Roasted Broccoli & Garlic Green Beans

Eat your veggies!

'Ello mates! (I've been watching a TV show with a hot Australian guy).  So sorry I have been a bad blogger lately.  Still feeling a little down in the dumps.. had to take the day off yesterday.  I'm feeling much better today though! 


So...... I didn't really cook at all last week :/  Monday and Tuesday I ate with friends, Wednesday I skipped dinner, Thursday I made some egg fried rice with some old rice, and Friday I skipped dinner again.  Well, really I didn't skip dinner on Wednesday and Friday.  I just ate chips, hummus, and fruit when I came home from work and didn't eat for the rest of the night.  Then Saturday I ordered a pizza and ate it for lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday.  Disgusting. I'm pretty sure that the way I'm eating is contributing to how I feel.  


Anyways, I am going to plan my meals this week so I have some balanced meals.  I wouldn't normally plan on my blog, but I will this week so I am accountable!  Ok, here goes:


Tuesday - Zucchini lasagna
Thursday - Fish tacos
Saturday - Ginger-soy salmon


Hmm, that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  


Ok, now on to the recipes!  Since I haven't posted for a week, I'll do 2 recipes today.  Both veggies.  I'm sort of a dunce when it comes to cooking vegetables.  I usually just steam them with salt and pepper, or roast them with salt and pepper. It's really boring, but I enjoy the taste of vegetables so I don't add a lot of other flavors.  

First, let's talk about roasted broccoli.  It may sound boring, but it is definitely worth trying.  Roasting sort of concentrates the broccoli flavor (or maybe steaming diffuses the flavor, I'm not sure) and brings a nutty component .  And, it's just as easy as steaming!  Next, garlic green beans.  Actually not much to say about them.  Not very complicated but makes the green beans much better than salt and pepper.  Ok, I think I'm running out of things to say, so here are the recipes!


Roasted broccoli
Serves 4
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Ingredients
4 heads of broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut broccoli into florets, discarding (or saving) the stalks.
3. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
4. Place on a baking sheet and roast for approximately 20 minutes, or until the edges of the florets just turn brown.
5. Serve immediately.




Garlic green beans
Serves 4
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Ingredients
1 pound of green beans, ends trimmed
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions
1. Boil a large pot of water.  Add the beans and blanch for about 5 minutes. 
2. Transfer the beans to an ice bath and drain.*
3. While the beans are blanching, begin cooking the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat.  Start the garlic in a cold pan to bring out the flavor of the garlic and to prevent burning of the garlic. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant but not brown.
4. Add the green beans to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. 


*You don't necessarily have to do the ice bath, but it keeps the beans nice and green.  Just reduce the cooking time by a few minutes so you don't overcook them.


Ok, that's it for now, I need to get back to studying :)  As per usual, this post ended up much longer than I anticipated it to be. I promise, I'll be back this week with some better recipes!


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y