Turnip Green Stew

When we lived in Meridian, MS we had some of the best neighbors.  Buster and Jewel was an elderly couple that lived across the street and became like grandparents to our family.  I remember the first time we met Mrs. Jewel, she was so excited to tell us about her church and how much they loved the pastor. She was so convincing that we visited the church.  We loved the church too and ended up joining and serving for three years until Brandon received orders to Charleston, SC. 

Mrs. Jewel loved sharing recipes, shopping deals or anything else that she thought would be of interest to me. This was one of those recipes. She told me it was the best turnip green recipe she had ever eaten. She was right about the church so I was certain that these greens would be great.  It is now one of my favorite recipes.  Mrs. Jewel is so wise.  

The recipe makes a lot, so for our family of four I typically prepare only 1/2 the amount. These greens go great with a side of buttered cornbread!

Buon Appetito!

Turnip Greens Stew

prep: 5 minutes

cook: 30 minutes

yield: 6 to 8 servings

calories: 114

fat: 5.1

• 
  2 cups chopped cooked ham 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 3 cups chicken broth 
• 2 (16-ounce) packages frozen chopped turnip greens
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen diced onion, red and green bell peppers, and celery
• 1 teaspoon sugar 
• 1 teaspoon seasoned pepper

1. Sauté ham in hot oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add broth and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes.
2. Collard 'n' Black-eyed Pea Stew: Substitute 1 (16-ounce) package frozen chopped collard greens for turnip greens. Prepare as directed, and cook for 15 minutes. Add 1 (16-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained, and cook 10 more minutes.

Nana's 7 Layer Salad

This is Nana.

This is Nana's 7 Layer Salad.

This is how I feel when I eat Nana's 7 Layer Salad.

Any questions?

 This salad is one of my mom's, aka Nana, favorite recipes. We enjoyed it often when I was growing up.  I remember mom entering this recipe in a 4-H cooking contest and winning first prize. It is perfect served in a trifle bowl since it allows you to see all the beautiful layers. If you want a lighter version you could simply use light dressing and/or light cheddar cheese.  The measurements are not exact which allows you to easily modify the amount needed for your family. 

Buon Appetito!

Nana's 7 Layer Salad

Layer ingredients in the following order:
Iceberg lettuce or lettuce of your choice, torn into bite size pieces 
Chopped tomatoes

Sliced purple onions

1 can Ranch Style Beans, drained
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Creamy Italian Salad Dressing (Seven Seas Green Goddess is what Nana uses.) 
Sprinkle enough Fritos to cover the top just before serving.

Roasted Green Beans with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I'm back!! It feels so good to sit here and type this blog post. Life is slowing down a bit and I am loving it!!! I hope you all enjoyed a great summer. Fall will be here before we know it and soon I will be posting yummy fall comfort foods. The leaves here in Maryland are already starting to fall, which seems odd since it is in the 90s today. In Sicily we didn't experience fall like in the states so I am looking forward to the trees changing colors soon. We have gorgeous views from our house and can't wait for the sea of green trees to change to autumn shades.

Veggies are so important to a healthy diet and should be served with each meal. I don't know about you, but it is always a challenge to come up with new ways to cook vegetables. One of my favorite ways to prepare vegetables is to roast them. Roasting is super easy and a really healthy way to enjoy your favorite veggies.

I love this recipe; the combination of green beans and sun-dried tomatoes is perfect. While living in Italy sun-dried tomatoes became one of my favorite foods. I love them in salads, on sandwiches, and in pasta.

This recipe calls for fresh green beans. You could use frozen, too. It also calls for pine nuts. I had a ton of pecans so that is what I used. It still turned out scrumptious.

Buon Appetito!

Roasted Green Beans with Sun-dried Tomatoes

source: Southern Living November 2010

serves: 8-10

prep time: 15 minutes

cook time: 25 to 30 minutes

for 8 servings:

calories 178 

fat 15.1

1 1/2 fresh green beans trimmed

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

1/3 cup pine nuts

3 Tbsp butter, melted

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss together all ingredients. Place mixture on a 18 x 12 inch jelly-roll pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or to desired degree of doneness, stirring twice. 

Marinated Grilled Veggie Skewers

These delicious marinated grilled veggie skewers would make a perfect addition to your Memorial Day cookout. I made this recipe several weeks ago when we had our Italian friends over for dinner and karaoke. We planned to cookout steaks and chicken so when I came across this recipe I thought it would be a perfect compliment. It is super easy and doesn't take a lot of time to prep which is great when trying to prepare several other dishes. The marinade can be made the day before and then simply add the veggies a couple hours before grilling.


These veggies made such a pretty presentation and were a big hit with everyone at the party. They are really healthy so you can save those calories for dessert!



I used the recipe as a guide, but didn't follow it exactly. You can use whatever vegetables you like. I did not add the crushed red pepper since I wasn't sure if my guests would like them spicy.

Marinated Grilled Vegetable Skewers Recipe

Source: www.divinedinnerparty.com

Ingredients:
Veggies:
1/2 C. thickly sliced zucchini
1/2 C. red bell pepper chunks
1/2 C. yellow bell pepper chunks
1/2 C. thickly sliced yellow squash
1/2 C. wedged red onion
16 fresh mushrooms
16 large cherry tomatoes
Wooden skewers


Marinade:
1/2 C. olive oil
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/3 C. lemon juice
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional-- only if you like heat)


Instructions:
1. Place all your veggies in a large mixing bowl or resealable plastic bag.
2. In a separate small bowl, combine the marinade ingredients.
3. Pour over veggies and marinate at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.
4. Soak skewers one hour in water.
5. Preheat the grill to medium heat.
6. Place your veggies on the skewers, dividing them evenly. Reserve the marinade.
7. Grill veggie skewers directly on oiled grill rack for about 15 minutes, till crisp-tender. Brush occasionally with reserved marinade.

Cold Marinated Veggie Variation: Don't have time or space to make your veggies on the grill? Turn your veggies into a cold salad, instead.
If you know you're tight on time, this is a good element of your dinner party menu for the grill to make ahead of time. In this case, you can take carrot slices, chopped Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, and cauliflower and turn them into a cold salad by simply adding some chunks of provolone, mozzarella, salami, ham, and a little vinaigrette – fast, easy and very appealing!

Buon Appetito!

Oven-Fried Eggplant

What is large, purple, and has a round bottom? No, it's not Grimace, the Ronald McDonald character, or Barney the dinosaur. It's an eggplant or melazana in Italian.

There are many different varieties of eggplant. Some are small ivory-white and plump; they may be pink or purple and flecked with white irregular stripes. In Asia, they are tubular and usually straight or slightly curved. In Thailand, the eggplants are not much bigger than peas. Colors range from black, to purple to orange, green and white. They have a tender, slightly sweet flesh.


The majority of eggplants found in most grocery stores are dark purple or almost black and can be long and slim or fat. All have a similar bland yet smoky flavor and the flesh is spongy to the touch when raw, but soft after cooking. When purchasing, eggplants should feel heavy and quite firm to the touch, and have a glossy, unblemished skin. They will keep well in the salad drawer of the refrigerator for up to two weeks. (Source: The World Encyclopedia of Cooking Ingredients)


When cooking eggplant it is best to “salt” them first. Cut eggplant into ½ inch slices and sprinkle a generous amount of salt and allow to stand for one hour. This will out draw the excess moisture. Rinse well patting with paper towel to dry. Eggplants will absorb large amounts of oil when cooking and removing the excess moisture helps to reduce this.


You may get tired of me writing things like, "before moving to Sicily I had never eaten _____ or before moving to Sicily I rarely ate _____, or before moving to Sicily I didn't know what ______ was". I have been exposed to many different foods the past two years so I apologize if it gets annoying. Forgive me for saying again, but eggplant is another food that I didn't eat very often before moving to Sicily. Eggplant is very popular in Italy. Some of the most popular eggplant dishes are Pasta al a Norma (which is spaghetti with red sauce, fried eggplant and grated salty ricotta cheese),  Eggplant Caponata, (my favorite Italian antipasta), and Eggplant Parmigiana. Eggplant is also delicious simply sautéed or fried and served as a side dish or even as a topping for sandwiches. You cannot live in Sicily without at least trying eggplant.


I typically fry eggplant when serving as a side dish. It is really tasty, but very fattening. So when I came across this recipe for baked eggplant I thought I would give it a try. Oh my goodness was it good! No lie; it was even better than fried. If you like eggplant you have to try this guiltless recipe!

Oven-Fried Eggplant
Source: The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
Prep: 11 minutes
Cook: 24 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 slices)

1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced fresh onion
12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices unpeeled eggplant (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine mayonnaise and onion; spread evenly over both sides of eggplant slices. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a shallow bowl; dredge eggplant in breadcrumb mixture.
3. Place sliced eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Turn eggplant over; bake 12 minutes or until golden.

Calories: 121
Fat: 2.8g
Protein 5g
Carb 19.8g
Fiber 3g