On the Side: Roasted Cabbage Rounds & Garlic Stuffed Roasted Artichoke

During our 30 day VegOut experience, I did a lot of roasting. Two things were absolutely new and so amazing. They generated a lot of interest and question on the instagram account, so I wanted to feature the full recipes here. Short and sweet. Here we go.

Roasted Cabbage Rounds

Every time we got a produce delivery this winter, there was a cabbage. We would sautee it, put it in soup, smother it, and then we were just kind of like.... what else can we do with all this stupid cabbage? I went to my trusty friend, the internet, and searched for a recipe. My gal Martha gave me this little gem. Her recipe called for caraway or fennel seeds. I had neither so I did the rounds simply with salt and pepper.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 more tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds (we used purple cabbage)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon caraway or fennel seeds (we did not have, so we did not use)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Place 1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds, in a single layer on sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon caraway or fennel seeds. Roast until cabbage is tender and edges are golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

The end result.

 They looked SO amazing plated. You would think I could have gotten a pic of that, but nope.

Garlic Stuffed Roasted Artichoke

I was SO excited we got more artichokes in our last delivery because I am going to keep making this until there are no artichokes left on the earth. That is not an exaggeration. 

I found this recipe at Pinch My Salt. She goes through the entire process step by step with great photos and even a video. Clearly she is more more thorough than I am. Enjoy my rendition below. For the real thing, click here. 

Ingredients:

• Artichokes
• EVOO
• Salt
• Lemon, about a half per artichoke
• Garlic, 2-3 cloves per artichoke
• Heavy Duty Foil, one large square per artichoke

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Here are my amazing artichokes from Farmhouse Delivery:

First you want to slice off the top third of the artichoke. It's not wasteful, it's all rough stuff you wouldn't eat anyway. Don't tell that to my friend K though, who came to our house one time and was eating whole artichoke leaves, wondering why they were so chewy. We like to tell that story a lot. Then, cut off the stem at the base of the artichoke. After you have done these things they look happy and fancy, like this:

Next you are going to get out your foil and cut off a square large enough to wrap the artichoke in. Drizzle some EVOO on the foil and place your artichoke in there. Take 2-3 garlic cloves and SHOVE them into that artichoke. Next time I do this I am going to try opening it up a little more and seeing exactly how much garlic can fit in there. 

Squeeze the juice from half a lemon on top of the artichoke and into all the little nooks. Sprinkle with salt, drizzle a little more EVOO and you have this:

Repeat for each artichoke. Then wrap them up like little foil covered artichoke presents and put them on a baking sheet. Pop them into the oven like so:

Small artichokes (ours were) are done in an hour, medium in an hour and fifteen minutes, and supersize are done in an hour and a half. When your timer goes off you open up this little gift:

And how gorgeous is the side view?

While I was not so patiently waiting for the artichokes to cool I popped out the garlic and some Finn Crisps and this happened:

This was so amazing. Both of them were a hit with our 3 year old. Cabbage has a great sweet undertone when you roast it, and L loves the artichoke hearts. We had it as a side, but you could easily do this as an appetizer or all on it's own. My former go to artichoke recipe was steaming and then dipping in a butter garlic sauce. THIS is a whole new world. No sauce needed. 

Enjoy!!

RT

PS - I know I am over preaching instagram here, but if you want to join in on some daily Raising Texas, instagram is the place to be. Follow us @RaisingTexas!

Recipe Review: Whole Foods Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole

Happy Sunday! I'm not watching Revenge, I don't really care about the SAG awards, or the Pro Bowl... and Downton Abbey is over. So here we are. Bridesmaids is on HBO and I'm blogging about food during that scene... you know the one. Maybe not the best for blogging about food. I'm a trooper though, and I had a great weekend, so let's do this.

This is what I say to myself when I try to budget.

 I have been craving broccoli, rice & cheese casserole, BUT almost every recipe you look for calls for processed cheese. Processed cheese is a cheese product made from regular cheese, and almost always with the addition of whey, emulsifiers, milk, salts, preservatives, and food coloring. We are all familiar with processed cheese (also called "Cheese Product", "Cheese Food", "Process Cheese", and "prepared cheese" since it can't legally be called "cheese".) I downed Kraft Singles as a kid and I'm not sure if I know of a way to make queso that doesn't involve velvetta. Both of these are "Cheese Food." Am I against cheese food? No. But if I can find an alternative to it, I prefer to use that. Then I'll save all of my processed cheese points for when someone wants to make crock pot queso. To be honest, the more processed something is, the less I want to eat it. If there is an alternative that is closer to the actual ingredients, go for that. For more info on the ingredient list for Kraft Singles, see this little blurb from Fooducate.

I did a little google search for "Broccoli cheese casserole without processed cheese" and a few different recipes popped up. One from Whole Foods seemed pretty easy to follow with ingredients I had on hand. As much as I tried not to, I made a few changes to the recipe as I went along. The Whole Foods recipe had 3/5 stars so I figured maybe I should see what could be done. 

The recipe started with toasting a cup of jasmine rice in a pot with a little bit of EV Olive Oil.Then you add in water & salt, bring it to a boil and let it do it's magical rice thing. I like to usually make my rice with chicken stock instead of water, but I didn't have any. After I added in the water I stirred in a teaspoon of better than bouillon chicken to give it a bit of flavor. Before I forget, preheat the oven to 350.

Rice Toasting

Bouillon Stirring

Ready Rice!

 Next I used my fancy little slap chop to make some finely chopped onions. L really enjoyed this whole process and asked for a repeat well after the onion was chopped. Kids. Then I sauteed the onions in a pan with EV Olive Oil.

Props to that Pampered Chef party in 2005. The Slap Chop is still going strong.

Sauteed

 I already had my broccoli prepped and my onions cooked much faster than I anticipated (thanks to all of that slap chopping) so I threw in the broccoli after only a couple of minutes.

2.5 C of Broccoli

Toss the Broccoli in with the onions.

 I looked and looked for a non condensed Cream of Mushroom soup. I found a "Semi Condensed" version and it was better than fully condensed so I went with it.

 I added the rice into the onion and broccoli mixture, followed by the soup, salt, fresh ground pepper, and a teaspoon of garlic powder. The garlic powder is not on the original recipe. 

Last I added the cheese. I probably did 3/4 cups instead of 1/2 cup. It's cheese. I was not having the processed version so I added a little in.

Extreme Close Up

 Because the soup was semi condensed, I added in about 2 tablespoons of water to the bottom of the pan. The casserole was supposed to be "Bubbly" when it was ready and there was not going to be any bubbly at this point. I poured the water in at the corners so it would seep underneath and not screw with the top of the casserole. Tips to live by. 

Casserole in pan

Sprinkled with cheese

In the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

 Then it was done. We had it for dinner tonight with some rotisserie chicken. I thought it was really good. It definitely hit the spot where my craving was concerned, but was not the exact same flavor. Was it something that left me speechless? No. But I would say for a healthier version of a very sinful treat, it was really good. Probably a 4/5 stars. I used Sharp Cheddar instead of regular, because I prefer the extra bit of flavor. Here's an extreme cheese closeup of the finished product.

YUMMMMMM

Full pan casserole pornography.

Like I said, this was a great healthier version of one of my favorite casserole treats. I will definitely make it again. S really liked it too. It was quick, the ingredients are inexpensive, and it was easy. Next time I might try to see if I can do a version with brown rice and make it even a little bit more better for you (and me). I'll report back when I get motivated.

Dinner tomorrow: Rosemary Lobster Tails. We've been there before. I'm excited to go there again. Maybe a side of Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole. The possibilities are endless!

- RT

Whole Foods Broccoli, Rice and Cheese Casserole
(can be made Gluten Free, Wheat Free, and Vegetarian) - I did none of that.This is the original recipe. I added in the Chicken Bouillon, Garlic Powder, and used Sharp Cheddar Cheese. All of that is included above.

Ingredients: 

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
• Salt to taste
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 (15 ounce) can regular or gluten-free ready-to-eat (not condensed) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Method: 

Grease a 7- x 11-inch baking dish with olive oil cooking spray; set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring often, until translucent and toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Set pot aside off of the heat for 5 minutes, then uncover, fluff with a fork and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked rice, then stir in soup, 1/2 cup of the cheese, salt and pepper.

Transfer rice mixture to prepared baking dish and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over the top. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

 

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:230 calories (120 from fat), 13g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 20mg cholesterol, 680mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 8g protein

Special Diets: 

• Gluten Free
• Vegetarian
• Sugar Conscious
• Wheat Free

What's for Dinner?

Lately I have felt like I'm letting my Cooking Light subscription go to waste. It is easier for me most times to not follow a recipe, or maybe just less time consuming. I also feel like when I am following a recipe I end up spending more at the grocery store. I tried to challenge all of that and looked for recipes that were inexpensive (or that I had most of the ingredients for) and that took an hour or less to cook. Cook along with me and compare experiences, or wait and see how it goes before you try these out. I picked three recipes knowing that they would provide leftovers for at least one to two nights. 

Here is what we are up to this week:

Chicken and Orzo Skillet Dinner

Photo from Cooking Light

Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Onions 
served with Haricots Verts and a Mustard Vinaigrette

Photo from Cooking Light

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Mustard-Thyme Sauce
with Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans

Photo from Cooking Light

In sickness updates, after a quick dr visit this morning, Landy is on the mend and it has been officially confirmed that there is still not a cure for Tantrums. If you discover one, let me know. I'm just going to keep working with general lack of attention even though it gets difficult when a small person is clinging to your legs. Motherhood. So glamorous (flossy, flossy.)

Time to mentally prepare for cooking through a tantrum. Nap time is a survival gift from God. And a BIG Happy Birthday to L!

-RT

When Reckless Cooking Goes Wrong

I was trying to think of a word the way I cook. Besides "reckless" or "unusual", I was at a loss. If you think of something cooler let me know. Although being reckless is pretty cool. Maybe I'll go buy a van and put a mattress in the back. I totally would, but then where would I put my car seat? Uh, mo babiez mo problemz. 

I got 99 problemz but a snack ain't one.

In the interest of honesty and keepin' it realz (sorry, that's enough Zs for now) I am going to show you an at home try that didn't go so well. It wasn't the end of the world. It's not like I burned a $40 cut of meat or something. It just WAS NOT good. It was even kind of bad.

Here's another fun confession... I still don't know exactly what my ingredient was. I was trying to use a white squash that we had gotten in our farmhouse delivery. I looked up what I thought was information on it online. Most things said it was very mild and very bland. Grilling squash was getting really old so I decided to try and bake it. I was also doing some roasted green beans. That turned out just fine.

Mystery squash and my bag of green beans.

 I decided to slice the squash and layer the slices in a loaf pan drizzling EV Olive Oil and grated Parmesan in between the layers. It started out like this:

Then went on to look like this:

 I hat lots of trial and error figuring out how to slice them and cut them and getting annoyed with this stupid white squash. Those times looked like this:

I'm sad to say this is where the photo story ends. I layered them and put them in the oven at 400 degrees and cooked them for 30 minutes or so. I really only did one thing wrong that caused a whole bunch of other wrongs... I didn't know my ingredient. This squash was not the one I had found online. While it did have bland flavor it also had very tough skin and I probably should have scraped the seeds out before cooking it. The seeds didn't cook to a soft enough consistency as they usually do in other squashes. But then again, maybe if I had cooked it longer the skin wouldn't have been so tough AND the seeds would have been softer. I have no idea.

This was a mess to eat because of my mistakes. The skin was just too tough and it was a mess cutting around the skin and the seeds to find the meat of the squash. In reality, when I actually got down to the meat of this, it was still not that great. It is just a really, really bland and flavorless squash. 

Here is what happens when you screw things up: you LEARN... Wait, what? I know. Write this stuff down, it is life changing information. 

Every once in a while everyone gets a nice kick in the a$$ reminder. My reminder was to really find out what I am cooking before moving forward. I think winging it is fine and easy, if you know your ingredient. That's when reckless cooking is the most fun. THAT is why I LOVE cooking recklessly. You have the basics down and you are just playing with flavors and styles of cooking. When you don't know your ingredient you end up chewing tough skin and swallowing something like a pumpkin seed. Yum. Who wants to come over and eat now? 

You know who else learned something? Whoever made the bottom half of these cupcakes.

Sorry kids, mommy killed cookie monster. He melted in her oven.

My squash tasted awful, but at least it looked pretty. That, my friends, is called optimism. We're all about the bright side over here.

There are big things coming up for RT... stay tuned this week to catch all of the amazingness. It's going to be a good! 

- RT

Beating up the weather While Bringing Fresh Farm Veggies to Your Front Door

It's Sunday guys... we made it! I've never been more excited to go to work and see other people and put on real clothes. Here's the summary and wrap up from last time when I was going crazy:

I did. Clouds have asses and I kicked one.

I took my shower and all was right with the world. Then something truly amazing happened, the rain stopped. We were supposed to have flash flooding and downpours and weather crazies. Friday morning there was nothing. We got to go out and do our walk and see the sunshine and then we got caught in the rain and instead of caring and running the Bob and baby back home, we just strolled and it just rained. We got home, and splashed in puddles and slipped and slid around and we kicked the rain and the cloud's asses. Then they left and decided not to ruin the rest of the night or Saturday or today (except for a brief shower) and you are welcome Houston. Landy and I made the rain go away. Then on Saturday our Farmhouse Delivery came. It's like food Christmas.

This Saturday's delivery included tomatoes, okra, zucchini, green beans, eggplant, peaches, butternut squash, yellow cherry tomatoes, and avocados.

I love going to farmer's markets, but it is really hard when you have a new baby. We had looked into farming co-ops in the past and the upfront cost and commitment always made us back off. Here are the amazing things about Farmhouse Delivery that make it so much better than a co-op:

1. You can do every week OR every other week. (we do every other week)

2. You pay week by week, not all at once. 

3. It is delivered to your front door, not a main pick up location. YOUR FRONT DOOR.

4. You get a list of what is in your bushel on Mondays and you can sub out items if you don't like them. 

5. You can put your order on hold if you will be out of town or if it's a bad week, and they don't charge you. 

6. They blog recipes with the ingredients and suggest ways to eat and cook them. 

7. You can cancel at ANY time. No additional charge. 

8. Did I tell you they deliver to your FRONT DOOR?!?!?!

Who is this good for?? I want to tell you it's good for everyone, but the truth is, it isn't. My amazing friend R ordered it for herself and her boyfriend and they didn't cook enough at home and ended up cancelling. If you cook at home, if you want to be inspired to cook at home, if you want to try new fruits and vegetables, if you are looking for more fresh ingredients in your kitchen... THIS is for you.

It has also been great for Landy because we have plenty of veggies on hand for her to try. It helps keep her diet and our diet in a great place all week long. The meal to follow is an example of what we do with a lot of our farmhouse veggies. We usually grill them or broil them or bake them when they aren't fresh lettuces or things we would throw in a salad.

In this bushel from a few weeks ago we got some amazing food. We were steak hungry and decided to use the carrots, green beans, and red potatoes. I preheated the oven to 400. This is how the carrots arrived:

Fresh from the farm.

 I peeled them and then cut off the stems, finally cutting them lengthwise and in half. The finished product looked like this:

Here are the green beans after I rinsed them. Then I snapped the ends off of them and did another rinse.

Then I started to prep the red potatoes. I decided to try something weird and new and on the fly because having fun in the kitchen is what makes cooking fun. I cut some rosemary from our bush and sliced some garlic cloves. Then I sliced an "X" in the top of a potato and stuffed them with the rosemary sprigs and garlic slices. Then drizzled olive oil over them.

Ingredients

 

Stuffed

Ready for the oven

I put the potatoes aside and took the carrots and green beans and mixed them together with and insane amount of dill, sea salt, and olive oil.

On the baking sheet ready for the oven

 I put the veggies and the potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes ready to check them and see how they are doing. Time to start on the steak. We took it out and let it come to room temp, then marinated it with olive oil and rubbed with salt and pepper.

Carrots and green beans are ready to go.

Potatoes and crispy rosemary needed more time. Probably 50 minutes total.

Steak is ready to go.

Here is the finished plate:

So there you go! Great farm fresh veggies that you can use in your meals every day. When we get our deliveries we just plan our proteins and our trip to the store is for those and breakfast fruits and extra snacks. We really love it and it's a great way to do more healthy and fresh eating at home.

Everyone have a great week!

-RT