Month: April 2010

A Veggie Tale

I confess…I have been in a vegetable rut.

Given the limited number of vegetables that my husband and I both like, I feel like I am rotating the same, tired veggies through each meal. I am burned out on the same-old-same-old. It doesn’t help that I only have about 30 minutes to throw dinner together on a week night, if I am lucky.

A vegetable rut is a big problem for me. If I don’t load up on the veggies, I have a tendency to fill my bottomless pit of a stomach with bad, bad things…like chocolate éclairs, Ben and Jerry’s, or an entire box of Fruity Pebbles.

So, it’s time to think outside the box. Last week, I found inspiration in a copy of Southern Living (what else?), and I made these:

I never would have thought to serve peppers as a side dish. Don’t get me wrong, I love red bell peppers. I put them in any dish they could feasibly go in. However, I never thought that they could be prepared in a way that I would eat them alone. Well, ooohhh boy, these rocked. I had to grill them on the George Foreman, as we are grill-less since the move. The drizzle of balsamic and brown sugar when contrasted with the creamy goat cheese was pretty dang tasty. One word of warning: goat cheese can have a fairly strong flavor, so I served mine on the side; therefore, my husband and I could experiment with how much we preferred on our peppers, and everybody was happy. You should make these tonight, and feel proud that you defied your vegetable rut too.

Grilled Rainbow Peppers

Ingredients

  • 3  bell peppers
  • Vegetable cooking spray
  • 3  tablespoons  olive oil
  • 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
  • 1  tablespoon  brown sugar
  • 1/2  cup  crumbled goat cheese
  • 1/2  cup  loosely packed torn fresh basil leaves
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat. Quarter bell peppers; lightly coat with cooking spray. Grill peppers, covered with grill lid, 5 minutes on each side or until tender; arrange, cut sides up, on a serving platter. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar; drizzle over peppers. Sprinkle with goat cheese, basil leaves, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Lost and Found!

Bayou Mama was missing, but now she is found!

No, a black hole did not suck me up…life did…or rather moving did.

In the past month, we have been on a marathon/whirlwind/crazytrain. We sold the house, and bought a new one, which is so dang awesome, I can’t even tell you. We moved, which was so bleeping awful, I swear we will not do it again for at least 10 years! I could fill you in on the horror story of the movers-from-hell, but I think using that many swear words on my blog would be a bad thing. However, I did learn quite a few things about moving:

  • Investing in the $10 packing tape gun was the best money I spent.
  • It to four times the number of boxes I had planned.
  • It took twice as long to pack as I thought.
  • Even the best laid, most organized plans can turn to chaos at the drop of a hat.
  • Going out of town on business the week before the move was bad, bad, bad.
  • Don’t expect help if you don’t provide beer.
  • Even the most happy family can erupt into full-scale warfare under the stress of a move-gone-bad.

So, as we settle in, unpack and discover our new ‘hood, stay tuned to find out how city life suits us. And with a five-minute commute work this morning, I’d say that today, it’s suiting me just fine!