On the third Saturday of every month, there is a wonderful Farmers Market in the community of Nocattee. A great place to ride my bike but also a great place to enjoy the outdoors. Campy loves the dog park and he doesn't mind meeting lots of doggies and humans at the farmers market.
After my workout and my typical recovery routine, Campy and I headed to the farmers market. With so many choices, I spent a whopping $11 on a rainbow of veggies.
Nearing mid afternoon, I was listening to my body and it was telling me that I was ready for a meal..or perhaps a hearty snack? Whichever it was, I created a flavorful farmer market dish with a few leftovers and items in my fridge.
In a large skillet, I sauteed onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and cooked leftover brown rice. I seasoned it with pepper, chili powder and cumin and mixed in a spoonful of ricotta cheese. I tossed in some spinach at the end. YUMMO!
For my next creation, I was inspired by a recipe in my latest Cooking Light Magazine. The pic of the
Vegetarian Meat Loaf caught my eye but no surprise, my creative mind did not follow the recipe. Perhaps my pics of the final product speak for themself as it looks nothing like what was in the picture.
HOWEVER - I let my taste buds and belly be the ultimate critics and with Karel and myself "Yumming" with every bite, the flavors were there and this dish turned out AMAZING!
I love being creative in the kitchen and I take pride in all my creations. Some creations are blog worthy and some, not-so-much. But I keep on cooking because it makes me incredibly happy to have Karel walk in after work and enjoy something homemade as we reflect on the day.
I thought about not sharing this creation as the pic doesn't speak for how amazing it tasted but if I can inspire just one person to get in the kitchen and try to make this meat loaf, well perhaps I have accomplished a lot.
Enjoy and embrace your food creativity!
1/2 large container mushrooms (Sliced)
1 medium onion (sliced)
3 cloves garlic
1 large bell pepper
1/2 large sweet pepper
1/2 Eggplant (large) - diced
1/2 Zucchini (large)- diced
Almonds (10) - chopped
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/8 cup parmesan cheese
Black pepper (2 tsp, sea salt (pinch of salt)
1 tsp spicy mustard
Olive oil
1. IN large skillet on low heat, drizzle oil and cook onions, garlic, mushrooms.
2. Broil peppers (cut in middle, seeds removed) for 10 minutes. When burnt on top, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Combine peppers and onion mixture in blender/food processor and pulse until well combined (Like sauce consistency).
4. Add to pan, turn up heat to medium.
5. Drizzle a little oil (if needed) and add chopped eggplant and zucchini. Add eggs, seasonings, chopped almonds (around 10) bread crumbs and cheese.
6. In casserole dish, pour eggplant and onion mixture.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until firm on top.
(to save you time for upcoming meals, throw a bunch of veggies on a non stick pan (chopped) and toss in oil. Bake with the meatloaf so you have no excuses when it comes to having veggies for lunch or dinner, later in the week. I added some grilled eggplant and peppers to my meat loaf dish)
WOW - $11 goes a long way...and I'm not done with all my veggies!
After my workout and my typical recovery routine, Campy and I headed to the farmers market. With so many choices, I spent a whopping $11 on a rainbow of veggies.
Nearing mid afternoon, I was listening to my body and it was telling me that I was ready for a meal..or perhaps a hearty snack? Whichever it was, I created a flavorful farmer market dish with a few leftovers and items in my fridge.
In a large skillet, I sauteed onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and cooked leftover brown rice. I seasoned it with pepper, chili powder and cumin and mixed in a spoonful of ricotta cheese. I tossed in some spinach at the end. YUMMO!
For my next creation, I was inspired by a recipe in my latest Cooking Light Magazine. The pic of the
Vegetarian Meat Loaf caught my eye but no surprise, my creative mind did not follow the recipe. Perhaps my pics of the final product speak for themself as it looks nothing like what was in the picture.
HOWEVER - I let my taste buds and belly be the ultimate critics and with Karel and myself "Yumming" with every bite, the flavors were there and this dish turned out AMAZING!
I love being creative in the kitchen and I take pride in all my creations. Some creations are blog worthy and some, not-so-much. But I keep on cooking because it makes me incredibly happy to have Karel walk in after work and enjoy something homemade as we reflect on the day.
I thought about not sharing this creation as the pic doesn't speak for how amazing it tasted but if I can inspire just one person to get in the kitchen and try to make this meat loaf, well perhaps I have accomplished a lot.
Enjoy and embrace your food creativity!
1/2 large container mushrooms (Sliced)
1 medium onion (sliced)
3 cloves garlic
1 large bell pepper
1/2 large sweet pepper
1/2 Eggplant (large) - diced
1/2 Zucchini (large)- diced
Almonds (10) - chopped
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/8 cup parmesan cheese
Black pepper (2 tsp, sea salt (pinch of salt)
1 tsp spicy mustard
Olive oil
1. IN large skillet on low heat, drizzle oil and cook onions, garlic, mushrooms.
2. Broil peppers (cut in middle, seeds removed) for 10 minutes. When burnt on top, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Combine peppers and onion mixture in blender/food processor and pulse until well combined (Like sauce consistency).
4. Add to pan, turn up heat to medium.
5. Drizzle a little oil (if needed) and add chopped eggplant and zucchini. Add eggs, seasonings, chopped almonds (around 10) bread crumbs and cheese.
6. In casserole dish, pour eggplant and onion mixture.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until firm on top.
(to save you time for upcoming meals, throw a bunch of veggies on a non stick pan (chopped) and toss in oil. Bake with the meatloaf so you have no excuses when it comes to having veggies for lunch or dinner, later in the week. I added some grilled eggplant and peppers to my meat loaf dish)
WOW - $11 goes a long way...and I'm not done with all my veggies!