Couscous with Lentils, Tomato and Basil
You Need:
- 2 tablespoons of sauteing liquid
- 1 cup of brown lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup of whole wheat couscous
- 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
- 1 and 1/2 cups of water
- 1 cup of "vegetable-cocktail juice" (V8 with a little Picante sauce works)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
1. Saute the chopped onion in a liquid of your choice for 2-3 minutes or until tender
2. Stir in the water, juice, and lentils, and add the bay leaf
3. Bring to a boil, the reduce the heat to low
4. Cover, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the lentils are soft but not mushy
5. Remove the pan from the heat and throw out the bay leaf
6. Stir in the couscous, tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan
7. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until the couscous is soft
8. Uncover and fluff with a fork to separate the grains
Tomato Basil Drop Biscuits
You Need:
- 1/2 a cup of finely chopped onion
- 1 clove of chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 3/4 cup of finely diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1/4 tablespoon pepper
- 1/3 cup of shortening
- 2/3 cup of milk
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven 425°F
2. Saute the chopped onion in the olive oil until tender, about 7 minutes
3. Add the clove of chopped garlic and the diced tomatoes
4. Cook for one more minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the basil and oregano
5. Cool slightly
6. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl
7. Cut in the shortening until mixture resembles crumbs
8. Stir in milk and tomato mix to make a sticky mixture
9. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet
10. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown
11. Cool on a wire rack
Cucumber Tomato Salad
You Need:
- 2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 2 small red onions, sliced thinly
- Balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp of basil
- 1/2 tsp of thyme
- 1/2 tsp of parsley
Tomato and Zucchini Soup
You Need:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 zucchini, trimmed and coarsely shredded
for garnish:
- 4 ice cubes
- 3 tablespoons plain yougurt
- basil leaves
Directions:
Heat oil in a saucepan, add the garlic, tomatoes, and tomato paste and cook over gentle heat 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and stock; add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Puree in a blender or food processor until fairly smooth. Let cool. Stir zucchini into the soup; cover and chill 4 hours or overnight. Just before serving, place an ice cube in each of the four chilled bowls. Pour in the soup, add a swirl of yougurt and garnish with basil leaves. Four servings.
Gazpacho
You Need:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 6-7 tomatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 onion coarsely chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
- 2-3 cups tomato juice
- cilantro, salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Coarsely grate cucumber into a large bowl and add chopped green pepper.
2. Process tomatoes, onion and garlic in a food processor or blender, then add oil, vinegar, lemon or lime juice and process until smooth.
3. Add tomato mixture to the bowl and mix well, then add tomato juice and mix again.
4. Season to taste, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly (six hours).
5. Serve with chopped green bell pepper and garlic croutons
Pasta Salad
You Need:
Dressing:
- 4 T extra virgin olive oil
- 6 T balsamic vinegar
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 t salt
- 1/2 t freshly ground pepper
- 1 T brown sugar
- 2 1/2 T country dijon prepared mustard
- 1/4 t garlic powder
Pasta:
12 oz spiral pasta, cooked, rinsed in cold water and drained.
Vegetables:
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 tomato, seeded, chopped
- 2 carrots, grated
Directions:
Pour dressing over pasta, add vegetables, garnish with feta cheese.
Vegetable Lasagna
You Need:
- 1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 12 oz. carton of 1% lowfat cottage cheese
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- 3/4 cup of minced onion
- 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 14 oz cans of no-salt tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 1/4 cup of minced fresh parsley
- 3/4 cup of burgundy or dry red wine
- 1/4 cup of tomato paste
- 2 tsp dried whole basil
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 6 lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 5 cups of thin sliced zucchini
- 1 1/4 cup (5 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp Parmesean cheese
Directions:
1. Press spinach between paper towels. Combine spinach, cottage cheese and egg in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Coat large sauce pan with oil. Over medium-high heat saute onion for three minutes, add mushrooms and garlic and saute two minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add tomatoes, parsley, burgundy, tomato paste, basil, oregano, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Stir well. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, uncovered. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Coat 12x8x2 pan with spray. Spoon 1/3 of tomato mixture into pan. Top with three lasagna noodles, 1/2 of spinach mixture and 1/2 of the zucchini. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.
4. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tomato mix. Cover and refrigerate for eight hours.
5. Bake covered at 350° for an hour and a half.
6. Uncover and sprinkle with rest of mozzarella and parmesean cheeses.
7. Let stand 5 min, then serve.
Summer Vege Casserole
You Need:
- zucchini slices
- tomato slices
- onion slices
- provolone cheese slices
- grated cheddar cheese
- chopped fresh chives
- salt and pepper
Directions:
Layer zucchini, tomato, onion and provolone cheese in casserole dish. Salt and pepper to taste; add chopped chives if desired. Sprinkle with cheddar. Bake, covered at 400° for 35-40 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer.
Please Note: I have collected these recipes from various sources, and haven't had the chance to try them all. - Emily McDonald