Monday, October 17, 2011

She's back - again!


Marinated Green Beans

The New Holly Clegg Trim & Terrific Cookbook Copyright 2002, 2006

2 pounds fresh green beans
¼ cup chopped red onion I used green onion
2 cups cherry tomato halves I used grape tomatoes
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook or steam the green beans in a little water in the microwave or on the stove until crisp-tender. Drain. (I shocked them in ice water.) Add the onion and tomato.

In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar, mustard, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss with the green bean mixture. Serve or refrigerate until serving.
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I put this cookbook aside because I really hate to share any single cookbook too heavily but it's been a while and some of you may still need to know about this cookbook.  This is my favorite 'healthy' cookbook.  I have a lot of good healthy cookbooks but I love how well-rounded this one is.  It's not low-carb or high-fiber or fat-free or sugar-free.  Everything is in moderation.  Most importantly,  the recipes are for the kind of food that  I eat.  They are mostly from scratch but there are a few convenience ingredients making appearances.  There are recipes you can serve your family for dinner and recipes that are 'fancy' enough to serve to company.  Nothing is overly complicated.

I had picked up some pre-trimmed, steam-in-bag, fresh green beans at a good price and decided to try this recipe with one bag of them. It was a 12-ounce bag so I added a bit more tomato.  I couldn't find red onion in the store and I already had green onion so I went with that.  It worked for me.  I should have made the full recipe - I loved this.  I will probably make another batch tomorrow.  Of course, as I always caution, you must use a good balsamic.  The one I use is a store-brand, from Weis stores, if you  live and shop in this part of Pennsylvania.  I've tried some nasty ones in the past.  If I had never found one I liked, I would have been scared away from all recipes with balsamic vinegar. 


Question of the Day:  Are you watching anything particular in your diet right now (sodium, carbs, fat, etc)?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I need to be watching fat, carbs and sugar, but unfortunately I'm just watching the food on the table that will shortly go into my mouth. Ugh!

This recipe looks so fresh and appetizing. I'll make it.

Jan

The Cookbook Junkie said...

FYI - I had a bit left over that I wanted to take for lunch but I knew it wouldn't fill me up so I added a can of tuna and a touch more salt and it was so good. It reminded me of a salad niçoise.

Karen said...

I love Holly Cleggs cookbooks. This looks good and definitely something my husband and I would enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah! Tuna added....perfect.

Jan

Mrs. L said...

Just watching calories. I think that will mean watching everything else actually (like sugar, carbs etc).

M Smith said...

Gluten. But, that's because I have Celiac disease. Otherwise, everything in moderation.