Pesto Orecchiette With Chicken Sausage

Found in Real Simple.

Two things made me need this recipe in my life. First, I love weird shaped pasta. Spongebob mac and cheese? Hell yes. Weird little circle things? I'm in. Second, I'll eat damn near anything with pesto on it. I wanted to add asparagus to it, but that crap is like $4/bundle right now!! Eff that.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces orecchiette (like little discs)
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used frozen ones from Trader Joe's)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces fully cooked Italian-style chicken sausage links, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup pesto (I used the jarred pesto from Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the green beans and peas during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and vegetables and return them to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Add the sausage, pesto, Parmesan, and ½ cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and vegetables and toss to combine (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry). 

Ok, that pic looks kinda gross. Mostly because my green bowl blends in the green sauce and is all kinds of tacky 70's-y. I assure you, however, that it's REALLY REALLY GOOD! Super good. I think you could put broccoli or asparagus or other green things in it. 

Cheat Sauce

I didnt take pictures, but I was pretty impressed with how my spaghetti sauce came out last night. You know I like cramming veggies in anything and everything. Last night I sauteed up one chopped (big ol chunks) red bell pepper and one zucchini until both were soft. I threw those in a blender with one small can of diced tomatoes. Blended it for like 5 seconds (basically just until the blender sucked down all veggies. I wanted it chunky). Served over angel hair. Done. In immediate retrospect, I should have thrown a ton of garlic in there. I was starving and in a time crunch, so I'll save that for next time.

Split Pea Soup

Two weekends ago, I was at LeGreg's house and his parents were gone for the weekend. His mom usually cooks a lot, so that left us on our for food. He cooked all 3 dinners. Just whipped them up from whatever was laying around. And it was all deelish.

Fast forward to this weekend: he's coming down here. I want to cook for him. I take all effing week to plan ONE dinner. Picking it out, shopping, all that. Cripes. I do NOT win at cooking.

While babysitting on tuesday, I was going through a Barefoot Contessa cookbook that they had. I've heard her name a million times, but I've never seen any of her shows or anything. I came across this recipe for split pea soup. It caught my attention because of the short/easy ingredient list. I always assumed that split pea soup had a ham hock or something weird like that in it. Sold!

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 cup chopped yellow onions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)
• 1 cup medium-diced red boiling , unpeeled (3 small)
• 1 pound dried split green peas
• 8 cups chicken stock or water (I always use low sodium. Plenty of flavor.)
  
• (I also added one of those thick slices of ham, diced. Split pea soup needs ham, RIGHT??)
  

Directions

In a 4-quart stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1/2 pound of peas, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft (here is where I added my ham, too). Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Until close to the end, I was worried that the peas weren't going to get mushy. Split pea soup must be MUSHY, damn it!! But it did. And holy balls the flavor! It tastes nice and smoky and the carrots and potatoes make it really hearty. Maybe the bestest part? WAY cheap. I made it tonight, thinking that maybe it'll be even better if it sits for a day before I the boy has to pretend that he loves it. We'll see!

Healthifying Tacos

I'm not smart enough to NOT over-eat. I AM smart enough, however, to try to make the best of it. Usually. Today I was craaaaaaving beef stroganoff. You know what beef stroganoff has in it? Sour cream. Effing lactose intolerance. Next up: tacos. Like I said, I knew I was going to shove copious amounts of food in my face. My trick is to try to cram veggies in my food to a)take up space and b) add vitamins and that crap. SO. Here are my healthier tacos:

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 package of taco seasoning
1/2 red bell pepper (should have used the whole thing)
1 small (really small. Like, was maybe a shallot) yellow onion
3 giant handfuls of spinach

Swirl some olive oil in a pan (I used my electric skillet). On med heat, cook the onions and peppers until onions are translucent. Add about a quarter cup of water, then the turkey. Sprinkle the taco mix on top of it (to make it even healthier, use less mix). When the turkey is almost done, toss in your spinach. Remember that it cooks down a LOT and cooks really fast. Spinach and broccoli and other "tough" greens are actually better for you when they're cooked, so eat up!

I served on "handmade" tortillas with soy cheese.

Yum.

Lentil Salad

I've been craving lentils lately. Don't ask why, because I have NO idea. Lo-and-behold, this recipe plopped itself in my lap today! I only had to buy a couple ingredients, so I was sold!

Ingredients

1 pound (about 3 cups) dried lentils. This recipe works best with whole light brown lentils. (I went to Whole Foods so that I could get these in the bulk section. They only had green lentils. Meh, worked out ok)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 scallions, sliced in fine rounded pieces. This means little circles, my little geniuses.

4 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper… freshly ground for overachievers

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup well packed minced parsley

Directions:

1. Put the lentils and about 5 1/2 cups of water in a 4 quart pot with the cumin and about half the salt.
2. Bring everything to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for about 25 minutes (mine took a little longer, probably because I used the wrong kind of lentils). Remove the cover, make sure that most of the water has boiled off (eh...also a lot of water left over. Also probably due to the wrong lentils), and that the lentils are softened (key!). Remove them from heat and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining salt, lemon juice, black pepper, olive oil, parsley and scallions.
4. One the lentils are lukewarm, pour the mixture in #3 over them and SLOWLY combine everything. If you stir to vigorously, you risk end up with a delicious, yet unappetizing mushy mess.
5. Feel free to improvise by adding split cherry tomatoes, finely diced celery, or shredded carrot.
6. You can serve immediately OR refrigerate for for several hours before serving. It really depends on whether you want to use it as a salad or a side dish. If you serve it as a salad, you can serve it over a bed of California greens or baby spinach.

I opted for the spinach salad version. LEGIT. I freaking LOVE the cumin/lemon combo. Love. It. I did put carrots in mine, but didn't have any celery or tomatoes. This seems like one of those recipes that you could just load the veggies into. I've got some experimenting to do...

Smoothies!

I just got a new blender, y'all!!! Yes, it's pink. No, that was not my preferred color. But we all know that I'm a huge giant sucker for a good sale.

Due to a lovely spout with reeeeeally bad TMJ lately, it came at a great time. Soups and smoothies are about to rule my life! I made a smoothie for dinner tonight, out of pure excitement. Might whip up some carrot soup a little later.

My take on smoothies:

-Fruit+fruit juice=a TON of sugar.

-Smoothies need not be huge Jamba Juiced sized. Seriously. Yes, fruit has a ton of vitamins and even though it's "natural" sugar, it also has a ton of sugar and SUGAR IS SUGAR. Your smoothie really shouldn't be more than about a cup. Edit: not more than a cup of fruit, I should say. I just added a bunch of extra almond milk and a hand full of spinach to my regular small smoothie and it got HUGE!

-instead of juice, try kefir, almond/soy milk, milk, or sub half the juice with yogurt. Really try to cut the sugar out by not using juice. If you're going to use juice at all (like, at all IN YOUR LIFE), try to get it as close to it's natural state as possible. Apple juice from concentrate? Pretty much just straight sugar.

-Add stuff!! I like adding almonds. Little protein and makes it more filling. Maybe add some dry oatmeal for fiber, or protein powder, or "green" powder, tofu for protein. You can disguise the taste of all kinds of good-for-you crap in smoothies.

-My trick I picked up working at a cafe place that had smoothies: take a cup the size of the smoothie you want. Fill it with the frozen fruit. THEN fill it with whatever liquid you're using until it just tops the fruit. The fruit/liquid ratio is pretty spot on that way. Not too thick, not too runny.

I'm considering playing with veggie drinks at some point next...sounds like it has the potential of being gross, though...we'll see.

Edit: I came across this last night. Almond butter! Of COURSE!! I love almond butter. It's a little pricey but SO good and totally better for you than peanut butter. I made that recipe with almond milk (super low calorie and nice nutty flavor) and mixed berries (on sale for $7 for a giant bag at Target). KEEPER. I could totally taste the almond butter. I usually just put whole almond in it. I like the crunchiness of that, but the almond butter flavor is a lot stronger. I'm sure my neighbors love hearing my blender scream at 6am every day now. Sorry for partying.

Edit pt2: Added a big handfull of fresh spinach to the smoothie just above. Can't even taste it! At all! Killer way to sneak in greens. For big people AND little people!

Edit pt 3: To mix things up (I love trying to fix things that aren't broken, apparently), I bought a carton of the SoDelicious non-sweetened coconut milk (like a milk carton, got it at Target). It's low calorie and I thought maybe it would add a naturally sweet coconut-y flair. IT DOESN'T. It's gross. It's almost...bitter. And yucks up the taste of the whole smoothie. Stick to almond milk, people. Trust.

Quinoa with Green Olives and Red Onions

This is from, shocking, the Isabel's Cantina cookbook (link to the right). I gave that cookbook to 4 different people for Christmas. Should have given it to everyone! Love it.

Ingredients
(Serves 4 to 6)
1 cup quinoa
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 med red onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (omg never go grocery shopping on Sunday night. Bare shelves! Couldnt find red, so I used yellow. Seems to have worked out pretty well).
3/4 cup green olives, halved and pitted (blech. Do not like, so I left them out)
3 tablespoons lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons, I used 1)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place the quinoa in a medium sauce pan and cover with 2 cups cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers. Cover and cook until the water has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender, 10 to 15 mins. Remove from the heat, stir in the salt and pepper, and set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 mins, then add the bell pepper. Continue cooking until the bell pepper has softened, about 3 mins. Add the aolives, stirring well to combine, and cook for 1 more min.

Stir the sauteed vegetables into the quinoa. Add the lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the cumin, and cilantro. Toss well to combine. Serve the quinoa warm, at room temperature, or cold. The quinoa can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Pretty simple! I love the cumin and lemon flavors. Quinoa is uber healthy, so dish up!