Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

 

Green beans are probably among my favorite vegetables, and definitely have been for as long as I can remember.  They go with everything!  We ate a lot of green beans growing up.  Not fresh green beans, though.  Actually, I refused to eat fresh green beans for the longest time.  They were too crispy, and I thought that was weird.  Besides, they tasted too green.  No, with all the culinary sensibilities of a kid, I refused to eat green beans unless they came from a can (don’t even try to give me that weak frozen crap).  They were the best, especially if they were the french cut kind, and they were my mom’s go to.  Open a can of green beans and a can of corn, throw them in a bowl, and microwave for 3 minutes and you had vegetables all three kids would willingly eat (I refused to eat corn, while I think my brother didn’t like green beans).

I don’t know if I my kid self would have willingly eaten these, but adult me loves them!  With only about 10 minutes more effort than my childhood canned beans, these lemon and garlic beans pack a lot more flavorful and delicious punch.

 

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 lb green beans, trimmed

1/2 onion, cut into thin slices

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook garlic in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant.  Add the beans and onions, saute for 10-15 minutes, until beans are tender, but still crisp.  Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper before serving.

Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables, and I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it.  This oven-roasted asparagus with just a hint of lemon is a perfect light and flavorful side dish.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 lb asparagus, trimmed

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tbps Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp lemon juice

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place asparagus in a bowl, combine with olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper; toss to coat.  Arrange asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet.

3. Bake until tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.

Lemony Artichoke and Sundried Tomato Pasta

Somehow I got roped into coaching the girls track team at my school.  I say somehow, because I have never run track in my life and know absolutely nothing about it.  In fact, before this year, I’d never even voluntarily run in my life.  But here I am, Coach Pearce.  Well, at least it gives me street cred with the kids.

We had a meet this last Friday, and the captain of the boy’s team (the one who conned me into doing this…) and I had to meet up so we could register the kids for their events.  We were going to go out, but then I realized that that was silly, the restaurant probably didn’t even have wi-fi, so we would have had to come back here anyway.  Instead, I (rather last minute) decided to have him come over to my place, and I made this pasta.  Most of the ingredients are things I always have on hand in my kitchen, so it was really easy to throw this recipe together after a quick walk up to the store for some artichoke hearts.  I made this with chicken, because I’ve found it’s usually safer to make dishes with meat when boys are involved, but I think it would be delicious as a vegetarian dish without the chicken as well.

Ingredients (serve 4):

6 oz spaghetti (or other long pasta)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 c flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 chicken breasts, chunked

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 c chicken broth

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried basil

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

6 oz sun-dried tomatoes

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 c water

Direction:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Combine the flour and salt on a plate, then gently press the chicken breast chunks into the flour mixture to coat. Arrange the chicken in the skillet and cook until browned.  Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaf, and basil.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes and continue simmering for about 10 minutes.

3. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the chicken, and continue cooking until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Garlic Roasted Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

This is one of my favorite simple-yet-elegant recipes, I can’t believe I haven’t made it in over a year!  I was planning on making pasta with random vegetables in my fridge the other night for dinner, but sadly I only had one serving of pasta left.  I wasn’t about to head to the store, so instead I started shuffling around in my recipe box for something to make.  And lo, what did I stumble upon?  But this lovely recipe I had nearly forgotten about made with ingredients I always have on hand.  Love.

This roasted chicken is easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but it looks, smells, and tastes, delicious enough for company.  If you don’t cook with wine, you can substitute chicken broth instead, though some of the amazing aroma will definitely be lost.  This pairs well with roasted potatoes (like I did Monday night), but also with rice (like I did with the leftovers on Tuesday).  Either way, you’re in for a treat.

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 lb chicken breasts, chunked

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp dried rosemary

3 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp grill seasoning or salt and pepper

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 c white wine or chicken broth

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Arrange chicken in a baking dish and add garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and grill seasoning.  Ross to coat and place in oven; roast 20 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and add wine/broth and lemon juice to dish and stir in to combine with pan juices.  Return to oven and turn oven off.  Let stand 5 minutes, then remove chicken from oven.  To serve, spoon pan juices over chicken.

 

Stir Fried Carrots and Garlic

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 tbsp olive oil

2 c baby carrots, sliced into quarters

2 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise

2/3 c water

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and stir-fry carrots until they begin to turn golden.  Add garlic and stir-fry for another minute.

2. Add water and butter, simmer covered until carrots and tender, about 3 minutes.  Boil carrots, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Stir in lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Soy-Garlic Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my absolute favorite vegetables.  The flavor combinations in this recipe seem a bit weird, but they really do go together!  Don’t question it, just go along for the ride.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 tbsp olive oil

3 c asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 c onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a skillet or wok, heat oil and stir-fry the asparagus, onion and garlic over medium-high heat until tender. Add the lemon juice and soy sauce; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.

 

Hummus

Much like my discovery of making homemade tomato sauce, the first time I tried to make my own hummus, it blew my mind.  Wow.  I was paying $3-$5 for hummus at the grocery store when I could make it myself in about 10 minutes with a $0.69 can of chickpeas?  What was I thinking buying it at the store?!?!  Needless to say, I don’t buy hummus anymore.  I just make it myself!  Almost all of the ingredients needed are something I already have on hand in the kitchen (except maybe the chickpeas), and it literally takes all of 10 minutes, max.

This is a great basic hummus recipe.  To change things up, though, try adding about 1/3 cup of roasted red peppers (that’s what I added to the hummus in the picture below).  If you usually like something else interesting added to your hummus, go ahead and try adding that ingredient into this recipe as well.  Also, try using cannellini beans instead of chickpeas to change things up, or if you don’t have chickpeas on hand.  If you’ve never had hummus before and have been interested in trying it, definitely give this recipe a try rather than spending that money to get some at the store.

Ingredients:

1 (15 1/2 oz) can chickpeas

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender; cover and process until smooth.

2. Serve as an appetizer with tortilla chips, pita chips, veggies, etc!  Or serve in wraps or pitas as a delicious and healthy lunch!