Vegetable ideas

[Ed]

Hi,

Here's a question:

When you need some vegetables for supper kind of quick, what do you use for those vegetables and how do you serve them?

Or how do you perk them up so they're more likely to get eaten?

Tonight we were going to have BLT's and we needed a vegetable to round out the meal. So we opened up a can of Green beans, toasted some Almonds, cut up some Mushrooms & saute'd them & when the Green Beans were hot,
Drained them put a little butter on them, added the Almonds & Mushrooms and served the dish.

They were really pretty good.

Got any similar ideas?

I'd like to hear them.

Ed

[Ohioan]

Hi, Ed,
This may be cheating, but I almost always have greens of some kind in the fridge, so I either saute them in olive oil and garlic or steam them with garlic -- or with garlic and lemon, or with garlic and vinegar, and can you tell I like garlic? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif Any other veggies get the same treatment: string beans, cauliflower (also a candidate for the roasting procedure below), broccoli, celery, etc.

If I have any of the following: zucchini, eggplant, red or green bell peppers, and/or turnips, I spritz them with a little olive oil and roast them with a touch of rosemary or whatever other herb or spice will complement what I'm making.

Mushrooms get sauteed with chopped onion and a splash of dry vermouth to deglaze.

Sometimes I like to slice a raw turnip very thin and toss the slices with tomato chunks, a drizzle of red wine vinegar and some fresh basil or the Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning.

I have almost no canned vegetables, but I keep an emergency supply of the following in the freezer for when everything else runs out: peas, corn, string beans, and okra. Mostly I treat these like the fresh varieties, except that I like to add some tomato and either Cajun or Indian spices to the okra.

For garnishes on occasion? Toasted bread crumbs and/or a dusting of grated Parmigiano and pop under the broiler. Before I became a vegetarian, I also liked to add an anchovy or two to the oil during a saute. But mostly I like my veggies straight when they're playing backup to a more elaborate central dish.

Cheers, Phoebe

[Grace]

Ed,

While I go to the farmer's market twice a week in the summer, and buy tons of fresh stuff at the grocery store the rest of the year, I always keep boxed Green Giant vegetables in the big deep freeze in the basement for those nights when you need a quick vegetable.

Our favorites are Broccoli Spears in Butter Sauce (lowfat), Brussels Sprounts in Butter Sauce (also lowfat), Veggies Alfredo (carrots, broccoli and peas in a lowfat alfredo sauce), Early June Peas in Butter Sauce (also lowfat). But they have many other varieties too. We are just two of us, and the little packages are perfect - usually two servings, plus enough extra to throw some into the leftover container that my husband takes for lunch. They take 6-8 minutes to cook in the microwave. Hope that helps!

Grace

[MrsReber]

Grace, you and I think alike! I always have the boxed Green Giant veggies on hand, especially the peas in butter. They are so good! Those and the Bird's Eye veggies are the only frozen ones I like. It almost seems like cheating, but they are low fat and tasty. I also keep lots of salad greens on hand so I can make a quick salad as our "greens" for the meal. Fresh veggies are always better, but we don't always have them in the fridge. Right now, we have plenty of tomatoes and peppers from the garden so I can whip up a quick tomato side dish, too.

As far as starches, we are potato freaks, so I always have potatoes around or I'll buy the Betty Crocker boxed potatoes. We also like the Del Monte canned white and yellow corn. I'd prefer to make things from scratch, but don't always have the time (or the energy!!)

[MrsReber]

Sweet potatoes are great on the grill! We just put them in foil and they cook up in no time at all. I eat them all year round, they are such an excellent source of vitamins!

[BeckyM]

Our favorite quick vegetable dish is really easy. I cut up fresh broccoli and microwave it one minute on high, then add cut-up red pepper slices and microwave another minute. I then sprinkle fake butter sprinkles and some Mrs. Dash Gallant Garlics Italian flavor, and toss in some pine nuts. We make minor variations to this at times -- different spices, add some cauliflower, etc., but the basic one is our favorite. Plus, the bright green & red have great visual appeal!

I like this thread -- I'm getting some good ideas for other veggie varieties we can do!

Becky

[sage]

Thought of another one---

Uses zucchini squash - crookneck would probably work the same - the shape of zucchini is easier for this, I think.

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a mellon baller or spoon to scoop out the pulp leaving about a 1/4 inch thick "margin" all the way around. Reserve the pulp. Dice up the pulp. In a pan saute the diced pulp and some diced onion in a little olive oil - maybe add a little garlic and some salt/pepper to taste. Stir in some stuffing mix (I use the Pepperidge farm kind - but not the cornbread style - the other one - I think it comes in a blue bag...). I just add enough stuffing until it seems about the right mix of squash to "bread". If it seems way to dry - you could add a little broth or just some water to moisten it - I think the zucchini and onion loses some water while it cooks and this may be enough to moisten the stuffing sufficiently. Put the squash mix back in the zucchini shells and place the filled shells in a small baking dish - might coat the bottom of the dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle a little of your favorite cheese on top (parmesan or mozzarella, etc) and bake. Not sure on time or temp - maybe about 350 or so. Shouldn't take long as you are only needing to cook the squash shells and heat through.

Not too hard and doesn't take anything too unusual. I usually freeze my leftover dry stuffing mix - it comes in handy to have around every once in awhile. Makes great spinach balls and is ok as a topper for casseroles etc - places where you need bread crumbs sometimes.

S. Sage.

[Jen]

We love sauteeing mushrooms (lots of em - a whole panful) until the water is completely gone, then adding sour cream, a generous several dashes of worcestershire, and lots of cracked black pepper. Yum!! I have found this doesn't work as well with fat-free sour cream (it's too watery), so I sometimes just skip the sour cream and add more worcestershire. They also reheat better this way. And it's really quick - just takes a few minutes to slice the mushrooms, and they can cook on the stove without much help from the cook!

[jmkenad]

Hi Ed - I love broccoli sprinkled with Paul Prudhomme's Pizza & Pasta Magic (Herbal)- actually mixed veggies are good with this seasoning mix as well.

I also came across a new recipe for sweet potatoes that we love. It's 1 cup sliced sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 tablespoon maple syrup. bake at 400 - for 30 min or till tender.

[sage]

Ed---

I have gotten to where I like my veggies pretty simple. I like green beans alot - I usually just steam them til they are where I like them and then saute a little in a tiny amount of olive oil and garlic til they start to brown a bit. I do the same with sliced zucchini.

I also like cauliflower with parmesan sprinkled on it. I nuke mine in a bowl with a dab of water in the bottom and covered in plastic wrap to steam (a conventional steamer would do the same...) and then sprinkle parmesan on top.

Another thing I like - I've mentioned it in some other posts but no one has ever posted back on if they've tried it. Maybe I can convince you to at least give it a try. This is sweet potatoes with feta cheese. I know, I know, sounds weird. We're all used to the sweetpotato, marshmallow, brown sugar thing - and I'd never eaten sweet potatoes any other way. But someone told me they ate sweet potatoes at times other than Thanksgiving and they ate them PLAIN. Well, sweet potatoes were cheap enough so I bought some and happened to have some feta (which I love) and decided that a little feta couldn't hurt. When I do this I poke some holes in my washed potato and then wrap in plastic wrap and nuke it til it's pretty soft - but you can stop while it is still firm if you like - I kinda like a mashed potato consistency. Then I scoop out the inside and sprinkle some feta on top. There is something appealing (at least to me) about the sweetness of the potato and the "sourness?" of the feta. The two people I've tried it out on have been really skeptical at first but both said it was much better than they thought it was going to be. Sweet potatoes are supposed to be pretty healthy I believe and usually available year round (at least in Texas) - so that is my plug for a super easy but unusual side dish. I hope somebody someday tries it out and lets me know if it is actually kinda OK or if it's "not a keeper".

S. Sage.

[Ohioan]

Sage, I've always eaten sweet potatoes plain -- and if you like them with feta cheese, try them with jalapeno peppers! Yum.

Phoebe

[CATHIEA]

Ed-
This time of year I like to saute some of those millions of cherry tomatoes from my garden in a bit of olive oil, just until shiney. You can add some chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, summer savory and basil are our favorites) or, if you've got some calorie intake to spare, some feta cheese. Steamed greens with lemon or sauted in a bit of orange juice is a treat too. I ALWAYS have some frozen broccoli and frozen green beans on hand too, either from the garden or supermarket. I can't think of two vegetables that are more versatile. In addition to being terrific with olive oil and garlic, I like either of these two veggies with a lemon or light sour cream sauce. Try green beans with carrot slices and green onions in a yogurt sauce with Indian spices to perk up a plain meat course.
CathieA

[Wendy w]

This is a really informative thread!

Sometimes the simplest is the best. I absolutely love either broccoli or asparagus steamed in the microwave with a squeeze of lemon and a dusting of Romano cheese.

Another fun thing to do is to take zucchini and whole carrots , take the paring knife to them and peel into long strands (like spaghetti), blanch for a minute or two and toss them with a bit of pesto.

[This message has been edited by Wendy w (edited 09-13-2000).]

[MrsReber]

CathieA, I don't know why I never thought of that! I am drowning in cherry tomatoes and I happen to have some feta cheese in the fridge. I may just try cooking up some tomatoes tonight!