Cauliflower has gotten popular as a replacement ingredient for rice, mashed potatoes and even pizza crust as paleo and Whole30 has gained popularity in recent years. I’ve transformed it into all of these things, but this colorful variety deserved to be no less than florets.
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Colorful Cauliflower Salad
1 medium head cauliflower
3 celery stalks
1/4 red onion
4 green onions
1 handful fresh parsley
1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
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Cut cauliflower into florets. Place in a steaming basket over a medium sauce pan with boiling water. Make sure vegetables don’t touch the water. Steam for 5 minutes and set aside.
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While cauliflower is steaming, slice celery stalks and add to a medium bowl. Thinly slice red onion and chop parsley, adding to the bowl. Slice green parts only of green onion and add to the bowl. Add in cooked cauliflower and stir to combine.
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For the dressing, squeeze juice of lemon into a small bowl. Add red wine vinegar and whisk in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables, and mix to combine. Place in refrigerator for flavors to combine, up to 8 hours or overnight.
Vegetarian
Any night is a good night for enchiladas! These vegetarian-friendly stuffed enchiladas were inspired by some of the last summer squash of the season. I like to use flour tortillas for enchiladas, because they hold up better and don’t need to be coated in oil to be delicious.
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Veggie Enchiladas
8 flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1 28-ounce can enchilada sauce
2 small onions
2 yellow squash
1 15-ounce can black beans
1 4-ounce can green chili peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 2.25-ounce can sliced black olives
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dice onions and yellow squash. Drain beans and rinse. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and pour in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until soft. Add diced squash and sauté another 5 minutes. Stir in drained black beans and green chili peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir one cup of shredded cheese into the filling.
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In a rectangular glass baking dish, pour half of the enchilada sauce in the bottom. Fill tortillas with 1/2 cup filling and roll up, placing each into the baking dish with the rolled end facing down. Once all 8 are filled and stuffed into the pan, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top and finish with drained, sliced olives.
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Place in preheated oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, until cooked through and cheese is melty.
There’s no reason to hide veggies in mac ‘n’ cheese. We’re all adults here, so let them shine. That’s exactly what I did for this Zucchini Mac ‘n’ Cheese, which is an easy weeknight dinner that kids of all ages will enjoy. Plus, even though it’s a cheese-filled dish, there’s plenty of veggie goodness to balance it all out.

Zucchini Mac 'n' Cheese
Reed Dunn There’s no reason to hide veggies in mac ‘n’ cheese. We’re all adults here, so let them shine. That’s exactly what I did for this Zucchini Mac ‘n’ Cheese, which… Print ThisIngredients
- 16 ounce box macaroni
- 1 large zucchini
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Cook macaroni according to package directions in salted water, then drain and set aside. While pasta is cooking, grate zucchini on a box grater to yield 2 to 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini. Dice half onion, as well.
Once pasta is drained, add butter to the pot on medium heat. Once melted, add in onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add in 3 tablespoons of flour and keep stirring so not to burn, stirring for another 4-5 minutes. Whisk in milk, ensuring there are no clumps. Turn heat to low and add zucchini shreds to the pot.
Don’t worry if mixture is thickening, as zucchini liquid will release and thin out the sauce. Cook on low, stirring often, for about 6-8 minutes. Add in garlic salt, salt and pepper. Add cheese and stir to melt.
Remove from heat and stir in macaroni. If still thick, add an additional splash of milk to thin out and create a smooth dish.
Serve.
Summer veggies are still in abundance, even as everyone is in panic mode about the season coming to a close. I used up a bunch of veggies in the refrigerator for this panzanella, which features croutons made from some few-day-old pretzel rolls I had left over.
Summer Veggie Panzanella
For the croutons:
3 pretzel rolls
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut pretzel rolls into 1-inch pieces. Toss with olive oil, basil, salt and pepper until well combined. Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, tossing a couple of times to evenly bake, until croutons are browned and crispy.
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For the salad:
1 cucumber
1 purple bell pepper
1/2 red onion
5 plum tomatoes
15 basil leaves
3 tablespoons capers
Cut cucumber in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Cut into half-moon pieces and add to a bowl. Cut bell pepper into 1-inch pieces, removing seeds and ribs, adding to bowl. Slice red onion and cut tomatoes into pieces, adding together. Cut basil into ribbons and add with capers to the other veggies.
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For the dressing:
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Mix together all dressing ingredients, except olive oil. Whisk the mixture as you slowly pour in oil to create a creamy vinaigrette. Toss into salad and serve.
This easy weeknight meal spices up an otherwise boring head of cabbage. Some added Field Roast sausage gives it a hearty finish.
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Fried Cabbage with Veggie Sausage
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 head cabbage
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast links
Prepare vegetables by thinly slicing onion and red bell pepper. Slice cabbage in thin rounds and cut into smaller pieces. Peel garlic cloves.
Once veggies are prepared, heat a large skillet on high. Add 3 tablespoons butter and let it melt until bubbly. Add onion and peppers to the pan. Stir and turn heat down to medium high. Crush garlic into pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until onions start to soften. Add paprika and Cajun spice, as well as cabbage. Cook down for about 10-12 minutes, adding Worcestershire sauce in the final few minutes.
Remove cabbage mixture from pan and set aside. Cut up vegetarian sausage links into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Add tablespoon of butter to the heated skillet. Once melted, add sausage pieces and cook about 6 minutes. Sausage pieces should get a brown crunchy coating on each side, but be careful not to over cook. Add cabbage mix back into pan, stir and serve.