Gigante Limas in Tomato Sauce

These giant lima beans came in a can, but I've also seen them dried. Sometimes they're called butter beans, and yes, they are as just as smooth as butter! I drained them, added an Italian style sauce, and served them as a main course. They'd be just as good as a side dish. 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup sliced celery

2 slices bacon, sliced, cooked, and drained (omit for a vegan version)

1 can Italian Style tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1  12 oz can large lima beans

Directions: 

Cook the bacon in a medium size nonstick skillet while the vegetables are being prepped. Drain the bacon and move to a paper towel. Wipe the skillet dry. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, along with the basil and oregano. Drain and rinse the lima beans. Add the beans to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve. 

Serves 2-3 as a main course or 4 as a side dish

Stealthy Cooking Tip: You likely won't need to add salt to this dish. Both canned beans and canned tomatoes, even the low sodium varieties, have plenty of salt! Rinsing the beans will significantly lower the sodium, but they'll still have plenty of salt to taste great!

 

Zucchini Boats

I used to make zucchini boats frequently when the kids were little. They liked the name and usually gobbled them up - zucchini and all! I still make them, though I've changed the filling up a bit over the years. Here's my latest version. 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 spring onion, sliced (or use a green onion)

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 turkey burger or 1/4 pound ground turkey or chicken

2 Tbs chopped sun dried tomatoes

2 tsp tomato powder mixed with 1/2 cup water (or use 1/4 cup tomato paste and 1/4 cup water)

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp parsley

1/2 C cooked brown rice or quinoa

1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese (or cheese substitute)

1/4 C cream cheese or non-dairy cream cheese

2    8" long zucchini

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 400F. Add the olive oil to a nonstick skillet placed over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and celery to the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens. Add the turkey burger, breaking it into small pieces, and cook until the turkey is no longer pink. Add the sundried tomatoes along with the tomato powder and water, and the spices and cook another minute or two. Add the rice and cook until the rice begins to warm. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Taste, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Prepare the zucchini while the stuffing is cooking. Slice each zucchini in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds in the center and discard. When the stuffing is cooked, scoop about 1/4 of the stuffing into each of the zucchini halves. Top each with a dollop or two of cream cheese. Place the zucchini boats on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, until the zucchini pierces easily with a fork. Serve!

Serves 2 as a main course, or 4 as a side dish

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Naming your dishes with a fun name can make all the difference to little ones. Remember "ants on a log" as a way to get the kids to eat celery, and taste testing different homemade salsas to get kids (even grown up kids) to eat mixtures rich in tomatoes and fruits. This "boat" is no different!