Italian Recipe Round Up: Bruschetta, Minestrone, and Grilled Veggies

So I think I've discovered that I can never go back to eating dairy or eggs again. I tried eating dairy on Thursday, woke up sick Friday... But felt better yesterday morning. Then yesterday afternoon I made fried rice for my husband and couldn't resist having a bowl myself... bad idea. So here I sit nauseated and all sorts of unpleasantness... But it's not all bad, at least I now I'm fairly positive I've nailed down the source of my mysterious stomach pains. Also while I was feeling better I made a slew of Italian goodies.

So lets start with a super easy appetizer, bruschetta. It's so on top of freshly toasted french bread or on top of your favorite pasta.

Basic Bruschetta:

• 1 1/2lb roma tomatoes (I just used a ton of cherry tomatoes instead because that's all that I had)
• 1/2t garlic
• 1/2 lemons worth of juice
• 1/4c chopped fresh basil
• 1T balsamic vinegar
• 1T olive oil
• 1/4t sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl, toss together, cover and let marinade for 4 hours.

Next, a personal favorite of mine. Nothing beats a warm bowl of freshly made minestrone soup.

Minestrone: (adapted from Cooking Light)

• 1 15oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 1/2c veggie stock
• 1c diced zucchini
• 3/4c leek, chopped
• 3/4c celery, chopped
• 3/4c carrot, chopped
• 1/3c red wine vinegar
• 1t Creole seasoning (you can make your own here)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1/2c uncooked pasta (I used Quinoa's Veggie Pasta)

Combine all ingredients in a stock pot, bring to a boil and reduce. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta and simmer an additional 10 minutes.

And last but not least, a simple grilled vegetables that you can do indoors anytime of the year. Hooray for Foreman grills!

Italian Veggie Medley: (adapted from Vegetarian Times, serves 2)

• 1 large tomato, cut into 1/2" thick slices
• 1/2 large or 1 small zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/2" thick stripes
• 4 oz asparagus, trimmed and sliced lengthwise
• 1 jarred roasted red pepper
• 1t Italian seasoning
• 1T olive oil

Heat up counter top grill, Toss all ingredients together in a bowl and arrange on the grill. close the top and grill 5-10 minutes until veggies have gill marks.

My plate

My husband's plate. I marinaded a chicken thigh in some
balsamic vinegar seasoned it with salt and pepper and grilled it.