Discover Wellness

July 17, 2024

Summer Recipes

1 1/2 lb. ripe yellow tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I don’t typically add these, so I consider them optional)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 scallions, trimmed

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. white wine vinegar (sherry vinegar or rice wine vinegar can be used instead)

1/2 cup croutons for garnish

2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley or basil for garnish

Put tomatoes, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, 1 cup chickpeas and garlic into food processor. Cut green part off scallions, mince and set aside. Coarsely chop white part of scallions and add to food processor. Purée until smooth. Add oil and vinegar, and season with salt to taste.

Transfer soup to a large nonmetallic serving dish. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. Taste to adjust seasonings.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with remaining 1/2 cup chick-peas, croutons, parsley and reserved scallion tops.

Sprinkle sugar, flour, cinnamon & butter mixture on top.  

Bake 40-50 minutes at 375°. Eat with whipped cream on top or just plain. 

Greek Tricolor Pasta Salad (from Ryan)

16 oz tricolor rotini (penne works well too)

1 diced cucumber 

1 diced bell sweet pepper

2 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes 

½ cup sliced Kalamata pitted olives

½ cup cubed or crumbled feta cheese 

½ red onion diced 

2 tbsp. of fresh parsley 

Dressing: 

(Can also use Greek vinaigrette in place of homemade)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup EVOO

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano

Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

Mix together dressing. Cook pasta, rinse under cold water. Combine all ingredients. Add dressing and toss pasta salad. 

Refrigerate for a minimum of 2-3 hours.

Zucchini Cake

*** I have tried different things for this next recipe, like substituting ground flax for some of the white flour, or halving the white flour & using whole wheat. I think it'd probably be good with carrots mixed in too. Let me know if you try something new that tastes good! (I got this from a magazine years ago, so I don't have a link to share, but I guarantee it is legendary!)

1  2/3cups all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon baking soda

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 2 eggs

 1 cup sugar

 2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and finely shredded (1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl whisk eggs until combined and light. Add sugar and whisk until combined. Whisk in oil and vanilla until combined. Stir in zucchini. Stir in flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Easy Pimento Cheese 

From Our State Magazine. I love the recipes in Our State, but I have never made Pimento Cheese. I thought this would be a great addition for those trips to the beach or family cookouts this summer!

8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
1 (2-ounce) jar pimentos, drained
1 teaspoon Texas Pete hot sauce
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Place grated cheese in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together mayonnaise, pimentos, hot sauce, salt, and sugar. Pour over grated cheese and stir with a wooden spoon. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy on sandwiches, crackers, burgers, or celery sticks.

Yield: 2 cups.

Tomato-Goat Cheese Galette

This recipe is from The Produce Box. If you are interested in a subscription to The Produce Box, you can sign up via their website.

A Galette is a rustic french tart. The beauty of this tart is that it is free form, it doesn’t have to be perfectly round or perfectly anything but delicious.  We made this a quick dinner by using already prepared pizza dough for a play on a classic French dish.

1 pizza dough

1 pint cherry tomato

1 package basil, torn

1-2 stems oregano, optional

1 4oz. Package Chevre

2-3 Tb. olive oil

2 Tb. garlic minced

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half, place in a small bowl, add minced garlic, 1-2 Tb olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss to combine

Roast on a sheet tray for 10-15 minutes or until beginning to brown. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Using a light dusting of flour roll out your pizza dough thin, approximately 1/8 inch thick. Once rolled you can also gently stretch it using your hands.

Place dough on a parchment lined sheet tray, brush with a light coating of olive oil.  sprinkle half the goat cheese in the center of the dough  in a rough circle, leaving approximately two inches of dough on all sides with nothing on it.

Next add your cooled tomatoes, and finally top with the remaining goat cheese.

For the crust you will take that excess dough and fold a three inch section over towards the center of the tart and the tomatoes.

Press down to crimp lightly. Continue by taking the end of the first fold and slightly overlapping it with the second. Go around until all edges are crimped.

Alternatively you can fold large sections for straight sides and a geometric look. The quickest way to give your galette an edge is by folding up large sections of the edge of the dough circle, overlapping them slightly. What you end up with, however, is not a circle but a hexagon.

Brush top of crust lightly with remaining olive oil and bake at 375 convection or 400 non-convection for 15 minutes, rotating half way through cooking.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers 

(Adapted from University of Nebraska Lincoln Nutrition Education Program Ingredients)

4 red or green bell peppers 

2 cups cherry tomatoes 

1 small onion or 1/2 large onion 

1 cup basil leaves or 1 tablespoon dried basil 

3 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon pepper 

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Lightly oil a large shallow baking pan and set aside. Cut peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Arrange peppers cut sides up in baking pan and lightly oil cut edges of stems. Halve cherry tomatoes and chop onion and basil. Finely chop garlic. In a bowl, toss tomatoes, onion, basil, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper to taste.Divide mixture into peppers and roast in oven until tender, about 20 minutes. 

For more recipes, tips and information visit www.ncfamilieseatingbetter.org 

I hope you all enjoy these fresh new recipes! Bon Appetit! 

Previous Week                                                                                                                                                                                               Next Week