Tag Archives: vegetables

My Growing Garden

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 17 June, 2014 None comments

My garden IS growing. I’m so happy. Watching piles of dirt being hauled away, to the roots and weeds over taking a large space. Clearing the space to only bury some seeds below ground in hopes something will occur.

Finally, not only are blossoms on my tomatoes and my seeds sprouted and growing wildly, but we got garden mulch to finish the look and bring everything together so beautifully.

I can’t explain the immense joy I take from watching my garden grow. From seeds to branches, it’s so fun to see that this is something I started from the ground up (literally)!

My green beans are the only seeds I soaked for 24 hours before planting. By doing so, I noticed an incredible difference in growth. They grew quickly and abundantly.

Green Beans

My cilantro is doing way better in the ground than the potted cilantro.

Cilantro

My squash not only has grown but is forming it’s leaves for production. :)

Squash

I planted watermelon a little bit later than the rest, it popped through within 3 days.

Watermelon

Kale was one of the first ones I planted. It’s growing quite well. I can’t wait for it to begin producing and feeding our bellies.

Kale

I also planted radishes, carrots, green bell peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers. Cucumbers are the only ones that did not survive. I will be attempting again this week as nothing tastes as good as a fresh cucumber. I bought the pre-started plant rather then starting from seeds as I was skeptical of whether I would receive an wealth from my garden. I will buy all produce in seeds next year.

I’ve become addicted to my garden. :)

Grilled Pork Chops

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 6 June, 2014 None comments

We decided to grill pork chops the other night as neither of us have done this before. We went for a LONG walk through the woods on a trail that followed the river. It was the best walk! It was not too hot and Cooper was so excited to keep up with the water and see waterfalls along the way. Ending at a viewpoint, we took him out on the cliff to let him watch the boats zoom by. He enjoyed watching this as he hasn’t ever seen boats in action before. It was really fun to watch him light up as he soaked in this new experience. As we walked back, it was 7 pm before we arrived home. So we decided to do a quick dinner with pork chops and grilled vegetables.

It amazes me how you can have an incredible meal in such a short period of time. The barbecue has become my best friend. :)

Ingredients:

4 Pork Chops
Garlic Salt
Salt & Pepper
Montreal Seasoning (optional)
Fresh green beans
Fresh Corn
Fresh Edamame beans
EVOO

Sprinkle the pork chops with salt, pepper, garlic salt and Montreal seasoning. In a vegetable basket for the grill, add in your vegetables and toss with EVOO, salt, pepper and garlic salt.

Grill both the chops and the veggies until pork is still tender, being careful not to over cook.

Simple as that! Eat, drink and be full!

Yum, Yum!

Vegetable Wash

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 22 May, 2014 None comments

Do you ever stand in the produce isle trying to pick the perfect apple or tomato and “uh-oh” there it goes rolling down the hill onto the floor. You quickly gather it and put it back for the next person to grab.

That being said, we’ve all been there and we’ve all done it! It’s important to wash your produce really well when you get it home from the store. There are many traps of germs along the way. Double bagging produce is a great trick. Even if there is a peel around the item you are purchasing, you still want to bag it. Cutting into it can drag the germs to in the inside of the item if not washed. IE onions, oranges, avocado, lemons, limes and tomatoes.

Another disgusting trap of germs are the conveyor belts at the checkout line. These belts hold many germs from feces to bacteria from raw meat and much more. Carts are a great area for bacteria to continue to grow and fester. All of these little things we don’t think of add many germs that our bodies now have to fight if we don’t protect ourselves from them.

Making a point to simply wash your produce when you return home is a great tool to better protect yourself and your little munchkins who travel to the store with you and touch everything.

My simple vegetable washing tool is filling the kitchen sink (clean, of course) with water and adding about 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 1/2 tsp baking soda. Drop vegetables and fruit into the water and toss multiple times. Let rest for five minutes to allow the vinegar to coat the outer layers killing any and all bacteria. It’s simple, cheap and will leave your sink dirty from all the junk you were blind to prior to washing them.

The sink was this dirty just from strawberries and blueberries. Makes you think twice about not washing now doesn’t it? :)

Here is an snippet from the Dr Oz show. I saw this and thought it was good to share. His wash is a little different and that is great too. I simply prefer to wash in bulk in the sink for convenience reasons.

This is a great video to watch. Video-Here

My Garden

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 May, 2014 None comments

I’ve talked about wanting to grow my very own garden but I’ve never had the proper area to do so. Once we moved in to our new house, I was very excited as this was now a possibility. Now that summer is quickly approaching I’ve become quite nervous to begin the process as longing to grow a garden and actually doing so have entirely different outcomes. The beautiful thoughts inside my head of what my garden will look like and the luscious vegetables we will receive is unending. But there is a sudden realness to the cold reality that my mind can dream big and my ‘living garden’ may not be as big and full of unending vegetables.

Thanks to planetden.com

A couple days ago I bought some vegetables to begin the process. Now, the little I know about growing a garden comes from my dad. He always had amazing gardens full of massive zucchinis, cucumbers, never ending cherry tomatoes and extra large, juicy tomatoes. He also had grapes, green beans, pumpkins, peaches and apples. The task it took to bear this garden was never explored. I simply reaped the benefits and thoroughly enjoyed it. But now…..that is a different story. The years of reaping the benefits of my dads luscious garden was all a waste when it comes to beginning mine. I learned nothing from him as I was never interested because I knew weeding would follow my interest. Learning about the process would require me to be outside which would lead to those nasty “weeds that overtake a garden if not tended to.” I can just hear my dad trying to throw excitement into our list of outside chores. :)

Now, I fear the work put into my garden, the thought behind which vegetables to purchase and where to burry them all clouded my mind as I know I have the tendency to kill plants by over watering or under watering. I can’t seem to find the proper amount of every plant; maybe because every plant is ENTIRELY different and I know nothing about them.

Thanks to mikeonafarm.blogspot.com

So tonight I took my fear head on and tossed my little plants into the recently weeded “garden area” and hoped for the best. I planted and watered just as instructions had advised. Now, with great hopes I long to reap some benefit as I tugged away the many weeds the seemed to appear before my eyes.

Now what happens….I wait and wait.

I will water and I will wait. I will water and I will weed. I will water, weed and hope for the best! But most of all, I will update you on my adventure ahead.

Veggie Burgers

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 21 February, 2014 None comments

What’s for dinner tonight? “woot woot” Homemade, decadent veggie burgers. These suckers are so easy and so full of flavor. I’ve made many different types of veggie burgers and some of them are time consuming and lacking flavor. These however, or quite tasty, super easy and you can make ahead of time AND even freeze them for later use. They make 12 large burgers, great for making a double batch to freeze for quick last minute meals.

As you know I enjoy a bit of a spice to my food. Easily omit the spice if you are one who prefers otherwise. :)

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach
2 large carrots
1 red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt & pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you prefer no spice)
2 oz (½ can chopped chilies)
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh cilantro
3 green onions, chopped
1 can hominy, drained
1 can diced Italian tomatoes
2 cups Oats
1/3 cup flour
Whole wheat buns
Toppings/condiments for burger

In a food processor toss spinach, carrots, red pepper, minced garlic, onion powder, garlic salt, cayenne pepper and chilies.

Puree until pretty chunky. (Depending on the size of your food processor you may be able to fit everything in at once. Mine it 8 cups and I still have to puree a bit to add the remainder of ingredients)

Add in parsley, cilantro, onions, hominy, and diced tomatoes. Puree until well blended.

In a large bowl, fold in rolled oats and flour. Mix well.

In a greased 9×13 pan form your patties and place 6 large burgers in the pan.

Bake at 450 for 25 minutes.

Broil for an additional 2-3 minutes to crisp them up a bit.

I made a chipotle mayo sauce:

¼ cup mayo
2 tbsp blue cheese dressing
½ tsp sriacha

*If freezing, allow to cool 100% before placing them into a Ziploc, airtight bag.

Served with onions, pickles, spinach, pepper jack cheese and chipotle mayo sauce (ingredients above)

Serve on homemade hamburger buns.

Beef Yakisoba

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 February, 2014 None comments

This is my first attempt to make yakisoba. I attempted rice noodles awhile ago and absolutely hated them. I’ve avoided making yakisoba for that exact reason. Tonight I decided to be brave and make this meal but using Top Roman noodles. No seasoning packet as they are entirely unhealthy and have nothing to do with this dish so to speak, but I figured I would try this route and ease my anxiety about cooking with rice noodles again.

As the night progressed we decided this recipe would be great without noodles and as a simple stir fry. We had a yakisoba noodle free night and the following day for leftovers I added the noodles. Both were delicious. Although I am obsessed with carbs that I preferred the noodles. My husband on the other hand is a carb hater for the most part and preferred his leftovers as is.

My husband cooked the beef as I think he believes this makes him more “manly.” :) Ha, he’d die if he knew I just said that to ya’ll.

Instructions are below. If you have time to let the meat marinade do so overnight. Otherwise allow for a couple hours to sit in the juices before cooking.

Stir Fry:

1 tbsp sesame oil
½ head of Red Cabbage
Brussels Sprouts
1 yellow onion
1 Red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 lb fresh green beans
2 Carrots

Chop all vegetables except green beans and place in the Wok with sesame oil, set aside. Meanwhile prepare your sauce.

Sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sriacha sauce
1 tbsp sugar
Garlic salt
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and set aside.

Beef Marinade:

2 Garlic clove, minced
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sriacha (optional, if you want a little spice)
¼ tsp Red Pepper flakes

In a ziplock bag add beef (tenderloin, sirloin, rib-eye cut into stir fry strips), garlic, soy and Worcestershire sauce, sriacha, and red pepper flakes. Close tightly and let sit over night or if you are making for tonight’s dinner let marinade for 2-3 hours; overnight is best.

Cooking the Delicious Meal:

Heat Wok on medium heat and begin to cook to desired tenderness; I prefer a bit of a crunch to sautéed vegetables.

While the vegetables are cooking, place meat and partial marinade into a fry pan and cook to desired color or lack thereof if you prefer well-done.

2-3 minutes before your vegetables are finished cooking, add sauce and the cooked meat. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes to soak up the flavors.

*If serving over rice noodles follow directions on package. If using Roman noodles, bring water to a boil and boil roman noodles for 2-3 minutes making sure not to overcook. Toss in the Wok and mix well.

My husband took the liberty to chop some mixed nuts to top our yakisoba with. It actually was very delightful.

Quick Easy Pork Roast

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 25 January, 2014 None comments

After our sunny afternoon adventures (click here) we came home to finish up the bathroom remodel, get dinner on, bathe Cooper and get him to bed. After being gone all day and not having anything prepared for dinner I went to an easy Pork Roast with fresh vegetables and fresh salad.

This meal takes very little prep work and bakes for 45-55 minutes while the oven does all the work. Company will believe you slaved over dinner as well. :)

Ingredients:

Pork Roast
1 lb parsnips
1 lb carrots
1/2 lb mushrooms
2 large potatoes
2-3 celery stalks
10 Garlic Cloves
1 small onion
Fresh Rosemary
Garlic salt
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350

In a greased 9×13 place the pork roast in the middle of pan; season to your liking. (I used smoke flavor) and scattered all the vegetables around and on top of the pork.

Sprinkle whole garlic cloves through the dish in casing. This will roast the garlic leaving a very tasty clove inside and allowing for easy removal of the casing. (I believe this makes the dish taste the best)