February 8, 2010

“ini” pasta

Most of last week’s recipes came from CuisineAtHome’s Lite edition. It was just a general suggestion for me. I tend to go all rogue on recipes. It just feels better that way.

Set a pot of water boiling for the pasta.

And put a few sloshes of olive oil in a pan for everything else.

When the water is ready, but in about half a pound of pasta. I like this little hat style. I don’t know how to pronounce it, so I’m not gonna bother typing it out either.

Take a can of cannellini beans. Rinse them and drain them. Then dump ‘em in the skillet.

Not really sure why. Didn’t do anything for me. That’s what I get for following directions.

Then add a can of diced tomatoes, mostly drained.

and a tsp of garlic

and a tiny little bit of red pepper flakes.

When there is 4 minutes left on the pasta, throw in some broccolini. I love this stuff.

It looks like Christmas on my stove!

When the pasta is done, drain it (and the broccolini) and add to the pasta.

I added some chicken broth so it wouldn’t be dry the next day.

Top with some shaved parmesan and your tummy will be hap-py!

pasta with broccolini

6 oz. orecchiette pasta
6 stems broccolini, trimmed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, mostly drained
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
4 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Add broccolini during the last 4 minutes of cooking. Drain and set both aside.

Heat oil in medium skillet. Heat over medium-high. Toast the beans, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Simmer mixture, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in pasta and greens. Add a little more chicken broth if needed to moisten. Top with cheese.

Serves 4.

Nutritional information: 393 calories; 9g fat; 7g fiber; 16g protein.

February 7, 2010

02.07.10

Breakfast: It looks ugly, but I make omlettes about like I do pancakes: ugly but tasty. This is a souffle omelette (recipe to come) and avocado.

Lunch: um, yeah. So we found some stuff at the Co-Op called fioco. And holy cow, it’s good. Especially melted with brie. And eaten with pita chips.

Snack: so little gelato left, it was taking up real estate in the freezer. Nate and I split this.

Dinner: yum yum black bean soup. And 8 crackers.

Dessert: Nate went to Liquor Barn for milk. He brought back an orange-dark chocolate bar. I ate this much.

So I’m gonna make a conscious effort to make my food pics more pretty. Sometimes they look haphazardly thrown together. I’m gonna be better.

Here’s to a good food week!

February 7, 2010

black bean soup

This soup could very easily be made on the stovetop, but I decided that I didn’t want to clean the kitchen again after I cleaned it for breakfast. So everything went in the crockpot. It ended up cooking to just about mush and was the consistency of Hormel Chili from a can. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Take a big can of diced tomatoes and put them in a crockpot.

Drain and rinse 3 cans of black beans. Throw them in the crockpot too.

Then go to town with an immersion blender. Or, as Dad calls it, a boat motor.

Drain and rinse 1 more can of black beans and add them to the pot.

Add some browned breakfast sausage. This was local bison sausage, so I knew it was lower fat and where it came from.

A bag of frozen butternut squash

and about 2 cups of beef broth. Stir it all up. Set it on low.

Now we need some umph. Melt some butter in a skillet. I like butter. I’m not apologetic. And this is gonna make 8 servings, so it won’t make that much difference anyway.

Add a big shallot, diced

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

and a can of diced green chiles, mostly drained

let everything get soft, then add to the pot.

I let mine cook for about 6 hours on low. It didn’t have to cook that long.

and then topped with some shredded white cheddar and with a few crackers as backup…

Black bean soup

4 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (28 oz) can diced tomotoes
2/3 lb. bulk sausage (calories figured with bison)
2 cups butternut squash (frozen is okay)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup minced shallots
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 (10oz) can diced chiles, mostly drained
2 cups beef broth
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle chile powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Add 3 cans black beans and tomatoes to a crockpot. Puree with an immersion blender. Add remaining can of black beans, 1 cup beef broth, and butternut squash. Turn crockpot on low.

Add olive oil to a skillet. Soften shallot, garlic, and chiles. When soft, add to crockpot. Add chile powder, chili powder, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook 4-5 hours on low. This can also be made on stovetop.

Serves 8.

Nutritional information: 370 calories; 6.4g fat; 16g fiber; 27.5g protein.

February 6, 2010

sushi!

You usually get play-by-plays of recipes, but I thought this restaurant deserved one!

Welcome to School! They may have a really cool conveyor belt, but they don’t have a website.

We split this plate.

The “big roll”.

My absolute favorite: spicy scallop.

The Lexington Roll.

Philadelphia roll.

White and pink tuna roll.

equals bliss. Yummmm.

February 6, 2010

02.06.10

Breakfast: Via and a clif bar.

(Insert run here.)

Lunch: We split an Olive Nut sandwich. I ate all the carrots and a little of the ranch. And a few drinks of the latte. Most of it went to Nathan. I was just too cold!

Dinner came from the Good Foods Co-op. Corned beef, cabbage, and kale. I didn’t eat the kale. I was saving room for dessert.

Dessert: Local gelato. Italian wedding cake flavor. Almond with raspberries. Amazing.

Nathan brought the pint over, but I knew I needed a bowl. This (plus a bite prior and a bite after) is my serving. This is a little bowl and a little spoon.

Happy Saturday!

February 6, 2010

02.05.10

More catch-up!

Let’s just call this un-focused Friday, shall we?

Breakfast: Cranberry Orange scone and iced latte from Starbucks.

I usually eat at 11:30, and lunch was postponed until 1:30.  I had these pretzels and a few packs of mustard.

Lunch: Cheese and veggie from donatos. I had a second plate like this one.

Dinner: SUSHI!!! Nathan and I split this plate.

February 6, 2010

02.04.10

I’m playing catch-up!

Thursday was Dentist Day.

Breakfast: Via and a chocolate chip zucchini muffin.

Lunch: Favorite sandwich ever. Veggie sandwich from Atlanta Bread Company.

Dinner: Fage and granola.

February 3, 2010

02.03.10

Breakfast: I was so excited to find 2 zucchini chocolate chip muffins in my freezer! It totally made my day! And my day will be made again tomorrow. Yumm. Plus the usual Via.

Snack: For some reason, I got really hungry at 10:00. Not munchy. But stomach-growling hungry. Hello banana!

Lunch: Leftover pork and bean soup. This soup is so close to familiar but tastes so different. Recipe to come. It also made me very very happy.

I was h.u.n.g.r.y when I got home. But I didn’t stop and pick something up or snack. I just made dinner. Again, slam dunk. Chicken with blueberry-balsamic sauce and roasted sweet potatoes. I ended up scraping the goat cheese off because I didn’t think it added much.

Time to exercise and get ready for tomorrow!

February 2, 2010

02.02.10

Breakfast: Iced Latte and a carrot muffin (from home).

Lunch: leftover hat pasta with broccolini

Snack: I don’t know why I hadn’t tried these before. I really liked it! Almost as much as Clif bars…

Dinner: Woo doggies! Just wait until I post this recipe! Pork and white bean stew. Yummm.

Happy Tuesday!

February 1, 2010

02.01.10

And I’m right back!

Via and a carrot muffin.

Lunch: Banana chocolate vivanno.

Dinner: Hat-shaped pasta (that I can’t spell) with broccolini and white beans.