Spinach Torellini Bake

So I read about this yummy Tortellini Bake on Our Best Bites.  I do enjoy their blogs.  I'm not sure if its because the food is normal, its simple, or because its Kate and Sara blogging.  Either way, cheese, pasta, bacon, spinach:  sold.  I had been planning to make this since reading the recipe.  My original intent was to veggie it up with some asparagus I had in the fridge, but it was used in another manner.  I wound up pretty much following the recipe as it published, although i didn't really measure much - just the roux ingredients.  I still like the idea of throwing more veggies in there.  Serious win.  Definitely a re-do.  I could see prepping this the night before and just popping it in the oven when getting home from work for a quick and easy weeknight meal.  Looking forward to leftovers for lunch.

Ingredients
4-6 pieces of bacon,
1 bag spinach and cheese tortellini (12 oz)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbl flour
1 tbl olive oil
2 cups fat free milk
roughly chopped spinach -- about two handfuls
about 1.5 cups cheese -- mozzarella and parmesan mixed.
1 lemon
basil, pepper, salt to taste

Methods
1. I started off frying the bacon at a nice heat to make some tasty crumblies.  Meanwhile the pasta was cooking and the oven preheating.

 

2. After removing the bacon from the pan i wiped up most of the bacon grease and cooked the garlic for a minute or two in the leftover drippings in the bacon pan.  I used the leftover bacon grease and flour to make a roux.  (I actually took out too much grease, hence the added olive oil).  After adding milk, lemon juice, basil, salt, and pepper the sauce simmered until thickened slightly.

3. Meanwhile, with the oven preheating to 350F, I mixed the cooked pasta, chopped spinach, crumbly bacon, and cheese up in my pasta stockpot.  Finish by tossing and coating with the sauce and transferring to a baking dish.  I reserved a little cheese and bacon and threw them on the top before baking for about 25 minutes.  it was awesome, as shown below.

 T

Creamy Potato-Cauliflower Salad

It's memorial day!  -Which means cookouts and all the yummy food that comes with summer.  Naturally, David had people over for a little cookout and we burned things in the fire pit.  I took the opportunity to bring out a new potato salad recipe.  I guess this puts me at four different ones that I consider successful!  Each one is unique and I like them all.  Although, i notice most of them do have bacon as a featured taste :)

I saw a pretty interesting spin on potato salad while reading the June issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  This is my interpretation of that recipe.  I would say this one was pretty yummy -- and pretty healthy too! :) I liked the cauliflower in this, it was a different spin.  I also learned that my pupsters like cauliflower!  They were all about the pieces I gave them. 

Creamy Potato-Cauliflower Salad
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, June 2011

Materials
6 red potatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3-1/2 head of cauliflower, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
approx 1-1.5 cups plain yogurt
dill, lots of it. 
approx 1-2 tbl lemon juice
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
a handful (approx 1/3 cup?) Gorgonzola blue cheese
pepper to taste

Methods
I started with the potatoes -- cooking them until they were just fork tender and still fairly firm.  Once they were cooked I drained them and rinsed them with cold water. I did the same with the cauliflower -- steaming for a few minutes until fork tender but still firm. 

I mixed the yogurt, dill, and lemon juice together with some pepper.  I didn't add salt since I was adding the Gorgonzola and bacon to the salad later.  I tossed the yogurt mix with the potatoes and cauliflower and folded in the cheese and bacon and left it in the fridge too cool off. 

Chicken Rollatini with Proscuitto and Provolone

I know.. it has been a while.  The whole moving thing throws off the whole cooking thing.

however...

i'm back.  and i made some kicking chicken the other night!  and I have some good stuff on the menu this weekend already :)

I saw this recipe on Gina's Skinny Eats several weeks ago and have been planning to make it since!  Seriously.  I pretty much followed her recipe, although it has given me a bunch of ideas on spins.  Here is my slightly modified version.

Ingredients
6 chicken tenders
italian breadcrumbs
3 cheese grated blend
lemon juice
olive oil
6 slices proscuitto
3 slices provolone

Methods
I took the chicken tenders and gave them a few wacks with the meat mallet, mostly just because i could :)  Meanwhile I mixed up a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice with a tablespoon or so of olive oil in one bowl and a 2:1 mixture of breadcrumbs and grated cheese in another bowl.  I took each chicken tender and washed it and patted it dry.  The tender was dipped into the lemon-oil mixtue followed by the breadcrumb mixture.  I placed a slice of proscuitto and half a slice of provolone in  middle and rolled the chicken up around it. 

The chicken baked in a lightly greased (Olive oil) pan for 30 minutes at 450.  since I was using tenders it probably could have cooked for 25 min. 

Note:  this looks a little more crunchy and whatnot because its from reheating the leftovers today... I forgot the camera in my other bag on Thursday when i made these.  oops.  but look at that crispy cheesy hammy goodness.mmm

Verdict - Win
It really was good!  I like this idea of the double breaded rollatini rather than trying to wrap a chicken breast around a bunch of filling and securing with toothpicks.  it was soo much easier.  We each ate to tenders and were full, leaving me 2 for lunch today :)

I had actually intended to take a couple of them and wrap a couple of asparagus spears in the middle of the proscuitto-cheese center rather than the onion that Gina used.  I still plan to do that... I think it would be awesome.  Other people suggested a basil leaf, but i like the asparagus idea, I just didn't follow through.  I also meant to spray the tops with olive oil so the breading would be crunchier during baking.  Either way it was a win.  the proscuitto was nice and salty and crispy from baking and it made my tummy happy :)

Plus, this was surprisingly easy -- far easier than David thought it was.  The hardest part is the tiny kitchen at the new house.

Beef Fajitas

Another work week means another week of lunch!  I find that if I make lunch during the weekend I'm much more likely to eat healthy and have a good midday meal at the desk.  If I don't make lunch I'm quite likely to eat something unhealthy or enhance my lunch with something i shouldn't eat.  This week I'm doing fajitas, mmmm.  Fajitas are one of my favorite foods in the world!!!  They just make me happy.

Materials
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic chopped
~ 1 lb flat iron steak cut into strips
2 green peppers cut into strips
1/2 sweet onion cut into strips
3 roma tomatoes, quartered and de-seeded

Methods
I combined the lime, canola, oregano, cumin, and garlic in a bowl and mix well. Afterwords I chopped the peppers and onions and beef.  Toss the beef and vegetables with the marinade, cover and let sit for 4-8 hours.  Later I heated up a skillet on high and cooked the meat.  I removed as much liquid as possible and to allow the beef to sear and get well seared on the outside.  I removed the steak once cooked and added the peppers, onions, and tomatoes to the pan, removing as much liquid as possible.  once cooked I tossed the veggies and beef together and prepared to enjoy.  I usually enjoy my fajitas with a fork as is, avoiding beans, rice, and tortillas. 

Strawberry Whole Wheat Muffins

I saw a recipe for whole wheat blueberry muffins at Gina's Skinny Taste and it looked pretty tasty.  They sounded like a great option for breakfast this week instead of my usual yogurt.  I thought this might be a great way to use some of those giant Fukushima strawberries that were on sale this month, so I went for it.  They were great.  The applesauce for oil sub was great, as usual.  I used a half-half whole wheat/white flour, so they were  still pretty darn healthy, as well as yummy and totally easy.  I have a feeling I'll be making these again this summer as breakfast/snacks as the various berries go through their seasons.

Materials
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups 50-50 whole wheat/white flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp melted butter

Methods
First, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.  Next add the wet and mix -- the sugar, egg, vanilla, and butter. I folded in the strawberries and filled up a dozen muffins.  Bake for 25 minutes at 325F and enjoy!!!!

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes

I saw this recipe in this months cooking light, and knew it was a go. It was in their quick and easy category, i love asparagus, and I love tomatoes, what wasn't to like.  It really was a quick cook, and quite easy.  The original recipe has actual measurements associated with it, however, you know I don't believe in measuring unless absolutely necessary (how very un-engineer of me).  it was quite yummy, although sauteing the asparagus would possibly have been a little more yummy (and less healthy).  I really loved the balsamic tomatoes with goat cheese.  I could see just doing the tomatoes and goat cheese with some pasta sometime.  that would be fantabulous. 

Ingredients
Asparagus, trimmed

Extra-virgin olive oil
Halved grape tomatoes
Minced fresh garlic
Balsamic vinegar
Crumbled goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Methods
First, steam the asparagus for about 2-3 minutes until just barely tender and still firm.

Next, heat a little oil in a pan and saute the tomatoes and garlic for about 5 minutes.  Add a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste and cook for 2-3 minutes longer. 

Serve the tomatoes over the asparagus and top with a little goat cheese.

Lunardis

Last summer we tried Lunardi's Restaurant in Beechview with Beth and G on a Friday night.  Its a tiny little Italian place that the Dormont/Lebo crowd pass by every day on the T, so it was just asking for a try.  We enjoyed it, so when I saw it pop up on Groupon later in the fall I couldn't say no!  Last night David and I went back for a date night to use that Groupon before it disappeared.  It was a kitschy as I remembered,  reminding me of mom's kitchen, or maybe grandma's.  David had the chicken parmesan and i had an absolutely delicious chicken marsala served over spinach.  It was a good thing that we called ahead for reservations -- they only have 7 tables plus the bar, and it was hopping!  I also noticed that they seem to not only sell adult beverages, but it would appear that you can byoW and they'll just charge a corking fee :)  That makes me happy too!