What is your favorite vegetable, and how do you make it?

[lovesmurfs]

Spaghetti squash - bake a whole one in the oven for about 45 minutes, then slice it in half, use a fork to get the soft squash center out, then saute in a pan with butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Think I may have this tonight

I also serve spaghetti squash with...well...spaghetti sauce. You can also microwave it, but be sure to prick it well with a fork.

I didn't do it well enough one time and had one explode in the microwave -- looked like brain matter all over the oven. My own version of Veggie Tales from the Crypt.

 

[walden]

I like kale. You can add it to soups, braise, saute, or roast it. I usually add garlic and a squeeze of lemon. Baked kale "chips" are yummy too.

Top Secret: a couple of really picky veggie resisters have never known that I've even sneaked very finely chopped kale into meat loaf!

 

[KimR]

DH makes wonderful sauteed asparagus. He makes it a little different ever time and basically just throws together whatever sounds good. The typical ingredients are butter, worcestershire, garlic, a small amount of lemon juice, red wine, and teriyaki sauce. He does the same for mushrooms.

 

[canopynut66]

Just looking for fresh ideas to getting more veg into us here.
I am bored with my usual lineup. Sauteed broccoli, corn on the cob, sauteed green beans.
need good ideas for some variety.

I put asparagus in a flat type microwave dish and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper it and cook 40 seconds easy and taste like the oven (unless you want it browned)
Now this is not so good for us but most my extended family likes green beans (canned/fresh/frozen can use any kind) cook with strip or two of bacon/ add pepper for say 6 hours we add water to the large pot and let that cook down (but not the canned juice if using canned beans) can then add corn on the cob pieces to this as well as new potatoes and let them cook together towards the end. My Grandmother used to make this all fresh from the garden with sliced tomotoes.

 

[scrapquitler]

Just looking for fresh ideas to getting more veg into us here.
I am bored with my usual lineup. Sauteed broccoli, corn on the cob, sauteed green beans.
need good ideas for some variety.

I like to make veggie stir fry. We had it with some grilled chicken the other night. I just take a bunch of veggies and cut them up in chunks (the other night I used zucchini, scallions, sliced carrots, broccoli, red bell pepper, sliced mushrooms and shredded cabbage). I put a small amount of olive oil in my electric skillet, add the veggies and stir them while they sautee for a couple of minutes, then I add maybe 1/4 cup of water and put the lid on and let it cook for 2-3 minutes more, add a few tbsp of spicy szechuan stir fry sauce, mix it all up and serve. Sometimes I use teryaki sauce or other stir fry sauces, sometimes I use just soy sauce, once in a while I might even just use bbq sauce. You can add some diced meat (chicken, beef, shrimp, or even tofu if you like) and make it the whole meal.

You can use pretty much any veggies (and sometimes I use frozen instead of fresh) to vary it to your own taste. When I make this we eat LOTS more veggies than most nights.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Oh that's hard to say. I love vegetables! I think my favorites are lima beans (cooked on stove top in a little butter), asparagus (sauteed, with olive oil), broccoli (steamed or boiled), and tomatoes (sliced and salted).

I can't think of many veggies I don't like.

Oh, I tried a really good recipe for sesame green beans the other day. It was delicious. If you're interested, I'll try to find it.

 

[kathymc]

I love the brussel sprouts the way JessicaR does them - you can do broccolli as well.

This ones a little bit more work but yummy

brocolli
10-12 sliced cherry or grape tomato
10-12 sliced black olives
2 T chopped garlic
oregano
salt
Olive oil

roast at 450 for about 20-25 minutes

I also like to steam green beans then sprinkle parm cheese and garlic powder

zuchinni and summer squash with salsa is a good side for mexican dishes

 

[JessicaR]

Its a lean beef burger seasoned with onion and garlic and glazed with terriyaki sauce and topped with swiss cheese and the grilled pineapple. It is so good, and my picky kids love it. We are burger eaters at my house, so when I grill them we do a lot of variations. We do inside out burgers, western bbq burgers, tex-mex cheeseburgers and the newest one we tried was the Banzai burger, they are all a big hit and we have em once every month or two so we really do it up burger wise.

Kim

Sounds tasty. Will give that a try - thanks.

 

[Kycha]

I love roasting my veggies..... Olive oil, S&P.....
Some of our favorites to roast are peppers, carrots, squash....

The only vegetable I can't eat is eggplant. I like it but I'm allergic.

One of my favorites!

I also roast a lot of other veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, onions, potatoes, squash, zucchini, eggplant, ect ect. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness in most vegetables and is a very healthy way to eat them.

Ditto! Roasting veggies is the way to go. And soooooo easy. My 2 current favorite veggie dishes right now are roasted carrots with dill...just baby carrots with olive oil or butter and a couple tablespoons of dill weed. Yummy! The other favorite is roasted brussel sprouts. Pretty much the same recipe that JessicaR posted below. Only difference, I toss with about 1/4 cup of parmesan before serving. Fresh brussel sprouts are really hard to find around here. So, I often have to use frozen. They will do, but nothing is as good as fresh. I am going to try growing some this spring. I hope it works!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends
trimmed and yellow leaves removed
3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Place trimmed Brussels sprouts, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal tightly, and shake to coat. Pour onto a baking sheet, and place on center oven rack.
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to 7 minutes for even browning. Reduce heat when necessary to prevent burning. Brussels sprouts should be darkest brown, almost black, when done. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, if necessary. Serve immediately

ETA: Oh! I just remembered another favorite. Baked sweet potatoes. Just bake like a regular potato. I serve them the same way too...a little butter and sour cream on top. Delicious!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I love artichokes. Just cut off the stem and the sharp parts of the leaves, boil them until a leaf pulls out easily, and serve with garlic or lemon butter. My mom used to put sliced garlic in between the leaves as it cooked. I never have, but it still tastes delicious.

One of my other favorites is sugar snap peas. I really prefer most veggies raw and crunchy, so I just eat them plain.

 

[mrsksmithvt]

Carrot Slaw

Shredded carrots, crushed pineapple (drained), raisins, mayonaise, salt & pepper.

 

[jsmith]

I do my asparagus on the grill. coat lightly with olive oil-about 5 minutes on the grill. pull it off-squeeze a fresh lemon over it and sprinkle it with a little sea salt-yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Fresh green beans-steamed until just tender-the sauteed with a bit of garlic and some onions

Spinach-sauteed with garlic in olive oil

 

[DLB]

I love roasting my veggies..... Olive oil, S&P.....
Some of our favorites to roast are peppers, carrots, squash....

The only vegetable I can't eat is eggplant. I like it but I'm allergic.

Completely agree! Roasting any vegetable gives it such a different flavor. I love to roast asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, green beans. Sometimes I even throw onions and garlic cloves on the roasying pan for amazing flavor. My children eat it up like candy!

 

[Go Saints!]

We grill asparagus. Marinate it in Italian dressing and Tony's seasoning for about an hour before you put it on the grill. I can make a meal out of this alone!

 

[Planogirl]

I love to lightly steam veggies. I like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, zuchinni, carrots but my favorite is yellow squash. I steam it until it's just barely soft and add a little butter and salt and it's so good!

 

[java]

I am a roaster too! Green beans olive oil, garlic salt and pepper a splash of balsamic
in the oven at 450 for like 8 minutes mmmmmmmm.I can eat a whole pan of them.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

yellow squash

either slice it in rings and steam in those ziploc steamer bags. Add butter and Mrs. Dash lemon pepper

Or I slice them thinly long ways, coat in olive oil and a little pepper and grill them. I use a pan grill in the winter and the regular grill in the summer.

I have a really good kebob recipe but I have no idea where it is at the moment.


I love asparagus in restaurants but I've never tried to cook it at home. I'll have to try the olive oil thing.

 

[JarethDrakul]

Overcooked (so it's soft) cauliflower, cut into tiny bits.....usually have it in a curry

 

[merekc]

I too am loving roasted veggies right now. I have never liked cooked carrots, but I've been roasting carrots with olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper and they are DELICIOUS! Can be done with so many veggies and a variety of different herbs.

We've always used lots of vinegar in our cooking. I've been told by multiple people that they never use vinegar. Ways that are traditional in my family. Salad dressing (balsamic vinegar and olive oil with seasoning(Cavendar's Greek Seasoning))
Cooked frozen spinach with fresh onion, olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper
Steamed asparagus with fresh chopped onion, olive oil, balsamic and greek seasoning
Fresh spinach salad with bacon, hard boiled egg, onion, greek seasoning and bacon dripping/balsamic dressing.
Tomato, cucumber and onion salad with balsamic, olive oil and greek seasoning dressing.

Grilled zucchini (either with Italian salad dressing or olive oil with coarse salt and pepper)
Grilled corn on the cob

Okra chips (sliced okra well seasoned with garlic pepper and greek seasoning and microwaved for several minutes until browning and shrunken) Very tasty
Pickled okra straight from the jar. Yum!

 

[IDoDis]

Cabalacitas

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 zucchini, diced (small)
* 1 yellow squash diced (small)
* 1 fresh chile pepper, seeded and chopped (this is not bell pepper -- it's a green chile pepper). It's hard to find fresh green chile peppers outside of NM, TX, or CA, so you can substitute a green jalepeno pepper.
* 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
* salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring until translucent. Add zucchini and green chile pepper, and saute until soft. Stir in corn and heat through. Season with salt to taste.

Optional: Add a can of black beans and it's now a nice vegetarian main dish. Eat with flour tortillas.