Wheat Roast, Roasted Carrots, Spinach Salad

Hi all,
Yet once again, Orion is showing no signs of letting me put him down. So, we have another simple meal. I tried to make plenty for leftovers, too.

Slow Cooker Wheat Roast
With the leftovers, make a roast "beef" sandwich tomorrow for lunch. Yum!

Roasted Organic Carrots
1 Tablespoon EVOO
1 pound organic carrots
salt and pepper

Mix altogether. Roast on 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Spinach Salad with cranberries, almonds, and avocado

Total for three families: $18. Wow!

Tabbouleh, Hummous, Green Bean Salad

Tabbouleh

1 c. bulghur wheat

4 plum tomatoes, chopped

2 bunches of parsley, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)

EVOO

Prep bulghur wheat according to packaging. Stir in tomatoes, parsley, and scallions. Add lemon juice, salt, and EVOO. Season with S&P.

Hummous

Garbonzo beans - soaked and cooked with sage, oregano, and thyme - blended with:

Tahini

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Garlic

Cumin

Salt

Green Bean Salad

1 lb green beans

1 lb grape tomatoes

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp mined fresh parley

1/2 c. feta, crumbled

EVOO

Soak green beans in cold water and ice for 30 minutes. Bring several quarts of water to boil in a sauce pan. Add green beans and cook until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain and let the beans cool to room temperature. Combine tomatoes, EVOO, lemon juice, parsley, and pepper to taste in a large serving bowl. Add the beans and adjust the seasoning. Top with feta.

Total Cost = $43 (for 5 families)

Veggie Enchiladas, Slaw, Chips and Mango Salsa

Hi all,
Sorry for the lack of rolling up the enchiladas. Orion is not letting me do a lot these days and it was all I could do to get the casserole layered! Plus I was a "single" mom on Tuesday and had to get the kids to bed myself. Rough day. Anyhow, here's my recipe collection:

Enchiladas

Sauce:
1 onion
3 cups of tomatoes, chopped
1 pepper (I did 2 chipotles for a quadrupled recipe)
3 cloves garlic
1 T sugar
3 T lime juice

Saute onion and garlic in a wee bit of oil. Add the rest of the ingredients when the onions are soft. Blend this altogether with a hand blender and then you have enchilada sauce.

Veggies: saute sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, peppers, onions, and garlic together. Add some black beans and salt and pepper. This is your veggie layer.

I layered the sauce and veggies in corn tortillas. Bake on 350 for 30 minutes. Top with cheese and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve.

Slaw
1 head of cabbage
1 bunch of swiss chard
sesame seeds

Dressing:
olive oil, lime juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper

Thinly slice the cabbage and swiss chard. Top with sesame seeds. Mix with dressing.

Tomato-Mango Salsa
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 medium mango
1 jalapeno
cilantro
2 T fresh lime juice

Whack it all together in the food processor.

Total for four families: $28.

Creamy Orzo Casserole with Vegetables, Corn, and Fruit

Creamy Orzo Casserole with Vegetables

from The Greek Vegetarian cookbook that I checked out from the library. Everything but the onion was organic in this one.

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups chopped carrots

1 lb orzo

3 c. canned tomatoes

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh oregano

3 med zucchini

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat EVOO in a large heavy skilled. Add onions and cook uncovered, stirring, over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the cinnamon, stir, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. The onions should be tender and slightly caramelized. Remove and wipe the skillet clean. Heat more EVOO and cook the carrots, uncovered and over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender but al dente, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. In a large pot, bring 5 cups of salted water to a rolling boil and add orzo. As soon as the water begins to boil again, remove the pot from the heat and pour contents into a casserole dish. Add the onions, carrots, tomatoes, EVOO, bay leaves, oregano sprigs, S&P, and toss to combine. Cover and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring up the mixture every 7 to 10 minutes to keep the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the dish.

Meanwhile, heat EVOO in the skillet and cook the zucchini until tender but firm, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 mintute. Toss the zucchini and garlic with the orzo, combining well. Uncover the pan and continue to bake for another 50 minutes - stirring throughout to keep orzo from sticking. You'll likely need to add extra water as well.

Just before serving, remove bay leaves and oregano and mix in remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Served hot, sprinkled with feta.

Fresh local organic sweet corn

Blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple

Farewell appearance for conventional fruit (except the pineapple which is on the clean 15)

Total cost = $55 (for 5 families)

Ratatouille

Mark Bittman's Oven-Baked Ratatouille

WHAT YOU NEED

10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half

2 large onions, thinly sliced

2 large eggplants, about 2 pounds total, sliced 1/2-inch thick and salted if time allows

4 red or yellow bell peppers, stemmed, peeled if desired, seeded and sliced into 3 or 4 pieces each

4 ripe red tomatoes, cored, skins and seeds removed and cut into thick slices

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, rosemary or savoury leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, basil or chervil leaves for garnish

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

==========================================================================

WHAT YOU DO

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a casserole, make a layer of onion, followed by one of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper and garlic cloves. Repeat.

Drizzle the ratatouille with oil and place it in the oven. Bake for about an hour, pressing down on the vegetables occasionally, until they are all completely tender.

Garnish and serve, hot or at room temperature.

Serves 4.

Cost:$$. Garlic is expensive when your husband gets "bulb" and "clove" of garlic confused!

Asparagus Pesto, Bread, and Salad

Asparagus Pesto

This was fast, easy, and delicious! I modified an online recipe to make it lower fat. Also, since I was making this for 5 families I used sliced almonds - the pine nuts were way too expensive. The almonds make it kind of crunchy - but they sure taste good.

1 lb asparagus, cut off the tips - then cut the non-woody stems into small pieces

few handfuls of baby spinach

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 c. pecorino

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 sliced almonds, toasted

2 tbsp EVOO

sea salt

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and drop the spears into the pan. Cook for only 2 or 3 minutes, until the spears are bright green and barely tender. Drain under cool water to stop the cooking.

Add the asparagus stems, spinach, garlic, Pecorino, and almonds to a food processor. Purée and, with the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Add the lemon juice and salt, taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve pesto over whole wheat pasta and the asparagus tips.

Vinegar and Oil Dressing

1:1 oil to vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano

Bread

Whole grain from Costco

Swiss Chard Pie, Roasted Broccoli, Rosemary White Beans

Ok, I am trying very hard to recommit myself to the blog and calendar. This was our meal for Tuesday, May 4th by Courtney.

Swiss Chard Pie
Mark Bittman's recipe. I doubled this recipe for the three pies.
2 TB butter
Swiss Chard (a bunch from our garden)
1 onion
salt and pepper
1/4 cup fresh herbs (I used rosemary and oregano from my garden)
6 eggs
1 cup yogurt
3 TB low fat mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute the onions in the butter, add swiss chard for only a minute or so. Add salt, pepper, and herbs. Meanwhile, hard-cook 3 of the eggs then shell and coarsely chop. Add these to the swiss chard mixture.
Combine the yogurt, mayo, and remaining eggs. Add the baking powder and flour. Mix until smooth. In a lightly buttered casserole, spread half the batter, top with the swiss chard filling, and then smear the remaining batter on top.
Bake for 45 minutes.


Rosemary White Beans
Cooked navy beans
1 TB olive oil
Rosemary sprigs, chopped

Heat up the oil in a pan, add the rosemary and let mingle until it cools off. Mix in with the cooked beans.

Roasted Broccoli
Broccoli Florets
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 450. Mix the broccoli, oil, salt and pepper together. Spread onto a pan and cook for 8 minutes. Serve with lemons or limes.

I lost my receipts but will be better next week!