Category Archives: Dose of Veggies

Dose of Veggies, Mexican, Soup

Say it with me now – Al-bon-digas

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Ivette, my co-worker/bestie/fellow blogger is from originally from Mexico and my go-to source for all things “authentic” Mexico. So when I told her I had proudly made albon-digas (insert thick Texas accent here) she goes “No Emily it’s al-bone-digas!” So even though I can’t say it correctly, Cooking Light sure knows how to make this traditional Mexican meatball and vegetable soup and it’s good for you too!

As one of the finalist in the “Family Dinners” category in the magazine’s Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest, Emily Almaguer’s Hidden Rainbow Albondigas recipe is all sorts of vegetable, brothy, good-for-you goodness. This recipe is chock-full of red and green bell peppers, tomatoes, squash, carrots and onions, and I appreciated the fact that her kids do not like chunky vegetables so she pureed them for a smoother texture. I sometimes feel the same way about soups and I’m not even a kid!

Since things are pureed you can imagine that this might be a smidge more labor intensive than just chunking everything in a pot and letting it simmer. But I didn’t mind since it proved better for my texture preferences and it was a Sunday afternoon so I had some time on my hands. Also, what turned out amazingly well were the meatballs. Putting the meatball ingredients into the food processor made it so easy to scoop them out and place in the broth mixture.

Warning, this makes a lot of soup! I had enough for the rest of the week and shared with my coworkers Allison and Ivette. This is definitely a recipe I will make again. Al-bone-digas!

Dose of Veggies, Eggs, Pork-a-licious

Everyday with Rachael Ray Greens with Eggs and Ham Recipe

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It’s kind of been an Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine week in our house. You will find these kinds of “weeks” occur often since obviously I get so excited to cook new recipes when magazines hit the stands that I can’t contain myself.  I made this recipe of Greens with Eggs and Ham recipe  and boy did I choose wisely…I took one bite of this salad and loved the flavors. This is my first time cooking with escarole and will definitely seek it out in the future. It is mild in flavor but still very distinct and held up to the rest of the items on the plate. I know many who do not like anchovies but I don’t seem to mind them since they tend to disappear into whatever they are cooked in and provide a wonderful bite and salty flavor as they did with this dish. The crispy prosciutto was the perfect salty/crispy complement to round out the salad and I also have a thing for ooey, gooey eggs running on my plate. On the weekends we make a wonderful fried egg sandwich – recipe to come soon – that definitely has a great runny yolk factor and is one of my absolute favorite things to eat. I digress, overall this dish of Greens with Eggs and Ham was a lemony, crispy, salty, eggy array of goodness that I will make again and again.
I say 8.5 out of 10 people!
Dose of Veggies, Seafood

Crab Cakes and Cooking Light

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The weather is getting a little warmer here in Austin and I have to say after all this rich comfort food craze that’s been going on I felt like something a little lighter and spring-ish. My first thought was a delicious crispy crab cake and what better source to turn to than Cooking Light for something light and more nutritionally sound for you? For the record, I love Cooking Light, when a new issue arrives I spend at least an hour on my couch with some tea thumbing through it lovingly and marking recipe after recipe to try.

This lovely Crab Cakes with Roasted Vegetables and Tangy Butter Sauce recipe was on the cover in the spring last year and it does not disappoint. What I love about Cooking Light is that even when you follow their recipes exactly you do not miss any of the flavor or fat in the dish, sure it’s a little more measuring and pairing back on fats, salt etc but I do not mind or miss it.

When I first saw this recipe I thought it was a bit much for a weeknight meal but actually it all worked out pretty quickly. While the crab cake mixture chills/melds in the fridge you can easily get your veggies ready to roast and the sauce takes four minutes on the stove! I followed the recipe exactly as said and the crab cakes were crispy and golden, the vegetables were roasted perfectly and the sauce is amazing and tangy and buttery. I did add sliced red bell peppers when I put the haricot verts in just for good nutrient measure.

I do have one note here and I’m saying this from personal experience, please, please use the good, and yes a little more expensive, real crab meat, you cannot substitute with imitation crab. I did this one time because I was trying to save a few dollars and it was a real untasty disaster.

On a scale of 1 – 10, I would give this recipe a 7.5.

Enjoy!