Monday, August 22, 2011

Back to the Grind...with zucchini

Today was the first day all three of my children were at school. 

My children go to a Montessori school and there is a schedule in which they gradually get all of the kids back into school (I think this is to ease the burden on the teachers just as much as the kids). 

So in honor of their getting back to the grind I snapped these photos this morning to capture the joy (or possibly lack there of as witnessed by my 4 year olds face):



From the grind at school to the grind(er) I made this weekend, first a little background to the recipe:

My husband and I are a great team when it comes to deciding what to eat each week.

We make out a menu, and if all goes to plan we stick to it.

The focus of our meals can be found in our weekly bag from our CSA from Faucette Farms.

This week our bag was full of yummies please indulge me a few photos to share the source of inspiration



Supplemented by our own small bounty of tomatoes from our garden


Yes that is a very BRIGHT red!

This week my intention is to show you how I used the CSA to make our meals, which in turn saves us money.

Our first dish was zucchini grinders.  As a mostly non-meat eating family this is a great choice for a hearty meatless sandwich.

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 medium zucchini
2 medium squash
1 C chopped mushrooms
1 yellow bell pepper
onion slices
1 baguette
mozzarella cheese

Chop the zucchini, squash, pepper, and mushrooms and added them to a skillet where they can be sauteed with the black beans in Earth Balance until they are tender and browned at the edges.


While the veggies are browning, toast the baguette opened faced in the over (we chose to broil for about 2-3 minutes).

Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese on top of the bread. 

Top your cheese with your veggie mixture (we had leftover veggies from this which in turn were used in tomorrow's delish dish).


Spoon marinara, or Kitchen Sink Sauce, on top of the veggies.  If you are using the Kitchen Sink Sauce you'll need to sprinkle a little seasoning, I recommend Italian, to give the sandwich extra punch.


Followed by another layer of mozzarella cheese.


Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted and gooey.

The sandwich is delicious and filling.  It provided 3 servings for us.

I mentioned this week I would be showing you the ways I use my CSA to create meals this week.  I want to do it to show that you can eat healthy (our CSA is organic) and not spend a ton of money.  For $21.00 a week we get our CSA share.

This will be my first attempt to show people that eating healthy and having a healthier lifestyle doesn't have to be expensive.  There are ways to make it work and to make a healthier you in return. 

Stay tuned this week for some delicious veggie recipes and of course a dessert (or maybe two).

Also I will have a giveaway that I am starting on Friday...so be sure to check it out.

If you have questions please send me an e-mail through my "Contact Me" page.  I love to hear from you all!!
 

5 comments:

  1. Awww, how cute! Happy school days. I love this recipe. Looks wonderful!

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  2. I am jealous of your CSA loot - the one year I joined mine it was $30 a week, and for the first six weeks all I got was carrot "bites" and kohlrabi - no matter how much I tried I could not find a recipe I liked using kohlrabi!

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  3. Your kids are adorable, Rachel! Yum, I love zucchini!

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  4. Looks yummy! And you know I think those kids are CUTE!

    Love always,
    Mom

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