Looking for a Mexican side-dish that’s full of vegetables and great flavor?  Look no further than calabacitas, which traslates to “little squash.”   This dish goes together easily and showcases fresh summer flavors – zucchini, summer squash, corn and fresh oregano.   Throw in some onions, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if you want the heat), sauté for a few minutes and you’re good to go!

Calabacitas

olive oil
1 small zucchini, sliced thin
1 small yellow squash, sliced thin
1 Roma tomato, diced (I omitted)
1 small red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. frozen or fresh corn
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
red pepper flakes, to taste
cumin, to taste (around 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Coat sauté pan with olive oil
2. Lightly coat a sauté pan with oil. On medium heat, cook onion, zucchini and squash until slightly softened – about 5-10 minutes.
3. When zucchini has almost reached desired consistency, add corn and heat through.
4. Season with oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper before serving.

Since the New Year, I’ve been making an extra effort to create a thorough meal plan for the week. In doing this, I’ve also been taking more time to flip through cookbooks and search out new recipes. During my last pass, two recipes caught my eye: Ellie Krieger’s Tuscan Vegetable Soup (from The Food You Crave) and Cooking Light’s Tuscan Chicken Soup (from The Best of Cooking Light: Everyday Favorites)

Both had some sort of tomato product, chicken broth, spinach, onion and cannellini beans. I liked that the Cooking Light recipe incorporated chicken and roasted red peppers, while Ellie Krieger’s had more vegetables. I combined the best of both worlds, adding mushrooms in place of carrots and celery and substituting dried basil and oregano for thyme and sage. In my house, you never have too many mushrooms or too much oregano! I was happy to have the opportunity to use my homemade roasted red peppers.

The finished product was attractive and delicious. Served with crusty bread, it was a perfect dinner!

Tuscan Chicken Vegetable Soup

Yields 6 Servings

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 10 oz)
1/2 cup diced roasted red pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 15 oz. can plain no-salt-added tomato sauce (or diced tomatoes w/ juices)
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach *
1/8 tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic minced)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano

1. In a small bowl, mash half of the beans with the back of a spoon and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, zucchini and mushrooms and saute, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender (about five minutes).
3. Add the broth and tomato sauce. Season with garlic powder, pepper, basil and oregano.
4. Add the chicken and whole beans. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium. Add spinach and mashed bean (stir well to dissolve). Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

* You can either heat the spinach ahead of time, or allow it to defrost in the soup.

I spotted this recipe on the cooking blog A Year in the Kitchen. It looked like a fun, different way to serve zucchini. When I saw some nice-looking fresh zucchini at the store (not an easy feat in New England during the winter!), I knew I had to try the recipe.

I served the zucchini sticks with baked chicken parm and whole wheat pasta. They were a nice change from the salad that I usually serve with pasta dishes.

I followed the recipe exactly as written, and was very happy with the results. The breading turned out crispy and flavorful, while the zucchini was moist and tender.

Zucchini Sticks

2 egg whites, whipped to a foam
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 zucchini, chopped into 1/2 inch wide sticks

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Combine zucchini breading ingredients in a shallow dish.
3. Whip egg whites in a bowl until they foam.
4. Toss zucchini in the egg whites, then toss in the bread crumbs. 5. Transfer to a baking sheet.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, until crispy and brown.

A warm bowl of homemade soup seemed like a fitting end to yet another snowy Sunday. I’ve been planning to make a Mexican-inspired soup for awhile, but had not had a chance to search for the perfect recipe. I decided to use this Tomato Cheddar Soup recipe as a general inspiration for a brand new creation.

I omitted both the milk and cheddar cheese, choosing to only top the soup with shredded cheddar. I swapped in Mexican seasonings and added corn, zucchini and black beans to the garlic and onion. Next time, I plan to add some diced red pepper and minced jalapeno pepper to round out the vegetables.

The resulting mexican tomato soup had the familiar feel of a tomato vegetable soup, but with a fun flavor kick. Adding a side of cornbread really completed the meal…perfect for a cold winter’s night.

Mexican Tomato Soup

Yields 4 servings

3/4 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2/3 cup zucchini, finely chopped
1 28 oz can tomato puree
1 15 oz can fat free chicken broth
2/3 cup corn
2/3 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1) Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, zucchini and garlic; saute for 10 minutes, or until zucchini has softened.
2) Add tomato puree, broth, corn and black beans. Stir well to combine.
3) Season with chili powder, cumin, salt and red pepper.
4) Simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes to heat vegetables through and to allow flavors to combine.

I pulled this recipe for Black Bean, Corn and Zucchini Enchiladas from a Cooking Light magazine. The vegetable filling provides a nice change from some of the more typical meat-heavy Mexican dishes.

This is a relatively time consuming recipe, but the resulting meal is well worth the effort. The enchilada sauce requires 30 minutes of simmer time, but it’s possible to save some time by preparing the vegetable filling concurrently. The magazine’s copy of the recipe suggests preparing the enchilada sauce a few days in advance and then refrigerating it. I’ve never planned far enough ahead to do this, but it would certainly be a time saver!

I have made very few changes to the original enchilada recipe. In order to reduce total calories and fat, I halved the amount of cheese used. I also sprinkle a small amount of cumin and chili powder on the vegetable filling before assembling the enchiladas. I find that this gives the filling a little more flavor, and complements the seasonings in the enchilada sauce quite nicely. It’s also worth noting that typically end up with only six enchiladas, while Cooking Light states that the recipe yields eight.

Black Bean, Corn and Zucchini Enchilada Recipe

Yields 6 servings (1 enchilada each)

1 teaspoon canola oil
2 cups diced zucchini
1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups Enchilada Sauce, divided (see recipe below)
Cooking spray
8 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
1 cup (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided

1 ) Preheat oven to 350?.
2 ) Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups zucchini and corn; saut? for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3 ) Remove from heat, and stir in beans.
4 ) Spread 1 cup Enchilada Sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
5 ) Spoon about 1/2 cup zucchini mixture down center of 1 tortilla; sprinkle with 1 tablespoons cheese, and roll up. Place seam-side down in baking dish.
6 ) Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, zucchini mixture, and 5 tablespoons cheese. Spread remaining 2 cups sauce evenly over enchiladas.
7 ) Cover with foil; bake at 350? for 30 minutes.
8 ) Uncover; top with remaining cheese (10 tbsp) . Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

Enchilada Sauce

Yields 3 cups

1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained

1) Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2) Add onion and garlic; saut? 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
3) Stir in broth and remaining ingredients.
4) Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Preparation for this dish requires a great deal of chopping, but the results are well worth it. Ratatouille is an interesting way to incorporate many different kinds of vegetables into a meal.

This is yet another meal that I found inspiration for on allrecipes.com. My finished product is somewhat saucier than the original. I have made a number of modifications to the original ratatouille recipe, including reducing the amount of cheese used and switching out some vegetables. Since mushrooms are a favorite in my house, I opted to use a full 10 oz package, as opposed to only 2 cups of sliced mushrooms. Given my aversion to fresh tomatoes, I substituted a 28 oz container of crushed, seasoned tomatoes. Finally, the original ratatouille recipe calls for eggplant, but I had more than enough vegetables without it.

When I made this dish tonight, I ended up using 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash. Since yellow squash tends to have thicker skin, I sliced it very thin. Out of laziness, I skipped the fresh garlic cloves, opting to shake a little garlic powder on each layer of vegetables. While the resulting dish was flavorful, it was lacking that garlic zing. Next time, I’ll make the effort to mince and saute a few garlic cloves. Finally, make sure bake the Ratatouille in a dish that is large enough. I used a 2.5 qt casserole dish, and the vegetables were a little firmer than I would prefer, even with additional time. In the past, I have used a 9×13 baking dish that has allowed the vegetables to cook more quickly.

Ratatouille Recipe

Yields 4-6 servings

olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder)
2 tsp dried parsley
salt to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 zucchini, sliced
1/2 large onion, sliced into rings
10 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes with Italian spices

1) Preheat oven to 350. Coat bottom of 13×9 baking dish with a small amount of crushed tomatoes.
2) Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and saute garlic until lightly browned.
3) Spread zucchini over bottom of prepared casserole dish, mixing in the sauteed garlic. Lightly salt and sprinkle this layer with cheese. Cover with a thin layer of crushed tomato.
4) Continue layering with the onion, mushroom and bell pepper, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt, cheese and crushed tomato. Cover the top layer completely with crushed tomato.
5) Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.