A Foodie's Fave Recipes

1 lb lean ground beef 1 medium onion, diced 1 sweet red bell pepper, diced 1 stalk celery, finely diced 1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced 1/2 cup frozen green peas 1 - 796 ml can of whole tomatoes 1 - 156 ml can of tomato paste 1 - 540 ml can dark red kidney beans 1 - 396 ml can black beans 1/4 cup hummus 2 tbsp chili powder 2 tbsp cayenne pepper 1 tbsp paprika 1/4 cup hickory smoked barbecue sauce 4 medium mushrooms sliced (optional) Brown ground beef, breaking it into small pieces.  Add onion and celery and saute for 7 minutes.  Add the red pepper, green peas and zucchini and saute for another five minutes.  Add the tomatoes and beans and tomato paste, stir well.  Add hummus and seasonings and barbecue sauce, stir until well blended.  Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.  Add mushrooms if desired and cook for another 10 minutes.  Top each bowlful with grated Old (sharp) Cheddar and serve with baking powder biscuits.

I experimented yesterday with green beans.  Not sure if you might have picked up on this, but I absolutely dislike "plain" foods.  Everything I eat, I like flavored.  If someone else makes dinner and does rice plain, I have to put some kind of sauce on it, (soy, bbq, plum)......same with most of my vegetables, too many years of plain or overcooked veggies. about a cup and a half green beans, topped and tailed Steam the green beans lightly, so they are still crisp. Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce with 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp diced ginger and 1 tbsp diced fresh garlic. Pour over the beans and stir.  They were even better after sitting in the mix for 20 minutes.

Bruschetta 10 slices of whole wheat baguette 3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled, crushed and diced 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, diced 1 green onion, diced 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil 8 grape tomatoes, quartered 1/2 roma tomato, diced 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp olive oil five small slices of havarti five small slices of boccocinni On a cookie sheet, toast the baguette slices for 4 to 5 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove from oven and dab on the olive oil with pastry brush.  Mix all of the freshly chopped vegetables in a small bowl, stir in the balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Place a spoonful of the mixture on each baguette slice.  Place a piece of cheese over each mix. Bake in the oven at 375 until the cheese is melted.

I love summer fresh vegetables.  As a kid, I was one of those picky fussy eaters who refused anything different.  Looking back, I'm thinking my mother did her best to make the veggies interesting.  One of my favorites now was her stuffed zucchini..... just sliced them in half lengthwise, hollowed out the seeds and then put a hearty tomato meat sauce in them, sprinkled parmesan, bread crumb mixture on that and baked them for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender to a fork. Last night, I sliced up zucchini, carrots, celery, baby bok choy, red onions, green onions, bamboo shoots, turkey breast cutlets, red peppers, and tossed them all in the wok.  I started with the turkey breast pieces, made sure they were cooked through, then added the celery, carrots and bamboo shoots.  I didn't want to add too much oil so only used a tablespoonful for the meat, then after the hard veggies were in added a spoonful of white wine.  Once the celery had changed color, I added the ...

My mom used to make these when I was a teenager. I loved them as a kid. Now I've made them for my kids and they love them too. Sauce 1 cup ketchup 1 small onion (finely chopped) 1/4 cup vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard Meat Loaves 1 cup dry breadcrumbs 1 medium onion 2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup ketchup 2 eggs, slightly beaten 2 pounds lean ground beef To make sauce, combine all sauce ingredients. To make meatloaves, combine meat loaf ingredients, mixin thoroughly. Shape into 6 loaves, put into a lightly greased baking pan. I spray a 13"x9" glass pan with Pam. Brush with sauce to completely cover each loaf. Bake in a moderate oven at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes. Baste during baking with remaining sauce. Makes 6 servings. ( I put all the sauce on to completely cover the loaves prior to baking so I do not usually have any sauce for ...