Grilled Vegetable Tostadas

Source: Everyday Food

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grates
• 3 medium zucchini (1 1/2 pounds total), cut into 1/2-inch-wide slices on the diagonal
• 4 portobello mushrooms (1 pound total), stemmed
• 1 1/2 bunches scallions, root ends trimmed
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 flour tortillas (10-inch or burrito-size)
• 3 cups store-bought fresh salsa, or Fresh Tomato Salsa
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
• 1 lime, cut lengthwise into 4 wedges (optional), for serving

Directions

1. Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. In separate piles, arrange zucchini, mushrooms, and scallions on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary, remove each pile of vegetables from baking sheet. Grill, turning once, until lightly browned and tender, 2 minutes for scallions, 6 minutes for mushrooms, and 8 minutes for zucchini. Return all vegetables to baking sheet. Slice mushrooms into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Set aside.
2. Brush tortillas with remaining tablespoon oil; grill, turning frequently, until browned and very crispy, about 2 minutes. Place 1 tortilla on each serving plate; cover evenly with mushrooms and zucchini. Using kitchen shears, snip scallions over vegetables. Top with salsa, and sprinkle with feta; serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Squash, Sage, and Ricotta Canneloni

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish and sheet
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 wide lasagna noodles
• 1/2 butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves, plus 8 to 10 whole leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 cups ricotta (15 ounces)
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 2-quart or 8-inch square baking dish. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Using tongs, transfer pasta to a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet. Add squash to boiling water and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain squash and transfer to a bowl.
2. In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with squash and add 2 tablespoons milk, chopped sage, and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Mash with a fork until a rough puree forms.
3. Spread cup squash mixture crosswise down the middle of each lasagna noodle; roll up noodle and place, seam side down, in baking dish. In a bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup milk and season with salt and pepper. Spread ricotta mixture over cannelloni and top with cup Parmesan. Bake until warmed through, about 25 minutes. Broil until top is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Fry whole sage leaves until crispy, 15 to 20 seconds. Drain on paper towels. Serve cannelloni topped with fried sage.

Leek and Potato Galette

This was really yummy. I didn't mess with the parchment paper or inverting it, so I just baked it in my round stoneware.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 pounds (5 to 6 medium) baking potatoes, peeled
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 leek, white and light-green parts, thinly sliced crosswise, well washed
• 6 ounces Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with rack set in top third. Line bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with a round of parchment paper. Place melted butter in a large bowl. Using a mandoline or cutting by hand, slice the potatoes 1/8 inch thick; add to bowl with butter. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. In prepared pan, arrange some of the potatoes around edge of pan, overlapping the slices.

   

2. Fill center of pan with more overlapping slices. Sprinkle with half the leek and half the cheese; season with salt and pepper. Repeat with another layer of potatoes and remaining leek and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Top with remaining potatoes. Using a spatula, press galette down firmly.

   

3. Bake until potatoes are tender, 70 to 80 minutes, pressing down firmly twice with a spatula during cooking. Run knife around edge of pan. Carefully invert galette onto a plate, remove parchment, and reinvert onto serving plate. Cut into wedges, and serve.

   

Baked Acorn Squash

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking sheet
• 2 medium acorn squash
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously butter a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Halve 2 medium acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds each) crosswise. Scoop out seeds; discard. Slice a small piece off bottom of each squash half just enough to level.
3. Set squash halves, scooped sides down, on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn squash; prick insides all over with a fork. Divide 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar among halves; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Continue to bake until flesh is easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Eggplant Parmesan

This recipe is delicious but definitely a little more time consuming. Make sure you've read through the directions so you've given yourself enough time for prep work. To save time I used jarred spaghetti sauce (TJ's tomato basil) and salted the eggplant earlier in the day.

Source: Everyday Food

Prep: 45 minutes

Total: 2 hours

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes (I used 2 jars spaghetti sauce)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 large globe eggplants (about 2 pounds total), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I used Panko breadcrumbs)
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 pound whole fresh mozzarella, cut into large chunks (this totally makes the dish! yum!)

Directions

1. In a food processor, puree tomatoes; transfer to a medium saucepan and stir in olive oil. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, 30 minutes. Season tomato sauce with salt and pepper. (or gladly skip this step if you use jarred spaghetti sauce).
2. Meanwhile, in a colander, toss eggplant with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Press slices between a double layer of paper towels to dry. Dredge eggplant in flour (shaking off excess), then dip in eggs (allowing excess to drip off), and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. In a large skillet, pour enough vegetable oil to come halfway up side. Heat oil over medium-high until pinch of breadcrumbs dropped in skillet sizzles. In batches, fry eggplant until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to rack to drain.
4. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Layer half the eggplant over sauce and sprinkle with cup Parmesan. Top with 1 1/2 cups sauce, then remaining eggplant. Finish with remaining sauce, cup Parmesan, and mozzarella. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes.
5. To Freeze: Assemble dish but do not bake; wrap tightly with foil and freeze, up to 3 months. Thaw completely, then bake as directed.

Cucumber Dip

This is a yummy dip from Mara-Liisa. My only tweak was to add a clove of minced garlic.

Ingredients:

● 1/2 cup mayonnaise or half sour cream (I use sour cream)

● 1/4 cup onion, finely diced

● 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, finely diced

● 1 package cream cheese, softened

● salt and pepper to taste (generally needs a good amount of salt)

● 1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:

Mix ingredients and use salt and pepper to taste. Best chilled overnight before serving. Serve with veggies, pita chips, etc.

*Make sure to seed the cucumbers first or it will make the dip too watery.

Pickled Beets

This is the same sauce my friend Kyla uses on her Simple Cucumber Salad.

Ingredients:

5 or 6 medium red beets

1/4 C vinegar

1/2 C sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Cut off tops and bottoms of beets.

Boil beets for at least 10 minutes. Do a fork test to see if tender.

Rinse beets under cold water.

Squeeze beets out of their skin. Should slip off easily.

Slice Beets and put in glass jar.

Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt and add mixture to beets.

Refrigerate until well chilled.