20 Minute Lemon Pesto Penne

So quick and easy- really delicious. Could add in chicken if ya want. Also, it's 1 pot dish! Luhhh dat.

20 Minute Lemon Pesto Penne

8 ounces whole wheat penne
2 cups broccolini (could use regular broccoli instead) I used 1 large bunch
1 cup oven roasted tomatoes (I used sundried tomatoes in oil and rinsed first)
2 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup pesto (I had a little jar in the pantry)
¼ cup feta cheese
1 lemon
fresh basil, cut into ribbons


1. Cook the penne according to package directions. 

2. Add the baby broccoli to the pot of boiling water for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. It should turn bright green. 

3, Drain in colander- don't put back in pot yet.
4. Add the tomatoes and garlic to the pot you cooked the pasta in. Saute 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.

5. Add pasta and broccolini back in.

6. Add the pesto, half of the feta, and the lemon juice. 

7. Toss in the pan until well combined.

8. Remove from heat and add the basil.

9. Sprinkle with remaining feta before serving.

Lentil 'Meatballs'

I made this recipe tonight from goop.com and it came out pretty good! I served it with a store bought Roasted Red Pepper Soup. I'll definitely make it again.

ingredients

• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ½ cup Ricotta (or Greek yogurt for a lighter alternative)
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• pinch of each: dried fennel seed, dried thyme, dried rosemary
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup packed basil leaves
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

preparation

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange cherry tomatoes in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and place in oven. Keeping a close eye on them, cook for about 5 minutes until they’ve burst and melted, but not burned or dried out. Keep oven heated for the meatballs.

2. Drizzle a pan with olive oil, place over medium high heat and add onion. Sauté for about a minute until translucent. Add the garlic and dried herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper, sautéing for about another minute or two until soft and fragrant. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

3. Place lentils in a food processor with tomato paste and a drizzle of olive oil and pulse until smooth.

4. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add ricotta and mix with beaten eggs until combined. Add lentils and mix together until smooth. Add onion/garlic/herb mixture from the frying pan, parmesan and panko breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Mush together (hands are best for this) until combined. If the mixture is still feeling wet, add more breadcrumbs until the mixture is dry enough to stick together and roll into balls.

5. Place basil in mortar and pestle, drizzle in about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and grind until it forms a thick oil (it’s ok if there are still bits of basil).

6. Roll lentil mixture into small balls and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 8-10 minutes. Turn balls, and bake for another 5 minutes, until slightly browned.

New love: Kale Salad

Hellooooo friends,

Happy November to all! Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just 2 weeks away?! This year is just flying by.   I brought this salad to a "Friendsgiving" party last weekend and out of 20 dishes, it STOLE the show! It is really, really delicious! It's a must make and perfect as a side dish to all those yummy thanksgiving things:

Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
2 large bunches of Tuscan kale (about 1 1/2 pounds total), center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced
12 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded with a knife
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped
1 cup finely grated Pecorino

Combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded brussels sprouts in a large bowl.
Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon oil from cup into a small skillet; heat oil over medium-high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel–lined plate. Sprinkle almonds lightly with salt.
Slowly whisk remaining olive oil in cup into lemon-juice mixture. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD:Dressing, kale mixture, and toasted almonds can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover dressing and kale mixture separately and chill. Cover almonds and let stand at room temperature.
Add dressing and cheese to kale mixture; toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with almonds.

It makes a TON so be ready to share or eat it for days which wouldn't be so bad...

Homemade Orechiette

I tried this yesterday, and it was so fun and delicious!  It is a pretty hearty pasta. I served it with a sherry cream sauce and broccoli, which was great! Next time, I want to try it with sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, olive oil, and fresh parmesan. A few tips: the thinner/ smaller you shape the pasta the better, and they only takes 2-3 mins to cook in bowling water. Enjoy!

Martha Stewart's Step-by-Step Orechiette

Poblano and Mushroom Tacos

MMmmMMMMmMMmmMmm i just had such a good dinner! i'm trying to do more meat-free meals and it's NOT EASY. but so far today I've been meat free. breakfast was granola, blackberries, almond milk. Lunch was a toasty tortilla, hummus, and tabbouli. and here's dinner:


Poblano, Mushroom, Onion tacos
- 2 poblanos (seeded) sliced
- 3 oz mushrooms
- 1/2 onion
- 1 can fat free refried black beans (see here)
- 1 tsp cumin
- cilantro
- tortillas
Optional: (I opted out to be supa low fat)
crumbled cotija, avocado, sour cream, tomatoes

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add poblano chile, red onion, and mushrooms; sauté mixture until brown, about 7 minutes. Mix in ground cumin. Season to taste with salt.
While this is cooking, heat the beans in a sauce pan.
Toast tortillas on burner. Spread beans on tortilla. Spoon mixture onto beans. Top w/ cilantro. ENJOY.

Cauliflower Soup version 2.0

I've been making this cauliflower soup for years and years. Generally it's great, sometimes it's not as awesome, yet I still always come back to this recipe because it's just so easy. And really, you can substitute any vegetable and still get a great soup. But I think I just hit this recipe's sweet spot.

I took a page from the white sauce recipe Eli posted last year. I added just a splash of sherry and some white pepper and it has made ALL the difference. It's so delicious. The recipe is now:

Cauliflower Soup
* Shallot or small onion, diced
* Garlic clove, finely diced
* One head of cauliflower, chopped
* Approximately 6 cups of chicken broth
* Splash of sherry
* Generous amounts of white pepper (might want to start off not so generously, and adjust on taste)
* Salt to taste

- Saute onions in a bit of olive oil until soft, but not browned
- Add garlic and stir until fragrant, do not let brown
- Add cauliflower and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer until cauliflower is super tender
- Puree as if your life depended on it. Gets rid of the gritty feeling.
(*If you're feeling naughty, which I often am, I add a pat of butter before pureeing. Just a pat is all you need to make this feel decadent. Plus I rationalize it because this is virtually a fat-free recipe anyways. A pat of butter never hurt anyone. Don't judge me.)
- Stir in the splash of sherry and white pepper
- Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Basil Spaghetti with Broiled Tomatoes

This is a great new recipe that i made the other night. It was very simple, easy and delicious!

Ingredients:
12 ounces of spaghetti noodles
3 large beefsteak tomatoes (cut into 4 think slices)
3 table spoons of olive oil, plus more for baking sheet
8 ounces of fresh mozzarella (grated)
1/4 cup of grated parmesan, plus more for serving
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
3/4 cup torn basil leaves, plus more for serving
salt and pepper

• Heat broiler.
  
• Cook past according to package directions; drain and return to pot.
  
• Meanwhile, arrange the tomato slices in a single layer on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan evenly on the tomato slices. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, usually about 3 to 5 minutes.
  
• Add garlic, oil, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to pasta. Toss to combine. Serve with the tomatoes, additional basil and shaved parmesan.
• Enjoy!
  

Chana Masala with Spinach

So I'm doing this whole no drinking, no meat, no dairy, no bread, no crackers thing for 1 week (maybe 2??) to reset my bod before a 4th of July wedding. I made Chana Masala with Spinach tonight and it was SO DELICIOUS. Served over brown rice. I highly suggest making this for a meatless meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas in water (also called garbanzo beans) or 1 1/2 cups precooked + 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• juice from one lemon, (approx 2 tbsp )
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 large bunch of spinach or two handfuls, rinsed

Preparation:

In a large skillet or frying pan, sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 3-5 minutes.

Add chickpeas straight from the can, including all the water. Add spices and lemon juice, cover, and simmer about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding more water if needed, until chickpeas are cooked and soft.

Reduce heat, add spinach and cover. Allow spinach to wilt for 2-4 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Din-Din

I started dinner at 4:30 yesterday. Lame, but I was bored after my power walk. I may be closer to June Cleaver than I thought! We had Lentil Soup and Caprese Paninis. I sort of winged it for the paninis, but it was loosely based on this recipe from Jane Maynard at This Week for Dinner.

One day I'll be cool enough with the camera to snap my own pictures. But this one is courtesy of This Week for Dinner.

Supa easy recipe:

- Sourdough Bread slices
- Mozzarella
- Tomato slices
- A spot of light mayo (literally a light smear)
- Fresh cracked pepper
- basil chopped up

Assemble sandwich
Heat a skillet with pan (or if you're feeling decadent- with BUTTER! That's what I did. Don't judge.) and cook the sandwich until golden brown on each side.

I guess it's more of a grilled cheese then a panini. What's the diff really? A panini is pressed consistently perhaps? In which case, this is a grilled cheese. I digress. It was a delicious, meat-lite meal.

Winter Couscous

The Ultimate Winter Couscous from LisaIsCooking

I had a couple of little butternut squashes that I’d been neglecting, and a turnip collection sat hopeful but lonely in the vegetable bin. It was time to find a good winter dish where they’d be put to use. That didn’t take long once I grabbed my copy of Plenty. The recipe really is called the ultimate winter couscous, but I don’t think that means you have to stick to it too precisely. You could use any type of winter squash, and turnips weren’t even mentioned in the ingredient list, but I was sure they’d be fine. What was in that list was carrots, parsnips, shallots, dried apricots, chickpeas, chopped preserved lemon, harissa, and lots of spices. The vegetables were to be roasted until tender and sweet, and I could imagine the smell of the spices filling the kitchen before the oven was even warmed. I think this is the ultimate winter dish because it really couldn’t go wrong. It was full of warm spice flavors, sweet roasted charm, and perky acidity and heat.

First, big chunks of all the vegetables needed to be roasted, and I used carrots, parsnips, turnips, and butternut squash. Shallots were added to the roasting pan along with cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, ground ginger, ground turmeric, hot paprika, chile flakes, olive oil, and salt. After roasting for a bit, chopped dried apricots, chickpeas, and a little water were added to the pan. Just before the vegetables were ready, couscous was added to boiling water with saffron and olive oil. After the couscous had absorbed the water, butter was added, and the couscous was mixed and fluffed. When the roasting pan was removed from the oven, a big spoonful of harissa and some chopped preserved lemon rind were stirred into the vegetables. The couscous was served topped with the roasted vegetables and some chopped cilantro leaves.

This was such a fragrant dish, and it hit on just about every flavor you can name. The preserved lemon added little sparks of brightness here and there while the cilantro brought some fresh herbiness. The flavors of all the vegetables had become sweeter and more intense from roasting, and the spices permeated each bite. This was an ultimate winter dish, and I’ll remember it next time my butternut squash or turnips or parsnips are feeling overlooked.

Black Bean & Chicken Chilaquiles

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001545709

Add to the recipe:
- 1 can corn (you can also make this a veggie meal by replacing the chicken with the corn)

Garnish with:
- jalapenos
- salsa
- light sour cream
- cilantro (this is a must!)
- avocado