Honey Glazed Snow Peas and Carrots

In the last post I said that I always get too distracted to make vegetable side dishes that require a recipe. I usually take the easy way out and just serve some frozen veggies with some seasonings and butter and call it a day. I know, I know... a total food blog flop.

But now I'm giving you two veggie side dish recipes in a row! Aren't you thrilled?!?! Actually, I'm sure you'd rather see some epic dessert. And, frankly, so would I. But it's bikini season so I'm throwing some veggies on here to motivate us all.

I love the honey glaze on this dish. It works perfectly with the sweet carrots and the delicate snow peas. This light sauce would be great to throw on any vegetables that you are serving to accompany a sweeter main dish like barbeque or teryaki flavored meats. I served this with the turnips that I just posted and the main dish that I'll post in a couple days! The tangy lemon and the sweet honey paired quite well together. And this bright side dish jazzed up the tasty but visually boring turnips. Success!

Simple. Easy. Light. Summery. Perfect.

Honey Glazed Snow Peas and Carrots (6 servings)

• 2 cups baby carrots
• 1/2 lb snow peas
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1tsp garlic powder (or fresh minced would be great!)

1. Steam the carrots for 10-15 minutes (mine took a little on the longer side) or until tender. Add snow peas and continue steaming for 2 minutes. 
2. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the vegetables. Stir in honey and garlic powder. 
3. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.

on my grandmother's fancy dishes :)

Roasted Lemon Thyme Turnips

I am constantly looking to experiment with side dish recipes. However, I generally forget about the side dish because I am concentrating on the main dish (and the dessert of course!). I also make a lot of one dish meals. But enough with the excuses, I have an awesome and easy veggie side dish recipe for you guys!

In the winter, I crave soup, pasta, cream sauce, and anything else that will make me feel warm and full. In the summer, I love fresh, crisp vegetables that I can enjoy while sitting on a patio. When I went to my grandmother's house for dinner the other day, she had bought some turnips from the farmer's market. I had never eaten turnips before but I was up for the challenge of cooking them! My grandmother said that they are usually served mashed but, as I said before, I really like the feel of fresher vegetables in the summer so I decided to roasted them with onions and lemon juice.

I really liked the way they turned out! The texture reminded me of something between a carrot and a potato while the taste reminded me more of cauliflower. However you want to describe it, I dig it and plan on using them more often. The lemon and thyme gave the dish quite a strong tangy flavor. It went really well with the other side dish and main course I served (recipes will be coming later this week!). The only negative aspect of this dish is that it looks very boring with the white turnips and the white onions. When I made it again, I will at least garnish it with slices of lemon and larger sprigs of thyme. It might even be nice to throw in a nice green vegetable like asparagus, green beans, or Brussels sprouts!

If you're a turnip virgin like I was, give it up already and try these ;)

Roasted Lemon Thyme Turnips (6 servings)

• 6 turnips, cut into 2'' cubes
• 1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Toss the turnips and onions with the olive oil, lemon juice, and thyme. Place in a baking dish. 
3. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until tender.

I went to use dried thyme but my grandfather had some fresh in his garden!

it tastes a lot more exciting than it looks!

Oven Fried Squash

My grandfather is retired and is constantly starting new projects or picking up new hobbies to keep himself busy.  This summer, the activity of choice was a garden.  Thank goodness!  I think this is much more realistic than his last hobby which I can only describe as preparing for the apocalypse.  For Christmas his gifts to my mother and I were car survival kits, complete with candles, freeze dried food, matches, small pots, flashlights, and power bars.  When I went away to Costa Rica, he gave me all sorts of hidden weapons to defend myself like a mini nunchuk and a flashlight with a blinder. Needless to say, this gardening hobby is much more up my alley!

Right now the garden is mostly producing zucchini and squash, which is perfect because those happen to be my favorite vegetables.  The zucchinis and squash that he's been giving me are absolutely GIGANTIC and I was worried that they would be too seedy in the middle to use.  But they aren't so I started to put them to good use.

One of my favorite recipes that my mom used to make was fried zucchini and squash.  She would dip squash and zucchini in an egg wash, bread crumbs, and then fry them in her electric frying pan.  I ate them like chips, to the point where I think I could eat a pound in the blink of an eye.  Now that I think about it, that's kind of gross because my mom used to put them on a paper towel for the oil to drain a little bit and the paper towels would be totally soaked through and puddles would form on the plate. 

Well now that I'm older and actually like the taste of vegetables more than grease (most of the time), I wanted to think of a healthier and lighter way to make it.  Not to mention, frying is kind of pain in the butt because it makes a big mess and sprays oil all over the place.  I decided to try to make them in the oven, which would completely eliminate the oil component. It worked and they were delicious! I only used squash this time around because the zucchini was so gigantic that the slices would have lost the fun chip-like quality.  The only thing I would change is to raise the oven temperature at the end of the cooking time so that the bread crumbs crisp up a little more.  Also, although I think they are perfect plain, I'd like to try to find some sort of dipping sauce (maybe something with lemon and basil?).  These are so easy, delicious, healthy, and addictive so try it out!  The recipe is after the pictures :)

Oven Fried Squash

Ingredients:  

• 2 medium squash, cut into 1/8-inch slices
• 1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 egg whites

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. 
2.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. In one small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Place the egg whites in a separate bowl. Dip zucchini slices into the egg whites, then coat the breadcrumb mixture. Place on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 7 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn over and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes, until browned and crispy.