Southern Dinner

I grew up in the south, Arkansas to be specific, and I have many fond memories of my grandmother's southern meals. Yesterday I had the hankering for a southern style dinner so I decided to make some of my favorite dishes from childhood. This was partly inspired by a trip to the market "Robert is Here" that me and my partner biked to this weekend, where I bought pole beans and summer squash. Pole beans are a particular variety of green bean, they are flatter and longer and they have a different flavor altogether than regular green beans - in short they are awesome. The squash was also amazing because it had actually been picked at the right size instead of being allowed to grow to mammoth-like proportions. The reason this is important is that smaller squash are more tender and have a sweeter flavor, also the seeds are smaller and softer. Anyway, since I had those two foods on hand I decided to make fried squash, pole beans with bacon, meatloaf, and drop biscuits.

The recipes are all below.

Cheddar Turkey Meatloaf (adapted from a Taste of Home recipe)
2 lb Ground Turkey
1 Onion chopped
1 cup Milk
1 1/4 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Eggs
1 cup Raw Oats
1 teaspoons Salt
2/3 cup Ketchup
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Dry Mustard
Mix ground turkey, onion, cheddar cheese, oats, and salt together and then add in the eggs and salt until well mixed.

raw ingredients

Form into 8 little mounds on a large cookie sheet.

raw meat mounds - yum!

Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and dry mustard together and put a spoonful onto each meatloaf mound. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Pole Beans with Bacon
Rinse a off large mess of pole beans (a pound or more) and clip off ends. Snap in half and put into a medium saucepan. Fill partway with water (but don't cover the beans because they will cook down). Put about 1 teaspoon of salt and a half a piece of bacon in the pot. Boil on medium for about 15 minutes or until beans are soft.

Drop Biscuits (from Cooks Illustrated)
2 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Cold Buttermilk
8 tablespoons Butter melted
In a measuring bowl combine dry ingredients and set aside. Melt butter in a pyrex measuring cup and set aside to cool briefly (about 5 minutes) then pour in the buttermilk and mix until the butter forms small clumps (the butter is hardening because it is getting cold again from the buttermilk). Pour buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until well incorporated. Dough should be slightly sticky and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto a 15x10 cookie sheet and bake at 475 for about 10-12 minutes until just starting to brown on the top.

Fried Squash
4 or more Summer Squash sliced
1 cup Cornmeal
2 teaspoons Salt
Pepper to taste
Put cornmeal and salt into a quart sized ziplock bag and shake to mix then put in the sliced squash and shake again until the squash are coated in the cornmeal.

Squash in the bag with cornmeal

Heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) to medium-high and put in a little oil. Put in slices of squash (only one layer thick) and fry the squash on both sides until browned (should take a couple of minutes on each side). Repeat with the rest of the squash. Serve.

Fresh Green Bean Tomato Curry

I was at the grocery store the other day and green beans, squash, and zucchini were all on sale. I took that as a sign that I should combine all of those delicious veggies into a dish and came up with this simple curry which you could serve as a side dish or as a meal if you made some rice or naan bread. I based this off of a tamatar aloo recipe I remembered making years ago that called for lemon juice because I thought that the citrus of the lemon would compliment the green beans. I was right, this turned out pleasantly spicy with a hint of citrus for an extra bite. 

This is also a vegan recipe so it is great to serve is you are trying out meatless cooking or if you have been vegan/vegetarian for a while. 

Enjoy cooking! 

Fresh Green Bean Tomato Curry

1 ½ -2 cups Fresh Green Beans

1 15 oz. can Diced Tomatoes

2 medium Zucchini diced

2-3 medium Summer Squash sliced

1 Onion cut into strips

2 tabl. Pav Bhaji Masala (spice blended for vegetables. You can substitute another curry/masala if you wish)

1 ½ teas. Turmeric

This is what the spice blend I used looked like

2-3 tabl. Lemon Juice

Salt to taste

Olive Oil

Saute the zucchini and squash together on high heat with some of the masala spice until they are just starting to brown and soften, then set aside (about 5-7 minutes). Saute onions and green beans together with the rest of the masala and the turmeric until onions start to turn transparent, then add in the tomatoes and the zucchini/squash with the lemon juice and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are as soft as you would like them to be. Serve with bread or rice as an accompaniment. 

Squash, Zucchini, and Chicken Saute

I made this simple saute a few days ago. It is great as is but it can also be served over pasta or rice. If you do that I would recommend adding in a little white wine or broth so that there is some sauce to coat the pasta or rice. Tonight I am making a new roasted veggie and sausage pasta sauce. Will post once I see how it turns out!

Happy cooking!

Squash, Zucchini, and Chicken Sauté

2 Yellow Squash diced

2 Zucchini sliced

2 Bell Peppers diced

3-4 Chicken Breasts chopped

½ Onion diced

3 tabl. Garlic minced

2 teas. Basil

2 teas. Tarragon

½ teas. Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Sauté onions, garlic, and chicken until chicken is browned and cooked through. Add in bell peppers, zucchini, squash, and spices and sauté until squash and zucchini are soft. Serve over pasta if desired. 

Sautéed Vegetable Pasta Sauce with Ground Turkey

Some of the fresh veggies I used 

I started messing around with creating a pasta sauce that was more veggie intensive a few months ago and came up with this. It is now one of my most favorite dishes. It is super healthy, delicious, and makes a large batch ideal for freezing. You could easily make this completely vegetarian by omitting the ground turkey and using more veggies. Also, if you don't have one of the vegetables listed you can substitute another that you think would go well in a pasta sauce. The last time I made this I had some extra portabella mushrooms lying around so I added them in along with everything else. 

Happy cooking!

Sautéed Vegetable Turkey Pasta Sauce

1 Zucchini sliced

1 Summer Squash sliced

1 Eggplant sliced and quartered and peeled*

1 Onion diced

2 Tomatoes diced (optional)

2 Red Bell Peppers diced

16 oz Ground Turkey

1 ½ - 2 Jars pre-made Tomato based pasta sauce (preferably low salt and sugar)**

3-4 Generous Squirts Sriracha Chili Sauce

1 ½ tbl. Tarragon

1 ½ tbl. Basil

2 teas. Oregano

Olive Oil

Salt to taste

Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Whole Wheat Pasta cooked according to package directions

Put spices and pre-made pasta sauce into a large pot and begin to heat on low. Then brown onions and ground turkey and put it in the sauce. Roast eggplant at 450 for 20 minutes and add to sauce. Saute the zucchinin, squash, and red bell peppers together until they start to soften and brown/caramelize and then add them to the pot. Add diced tomatoes to the pot and put in Siriachi chili sauce until food reaches desired spiciness. Cook until tomatoes have softened or the sauces flavors has melded (about 30-60 minutes) and serve over whole wheat pasta.

** May substitute plain tomato sauce but if you do I recommend adding extra spices 

* You may substitute more zucchini or squash instead of using eggplant if you wish

Easy Roasted Vegetables

The vegetables before they went into the oven

These vegetables go with everything and I probably make them at least once a week. My boyfriend loves these veggies and will eat an entire tray of them if I allow it. This is such a simple and healthy recipe - two qualities in recipes that I always enjoy seeing paired up.

Easy Roasted Vegetables

2 Summer Squash thickly sliced

2-3 Zucchini thickly sliced

Lowry’s Seasoning

Cracked pepper

Olive oil

Toss summer squash and zucchini with olive oil and seasoning to taste. Lay vegetables out in a single layer on a large cookie sheet (10x15) and bake at 430 for 20 minutes turning once (or until slightly crispy and browned on edges).