What a fun day!
The weather has been glorious (75 and lovely sunshine!)
and I did laundry, printed up lesson materials for tomorrow (teaching the 1:1 class at church),
and did a BUNCH of cooking.
I tried four new recipes all at the same time
AND THEY ALL TURNED OUT GREAT!
#1: Roasted vegetables
I cut up sweet potatoes, red peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers,
Brussels sprouts, potatoes, and onions and put them in a big pan.
I don't think I've ever had Brussels sprouts before and I like them!
I have been searching for a cruciferous vegetable that I actually like because they have so many health-promoting and disease(especially cancer)-fighting properties, but broccoli doesn't do it for me.
Plus, Greg hates the smell of broccoli so I don't really even want to cook it.
Roasted, the vegetables got all sweet and tasty.
They tasted more like candy than vegetables.
But I guess that's probably how God MEANT them to taste so we would eat lots of them!
After cutting them up, I sprinkled them with spices and baked them for an hour,
stirring half-way through.
#2: Potato Zucchini Tots
I shredded up two zucchinis in my food processor while potatoes were boiling.
 |
| that tiny cabbage in the background is going to turn into a lovely dish, too! |
When the potatoes were done, I put them in the bowl with the zucchini and sprinkled everything with salt, pepper, turmeric, and a little all-seasons salt.
Then I mashed them up with my hands, kneading until everything was mixed together well.
I formed little tots and sprinkled the tops with spices.
I baked them on my baking stones for about an hour.
They were in the oven at the same time as the vegetables.
Half-way through, I stirred up the vegetables.
When they were finished (after about an hour),
they looked like this.
They make my mouth water!
I was supposed to roll the tots over after 30 minutes, but they were stuck to the pan, so I just left them there and used a sharp spatula to get them off after the full hour. Next time I will use nonstick tin foil underneath so I can roll them over and get the other side equally crispy.
They are delicious anyway and they taste just like tater tots
(they ARE tater tots, they just have added nutrition!)
Veggies & tots:
#3: Apple-Cabbage Slaw
With Honey Balsamic Dressing
I chopped up the cabbage and put it through the food processor to shred it.
Isn't it pretty?!
I used my spiralizer to make the two apples into long fun pretty spirals.
I drizzled on three tablespoons of raspberry balsamic vinegar,
two tablespoons of honey, and one tablespoon of lemon juice.
Beautiful!
Three delicious inventions!
#4: Shredded "Pork" Barbecue
I shredded a bunch of carrots in the food processor and chopped one onion.
I put them in a big pan on top of tin foil that I sprayed LIGHTLY with olive oil mist
(next time I will use stick-free tin foil and no oil).
I baked them for about 40 minutes at 400 degrees F,
stirring them up about half-way through.
While that was going on, I made the sauce called for in the recipe.
It contains all sorts of yummy stuff like tomato sauce, molasses,
cider vinegar, cumin, and cayenne (too much of that for me this time - it got hotter as it was cooking up and this batch may be too hot for me).
I brought it to a boil and simmered it for 20 minutes, then added the cooked carrot-onion mixture and let it all get combined.
It really does look like shredded pork - but it's BETTER!!!
Healthier
Less calorically dense
No one (pig) had to die
More vitamins and minerals
Phytonutrients (only available in plants)
No endocrine-disrupting hormones
!!!
I'm going to take a batch of this (less spicy) to my Mom and Dad's SuperBowl party
with little rolls - yum!
Here's what I had for dinner tonight.
The BBQ was still cooking when we ate dinner, so I didn't have any of that
with this meal.
Everything was delicious and filling and I'm proud and happy!
I hope you ate equally well today!
