Double Chocolate Waffles

Sometimes you just need to treat yourself to a little chocolaty goodness. What a great way to start off the weekend, than with Double Chocolate Waffles!

We did have these for breakfast in our house, and decided they would make a great desert. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, some berries and a couple of guest to share in the enjoyment is all that's needed!

Enjoy!

Parmesan Summer Squash Spaghetti

This is just a simple pasta dish I decided to throw together. It is inspired by my friends daughter, Lindsey who likes to make up some pasta and simply add some parmesan cheese to it (maybe butter too, I can't remember). Thanks for the inspiration Lindsey.

I added my own twist and decided some summer squash would be a nice addition.

Parmesan Summer Squash Spaghetti:

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pasta

Summer squash, cut into half moon pieces (I use about 1 small squash per serving)

Canola Oil

Butter or butter spread of your choosing. (I used Earth Balance buttery spread as I have a vegan in my home)

Garlic cloves, (1-2) minced

Salt and pepper

Fresh parmesan cheese

To Prepare:

Prepare pasta per package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the summer squash. In a skillet, put 1 Tbsp canola oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add the garlic and simmer for 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Add the summer squash and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Let it cook over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, just long enough to cook through, but still be tender crisp. Do not let it overcook and get mushy. (Don't prepare the squash until the pasta is on its last five minutes of cooking and this will help you to not overcook the squash.)

When the pasta is cooked, drain. Once drained, put in back in the pot, and add another tablespoon of butter spread to the pasta. Then add the summer squash and gently combine. To complete the dish, add a small handful or two of fresh parmesan cheese and combine.

When you plate the pasta, season with additional and black pepper and parmesan if you desire.

This is such as easy dish to prepare, and is another great way to use up all the summer squash that is so abundant at the farmers market!

I hope you enjoy!

Vegetable Stir Fry with Hoisin Sauce

I was getting tired of the same old stir fry and decided it was time to venture out a bit. In the past, I've come across stir fry recipes with hoisin sauce in them, but was reluctant to try it because it sounded "too different." That was until I asked a friend who said he had used it and found it to be to his liking (thanks Mark). So tonight I decided to try it out on my family. The result.....they liked it! Stephe gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and Kyle gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Kyle's suggestion for next time was to put it over noodles instead of rice. So next time, noodles it is. With all the fresh vegetables available this time of year, simply choose your favorites and go for it. The possibilities are endless.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Hoisin Sauce:

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. hoisin sauce (found in the asian food section of grocery store - even Walmart has it)

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbsp. agave nectar (or honey)

3/4 c. vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 Tbsp. corn starch

1 onion, or 4-5 green onions, chopped

4 cups of vegetables of your choice (zucchini, peppers, summer squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc)

To prepare:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients, except the vegetables. Let the mixture simmer about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Then remove it from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, you should have your rice or noodles cooking.

When your rice/pasta is about 5 minutes from being done it is time to cook the veggies.

In a large skillet (or wok if you have one), over high heat add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp sesame oil and add your vegetables. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the hoisin sauce mixture over the vegetables and stir to coat. Let cook for another 2-3 minutes until veggies are cooked, but not overcooked. (Nothing worse than mushy stir fry veggies).

If you are going to make this with noodles, I would suggest adding your al dente noodles into the veggies and sauce, stir to coat the noodles, and serve. Yummy! I can't wait to make this again :)

Happy cooking!

Old Settlers Beans

This is an old recipe of my mother's that needed a "redo." The original recipe was loaded with way too much sugar, along with ground beef and bacon.

I always liked this recipe as a kid growing up, but decided that it was time to make it vegetarian and cut down on the sugar.

I eliminated the bacon, added some "vegetarian crumbled meat (found by the Boca Burgers at your grocer) and substituted agave nectar for the brown and white sugar. Both my guys gave it 2 thumbs up, which means I can pass it along to you. :)

Old Settler Beans:

1 can kidney beans

1 can butter beans

1 can vegetarian baked beans

1 medium onion

1 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 tsp mustard

2 tbs. molasses

1 bag of "vegetarian meat substitute" You could also use Boca Burgers and break them into pieces. You could also make this without a meat substitute and it would be good too.

Drain the 3 cans of beans. Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Stir to mix all the ingredients. Cook on low 3-4 hours, or until cooked through.

At our house, we make a meal out of this dish. A slice of whole grain bread is all you need.

Enjoy!

Garlicky Grilled Patty Pans and Veggie Kabobs

Tonight we grilled some more veggies. I picked up some Patty Pan squash at the farmers market a couple of days ago (mostly because they are so cute looking), and decided to marinade and grill them. Their flavor resembles that of summer squash.

For the kabobs, Stephe and Kyle created a wonderful marinade that is a hit time, after time, after time. Simple, easy and fast.

Below are the two marinades that we used. I hope you enjoy them.

Garlicky Grilled Patty Pan:

6 Patty Pan, cut in half horizontally

2 Tbsp Olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

Coarsely ground black pepper

Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour over the Patty Pan. I would suggest allowing the Patty Pan at least 30 minutes to sit in the marinade before grilling. If you are planning ahead, let them marinade longer and the flavors will be even better.

Place the Patty Pan on a hot grill. Grill on each side about 4-5 minutes. Don't grill too long, or the Patty Pan will get too soft.

Veggie Kabob Marinade:

2 Tbsp honey or agave nectar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/4 tsp pepper

2 gloves garlic, minced

Mix the above ingredients together and pour over the vegetables of your choosing. We used pepper (red, orange, yellow), onion, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, and patty pan. When grilling veggie kabobs you'll want to make sure that you are using vegetables that have about the same grilling time, or you can make each kabob a different vegetable and just put them on the grill according to the time they need to cook. The vegetables that we used, all take about 8-10 minutes to grill.

To complete the meal, a simple side of rice, couscous, quinoa, etc would be great. Or perhaps your favorite veggie burger :)

Happy Grilling!

Grilled Marinated Zucchini and Summer Squash

With the abundance of zucchini and summer squash, I thought I would share a tasty way to prepare them. Grilling zucchini and summer squash is so easy. If you have a favorite marinade, go ahead and use it with your veggies as well. Below is a marinade recipe that we used in our home.

And as always, as far as I'm concerned, homemade is always best way to go. You control the ingredients and it takes just a few minutes to throw together. Most marinades can be prepared in advance and kept in the refrigerator for several days.

According to my step son, Kyle these tasty "veggie planks" taste like something prepared at the Rain Forest Cafe or the Hard Rock Cafe. I'll take that to be a compliment :) I'll let you judge for yourself.

Basic Herb Marinade:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped or 2 tsp dried

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, basil, oregano, vinegar, salt and pepper. Slowly pour in the EVOO and whisk constantly until the oil in emulsified.

To prepare the zucchini and summer squash:

For this recipe you want to use small to medium size veggies. Slice the zucchini/summer squash lengthwise into "planks" about 3/8 inch thick.

Place the veggies in a plastic bag or glass dish and pour the marinade over it, coating the veggies well.

If you have the time, I would recommend letting the veggies marinade for a couple of hours so the flavors really have a chance to soak into the veggies.

When you are ready to grill, simply lay the planks out on the hot grill. Grilling time is only 8-10 minutes. About half way through the cooking time, turn them over. Don't let them cook too long, as they will get overcooked and mushy. I prefer to veggies to have a little crunch left to them.

For a variation on this, you could also cut your veggies up in chunks, marinade and put them on skewers.

Either way, you will have found another way to prepare the bounty of zucchini and summer squash that we are blessed with this time of year!

Happy Grilling.