Rotini w/ Sauteed Greens and Scallion Sauce

Recipe from Food and Wine

This was a quick, easy, fairly healthy weeknight meal.  It all came together within about 30 minutes, and it was very good!  This recipe involves arugula, swiss chard, scallions and marsarpone.

Ingredients:
3/4 lb rotini (or any smaller pasta)
4 T unsalted butter
1 bunch scallions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3/4 c dry white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 T EVOO
5 ou baby arugula
6 leaves (about 1 bunch) swiss chard, stems and central ribs discarded, coarsely chopped
1/4 c marsarpone cheese (you can also substitute cream cheese)

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/4 c of pasta water, and set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Add scallions and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook over low heat until reduced by half, 5 more minutes.  Add 1/2 c of waterand puree the mixture in a blender until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in pasta pot. Add arugula and Swiss Chard and cook over high heat until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the pasta, scallion sauce and reserved pasta water and toss to mix.  Simmer, about 5 minutes, until sauce is thickened.

Stir in the marsarpone unil melted.  Season with salt and pepper, if needed, and serve.

 

Dal Makhani

Recipe from Cook Like a Champion

I love Indian flavors.  And so does J.  But this was a dish a bit outside of our normal comfort zone.  The big red flag for J?  No meat!  But I actually think he really liked it. 

This was an extremely simple meal to cook, although you do need about an hour to thicken.  I served it with Naan I picked up at the grocery store.

Ingredients:
1 c dry lentils
1 (14 ou) can crushed tomatoes
1 T fresh grated ginger
1 T minced garlic
1 t cayenne
1 c water
4 T unsalted butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 c heavy cream
2 T minced fresh cilantro

Directions:
In a large saucepan, add lentils and enough water to cover by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for about 10 minutes, until lentils are open and tender.  Drain and return to pot.

Stir lentils around pot, using a spoon to smash some of them against the sides.  Add tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cayenne, water, butter, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat for about 1 hour, until thickened.  Periodically check to make sure water has not cooked out.  If it has, add a bit more water and then cover for remaining cook time.

Stir in cream, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

 

Veggie Quinoa Soup

Recipe from Oh She Glows

Loved this soup!  J had his usual complaint about the lack of meat, but again, it didn’t stop him from taking seconds or leftovers in his lunch. 🙂

The curry, cinnamon and nutmeg really work well together in this soup.  This was my first time cooking with quinoa and I discovered that I like it.  I’ll definitely use it more often now.

Because J doesn’t like his soup to be too soupy, I did add more quinoa and veggies than the recipe calls for, but I’m just going to put the original amounts, because I’m not really sure how much extra I actually added.  Oh, I also did 6 bouillon cubes, because it said on the package 1 cube per cup of water.

Ingredients:
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 c quinoa
1 T EVOO
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 beef bouillon cubes
6 c hot water
15 our can diced tomatoes
15 ou can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 t curry powder
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 c baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 t kosher salt
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add onion and saute over medium heat until translucent. Add the carrots, zucchini and garlic and continue to saute for 5-7 minutes.

Add the water and bouillon cubes and bring to a boil. Mix in the quinoa, tomatoes, spices, salt and pepper.  Boil and then simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Add the spinach, stir well and then cover. Simmer on low for 15-35 minutes. The longer you simmer, the better the flavors will combine.  Adjust seasonings as needed, and serve!

 

Braised White Beans w/ Potatoes and Veggies

Recipe from The Way the Cookie Crumbles

This was a really great, not-too-heavy meal for a cold day.  J’s only problem with it, as usual, was the lack of meat.  But he went back for seconds, so I guess it wasn’t that big of a problem! 🙂

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
14 ou diced tomatoes
1/4 c water
1 medium potato, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small-medium zucchini, diced
1-2 carrots, diced
14 ou small white beans (I used Great Northern), drained and rinsed
1/4 t dried rosemary
1/4 t salt

Directions:
Place oil, garlic and red pepper in a large, high-sided skillet.  Cook over medium heat about 30 seconds to one minute.  Add the tomatoes, water and potato, and cover.  Simmer for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are almost cooked through.

Mix in the zucchini, carrots, beans, rosemary and salt.  Cover again and cook about 10 minutes, stirring often, until potatoes and zucchini are tender. 

Check the consistency of the sauce.  It should be thick and soupy.  Add water if needed, or boil uncovered to thicken.

 

Salsa Bean Soup

Recipe from Cooking Light

I came across this recipe as I was searching for some meat-free, easy recipes that would be great for weeknight meals.  It was extremely quick and easy to make, and I was actually surprised at how good and flavorful it turned out. 

I think I slightly over blended the beans, however.  I used my immersion blender instead of transferring half of them to my blender, and I slightly overdid it.  I didn’t mind it, but J does like some chunks in his soups, so that was his one complaint. But he also really liked the flavor.

I served it with cheesy tortillas.  I just piled some cheese onto half a tortilla shell, then heated it up in the skillet until both sides were lightly browned and the cheese was melted.

Ingredients:
1 t vegetable oil
1 T minced garlic (about 2-3 cloves)
2 c water
1/2 t chipotle chili powder
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
8 ounce salsa
1 T fresh lime juice
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (didn’t have this so I skipped it)
1/2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, then mix in water, chili powder, beans and salsa.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for one minute.

Place 3 cups of the black bean mixture into your blender and blend until smooth. (I used the immersion blender here, just be careful of how much you blend it.) 

Return the pureed mixture to the pan and add in the lime juice, then simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, if using.

Serve sprinkled with Monterey Jack cheese.

 

Eggplant & Zucchini Lasagna

Recipe from Cooking Club

Would you believe this is the first time I’ve ever made lasagna?  I have no idea why.  It’s not like it’s a difficult thing to make.  Maybe it’s J’s aversion to ricotta.  Although I can simply substitute cottage cheese.  Or maybe it was that before there were no-boil noodles, I thought it seemed like too much of a pain to cook them, try to get them out with sticking together, falling apart, or burning my fingers.  Whatever the reason, I will definitely be making it again. 

This recipe was fabulous!  I absolutely loved the addition of the cream cheese to give it a nice, creamy texture.  I did use a store-bought sauce because I had used all of my tomatoes for salsa and hot sauce.  But I had my zucchini and eggplant fresh from the garden! 🙂

I used 2 square disposable aluminum pans for this lasagna.  That way we could eat one (with some leftovers for lunch or whatever) and I froze the other.  I froze the second pan before I even cooked it.  I’ll cook it at 350 for about 1 hour 10 minutes when we’re ready to eat it.

Using the small pans, I did have to break the lasagna noodles to make them fit.  Kind of a pain, but it worked well!  As you can tell from the picture I did use quite a bit of sauce.  About a whole jar per pan.  For two reasons: 1) I like sauce! 🙂 and 2) I wanted to make sure there was enough for the noodles to cook.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 medium eggplant, chopped (about 3-4 cups)
2 1/2 c chopped mushrooms
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 t dried thyme, divided
Salt & pepper, to taste
9-12 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 c cottage cheese
8 ou cream cheese, softened
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 c shredded mozarella
1 large jar pasta sauce

Directions:
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat.  Cook eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, onion, 1 t thyme and salt & pepper until vegetables are tender, about 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a small bowl, mix the cottage cheese, cream cheese, 1/2 t thyme, salt and pepper and 1/4 c Parmesan cheese.

In a 9×13 baking dish spread a layer of sauce to prevent sticking.  Layer on 3 noodles and then more sauce.  Then add in 1/3 of the veggie mixture, 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture, 1/2 c of the mozzarella and then repeat, starting with the sauce, two more times – ending with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella.  Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 50-60 minutes, until golden brown.  If browning too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil.  Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

 

Curry Egg Salad Wraps

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Curry isn’t something that I use much, maybe once, ever.  But I really like the flavor of it!  I had red curry powder in my spice cabinet, so that’s what I used here.

I like the addition of the apple to give it a bit of crunch and sweetness, and the cayenne gives it just a hint of spice. 

I hard boiled the eggs for this on Sunday, then put together the egg salad on Wednesday for dinner.  It’s nice to be able to do things in advance, so I have more time on the weeknights that isn’t spent in the kitchen. 🙂

Ingredients:
12 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1/2 c red onion, finely chopped
2/3 c mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 T curry powder
2 t whole grain or Dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1/8 t cayenne

Whole wheat sandwich wraps
Tomato and/or lettuce

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the egg, onion and apple.  In a small bowl mix the mayo, lime juice, curry, mustard, salt and cayenne.  Pour the mayo mixture into the eggs and gently stir to combine well.

Place the egg salad in your wrap, top with tomato and/or lettuce and roll up to eat!

 

Summer Vegetable Napoleans

Recipe from Rachel Ray

I’m always looking for meatless recipes to make for dinner, in order to save money.  It seems, lately, that many of those involve Portabella mushrooms.  But that’s okay with me – I love them! 🙂

This one is a delicious stack of grilled veggies – portabellas, eggplant, zucchini and grilled polenta. However, as you can see from the picture, the stack did not want to stay stacked. 🙂 Which is why I didn’t even attempt a picture once I moved them to the plate with the pasta.

It was actually even better than I had imagined!  The only change I made was adding some minced garlic into the pasta – for a bit more flavor.  And I halved this recipe for just J and I (4 serving recipe below), and it still made a lot!  I ended up taking half of my portion in my lunch the next day. (It reheats well.)

Next time I make this, I will probably substitute plain yogurt for the mayonnaise.  I thought I had some yogurt, but it turned out I didn’t.  I may add about a tablespoon of mayo in the mix for the taste, but yogurt can definitely go in its place in this dish, to make it just that much healthier.

Ingredients:
2 portabella mushroom caps
1.2 lbs tube prepared polenta (sliced into 12 rounds)
1/2 c Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
2 small eggplants, peeled and sliced lengthwise into 12 pieces
1 zucchini, sliced on the diagonal into 12 pieces
2/3 lb angel hair pasta (I used fettucini)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatos, 1 finely chopped, 1 sliced into 12 pieces
1 c shredded mozzarella
1/4 c mayo

Directions:
Preheat grill over medium heat.  Brush both sides of the mushrooms and polenta with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, toss the eggplant and zucchini to coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place the mushrooms, eggplant and zucchini onto the grill for about 5 minutes, turning once, until heated through.  Remove from grill and thinly slice the mushrooms.  Place the polenta on the grill for about 2 minutes, turning once, until heated through.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and toss with chopped tomato, 2 T olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the mozzarella and mayo.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  In 4 stacks, layer 3 slices eggplant, 2 slices zucchini, 3 slices tomato, some of the cheese mixture, 3 polenta rounds, more of the cheese, and sliced mushrooms.

Place baking sheet on grill and close cover.  Grill for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve veggie stacks with pasta.

 

Stuffed Broiled Portabellas

Recipe from SparkPeople

Mmm… delicious!  I absolutely love mushrooms, as does J. 🙂  And this filling was so good.  It seems so simple, but it all goes together so well.

This only took about 15 minutes to make, and I served it with some of the leftover coleslaw.  It was a pretty hot night, so I wanted to keep things simple and light.

Since it was so hot, I skipped the oven and used the toaster oven instead.  It doesn’t give off as much heat, and is the perfect size for two portabella mushrooms.

Ingredients:
2 portabella mushrooms, stem and gills removed
1 shallot, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 c baby spinach, stems removed
1/4 c zucchini, diced
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 small tomato, sliced
1 ou mozzarella cheese
2 t Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 450.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add the zucchini, shallot and jalapeno.  Saute for about 1 minute.

Add the spinach and salt and pepper (to taste), and cook about 2-3 minutes, until spinach is tender.

Meanwhile – spray both sides of the mushroom with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet in the oven for about 2 minutes, until hot.  Rub each side of the mushroom with the smashed garlic.

Divide the veggie mixture between both mushrooms, then top with cheese and tomato slices.  Return to oven for about 6 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Drizzle with balsamic, and serve.

 

Portobello & Brie Panini

I had some brie left over from the Eggs ‘n Bellas I made the other day, and, of course, I didn’t want it to go to waste.  Since I’ve been trying to have one or two meatless nights a week, I decided on a portobello and brie panini.

I have to say, this was absolutely delicious! A bit messy, but delicious nonetheless. 🙂

Ingredients:
2 large portobello mushroom caps, stems removed, and sliced
4 thick slices bread (I used sourdough)
4-6 ou brie cheese, sliced
Roasted red pepper, sliced
Balsamic vinegar
1 small onion, sliced into half moons
Roasted Garlic and Yogurt Sandwich Spread (recipe below)

Directions:
In a medium skillet, saute the onions, mushrooms and a splash of vinegar until the onions and mushrooms are tender.

Spread the sandwich spread on one side of a piece of bread, and butter on the other. Layer the mushrooms and onions, cheese and peppers onto the sandwich spread side of the bread.  Top with a second slice of bread (with the outside buttered).

Cook with a panini press or on a grill pan until cheese is melted and both sides are golden brown.

Sandwich Spread:
Ingredients:
1 head roasted garlic
1/4 c plain Greek yogurt
2 t mayo
1 t Dijon
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t dried parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Mash the garlic into a small bowl, then mix in remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Will keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator.