{recipe} chickpea salad with feta and herbs

Here is an easy and healthy recipe for a go-to salad that you can make in large batches and eat for lunch or in place of a traditional lettuce salad. I made it the night before I planned on eating it so that the flavors would intensify. Enjoy!

{Recipe adapted from The Merry Gourmet}

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained, & patted dry

- 1 pint (1 & 1/3 cups) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

- 3 or 4 baby sweet peppers (or ½ of a bell pepper) - chopped

- ½ of a cucumber - chopped

- 1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion

- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

- 3/4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

- A drizzle of  honey- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (more to taste)

- kosher salt

- freshly ground black pepper

Cucumbers


Sweet Peppers

PREPARATION:

In a medium bowl, combine chickpeas, sliced cherry tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumber, mint and basil.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper until combined. Pour over chickpeas then add the feta. Combine and let sit for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

{recipe} spinach and mushroom cannelloni

Image by Taste and Tell.

When I first found this recipe, I was a little bit weary to try it out. The ingredients list was long & the directions seemed a bit confusing. Once I sat down and really read through it though, I realized that I had many of the ingredients already listed and that the hardest part of this dish would be getting the timing right! I had time last night after I finished babysitting to devote to making this somewhat time-consuming dish, and every minute I spent on it was completely worth it! It actually turned out being quite fun to make and I think I found the base recipe I will start using regularly to make my own quick and easy marinara sauce. I didn't take any pictures because my hands were pretty much covered in onion or ricotta or marinara sauce the entire time. I am going to try to tackle more recipes like this one for the rest of the summer. The original recipe called for 3 cups of spinach and 2 cups of mushrooms but I felt that it needed more than that. My changes are indicated below. Enjoy!

{Recipe adapted from Taste and Tell Blog}

serves 6-8

total time:  about 1 hour

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

6 cups fresh spinach

8 oz sliced mushrooms (or about 3 cups)

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Marinara:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Dash crushed red pepper - Next time I would add more for a spicier sauce.

3 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pasta:

1 box No-Boil Lasagna Noodles

Topping:

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 9×13 baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.

Make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in the spinach and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the spinach is wilted; remove from heat. While it is cooking, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix in. When the spinach/mushroom mixture is finished cooking, mix it in along with the seasonings. Set aside.

Make the marinara:  Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft.  Stir in the tomato paste and let cook for 60 seconds.  Stir in the red pepper flake and the diced tomatoes.  Add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Let simmer and cook down slightly for about 20 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt.  Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes.  (The noodles will not be cooked all the way through, but will finish cooking in the oven.)  Carefully remove them from the water and lay them flat on a wire cooling rack.

To assemble:  Take about 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce and spread it in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Spread about 1/4 cup of the ricotta mixture on the short side of each lasagna noodle.  Put 1 tablespoon of the marinara on top of the ricotta mixture, then roll up the noodle.  Transfer to the baking dish with the seam side down.  Continue will all of the noodles and filling.  Top with the remaining sauce and the mozzarella cheese.  Cover pan with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling.  Remove the foil and bake for until the cheese has browned and is bubbling, about 5 minutes.

{recipe} penne pasta with sausage & peppers

Penne pasta with homemade marinara sauce and sausage and peppers

Recipe from For the Love of Cooking

Her pictures are much better btw. So if you want to see just how tasty this dish really is, stop by her site :)

Ingredients:

Marinara Sauce:

6-7 miscellaneous tomatoes, quartered

Large handful of cherry tomatoes

1 head of garlic - do not remove the skins!

1/2 sweet yellow onion, cut into large chunks

1 tbsp olive oil + 1-2 tsp (divided)

Dried basil, to taste

Dried oregano, to taste

Pinch of crushed red pepper (more if you want a spicy sauce)

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Other Ingredients:

5 turkey Italian sausages, cooked then sliced into chunks

4 baby bell peppers, sliced

1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced

8 oz penne pasta, prepared per instructions

Fresh basil, chopped

Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; line a baking sheet with tin foil then coat with cooking spray. Quarter the tomatoes, cut the onions and break up the head of garlic (KEEP SKINS ON SO THEY DON'T BURN). Spread the tomatoes (except for the cherry tomatoes), onions and garlic all over the lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top, then sprinkle with dried basil and oregano as well as sea salt and freshly cracked pepper; toss to coat.

Place in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes; remove from the oven and add the cherry tomatoes. Roast them for another 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are really soft and the tomatoes are still juicy. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Once they have cooled, carefully peel the skin off the cloves of garlic. Spoon the tomatoes, onions, garlic and juices into a small Dutch oven (I used a large pot that I normally make soups in). Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables until smooth, making sure there are no chunks (I did not have an immersion blender so I tried my best to get rid of chunks by mashing, but I was still left with some. I still enjoyed the sauce with chunks in it). Simmer for 1-2 hours.

Cook the turkey Italian sausages in a skillet over medium heat until they are cooked through. Remove from the pan. Add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to the same skillet and cook the peppers and onion until soft and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Season the peppers with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Slice the sausage.

Cook the pasta per instructions then drain. Add the marinara to the drained penne along with the sausage, peppers, and fresh basil then toss until evenly coated with marinara sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve. Enjoy.

Sorry for the blurry pictures :) It was super delish though, you should definitely make it!

xx, Jen

Mom always knows best!

I am absolutely in love with this orzo salad. My mom makes it all the time throughout the hot months of the year (you know, like 88% of the time in Florida?) She found the recipe on Epicurious a while back but adapted it to reduce the fat. This is seriously one of my all-time favorite recipes. It is perfect to snack on during the day, eat for lunch & eat for dinner. The recipe says to serve at room-temperature but I enjoy it straight out of the fridge as well. Let me know if any of you makes this recipe & what you think about it :)

Orzo with Tomatoes, Basil, Feta, Red Onion & Chickpeas

Adapted from Epicurious

Orzo Ingredients:

1 lb orzo

6 cups chicken broth (optional, see below)

2 cups red and yellow teardrop or grape tomatoes, halved

1 7-ounce package feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1 can chickpeas (rinsed & drained)

Vinaigrette Ingredients: 

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup olive oil

Whisk vinegar, lemon juice and honey together in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season with salt & pepper and then cover and place in fridge.

First, boil orzo in either 6 cups of chicken broth or 6 cups of salted water. (I didn't have any chicken broth at home and didn't really feel like buying it at the store so I used water instead. Chicken broth gives the orzo a bit more flavor than water does but it isn't a huge difference.) Once the broth or water is boiling stir in orzo, reduce heat to medium, cover partially, and boil until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to large wide bowl, tossing frequently until cool. Chop up basil, tomatoes and onions.

Mix tomatoes, feta, basil, and onions and chickpeas into orzo. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Add pine nuts; toss. Serve at room temperature.

ENJOY!! :)

xox, Jen