Glad recipe for Roasted Veggie Tacos with Avocado Cream caught my eye

If I weren’t writing a regular blog on cooking the country-fresh way, I totally wouldn’t have found myself trying this recipe for Roasted Veggie Tacos with Avocado Cream. I would have passed right by it. But I’m sure glad it caught my eye as a possible something to blog about. Hubby and I dined on these for dinner last night; they were superb.

A Kroger grocery flyer introduced this recipe to me. (More and more often I find these flyers to be great recipe sources.) Diced zucchini, mushrooms, red onions, corn, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and black beans—all tossed in seasoned oil—are roasted in a pan in the oven until the items are tender. This mixture, with feta cheese and fresh cilantro, is spread on a warmed flour tortilla. A delightful avocado cream sauce is the garnish.

When I say that the stuffing makes an abundant amount, I’ll borrow a term from my husband’s mother—“It makes thousands”, Grandmother used to say when she stirred up a goodly amount of something. The recipe on the flyer said the entrée served 6, but that would be six people having four or five tacos each. We had “thousands” of the stuffing left over for several more meals. I’m looking forward to it.

Roasted Veggie Tacos with Avocado Cream

3 small zucchini, diced

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 1/2 medium red onions, diced

1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed (I used 2 ears fresh corn)

3 medium red peppers, diced

2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

2 cans black beans, rinsed

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

4 1/2 teaspoons cumin

feta or goat cheese and freshly chopped cilantro, for topping

12-18 small corn or flour tortillas

Avocado cream:

2 large, ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and flesh removed

1 cup sour cream (I used fat-free)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine veggies, tomatoes, and black beans in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, garlic, salt, and cumin. Toss with veggie mixture to coat. Spread evenly in a large roasting pan (or two). Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until vegetables are cooked through and browned (about 20 minutes total). Meanwhile in a serving bowl mash avocado, sour cream, and lime juice until smooth. Stir in salt and cilantro to taste. To serve, warm tortillas and fill with veggies and avocado cream; top with cheese and cilantro. Refrigerate any leftovers. Serves 6. (Source: Kroger My Magazine flyer)

Roasted potato dish evokes memories of long-ago campfire cooking

It was part of my hubby's trousseau--a skillet-potato dish that he brought into the marriage with him. I learned to love it because of his mantra, "Love me; love my potatoes."

Actually the skillet-potato dish was something that usually was cooked on the grill at his family's campouts. Since I had never been on a campout until I married Hubby, this was certainly not something in my radar screen. It featured cut-up potatoes and onions and "a little bit of outdoor dirt", the joke always was, to make it taste like something cooked around campfire should taste.

This new recipe, which took the last of our garden tomatoes, was all about the indoors (although I imagine it could be adapted to an outdoor cookstove as well). Furnished by my handy booklet, "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest" by the Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services, it was designed to be oven-cooked on a cookie sheet (be sure to oil the cookie sheet well or line the sheet with foil and then spray it. I managed to lose a cookie sheet in preparing this because I had not prepared the sheet properly; the food baked on so severely that it wouldn't scrub off during cleanup.)

"Roasted Potato Medley" featured a mixture of potatoes, onions, tomato, carrots, and zucchini. Other than chopping up the vegetables, this has effortless prep and yields beautiful, colorful, healthy results.

Roasted Potato Medley

2 medium red potatoes

1 large onion

1 large tomato

1 large zucchini

2 carrots

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup salt-free tomato sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use spray oil to generously grease cookie sheet. Wash all vegetables; cut them into 1-inch pieces. In a large bowl combine vegetables. Combine garlic, tomato sauce, and oil. Pour over vegetables; toss to coat. Spread vegetables in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Turn once during baking. Makes 4 servings.