Sauteed Broccoli with Garlic

Sauteed Okra

Hidden Broccoli Tomato Sauce

The broccoli gives this standard sauce an extra subtle flavor. Great way to throw in a few extra veggies. Other vegetables could replace the broccoli, like cauliflower or carrots.

you will need:

1 small head broccoli - diced

garlic - minced

onion  - small dice

5-7 tomatoes - diced

red wine

basil, oregano, salt and pepper

olive oil

In sauce pot, heat oil and saute onion and then garlic. Add in tomatoes - stir well. Add broccoli and wine. Cook altogether at a medium heat until broccoli is almost fully cooked. Preferably using a stick blender (but a food processor or regular stand blender will work too, just more dishes), blend whole mixture until it is a smooth sauce. Add spices and seasonings. Simmer for an additional few minutes. Serve over favorite pasta or can use as a pizza sauce. 

Dinner this evening consisted of caramelized cheddar cauliflower, sauteed swiss chard and rice with garlic and parsley. Everything but the garlic and rice came from the garden. This meal has moved into my top 10 favorite meals of all time. Garden fresh food is one of the most amazing things in the world. If you don’t have a garden - I highly recommend it.

Pinto Soup

I originally created this as a quick and very cheap meal back in college. While it is faster and cheaper to use canned goods, it tastes even better with fresher ingredients. 

1 can Pinto Beans

1 can Tomatoes

1 can Green Chile

Garlic

Olive Oil

Taco Seasoning

In a sauce pot, saute garlic with olive oil. Add everything else to pot and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add other seasoning to taste as desired. Goes well with rice or over fritos for frito pie. 

Recipe Review: Lemon Glazed Ginger Cookies

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart’s website. I’ve never made anything from her group before, but after trying two recipes for Christmas, I will probably be making more from here. Everyone really loved these cookies and the recipe makes a ton of them so it is a great cookie for swaps or give aways. My recommendations for this are if you are pressed for time the chilling before baking isn’t really a needed step and if you don’t have a lot of fridge space maneuvering a cookie sheet in can be a task. The dough is also kind of dry so make sure it comes almost up to room temp before rolling it out for cutting or it will begin to tear at the edges. I also added more ginger than asked for, but I really love ginger so that is a personal taste thing. Other than that this is a pretty solid recipe and I would recommend giving it a try.