Several friendly folks (AwkwardSaw and exceptinsects, among others) suggested recipe titles with "surprise" in them when I asked the catbox for help in naming this faintly pungent, crunchy, buttery-cheesy concoction. Seeing as I surprised myself by inventing this recipe when I was fully expecting to have cheese and crackers for dinner, I think it fits. Anyway...
What You'll Need
- a frying pan
- a knife or two for cutting up vegetables
- butter (at least 2 tablespoons, maybe more)
- the stalks of three heads of broccoli (it has come to my attention recently that not everybody eats these... fools! they are starchy green goodness and not nearly as malodorous to cook as the flowers)
- a handful of green beans (I'm sorry I can't be more specific; if it helps, I used what was left of a pound of green beans after a week of occasional snacking)
- five or six white mushrooms
- half an onion (diced)
- one red pepper
- one clove of garlic
- a garlic press
- cheddar cheese (grated)
- something with which to stir the contents of the frying pan
What You'll Need to Do (Directions)
- Melt a tablespoon or so of butter in the frying pan over low heat.
- Peel the hard stringy outsides off the broccoli stalks and slice them into circles (not lengthwise). Drop them into the butter and start stir-frying.
- Clean the green beans (cut off the stringy ends, break in half if they're really big) and put them in the pan to fry with the broccoli.
- Slice up the mushrooms and put them in to fry as well.
- Dice the onion and---you guessed it!---fry 'em.
- Slice and fry the red pepper. (Watch the heat so things don't burn. By the way, it might be good to prepare your vegetables before you start frying things, instead of nervously hoping things won't burn while you're cutting up the next ingredient, like I did. Also feel free to add more butter if you feel the need.)
- Clean the clove of garlic, put in garlic press and squeeze onto the veggie concoction.
- Stir-fry till everything looks ready to eat (browning mushrooms and onions are a good sign).
- Serve covered with grated cheese (it'll melt and be all kinds of yummy).
- Enjoy.
Served 1, but I was hungry. This recipe could easily have been expanded to serve more given more reds and greens and maybe some potatoes.