Mojo de Ajo Pasta Salad

Here's the last recipe I made with Mojo de Ajo, olive oil with roasted garlic and lime juice. In this recipe, Mojo de Ajo provides the flavor for a summer pasta salad.

Mojo de Ajo Pasta Salad
Serves 2

1 cup pasta (I used Trader Joe's Vegetable Radiatore Pasta.)
1/4 cup feta cheese
2 tablespoons Mojo de Ajo
Handful of diced zucchini, yellow squash, red, green, and yellow pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directors
2. Let pasta cool to room temperature.
3. Toss pasta with feta cheese, Mojo de Ajo, zucchini, yellow squash, red, green, and yellow pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

A little bit of goat cheese goes a long way in this unique bruschetta.

Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
Makes about 15 pieces

1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
2 roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
2 ounces goat cheese
1 baguette
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Slice zucchini and yellow squash. Drizzle olive oil and top with salt and pepper.
2. Roast zucchini and yellow squash at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, stirring once.
3. Meanwhile, cut baguette into 1 inch slices.
4. Bake baguette slices at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, dice roasted zucchini, yellow squash, and red peppers. Combine with red onion, crushed red pepper, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
6. Flip baguette slices over. Spread each piece with small amount of goat cheese.
7. Top baguette slices with vegetable mixture.
8. Bake for 5 minutes more at 375 degrees.

Summer Squash Stuffed Poblanos

One of my favorite dishes to make is Chili Rellenos. I decided to mix it up and prepare a similar dish stuffed with summer squash and red onions. Compared to my recipe for Chili Rellenos, these peppers contain half as much cheese.

Summer Squash Stuffed Poblanos
Serves 2
2 large poblano peppers
2 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 cup diced zucchini
1/4 cup diced yellow squash
2 tablespoons diced red onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce, for serving
Rice, for serving

1. Broil the whole peppers for about 10 minutes, stirring occassionally, until blackened and charred.
2. Remove from heat and let rest until cool enough to handle.
3. Meanwhile, combine shredded cheese, vegetables, and spices.
4. Peal off charred skin of peppers.
5. Cut open center of pepper. Stuff with cheese mixture.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is completely melted. 
7. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions.
8. Serve poblano on a bed of rice, topped with hot sauce to taste.

Turkey and Provolone Panini with Roasted Red Pepper Spead

The roasted red pepper spread dresses up an otherwise standard panini.

Turkey and Provolone Panini
Serves 2

4 slices of sourdough bread
4 slices of provolone cheese
4 slices of turkey
Roasted red pepper spead
1/2 of a zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 of a yellow squash, thinly sliced
Red onion, thinly sliced
Olive oil

1. Heat olive oil on grill pan.
2. Assemble 2 sandwiches. On grill pan, cook about 5 minutes, turn over, and cook another 5 minutes.


Roasted Red Pepper Spread

2 roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor.

Rosemary Summer Squash

I actually made this meal while feeling exhausted--it's very simple to prepare. It reminded me of fried zucchini from a pizza place, but much healthier. This went well with cheese ravioli in marinara sauce. 

 

Rosemary Summer Squash
Serves 4

1 zucchini, cut into rounds
1 yellow squash, cut into rounds
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon rosemary
Crushed black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat for 5 minutes.
2. Add vegetables in a single layer, if possible. Sprinkle with rosemary and black pepper.
3. Cook about 3 minutes. Flip over and cook 3 minutes more.
4. Remove from heat when vegetables are slightly browned. Avoid overcooking, as this will make the vegetables very soft.

Easy Vegetable Kabobs

These vegetable kabobs are easy to prepare in a few minutes. I served this with beer brats for a simple grilled dinner. I love how easy it is to prepare multiple foods on a grill, depending on preference. These vegetables could easily pair with a veggie dog or a turkey brat instead.

Easy Vegetable Kabobs
Serves 4

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion, red or white
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon olive oil
Cracked black pepper to taste

1. Cut vegetables into large chunks.
2. Thread zucchini and yellow squash on 2 skewers. Thread peppers and onions on other 2 skewers.

• Note: Separating out the vegetables by type helps them cook evenly. If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak the skewers for 30 minutes before using. This prevents them from catching fire on the grill. 

3. Combine soy sauce, honey, ginger, olive oil, and pepper. Pour over skewers.
4. Heat grill over high heat. Place skewers on grates. Turn skewers occasionally with tongs until vegetables are blackened around the edges. Serve with brats, if desired.

Three Cheese Grilled Vegetable Pizza

I'm a huge pizza fan and I'm always trying to come up with new pizza ideas. I used my grill pan to cook these vegetables before topping the pizza. Although not my personal favorite, eggplant or mushrooms would also work on here.

Basic Pizza Dough

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup corn meal

1. Mix yeast, water, and sugar together. Let stand about 10 minutes, until mixture has bubbles.
2. In a food processor fitted with a dough hook, mix yeast mixture with all other ingredients until just combined.
3. Put dough in a bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise until dough doubles in size, about 30 minutes.
4. Sprinkle corn meal on surface. Roll out dough until desired shape.

Three Cheese Grilled Vegetable Pizza
Serves 4 to 6

Basic pizza dough
1 can diced tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 green pepper
1/4 of a red onion, diced
2 ounces provolone cheese, shredded
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 ounces Parmesean cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil on grill pan over medium to high heat.
2. Meanwhile, slice zucchini and yellow squash in long pieces (see picture). Cut green pepper in large pieces.
3. Grill vegetables on grill pan about 5 minutes on each side.

4. Meanwhile, heat tomatoes in pan over medium heat. Add oregano, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook about 20 minutes, crushing tomatoes every so often with a spoon.
5. Remove vegetables from grill pan and dice.
6. Top pizza dough with tomato sauce, three cheeses, and vegetables.
7. Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Antipasto Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes are all now in season. This salad makes the most of these vegetables. I found the olives, roasted red pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes at the salad bar at the grocery store, so that I only needed to buy as much as I needed.

Antipasto Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
Serves 6

1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 fresh mozzarella ball, diced
1/4 cup kalamata and green olives, sliced
1 roasted red pepper, diced
4 sun-dried tomatoes, finely diced
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

1. Combine zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olives, and red pepper.
2. Combine sun-dried tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, vinegar, red pepper, salt, and pepper.
3. Toss vegetables with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette.