What is your best veggie recipe and/or preparation tips?

Here are my top picks based on what my family loves:

Green Beans with Bacon

Note: I LOVE these, but my girls don't like too much vinegar.

1/8 lb. bacon, diced - I used 4 or 5 slices - probably more than 1/8 lb)

1/2 onion, minced (or shallots)

1 pound green beans, trimmed (I used a bag of frozen)

1/2 teas red pepper flakes [optional]

salt

1 Tablespoon butter, softened

1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar (1/2 T. = 1 1/2 teaspoons)

Freshly ground pepper

Steam beans. Meanwhile cook bacon over moderate heat, until golden. Remove bacon from skillet, add onions and cook until softened and translucent. Add beans, pepper flakes and salt and saute for about 2 minutes or so.

Add butter, vinegar, pepper and more salt if needed. Toss until combined. Sprinkle with the bacon bits. Serve - 4 portions.

Papa John's Greek Spinach and Rice

[Note: Papa John is my grandfather and not the pizza guy]

1 medium onion, minced

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 package frozen spinach

1/3 cup Uncle Ben's rice

salt/pepper to taste

Saute onion in a bit of olive oil. When translucent, add tomato sauce, rice, and frozen spinach. Cover with a lid, and cook on low heat. Stir occasionally to break up the spinach. Add a bit of water only if needed. Salt and pepper, if desired. It is done when the rice is.

NOTES : Actually, this works just as well with canned spinach

Cauliflower Nutmeg

[Note: I know a lot of people don't like cauliflower, but give this one a try. My sister-in-law is BY FAR the pickiest eater when it comes to veggies, and she loves this dish. She has been known to make it and NOTHING else for dinner.]

2 shallots, diced fine

2 boxes cauliflower, frozen

OR

1 headfresh cauliflower cut into flowerets

1/2 teaspoon whole nutmeg, ground fresh or more to taste

1 teaspoon parsley [optional]

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon butter

Cook cauliflower until tender in as little water as possible - microwave or however. Then drain. Or if you have a steamer, steam. No need to drain.

In skillet, saute the shallots in butter until translucent and tender. Add the drained califlower, grate the nutmeg on top, sprinkle on the parsley [optional -- we don't use it], toss all and serve.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 1/2 pounds brussel sprouts

3 Tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut off ends of sprouts and pull off any yellow leaves. Place on a sheet pan, dribble olive oil over, salt and pepper, then toss all together. Spread out in one layer. Roast 30 to 40 minutes, turning them over half way through. Remove and can resalt if needed.

You can use frozen ones - if so you might want to lower the temp to about 375, so they can cook all the way through. Fresh ones are fine also.

This process removes all the bitterness and heavy cabbage taste. Really makes the sprouts quite delicious.

Last, but not least -- the receipe that has my girls begging for more.....broccoli! Yes, broccoli. I kid you not. They will eat this over anything else on their plates.

Broccoli and Bread Crumbs

1 1/2 pounds broccoli flowerets or 1 pound

3-4 slices of bread, crusts removed

6 Tablespoons butter [could probably use a margarine or butter substitute here]

salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon allspice, optional

sprinkling grated cheese, optional

Steam broccoli in a steamer. Place bread centers into food processor, and pulse to make bread crumbs Melt butter in a skillet until just beginning to brown. Add bread crumbs and toss around in the butter. Season. Toss broccoli in with the crumbs, add sprinkling of cheese and serve. [Note: We never use the allspice or cheese.]

SOUFFLÉ TIPS: Here are a few tips to help you keep the wind in your soufflés and keep the compliments flying. See also, "How to Beat Eggs. Equipment: The Soufflé Dish, sometimes referred to as a mold, is usually made in white porcelain. The standard size is an 8-inch, 1-1/2-quart white porcelain, but it can vary depending on the recipe. No matter what size, the dish should have straight, tall sides and must withstand heat. When filled, the unbaked soufflé mixture should come to about 1-inch above the rim of the dish. Purchase from any good cookware store, such as Williams-Sonoma. You could also use a smaller porcelain dish as well, called ramekins. They tend to be used more Q: If you don't have a soufflé dish, can you make a soufflé? A: Of course you can! Better cooking success is achieved with a deep dish with sides that are at a right angle to the bottom. They rise more evenly than those with flared, or angled sides, such as some custard cups. In fact, when I made my first one, I used a deep Pyrex (heatproof glass) 2-quart measuring cup that has straight sides and it worked well. Precise measurements are the key to a successful soufflé. To measure flour: with a spoon, lightly pile flour into the tablespoon measure. With a knife, scrape the flour across the top of the tablespoon measure. Make sure you have prepared all added ingredients, called "Mis en Place", a French term for pre-assembling your wet and dry ingredients. It helps so that recipes can be assembled quickly and easily and helps to prevent your leaving something out. The secret to a savory soufflé is in ribboning the egg yolks first before the whites, and then folding those in. Once the egg whites are beaten, they start to deflate so you need to work quickly. If you don't have cream of tartar, you may substitute salt or 3 drops of lemon juice. Do not overwhip the egg whites, or they will not incorporate evenly into the base and, when baked, the soufflés will have pieces of chewy egg white in the center. Make sure you line the soufflé dish with butter and sugar for a sweet soufflé, or butter and cheese, butter and crumbs, or cornmeal for a savory one. The oven should be properly preheated before placing the soufflé inside. To rise properly, a it initially needs a very hot oven. Soufflés can be made 3 days ahead. Wrap in foil and freeze; do not thaw. Uncover before baking. A cheese soufflé will always crack slightly. If your soufflé forms a tough crust, the oven temperature was too hot. If it doesn't rise, the oven temperature was too low.

Make Veggie Pizza. Here's the recipe. Take two rolls of the refrigerated cresent roll tubes. Spread them out on a cooking sheet. So they are flat. Put them in the oven for 5 minutes on 350 or 400. Doesn't matter the size. Then in a bowl mix Ricotta Cheese, Parmesan, and a little Cream cheese. When the cresent roll sheet is cooled. Spread the cheese mixture over the top. And add any vegatable you may want. I thinly slice carrots, green peppers, red peppers, califlower, brocoli, and some times add banana peppers. It's great with kids and you'll love it.

I'm not much for veggies, and I am not crazy about tomatoes either, but the one salad I really love is just cooked elbow macaroni ,mayonnaise (do not add anything to it to thin it out) cut up tomatoes, celery and cucumber. The juice from the tomatoes thing out the mayo. Add season salt to taste. Really good on a hot summer day. Refreshing!

You can add any other veggies you might like also,

I find that roasting vegetables makes them really appetizing, because it caramelizes the sugars and makes them much sweeter. In Italy, you can always go to a restaurant and get a plate of grilled or roasted veggies, with everything from carrots to fennel to tomatoes to (sometimes) pears! All of the recipes that I link to, I have actually made and enjoyed.

Spinach Salad with Creamy Cashew Dressing (YUMMY!)

http://www.thriftyfoods.com/recipes/recipe.php?rid...

Stuffed Tomatoes (experiment with stuffings)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,...

Honey Ginger Carrots

http://sidedish.allrecipes.com/az/HnyGingrCrrts.as...

I also suggest going to the public library and getting out some cookbooks. Only get ones with good, color photos so that you'll know if the food you're cooking looks good or bad! When you find a recipe you like, you can just make a photocopy so you'll remember it forever (and you don't have to bother paying for the cookbook!) Martha Stewart's mini-magazine called FOOD is also really good- the recipes are always simple and there are lots of good, healthy veggie dishes using seasonal ingredients.

Hello! Here are 2 favorite easy recipes: Flavorful Summer Squash: 3 med. yellow squash,2 med. zucchini,slice them both. 1 med. red onion,slice and seperate rings,1 tsp. minced garlc, 1 Tbl. olive oil, 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes, 1 tsp. dried basil, 1/2 tsp.oregano,1/2 tsp. thyme, 1/4 tsp. salt(I prefer sea salt), 1/2 C. shredded motzerella cheese. Saute squashes,onion, garlic in oil until crisp-tender. Stirring occasionally. Stir in all seasonings and remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese cover and let stand until cheese is melted. Makes 6 servings. The cheese is a good cover for the taste of the veggies as well as all the seasonings and it looks great!! Have the kids help it sometimes makes them want to try what they make. Nutrition facts: 2/3 C equals 83 calories,4 g fat,(1g saturatd fat) 5 mg cholestorol,147 mg sodium(less if you use sea salt),9g carbs, 3 g fiber, 5 g protein Diabetic exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1/2 fat.

The other one to help you get over your tomato fear(especially with home garden tomatoes this will be great)! It is called Pineapple Salsa: C. diced fresh pineapple, 2 med. tomatoes seeded and diced, 3/4 C. diced sweet onion, 1/4 C. minced fresh cilantro, 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced, 1 Tbl. olive oil, 1 tsp.ground corriander, 3/4 tp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. sea salt(preferred), 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, Baked tortilla chips. Combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Makes 3 1/2 C. Nutriton facts: 1/4 C(calculatd without chips)equals 29 cal., 1 g fat, 0 cholesterol, 87 mg. sodium(less with sea salt),5 g carbs., 1 g fiber, trace protein. Diabetic exchange: Free Food!! This has vegs but you'll never now it with the flavor of the seasonings and that pineapple relaly gives it something to behold!! Enjoy!! I hope you like these and it helps you all out!!

Hello

Try this,

Boil some Basmati rice and leave to one side.

Peel potatoes and chop into cubes, then boil (not too soft) leave to one side.

Get approx four large cloves of garlic,or more. Grate on a cheese grater as fine as possible, then do the same with a some fresh ginger(as much as you like) Peel and chop Spring onions(loads of).

Gently fry onion, garlic and ginger, add salt ,pepper (chilli pepper-not too much) add two tins of chick peas (washed) add water -not too much,then boil for 15mins or so, then put rice, potatoes into large bowl then pour in chick peas and mix lightly. This dish goe's very well with fresh roasted vegetables and a dollop of mayo. Enjoy.

Fresh green beans, drop in a deep fryer for a min. and remove and add a dash of soy sauce, nice side dish, crisp and flavorful.

Trying to eat tomatoes, Try this, thinly slice a green tomatoe, add salt and pepper dip in egg and flour and fry in a little grease, there really great and alot different flavor than a red ripe tomatoe I see you like greens, and thats ok, their better for you.try some zuccini squash the same way as the tomatoes slice thin, dip in a marinar. good luck.

Oven roasted broccoli.

Take 2 broccoli crowns (the top part, not the stems, I find them too woody.) rinse them and separate them into florets. Shake off the excess water.

In a small dish, take 1-2 garlic cloves (we like lots of garlic), peel and slice them. Shake in 1/4 tsp of salt and red pepper flakes to taste (1/2 tsp generally) add in 1 Tablespoon of Extra-virgin olive oil.

Pour this over the broccoli florets in a baking pan and toss lightly with your fingers to coat. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until edges are browned and crispy.

I'm picky about my veggies, and I love this.

Peel Vidalia onions and place in a microwavable dish. Lay several strips of bacon over them, add Worchestishire sauce sprinkle over. Add a little salt and zap about 3 minutes per onion in dish. Very sweet and good served as a vegetable.