green beans Archives

Baked Cod with Warm Tomato Salad and Green Beans

Hello everyone. My name is Patty Anderson and I am the owner of the blog Cooking On A Budget. The blog focuses on families who work on a tight food budget showing them that they can provide good, wholesome meals to their families without having to rely on sodium or chemically laden canned or boxed products.

When I was approached to do a guest post using my Baked Cod with Warm Salad for Chef Hollie Greene of Joyfoodly I was honored and thrilled and eager to do it. Why? Because the focus is on eating healthy and passing onto our children the importance of a good balance of fruits and vegetables in our diets.

What is fabulous about this dish is that it is a French inspired preparation of a beautiful loin of cod that makes you feel like you are dining out in a fine restaurant but without the restaurant price! But that’s not all – cod is incredibly healthy for you too. A four ounce portion of cod is loaded with vitamin B12. You need vitamin B12 in your diet to keep homo-cysteine levels low. Lowering those levels reduces your risk for heart attack or stroke and reduces the likelihood of osteoporosis. Overall it’s low calorie and a great source of protein. It has blood thinning properties due to the omega-3 fatty acids.

When planning your evening meals you need to know that a four ounce portion of a protein is sufficient in addition to your vegetables and/or fruit. With the cod I chose to do a warm tomato salad that contains fresh herbs. It’s not hot tomatoes – just slightly warm and it complemented the sauce for the fish and the acidity in the tomatoes as well as the lemon, was perfect to balance that out.

Rice goes well with fish so I made my basic rice recipe and for the vegetable, green beans. I’ve been on such a green bean kick lately and can’t seem to get enough of them. It just so happens that green beans are a featured summer vegetable here on Joyfoodly and personally I could not have been any happier to hear that. Many times in my blog I strongly suggest to my readers that whether it’s a small piece of land available to them or using containers on a balcony, that they utilize the space for summer gardening of vegetables. You can save so much money by planting your own vegetables and even more if you learn to can and how to freeze them.

Green beans – fresh green beans are just delicious and low in calories. Plus green beans are packed with Vitamins C and K and lots of nutrients your body needs. If I am not roasting a vegetable and using the stove top, here is what I do:

Using an appropriate sized sauce pot, fill with enough water to cover the green beans (or what ever vegetable you are having) which means you fill the pot about half to three quarters of the way with the water.

Let the water come up to a rapid boil and then add in salt.

Drop in your vegetable and cooked until crisp tender. Everyone’s version of crisp tender varies so I preferred my beans cooked at 5 minutes, but husband likes his gone a little further. In the case of varying likes you could have a strainer ready over another pot and using a spider or slotted spoon remove the beans at 5 minutes for yourself and cook a few minutes longer for other family members.

Let’s move on to the recipe:

Purchase two large cod loins and split them in half for four portions. I am using cherry tomatoes as that is what I have. However if you wish, purchase some other kind of tomato to use in the tomato salad. Heirloom if you love them and can afford them or regular larger tomatoes will work just as well.

2 large cod loins – cut in half for 4 portions
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. butter
1 – 2 tbsp. (gluten-free) bread crumbs
1/2 cup white wine
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lemon – juiced
3 cloves garlic
1 pint cherry tomatoes – halved
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh parsley – rough chopped
1 good squeeze lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

This link will take you to my blog, Cooking On A Budget for the cooking instructions.

Tomato Lover’s Pasta Salad

Jul 21 by Chef Hollie Greene 1 Comment

I used to be perplexed by tomatillos. I loved eating them in restaurant dishes, but I’d never taken the plunge to explore them in my own kitchen. When it comes down to it, even chefs can get into a cooking rut. But that all changed this summer, when I decided to put tomatillos on my Joyful 12 lineup of nine veggies I’d be exploring with families in my kitchen learning lab. If I was going to teach families how to love cooking with tomatillos, then I’d learn alongside them.

Tomatillos are just another variety of tomato. They are a green tomato variety that hails from Central America. Since I already loved all types of summer tomatoes, I approached my exploration of tomatillos with the expectation that I’d love them, too. And boy did I ever! Tomatillos have a beautiful flavor, with a balance of delicate acid and brightness that I adore. What’s even more exciting is that in just ten minutes under the broiler, their natural flavors explode, turning a simple green tomato into a flavor powerhouse.

So if you’re looking for an amazing Meatless Monday dish to cook for your family tonight, or just want to bring a side dish to your summer picnic that everyone will adore, I’ve got three great reasons why you should put this Tomato Lover’s Pasta Salad into your summer rotation:

It’s packed full of summer veggies: tomatoes, corn, green beans, and even tomatillos.
It’s fast and easy: the corn and tomatoes are raw, requiring no cooking, and the green beans are blanched in the same cooking water as your pasta, requiring less clean-up of pots and pans.
The vinaigrette can be used in other dishes: the ingredients in my vinaigrette make up a simple recipe I use again and again, adjusting slightly when needed (adding a jalapeno, for example). It’s my base for making my Joyful 12 tomatillo recipes zip with brightness.

When it comes to simple summer meals or side dishes, we all want fast and easy methods we can rely on again and again. This summer, I’ve found my flavor friend in the kitchen, tomatillos. I hope you’ll learn to love them, too!

If you want to learn how to make more recipes with tomatillos, and our other eight vegetables we’re exploring this summer in the Joyful 12 learning lab, join us.

Tomato Lover's Pasta Salad

2014-07-18 15:57:46

Serves 4

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

55 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

55 min

Ingredients

tomatillos, medium sized, 4
garlic, 2 cloves
cilantro, 1 cup (packed)
onion (white), medium, 1/2
lime, 1
salt, 2.5 teaspoons (divided)
olive oil, 3 tablespoons
green beans, 2 large handfuls
corn on the cob, 1
cherry tomatoes (red, orange, or yellow), 1 pint
fusilli pasta, gluten free, 8 oz box

Instructions

Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
Wash all produce.
Turn on the broiler in your oven to high.
Bring eight cups of water and ½ tablespoon salt to a boil. You will use this water to blanch the green beans and then cook the pasta.

The next steps are for the vinaigrette

Remove the husks from the tomatillos, rinse under water to remove the sticky coating, and cut into halves. These will be broiled.
Peel the garlic and set aside.
Measure out 1 cup cilantro, packed.
Peel and cut the onion into two halves. Only ½ goes into the vinaigrette.
Juice and zest the lime.
Place garlic, onion, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil and 1.5 teaspoons salt in a blender. After you broil the tomatillos, you’ll add them and blend together.

For your pasta veggie prep

Cut the raw corn off the cob, in a large bowl, so the kernels don’t fall out everywhere.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves, or you can leave whole. Add to the bowl with corn.
Remove the woody stems and cut green beans into bite sized pieces. These will be blanched first before being added to the bowl with corn.
Set up an ice water bath (bowl with ice and water) next to the pot of boiling water.

Cook

Place cut tomatillos on a parchment or tin foil lined cookie sheet with raised sides, and broil for 10 minutes. When they are finished broiling, add them to the blender with the remaining vinaigrette ingredients and blend until smooth.
Place the green beans in the boiling salted water for two to three minutes. Then, shock in the ice water bath for about 30 seconds. Drain green beans and put into the bowl with the cut corn and tomatoes.
Bring the pasta water back up to a boil and cook the pasta, according to the package instructions (about 6-9 minutes for gluten free pasta).
When the pasta is ready, drain from cooking water and rinse. Add to the bowl of veggies.
Toss the blended tomatillo vinaigrette with pasta and veggies, plus 1 teaspoon salt.
Serve with extra cut up cilantro to garnish.

JoyFoodly http://www.joyfoodly.com/

How to Blanch Vegetables and Fruits

Jul 7 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

We all want to be able to throw together quick weeknight meals without the confines of a recipe. With a few simple cooking techniques, you can start to feel more confident in which veggies lend better to certain methods of cooking, such as sautéing, roasting, or blanching. And before you know it, you’ll have 2-3 go-to ways to make your veggies sing with flavor, any time of the year.

Blanching is a technique that is a cook’s friend when looking to make simple, quick meals and still retain the integrity of the vegetable being cooked. Have you ever tried to sauté a raw green bean or a head of broccoli? These glorious green veggies turn a sad color of brown with a sauté method for two reasons. First, they are a beautiful green color and sautéing helps develop a brown crust. Secondly, they are a more dense vegetable than say a zucchini or asparagus, and thus, can benefit from a quick cooking method like blanching (which also retains their green color) to help cook their insides quickly. Often, I’ll blanch one of these veggies first and then throw it into whatever I’m sautéing in the last few minutes of cooking to add extra flavor.

There are just a few things you need to know about blanching, and then it will it become an intuitive method you’ll find yourself using again and again. Watch this technique video and read more tips on blanching below:

What you need to blanch:

A medium to large pot that can hold 8-10 cups of water
Salt: ½ tablespoon per every 8 cups water
An ice bath: a bowl of water with some ice in it

How to blanch:

Bring salty water to a rapid boil
Place a vegetable or fruit in boiling water for 30 seconds, up to 3 minutes (depending on its density) to cook quickly or remove vegetable or fruit skins
Stop the cooking process by transferring cooked vegetable or fruit to an ice bath
Drain and dry before eating or continuing to cook in the next step of a recipe

Why blanch:

To cook a vegetable quickly, but still maintain its texture and color
To quickly remove the skins from a fruit or vegetable

Vegetables and fruits that lend well to blanching:

Tomatoes: to remove skins and to cook them slightly
Fruit: such as peaches, when you want to remove the peel quickly
Green beans: for a crunchy snack or before you sauté in an herbed butter
Tomatillos: before adding to a salsa or to make a quick pureed sauce to top fish or chicken
Broccoli: as an alternative to steaming or just before you add them to a veggie fried rice or pasta dish
Zucchini: when making stuffed zucchini boats, before they get stuffed and placed into the oven to bake
Fresh green peas: to maintain their color and texture before a quick sauté in mint and butter
Collard greens: before using them in a pesto or as a fun burrito wrapper

25 Minute Meal: Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Parsley Potatoes and Spicy Roasted Green Beans

Aug 15 by Chef Hollie Greene 2 Comments

This family meal is a surefire winner, playing off a kid favorite, chicken nuggets. In only twenty-five minutes, we’ve got some multitasking and time-saving tips to help you prepare this balanced family meal, without the guilt of serving processed foods to make your family happy. We deliver that crunchy, familiar chicken with a side of comforting buttery parsley potatoes and crispy, spicy roasted green beans using gluten free products and healthier cooking methods you’ll feel great about. Let’s get started!

The 25 minute break-down:

Here’s how you can multitask this recipe, cooking several things simultaneously to get it all ready and on the dinner table in 25 minutes.

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Summery Bright Yogurt-Curry Chicken

Jul 31 by Chef Hollie Greene Leave a Comment

After a long day of work, routines, and schedules, slide ever so gently into this one pot family meal that will leave you feeling comforted and nourished. We use the best colors, sweet flavors and textures of summer in this dish, but you can make it year-round substituting frozen peas and corn and your own fresh, favorite seasonal vegetables.

A plan ahead tip is to cook a big batch of brown rice on a Saturday or Sunday and use it throughout the week, whether with this curry or with a nice and quick bean and rice burrito or fun stir-fry. We also use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this dish, which cook quickly but have more flavor than a chicken breast. We like to leave the cherry tomatoes whole for ease of prep and for those family members who may want to easily dig them out! This dish is even more flavorful the next day as a snack, healthy lunch, or reheat meal. It will become a rotation favorite!

How to involve the kids:

Let your kids smell the curry powder before putting it into the pot; ask them if they can tell a difference between smelling the dry curry powder vs. when you start to heat it in the pan.
Have your kids help you measure out the ingredients and get them ready for you.
Get out a pair of clean scissors and have them cut the cilantro into small pieces, over a bowl. Remind them of safety with their fingers and the scissors.
Ask your child to help you stir in the yogurt one spoonful at a time.
As you put individual servings of the dish over brown rice, ask your child if they want to sprinkle some of the beautiful cilantro they just cut over the plate to make it pretty and taste great.

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