June 27, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Main Dishes
This is a super easy pasta dish recipe I saw in the BHG special publication magazine Mixing Bowl. I used pesto from my freezer but you can also make your pesto fresh or use prepurchased. While the water is boiling for your pasta, grill or pan cook a couple of chicken breasts. I cut off all the fat and sprayed each breast lightly with olive oil then sprinkled it with Montreal Chicken Seasoning. I threw them on the George Foreman grill (alsp sprayed with canola oil) and grilled them until cooked through, about 8 minutes or so (this will depend on the width of your chicken breast, so you can check with a meat thermometor or just cut them open to make sure they are no longer pink inside).
While the pasta was cooking, I sliced the chicken breast and put the thawed pesto in the bottom of the bowl.
I tossed the hot pasta with the pesto and added the chicken breast slices and parmesan cheese on top. Delicious!
June 17, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Main Dishes
I’m so lucky to have a local mushroom purveyor, I ordered these from Greenling but starting this week they will be selling directly at my farmer’s market!
While your water is boiling, chop up a pound of mushrooms (I used criminis, use whatever you like) with half an onion and three cloves of garlic, all finely chopped in a little olive oil and sautee until tender.
While the pasta cooks, add two cans of chopped clams, juice and all, to the mix. Simmer and serve over the pasta with lots of parmesan cheese. You ALWAYS need lots of paremesan cheese!
June 13, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Main Dishes, Recipes -- Side Dishes, Recipies -- Vegetarian
Letting my son use my camera is always a bad idea. I had two meals worth of pictures disappear when he was taking pictures of himself with his sister and uncles today. Which is too bad, because both recipes were a family hit. One I plan on remaking this week, this one I’m going to post without the pictures because I don’t know when I’ll be making it again (though it should be soon since my husband ate four helpings!).
Calling it a casserole is inaccurate because the only thing binding it all together was cheese.
I sauteed three small squash with half an onion in a little olive oil until tender. Drain and rinse a can of beans (I used black beans), and add a couple cups of corn (either a can of corn or half a bag of frozen). Mixed with cooked brown rice (I used one Success Family Size Boil In A Bag Brown Rice which equals about three cups cooked). Add a couple of cups of cooked chicken breast and mix with cheese (I mixed cheddar and monterey jack). Cover with tinfoil and bake for about 30 minutes at 350. I put this together the night before and put it straight from the fridge into the oven! If you want to bind it altogether a little salsa will work well, and you could also use this as a stuffing for peppers!
Kick out the chicken to make a still-very-filling vegetarian dish!
Read more about how some Native American tribes planted corn, beans, and squash together (hence the name “three sisters”).
ETA: Found one remaining picture of a mostly finished casserole taken before my husband hip checked me to finish it off.
June 8, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Appetizers, Recipes -- Main Dishes, Recipes -- Side Dishes, Recipies -- Vegetarian
Assemble all but the pine nuts and the balsalmic vinegar in a large roasting pan.
While the green beans and potatos are roasting, toast the pine nuts over a medium high heat.
Add the toasted pine nuts to the mix. I serve the balsalmic tableside since the kids prefer this dish without!
Recipe here.
May 30, 2009
· Filed under Links, Recipes -- Main Dishes
Broccoli, Onion, and Carrots
Chicken cooking
Raw veggies going in the wok
Steamed veggies waiting for the chicken to be added back
Done!
Recipe here
May 14, 2009
· Filed under General Info, Recipes -- Main Dishes, Recipies -- Sauces & Dressings, Recipies -- Vegetarian
Are you pesto’d to death? I just wanted to show how easy it is to reconstitute frozen pesto. I threw the cubes in the food processor and let them defrost while I did other things, added the parmesan cheese back in and whirled it until blended. Mixed it with my cooked pasta and watched my kids eat two helpings!
May 7, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Main Dishes, Recipies -- Sauces & Dressings, Recipies -- Vegetarian
This recipe is very forgiving, I made this version with chopped onion, garlic, some leftover pesto that didn’t make it to the freezer and some parmesan cheese. Roasting your tomatos really brings out the sweetness, give it a whirl!
This sauce also cans well if you have a plethora of tomatos to do something with!
May 4, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Main Dishes, Recipes -- Side Dishes, Recipies -- Sauces & Dressings, Recipies -- Vegetarian
…isn’t hard to do at all, you just omit the parmesan cheese and add it back in later after you defrost. If you freeze it in an ice cube tray then you pop out just the small amounts needed to add to spagetti sauce. If you want to make pasta with pesto, you can put the whole bag of cubes in a bowl of warm water, then snip off the end of the bag and squeeze out the pesto once it has defrosted, add the parmesan cheese, then toss it with your pasta.
I made three batches of pesto using a mix of the three different kinds of pesto (sweet basil, lemon basil, and thai basil) I grow in an old washtub on my front porch (The washtub was rescued from a pile of trash by the side of the road. Don’t ever say I’m not classy.). The amount picture made two batches, and I made a third batch from sweet basil alone from my mom’s garden. One ice tray filled equaled one batch and I put each batch in a seperate freezer bag.
Classic Pesto Recipe
2 cups of fresh packed basil leaves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (I have also used sunflower seeds in the past)
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of fresh garlic
salt and pepper to taste.
Whirl all the above in a food processor. Wave your hands in the air and say “TAH DAH!” and you’re done!
March 25, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Main Dishes, Recipies -- Vegetarian
This recipe comes from the 03/09 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal. I made a few small changes.
6 oz dried farfalle (bow ties), or other GI friendly pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chapped
1 cup sliced portobellor or other fresh mushrooms (I used button mushrooms)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups spinach, thinly sliced (I used baby spinach since it is the most tender)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped (I omitted)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper (I also added some salt to taste)
2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese (I used more, love me some cheese)
Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic and cook, stirring occassionally, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in spinach, thyme and pepper and cook until spinach is slightly wilted, about 1 minutes.
Toss mushroom and spinach mixture with pasta and sprinkle with cheese.
Notes: Next time I make this I think I will add some feta for some creaminess and extra flavor!
March 19, 2009
· Filed under Recipes -- Crockpot, Recipes -- Main Dishes, Recipes -- Side Dishes, Recipies -- Vegetarian
Beans are an important part of a healthy GI diet. Pinto beans have a GI index of 39 which puts them firmly in the low range. All beans and legumes (with the exceptions of refried beans and baked beans) are a good and inexpensive addition to a GI friendly meal plan.
Beans are also very easy to cook, you just have to plan ahead of time. The evening before you want to cook them, put them in a bowl and cover them with water (at least an inch or so over the top of the dried beans, they will expand and they rehydrate). The next morning rinse them very well and add them to your crockpot. These beans were flavored only with a ham bone, salt, and pepper. You can make a vegetarian option by using adobo seasoning, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and even a little liquid smoke. Let them cook on day on low and then serve. I usually serve them with cheese and either tortillas or corn bread. The agave sweet corn bread recipe was great with these beans!
