Recipes Using Garden Veggies

It is the time of year for eating and enjoying all the food you spent months laboring over in your garden. Eating clean and green is very popular these days, but I’ve always needed a little extra push to figure out just how to do that, so I figured you guys might, too.

Using the things you grew in your garden doesn’t have to be boring. Skip tossing tomatoes into a bowl for anyone to eat. Try this recipe instead which uses 4 things most everyone has in their garden:

Caprese Salad with a Twist

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup slivered fresh basil from your garden
• 8 ounces dried pasta (such as rotini, bow ties, shells, cavatelli, or penne)
• 2 9 – ounce green beans from your garden
• 6 medium garden tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
• 1 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives or ripe olives
• 2 cups loosely packed fresh garden basil leaves
• 3/4 cup (3 oz.) finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley from your garden

Directions

For dressing, in a small bowl whisk together vinegar, mustard, pepper, and garlic. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in the slivered basil. Set dressing aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook frozen beans according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.
Toss one-third of the dressing with the cooked pasta; place pasta in the bottom of a very large salad bowl. Layer ingredients on top of the pasta in the following order: cooked green beans, tomatoes, and olives. Top with remaining dressing. Sprinkle with the basil leaves, the Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours. To serve, toss lightly to combine. Makes 16 servings.

Here is a great website with tons of other recipes using things you can grow in a garden. Check it out, make something yummy for dinner and tell us how it went!