Grilled Veggie Wedges and Dip

Vegetables are one of my favorite things to eat.....but I don't eat them nearly enough because my family is very picky about the kind, how they are cooked, and their color! In the Summer (and Fall) I can usually get them to eat more with me because they are so much fresher, riper and tastier and I have so many recipes for those times of year that include veggies!


One of my most favorite ways to cook (pretty much) any vegetable is on the grill. Of course, in the summer grilled vegetables are always a crowd pleaser...especially if there is a DIP to go with it!


This recipe is soooo easy and so delicious! It's sure to get rave reviews, byt even your toughest vegetable eater!


GRILLED VEGGIE WEDGES AND DIP

Prep: 10 min Cook: 6 min Yield: 6 servings
Vegetables: 
2 medium zucchini, cut on the diagonal into ½-inch slices
2 medium summer (yellow) squash, cut on the diagonal into ½-inch slices
½ cup Italian dressing (not balsamic)


Dip:2/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 scallions
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
Pinch of pepper
1. Preheat grill to medium high. Toss zucchini and squash with the Italian dressing in a medium bowl. Place vegetables on grill and cook for 3 minutes. Turn and cook another 3 minutes, until tender.

2. Prepare the dip: In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients. Cover and chill until serving time. Serve along side of veggies!

3. ENJOY! This is very YUMMY!!

~Gianna~

Balsamic Glazed Carrots

An old faithful.....this recipe is one I have made many times....many, many times because baby carrots are something I always have on hand!  So it's such an easy side dish to make....my girls and I LOVE them...Joe on the other hand does not.  As I've said before, Joe's "allergic" to carrots......I think it's a mental allergy, but he promises it's real!    This recipe works perfect as a side dish to really anything!    It's super simple, uses very little ingredients and takes hardly any time!


Balsamic Glazed Carrots


3 cups baby carrots

1 TBSP olive oil

1 ½ TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 TBSP brown sugar

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté carrots in oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Stir in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, mix to coat and serve.

EASY PEASY....and YUMMY!!!

~Gianna~

Recipe Swap -- Week #1

This is an exciting entry for me......because I just became part of a recipe swap!!!! 

What does that mean???  Well a bunch of girls on one of my message boards started doing a recipe swap.  Each week they post a new category, everyone emails in a recipe that fits into the category, they get all mixed up and you get a recipe from someone else that you have to make!  

This week's category was "Side Dishes" and the second I got my recipe I thought...."OH NO!!!!  NO ONE IN MY FAMILY (EXCEPT ME) IS GOING TO EAT THIS!"  I know my kids and my husband pretty well and cauliflower isn't on the "LIKE" list!  So I decided to make it tonight.  I knew my cousin, Amanda,  was coming for dinner before our weekly dodgeball game and she was eating here....so I shot her a text asking if she liked cauliflower, she said yes....and it worked out beautifully!

The recipe I received was from Lisa and it's Roasted Cauliflower  (from Simply Recipes) and it was delicious!  I followed the recipe exactly (only omitted the salt and pepper -- I never use it) because I hardly make cauliflower and I didn't want to mess it up!   
Ava (my youngest) was eating raw cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing as I was cutting the cauliflower up!  So much for thinking my kids don't eat it!  ((SHRUG))

Everyone tried it and BOTH of my girls ate it.  Joe tried 1 piece and thought it was OK......but that's to be expected since he doesn't love veggies!  My cousin Amanda thought it was delicious, and we had a surprise dinner guest (my best friend who came over to get ready for dodgeball) and she thought it was delicious too!   It's a keeper in this house!!!  Thanks Lisa!!!  Beacuse it was a dodgeball night I had to make something quick and easy so  I made chicken cutlets and biscuts with it!


Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely minced

Lemon juice from half a lemon

Olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer in an oven-proof baking dish. Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle lemon juice over cauliflower and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If the oven hasn't reached 400°F yet, set aside until it has.

2 Place casserole in the hot oven, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown. Test with a fork for desired doneness. Fork tines should be able to easily pierce the cauliflower. Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.

~Gianna~