Roasted Mexican String Beans

I was lucky enough to see yellow string beans at the farm this week and just knew I had to try them!  Sure green beans are everywhere, but I had never cooked with YELLOW beans before!  I pretty much always cook my string beans in a skillet, but I wanted to try something new this week.  Sometimes the skillet takes too much time, or the rest of the meal is taking up the entire stove top.  I wanted to see if roasting would be a nice alternative.  You know what?  It worked!  This simple recipe compliments any Mexican meal and is a great way to add an unexpected veggie to the mix!  

Ingredients

1 pound string beans, trimmed

5 larger garlic cloves, finely chopped

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander seed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the beans in a large rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with oil and toss to coat and spread into a single layer.
3. Evenly sprinkle garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper over the beans.  
4. Bake until lightly browned and shriveled, about 20-25 minutes, turning once while cooking.  

Adapted from Food Fitness Fresh Air

Caramelized Onion and BBQ Panini

As the weather gets cooler, I am on the hunt for more warm foods.  One of my favorite cold-weather meals is a panini.  It is simple, quick, and always satisfying.  This little experiment turned out to be a big winner!  Caramelized red onion, cheddar, and my favorite BBQ sauce come together in one big bite after another.  I even spiced mine up with some crushed red pepper flakes to take it to the next level.  YUM!

Ingredients

Crusty bread (I use a french miche)

1 large red onion, sliced

butter

cheddar cheese (and/or pepper jack cheese)

your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and sweet, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat your panini press to medium high.  Butter the outside of the bottom piece of bread.  Spread an even layer of BBQ sauce on the inside of the same piece.  Top with a layer of cheese.  Add a layer of caramelized onion.  Top with a little more cheese.  Spread an even layer of BBQ sauce on the inside of the top piece of bread.  Butter the outside of the top piece.
3. Place the sandwich in the panini press and cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown.  Let stand about a minute before serving.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Ring Finger Tan Line

Weekly Menu

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I enjoyed a little time off from the blog last week to really focus on my family and celebrating Thanksgiving.  It was a lovely change of pace, but I am happy to be back with you all!  :)  I decided to keep with a simple meal plan this week and thus did not select a ton a veggies, but have some great uses for them.  We selected some kale, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and yellow wax beans.  We will be having the following this week:

• Caramelized Onion BBQ Panini with Coleslaw
• using the cabbage and carrots

• Mushroom and Black Bean Burritos with Mexican Roasted Yellow Beans
• using the yellow wax beans

• Breakfast Pizza with Sauteed Broccoli
• using the broccoli

• I will be having the Kaleslaw for lunch
• using the kale