Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells

Broccoli seems to be the one thing I get in my bin that is always carried over into the next week, I just don't eat it. Not necessarily because I don't like it but because there is just so much of it and I have so many other more inspiring options to choose from. So, for Wednesdays dinner, I was determined to find a way to use this up in a new, creative way and it just so happened that I had these huge funky pasta shells in my pantry. Once the idea for dinner was in place, Dylan and I set off to the store for the remaining items.

I started off by cooking the broccoli until it was just tender, then drained and set aside to cool. Then I cooked the pasta, which for your average person would probably be fairly easy to do, however this is me we are talking about. When the water was finally boiling, I poured the shells into the water (not so gently) forgetting that they would all crack when they hit the bottom of the pan. I ended up losing about half of the shells in the process. Once the shells were finally cooked, I set them aside to cool.

For the filling, I chopped the broccoli, added it to a bowl with some ricotta cheese, cream cheese and mozzarrella cheese and stirred to combine.

For the sauce, I added chopped onion, green bell pepper and garlic scapes to a sauce pan and cooked until soft. Next I added a cup of halved cherry tomatoes and chopped zucchini and cooked until the tomatoes started to release their juices. Then I added half a jar of roasted garlic and parmesan pasta sauce and continued to cook until heated through.

To assemble the dish, I stuffed the shells with a spoonful of the broccoli mixture and placed in a glass baking dish that had a layer of the sauce in the bottom. I poured the remaining sauce over top and covered with shredded mozzarrella cheese. For garnish I added a couple of thyme sprigs.  This was then put into a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes, just long enough for the cheese to melt and the pasta to be warmed completely through.

I have to say that this turned out really well. Dylan enjoyed it so much that she just about finished off the entire pan in one sitting!

Couscous with Mixed Greens and Snap Peas

This meal was inspired by a box of lemon spinach couscous that I found in my pantry. It sounded fairly tasty and when I read that it would only take 5 minutes to make, I was sold.

To serve with the couscous I figured I should try to get some of these greens used, so I added chopped onion, garlic scapes, chard stems and olive oil to a pan over medium heat. When the onions were translucent I added chopped spinach, kale and chard along with about a 1/4 cup of chardonnay and allowed to simmer until the greens were fully wilted.

Being in the somewhat lazy mood that I was, I simply heated the snap peas and mixed them with butter and garlic salt.

Now normally I am not a fan of anything coming from a box but this couscous wasn't overly salty like I expected it to be and there was so much flavor going on in the meal that you would never know it took me less than 5 minutes to prep and only about 10 minutes to cook!

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Friday Bin 7/22

I know that this post is a bit late, okay really late, but I ran out of time on Friday. We had to get on the road to Portland for our annual Cousin's Party at my aunt's house. Then on the way back we spent the day at Cannon Beach before coming home last night. It was a great trip and we even had warm weather (95 at times)! It was definitely hard to come back to rainy Seattle, but I'm looking forward to cooking this week!

Local Cucumbers
Sweet Corn
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Green Beans
Local Lacinato Kale
Local Red Chard
Local Broccoli
Local Zucchini
Green Bell Pepper
Mixed Cherry Tomatoes
Cantaloupe
Red Raven Plums
Valencia Oranges
Bananas
Dark NW Cherries

Over the weekend, I made my fruit salad for everyone and it was a really big hit. It used up pretty much all of my fruit. We also brought the cherry tomatoes with us and snacked on them during our drive, which was probably the healthiest thing we ate after we left Portland, considering all the pit stops to buy junk food to and from the beach. (We had to go into Bruce's Candy Shop in Cannon Beach and grabbed a burger and shake from an old favorite spot in Morton while passing through on our detour to miss the I-5 traffic home.)

Red Lentils with Kale and Green Beans

Dinner last night was inspired by all of the green vegetables that I had in my fridge and needed to use up. I started out by making the red lentils, thinking that this would be easy enough to do while I prepared everything else. Boy was I wrong! I took a large stock pot and added a cup of the lentils along with 3 cups of water and by the time it started boiling, I had water everywhere. So, as my daughter was watching me run to the stove to figure out what was happening and try to prevent the water from spreading anywhere else, I realized that maybe dinner was going to prove to be a bit more difficult than I imagined. When I had the mess finally cleaned up, I added more liquid to the pan (since well it had all overflowed the pot that I had it in, did I mention I was using a really big pot for this?), lowered the heat, placed the lid partially on top and again tried to start with the rest of my meal. Before I knew it water was everywhere again! This time Dylan said, "Mom, you sure you want to make dinner tonight?", but after the lentils being so overly difficult I was determined to get it figured out and put a tasty meal on the table.  I proceeded with the clean up, added a bit more water to the pot and lowered the heat to a medium-low. This seemed to be the key.
Once I had the lentils finally cooking like they were supposed to, I moved onto the kale.  To another large pot I added chopped onion, garlic scapes and red bell pepper with some olive oil. I sauteed this until tender and added chopped kale, two lemon slices, salt, pepper and fresh thyme sprigs to the pot. Once the kale was starting to wilt I added a cup of vegetable broth and a cup of broccoli. I allowed this to simmer until the broccoli was cooked through, but still bright green. Next I added half a cup of fresh corn kernels and half a cup of chopped spinach. This continued to cook until the spinach was wilted.

For the green beans, I simply placed them in a small pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes. Just to soften them a bit and get them warmed through completely. I mixed them with a lemon hazelnut butter (lemon zest, finely chopped hazelnuts and butter) and sprinkled additional coarsely chopped hazelnuts on top.

Even though things didn't start out as easy as I had planned, everything else went quite smooth and turned out really tasty, just like I was hoping it would. I've also managed to make a lentil lover out of my daughter even if I'm still trying to acquire a taste for them (but don't tell her that!).

Quinoa with Black Beans and Corn

Saturday after the awards ceremony I took my daughter to The Bite of Seattle, I was looking forward to going as I've never been and thought that I might be able to get some inspiration for a few new dishes. Well, needless to say, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting there to be a lot better food choices there aside from the typical street fair food and ultimately we ended up eating curly fries and a funnel cake. We did have fun walking around and looking at all of the vendors, listening to music and people watching, however I was left without ideas for my food!

I remembered the quinoa salad that was at the potluck, which did have black beans in it and thought it seemed simple enough that I could make something at home using this idea.

I cooked my quinoa in vegetable broth, so that it added a richer flavor. I also chopped some onion and garlic scapes, which were placed in a pan and sauteed until soft. To the onion I added one can of rinsed, drained black beans, fresh corn and quartered cherry tomatoes.  Once the vegetables were warmed through, I added them to the quinoa along with some chopped fresh mozzarrella, salt and pepper to taste.

It was a very simple dish and although the end result was hardly anything like the original salad (which had crushed pineapple in it) it still turned out pretty good.  Dylan was quite happy with it saying that the cherry tomatoes were a great addition.

Potluck Pasta Salad

For Saturday's potluck they had me listed as bringing a main dish and since I live so far away from the park that this was at, I spent all Friday evening trying to come up with something to bring as a cold main dish that was also creative. Finally I settled on the pasta salad even though I was well aware everyone else would be bringing a one too. I figured oh well, next time they will just have to ask me, the cupcake girl, to bring cupcakes!

My pasta salad actually turned out quite well in comparison to some of the others that were being offered though (Dylan and I made sure to sample a bit of each one) but there was a quinoa salad that was quite tasty.

I started my salad off by cooking one box each of plain and tri-colored spiral pasta, draining and setting aside to cool. Next I started chopping rainbow carrots, onion, garlic scapes, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and zucchini which was then added to a big bowl. I also added cooked, chopped bacon and fresh mozzarrella. 

In a separate bowl I whisked together olive oil, white wine vinegar (this was Dyl's choice), salt, pepper and fresh chopped basil until combined. 

I poured a couple of spoonfuls of dressing onto the pasta and stirred to coat, doing the same with the vegetables and finally combined the vegetables with the pasta. I added enough black pepper and vinegar dressing just to get a good taste going, but not so much that it would overpower the wonderful flavors already going on.

This really did turn out great! We ended up having this for dinner Friday night, having more than enough for the potluck on Saturday and we will also be enjoying the last of it tonight!

Friday Bin 7/15

After putting today's bin away, my fridge is completely filled with green produce!

Green Beans
Local Lacinato Kale
Local Spinach
Broccoli
Local Zucchini
Sweet Corn
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Yellow Potatoes
Cantaloupe
Local Dark Cherries
Red Haven Plums
White Nectarines
Bananas
Blueberries

I fell a bit behind this week in cooking because I haven't been feeling well, so I'm well stocked on produce which is good because I have a potluck to go to tomorrow for my daughters roller derby awards ceremony. I have no idea what I'm making yet. Of course, I guess I should figure out tonight's dinner first!

Pasta with Snap Peas and Bacon

I wasn't quite sure how I was going to use my snap peas this time, I just knew that I wanted to do something a bit more interesting with them than just heating them up and eating them. Pasta sounded like a great way to showcase these tasty peas, but when I went to my pasta drawer I didn't have enough of one kind of pasta. I ended up using a combination of elbow, shells, egg noodles and mixed shapes. While my pasta was boiling, I started on the rest.

I placed about 1/2 cup of chopped bacon into a large saute pan with some chopped onion and garlic scapes. Once the bacon was beginning to crisp and the onions translucent, I added some chopped yellow squash and the snap peas. This was cooked until just warmed through completely. After draining my pasta, I added this to the pan and stirred to combine with the vegetables and bacon. I then added a combination of grated parmesan, gouda parrana and mozzarrella cheese to the pasta and stirred until melted. After pouring the pasta into a serving dish I finished it off with a bit more of the cheese mixture and some chopped fresh basil.

This dish was great, even I had seconds, although I think I was lucky to have gotten any at all! My daughter loved it so much that she pretty much ate every bit of it and there really wasn't any leftovers, I think that her final bowl count was six!

Cherry, Basil and Lentil Salad

It has been years since I've had lentils. My mom used to make this lentil salad recipe that I remember of everytime I see lentils. After running across a recipe that calls for green lentils and halved cherries, I figured I would give it a try.

I simply cooked the lentils for 20 minutes, mixed them with a bit of red wine vinegar, garlic scapes, salt and black pepper and tossed with halved cherries and chopped fresh basil.

Although nowhere near as good as the salad that my mom made, it still turned out pretty good. I do think that it was lacking a bit in flavor and could benefit from a splash of lemon juice.

This is going to be great for lunch tomorrow!

Halibut with Cherry Sauce, Red Chard with Black Beans, Corn and Red Pepper and Quinoa

Well, I have to say that I may just have outdone myself for dinner tonight. Not only is it extremely healthy, but it tastes wonderful! I adapted these recipes from a couple that I found on the Whole Foods website yesterday.

Originally the cherry sauce was supposed to be served with scallops, however after going to two different stores to find scallops I resorted to the next best thing...halibut!  I took the skin off which if you have ever tried to do with a relatively dull knife, you may as well just chop up the fish into itty bitty pieces because that's probably what you will end up with anyways...so I used a steak knife. This still took a while to do, but worked better than my supposed sharp knife. After sprinkling with salt and pepper, I seared the halibut pieces in olive oil over medium high heat until browned on both sides and cooked through. This was set aside and kept warm.  I lowered the heat to medium and to the same pan (browned bits and all) I added some chopped onion and garlic scapes, which was used in place of the shallots originally called for in the recipe. Once the onions were softened, I added 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and 2 cups of pitted, chopped and quartered cherries. The pan was covered and the cherries cooked for about 5 minutes until softened. Once done, I added a tablespoon of fresh chopped tarragon to the sauce and poured it over the halibut.

For the chard: I started off by first cutting the kernals from two corn cobs and roasting them in a large skillet over medium high heat. The corn was set aside, the pan was cleaned and then finely chopped garlic scapes (used in place of minced garlic) and crushed red pepper flake along with 1/3 cup vegetable broth were added to the pan.  Next, chopped chard stems and red bell pepper (my addition) were added to the pan and cooked just until softened. Then I added the thinly sliced red chard leaves and stirred just until beginning to wilt and covered the pan. I allowed this to cook for approximately 5 minutes until the leaves were completely softened. To finish the chard, I added a can of drained, rinsed black beans, 1/4 cup of raw pumpkin seeds and about a tablespoon of dry sherry. This was stirred until the beans were warmed through. The corn was added back to the pan and stirred to combine.

The quinoa was simple. I cup quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water, brought to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes.

After going to the Pacific Science Center today and eating nothing but junk food, my body is thanking me for this deliciously healthy meal. So is my daughter. We found out that she loves quinoa and is currently on her 4th helping of it, along with a bit more chard.

Friday Bin 7/8/11

Today's bin has got to be my favorite one that I've gotten by far, there is such a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and I think that most of them will compliment each other quite well.

Rainbow Carrots with Tops
Sweet Corn
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Local Butter Lettuce
Local Lacinato Kale
Local Spinach
Yellow Crookneck Squash
Local Snap Peas
Garlic Scapes
Valencia Oranges
Seedless Black Grapes
Local Dark Cherries
Red Haven Plums
White Peaches
Blueberries

I did substitute a few items and added in a few more. I also realized when my bin arrived that I had forgotten to order our bananas! Oh well, at least Dylan hasn't noticed yet.

Halibut with Red Pepper Tomato Cream Sauce, Spinach and Yellow Squash

Since I'm getting my new bin tomorrow I knew that I had to use up some of my greens. While at work today, I was brainstorming with my daughter on how the best way to do this would be. We came up with fish.  When we got to the store, halibut seemed to be the best choice, so we picked up a small portion and brought it home with us.

To cook the halibut I placed it on top of a piece of foil sprayed with non stick cooking spray. I topped the halibut with a bit of pepper and salt, fresh thyme sprigs, fresh sage leaves and sliced lemon.  I then folded the foil to make a small package, enclosing the fish, and placed it into a glass baking dish. This was baked at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, until cooked through.

For the sauce, I added chopped garlic scapes, red pepper and tomato to a small saucepan with a bit of butter. I sauteed until the veggies were soft and added about a 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. I allowed this to simmer for just a few minutes before adding 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream and a tablespoon of tomato paste. I stirred until fully combined and cooked just until warmed through and slightly thickened, then added a pinch of white pepper.

The spinach was simply wilted in a bit of vegetable broth with some chopped garlic scapes and the yellow squash was sliced, quartered and cooked in a little bit of butter until softened.

After the dish was assembled, I sprinkled a some fresh grated parmesan on top of the halibut and sliced a bit of bread to go along with it.

This meal turned out great. My tummy is completely satisfied. I'll have to remember how I made this sauce the next time I'm looking for something quick, I could have eaten it right out of the pan. Yum.  Dylan was also pretty pleased with dinner tonight and now we are both ready for our new bin!

Carrot Salad

Because it was such a nice day today, I decided that I didn't want to make anything too heavy for dinner. I made this carrot salad because well, I've never made a carrot salad before and thought that it might be interesting.

I made a dressing using plain yogurt, vanilla yogurt, mayonnaise and orange juice. This was poured over a mixture of julienned carrots, chopped apples, raisins, coconut and sliced orange segments. I mixed everything together and let it sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.

I served some toasted sourdough bread alongside the salad.

Both of the kids really seemed to like dinner tonight. I thought that it was pretty good, but I'm not really a huge fan of yogurt no matter how hard I try to like it.

Blueberry Cupcakes

In the spirit of Independence Day I decided to use my blueberries this week to make cupcakes. I made a simple vanilla cupcake batter using eggs, butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, salt and milk. To the finished batter I folded in about 2 cups of blueberries in a light dusting of flour (so that they wouldn't sink) and a cup of white chocolate chips.

For the vanilla frosting I made a quick buttercream with butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and left half white and colored the other red.  I frosted the cupcakes in a red/white swirl and topped each with a blueberry.

For not being a huge fan of blueberry anything, I have to say that I am quite pleased with the result and everyone has a nice treat for the holiday weekend.

Friday Bin 7/1/11

My bin today is full of items that are going to take some creativity to use up. I have a few carrots, beets and spinach left over from my bin last week but that's about it.

Green Cabbage
Local Bunched Beets
Local Butter Lettuce
Local Spinach
Local Red Chard
Yellow Squash
Sweet Corn
Garlic Scapes
Black Plums
Nectarines
Blueberries
Bananas

It has become tradition that I order two bananas in my bin and every Friday when I open it up Dylan and I eat a banana. This is the only time that you will catch me eating a banana outright, and I usually won't eat anything with banana in it unless it's in banana bread, so Dylan is pretty happy to see me eat at least one each week.

I'm very excited about using garlic scapes this week although I'm not entirely sure how to use them, so I may have to do a bit of research for this one. I think that it will go well with most of the vegetables that I have on hand now though. I also need to find a new idea for all of these beets that I have. 

I'm hoping that I get a chance to do a bit of cooking this weekend as well as find something fun to do for the 4th.