Need vegetable ideas

[Mama Mangia]

Cathy - Alpine Lace is just a swiss cheese. Alpine lace is usually longer, rectangular shaped cheese that is great for all kinds of dishes as well as on sandwiches. It doesn't have that "bite" to it compared to a brand like Kutter's.

Any thin sliced Swiss would work - and you can substitute Gryere, etc.

Hope this helps!

Mama

[Mama Mangia]

Grilled Goat Cheese Tomatoes


This recipe is simply divine. Because you do not flip the tomatoes to grill on both sides, a thinner slice works well here.

Makes 4 servings

eight 1/2 inch thick slices beefsteak tomatoes
olive oil for drizzling
kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ounce fresh goat cheese, crumbled (or crumbled feta or blue cheese, cubed Boursin, or mozzarella)
fresh herbs, chopped (optional)


Drizzle the tomato slices with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Top each tomato with 1 ounce crumbled fresh goat cheese or the cheese of your choice. Sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs, if you like.

Grill directly over a hot fire or on a grill rack until the tomatoes are warmed through and the cheese has melted, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve hot


Fried Green Tomatoes with Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Red Pepper Mayo dip:

1 Red Pepper Roasted, Peeled & Seeded
1 Cup of Mayo
½ Cup Sour Cream
2 Cups Onions, chopped (white and Green Part)
1 TBSP Capers
2 TBSP shredded Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Finely chop or pulse pepper in food processor

Add remaining ingredients & refrigerate at least 4 hours best overnight



6 Slices of White Bread (Not thin sliced)
½ Sleeve Ritz Crackers
1 Egg
1-Cup Milk
½ Cup Seasoned Flour
2 Green Tomatoes (8 slices)
2-3 TBSP Butter
2 slices cooked bacon

Slice Tomatoes & Reserve. Make Breadcrumbs w/bread & crackers. Wisk the egg w/ milk seasoned flour on plate. Dip tomatoes in the flour; dip in egg wash then coat w/ breadcrumbs. Saute in pan with butter tbsp at a time until golden brown @ 2 minutes/side. Serve with mayo dip & garnish w/crisp bacon.


Stuffed Tomato in Bread Crumbs


* 4 tomatoes
* 1 small zucchini
* 2 tbs butter
* Salt - to taste
* White pepper - to taste
* 2 tsp. Basil
* 1 clove garlic - pressed
* Butter to grease pan
* Bread crumbs

- Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides. Wash the zucchini and cut into little cubes.
- Fry the zucchini in a buttered pan with salt and half of the Basil.
- Mix bread crumbs with the rest of the Basil and the pressed garlic. Preheat the oven to 250 Celcius. (450 F).
- Fill the tomatoes with the cooked zucchini and add salt and pepper to taste. Roll these in the bread crumbs with basil and garlic.
- Put tomatoes on a buttered pan and put the rest of the butter on the tomatoes. Back for about 10 minutes. Makes 2 portions.

You can serve this as a side dish with steak, lamb, pork,... Or you can serve this as a main vegtable dish.
Instead of zucchini you can try mushrooms. 250 g mushrooms washed. Cut up the mushrooms and simmer in pan with cut spring onions in butter. Add 2 cl dry cherry and 150g table cream. Add to the tomatoes and cook the same as above.

[Mama Mangia]

Tomato Pudding

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
Pinch salt
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
3/4-pound day-old Italian bread, roughly sliced
2 cups water
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, optional
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

In a 12-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until onion is translucent. Add a pinch of salt. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down, about 5 minutes.
Place the bread slices in a bowl and cover with 2 cups water. Tear the bread into rough pieces and add to tomato mixture. Add the remaining water from the bowl. Continue simmering until all the bread has absorbed as much liquid as possible, yielding a baby food-like consistency.
Stir in the basil. Season, to taste, with pepper. Add extra-virgin olive oil, if desired. Let the soup continue simmering for 10 more minutes, then serve immediately in warmed soup bowls. Garnish, to taste, with Parmigiano-Reggiano.


BAKED STUFFED TOMATOES

6 lg. firm tomatoes
6 strips bacon
2 tsp. chopped parsley
1 tsp. chopped onion
1 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 c. buttered bread crumbs

Wash the tomatoes. Remove thin slice from stem end and scoop out pulp. Do not break the shell.

Fry bacon until crisp. Break into small pieces. Add parsley and onion to fat, cook for a few minuts. Add cup of dry bread crumbs, celery seed, salt and pepper, bacon and tomato pulp. Stir until well mixed. Fill tomato cups with this mixture. Cover top with buttered bread crumbs, place in shallow baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes until tomatoes are tender and crumbs are browned.


Caesar Vegetable Medley

2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 pkgs. (l6 oz each) frozen cauliflower, carrots, and snow pea pods.
l envelope (l.2 oz)Caesar salad dressing mix.

l. Heat oil in l0 inch non-stick skillet over med-high heat.

2. Add vegetables and dressing mix to oil. Cover and cook 5 to 7
minutes, stirring frequently until vegetables are crisp-tender.

6 servings


CREAMED VEGETABLES

2 lb. sliced carrots, onions, asparagus, new potatoes or peas
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. reserved vegetable liquid or water
1/2 c. light cream or milk
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook fresh or frozen vegetables following instructions on packages or until done. In sauce pan, melt butter on low heat, about 2 minutes. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Gradually blend in water or reserved liquid and cream; cook until thickened on low heat. Add sugar and pepper. Add cooked vegetables to cream sauce. Combine gently. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Dear MamaM,

This is a picture of my mouth watering! Thanks for the wonderful tomato recipes (tomatoes yummy!) , as well as all the other terrific recipes.

I kind of thought the Alpine Lace would be like Swiss (being called Alpine & all, ie: Swiss Alps). I used Swiss cheese in this wonderful Cod fish and yukongold potato au gratin dish and it worked very well. I do not know why it never dawned on me to make a veggie au gratin, but my does that sound delicious and I can't wait!

I'll bet you have a great recipe for vegetable lasagna??? May I be so bold as to ask you to share it with us? I hunger for that and have never had it made fresh from scratch. I figure with a good fresh baked bread and that I would have a complete meal!

MamaM once again thanks a million!

CCCathy

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hi Again MamaM,
I looked up some veggie lasagna recipes on-line and the ones I saw were not exactly what I had in mind. The one I would like to make I am guessing I could wing it and get it right. I am thinking I could make a white-sauce loaded with a good white cheese (Alfredo Sauce), then use finely chopped vegetables, my Riccota and Mozzarella and lasagna noodles layer all and bake. I'll bet that would turn out great. I am going to try!
CCCathy

P.S. And serve it with some of the baked tomatoes from the recipe you shared above! I'll let you know how it turns out!

[Mama Mangia]

Cathy - first of all - enjoy the recipes!

Now about the veggie lasagna - what I do is make my sauce - usually a white sauce, once in a while Alfredo, steam my veggies - onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and make them crisp-tender.

We prefer to use a nice thick white sauce - it doesn't take away from the flavors of the noodles, veggies or cheeses. I hope you at least try it that way.

Mama

Cook my noodles (an if you don't have lasagna noodles you can use any pasta (ziti, rigatoni, etc); flavor my ricotta with salt, pepper, parsley, and grate my Italian cheese(s) - I sometimes use more than one cheese for a nice variety.

Start layering and bake at 350* F.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Well MamaM I did do some excellent meals this weekend! I did make the veggie lasagna (with the thick creamy white sauce with some cheese added) and it came out great & tasty. We had an avacado/tomato salad with the prickly pear salad dressing, well my man could not get over the prickly pear salad dressing he Loved it, and so did I. It really pays to try something different.

Today I made this Roasted Pork that I saw made on Food network, and it was cooked on the grill indirect method and wow~! It was very good and once again I scored a few points with my man Had steamed asparagus and zuccini in a rich butter garlic sauce, mashed potatoes, and warm dinner rolls to round out our Sun. dinner! I love cooking and making everything from scratch! I just thank you for all the help, esp. in the veggie realm!

CCCathy

[Mama Mangia]

Congratulations!

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and you did it girl!

Sounds like you had some great tasting meals!

Enjoy (and don't be afraid to ask if you need anything!)

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hi Mamma,

Doing the Baked Spinach and Cheese tonight! Also the beets!

Smells delicious in her, Can't Wait!!

Cathy

[Mama Mangia]

wonderful!!! enjoy!!