Meatless Monday: Pasta Primavera

Just threw together a primavera sauce over some whole wheat pasta for Meatless Monday. It was a busy night. Chopped up some multicolored bell peppers, onions, carrots, garlic and sauteed them in olive oil. I added a can of spaghetti sauce to the pan and then 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning and heated it up. I used whole wheat thin spaghetti and we served it with a side of green beans. Easy peasy dinner on a hectic school night.

Tonight's dinner: Au Gratin Potatoes and Ham One Dish Main Course

Made some au gratin potatoes that I layered with thin slices of ham and baked for a hearty main course. We had steamed green beans on the side. I would post more but I worked today, did laundry, and cleaned out the car for our trip tomorrow, so I'm going to turn in early.

Enchiladas and rice and berries, oh my!

Made enchiladas tonight, using my usual technique, warmed up and re-flavored some leftover rice and made a quick strawberry shortcake from a children's book. Great night actually!

We had some leftover white rice from a weekend trip to a Japanese restaurant that I needed to use up, I put 1/4 C of water and 2 TB of butter, 2 threads of saffron and a pinch of salt into a sauce pan and then added in half of my rice and stirred it all together till it was warm and heated through then I added half a teaspoon of tomato paste and the rest of the rice (about 2 cups in all). It made a very nice side dish, flavorful but mild, perfect for enchiladas and you know it saved the rice.

I made a very nice oil and vinegar coleslaw too, nice and acidic and tangy to offset the cheesy enchiladas. I had about half a head of cabbage so I slivered it up finely and then grated some carrot, sliced some colorful bell peppers, thinly sliced half an onion and tossed it with 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 TB of red wine vinegar and about twice as much olive oil. Toss and let it sit and mingle while you make the rest of dinner.

And last but not least my favorite homemade strawberry shortcake recipe "Great-Granny's MAGNIFICENT Strawberry Shortcake" from the adorable children's book "Cook-A-Doodle-Doo" by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. We picked up the book on a whim one day from the library and fell in love with it's charming adaptation of the story of The Little Red Hen. Of course the kids insisted that we make the recipe the same day and it was so good it has become my go-to for shortcakes.

My Husband Makes Dinner too, of course.

And he found a tasty recipe online last night. You can see it here at Deep South Dish. I love this website!

Leftover Vegetarian Dinner

Found a terrific recipe for a Riso (rice) Primavera. I made riso pasta last night which is similar to orzo but mine was plain, tonight I make Weekday Vegetarian's Riso Primavera. It sounds delicious and I have all the ingredients on hand already. YAY!

Vegetarian Dinner in a SUPER HURRY!

Last night was meatless Monday and not only did I have to ferry both kids to and from dance class a half an hour away I needed to make a nice festive VEGAN meal plus a fun meal for the kids (four girls all together!) Normally I don't make a separate meal for kids and adults, but it was little W's birthday, she turned 4 years old! So of course a FUN dinner is your right on your birthday. For the grown ups I made a very fast meal and here is how I did it.

When you are in a super hurry, boxes of stuff are your friend.

Box of falafel mix + hot water + oil for frying = crispy, crunchy falafel balls
Box of organic mixed greens + sliced cucumbers, + sliced carrots and sliced tomato = fresh, crisp salad
Box of tabbouleh salad mix + hot water + olive oil + chopped cukes and tomatoes = zesty tabbouleh
Box of riso + hot water + ten minutes + olive oil = pasta dish
Jar of roasted asparagus spears packed in oil + jar of sun dried tomatoes + jar of roasted red peppers + package of kalamata olives = relish plate or antipasto
Premade Sabra brand hummus = DONE!
Package of pita breads = delicious "scoops" for salads and dips

If I'd had more time to let the flavors sit and marry I'd have made tzatziki sauce from Greek yogurt mixed with minced garlic, salt, chopped dill and shredded and squeezed dry cucumber, but as it was we had plenty of yummy and delicious food with plenty for leftovers lunch today.

Fish Tacos (for E.E.)

Okay, here is my fish taco recipe. It is a very fast dinner and a lovely spring/summer meal.

Ingredients:

About 1 pound of nice white fish (mahi mahi or halibut or similar)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lime or 2 key limes juiced and zested (about 1 tsp of zest)
1/2 tablespoon nice chili powder (possibly smoked)
1 jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 small handful chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 pinch of sea salt
8 corn tortillas

Garnishes:
Shredded red cabbage
Sour cream or plain yogurt
Thinly sliced red onions
Thinly sliced carrots
Fresh tomato salsa or hot sauce

Put fish in a glass dish. Whisk together oil, sea salt, lime juice, chili powder, jalapeno and cilantro and pour over fish. Let it marinate for 15-20 minutes, but not longer or the acid from the lime will "cook" the fish and you'll have ceviche. Lightly pan sear the fish or grill it until just opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Place fish into warmed tortillas and top with garnishes of your choosing. Could also be garnished with fresh slices of avocado in season.