Citrus Power Juice

After we recently watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, we were inspired to jump on the juicing bandwagon. My husband had been wanting to try it for a while anyway and since they were not pushing a product other than fresh produce, we were convinced. If you haven't seen it, I recommend checking it out. Their results are amazing!

Anyway, we bought ourselves a juicer and have been making about 2 batches of juice every day. The following recipe is one that I came up with yesterday and is possibly my favorite so far.

Ingredients:
1/4 of a pineapple
2 oranges
2 limes
2 granny smith apples
4 carrots
1/2 of a large cucumber
2 stalks of celery
1 inch piece of ginger
about 2 cups of chard (or spinach or kale)
about 1/2 cup of coconut water

makes at least 4 8oz. servings

It turned out tangy and sweet like a summer cocktail and it's full of vitamin C among other things. Sometimes our juice ends up ugly brown due to the mixture of bright reds, greens, purples, oranges, etc. While the color doesn't make it any less delicious or nutritious, this one turned out particularly pretty. Just a light yellow/orange. Beautiful! Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, I'm not good about getting photos of my recipes before we devour them.

Summer Veggie Chili

I came up with this on the fly the other day. I did a super quick trip to the grocery store and wanted to get something I could combine with fresh veggies for a quick dinner. I picked up a can of kidney beans in chili gravy and a can of chili-ready diced tomatoes. I ended up kinda/sorta following the recipe on the back of the Red Gold tomatoes can (Potato Chili).

Ingredients:

• 1 can chili ready kidney beans
• 1 can chili ready diced tomatoes
• 1 diced bell pepper (any color)
• 1 diced onion
• 1 small zucchini sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 can diced potatoes - drained
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• about 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• about 1/2 cup water or broth

Directions:

• heat oil in a soup pot and saute onion until softened. Add peppers, zucchini and potatoes and saute until slightly browned. Add chili powder and garlic and stir to cover veggies.
• Stir in beans, tomatoes and salsa. Add a little water or broth if it seems too thick.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all veggies are as soft as you like them.

note: top with shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, sour cream or all of the above! It's also good served over rice or with cornbread.

Microwave Zucchini Recipes

There's a thread over on Ravelry discussing uses for zucchini which is very prevalent this time of year. I have made a lot of basic zucchini bread in the past (love it) but I was intrigued by these recipes, posted by other members. They are both dessert-type recipes and are microwaveable! That's right, no need to heat up your kitchen with the oven this sweltering-hot-time-of-the-year. I have not tried these myself yet but I plan to very soon. It seems too easy not to :)

Microwave Zucchini Crumble

• 2 2/3 cup peeled and diced zucchini ( one inch pieces) 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• pinch nutmeg 
• 1 tablespoon flour

Topping

• 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats 
• 1/3 cup flour 
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

• Mix first five ingredients in a microwave safe casserole. Toss with the tablespoon of flour.
• Topping- mix first 3 ingredients together. Stir in oil, mix until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of zucchini mixture.
• Microwave for about 6 minutes or until the zucchini is tender and kinda looks like apple pie.

Microwave Zucchini bread

• 2 large eggs 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup cooking oil 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1 cup grated zucchini with peel
• 1 2/3 cup flour 
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg 
• pinch cloves

Directions:

• Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients,stir until moistened.
• Place in a greased 4 by 8 inch microwave safe loaf pan or a bunt pan.
• Microwave for about 5 minutes. Your cooking time may vary depending on your oven.

Kashi Pilaf

This isn't exactly a recipe but a recommendation. At my house we eat a lot of rice as we try to limit our wheat (and therefore, pasta) intake. Kashi makes many wonderful products including this 7 whole grain pilaf which is a mixture of whole oats, brown rice, buckwheat, sesame seeds, etc. I use it as an alternative to rice with stir-fry dishes or in soup but it can also be used as a hot breakfast with a little honey/sugar/maple syrup or in a cold salad like tabbouleh. It has a chewy/crunchy texture and I often add brown lentils to the mixture and cook it up in my rice cooker. It's full of fiber and protein and is always satisfying.

Red Beans and Rice

...the easiest way! Red beans and rice is pretty easy to begin with but I made it even easier using boxed and canned products. This can be prepared in 25 minutes with no worries about measuring or chopping or pre-soaking anything.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Zatarain's Reduced Sodium Red Beans and Rice (because the regular stuff is full of MSG)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with chilis
• 1/4 cup of dried TVP (optional)
• a bit of salt and pepper if needed
• 3 1/4 cups of water (as directed on rice box)
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:

• Just follow the directions on the Zatarain's box but add the TVP in with the rice mixture.
• when about 3 - 5 minutes remain in cooking time stir in the can of tomatoes.

That's it! If you eat meat, this is good with ground beef or turkey, andouille sausage or even shrimp. If you don't, the TVP adds enough texture to fake it and add some extra protein. Serves 2 as a main entree.