Spicy Creole Vegetable Medley Food

SIMPLE VEGETABLE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Steam broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and carrots in a vegetable steamer 5 to 10 minutes, or cook covered in a microwave with a little water until crisp-tender.
• Transfer to a large serving bowl. Add red pepper and mushrooms to bowl and toss to mix.
• In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, scallions, and thyme with a wire whisk. Drizzle over vegetables and serve.
• Recipe provided by Low Cholesterol Olive Oil Cookbook

SPICY CREOLE VEGETABLE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Heat oil and saute' first four vegetables until soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until some of the juices have reduced. Let cool a bit; taste and adjust seasonings.

SAUTEED VEGETABLE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Toss vegetables together in a medium bowl.
• In a medium saute pan, heat the butter and water together over medium heat. Add the vegetables to the pan and turn the heat to medium high. Toss the vegetables, by gently moving the pan back and forth over the flame. Cook the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes, or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the vegetables to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
• Cook the vegetables in 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter, without the water. Do this over high heat and brown and crisp the vegetables slightly.
• Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, minced shallot, a teaspoon of grated peeled fresh ginger to the pan before adding the vegetables. - Enhance the vegetables at the end of cooking with a tablespoon or so of minced fresh herbs, like chopped flat-leaf parsley, dill, mint, basil, cilantro, or thyme.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Fill a large bowl with ice water, and put a colander or strainer in it. Add the vegetable to the boiling water and cook, uncovered, until crisp tender, or the desired degree of doneness. Scoop the vegetable from the water and immediately put them in the ice water, to stop the cooking and set their color. Cool and drain, and use as desired. When blanching a mix of vegetables, don't cook them together since they may not all cook at the same time. Start with the lightest colored or mildest flavored vegetable, and blanch and refresh each vegetable, one after the other, until cooked as desired.

COLORFUL VEGETABLE MEDLEY SIDE DISH

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat bouillon and water for 1 minute; stir well. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, pepper and 1 teaspoon oil., In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry the broccoli, carrots, onion and celery in remaining oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the bouillon mixture; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and red pepper; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cabbage; stir-fry 1-2 minutes longer or until crisp-tender.

SPICY RICE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven.
• Add onion, green pepper and celery and mix well.
• Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until tender.
• Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and mushrooms and mix well.
• Simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add oregano, cayenne, salt and pepper.
• Simmer for 10 minutes longer, stirring only once.
• Remove from heat.
• Add in cooked rice and mix thoroughly.

VEGGIE CHICKEN CREOLE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute the green peppers, onion, celery and garlic in 2 teaspoons oil until tender. Add mushrooms; cook until liquid has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, oregano, lemon juice, basil and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened and flavors are blended., Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, saute chicken in remaining oil in batches until no longer pink. Return chicken to pan; stir in sauce. Heat through, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Serve over rice; garnish with parsley if desired. Freeze option: Freeze cooled chicken and sauce mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered saucepan, gently stirring and adding a little broth or water if necessary.

RAINBOW PEPPER MEDLEY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the vinaigrette ingredients. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

CREOLE-STYLE VEGETARIAN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
• Add the onions, shallots, celery, bell peppers and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggplant, squash, and zucchini, and saute until they're tender, about other 5 minutes or so.
• Add the tomatoes.
• Season with salt, Creole seasoning, and additional cayenne, if desired.
• Add the bay leaves.
• Add the rice and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Heat the tomato paste in a non-stick pan and stir, making sure it doesn't stick or burn, until the sugars in the paste begin to caramelize, and the paste begins to turn a deep mahogany color.
• Deglaze with some of the vegetable stock, stir and combine thoroughly.
• Add the tomato paste to the rest of the vegetable stock and stir until well-blended.
• Add the vegetable stock/tomato mixture to vegetables, stir and cover.
• Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
• Do not stir the jambalaya while it's cooking.
• Remove from heat and let stand for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the green onions and mix thoroughly.
• Garnish with some fresh long chives, and serve with a salad and good beer.