Pasta Primavera

Friends!  Its been so long!  I've been a bit distracted with my baby bump, but my hubby was delighted tonight when I pulled out this little ditty.  I'm always looking for ways to make veg yummy, especially while eating for two.  This was uber yummy and was an acceptable level of difficulty.  The hardest part is the chopping and I suggest delegating that to your sous chef (husband) or indulge in pre-chopped veg.     

Ingredients

• 3 carrots, 2 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, 1 onion, 2 bell peppers, 1 head broccoli
• olive oil
• salt, freshly ground pepper, thyme, garlic salt, oregano, parsley
• 1 pound fusilli pasta  
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbs chopped garlic (roasted is yummy)
• chicken bouillon for 1 cup
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice the veg in thin strips, mix in a large bowl with olive oil and spices, spread on two baking sheets, and bake at 450 for 20 minutes, stir after 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the rest. 

Sauté olive oil and chopped garlic until light brown, stir in reserve liquid and bullion, then add pasta and stir to coat.   

Combine pasta, veg, tomatoes and parmesan.  I like serving with even more parmesan and hot crusty Italian bread. 

To make it healthier, eliminate olive oil from the sauté mix, only add parmesan at the table and use wheat or spelt pasta. 

Good appetite!

Pumkin Tortellini with Butter Sage Sauce

I've had tortellini in butter sage sauce in restaurants and just figured it would be too hard to try at home. This was the easiest thing I've cooked in a looooong time.  And it was absolutely delish.  I bought the pumpkin tortellini premade at my fancy grocer and whipped the sauce up in about 15 minutes.  I served with hot Italian bread and fancy olive oil.  This is a departure from my normally healthy, fresh, clean recipes, but it was so worth it.  And baby liked it :)

• 1 tablespoon butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage leaves
• 3 tablespoons mascarpone
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 bag pumpkin filled pasta (or butternut squash)
• 1/4 cup grated Pecroino Romano
• Salt and pepper

Melt the butter with a pinch of pepper, the sage, and mascarpone. Add heavy cream and reduce to a thick sauce for about 10 minutes. Boil the pasta, then add to the sauce and toss over low heat until well coated. Add the cheese and salt and pepper, to taste. (Source: Food Network) Good Appetite!

Sesame Mango Chicken

Today is our 4 year anniversary!  We decided to celebrate at home because we've both been so busy the last couple weeks.  I wanted to cook something really special for my hubby.  I've had my eye on a recipe similar to this one for awhile and tonight is the perfect night!  I'm like a mad scientist in the kitchen.  I get a few recipes, take the best of them and add my own flare.  This turned out excellent and the hubby loved it.  Plus it is clean food with only healthy whole grains, fruits, vegetables and herbs. I served it with a crisp white wine that cut the heat, which was delish! Brown rice, black beans, and a green salad with homemade champagne vinaigrette. Enjoy.

  Sesame Mango Chicken

Rice:

2 Cups Chicken Stock

2-3 Tsp Salsa

1 Cup Brown Rice

Chicken:

2 T Sesame Seeds

1 T Olive Oil

1 Lb Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

2 T Ginger

1/4 t Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 Mango, Peeled & Diced

3 Green Onions Sliced

1 Jalapeño, De-seeded, Chopped

3 Medium Vine Tomatoes, Chopped

Juice from One Lime

Palm of Cilantro

Directions

1. Prepare rice according to package directions and add salsa at same time as water

2. Toast sesame seeds over low heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and set aside

3. Swirl olive oil into pan, add chicken, garlic, ginger, black pepper and cook on medium heat for 4 minutes

4. Add mango, green onion, jalapeño and simmer for 2 minutes.

5. Add tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes

6. Stir in sesame seeds

7. Serve over rice

Recommend serving with Goya black beans following the recipe on the can

East Dillon Dinner Party

Friday Night Lights is one of our favorite TV shows, so to celebrate its long awaited return we had a Texas style dinner party with good friends.  While I was really disappointed that Coach Taylor forfeited his first game with the East Dillon Lions, it was great to see our old buddies of Dillon.  I had fun planning the menu…I wanted that good southern cookin' for my yankee peeps, but also wanted to keep it somewhat healthy.  So here's what I decided on...

Appetizers: Pita & Corn Chips, Salsa, Guac, Cheese, Crackers
Salad: Pear & Goat Cheese Salad with a Champagne Vinaigrette (not southern, but a favorite)
Main Dish: BBQ Chicken, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Bacon Green Beans, Mac N Cheese
Dessert: Banana Pudding courtesy of Magnolia Bakery and our guests
(A bottle of vino for the ladies and beers for the fellas)

Here are a few of the recipes…

BBQ Chicken Made Easy

Grilled chicken is a healthy food but can be so boring.  This is super easy and makes blah chicken more interesting.

4 Breasts, 4 Leg/Thigh Pieces

Salt & Pepper

BBQ sauce – I like Stubbs

Clean the chicken, salt & pepper to taste, throw in a ziplock with the BBQ sauce, refrigerate for a bit, Grill. (Not sure how, that’s the hubby’s job)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I’m not a huge sweet potato fan and I liked this dish a lot.  Sweet potatoes are a super food with more nutrients than regular potatoes.  This was super easy and delicious. 

2 lbs Sweet Potatoes

4 T Butter

1 t Vanilla Extract

¼ C Lowfat Milk or Cream

Salt & Pepper

Peel, cut, boil the potatoes in salted water until soft or about 20 minutes.  Drain, mash, add other ingredients, mix. 

Bacon Green Beans

Green Beans are good for you and bacon makes them delicious.  I tried to copy the green beans at Dickies, which I eat in the airport every time I leave DFW.  I can reconcile it if I don’t actually eat the bacon, but I’m pretty sure that logic is flawed.  Oh well.

Fresh Green Beans (I took 3 handfuls)

6 Bacon Slices

1 Large Onion

1 Dash Red Pepper Flakes

Salt & Pepper

Wash and cut the ends off the green beans, thrown in pot.  Cook bacon a little bit, but remove before crispy, rip into big bits, throw in pot.  Slice the onions into large chunks, throw in pot.  Spice it up to taste and add enough water to see at the bottom of the pot, but don’t cover the beans.  Cook on low for 2-3 hours or in the slow cooker on low for 6 hours or so.

Enjoy!!

Tex-Mex Couscous

Tex-Mex Couscous

I love Tex-Mex, but I also like to watch my girlish figure.  So I’m always on the lookout for yummy AND healthy Tex-Mex dishes.  I found several recipes that I combined and modified to create this one. I wanted to use quinoa because it is high in protein and fiber, but my grocery store was out so I substituted Israeli couscous which is almost as good.  I also threw in more of my favorite Tex-Mex veggies.  Everything in this recipe is fresh and clean and nutritious fuel for your body.  (It goes great with a Negro Madelo…nobody’s perfect!)

1 T Olive Oil

1 C Sweet Onion

2 T Garlic

1 ½ C Israeli Couscous

1 Palm of salt

2 C Water

1 T Taco Seasoning

2 Limes Juice

1 t Red Wine Vinegar

4 Green Onions

1 Bell Pepper

1 Can Black Beans (Goya is best)

1 Handful of Cilantro

Sliced Avocado as Garnish

Directions

1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes.
2. Add Israeli couscous and saute for 10 minutes.
3. Add salt, water, taco seasoning and cook for 10 -15 minutes until water is absorbed, but couscous is still al dente (not mush).
4. Remove from heat and add lime juice, vinegar, green onions, bell pepper, black beans, cilantro.

Enjoy! 

Channeling the Greek Taverna

Clearly travel is my passion...but cooking is becoming a close second.  I'm not sure if I love it because I love food or because the taste can transport me to another place in an instant.  I wanted to go back to Greece if just for the night, so I prepared my favorite taverna meal:  Baby Lamb Chops, Rice, Greek Salad and hot bread.  I might as well have been sitting on the patio of Kakos Bay in Greece gazing at the sunset off the coast of Crete!

The ingredients were the key: quality baby lamb chops from Trader Joes, really fresh vegetables and Greek feta, and Texmati rice in the steamer.  Searing the lamb really locked in the juices and flavor.  My rice steamer is my new favorite appliance.  It makes light fluffy rice every time.  We also busted open our first of twelve bottles of South African wine that we smuggled - I mean brought back from SA.  Tonight we opened the L'Avenir Pinotage, which is a varietal that is a cross between pinot noir and hermitage and is unique to SA. 

Baby Lamb Chops
4 (or more) baby lamb chops per person, 1/2 inch thick
Several stems of fresh thyme
Oregano
Olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

Heat your pan on high and cover with foil for easy clean up.  Rub the thyme in your hands and  the leaves will stick. Pour a dab of good olive oil into your palm, rub your hands together, then rub the lamb chops on both sides. Repeat the thyme-olive oil combination every few chops. Seer on both sides and cook on high to taste - I like medium.  Serve with a lemon wedge.

Greek Salad
3 Tomatoes cut into thick wedges
¼ red onion sliced into rings
½ cucumber sliced into thick half-moons
½ green pepper sliced thin
Chunks of fresh feta cheese
16 kalamata olives
Dressing
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Throw all the stuff in a bowl. Mix the dressing.  Pour on the outside edge of the bowl and toss to cover evenly.

Good appetite.

Home

Its weird to be away from home for a month. Part of me misses my dog and my bed. But another part of me wants wandering the globe to be our way of life. How could I make a living doing just that?


We grew and learned so much on this travel experience. Our world view was expanded and broadened. We learned about the rich history of South Africa. We learned to appreciate the things that we have much more than we did before. We were reminded that you don’t need wealth to be happy and some of the happiest people we met were the ones without. We built relationships that will endure the test of time. We created a second home in a village several thousand miles from our first home. We invested in the futures of the children of that village, which felt really good. A friend said that volunteering doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. It feels more like an indulgence because you come away feeling good about humanity and in that you gain much more than you give. I couldn’t agree more.


I clearly have the travel bug and one of my goals was to ensure that Joe got bitten by the bug as well. He did. We have agreed to make travel a part of our lives at least every couple years and I think I can live with that. We also agreed to return to Africa and the Mapoch Ndebele village to see our friends.  You should go visit them too.