This week's dinner highlights:
After being on second shift for nearly a year, my job has recently switched me back to days. In celebration of being able to do fun, social things after work, we ate out a bit more than usual, but I did manage to cook dinner a few times this week.
One night, we had a healthified version of a Barefoot Contessa recipe that my fiance's stepmom made for us a couple months ago. I increased the vegetables, left out the cream, and nixed the sliced lemons. I think my version was even better because it didn't have that ultra-rich "I AM MADE OF CREAM" vibe going on.
Creamy Lemon Fusilli Salad
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup lowfat sour cream
3 lemons
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
8 oz fusilli (cavatappi or penne would also be good here)
1 pound baby arugula
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta cooks, steam the broccoli in the microwave and prepare the dressing.
Put the olive oil and the garlic in a cold pan, and then heat over a medium flame until the garlic begins to sizzle. Turn off the heat and let cool. Add the sour cream, the zest of 2 of the lemons and the juice of all 3 to the yogurt. Pour in the garlic infused oil, and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of fresh pepper.
Place the arugula, tomatoes, and broccoli in a large bowl. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it briefly and then dump it in on top of the veggies. Pour the dressing over and toss well. Adjust seasoning if necessary (more lemon or salt or pepper may be needed, depending on your taste). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Last night I really wanted to go down to this awesome little Mexican restaurant down the street and have some black bean nachos, but we had just gone out for burgers the night before. Going out to eat 2 nights in a row doesn't really fit in with my "eat out less" budgeting goal. So I stopped at the neighborhood Mexican grocery store and picked up a couple of things (tostadas, iceberg lettuce, Mexican crema, jalapenos) and came home and made dinner! Tostadas were faster to make than nachos, and I thought they'd be easier to pile up with crispy lettuce and homemade pico. I was right!
Black Bean Tostadas
I'm not sure if these really need a recipe, so I'll just describe what I did. First, I made the pico. Chop up 3 ripe Roma tomatoes, half an onion, some cilantro, and mix together with one finely chopped jalapeno (seeds and stems discarded) and the juice of one lime. After that's all mixed up, crack open a can of black beans, add a teaspoon or so of cumin and heat those up in the microwave. Preheat your toaster oven broiler, grate some monterrey jack cheese, shred some lettuce, and slice a perfect avocado while the beans are heating up. When the beans are hot, use a slotted spoon to drain off most of the juice as you scoop them onto the tostadas, sprinkle cheese over, and then broil until the cheese melts. We each had 2 bean tostadas, a big pile of lettuce, and one tostada with half a sliced avocado on it. Serve with pico, crema (which is SO DELICIOUS, and tastes very much like creme fraiche) and extra lime for squeezing.
For tonight's dinner, I'm trying to decide between bean tostadas again (they're that good, plus I have leftover beans and pico) or portabella mushroom mini-muffalettas. Just for good measure, here's my muffaletta idea...
Slice some zucchini and portabella. Broil or grill until done. Finely chop some spicy mixed olives into relish. Split and toast some ciabatta rolls. Spread one side of the roll with olive relish. Layer on zucchini slices, portabella, and arugula. Spread the top of the roll with soft garlic/basil goat cheese.
I'm trying to decide what to have with that sandwich. Nothing that requires the use of the oven, as it heats up my house too much. I'm thinking maybe some kind of cucumber salad. Any ideas?
One night, we had a healthified version of a Barefoot Contessa recipe that my fiance's stepmom made for us a couple months ago. I increased the vegetables, left out the cream, and nixed the sliced lemons. I think my version was even better because it didn't have that ultra-rich "I AM MADE OF CREAM" vibe going on.
Creamy Lemon Fusilli Salad
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup lowfat sour cream
3 lemons
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
8 oz fusilli (cavatappi or penne would also be good here)
1 pound baby arugula
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta cooks, steam the broccoli in the microwave and prepare the dressing.
Put the olive oil and the garlic in a cold pan, and then heat over a medium flame until the garlic begins to sizzle. Turn off the heat and let cool. Add the sour cream, the zest of 2 of the lemons and the juice of all 3 to the yogurt. Pour in the garlic infused oil, and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of fresh pepper.
Place the arugula, tomatoes, and broccoli in a large bowl. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it briefly and then dump it in on top of the veggies. Pour the dressing over and toss well. Adjust seasoning if necessary (more lemon or salt or pepper may be needed, depending on your taste). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Last night I really wanted to go down to this awesome little Mexican restaurant down the street and have some black bean nachos, but we had just gone out for burgers the night before. Going out to eat 2 nights in a row doesn't really fit in with my "eat out less" budgeting goal. So I stopped at the neighborhood Mexican grocery store and picked up a couple of things (tostadas, iceberg lettuce, Mexican crema, jalapenos) and came home and made dinner! Tostadas were faster to make than nachos, and I thought they'd be easier to pile up with crispy lettuce and homemade pico. I was right!
Black Bean Tostadas
I'm not sure if these really need a recipe, so I'll just describe what I did. First, I made the pico. Chop up 3 ripe Roma tomatoes, half an onion, some cilantro, and mix together with one finely chopped jalapeno (seeds and stems discarded) and the juice of one lime. After that's all mixed up, crack open a can of black beans, add a teaspoon or so of cumin and heat those up in the microwave. Preheat your toaster oven broiler, grate some monterrey jack cheese, shred some lettuce, and slice a perfect avocado while the beans are heating up. When the beans are hot, use a slotted spoon to drain off most of the juice as you scoop them onto the tostadas, sprinkle cheese over, and then broil until the cheese melts. We each had 2 bean tostadas, a big pile of lettuce, and one tostada with half a sliced avocado on it. Serve with pico, crema (which is SO DELICIOUS, and tastes very much like creme fraiche) and extra lime for squeezing.
For tonight's dinner, I'm trying to decide between bean tostadas again (they're that good, plus I have leftover beans and pico) or portabella mushroom mini-muffalettas. Just for good measure, here's my muffaletta idea...
Slice some zucchini and portabella. Broil or grill until done. Finely chop some spicy mixed olives into relish. Split and toast some ciabatta rolls. Spread one side of the roll with olive relish. Layer on zucchini slices, portabella, and arugula. Spread the top of the roll with soft garlic/basil goat cheese.
I'm trying to decide what to have with that sandwich. Nothing that requires the use of the oven, as it heats up my house too much. I'm thinking maybe some kind of cucumber salad. Any ideas?