Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

This is an easy picnic staple that all will enjoy...even those that typically don't enjoy broccoli! :)

Ingredients: 

3 bunches broccoli florets

1 lb bacon, fried and crumbled

1/4 cup craisins

2 Tbls. apple cider vinegar

1 cup Mayo*

1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces. 

2. Mix mayo, sugar, and vinegar together. 

3. Pour over the broccoli. 

4. Sprinkle in bacon and craisins and mix.

*Lite mayo tastes fine if you are trying to cut down the calories.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille

This is a recipe Dean first made for me as a surprise date. I had a long and terrible day at work and was really not looking forward to going home and cooking dinner. To my pleasant surprise, as soon as I walked in the door I smelled a delicious dinner already in the oven with the Disney movie Ratatouille on the counter. We ate this delicious, vegetarian, French dish and then got to snuggle up on the couch to watch the movie. Let's just say it made my whole day better! So, without further adieu, here is the recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/disneys-ratatouille/. 

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1- 6 oz can tomato paste

1 Tbl. dried onion

1/4 cup minced garlic

3/4 cup water

1 tsp olive oil

Brown sugar to taste

Salt to taste (about a tsp.)

Pepper to taste

1-3 dashes cayenne pepper

Veggies: 

1 red pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 orange pepper, sliced

1 eggplant, thinly sliced and cut into triangular pieces 

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

1 yellow squash, thinly sliced

3 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

Oregano, coriander, thyme, basil, salt, and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Mix sauce ingredients together and place in the bottom of a greased 8x11 casserole dish.

2. Sprinkle spices over veggies and mix them together. Place veggies on top of sauce in alternating order (pepper slice, eggplant slice, tomato slice, pepper slice, squash slice, pepper slice, zucchini slice, etc.)--and if you are feeling lazy and don't care how beautiful it looks, you can just quickly spread the veggies over the top.   

3. Cover with tin foil and cook for about 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil and cook for 10 more minutes or until the veggies are tender and roasted. Enjoy! :)

Sweet Potato Black Bean Tacos

Sweet Potato Black Bean Tacos

These easy and fast to make and delicious to eat vegetarian tacos were masterminded by my wonderful husband, with some adjustment from my brain as well. Together, we came up with one of our favorite recipes. 

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

1 large onion

1 can black beans

1 package taco seasoning

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Tortillas

Sour Cream, Salsa, etc. for toppings

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Peel sweet potato and cut into one inch cubes. Dice onion. Place diced onion and sweet potato onto greased cooking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place in oven for about 40 minutes or until the sweet potato is nice and roasted. 

2. Rinse and drain black beans. Place in a skillet on the stove and add the taco seasoning and water (as much as the package calls for). Once the taco seasoning is incorporated, add the roasted sweet potato and onion. Stir together and heat until the taco seasoning reaches your desired consistency. 

3. Serve on tortillas with sour cream, salsa, and any other toppings you like! 

Servings: About 4 large tacos