Summer Veggies

One thing I love about summer is Summer Veggies! I often will prep my veggies early in the morning before I am too tired to be bothered.

Tonight we are having a zuchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and sweet onions. I know that square dish looks likes lots of veggies, but they cook down! The 2nd vegetable will be marinated aspergus.

So, for the 1st veggie dish I just chop everything up and throw it in this square tupperware bowl I have, put the cover on it and put in the fridge. About 9-10 minutes before dinner tonight I will saute the onions in a good amount of butter (a few tablespoons) and once they start getting soft, will add the zucchini (add more butter now if you think it is needed). Let that cook for a few minutes and then add about 2-3 tablespoons of vegetarian mushroom flavored stir fry sauce and the mushrooms until they just start to get soft. Finally, toss the tomatoes in for the last minute. I use just a little stir fry sauce, but not too much - I want to taste the veggies! Altogether, it will be done in about 8 minutes. I do these in a non-stick frying pan that has a big cover - I keep it covered as I cook.

The 2nd veggie we are having tonight is aspergus. I put the aspergus in a ziplock freezer bag with balsamic vinegrette salad dressing and put that in the fridge for the day to marinate. I will grill the aspergus on the grill for about 7 minutes (you need to pre-heat the grill). When they are done I will sprinkle some grated parmesean cheese on top. Because I only use that balsamic vinegrette for marinating veggies - I will use it again. If you marinate meat you absolutely should toss the marinade, but it is perfectly fine to use a marinade multiple times for veggies.

I have an electric burner right next to my grill so I can easily cook both veggies at the same time.

What else for dinner tonight? We are having baked fish with breadcrumbs with a jar of mango chutney on the side, baked garlic bread and couscous. The bread I buy all prepared frozen and will bake it at the same time as the fish (about 15 minutes in the oven at 350). For the fish - spray your baking pan with cooking spray 1st. The couscous - I buy the little boxes of flavored couscous - I think it takes about 15 minutes to make and it goes very nicely with fish.

So, dinner will take no more than - say - 20 - 25 minutes to cook tonight. Tonight I will feed Little Boy about 45 minutes before I plan to eat - then he won't be hungry and fussy when we sit down and eat, but he will still nibble on whatever is on my plate and if he really likes what I am eating he will ask for his own plate. I like him to eat first because he still needs lots of help with his food.