Pesto Pasta Salad

This is a really easy recipe that can also be very easily be modified by adding or subtracting ingredients. Want it vegetarian? Leave out the pepperoni. Want it fancier? Sub prosciutto for the pepperoni. Like it salty? Add some kalamata olives and/or artichoke hearts.

Ingredients
-1 box wheat penne pasta
~4 oz pesto
~8 oz mozzarella, cut into small pieces
-2/3 package turkey pepperoni, cut into fourths
~8 oz sundried tomatoes
-1 green pepper, diced
~1/3 red onion, diced

Steps
1. Cook pasta al dente. Once done, run pasta under cold water for a couple minutes.
2. Add pesto to pasta and mix well.
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Grilled Portobello Sandwiches

So my husband thinks he hates mushrooms and refuses to eat them. However, he also once said he would never eat tofu or drink soy milk. We now consume both on an almost daily basis. I was able to get him to come to accept, and even request, these once "off limits" food by:

1. Being in charge of the grocery list. If no milk was bought and he really wanted cereal, he had to use the soy.
2. Using small amounts of tofu served with other flavorful ingredients, and slowly increasing the amount of tofu used in a recipe over time...thus, he built up a tolerance for it, much as did Wesley to locane powder in the Princess Bride.
3. Being in charge of the meals. If the only thing I made had tofu, then my husband either needed to try it or make something else.

I have been using the same approach with mushrooms with much slower progress. However, I finally was able to combine tactics in this recipe with great success--not only did I get my husband to try the mushroom of all mushrooms, but he admitted he liked it! 

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches)
-4 kaiser rolls
-4 portobellos
-8 oz of reduced fat Boursin cheese
-1 red pepper, julienned
-1 yellow pepper, julienned
-1 red onion, julienned
-fresh basil (optional)
Veggie Marinade
-1/3 C balsamic vinegar
-2 T EVOO
-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Steps
1. Mix your marinade in a large bowl.
2. Toss your peppers and onion in marinade.
3. Heat a skillet, add a little EVOO, and begin sauteing your peppers and onion in the skillet over medium.

4. After veggies have been cooking for about 5 minutes, baste your mushrooms with the marinade and throw them onto a grill (we used a Foreman, but you could use a regular grill or even a toaster oven). Grill for about 5 minutes.

5. While your mushroom, peppers, and onions are going, toast your buns and then spread some Boursin cheese on the buns.

6. Once mushrooms are done, stick them in the bun, add your peppers and onion, and top with basil.

Bacon Pierogi Bake

I got this recipe from Cooking Light and it was awesome. Comfort food at its best. Also, super easy.

Ingredients (I doubled the original recipe)
-2 (16oz) packages frozen potato and onion peirogies, such as Mrs. T's
-4 slices of turkey bacon
-4 garlic cloves, chopped
-2/3 C (6oz) reduced fat cream cheese
-1 C chicken broth
-1 C shredded cheddar cheese
-one bunch of green onions, sliced diagonally
-1 C cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
-pepper to taste

Steps
(Preheat oven to 400)
1. Arrange frozen pierogies in two casserole dishes coated in cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan, crumble into pieces, and set aside.
3. Add garlic to bacon drippings and cook for about 30 seconds on medium heat.
4. Add cream cheese to pan and cook for a couple of minutes or until cream cheese begins to melt. Stir frequently.

5. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

6. Pour the cream cheese sauce evenly over pierogies and top with shredded cheese.
7. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes dump the cherry tomoatoes on top of the pierogies. Cook for another 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and top with bacon and green onion.

Note: These were great leftovers the next day.

Seared tofu salad with miso-ginger dressing

Alright, this recipe was a big blog win. The dressing turned out to be amazing, and I am regretting that I didn't make more. Also, this was my first time frying tofu and it was surprisingly easy and tasty. The trick appears to be allowing enough time for your tofu to drain before frying it.

Ingredients:
Dressing
-1/3 C white miso (I bought this at a local co-op)
-1/3 C mirin
-1/3 C rice wine vinegar
-2 T EVOO or sesame oil
-1 T fresh grated ginger
-1/3 C chopped peanuts

Salad
-2 14oz packages of extra firm tofu
-3 C salad greens
-1/2 red pepper, julienned
-1/4 red onion, julienned
~3 T EVOO or canola oil

1. Slice your tofu blocks in half, and then into fourths (like in picture).

2. Place slices on several layers of paper towels and then cover with more paper towels. Place heavy objects (like pans, teapots, heavy bowls) on top of the slices to help squeeze out the water from the tofu. Allow tofu to drain for at least 30 minutes.

3. While tofu is draining make your dressing by whisking together all of the dressing ingredients. Set aside.

4. After tofu is done draining, heat two large skillets to medium. Add 1 T of EVOO or canola oil to the pan and place tofu slices in. Cook tofu on each side for about 4-5 minutes or until it becomes a golden color. Once tofu is done, set on paper towels.

5. Drizzle some of the dressing on the salad, add tofu slices, and add more dressing. Top with more peanuts if you like.

Slow Cooker Corn Chowder

I'm back to more regular posting after getting...married!

This was so yummy and creamy--perfect for a chilly day. Also, it's super easy to make.

Ingredients
-1.5 lbs red potatoes
~2 1/2 C chicken broth (could sub vegetable broth)
-3 cans of corn (we used two 11oz cans and one 15oz can)
-1 red onion, diced
-salt, pepper, dash of cayenne (all to taste)
-3 cloves of garlic, diced
-1/2 stick of butter
~2/3 C half-and-half
-4 slices turkey bacon (optional)

Steps
1. Add first six ingredients to a crock pot and cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
2. Add about half the soup to a blender and process very quickly (you can do it more if you like your chowder smooth [I like mine chunky]), mash up the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot with a potato masher.
3. Add cream and butter. Taste soup to see if you should add more salt and pepper. Cook on low for another 20 minutes.
4. Cook bacon.
5. Serve soup and top with bacon and chives, if desired.

Pizza Pockets a la Noemi

I got this recipe from my friend, Noemi's, super awesome blog. You can find the link to the original recipe here: Cooking Through Life: Pizza Pockets.

These were so fast and easy to make, and they satisfied the pizza craving I pretty much always have without being as bad for me as real pizza.

Ingredients (makes 8 pizza pockets)
-1 package reduced fat turkey pepperoni
-2 packages reduced fat Pillsbury crescent rolls
-1 green onion
-1/2 red onion
-small jar of pizza sauce
~8 oz fresh mozzarella

Steps.
(preheat oven to 375)
1. Roll out one can of crescent rolls. Place two triangles together and pinch perforated edges together with your fingers. Repeat with second can.

2. Put about a tablespoon of pizza sauce in the middle of your dough.

3. Add about 6-7 pepperoni slices in the middle and green pepper, red onion, and mozzarella on the sides.

4. Next, fold the sides of the dough in toward the center until they almost meet (you'll probably need to stretch and work the dough a little bit to do this). Seal all edges except for the center seam.
5. Shove a couple more pieces of pepperoni in the center seam.
6. Bake until golden brown (only took about 10 minutes in my oven).

Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

I got this recipe from Cooking Light (though I modified the amounts). This was my first time using these ingredients with pasta and all in all I thought they made for a flavorful dish.

Ingredients
-3 T butter
-2 T EVOO
-3 medium shallots, peeled and diced
-1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
-3/4 C Spanish olives (these are the green kind)
-5 garlic cloves, minced or sliced
-14 oz (1 box) of penne
-salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste
-3 T fresh basil
-2 oz fresh Romano cheese, shaved
-1/2 C reserved pasta cooking liquid

Steps
1. Place a medium roasting pan in the oven and preheat to 450.
2. Shop your shallots, cauliflower, and garlic.

3. Remove preheated pan from oven and add butter and oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add shallots and cauliflower to pan and toss to coat. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes.
4. Start a large pot of water to boil. Start cooking pasta (you want it al dente) once water is boiling. (Note: I used wheat pasta, which takes longer to cook, so this timing worked well for me. However, if you're using white pasta you might want to wait a few minutes to start cooking it.)
5. After cauliflower has baked for 10 minutes add the olives, salt, pepper, red pepper, and garlic, and toss again. Cook for another 7 minutes.

6. Hopefully your pasta is done about the same time as your cauliflower. (If not, no worries...set the portion that gets done first aside. It doesn't matter if it gets cold since you'll recombine everything at the end.) Remove cauliflower from oven. Drain pasta, and reserve 1/2 C pasta cooking liquid.
7. Return pasta to pan over medium heat. Add cooking liquid and cauliflower mixture and toss. Cook for another 2 minutes.
8. Garnish with shredded Romano and basil.

Jicama Slaw

The first time I tried to make this it was a pretty big fail because I accidentally bought yuca instead of jicama. I had never before bought jicama and had no idea what it looked like, so the yuca that had snuck its way into the jicama bin seemed like it would work. It did not.

So this time I looked up what jicama looks like (see picture below) and made sure to get the right thing.
I have to say, this slaw turned out really awesome, was very easy to make, and will now be in direct competition with my other favorite slaw. The dressing is limey and tangy and I think this would be great as a side dish. We served it on top of veggie hot dogs to make Slaw Dogs 2.0.

Ingredients (makes a large batch, so you may want to half)
-2 jicamas
-1/2 head of red cabbage
-1 whole bunch of cilantro
-1/2 red onion
-3 carrots
Dressing
-3-4 limes, juiced (you want about 1/2 C of lime juice)
-2 T honey
-1/4 C rice wine vinegar
-1-2 T EVOO
-pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

Steps
1. Peel your jicama with a sharp peeler (be careful not to slice off the top of your finger and nail like I did).

2. Use a grater to grate your jicama and carrots.
3. Cut onion and cabbage into thin strips.
4. Use a scissors to chop up all your cilantro.
5. Whisk your dressing ingredients together and toss with salad ingredients.

Apple, Brie, & Arugula Quesadillas

My good friend, Lauren, made these for me. This was my first time cooking with arugula. It wilted a lot like spinach, and I really liked the sort of peppery taste it added. Very simple and fast recipe.

Ingredients
~6 oz Brie
-2 handfuls of arugula
-1 Granny Smith apple, sliced thinly
-4 large tortillas
-1 T honey mustard
-1 tsp apple cider (or apple cider vinegar)

Steps.
1. Remove rind from Brie (I found using a vegetable peeler worked really well for this). Cut Brie into bite size pieces. (Tip: stick your Brie in the freezer for a few minutes; this will make it easier to cut before it gets too soft.)
3. Mix mustard and apple cider together, and baste one side of a tortilla.
4. In a nonstick pan, place tortilla mustard side up. Layer cheese, apples, and arugula; top with another tortilla. Let cook for about 3 minutes, or until bottom is brown.

5. Flip tortilla and cook another 3 minutes or until other side is browned.

6. Repeat in order to make another quesadilla.

Taco Soup

Big thanks to Lauren and Dylan for passing on this amazing recipe. It's so simple but so super tasty. Perfect for the colder weather. We've done both ways of preparing and both were great.

Ingredients:
-1 lb. ground beef (we used Morning Star Veggie crumbles)
-4 links Andoullie sausage (optional, but adds a lot of flavor)
-2 cans kidney beans, not drained
-2 cans stewed tomatoes, not drained
-2 (4 oz.) cans chopped mild green chilies, not drained
-1 (29 oz.) can tomato sauce
-2 cups frozen corn (or 2 cans of corn, drained)
-2 pkgs. taco seasoning mix
-1 onion, diced (optional)

Optional toppings: tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro

Preparation #1
1. Put all ingredients in a large crock pot and cook on low for about 6 hours. Add onion 30 mins before you serve.

Preparation #2
2. Brown onion and meat (or faux meat) in a large pot. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occaisionally.

Upside-Down Mushroom Tartlets

First, thanks to my good friend, Julia, for passing this recipe along, and thanks to another good friend, Lauren, for helping me make and eat these guys. This recipe was actually very easy and the finished product was delicious. These would be great as appetizers or served over a bed of greens.

Ingredients (makes 12 tartlets)
-1.5-2 lbs (24-32 oz) white mushrooms (I used a mixture of baby bellas and white...since baby bellas don't shrink as much when you cook them, you'll only need 24 oz if you use the mixture)
-5 oz Gruyere, shredded
-2 shallots, finely diced
-2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
-3 T thyme
-salt, pepper
-2 T EVOO
-1 egg, butter, or milk (optional)

Steps
(Preheat oven to 375)
1. After thawing your puff pastry, lightly flour it, and cut six rounds (the size of the opening of a large muffin tin) per sheet. We found the easiest way to do this was to push a muffin tin into the dough so that it left the outlines of the circles we needed to cut out. Then we used a pizza cutter to cut out the circles. Place the cut circles on a baking sheet and place back in the refrigerator.

2. Saute scallions with 2 T EVOO for about 3 mins.
3. Add mushrooms and saute for about 12 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft and have reduced a bit.

4. Lightly grease two large muffin tins.
5. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full with mushrooms, top with about 1 T of shredded cheese, and then top with the puff pastry circle.

6. Brush egg, butter, or milk on top of pastry.
7. Cook for about 25 mins or until pastry is golden brown.

8. Once tartlets are done, use a knife to lightly trace around the edges of each muffin hole. Then place a large plate over muffin tin, and turn muffin tin upside down to release tartlets onto place.
9. Tada!

Greek yogurt snack

So my good friend, Jess, got me hooked on Greek yogurt. This stuff is awesome and packs a TON of protein! However, I find it a little bitter, so I usually add honey or preserves. But recently my cousin, Sarah, taught me this neat trick: add about 1/4 packet of Jello Instant Pudding mix (your flavor of choice) for a delicious snack or dessert. Pictured below is a tiny cat eating some Greek yogurt mixed with pistachio instant pudding mix. Meow! I mean, Yum!

Tofu Orzo Salad

I got this yummy and super simple recipe from my friend and colleague, Therese. It's actually really similar to the Roasted Shrimp and Orzo salad I posted earlier. Her original recipe called for chicken, which she marinated in Greek spices, which I'm sure would be delicious. However, over the summer we've been trying to cut down on meat (and expenses), so we subbed tofu for the chicken. Also, we marinated our tofu in balsamic vinegar.

Ingredients
-1.5 C orzo, cooked per package instructions
-2 small cucumbers, diced
-3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced
~1/2 C feta cheese
-1 package extra firm tofu, diced and marinated 
~2 T balsamic vinegar

Dresssing
-Juice from 2 lemons (about 1/3-1/2 C), and zest of one lemon
-2 garlic cloves, mined
~1/3 C fresh dill, chopped
~2 T EVOO
-salt and pepper, to your tasting

1. Basically just do the following: marinate your tofu, cook the orzo, chop the veggies, tofu, and dill, whisk up your dressing, combine everything, and enjoy!

Noodles with Sauteed Veggies and Lemon Ginger Dressing

First, apologies for the break in posting. We had company in town for about a week and a half, and then were out of town for another several days. Anyhow...I should be around now, and will get back to regular posting!

As you may have noticed, we've been on somewhat of a soba/udon kick recently. This was another really tasty recipe, that was in some ways similar to the Cold Soba Salad, but also different--this recipe was served hot, and was lemony and gingery rather than limey.

Ingredients
-12 oz udon noodles
-1 zucchini, sliced
-1 squash, sliced
-1 package extra firm tofu, diced, and drained of as much water as possible
-2 T fresh herbs (like cilantro or basil)
-2 T diced green onion
~1 T EVOO
Dressing
-3/4 teaspoon Asian chlli powder (or cayenne)
-Grated zest of 1 lemon
-1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
-1 inch section of ginger, peeled and grated
-1/4 cup rice vinegar
-1/3 cup soy sauce
-1 tablespoon honey
-1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
-2 tablespoons olive oil

Steps
1. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients. I just used a whisk, but if you'd like the dressing to be chunk-free you could use a food processor or hand blender.
2. In a pot, make noodles according to package directions.
3. Heat frying pan (or wok) with a little butter or EVOO. Saute zucchini, squash, and tofu for about 4-5 minutes. Add in noodles, stir in sauce, and toss everything well.

4. Top with herbs and onions.