Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Roasted Vegetables

It's summer time and that means fresh, local veggies are in abundance around here! I love this time of year for them, although they aren't one of K's favorites, but he has to grin and bear it! He is not allowed to voice his opinion on veggies in front of the boys and because of this A LOVES and requests broccoli which is K's least favorite...

Ok now onto the recipe! The original post did grill the veggies, I'm out of propane for the grill so I just roasted ours!

Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Roasted Vegetables-shared from For the Love of Cooking
2 cups uncooked orzo
4 cups vegetables(I used onions, peppers, zucchini, summer squash), chopped
1 pkg feta(I used crumbles and they already had seasoning on it)
handful of kalamata olives, chopped(omitted)
*I also roasted some kale

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijion mustard
1 clove garlic, finely minced
dash of dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place veggies on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and oregano. Place in oven and roast about 20-30 mins or until tender.

Mix vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, once boiling add in orzo. Cook until tender, drain
Stir together veggies, orzo, and vinaigrette. Mix in cheese and serve.

**I really liked this! I love the different textures of the creamy cheese, soft orzo, and crunchy veggies. I served this to our friend and his son one night for dinner and he really liked it. The 3 boys could have cared less...even K liked it with all those veggies in, but I'm sure the cheese made up for it!

Vegetarian Fajitas

Last week I was looking for more Vegetarian recipes in hopes to help cut down our grocery bill, plus I seem to have a lot of beans to use up! Hallee sent along this recipe.

Vegetarian Fajitas-Hallee The Homemaker
2 summer squash, julienned
2 zucchini, julienned
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
2 cups black or white beans
1 cup corn(omitted)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar OR cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1 tsp sugar(optional)

In a large bowl combine vinegar, oil, spices, and sugar. Mix well to combine. Add in veggies and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 30 mins but not longer than 24 hours.

Pre-heat a skillet. Drain the veggies and saute until tender about 10-15 mins.  Add in beans and corn and cook until heated through. Increase the heat for 5 mins to brown veggies. Serve in warm tortillas.

**These were INCREDIBLE! The first night I had them I was the only one that ate them...as my boys don't like the veggies cooked, but raw is ok! K nor I missed the meat at all. These are very flavorful and had a nice kick! I couldn't believe how great they were! Thank you Hallee! It is a wonderful vegetarian option loaded with flavor!

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup

I was looking for a thick and creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup for my mom. I knew we both love Panera's version, so I searched online and found this one.

I am also finding that most recipes call for velveeta and after talking to a friend we decided not to go with it as its not a "real food".

But if you have a thick and creamy recipe, please do share!

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup-shared from CDKitchen.com
1 tbsp +1/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half and half
2 cups stock
1/2 lb fresh or frozen broccoli
1 cup carrots, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onion in 1 tbsp butter until soft. Set aside. Add melt remaining butter in pan, add in flour and whisk for 3-4 mins. Stir constantly and slowly add the half and half in. Add the chicken stock whisking the whole time. Simmer for 20 mins.

Add in the broccoli, carrots, and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 mins. Add in salt and pepper. Soup should be thickened by now. Pour into batches into blender and puree. Return to pot, add in cheese, stir until well blended and cheese is melted. Stir in nutmeg.

**It wasn't exactly like the one you get at the restaurant...it was still great and tasted good, but it wasn't creamy and thick. It could have been a user error...someday I'll find one exactly like I'm looking for, but it could be that it has velveeta in it that makes it creamy!

Grilled Corn

So I have tried to grill corn before and it either burns or doesn't cook all the way. If you look online there are numerous ways to cook it. Some say to husk it, others say don't, then there is husking and wrapping in foil....how is a girl to know which is the right way. So tonight I on a whim I decided to grill the corn. I was making Tequila Lime Chicken and didn't feel like heating up the house and it FINALLY WORKED!! It was simple and easy!

Grilled corn
ears of corn
butter, optional
salt, opitional

Turn grill on high and let preheat. In the mean time, rip off corn hair and any strangly pieces of corn husk. Place on grill and turn to low still in the husk. Grill for 15-20 mins with lid closed. Turn corn every few mins to keep from burning. It took the same amount of time that my chicken did.

Serve with butter and salt.

**It was tasty and perfectly cooked. It even made for husking and getting the corn hair off much easier than if I husked it before hand. I may have to also cook my corn this way!

Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Now that it is the beginning of Lent, I've had to look from some new meatless dinners for Friday night. Little did I know that technically chicken broth counts...but I was still craving this soup. K is NOT a fan of broccoli and he is NOT allowed to voice that opinion in front of the boys. I on the other hand LOVE it and actually craved it while I was pregnant with Q. But I figured there was cheese in it so K would like it. The original recipe comes from For the Love of Cooking, but I had some cauliflower to use up so I added it!

Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup- adapted from For The Love Of Cooking

1 head cauliflower,chopped
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese,shredded
1 qt chicken broth
2 cups milk
2- 9 oz pkg frozen broccoli
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper

Place cauliflower in 2 cups of stock and steam. Once fork tender, mash with a potato masher.  In the bottom of a stock pot(can use the same one you use for the cauliflower, just move it to another bowl). Melt butter and add in onion, let cook for about 5 mins until softened. Sprinkle in flour and let sit for 1 min. Slowly add in milk and broth stirring constantly until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Add in cheese and stir until melted. Drop in broccoli and simmer until tender. Add in cauliflower and stir until warmed through. This is delicious served with whole wheat french rolls.

**My soup did not thicken as much as I would have liked, but I did cut down the butter/flour. It was still delicious. You can keep the cauliflower in whole pieces vs. the mashed, I was just trying to hide it. Also make sure you use block cheese and shred it yourself. I find the previously shredded kind you buy in the store does not melt well and it becomes...chewy I think is the right word I'm going for. It just gives it a chunkier texture than a smooth one. And go ahead and splurge on the high fat, extra sharp cheddar cheese. It is SO worth it! This does re-heat well!

Roasted Tomatoes

I came across a recipe at some point that roasted cherry or grape tomatoes. I could eat tomatoes raw, but by roasting them they become very sweet and delicious! As I was roasting these up for dinner tonight, I had to restrain myself from eating. them. all. You can of course use more than 1 pt of tomatoes and it works just as well big tomatoes.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

1 pt (or more) cherry or grape tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

Place rinsed tomatoes on a cookie pan. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in 400 degree oven for 10-15 mins until tomatoes start to pop and shrivel. Enjoy!(pictures to come)