Hey friends!

How’s everyone’s week going?

I am back in NYC after a beautiful weekend in Ohio.

One of the highlights of the weekend was going to brunch on Sunday! We went to this gorgeous Sunday brunch buffet — a Forbes 4-star restaurant! Complete with an ice sculpture, a live pianist (who was playing the theme song from Downton Abbey), and a bananas foster bar. Yep — you heard that correctly: a build your own flaming bananas and rum station with all the fixin’s — from marshmallows to praline pecans.

Swoon.

I had more crab legs than I could handle. My, oh my, were they delicious!

So that was one type of lavish dining experience.

Another, is when you open up the fridge, and try to use up all the leftover ingredients you have!

I like to call those “Kitchen Sink Specials.” And honestly — sometimes, some of my most favorite and most creative dishes are birthed from trying to throw together something from what’s left in the fridge!

Like this beauty!

I call this my Blistered Green Bean Antipasto!

Green Bean and Zucchini Fries with a Creamy Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce!

Wow. And it’s Gluten Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet friendly, and Paleo!

Here’s What You Need: (Serves 1)

1 big handful of fresh green beans (about 25-30 beans)
1 zucchini, cut into fries

Sauce:
1/2 red pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes, or 2 tomatoes
1 cup cauliflower (I used frozen)
1/4 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
10 cashews
dried basil and oregano (1/2 tsp each)

Garnish:
fresh basil

Tools:
Food Processor
Good Chef’s Knife
Tinfoil (I use nonstick and it is a game changer!)
baking sheet
nonstick frying pan
Pyrex measuring cup (or steamer basket)

For a list of all of my favorite kitchen tools and gadgets, check out my Amazon page!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a tinfoil-lined, olive oil-sprayed baking sheet, spread out the zucchini and green beans in a single layer. Spritz them with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, flipping once, halfway through. Sprinkle with more salt after them come out of the oven.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in a skillet with 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper and dried herbs. et them soften for about 4 minutes. Then, add the red pepper. Let that cook for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the garlic and tomatoes. Let them cook for about 3-4 more minutes. transfer to your food processor. (Careful, it’s hot!)

While your veggies are cooking, steam the cauliflower florets unit tender. I did this by microwaving them for 3 minutes in a Pyrex measuring cup. Add the cooked cauliflower to your food processor.

Also add 10 cashews to the food processor and process everything until smooth and creamy: for about 1.5 minutes. You’ll need to scrape the sides once or twice.

To assemble: Place 3 Tbsp of the sauce on the bottom of the plate. Place the green beans and zucchini on top of the sauce. Top with another healthy dollop on top. Garnish with fresh basil.

My goodness, how good was this dinner!? If you’ve never “blistered” green beans like this, you NEED to try it. As in, stop what you’re doing right now and throw some in the oven! They’re that good! They become super crispy – almost like fries!

And the sauce! Holy camoley. It was just marvelous! First, the color was gorgeous — salmon pinky-orange. And it was so rich and creamy from the cashews and cauliflower. It had a slightly sweet note from the red pepper, but then the comforting and cozy flavor of tomato and basil.

It was the perfect pairing with our green fries.

I need to make some “clean out the fridge” meals more often!

What’s your favorite “Kitchen Sink Special?”

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