This is a favorite of ours…I found the recipe at Whole Foods’ web site and have made it several times. Takes a little prep time, then time in the oven (to bake the pie crust). It’s very filling and nutritious with all the veggies used!

Ingredients include:
(Make sure you buy organic!!!)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup canned soybeans
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup sweet corn (from about 1 large ear)
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (which I didn’t use because they didn’t have an organic one at the store…)
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 2 frozen prepared pie crusts, thawed (I used an organic whole wheat crust.)
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used shredded mild chedder cheese for this pie.)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add soybeans, carrots, onions, corn, broccoli, bell peppers, and spinach and cook until tender-crisp. Add garlic, nutmeg, salt, pepper and pecans and cook for 5 minutes, or until the flavors blend. Set vegetable mixture aside.

Line a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with one of the prepared crusts. Layer the vegetables with the cheese in the pan, beginning with the cheese and ending with the vegetables. Top with remaining crust, seal edges with a fork and trim off excess pie dough. With a sharp knife, poke vent holes in the top of the crust. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown. Set aside for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

This lasts us each for 2 dinner nights and lunch the next day.

ALSO…although there were plenty of vegetables served within this dish, I still had a hankering for a side of…

Steamed Kale

I used (for 2 servings):
• 2 stems of kale (chopped)
• Mediterranean dressing
— Extra virgin olive oil
— lemon juice
— 1 clove of garlic minced
— salt and pepper

Prepare your steamer pot. Steam the kale for no more than 5 minutes. (Do not overcook!)
Toss with the Mediterranean dressing and enjoy!

On Sunday, August 30, for dinner, my husband and I cooked up some broiled salmon with a side of mashed garlic potatoes and a Mediterranean Medley of Veggies. This was my first time EVER making mashed potatoes, and they turned out to be SO GOOD.

I shall start with the sides…

(Note: We used a lot of garlic in this meal, so I should tell you a little tidbit about garlic. After you slice, chop, mince or press your garlic, you should let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before eating or cooking. Click here to see how to Bring Out the Health Benefits of Garlic.)

Mediterranean Medley
• 2 cups of Broccoli florets cut into quarters
• 2 cups chopped curly kale
• 1 medium carrot
(Mediterranean dressing which includes…)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Healthy steam your veggies! (This is a gentle way to prepare your veggies to enhance their flavor, bring out their color, make them tender and preserves most of its ingredients.) Bring steaming water to a boil in your steamer pot. Add Broccoli, kale and carrots, cover and steam for 5 minutes…adding the garlic to veggies for the last 2 minutes of steaming. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients while veggies are still hot. They give you the amounts for the dressing, but I wing it….do what you want to what you like!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• 2 medium-sized potatoes
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves of pressed garlic
• 3 TBS soy or low-fat milk
• sea salt and pepper to taste

First you want to ‘Healthy Steam” your potatoes. (While most will want to boil their potatoes, you probably shouldn’t as that will make them become watery and lose some of their flavor. Healthy steaming will enhance their flavor and preserve most of the nutrients.) Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes using peeled potatoes. (For non-mashed potatoes, you can leave the skin on though ) Once the steamer pot is ready, steam the potatoes for 10 minutes. (Potatoes are done when you can easily penetrate with a fork.) Mash together with the rest of the ingredients.

What made these interesting, is that we have been using vanilla soy milk with our cereal in the morning, and that’s all we had…so we had hints of vanilla flavoring in these potatoes. Pretty darn good!!! Especially for my first mashed potatoes!

And finally…

The  “Quick Broiled” Salmon
• 1 lb Salmon fillet, cut in half
• 2 tsp + 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium clove garlic

Preheat the broiler on high and place an all stainless steel skillet (handle stainless steel too!) under the heat for about 10 minutes until it gets very hot. The pan should be 5 to 7 inches from the heat source. While pan is heating chop up your garlic and let it sit. Rub your salmon with the 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. (Note: you can leave the skin on, as after you broil it, the skin should peep right off.) Using a hot pad, pull pan from heat source and place Salmon on hot pan, skin side down. Return to broiler. Should take about 7 minutes, depending on thickness. Test with a fork for done-ness, as it will flake easily when it is cooked. Tis best with it’s still pink inside. Dress with the olive oil, 1 TBS lemon juice, garlic and salt/pepper to taste.