My Big Idea

Yesterday I had a big idea... try one new recipe everyday. I believe this crazy idea has stemmed from years of flipping through cookbooks, passing delicious looking recipes and photos while on my way to the tried-and-true recipes. I figure now is the best time to try this experiment while it's just the two of us and while we're living here in Provo (the Mecca of cheap ingredients). So, my plan is as follows: try one new recipe a day, big or small, dessert to dinner... really any recipe will count. Craig and I will then post a review of the recipe along with the recipe itself. When the need arises, the recipe may be altered. If this is the case I will post the original version as well as the altered version. I hope to also include a photo, but I've already botched that one today. I have yet to decide how long to run this program of mine... only time will tell. So here we go, ready or not... if all else fails, at least we'll walk out with a few new staples. Hope you enjoy and try some of the recipes out for yourself or even try this experiment on your own family.

Grilled Veggie Wraps
This recipe appeared in the cookbook In the Kitchen THE COSTCO WAY on page 177. (Note: Costco puts out a new cookbook every year and they are distributed for free at your local Costco the day after Thanksgiving. If you have a Costco membership I highly advise taking advantage of this offer, we have found many a great recipes in them.)
Recipe:
1 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
1 medium yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2, 8-inch herbed or spinach wraps
Roasted garlic hummus
1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach leaves

Drizzle zucchini, squash, and peppers with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill, turning frequently, until outer skins of peppers are charred and zucchini and squash are almost cooked through. Remove from the grill and let cool.
Spread each wrap with 2 heaping tablespoons of hummus. Sprinkle evenly with spinach.
Peel roasted peppers and remove stems and seeds. Slice into thin strips. Slice zucchini and squash thinly on the diagonal. Arrange grilled vegetables over hummus and spinach in center of wraps.
To form the wraps, roll one end in and tuck both sides while rolling. Squeeze as you roll to keep the shape. Secure with toothpicks and slice in half on the diagonal.
Makes 2 servings

Alterations:
As far as altered ingredients go, we used plain old four tortillas in place of the herb or spinach wraps (which I'm sure would taste fantastic) simply because they're cheap and it's what we had on hand. Personally, I think they would have tasted good on a whole wheat tortilla.
For the hummus, we bought a powdered form that you just mix with water. It was tasty and cheaper than buying a whole container. I bought the mix at Sunflower Market in Orem.
Our grill needs the rocks replaced, so we just cut up the vegetable raw like how the instructions guide you to do it once cooked, and just sauteed them with the olive oil and the salt and pepper in a cast iron pan on the stove at a higher temp so that they'd get some dark spots. Consequently, there was no need for seeding and peeling the peppers later because we just threw them in as well instead of roasting them.
One last minor change. I was unsure how to "grate spinach", so I just ran my butcher's knife through it and it worked just fine.

All in all this was a tasty lunch and it did not take much time to put together. However, I do believe it may have tasted better had the veggies been grilled and with a different wrap. Also, this made far more than just two wraps worth like the directions say, which is not a bad thing. I also like this recipe because it incorporated a variety of healthy veggies with minimal fat.
I would rate this recipe a 7 out of 10 according to how we made it, because that's all I've tried. If Craig were home I'd have him rate it as well... maybe I'll have him "comment" his rating.

Sorry there's no picture for this one. We were so hungry that we gobbled them up too fast!