Meatless | I Can Cook That

Gemelli with Yellow Squash Zucchini and Basil

One of my favorite parts of the CSA share is having a plethora of zucchini and summer squash at my disposal. I love these ingredients with a simple pasta, so I was happy to come across a Martha Stewart recipe fthat incorporated these ingredients. I thought I still had some snap peas left over and was going to throw those in, but I unfortunately was all out. Plus, I didn’t have any frozen peas in my freezer. If you have those, be sure to include them. I threw in a zucchini also because I had one on hand.

Ingredients:

Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces gemelli or other short pasta
3 medium yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Torn fresh basil leaves, as garnish

Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water. Cook 2 minutes less than required for al dente (my pasta had to cook for 6 minutes).

While waiting for the pasta to cook, slice your squash and zucchini.

Add the squash and zucchini to the pasta and water, and cook for 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot.

Add the butter, lemon juice, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Spoon into individual bowls and top with basil and sprinkle with Parmesan.

At first bite, I thought this might be missing something. But all it really needed was another seasoning of pepper and an extra squeeze of lemon. After that, it was quite yummy.

To really up the flavor, a few red pepper flakes would go a long way.

The flavor of this was nice and fresh. It was a solid vegetarian dish, but I think it works best as a base. I feel like you could really turn this into something special with some additional flavors included.

What would you do to customize this dish?

Yum

Gemelli with Yellow Squash, Zucchini, and Basil

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces gemelli or other short pasta
3 medium yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Torn fresh basil leaves, as garnish

Instructions

Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water. Cook 2 minutes less than required for al dente (my pasta had to cook for 6 minutes).
While waiting for the pasta to cook, slice your squash and zucchini.
Add the squash and zucchini to the pasta and water, and cook for 2 minutes.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot.
Add the butter, lemon juice, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Spoon into individual bowls and top with basil and sprinkle with Parmesan.

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Ratatouille

With the influx of vegetables in my life from my CSA, I am swimming in quite a large amount of highly perishable produce. So to preserve (and use) a bunch of my CSA veggies, I decided to try my first hand at Ratatouille. I looked at a bunch of recipes online and they can get really quite complex! There are some that cook each vegetable separately to bring out the flavor of each, some that layer the ingredients into a beautiful casserole. Well, I’m making this on a weeknight after work. So this is one of the easier versions, a one pot wonder if you will. One day, I will make the other version, but tonight, I just want a delicious meal that I can freeze for later.

So what is ratatouille, besides a really cute kids movie? It’s basically a stewed vegetable dish, usually served with bread, or maybe egg noodles or polenta (something to sop up all the deliciousness). There are many different recipes for the dish, but most include eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and onions. The spices can range from thyme or marjoram to herbes de Provence.

I found this recipe on MarthaStewart.com and kind of messed with the ratio of ingredients, so be sure to check out the original recipe to see if that is more to your liking.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil (or enough to cover the bottom of your pot)
1 medium onion, chopped (I used a sweet onion)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 small eggplants, cubed
2 large zucchini, cubed
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
2 yellow or bell peppers, ribs and seeds removed, cubed (use any color pepper you want)

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
Chopped fresh basil, for garnish

To make, add the olive oil to a Dutch oven or other large pot that has a lid. Heat over medium heat. While waiting to heat, chop your onions, garlic, eggplant, and zucchini.

I want to take a minute to discuss a method of cutting eggplant. I googled this just as I was about to make the recipe so it was new to me too and it worked quite well. I found the method on recipetips.com.

To cut the zucchini, remove the skin using a knife by cutting the zucchini into a square shape (or close to a square.)

Slice the zucchini into smaller square disks.

Stack a few of them, and cut into fours to make smaller squares. This doesn’t have to be uniform, you just want them to be the same general shape so they cook evenly.

Add the onions to the pot and stir occasionally. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the eggplant and zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Add 3/4 cup of water, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring once half way through. While waiting for the 5 minutes to pass, chop your peppers.

Add the peppers to the pot and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and thyme and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. The recipe said to stir often. I didn’t. I got distracted and walked away. Oh well.

Remove from heat and serve. Top with a few slices of basil.

If freezing, leave the basil out and freeze.

For being vegetarian, doesn’t this look fabulously hearty?

I paired mine with day old bread which was a perfect amount of crispiness to go with the veggies. It may not be terribly pretty, but it was comforting and really flavorful.

I ate one serving and froze the rest for nights when I don’t have time to cook. I’m glad I did or I’d still be sitting here eating it!

TIP #1 for T-fal’s Healthy Summer Challenge, Eat More Vegetables

Today is my first of five different blog posts over the summer with a resolution on how to eat healthier. T-fal is hosting a 2012 Healthy Summer Challenge where I and five other bloggers will work towards a healthier lifestyle through some changes in our diet, exercise, etc. I will, of course, share my food resolutions rather than my exercise ones because, well, I’m a food blogger! 🙂 My first resolution of the summer is to eat more vegetables.

I find one of the easiest ways to do this is to find vegetables you actually like. No one is forcing you to eat broccoli if you don’t like it. Why not try that baby bok choy you’ve seen in the supermarket, or maybe throw a few slivers of radishes in your next salad instead of cheese? The change also doesn’t have to be extreme. Try to incorporate 1-3 more vegetables into your diet per week and go from there.My veggie intake is also being aided by joining a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture (I use Red Earth Farm). I did a CSA last year as well, but this year, I get to choose what vegetables are in my share! The CSA has just begun so I plan on trying out as many new vegetables as I can to expand my veggie horizons.

From last year’s share, I already know kale and I are not friends. Swiss chard is another toughie for me. But, I found out I really enjoy radishes. And zucchini. And a ton of other yummy veggies. So I can’t wait to see what comes my way this year! My first post uses one of my favorite vegetables: sugar snap peas. Even if you aren’t a normal pea fan, try these little guys out. I enjoy them more for the texture than for the taste honestly, the crunch is just so wonderful.

This recipe is a wonderful option for those that aren’t the biggest fan of vegetables and don’t want to just eat steamed veggies. The peas are mixed in with couscous and a vinaigrette that adds a ton of flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous
1 cup water
8 cups water
6 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed
The zest and juice of 1 lemon (grab a larger lemon if you can)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar (I used Stevia just because that’s what I had)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic scapes
1 tablespoon minced dill
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Begin by cooking your couscous. Add 1 cup of water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Add the couscous, mix, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.

While waiting for the couscous to absorb the water, bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the peas and cook for 30 seconds. Drain and add to an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper, and scapes in a bowl. (Garlic scapes are the green part that grows out of the earth while the bulb is growing in the ground. They have a subtle garlic taste which is really appealing. They can usually be found in the spring and early summer. You can substitute in 2 minced garlic cloves if you don’t have scapes. They were in my CSA share this week too!)

Stir with a whisk.

Add the peas and toss to coat.

Combine the peas with the couscous and 1 tablespoon minced dill.

Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

I ate this with a simple grilled salmon and it was just perfect. The dressing with the peas helps bring out their fresh taste and the couscous is a wonderful complement. I actually saved some of this for lunch the next day and it was great then too!

Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa

Every food blogger dreams of walking out of their day job and never looking back to pursue a full-time career in food. Most keep this as a fun little pipe dream to think about while sipping on their morning coffee. Michael Natkin, however, did the unthinkable. He took a sabbatical from his job as a software engineer and spent 6 months immersed in food, experiencing Italy and Israel through food with his family and interning in the kitchen at Cafe Flora. He dove into the world of food full time this year.

His blog, Herbivoracious, has been going strong since 2007. If you’ve never seen it, go there. Now. I’ll wait…. Fantastic, right?!

Michael’s cookbook based off his super popular blog, Herbivoracious: A Flavor Revolution with 150 Vibrant and Original Vegetarian Recipes, was released on May 9. Michael has been touring America to promote his book and recently came through Philadelphia. He hosted a food blogger event at the fantastic R2L, where local bloggers (like yours truly) were treated to bites from the kitchen and the opportunity to chat with Michael himself.

So, the cookbook is vegetarian. It honestly doesn’t even need to be mentioned though because the recipes inside the pages of this book are not wimpy, skimpy meals. As his blog states “You Don’t Have To Be A Vegetarian To Love This Cookbook!” and he is so right. The recipes are really inventive and sound so appetizing that you won’t even wonder where the meat is. Michael kindly allowed me to pick any recipe I wanted from the book to use for this post and boy did I have a problem. I am not exaggerating when I tell you I tagged over 50 recipes as possibilities.

see?

I finally decided on this recipe for Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa when I mentioned it to my boyfriend and his eyes lit up. I altered the recipe ever so slightly, so check out the original at the link. You should check it out anyways because Michael gives some really great tips prior to the recipe.

Ingredients:

6 cans black beans
Vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle
6 mandarin oranges (or fewer, larger oranges)
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 handful cilantro leaves
salt to taste
Sour cream

Each recipe in the cookbook mentions any dietary restrictions that are satisfied within the recipe. This soup is vegetarian, vegan if the sour cream is omitted, and is gluten-free. This recipe serves 6.

Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

Naturally, the day after I made my Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad in a Tomato Bowl pretending it was summer, the weather decided to do a 180 and veer into rainy cold sadness. Sigh. So what better way to use some of my Lipman Tomatoes than to make Creamy Tomato Soup? I found this recipe on Food Network and I had most of the ingredients already, win! I changed the recipe slightly for my tastes.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped

1 carrot, unpeeled and chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
12 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
3 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Croutons, for garnish

Heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil. Chop the onion and carrot.

Saute for 10 minutes.

While waiting for the onion and carrot to soften, mince the garlic and set it aside. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Chop the basil.

Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper to the pot.

Stir well and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender, at this stage, use to puree the soup. If you don’t, remove half the mixture and add it to a blender. Blend until smooth; be sure to keep the center of the top off of the blender and cover with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining mixture. Return to the pot over medium-low heat.

The soup is honestly good to go at this point. Feel free to just stop here.

To make a creamy soup, add the cream to the soup and mix.

Serve with basil and croutons.

Oh my goodness. Not only is this super easy, but it is absolutely delicious.

Because the soup is made with so many fresh tomatoes, it’s important to use tomatoes at their peak.

This is a wonderfully thick soup so it’s a meal in itself, but rainy, cold days always make me want a favorite childhood staple:

Note: The original recipe used a food mill but I don’t have one. And I was not willing to peel the tomatoes so I blended them, and it worked out great. The soup ended up completely creamy.

Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad in a Tomato Bowl

We have been having such a warm spring in Philadelphia. So if the weather is going to pretend it is summer, I will as well! To me, summer means tomatoes, corn, pesto, pasta salad, and of course, grilling.

Before I go into this recipe for Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad in a Tomato Bowl, first I want to tell you about Lipman Tomatoes. Lipman Tomatoes, a business-to-business company that has been supplying tomatoes and other vegetables to grocery stores and restaurants for 70 years, is about to launch a consumer-focused brand and website. Lipman contacted me about developing a recipe to celebrate their launch, which is the perfect opportunity for me to give into my “summer fever”. I decided to make a Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad served in a Tomato Bowl. (Update: the site is now live! Check out my recipe here!)

Lipman sent me an awesome assortment of their tomatoes. I decided to use the grape tomatoes for grilling, and the Vintage Ripe (a beautiful heirloom tomato) as my tomato bowls. The assortment also came with some cherry tomatoes and plum tomatoes so expect me to be on quite the tomato kick in the coming days!

Ingredients:

4 large Vintage Ripe tomatoes

1 cup orzo

4 cups vegetable broth

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 corn on the cob (or 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed)

8 oz mozzarella balls (if you cant get marinated mozzarella balls, even better!)

1 cucumber, seeded and chopped

Mint, for garnish

For the pesto:

2 bunches fresh basil leaves (about 2 cups packed)

1/3 cup walnuts

3 garlic cloves, minced

the juice and zest of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup grated Parmiginao-Reggiano cheese

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

White Bean Hummus

Have you ever had a craving for something that you just can’t shake? Even after eating? I desperately wanted hummus. And even after filling up on delicious pizza I still wanted that hummus. But I don’t have any chickpeas in my place right now. (Note to self: stock up on cans of chickpeas so that I am never in this terrible situation again) So I went in search of a recipe for hummus that I could use something, anything else I happened to have on hand. White bean hummus to the rescue! (I found this recipe in Southern Living)

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons tahini
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoonpaprika, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup olive oil

Rinse and drain your cannellini beans.

Add all the ingredients except for the olive oil to a food processor and blend. You may need to stop the food processor one or two times to scrape the sides to make sure everything is evenly blended.

While the food processor is running, add an even stream of the olive oil until well blended. Add to a bowl and sprinkle with some paprika. Serve with pita chips, cucumber, or green peppers.

Due to my craving, I had none of these on hand. Junk. But I did have some of the Kitchen Table Bakers Rosemary Parmesan Crisps that went perfectly with the hummus!

Oh so satisfying.

Cannellini beans make one fantastic hummus, who knew?

The hummus was nice and creamy. And I loved the fresh rosemary!

I’d suggest adding some extra fresh chopped rosemary on top for added flavor. You can store this overnight or for a few days beforehand. I like to bring it with me as a snack at work.

Creamy Spring Pasta

I was talking to my mom on the phone earlier this week and she mentioned she was making a creamy pasta with peas (her favorite) for dinner. Naturally, I had some taste bud jealousy and decided that I needed to have that as well this week. Cooking Light’s most recent issue had this Creamy Spring Pasta which sounded fantastic so I was able to!

Ingredients:

3 quarts water
2 ounces French bread baguette, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon butter
3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1 batch of asparagus, cut diagonally into two inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas and carrots mixture
6 ounces fresh spinach fettuccine
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
3 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup packed)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the torn bread to a food processor (I just used my Magic Bullet) and process until it becomes coarse crumbs.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add one minced garlic clove to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the breadcrumbs and cook for 3 minutes, sitting frequently. Remove from pan and set aside. Wipe the pan down so that you can use it again.

Your pot should now be boiling. Add the asparagus and peas and carrots to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to remove from the water (you need the water to cook the pasta). Add the vegetables to a colander and rinse with cold water.

Add the olive oil to the saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic cloves and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. While the onion and garlic are cooking, add the flour to a small bowl and gradually whisk in the chicken broth. Add this to the saute pan. Also stir in the milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 1 minute.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Remove the milk mixture from heat. Add the Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until the cheeses melt.

Add the pasta and reserved vegetables and toss to coat.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and tarragon and serve.

Doesn’t it just look like spring?

The sauce does a really great impression of a cream sauce. I honestly don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference between this sauce and one made with heavy cream.

I wish I had added some of the tarragon to the sauce as well to get more of that flavor, but it was still nice as little bites of tarragon flavor.

Asparagus this time of year is just perfect. It was still crisp and bright so it stood out through the cream sauce.

And the toasted bread crumbs were awesome. An extra crunch to top off the dish!

Banana Berry Pecan Granola Bars

There are so many fantastic food bloggers out there. One food blog I regularly check is Cookin’ Canuck. Dara makes the most appealing looking recipes and her photos are always stunning. She has also cooked her way healthy and has a wonderful post about her journey. Dara has a great recipe for Low Fat Granola Bars with Bananas, Dried Cranberries, and Pecans that I just had to try. I switched it ever so slightly, but you can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup pecan pieces
3 ripe bananas
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons honey (to make vegan, substitute agave nectar)
3/4 cup dried berries (I used Trader Joe’s Golden Berry Blend)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp whole flax seeds
1/2 tsp salt

Artichoke, Spinach, and Feta Stuffed Shells

I have been making a bunch of freezer-friendly meals lately. You never know when you will come home and just be too exhausted to cook, and frozen meals can really save the night. This one also happens to be vegetarian. I found this recipe in an old Cooking Light. I absolutely love artichokes and spinach so I knew I’d like this!

Ingredients:

(makes 5 servings. serving size 4 shells)

1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini peppers (they come in a jar)
1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded provolone/mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (9-ounce) can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
2 garlic cloves, minced
20 cooked jumbo shell pasta (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
Cooking spray

Cook the shell pasta according to directions on the box. Drain and set aside on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil so they don’t stick together. Take a 13×9 cooking dish and spray it with cooking spray.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Add the oregano, pepperoncini peppers, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup provolone/mozzarella (I used “pizza” cheese) and the feta, cream cheese, black pepper, artichokes, spinach, and garlic.

To make it easier to fill the shells, add the mixture to a ziplock bag. Close the bag, and snip off one of the bottom corners.

Pipe the mixture into the shells. (Note: some of the artichokes might get stuck a bit while doing this so be careful you don’t end up with more mixture than you want coming out!) Add the stuffed shells to a 13×9 baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Spoon the tomato mixture over the shells.

Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese melts.

You can freeze them after stuffing the shells, freezing the tomato mixture separately and doing the last few steps later. I personally prefer frozen meals that can just be popped into the microwave or oven and the only additional step is that I have to consume the meal.

This is really an awesome recipe. I usually only have plain stuffed shells with tomato sauce and cheese so I liked the addition of the spinach and artichokes. The peppers added a little bit of pizazz to the dish without making them really spicy. (You can leave them out if you don’t want a little heat).

I did, however, crave a little bit of extra sauce (I love love sauce), so I’d suggest adding another can of puree to the mix. Past that, a good solid recipe!

Winter Lentil Soup

Philadelphia is about to have a full week of weather in the 70s. I think there’s even an 80 degree day thrown in In March! I’m so excited, but I feel a bit stressed because I didn’t get to make all of my winter soups and stews. But who says you need to eat these in freezing weather? So I decided to make this Winter Lentil Stew for lunches in my office when they crank up the AC and I feel like it’s winter.

Ingredients:

4 leeks, white and light green parts only
1 bunch kale (mine was huge, so I ended up using half)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained
6 cups water
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut
1/2 cup brown lentils
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Prepare all your ingredients. Slice each leek in half lengthwise and then slice into 1/4 inch thick half-moons. You want about 2 cups of half moons.

Add to a large bowl filled with cold water and swish to remove any grit. Drain and pay dry. Lay on a paper towel.

Remove the stems from the kale and then thinly slice the leaves. You want about 3 cups of leaves.

Peel and chop your sweet potatoes. You want them to be bite sized or smaller. Measure out the lentils, prepare your thyme leaves, and open your can of diced tomatoes.

Add a large saucepan to the stove over medium heat. Add the oil and heat. Add the leeks and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the water and bring to a boil.

Stir in the kale, sweet potatoes, lentils, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

If freezing, you can spoon into individual containers, let cool, and freeze at this point.

If enjoying immediately, eat as is, or sprinkle with some grated Parmesan cheese.

I can’t wait to enjoy this on my “colder” days in the office!

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

I love chili, and with the warm winter we’ve been having, I didn’t have nearly enough of it. So before spring is truly here, I wanted to make another batch. This meatless chili has so many different beans and flavor, you won’t even miss the meat! I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light, using more peppers, diced tomatoes instead of stewed, and a bit of vegetable broth to thin it out a little.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped orange bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth

To make, heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium- high heat. Add the olive oil. Add the onion, peppers and garlic.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the sugar, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Add the tomatoes, beans, and broth.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

That’s it!

A delicious, hearty, meatless meal in 40 minutes.

Serve with corn bread if desired.

I love the colors in this! Look at all those different tones!

The chili looked a little too chunky without the vegetable broth, but if you like it that way, feel free to omit the broth.

Risotto Balls with Marinara Dipping Sauce

I love when you can incorporate leftovers from one meal into a new dinner the next night. I am a huge fan of risotto, but it can get a little old eating reheated risotto after a few nights. Risotto balls are the perfect way to still use those leftovers but have a completely different meal. I used my leftover Mushroom Risotto for this recipe, but feel free to use whatever you might have.

Ingredients:

1 cup risotto

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 large egg

6 fresh mozzarella balls

1 tablespoon fresh basil, roughly chopped

1 shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup marinara sauce (I used Pomi Tomato Basil sauce)

Oil, for frying

Add the risotto, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, basil, and the egg to a small bowl. Mix to combine.

Form the risotto into palm sized balls, adding a mozzarella ball in the center and forming the risotto around the mozzarella ball. (It should make 6 risotto balls)

Add the remaining bread crumbs to a plate. Roll the balls in the bread crumbs and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. (This will help the risotto balls keep their shape when you fry them.)

While waiting for the 30 minutes to pass, chop the shallot and garlic. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the shallot and garlic.

Cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup marinara sauce and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. Keep warm.

Heat the oil to 350 to 375 degrees. (I was a bit low on canola oil so I actually only ended up putting about an inch depth of oil in the pot. It still turned out fine, but having enough to cover the risotto balls would make this easier/quicker to make.) Add the risotto balls two at a time.

Cook until cooked, turning to cook evenly (about 3-5 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel. Serve while still hot with the marinara sauce.

These are crunchy little balls of deliciousness. I didn’t know risotto could taste better than it already did until now!

The risotto was so yummy I completely forgot about the mozzarella ball in the center, but was more than happy to come upon it!

It didn’t melt all the way, which I would have preferred, but it was still delicious. The marinara sauce was the perfect dipping accompaniment. I love the Pomi Tomato Basil sauce because it really doesn’t need anything to make it taste awesome. (I’ve written two posts in the past about all the positives of Pomi. Check them out here and here)

Is it bad that I might put some risotto to the side from now on just so I can have these the next day?

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Vegetables

Pasta is definitely one of my weaknesses. I would eat it every day if it was socially acceptable to do so. But alas, all those carbs probably wouldn’t be best. Adding vegetables to a pasta dish always makes me feel a little bit better about my choice though. MyRecipes.com had an awesome sounding recipe for Creamy Lemon Pasta with Vegetables.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup 1% milk

1 cup whole cream
Zest and juice from 3 lemons
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
16 ounces spinach fusilli pasta
2 pounds trimmed asparagus
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Season with salt. Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces.

Add the asparagus to a steamer and add it to the pot. Cover and steam for 3 minutes. Set aside. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

Add the olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Slowly whisk in the milk, cream, zest, and juice from 3 lemons. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Cook the pasta according to package label directions while the cream mixture is simmering. Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add the cream mixture to the pasta and stir to coat.

Add the Parmesan cheese, asparagus and tomatoes and mix to combine.

Serve with more cheese and lemon zest, if desired.

This dish includes some of my favorite flavors! You can use normal pasta but I thought that the spinach pasta would add nice flavor and color.

The asparagus stays crispy which is nice with the creamy pasta.

The tomatoes add a burst of bright flavor which makes it feel really fresh.

The lemon flavor is throughout the whole dish but isn’t overwhelming at all.

Plus, look how pretty it is!

Tomato Basil Soup

Grilled Cheese and tomato soup is the perfect combination of comfort foods. Rainy, snowy, or just plain crummy days are instantly better after a warm bowl with cheesy bread for dipping. Cooking Light had a quick recipe for Tomato Basil soup in their March issue that sounded so easy I had to try it. (It helped that I had most of the ingredients on hand as well!) The soup is served with toasted bread topped with melted Asiago cheese.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I just used the whole bag shown in the photo)
2 (14.5-ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (half a container)
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread
Cooking spray
1 garlic clove, halved
1 ounce shredded Asiago cheese

Preheat your broiler to high. In a large pot, add the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the cans of tomatoes and chopped basil.

Stir and bring to a boil.

Add the cream cheese.

Stir until melted.

If you do not have an immersion blender, pour the mixture into a normal blender and remove the plastic center from the top. Place a paper towel over the opening and blend until smooth. Be very careful not to burn yourself, the liquid is really hot! Pour back into pot over medium high heat.

I received an immersion blender for Christmas so I was so excited to use it for this recipe. This is my first try with it and it was awesome! So much simpler than pouring into a blender and pouring back into the pot. If using an immersion blender, blend until desired consistency (I wanted a few chunky pieces left in mine).