a great vegetarian option and I swear you won't even miss the meat. Serve this up with a green salad and you'll have yourself a nice little meal.

½ medium eggplant, cubed
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½  teaspoon basil
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar 
1 cup shredded mozzarella 
double pie crust 


Toss eggplant, onion, green pepper, zucchini and garlic with olive oil, spices, salt and pepper in a roasting pan or large baking sheet.  Roast at 425 degrees until soft, stirring every 10 minutes for about 30 minutes. 


In the meantime, prepare your pie crust (I swear I don't work for Trader Joe's, but they make a really really good frozen crust).

Once your vegetable are done, layer half of vegetables, half of the cheese, and half the tomato. Repeat. Make a lattice top pie crust (or fake it like I do)  and bake for 25 min at 425 degrees. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.
And enjoy! 

breakfast sandwiches...

... are one of my favorite ways to start my day.  And they keep me full a lot longer than a bowl of cereal, which is good when you've got little guys running and crawling around, needing you most moments of the day.  Plus it comes together in just a few minutes!

Here is one worth trying.  Bonus: sneaking in an extra serving of vegetables for the day.

I used cracked wheat sourdough, but use what you've got - don't forget your whole grains!  If you have a toaster oven, top the bread with an ounce of reduced fat cheese.  Right now I have havarti, and it is so good on this sandwich! If you don't have a toaster oven, just grate the cheese into your egg and throw your bread in the toaster. Now chop up one broccoli floret and microwave it for about 45 seconds to soften it. Scramble up an egg with the broccoli, and a little salt and pepper (and the cheese if that's how you're doing it). Now make yourself a little sandwich and enjoy! And feel good about it.

simple summer vegetables

I love simplicity.  It usually provides the most pleasing results. Last night I was whipping up a pretty easy dinner - grilled chicken and flat bread, and decided I wanted vegetables instead of salad (we've been eating that a lot lately). This is a great recipe for you gardeners with an abundance of squash! Eat it as is, toss it with some pasta and parm, load up a baguette and broil it with some havarti or provolone - these roasted vegetables are so delicious and so easy, you're gonna love them as much as I do.  

All you need:

3 medium zucchini, thickly sliced

8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything together in a pie plate.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Toss gently, and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes.  

Make it even simpler and do it in your toaster oven, like me. 

**For older babies, you can just do zucchini, blend it in the food processor, and mix it up with avocado and even a little wheat germ for a super nutritious meal!

my favorite... couscous

I love this dish.  I found it on allrecipes.com and adjusted it to our taste. I've made it several times over the last year or so - it is so refreshing and light and good for you... I think you're gonna like it.  This time I stuffed roasted red peppers with it, just for a little flair.  Pretty darn good.

1 cup of uncooked couscous (I used whole wheat and you can't tell the difference)

1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 T olive oil

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 t red wine vinegar

1/2 t ground cumin

4-5 sliced green onions

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro or fresh parsley 

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup reduced fat crumbled feta (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Pour hot chicken broth over couscous and stir well.  Cover and let stand for five minutes.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and cumin.

Add onions, tomatoes, parsley, black beans and bell pepper to the dressing.

Combine couscous, vegetables, and feta.  Stir well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you are stuffing peppers, slice in half and fill with couscous.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

This tastes even better the next day - it's sorta hard for me not to eat the whole batch.

a really satisfying sandwich

This delicious baguette was inspired by one of the many consumed on our trip to Paris.  Today is Ash Wednesday, which for us is a day of partial fasting and abstaining from meat (apart from the spiritual significance, of course).  This sandwich was the perfect end to my day - so simple, and so delicious.   You don't want to miss out on this one.

Here's what you need.

1 fresh baguette

3 hard boiled eggs

1 medium tomato

12-15 thin slices of cucumber

3 green leaf lettuce leaves

3 oz sliced provolone

3 tablespoons hummus 

salt and pepper to taste

Slice the baguette lengthwise.  You can hollow it out a bit to make room for the fillings, if you want.

Spread both sides with hummus (you can also use mayo - that's what we had in France. Hummus gave it great flavor, though - and it is much better for you).

Layer cheese, cucumber, and tomato.

Thinly slice eggs with a sharp knife.  Layer on top of the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with the other half of your baguette.

Slice into quarters and enjoy!

Mmmmm.