Cilantro Lime Farro and Veggie Bowl

As the New Year approached, I decided to commit to Meatless Mondays in 2021, and so far, so good.  In fact, I am kinda loving it.  To this date, I have not eaten any meat on Mondays this year.  Thankfully, I have some vegetarian friends who are helping me out with some recipe suggestions, but I am starting the figure out what works for my typically carnivorous family.  For the record, they have yet to complain and, in fact, are largely enjoying seeing what I come up with on Mondays.  Not every Monday has a meal like this one - we have had some quick meals of veggie burgers and fries, for example - but this is one of my favorites, for sure.

The first time I made this was actually last summer with some veggies from my CSA bag (this recipe also began my love affair with farro).  I have made it several times since, the most recent time being the first that I used queso fresco cheese as a topping.  As it stands, my kids like the queso fresco on this meal, but my husband and I both prefer the feta.  In my opinion, you never go wrong with roasted veggies, farro, and cheese...but add this cilantro, honey, lime drizzle and mmmmm...amazing.

INGREDIENTS:

• 
  3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 3/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 medium yellow squash, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 red or orange peppers, chopped
• green onions, chopped
• 2 cups (uncooked) pearled farro
• 1 (15-oz.) can unsalted black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled (about 3/4 cup) OR Feta cheese
• 1 medium avocado, sliced
• Lime wedges

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In a large bowl, toss chopped veggies (zucchini, squash, red onion, peppers, green onion) with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread evenly (one layer, preferrably) on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes. rearrange veggies and bake for 10-15 minutes more.
2. Meanwhile, cook farro as directed.  I use a pressure cooker: add 2 cups pearled farro, 4 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt to pressure cooker.  Set timer to 10 minutes.  Allow to naturally release for at least 5 minutes.
3. While farro and veggies are cooking, mix the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.  Reserve about 1 1/2 T of the mixture.  Add cooked farro to the bowl; toss to coat.
4. Serve farro topped with grilled veggies, beans, avocado, cheese and the reserved sauce.  Garnish with a lime, if desired.

Difficulty: easy - but a decent amount of chopping involved

Time: about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of roasting

Source: modified from https://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/farro-burrito-bowls

Matt's Guacamole

I enjoyed this guacamole on vacation.  My cousin's fiance Matt made it for us.  Matt is the person I know who is closest to a "foodie."  When dog-sitting, he was able to make use of all my CSA produce.  He routinely grocery shops in the Strip District of Pittsburgh to get the best available items. When I needed to unload some Alton Brown tickets, Matt and Ashley were pumped to go.

The foodie quality that Matt possesses means that he just knows how to make things based on experience.  He could give me the gist of this recipe, but not exact measurements.  In my normal "Kelly-way", I decided I wanted to make this guac but didn't have all the stuff so I improvised.  I will continue to make this...keeping better records.


INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt
• jalapeno
• 2 avocados, peeled and seeded
• 2 limes, juiced
• few tablespoons of red onion
• cilantro
• plum tomato, seeded (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mince garlic, add salt until a paste-like substance forms.
2. Add jalapeno. Mix.  Add avocado.  Mix.
3. Add lime juice and some red onion. Mix.  
4. End with cilantro.

Time: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Source: my cousin-in-law Matt

Chickpea and Chicken Salad

So here is my unsolicited advice to new moms:  Do not limit your child's diet to "kid food."  Ever.  Start them eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies prepared in all different ways right from the time they are developmentally able.  I realize there are exceptions and that it won't work for everyone, necessarily, but with a little bit of luck and certainly persistence, your kids may someday sit down to this salad for dinner and not even bat an eye.  And if you are a mom who loves a good chopped salad, that will be an awesome day.  Because this is an awesome chopped salad.  We didn't even use salad dressing on this one - just some salt and pepper.

INGREDIENTS:

• Olive oil
• 2 heads Romaine lettuce
• 1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
• corn (preferably fresh, but I have used canned)
• colorful peppers (I had small sweet ones on hand when I took the picture, but generally use a bell pepper)
• tomatoes (optional) - I forgot them until after the pics were taken, but did throw them in
• shredded Rotisserie chicken
• avocado
• Feta cheese
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Chop and rinse the lettuce.  I prefer my salads chopped, and cut my greens into pieces about an inch or so square.
2. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan; add corn and peppers and heat until the peppers are slightly tender.  Alternatively, this salad is made even more awesome if the veggies are grilled.
3. Combine all ingredients, except for avocado in a large bowl; toss to mix well.
4. Top with chopped avocado, salt and pepper.  

Difficulty: easy
Time: 10-15 minutes prep
Source: Salads are one thing I don't need a recipe for!

Avocado-Chicken Salad

One of my self-imposed summer projects is to figure out school lunch ideas for my upcoming first grader; packing lunches is something I am really not looking forward to.  If he had a microwave handy, I would be golden...I am pretty good at maximizing leftovers.  I am also good at grabbing random ingredients from the fridge in the morning, throwing them in a bag, and making my lunch on the spot at work.  Unfortunately, these are not options for my son.  I am intent on providing at least a few healthy packed lunches for the week (other days, he may have to buy) that don't take me forever to prepare the night before.  I made this amazing chicken salad twice already this summer and plan to make it several more times while my cilantro is still growing and avocados are a reasonable price.  I may have to bite the bullet in the fall and buy the herbs and off-season avocado, though, as this lunch is that good.  (Oh, and my son loved it, too...and we put it on the lunch ideas list.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20-30 minutes. 
2. Serve on your favorite bread, crackers, pita pocket or on a bed of lettuce.

Difficulty: very easy - even easier if you make extra chicken while cooking dinner (like Pulled BBQ Crescents)
Time: 5 minutes (after cooking and shredding the chicken)
Source: www.familyfreshmeals.com