August 18 – Pasta Salad

After this weekend, which was tons of fun and also involved tons of good food – just not the healthiest – I was in the mood for VEGGIES. Or FRUIT. Or pretty much anything that tasted HEALTHY.

The problem is, while a salad might work for me, it will not fill up the ravening void that is my husband’s tummy.

And so… Pasta salad. Healthy, yummy, and filling!

Ingredients:

1 package tri-color pasta

1 carrot, sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

2 large tomatos, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

3/4 bottle light Italian salad dressing (the original recipe calls for 2!!!)

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta, drain, and rinse under cold water.

Chop vegetables and mix together in a large bowl.

Combine cooled pasta and vegetables; pour on dressing and add cheese; mix well.

Chill (about 1 hour is recommended) and serve!

YUM!

August 14 – Tortellini

Another rough day, but at least I got 5 minutes in the kitchen… To make one of the simplest comfort foods I know: tortellini. Frozen, to be exact. Tossed with some vodka sauce, and then devoured. Mmmmm… Delicious!

August 11 – Tuna Casserole

In order to get some meat into (and onto) my husband, and yet not cook something that either A) grosses me out to touch it, or B) has the chance of being poorly cooked and killing him, I often make this dish. Simple and quick, and if I make a batch on the weekend, it provides plenty of lunch and snacks for him throughout the week…

Ingredients:

2-4 cans tuna (depends on how much you like it…)

1 box penne pasta

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup sliced scallions

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tsp mustard

1 tsp thyme

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

1 cup or package of shredded monterey jack*

Directions:

Cook pasta; drain and rinse

Preheat oven to 350 F

Drain and flake tuna; then combine pasta, tuna, celery and scallion

In a separate bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, mustard, and thyme and blend together. Once mixed, pour onto pasta mix and stir around.

Spoon half of the pasta mix into a pan/casserole dish, then top with half of the zucchini; repeat these layers. Finish by topping with the cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly!

*This time, I experimented with mozzarella, as that was all I had in the kitchen. It didn’t turn out so well… So I’d stick with the Monterey Jack or Cheddar, so that you get a nice melty top, as opposed to what we got…

August 7 – Spinach Pasta

I found this recipe awhile back on someone’s blog, but at this point, I can’t remember who… (If you recognize it, despite how I’ve bastardized it, please let me know it was you! Then I can give you the linky love you deserve!) (PS. You’ll have to get used to the fact that I am a huge recipe stealer who then totally transforms the original recipe. I don’t like to make exact measurements, I like things that can be played around with for a slightly different taste each time, and most of all, I like things that are hard to ruin. This recipe? Fits all three requirements)

Basically, it’s one of the simplest, healthiest, yummiest pastas I know (and it’s VERY quick to make). Ready for this?

Spinach Pasta:

1 bag of packaged spinach or a large amount of fresh spinach from your garden (if you are lucky enough to have one) or the local farmer’s market (my usual choice of spinach provisions – I grab about, oh, 3-4 large scoops of spinach)

3/4-1 cup of your favorite dairy product: plain yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese (I use non-fat). Or any combination of the three. (I have done any and all combinations, and all are slightly different but equally yummy)

3-6 cloves of garlic, depending on your love of it (as you might guess, I fall on the “use 6 cloves” side)

Additions, should you so desire:

I have added both fresh cilantro and fresh basil to the mix, and they each have added a nice little flavor. Pretty much any fresh green herb would work well with this, to my mind!

Spices, spices, spices. Because I like ‘em, I add ‘em. Tonight, it was lots o’ parsley (because I have TONS of dried parsley flakes I need to use up) and chile powder (I like the kick). I’ve also used pepper (that was actually part of the original recipe), red pepper flakes, and – well – pretty much any savory spice you can imagine.

Preparation: in either a blender or a food processor, blend everything together (easiest way is to put everything but the spices, and only a bit of the spinach at first; blend; add more spinach; blend; add more spinach and spices; blend; and so on…)

Yup. That’s it. Blend it all up good, make sure it tastes like you want it (I usually end up adding either MORE garlic or MORE spices, but that’s just me…)

Pour over cooked pasta (the thicker shapes are better, as they retain the spinach mix better); if you’ve created a thinner sauce, I would simmer the sauce-pasta mix over low heat to thicken for a few minutes. The original recipe had you save some spinach out from the mix, to be cut and mixed in with the pasta. I’ve done this, and it’s good; I’ve done without, and it’s also good. I’ve also added tomatos, and that’s good to. Pretty much, any way you play with this? It turns out good.

Top with parmesan (because it tastes good and makes everything look better!) and enjoy!

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And, um? You know what I said about not measuring anything? I made enough sauce this time for two batches… BONUS!

August 3 – Pesto!

Pesto always reminds me of summer, because as a child my mother would always make some with the fresh basil from her garden… I didn’t realize at the time, but her pesto recipe is rather unique – a thicker, spicier blend than I have found anywhere else. Since I am almost never home to enjoy her pesto in the summer (sigh…) I have been trying to re-create my childhood memories on my own. Now, I could just ask her for her secret, but where is the fun in that? It’s much better to keep trying out new things – you get to eat more pesto that way!

My current prep is getting closer to my memories of the pesto of yore – though it still needs some tweaking. For those of you used to a thinner, slightly more oily pesto, this might be different than you are used to. But I contend that it will be just as tasty, if not moreso!

So my current batch of pesto was made in the following way:

Fresh Basil – the entire bunch I bought at the farmer’s market. It was a LOT. But I like basil, so, hey…

A drop or two of oil (perhaps 1/8 cup?)

LOTS of pine nuts – again, me likey. I’d guess maybe a 1/3 to 1/2 cup

about 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

a handful of baby spinach (just because)

a large spoonful of nonfat plain yogurt

AND! The most important part! 6 cloves of garlic. Yes, 6. It keeps the vampires away, didn’t you know? Oh, and I like it. A lot. So does the husband. So… BEWARE the two of us after we’ve eaten dinner

I just throw it all into a blender and smash it all up (basil and spinach fed in a handful at the time so as not to clog rotor) … And there you go! PESTO!