Sauteed Potatoes, Red Bell Peppers, Onions, and Mushrooms

Aaron and I usually buy our groceries on Tuesday, since that seems to be the day that our preferred grocery store gets its shipment of fresh produce and other perishables – we found out that going on Tuesdays means fresher food that’s less picked-over and that lasts longer. Monday nights are usually the night I try to find a way to use up the odds and ends before the Tuesday morning shopping trip, and on this particular Monday night, I needed to use up some red potatoes (featured in Tilapia with Chimichurri), mushrooms, spinach, and onions (featured in salads like the one with the Barbequed Chicken Thighs), a bunch of green onions, a small tomato, and a red bell pepper. So I threw it all in a pan with salt, pepper, and a dash of worcestershire (thank you, spellcheck!) sauce, and this is what I got:

A successful use of leftover ingredients - and it wasn't soup!

But I thought to myself… “What could make this a little better?” Do you know what I came up with?

Yep. Fried Egg!

A fried egg on top! This made the whole dish very breakfast-y. And as we learned from yesterday’s Pasta with Fried Egg post, gooey egg yolk makes a lot of things taste really, really good. This was no exception!

What are your strategies for using up leftover food or odds-and-ends in the kitchen?

Green Bean and Mushroom Stroganoff

I was a vegan for several years, and during that time I picked up a lot of recipes. Although I now happily eat meat (how did I survive so long without bacon?!), I still enjoy many delicious vegetarian meals.

A couple of nights ago I made an old vegetarian standby: Green Bean and Mushroom Stroganoff with Whole Wheat Egg Noodles. Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables, and I love how they taste with the rich flavor of the mushrooms and the tangy, creamy sour cream. I usually eat green bean stroganoff with whole wheat egg noodles, but it is also very good with hot cooked brown rice. This is a favorite meal of my boyfriend, Aaron.

This dish is bursting with color from the red onions and green beans, which are delicious and nutritious veggies that I enjoy often. Nutritiondata.com says of frozen, cooked green beans: “This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Folate and Manganese.” Sounds good to me! Using reduced-fat sour cream saves some saturated fat, but I would not use fat-free sour cream – I don’t think it tastes very sour-creamy at all. Using whole wheat egg noodles or brown rice in this recipes means that you are eating whole grains, which of course have lots of good-for-you fiber.

This meal is also very affordable – it ended up costing me about $2.50 per serving.

Recipe (makes about four servings):

You will need:

• one package frozen french-cut green beans
• 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup white wine (nothing fancy is necessary, just something you enjoy drinking)
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

How to make it:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and saute on medium heat until translucent and carmelized, 5-10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for another 3 minutes. Add the garlic and dried basil and saute for another 30 seconds.
2. Add the white wine, soy sauce, and frozen green beans. Cover and simmer until the green beans are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sour cream and fresh parsley. Serve the stroganoff over hot cooked whole wheat egg noodles or brown rice.