Green Beans Provencal

Okay, I'm not a fan of olives. They are just too bitter for me. When Mark suggested that we make this for our first Midweek Connections meal, I was a little hesitant. I don't like mushy beans, but I also don't like crunchy ones either. We cooked the beans a bit longer than the recipe called for and served them hot. They were delicious (I just gave him my olives!!).

GREEN  BEANS  PROVENCAL

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds haricots verts, ends trimmed

1 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic, very finely chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

15 kalamata olives, pitted and halved

2 T. freshly chopped basil leaves

1 T. red wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the beans and cook until tender, about 8 - 10 minutes. Drain well in a colander

In the same pot, heat the oil over low heat. Add beans, garlic, tomatoes, olives and basil, and toss to combine. Drizzle vinegar over beans and toss to coat. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot, warm, or cold.

This is one recipe from Midweek Connections Menu on September 14, 2011.

 

Hash Brown Potato Casserole - a lighter version

This is one of our family favorites and it often gets served at special occasions or Holidays like Easter or Christmas. It's not made too often because it is not necessarily dietetic. I decided to try lightening it up a bit to see if it lost any of its flavor. I cut out 1 whole stick of butter and substituted lower fat versions of the soup, sour cream and cheese. It was still WONDERFUL! One of the things I did was to saute the onions a bit longer, just until the point of where they started to caramelize.

Hash Brown Potato Casserole

1 cup chopped onions

8 2 T. butter

2 lb. bag, frozen hash browns, thaw

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. white pepper

1 can, cream of chicken soup, 98 % fat-free

16 oz. light sour cream

2 cups reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups crushed cornflakes

4 2 T. butter, melted

Saute the onions with 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat just until they begin to turn a light brown. In the meantime, mix together the thawed hash browns with the salt & pepper. Stir in the soup, sour cream, and cheese. When the onions are ready, add them to the potato mixture. Lightly spray a 9"x13" baking dish and add the potato mixture.

Stir together the crushed cornflakes and remaining butter. Since I cut the butter in half, I actually mixed them with my (clean) hands like I was mixing a meatloaf. This helped to distribute the butter more evenly. Sprinkle the crumbs over the potatoes.

Bake @ 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender.

This is one recipe from Midweek Connections Menu on September 14, 2011.

Cucumber Salad

Mark's mom makes a delicious Cucumber Salad, but we can never seem to make it as good as she does. He found this recipe from the Food Network Kitchens and it comes close:

CUCUMBER SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

3 medium cucumbers (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled, halved lengthwise, & thinly sliced

2 T. kosher salt

1/4 cup + 2 T. sour cream

3 T. chopped fresh dill

1 T. white distilled vinegar

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mix the cucumbers and salt and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.

In a colander in the sink, drain and rinse the cucumbers thoroughly under cold running water. Set aside to drain for 10 minutes.

Press down on the cucumbers to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the cucumbers to a large bowl and mix with the sour cream, dill, vinegar, cayene pepper, and season to taste with the black pepper.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

This is one recipe from Midweek Connections Menu on September 14, 2011.