One of the greatest joys for a keeper of the home, is the pleasure of preparing and serving meals in a beautiful way. Especially meals that you have grown, cultivated and harvested from your own backyard. There is nothing healthier or more inexpensive than that! Such were many of our supper meals of late. It's HARVEST TIME! The bounty is beautiful and free of chemicals and residue which accompany most, if not all, store bought produce. Home grown vegetables are convenient as well. Just outside your back door can lay a wealth of health and pure satisfaction! Its an abundance that can bring pleasure all winter long! Just the color alone, that fresh vegetables provide, is a feast for the eyes!
A lot of women these days look at a raw vegetable in hand and wonder, "What do I do with this?" I'd like to help you envision what you could do with summer's blessings. The picture above is a meal I serve my husband often during harvest time.
We do not eat meat every day of the week. It is good for the body to skip a day of meat eating once in a while. It takes more energy to digest meat and believe it or not----- you CAN fill a family up on vegetables. Add some nutritious whole wheat bread, rolls or muffins, and you have yourself a wonderful, healthy and quick supper.
Healthy Meal Plan
Fried Zucchini
Wash and cut the ends off enough zucchinis to feed your family. For my family, I used 3 medium.
(I never use the ones that got forgotten under a vine and grew to mammoth size for frying in this recipe. It makes the slices to wide and hard to flip and turn.)
~ You may use olive oil or butter in the bottom of a fry pan. About a 1/2 cup or 1/2 stick.
Do not over heat your olive oil in the beginning stage. I start out on medium.
~ To the heating oil or butter, slice or dice up half of 1 med. to large yellow onion.
~ Now the layering process starts. Slice your zucchini in 1/4" slices to fill the bottom of your large fry pan. Lay on top of the sliced onion. Continue to cook as you go.
-Sprinkle a bit of salt (to taste) over this layer of zucchini
-Sprinkle the same amount (to your taste) of Garlic Pepper Blend over this layer of zucchini. I love a LOT!
-Sprinkle the same amount (to your taste) of Mrs. Dash (table blend) over this layer. (Not as much of this)
-Now sprinkle liberally, corn meal over this layer.
-Slice more onions on top.
-Slice another layer of zucchini
-Repeat the spices/seasonings and corn meal.
~As the mixture is cooking, turn the whole mixture. Be sure that you continue to add any oil or butter to the mixture. This keeps it moist. Here is a little secret to provide extra moisture without adding more butter or oil: Put a lid lid on the pan for a few minutes at a time, here and there, in the cooking process to hold the natural moisture in. Don't leave the lid on too long because your zucchini will become soggy in the cooking process.
~You want this yummy dish to be tender and slightly crisp. Serve immediately with a serving fork.
Fresh Tomatoes & Cucumbers
~Wash and slice your tomatoes after cutting out the core.
~Arrange in a decorative manner on a pretty plate.
~Wash and cut ends off of fresh cucs. I do not peel fresh cucumbers because their skins are full of fiber and hold no chemical residue. The cucumbers you buy in a store in winter should be peeled because they are usually waxed to increase storage life and the chemicals that were used in the growing process are also preserved well in that skin.
~Arrange in a decorative manner around the tomatoes.
~Lightly sprinkle with salt and ground pepper.
~Sprinkle crumpled feta cheese on top of tomatoes. (optional)
Steamed Corn
~Select ripe corn, wash and boil briefly in a water bath. It doesn't take long to ready corn on the cob.
~Serve and enjoy with butter and seasonings of your choice.
Garden Salad
Freshly picked garden lettuce should be washed in cold water, drained or spun dry and then allowed to crisp up in a Ziploc bag or Tupperware. I always store all fresh lettuce, spinach leaves, garden mix, parsley and cilantro leaves with a paper towel. It helps keep your produce fresh longer by absorbing any moisture that naturally comes from the leaves. This reduces spoilage and keeps these kinds of leaves crisp longer.
Sheryl's Salad
Any romaine or garden leaf lettuce
Fresh spinach leaves
In winter: Fresh, organic spring mix from the store
1/2 -3/4 cup chopped parsley leaves (to your taste...we like a lot)
1/2- 2/3 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
Right before serving, drop grape or cherry tomatoes on to salad to add color
Sprinkle freshly grated (real) Parmesan cheese on top. (optional)
Serve with your favorite (healthy) dressing. I'll share my favorite recipe at a later time.
A lot of women these days look at a raw vegetable in hand and wonder, "What do I do with this?" I'd like to help you envision what you could do with summer's blessings. The picture above is a meal I serve my husband often during harvest time.
We do not eat meat every day of the week. It is good for the body to skip a day of meat eating once in a while. It takes more energy to digest meat and believe it or not----- you CAN fill a family up on vegetables. Add some nutritious whole wheat bread, rolls or muffins, and you have yourself a wonderful, healthy and quick supper.
Wash and cut the ends off enough zucchinis to feed your family. For my family, I used 3 medium.
(I never use the ones that got forgotten under a vine and grew to mammoth size for frying in this recipe. It makes the slices to wide and hard to flip and turn.)
~ You may use olive oil or butter in the bottom of a fry pan. About a 1/2 cup or 1/2 stick.
Do not over heat your olive oil in the beginning stage. I start out on medium.
~ To the heating oil or butter, slice or dice up half of 1 med. to large yellow onion.
~ Now the layering process starts. Slice your zucchini in 1/4" slices to fill the bottom of your large fry pan. Lay on top of the sliced onion. Continue to cook as you go.
-Sprinkle a bit of salt (to taste) over this layer of zucchini
-Sprinkle the same amount (to your taste) of Garlic Pepper Blend over this layer of zucchini. I love a LOT!
-Sprinkle the same amount (to your taste) of Mrs. Dash (table blend) over this layer. (Not as much of this)
-Now sprinkle liberally, corn meal over this layer.
-Slice more onions on top.
-Slice another layer of zucchini
-Repeat the spices/seasonings and corn meal.
~As the mixture is cooking, turn the whole mixture. Be sure that you continue to add any oil or butter to the mixture. This keeps it moist. Here is a little secret to provide extra moisture without adding more butter or oil: Put a lid lid on the pan for a few minutes at a time, here and there, in the cooking process to hold the natural moisture in. Don't leave the lid on too long because your zucchini will become soggy in the cooking process.
~You want this yummy dish to be tender and slightly crisp. Serve immediately with a serving fork.
Fresh Tomatoes & Cucumbers
~Wash and slice your tomatoes after cutting out the core.
~Arrange in a decorative manner on a pretty plate.
~Wash and cut ends off of fresh cucs. I do not peel fresh cucumbers because their skins are full of fiber and hold no chemical residue. The cucumbers you buy in a store in winter should be peeled because they are usually waxed to increase storage life and the chemicals that were used in the growing process are also preserved well in that skin.
~Arrange in a decorative manner around the tomatoes.
~Lightly sprinkle with salt and ground pepper.
~Sprinkle crumpled feta cheese on top of tomatoes. (optional)
Steamed Corn
~Select ripe corn, wash and boil briefly in a water bath. It doesn't take long to ready corn on the cob.
~Serve and enjoy with butter and seasonings of your choice.
Garden Salad
Freshly picked garden lettuce should be washed in cold water, drained or spun dry and then allowed to crisp up in a Ziploc bag or Tupperware. I always store all fresh lettuce, spinach leaves, garden mix, parsley and cilantro leaves with a paper towel. It helps keep your produce fresh longer by absorbing any moisture that naturally comes from the leaves. This reduces spoilage and keeps these kinds of leaves crisp longer.
Sheryl's Salad
Any romaine or garden leaf lettuce
Fresh spinach leaves
In winter: Fresh, organic spring mix from the store
1/2 -3/4 cup chopped parsley leaves (to your taste...we like a lot)
1/2- 2/3 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
Right before serving, drop grape or cherry tomatoes on to salad to add color
Sprinkle freshly grated (real) Parmesan cheese on top. (optional)
Serve with your favorite (healthy) dressing. I'll share my favorite recipe at a later time.
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