Fiesta Veggie Quesadillas

I recently made these after quite a long while of forgetting about the recipe. I don't know how I forgot because these quesadillas are so delicious! And they are such a good way to use up extra garden squash. So I thought I would re-post this recipe with an update and pictures.

Written in December, 2010:

Last night I had some big, beautiful summer squashes I needed to use (thanks to my last Bountiful Basket), but wanted a new recipe. So I did a search online and ended up combining two recipes from allrecipes.com. The result was so delicious! And the color combination was beautiful, with all that yellow, red, and green. The different flavors complement each other very well, yet the recipe is versatile so you can make it how you like it and mix and match different vegetables. What a wonderful way to get your veggies!

Fiesta Veggie Quesadillas

1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped zucchini (I used extra summer squash, since I didn't have zucchini)
1/2 c. chopped yellow (summer) squash
1/2 c. chopped red onion (I used green onions instead)
1/2 c. chopped mushrooms (I didn't have these, though I wished I did)
1 Tb. olive oil
6 9-inch whole wheat tortillas
1 1/4 c. shredded cheese of choice
1/2 c. salsa
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

In a large nonstick pan, cook vegetables in olive oil until just tender.

Add cumin and salt; mix well.

Meanwhile, lightly grease cookie sheet.

When vegetables are tender and tortillas warm, make quesadillas as follows:

Sprinkle 1/4 c. of cheese evenly over a tortilla, and layer 3/4 c. of vegetable mixture over cheese. Sprinkle another 1/8 c. of cheese over vegetables. Top with a second tortilla. Fill cookie sheet with quesadillas and place in 350 degree oven until cheese is melted and tortillas are slightly browned. Note: A faster option is setting the oven on broil. But only do this if you can closely monitor them, as they brown in only a minute or two. Then flip them over so the other sides can brown.

Cut each quesadilla into triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve hot, with salsa, cilantro, etc, as desired.

Note: I was afraid this recipe wouldn't make enough for our family, but it was plenty, since I filled my husband's and my quesadillas quite full (but not our children's). I served the quesadillas with a green salad and a gelatin salad (made with the blackberries from our Bountiful Basket). Very satisfying!

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

This recipe (which I barely modified) came from my cousin, Brandi. I don't know where she got it, but it's absolutely delectable! Everyone but my pickiest eater LOVED it, and my 2 year-old kept wanting more. I perfectly understood how he felt... :)

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

1/2 c. butter
1 chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. cubed carrots
1/2 lb. diced mushrooms (we had to omit these for the kids' sake, but I would love to use them)
1/2 c. bell pepper, chopped or cut in strips
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
6 c. chicken broth
2 c. cooked wild rice (brown rice would probably work great too)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. dried/fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. slivered almonds
3 Tb. dry sherry (or a non-alcoholic substitute--I used some white wine vinegar with a little raw sugar)
2 c. half-and-half (or whipping cream)

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, celery, and carrots and saute for 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms and bell pepper, saute for 2 more minutes.

Add flour and stir well.

Gradually pour in chicken broth, stirring constantly, until all has been added. Bring just to boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Add rice, chicken, salt, curry, mustard, parsley, pepper, almonds, and sherry. Simmer for 1-2 hours. (I just let it cook as long as it took me to prepare the rest of dinner and set the table, etc, which was about an hour.)

Pour in half-and half 15-20 minutes before serving and allow to heat thoroughly without boiling.

Note: Stir frequently because everything sticks to the bottom of the pan!

The Power of Urban Farming

"This video will inspire and reengage your conviction that urban farming may indeed be THE most important social and environmental movement of our time." (link)

Here are the top 5 reasons why:

Homemade Spinach (or Chard) Dip

This is a very popular recipe, which I am re-posting here as a Family Favorite, even though it's not liked by all the kids. I recently discovered that it can also be made with fresh chard from the garden, in place of spinach, if desired.

In 2011 I wrote:

Like a lot of people, I love the spinach dip that is made with an envelope of Knorr vegetable soup mix. But a few weeks ago I wasn't surprised, in checking the ingredients, to find monosodium glutamate listed (and not at the end). So, last week I determined to find a recipe to make it from scratch and see how it turned out. It didn't taste exactly like the Knorr mix variety (though the inclusion of MSG I consider cheating; who knows what it really tastes like), but it was quite tasty and we enjoyed it on raw vegetables, tortilla chips, and crackers. (I found the recipe at vivianskvetch.blogspot.com and then made a few modifications.)

SPINACH DIP FROM SCRATCH

1 c. sour cream
10 oz. spinach
1 c. mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced or put through press
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
1 c. red bell pepper, chopped
4 oz. water chestnuts, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste (I thought it needed at least double this amount)
Freshly-ground pepper to taste
dill weed, to taste
garlic salt, to taste

If you are using fresh spinach, tear off stems (unless it's baby spinach, in which case you can get away with leaving the stems on). Wash and leave some of the water on. Cook until wilted--a couple of minutes on stovetop. If you're using frozen spinach, thaw. Either way, squeeze out excess water and chop. (If using chard, wash, dice, and cook till soft, then cool.)

Mix sour cream and mayonnaise together in bowl. Add garlic, onion, red pepper, water chestnuts, and spices and mix well. Blend spinach into mixture. Chill for a couple of hours.

If you are using a bread bowl, prepare it just before serving so bread won't get soggy. Slice the top off and cut or scoop out inside, leaving walls of reasonable thickness, at least an inch or so. Spoon dip into hollowed-out bread. Cut up leftover bread (from the top and inside) to use for dipping.

If you're not using a bread bowl, serve dip in ordinary bowl with your choice of raw veggies, crackers, tortilla chips, etc.

Lawn Watering

I am a product of the desert, so water is precious to me and never to be taken for granted. It's one of those things I'm constantly trying not to waste--and trying to teach my children not to. Like my grandfather before me, on road trips I always notice where the trees are grouped together across the desert landscape, because I know that indicates an ancient stream bed or spring. The two years I lived in the upper midwest, I never got tired of seeing all the vegetation, the many colors of miraculous green, or experiencing all the rainfall.

I love green lawns as much most people do, but as one who values water for its scarcity and wants to use it wisely for environmental as well as budgeting reasons, I cringe (and sometimes quietly seethe) at the waste I see nearly everywhere I go in my state. Please don't waste our most precious resource, regardless of where you live!

1. Don't water in the heat of the day! "On a hot, windy day, the amount of water that never reaches your grass can be substantial. To reduce loss to evaporation, water sometime between 4 A.M. and 9 A.M., when the air is still cool and the wind is usually at its calmest." (link) For those who live in particularly hot summer climates (I now fit into this category), the above time suggestion should be moved back a few hours to, say, 2 A.M. to 7 A.M, since it gets so hot so early.

2. Make sure your sprinklers are watering your actual lawn, not the driveway, sidewalk, etc. I know this can be difficult, particularly without an automatic sprinkling system, and I haven't been perfect at it either, but I know a lot of water is wasted when this isn't monitored.

3. Know how much water your soil can absorb during watering. This is so important! Twelve years ago, when my parents first moved to the hot desert, my mom learned from a local master gardener that the soil here can only absorb 7 minutes' worth of watering. So for lawns here, it is actually best to water a couple times a day, for 7 minutes at a time. Therefore, my parents' sprinkling system is set to water a couple times in the early morning, a couple hours apart. Find out what soil type you have and how much water it can absorb, then water accordingly. This article teaches you how to figure this out, if you can't consult with a master gardener in your area.

Here are a few more pointers I found interesting in my research:

• Grass that is overwatered will often exhibit some of the same symptoms as grass that needs water. If you notice the symptoms but the soil is damp, hold off on watering.

• While deep watering will help your grass become more drought resistant, watering enough to moisten the soil below the root zone is unnecessary and wasteful, as the grass won't be able to access moisture deeper than its roots.
  

• Particularly in climates that are mild and wet in winter, consider having a "sleeping lawn." The following statistics may be motivating (I found them quite shocking): "The average lawn size in the U.S. is about 1/5 of an acre, or a little less than 9,000 square feet, and it takes at least 624 gallons of water to apply 1 inch of water on 1,000 square feet of lawn. It thus takes a total of more than 67,000 gallons to apply 1 inch of water per week to an average lawn for three months during one summer. Even if you only halve that amount by allowing your lawn to go dormant, you're still conserving a tremendous amount of water--enough water to supply a family of three's drinking water requirements for 61 years." (link) !!!

Honey-Glazed Chicken Stir Fry with Cashews

I made this the other night for the first time in way too long and everyone loved it! It really hit the spot: just the right amount of tangy and sweet, and so satisfying. Note to vegetarians: I think it would also be delicious without the chicken.

(Found in my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, p. 428. My modifications: substituting brown rice for white, and adding cashews.)

Another note: If you like your stir fry extra saucy, as I do, double the sauce portion of the recipe.

12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 Tb. honey
2 Tb. vinegar
2 Tb. orange juice
4 tsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tb. cooking oil
4 c. cut-up vegetables, such as broccoli, sweet pepper, onion and/or mushrooms
2 c. hot cooked brown rice
salted cashew halves

Cut chicken into bite-size chunks; set aside.

For sauce, in small bowl stir together honey, vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, and cornstarch; set aside.

Pour oil into wok or large skillet. (If necessary, add more oil during cooking.) Heat over medium-high heat. Add vegetables to wok; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove vegetable from wok.

Add chicken; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Push chicken from center of wok. Stir sauce; add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Return cooked vegetable to wok. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until heated through. Serve over brown rice. Sprinkle cashews over top, if desired. (We love it this way!)