Pasta Salad and Veggie Chili
This is what I had for dinner tonight because I was just fiddling around with the few ingredients I had. I made a cold pasta salad and heated up some chili that I slowcooked yesterday. Mmmmm. The pasta salad is soooo good. I might even get a small bowl of it since I didn't finish half my chili. The pasta salad is one I sort of made up/fiddled with a recipe and I think it's much better than the original!
Summer Spinach Pasta Salad (FIVE STARS!)
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pound pasta
1/2 package frozen spinach or fresh spinach (I had frozen so that's what I used)
1/2 cup onion, minced (I wanted to put this in there but I didn't have the onion...)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper glakes
1/2 cup marinated jarred artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup low-fat Mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 tsp dried parsley (Didn't have this either so I put a dash of italian seasoning in there)
1 fresh lemon, few squeezes of juice to taste
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil (varying amounts)
PREPARATION:
1. Cook pasta according to box directions. I used wheat pasta because it's better for you and this dish has cheese all in it, so why not have a healthier pasta? Haha.
Cool down the pasta and start adding the cheese. I drained my pasta and cooled it down by running water over it. I let it sit even more because I wanted the cheese to remain hard and cold, not melt once I put it in. Coat the noodles in a drizzle of olive oil because this is basically the dressing for the pasta salad. Nothing too heavy, just healthy. I then salt and pepper the noodles and add italian seasoning/fresh herbs you have. Then add the cheese and stir together.
2. Heat oil in large sautee pan. Add onions, artichoke and garlic. I even went as far as rinsing the oily marinade off the artichokes because there was already oil in the pan and I also wanted a cleaner, more fresh flavor which everything else would bring in. When onions are translucent, add red pepper flakes. Cook for about 1 more minute. Take off heat and let cool completely.
3. For the spinach I just cut the actual package in half with my knife and reserved half of it for another dish I'm making. I just nuked the spinach with some water in a bowl in the microwave. The package should have instructions for this. After it was unfrozen (you don't even need to cook it, just get the ice off of it) I wrapped it in a layer of paper towels and rung the mound of spinach out so it was dry.
4. Once onion/artichoke mixture is completely cool (again, don't wanna melt the cheese - unless you want to), add to cool pasta. After spinach is rung out and completely cool as well, add that along with a squeeze of lemon juice for more fresh flavor. If you find everything too dry, drizzle more olive oil in to help everything stick.
**You could add any veggies you like, including fresh spinach instead of frozen. I think next time I'll add a can of drained kidney beans or chickpeas just to add more substance. :)
Vegetarian Crockpot Chili (Again, FIVE STARS from me!)
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/3 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
1 28 ounce can tomatoes
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
1/3 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans red kidney beans, drained
PREPARATION:
Sautee the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes until the onion is soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook for two more minutes.
Place the onions and the remaining ingredients in the crock pot, stirring to combine.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
**I just topped tonight's bowl with some cut up strips of tortilla since I didn't have chips, a spinkle of mozzarella cheese (trying to cut down on fat) and a dollop of fat-free sour cream with some cayenne.
Sorry for the annoyance of cross-posting, folks that are in super_supper
Summer Spinach Pasta Salad (FIVE STARS!)
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pound pasta
1/2 package frozen spinach or fresh spinach (I had frozen so that's what I used)
1/2 cup onion, minced (I wanted to put this in there but I didn't have the onion...)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper glakes
1/2 cup marinated jarred artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup low-fat Mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 tsp dried parsley (Didn't have this either so I put a dash of italian seasoning in there)
1 fresh lemon, few squeezes of juice to taste
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil (varying amounts)
PREPARATION:
1. Cook pasta according to box directions. I used wheat pasta because it's better for you and this dish has cheese all in it, so why not have a healthier pasta? Haha.
Cool down the pasta and start adding the cheese. I drained my pasta and cooled it down by running water over it. I let it sit even more because I wanted the cheese to remain hard and cold, not melt once I put it in. Coat the noodles in a drizzle of olive oil because this is basically the dressing for the pasta salad. Nothing too heavy, just healthy. I then salt and pepper the noodles and add italian seasoning/fresh herbs you have. Then add the cheese and stir together.
2. Heat oil in large sautee pan. Add onions, artichoke and garlic. I even went as far as rinsing the oily marinade off the artichokes because there was already oil in the pan and I also wanted a cleaner, more fresh flavor which everything else would bring in. When onions are translucent, add red pepper flakes. Cook for about 1 more minute. Take off heat and let cool completely.
3. For the spinach I just cut the actual package in half with my knife and reserved half of it for another dish I'm making. I just nuked the spinach with some water in a bowl in the microwave. The package should have instructions for this. After it was unfrozen (you don't even need to cook it, just get the ice off of it) I wrapped it in a layer of paper towels and rung the mound of spinach out so it was dry.
4. Once onion/artichoke mixture is completely cool (again, don't wanna melt the cheese - unless you want to), add to cool pasta. After spinach is rung out and completely cool as well, add that along with a squeeze of lemon juice for more fresh flavor. If you find everything too dry, drizzle more olive oil in to help everything stick.
**You could add any veggies you like, including fresh spinach instead of frozen. I think next time I'll add a can of drained kidney beans or chickpeas just to add more substance. :)
Vegetarian Crockpot Chili (Again, FIVE STARS from me!)
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/3 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
1 28 ounce can tomatoes
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
1/3 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans red kidney beans, drained
PREPARATION:
Sautee the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes until the onion is soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook for two more minutes.
Place the onions and the remaining ingredients in the crock pot, stirring to combine.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
**I just topped tonight's bowl with some cut up strips of tortilla since I didn't have chips, a spinkle of mozzarella cheese (trying to cut down on fat) and a dollop of fat-free sour cream with some cayenne.
Sorry for the annoyance of cross-posting, folks that are in super_supper