G is for GREEN BEANS

I love green beans.  It was one of the first vegetables for which I developed a taste after I was diagnosed with Crohn's; that means, I have been a fan for almost nine years now!  I would have them every now and then before my diagnosis--I remember Thanksgivings specifically--but once again, I didn't eat many veggies in the days before Crohn's changed my life.  Now, I strive very much to incorporate healthy foods into my diet, especially fruits and vegetables, and if I ever have kids, I will do everything in my power to ensure that they eat and enjoy produce.  :)

I like fresh green beans, canned green beans, frozen green beans.  My MIL actually introduced me to the BEST frozen green beans ever:  these babies below.  :)

When we were in grad school, we shopped at Kroger, but that isn't an option here.  (However, a new Harp's is supposed to be opening right down the street from us in an old motel--HALLEJUAH!)  I tend to buy the generic/store brand for things like frozen veggies, but Walmart's green beans are sooo tough.  These beauties, which are found at Sam's, turn out perfectly.  (Sorry for not knowing the price; my MIL bought these for us when she was taking care of me after my surgery.)  Since I usually steam the green beans with some kind of spice (thyme, garlic, Italian mix, etc.), tonight, I wanted to do something different.  I love roasted vegetables, so I decided to give roasted green beans a try.  :)

Roasted Green Beans

1/2 pound frozen green beans

3/4 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 Tbsp. (i.e. 1 1/2 tsp.) balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 450.  Place green beans in bowl.  (I snapped mine in half so they would cook faster.)  Mix oil and vinegar together and pour over beans; toss to coat.  Arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 20-ish minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan to taste.

These were quite delicious!  I recommend them to go alongside spaghetti, which is what we did.  :)

Photo a Day in July #2

2.  Busy

Since we weren't feeling so hot yesterday, we didn't go grocery shopping, which meant someone had to go today.  Usually, when grocery shopping gets pushed to Monday (or later), I go by myself, but since we had more to pick up at Sam's than usual, Zach came, too!  He wasn't too pleased I took his photo.  *lol*  But he was just charging ahead, so I got my camera out, called his name, and snapped this picture when he stopped and turned around.  We got a great deal on toilet paper at Target, stocked up on some much needed items at Sam's (like olive oil and craisins), and gathered our usual goods at Walmart.  Speaking of Walmart, that place stresses me out so much.  I miss Kroger.  :(  Today, I happened to lose our coupon organizer, which stressed me out even more.  I mean, I almost cried over this.  Thankfully, I had the good sense for a moment to go to the service desk and see if it had been turned in.  It had!  Unfortunately, our coupon for a free pack of Coca-Cola products had already expired.  :(

P is for PEPPERS

I've learned that many of my friends have a haaaaate relationship with peppers and onions.  :(  I don't understand that because I LOVE them!  They are so good and say Mexican (as in, fajitas) to me!  I can understand people's negative views on onions a bit more because they do cause bad breath, but I can eat an onion, especially a purple onion, like an apple.  :)

I won't say anymore about onions since today's letter is "P," which means this post will talk a bit more about a "p" food peppers, bell peppers specifically.  Apparently, these lovelies are called capsicum in Australia.  Who knew?  I already knew that they are sometimes called sweet peppers because they don't provide much of a spicy kick.  (Another reason why I don't understand why people loathe them!)  Anyway, bell peppers come in a variety of colors, including green, red, yellow, and orange.  Whenever I made pasta primavera in the past (when I lived in central AR), I always would pick up Kroger's Stoplight Peppers because they contained one each of red, yellow, and green bell peppers--just like a stoplight!  In researching bell peppers, I also learned that red bell peppers are just ripened green ones.  AMAZING!  I liked a mix of peppers because of the color combo and taste variety.  The green ones are less sweeter than all of the others on the color spectrum; I'd say most people prefer the green ones to the rest, probably not just because of taste but because they are the cheapest.  ;)  Bell peppers are rich in lycopene, carotene, and vitamin C with red peppers having the highest amounts and green ones having the lowest.

I made some sweet and sour lemonade chicken from Six Sisters' Stuff, and I decided to serve it with rice, peppers, and onion for a pseudo-Chinese meal.  I'm not much on Chinese, but I did LOVE this chicken!  Zach said it was a bit too lemony for him, so next time I won't use as much lemonade.  I know white rice isn't the healthiest, but it is my favorite and easier for my tummy to digest.  I haven't had peppers and onions in FOREVER, so these were a real treat!

To make the peppers (and onion), I remove the caps from two peppers and slice out the white insides to remove the seeds.  (I've also found that holding a pepper half or quarter over the trashcan with the inside facedown and taping the back with a utensil helps the seeds fall out.)  Then I slice them into strips and half the strips.  I slice the ends off the onion, remove its peeling, and then slice it into strips.  I heat 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable/olive oil into a skillet over medium-high heat, add the peppers and onions, and sauté until the onions are translucent and the peppers are tender and browned.  So good!