Chipotle Pork Fajitas and Tri-Color Vegetable Saute

Hello!! Yesterday I felt pretty terrible, so I didn't cook at all. We just did leftovers for lunch and dinner, and Husband picked up some spinach artichoke dip for us to munch on while we continued to work our way through theentire series of The Unit that I got him for Father's Day. He loved that show, and we were pretty upset over it being cancelled. It turns out it had high ratings for it's time slot, but because the average audience was older, they cancelled it over advertisers' complaints. Boo, that show was awesome!

I didn't cook lunch today, I was feeling pretty crappy still, so we just did leftovers. For dinner, I made chipotle pork soft tacos with a tricolor veggie saute. It was yummy yummy!! I used bone-in pork chops, because I think they taste better than boneless, but if you don't want to carve around the bone (which only takes an extra minute, and I personally think it's worth the slight added time), then use boneless chops.


I could have taken a better picture, but since I wasn't feeling well, I didn't really care today. Sorry.

If you want these tacos in you're belly, you're gonna want;
(This takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook, and 2 to 24 hours to marinate.)

4 bone-in pork loin chops, about 3/4 inch thick
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
salt
pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
dash ground cloves
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 small whole wheat flour tortillas (or 4 medium)
shredded napa cabbage
chopped tomato
shredded pepper jack cheese
sour cream
salsa

Place shops in a plastic resealable bag. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, salt, cumin, pepper, cloves, chipotle peppers, and garlic. Pour the marinade over pork and seal bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours, turning bag and massaging meat occasionally. Remove chops from bag, discarding leftover merinade.

Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill chops 12 to 15 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking. Let the meat rest 5 minutes before slicing across the grain into bite sized strips.

Place tortillas on grill pan, and grill 30 seconds, until warm and pliable, turning once. Serve pork on tortillas. Serve cabbage, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and salsa alongside.

This serves 4 (or 2 if you like a little more meat in your taco)

For the veggies;
This recipe takes about 12 minutes to prep and cook

cooking spray
1 red onion, sliced thick
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 poblano pepper, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
4 zucchini, thinly sliced on a sharp diagonal
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
salt
pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add onion, peppers, and cumin, and saute until vegetables are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and oregano and cook until zucchini is crisp tender, another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cool slightly before serving.

This recipe serves 8

I hope you enjoy! It was a super yummy meal!!

Chicken Cacciatore, Roasted Butternut Squash, Chipotle BBQ Chicken, and Warm Pineapple Slaw

Good morning! For lunch yesterday, we had leftover chicken cacciatore with roasted butternut squash and onions from the other night. This is the last dish I made before I started this blog, so, except for when I get creative with leftovers, this is the last week day lunch I'll post. I almost didn't make more pasta, but decided to not be lazy, lol! When I make dinner, I only make enough pasta for us to eat that night, so I tend to not feel like waiting for more to cook for lunch!

I've decided that when a recipe calls for chicken pieces, I'm going to stop buying the cut up chicken, and just break it down myself, now that I've mastered it. It's a little labor intensive, so if you don't have a lot of time after coming home from work, cut it up the night before, or when you bring it home from the store. You can always pop the pieces in a bag and freeze it. The advantage of doing it is that the chicken is always cheaper per pound when you buy it whole, and you get to have the neck, backbone, and keel bone for making stock with. It's hard to explain, but there are really good videos on YouTube about how to do it. Here's a good video to show you how to do it: http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yo4wVaxLlE&feature=related Now, I'm not a fan of her method of holding the bird in the air when she cuts the legs and wings off after popping out the joint, it's not very safe, so when you get to that point, make sure you lay it out on your board and cut it that way. She does a lot of chatting before she starts, but she does a great job at explaining how to do it.

This is my son eating his cacciatore the night I made it for dinner! He even licked sauce off of his upper arm, he liked it so much!!

He doesn't like it when we try to clean him, he has to do it himself!

This takes about 55 minutes to prep and cook
This is what you want;
cooking spray
1 whole chicken, broken down into 8 pieces
salt and pepper to taste
herbes de Provence
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 (10 ounce) package button mushrooms, sliced
1 (25 oz) jar marinara sauce
1 cup chicken stock
cooked whole wheat linguine
extra virgin olive oil
freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano

Heat a large, wide bottomed pot over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence and place, skin side down, in skillet. (The chicken should render off enough fat to not need to add any oil, but if it looks like there isn't enough fat, add in a tablespoon of oil.)Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes, turn pieces over and cook 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove chicken from pot and set aside. (Chances are you're going to need to do this in batches. It took me 2 batches in my Dutch oven.)

Put onions, garlic and bell pepper in the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat until they soften, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and scrape browned bits off of the bottom of the pot. Add in the marinara, stir to combine with the vegetables and stock, and add the chicken back in. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover, and continue to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, turning chicken halfway through cooking time. (Since the chicken is cooking in liquid, you're not going to need to worry about it drying out, so if you check it after 25 minutes and it still doesn't seem like it's cooked all the way through, keep simmering until it is done.)

When the chicken is fully cooked, juices run clear, remove the chicken from the pot and set aside, covered, while you allow the sauce to simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes minutes until slightly thickened. If you wish, skim excess fat off the top.

Toss the cooked linguine with extra virgin olive oil, oregano, and parmesean. Top with cacciatore and garnish with additional parmesan and some chopped oregano. Serve with a whole wheat baguette, if desired.

This recipe serves 6 to 8

When making the roasted butternut squash and onions;
This recipe takes 35 minutes to prep and cook

1 medium butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons herbes de Provence, divided
2 medium onions
2 tablespoons chopped sage
4 tablespoons dried cranberries or cherries
freshly grated parmesean
oregano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Peel squash and cut in half lengththwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Cut into large bitesized chunks. Coat with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence, making sure to crush the herbs between your fingers as you add them. Add squash into a foil lined baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 30 minutes, until well caramelized.

As the squash is roasting, peel onions and cut into large chunks. Coat with remaining oil, herbes de Provence, and salt and pepper. Spread into a single layer on a second foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes or until well caramelized.

When the squash and onions are done roasting, toss together with squash and cranberries or cherries, and serve immediately. Garnish with parmesan cheese and a sprig of oregano.
This serves 4 to 6.

For dinner, I made chicken with a chipotle barbecue sauce and a hot pineapple slaw. It was super yummy!! The sauce is a little spicy, so if you like it more mild, cut back on the chipotle peppers. I served it with the leftover macaroni salad from the night before. (The recipe for that is in the blog for June 24th!)



For the chicken;
This takes about 35 minutes to prep and cook

1/4 cup chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
cooking spray
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 chicken breasts, halved
salt and pepper to taste
chili powder to taste

For the sauce, remove any stems from the peppers and place, along with the adobo sauce, in a blender or food precessor and blend until smooth.

Coat a cold medium saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium- high heat. Cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in chipotle puree, ketchup, vinegar, molasses, and Worchestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes until thickened.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add in oil. Season the chicken breast halves with salt, pepper, and chili powder on both sides. Add to skillet and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until no longer pink, turning halfway through cooking. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, brush with sauce and flip over to caramelize the sauce. Brush the other side with sauce, turn again, and cook for aminute or two to caramelize the sauce on that side, as well. Remove chicken from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Bring remaining sauce to a boil to re-heat it and pass with chicken.

This serves 6.

When making the yummy pineapple slaw;
This takes about 10 minutes to prep and cook.

cooking spray
1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced on the bias (about 2 onions)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed
2 cups napa cabbage, shredded
1 cup pineapple, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup green bell pepper, thinly sliced (about half of a pepper)
1 teaspooon toasted sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan coates with cooking spray, cook onion and red pepper for 2 minutes. Stir in napa cabbage, pineapple, bell pepper, sesame oil, and salt and pepper, and saute until cabbage wilts, about 3 to 5 minutes.

This makes 3 cups of slaw, 3 to 4 servings.

I hope you find these recipes as yummy as we did!

Sloppy Joes and Macaroni Salad

Well, I had lentil burgers again for lunch. I told you that recipe makes a lot! Tomorrow I'll eat something different, I swear! For dinner, however, I made sloppy joes, and Kiddo helped me make a macaroni salad! He was super cute, I let him try one of the noodles as I was cooking, and he said "Mmm good good!" as he chewed it! He's awesome! He got to help me add the ingredients into the salad and stir it! He loves to cook with me! When he sees me in the kitchen, he grabs a utensil from the drawer and comes up to me, saying "Cook! I cook!", and gets very mad if I'm chopping or am finished so he can't help me! I swear that boy is going to be a chef! At my parent's house, he whisks handfuls of cat or dog food into the water dishes, and when we go out to eat, he mixes all of any sauces that may be on the table together. He's silly! Husband had some of the jalapeno Cheetos on his last deployment and came home telling me how much he liked them, so I picked some up for him to have with his dinner, and I got myself a bag of Zapps potato chips. I love their Jalapeno, Spicy Crawtater, and Voodoo Gumbo flavors! This time, I got the Creole Tomato one! Yummy!!

On a side note, my sister got me in love with Pringles' Spicy Guacamole crisps. They are SO hard to find, but if you find them, get some! They are the best Pringles ever! Next time I'm at the commissary, I'm going to ask them to order some for me.I need them!!


Okay, so I broke my whole wheat only rule with the macaroni. The reason being that it's what we had. When we lived in Ohio, my mother-in-law gave me a box of macaroni, since there's no need to waste, and we did use whole wheat buns, I used them. I only have a cup remaining, so once it's all gone, rest assured the next macaroni I buy will be whole wheat.

If you want to make a sloppy joe as awesome as mine, you need;
This takes 30 minutes to prep and cook

1 pound lean ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey (I used 93/7 turkey. Don't tell husband! It's cheaper than beef of the same meat to fat ratio!)
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (If you're using beef you'd be fine with 1 tablespoon, but since turkey is so mild in flavor, it needed an extra boost.)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup water
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (I wanted a pretty smokey flavor, but if you want less, use 1 teaspoon)
1 to 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (Again, if using beef, you're good with 1)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash hot sauce
4 to 6 whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted
freshly grated Parmesan

This serves 4-6 (Depending on how sloppy you like your joes! For my family, it makes 4.)

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add meat and grill seasoning and brown. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and saute until tender. Drain off any remaining fat (If using lean meat, there shouldn't be enough to need to drain, however.), and stir in tomato paste, sauce, water, chili powder, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve on toasted buns and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.

To make a macaroni salad fit for the master of my house;
Prep time - 30 minutes Chill - 4-24 hours

1 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard or horseradish mustard
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 dill pickle spear, chopped or 1/4 cup relish
3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes (about 4, depending on size)
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
additional milk (if needed)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse twice, until cool.

In a large bowl, whist together mayonnaise, milk, mustard, lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper until smooth. Stir in relish, cheese, celery, peas, radishes, and green onion. Gently fold in pasta and chopped eggs. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours. Before serving, if necessary, stir in more milk to moisten.

This serves 6

Pineapple Beef Teriyaki and Lemon Sesame Broccoli

Hello!! Husband had duty again. Boo! He was put on mess duty for the next month, so on his duty days he gets to come home at night, but he doesn't get home until 8, so he eats on the boat since he gets home way past our son's dinner time. Because of that, we had another leftover day! I actually like leftover nights, it helps me clear out my fridge!

Lunch was another lentil burger, so nothing new for you there. For dinner, we had the leftover beef teriyaki and broccoli with sesame and lemon. It was very good when I first made it! I tend to change up my leftovers, though, just to break the monotony of eating the same thing I did a couple of days ago. My little man saw a Digorno commercial, so started yelling at me that he wanted a "peekey", as he says it, so I made him a pizza out of his leftover teriyaki and a tortilla! I just reheated mine, and tossed the teriyaki with a little hoisin and added some soy sauce and a dot of hoisin to the broccoli. It was really good like I made it the other day, I was just in the mood for a little bit of a change!

When making the teriyaki, you need;
This takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook

cooking spray
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound boneless chuck steak, cut into 1/8 inch slices (across the grain)
1 cup low-sodium teriyaki sauce, divided
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks with juice
1 1/2 cups frozen asian stir-fry vegetables
1/2 cup chopped green onions
cooked brown rice or whole wheat spaghetti
soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (white or black, your choice)
parmesan

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, spray with cooking spray and add one tablespoon sesame oil, garlic, and sliced steak. Saute until garlic is golden brown and meat is seared on both sides. Reduce heat to low and add teriyaki sauce, pineapple, and 1/4 cup reserved juice. Simmer 10 minutes. Add asian vegetables and green onions, and cook another 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove rice from pot, or drain pasta. Add the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil to the pot and heat over medium heat. Return the rice or pasta back to the pot and fry just a couple of minutes, and toss with remaining 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce and desired amount of soy sauce. Toss in sesame seeds. Divide the rice or pasta among 4 plates and top with a little freshly grated parmesan, if desired, and plate the teriyaki over that. Garnish with green onion tops, sliced thinly on the bias.

(When I reheated my leftovers, I didn't feel like cooking any more pasta, so I just left it out. I was feeling lazy! However, you should include a whole grain into this meal, and it is extra delicious with the pasta!)

This makes 4 servings

For the sesame lemon broccoli;
This takes about 10 minutes to prep and cook

2 pounds broccoli, stems removed, crowns cut into large florets
1 tablespoon gomashio (Japanese sesame seasoning)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, black or white

Place a steamer basket in a pot over an inch of water, and bring the water to a boil. Arrange broccoli into steamer, cover and steam, tossing once or twice, until just fork tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour water out of the pot, and add lemon juice and sesame oil to pan. Toss in broccoli to coat. Garnish with lemon zest and sesame seeds.

This serves 4 to 6

I mentioned that my son was aching for a pizza. What I did was preheat the overn to 350 degrees and nuke his leftover teriyaki and broccoli for about 60 seconds. While that was going, I cut a medium whole wheat tortilla in half (If I had small ones I would have given him a whole one, but I know he won't eat an entire medium tortilla!!) I then topped the tortilla with a tablespoon of hoisin sauce and added as much of his leftovers as I could in a single layer onto the tortilla. I made one thin slice from a red onion I had in the fridge, and chopped that up fine, and sprinkled that on top, along with a few spinach leaves I sliced into a chiffonade. That went into the oven for about 5 minutes. I topped it with a few shaves of parmesean and a light sprinkle of soy sauce, let it cool, and sliced into four pieces for him. He loved it and ate it all!!

(This picture sucks, but it shows the whole thing I made him, so whatever!)


Little Handsome devouring his pizza!

Lentil Burgers, Chicken Piccata, and Ratatouille

Hey, guys! For lunch today, we had reheats of a lunch I made last Saturday. I had made a big ol' batch of red lentil patties. Of course, they don't taste like meat, but they are very good. The patties alone are a good source of protein and fiber, and very low in fat. The nutrition facts of the original recipe, before I added anything, is, per patty;
151 calories, (19 from fat) 2g total fat (0 saturated), 0 miligrams cholesterol, 164 mg sodium, 33g carbohydrate (10 g fiber, 23g sugar), 11g protein.

It's pretty good for you! I think they're really tasty, too!


This picture isn't pretty. Husband got off work early so I didn't have time to play with it for a better picture, since I wanted to talk to him about his day. This is the best you get! HA! :)

*Update 6/23* I made this again today, and decided to take a picture so you could see the inside and the yummy, gooey cheese! Yummmmmm!! You can see the steam coming off of it!

As a side note, this recipe makes 8 fairly massive patties. If, when you go to form the patties, you feel they are larger than you want, put the mixture back in, level it all off, and divide into 10 patties. If you're good at dividing into odd numbers (which I am not), 9 may give you the best size. I like the big ones, though, so I stuck with 8.

Here's what you do;
This takes about 20 minutes to prep, 30 minutes to chill, and 10 minutes to cook.

1 pound red lentils (Okay, I couldn't find them at the store, so I used brown lentils. If I ever find red ones, I'll make this with them and let you know which is better!)
5 cups water, salted (For the lentils I used, I ended up needing to add an extra cup of water because there wasn't enough after a couple of minutes. It may be the recipe, or it may be that brown lentils absorb more water than red. No idea.)
1 large onion, minced
1 large carrot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil cooking spray
2 cups chopped crimini mushrooms (about an entire 10oz container. If your store is out of crimini, use a portobello cap.)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
salt
finely ground black pepper
1 cup panko bread crumbs (if your patties aren't holding their shape well, use more, or add some whole wheat flour.)
4 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
10 ounces firm tofu, pureed in a blender
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into one inch cubes
8 whole wheat buns
red onion, sliced
spicy brown mustard or dijon mustard
tomato, sliced thick
bib lettuce or spinach
avocado, sliced
dill pickle spear

In a large pot, simmer lentils according to package directions in salted water, until tender. Drain and cool.

In a large skillet, saute the onion, carrot, and garlic in cooking spray until tender, roughly 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and liquid has evaporated, around 5 minutes, and cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add the panko, lemon juice, pureed tofu, oil, and cooked lentils to the veg mixture and mix to combine. Transfer to a large bowl, chill for 30 minutes. Divide the mixture in 8 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball, and divide in half. Add a cube of cheese into the middle of one half, place the second half on top, and seal the edges completely. Do this with the rest. (If you aren't going to eat them all now, place the pre-made patties you won't be eating into an air tight container and pop in the refrigerator until you're ready, or seal in a Ziplock bag and freeze. When ready, thaw if frozen, and cook as directed.)

Pan fry in olive oil cooking spray until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Finish in oven to heat through, about 5 minutes. If desired, toast buns in the skillet as the burgers cook. If desired, saute red onion with salt and pepper until slightly soft but still crisp.

Slather buns with mustard and top with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and red onion. Top with lentil patty and serve with a pickle spear! Yumm!!

This recipe serves 8


For dinner, I really really wanted to make veal piccata. Unfortunately for me, there was no veal at the store, so I substituted for chicken. I also made a version of Ratatouille. It was very, very good!


For the piccata;
This takes 15 minutes to prep and cook.

5 cups egg noodles
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided
olive oil cooking spray
2 chicken breasts
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 1/3 cup low-sodium, low-fat chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons capers, drained
4 lemon wedges

Cook noodles in boiling, super salty water, according to package directions. Remove pot from heat. Drain pasta and return to pot. Toss pasta with olive oil and 2 tablespoons parsley. Cover with lid to keep warm. Toss occasionally while you prepare the rest of the dish.

While pasta is cooking, slice chicken breasts in half horizontally. Top all four halves with plastic wrap and pound (You can use anything heavy. I use my rolling pin, but you can use a meat pounder or heavy skillet, as well.) until 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken to skillet and cook, flipping once, until thoroughly cooked, 5 to 6 minutes total. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm, or set on a baking sheet and place in a warmed (but not on) oven. Add broth to skillet, and scrape to pick up all of the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. (If you still want it thicker, stir 1/2 tablespoon into some cold water until fully dissolved, temper with a little hot broth, and add to pan. Bring to a boil to allow the cornstarch to thicken the broth, and return the heat to low and continue to simmer to desired consistancy.) Whisk in 1 tablespoon butter until melted, and stir in the capers and remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, pile noodles onto each plate, top with chicken, and pout sauce over top. Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top, and garnish with freshly grated parmesan and a sprig of thyme. Super delicious!

This recipe serves 4

The creation of Ratatouille goes as follows;
This takes 50 minutes to prep and cook, and 30 minutes to chill

1 eggplant, peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
1/4 teaspoon chile pepper flakes
pepper to taste
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and roughly chopped
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced2 small zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon of the salt, and set aside in a paper towel lined bowl while preparing the other ingredients. (This is to pull the excess moisture out of the eggplant so it won't make your dish a mush mess.)

Combine the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, oil, garlic, herbes de Provence, chile flakes, and pepper into a small bowl, and whisk well.

Add the remaining vegetables, except eggplant and tomatoes, into a large bowl and pour olive oil mixture over top. Blot the eggplant well with another paper towel and add to the bowl. Toss well to coat all vegetables with the oil mixture. Spread the vegetables evenly onto a foil lined baking sheet (Use 2 sheets if necessary), and roast until golden and very soft, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring once or twice.

In a large bowl, add tomatoes and crush with your hand or a wooden spoon to break them up. Add roasted vegetables and vinegar and stir well. You can serve this warm, but classically it is served at room temperature. If you will be serving it at room temperature (as I did), let sit about 30 minutes to cool. (This gives you the perfect amount of time to make some piccata, and gives you a warmed, yet no longer on, oven to keep your chicken warm in.) You can also make it a day ahead and chill in your refrigerator overnight. Just set out to let it come back up to room temperature before serving.

If desired, garnish with some freshly grated parmesan. It isn't the prettiest thing ever, but it is a highly tasty vegetable stew. I really liked it, but there are a few different ways to prepare a Ratatouille, I may experiment with another later to find what I like best. I love roasting vegetables and prefer the flavor roasting brings far more than any other preparation method, so this one will probably win out over all!

This recipe serves 4

Spinach and Cheese Lasagna, Panko-Crusted Pork Chops, and Spinach with Nutmeg Butter

Being that it is a week day, I did leftovers for lunch. However, since I made it before I started this, I figure I would go ahead and snap a picture and write about it. Being that it's been microwaved, it looks weird and compressed and not much like it did hot out of the oven, but whatever, you can get the drift. It did look fuller and nicer the day I made it. Anyway, it's a spinach and cheese lasagna. It's super yummy! It was the first vegetarian lasagna my husband had ever had, and I think he was a little nervous about it, but once he ate it, he said he really liked it! He always offers up that a dish is something I can make again if he particularly likes it, so I take it this was a big hit with him, since he mentioned that! Our son didn't have a very good morning, and decided to take his nap an hour before lunch time. Since he woke up really early and was super fussy all morning, I went ahead and obliged him, so he ate after he woke up, and ate all of his piece! I wish I had taken a picture of it before. I'm a bit disappointed about it's appearance when microwaved. I have to note, I'm still working on making prettier presentations and working with different garnishes. I don't think it looks terrible, but I still am aiming for developing better plate designs. Oh, I only made half of the recipe, in a 9x9 baking dish, since we don't have a large enough family to warrant a regulation sized lasagna. I'll post the quantities for a whole 9x13 lasagna. The only difference is that for the lasagna I made, I only used half of the amount of all the ingredients. Also, for the cup of whatever three cheeses, you can use what you want. I used equal amounts Monterrey Jack, Colby Jack, and freshly grated Parmesan, because it's what I had. You can use a pre-shredded three cheese blend or Italian blend, whatever works for you. I prefer to grate my own blocks of cheese because it's cheaper, you get a finer grate which melts easier, and the cheese doesn't dry out like pre-shredded cheeses do.

Here is how I made it;

I popped it in the microwave for 60 seconds.

:) Okay, sorry, I had to. Here is how I made it last week;

This takes about 45 minutes to prep and cook

2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella, divided
1 cup grated any three cheeses
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 jar pasta sauce of your choosing, or an equal amount of homemade sauce
9 to 12 whole wheat lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and cook noodles according to package directions and let cool enough to handle.

In a large bowl, mix ricotta, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup of the three cheese mixture, egg, spinach, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and oregano. In another bowl, combine the remaining cheeses and set aside.

In a 13x9 inch baking pan, layer one cup of the pasta sauce, followed by a layer of noodles, then half of the cheese and spinach mixture, and repeat. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with the extra mozzarella and three cheese blend.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take off the foil and bake for 5 more minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly on top. If you want to brown the cheese (which I do), then after the 5 minutes, switch to the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Be sure to keep a close eye on it, though. It can burn very quickly.

Let cool for 15 minutes before serving (This way it won't be a runny mess when you cut into it, nor will it be so hat as to render you tasteless for a week!)

If you want to make it with no-boil noodles (I can never find them in whole wheat, and if I'm making lunch, I don't have the time to let it bake that no boil noodles require.), simply replace the cooked noodles for the no-boil and assemble as normal, except once you have fully built the lasagna, pour 1 cup of water around the edges of the pan, cover and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.

For dinner, we had panko-crusted pork chops and sauteed spinach with a nutmeg butter. It was very good! Husband requested that I make it again sometime, which always makes me happy, and the baby ate very well, until I handed him his milk. I forget to hold off giving him a drink until he's done eating sometimes, it always makes him stop eating to drink. Gah!



This is my recipe for the pork chops;
This takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard
1 to 2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (about two handfuls pre-chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
4 center-cut bone-in pork chops
cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine flour, salt, and pepper on a plate. Combine mustard and water in a bowl to desired consistency (I wanted a thick paste, so I only used 1 tablespoon and made sure to scrape off excess to have enough to cover all the chops, if you want it thinner, use more water.). Combine bread crumbs, parsley, and thyme on another plate. Create an assembly line, with the flour first, followed by mustard and bread crumbs.

Season both sides of pork with salt and pepper, and dredge chops in flour, shaking off excess. Coat well in mustard, then in bread crumbs, making sure the chops are completely covered. Set aside for a minute while you pre-heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add oil. Add the pork chops and cook for 5-8 minutes per side, depending on thickness, adjusting heat to prevent the herbs and panko from burning.

Remove the chops from the heat and let rest 5 minutes before serving so they remain nice and juicy. If you want, grate some Parmesan over top and garnish with a sprig of thyme.

This makes 4 servings.

If you want to make my spinach, do this;
This takes about 10 minutes to prep and cook

4 bunches spinach (roughly 2 pounds), thick stems removed
butter flavored cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and completely dry spinach. Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat, spray with cooking spray, and add spinach. In my dutch oven, I had to wilt one bunch slightly before I could fit all of the second bunch in. It looks like a ton of spinach, but remember, it wilts away to nothing. Toss spinach frequently until wilted down. Depending on how much you want it to cook down, it will take 3 to 5 minutes (I didn't want my leaves too small, so I cooked mine for three).

Remove spinach from the pot and drain in a colander. In the same pot, spray some butter flavored cooking spray, and add the butter. Once the foam subsides, stir in nutmeg and salt and pepper. Add the spinach back in and toss until the nutmeg butter is well distributed.

Grate some Parmesan over top, if desired. If you're making this with the panko-crusted pork chops and have extra breadcrumbs, toast in a dry pan until slightly golden and top the spinach with the bread crumbs.

This meal was super yummy! I hope you enjoy it!

This recipe serves 4

Chicken Fajita Burritos

Husband had the joy of spending Father's Day on duty, so I didn't cook. For lunch, I didn't do anything special, but I did convert half of a leftover chicken fajita breast and some veggies and rice into an awesome burrito! I had more than would fit in the burrito, so I served them along with the burrito!

This picture isn't great, but whatever, it was yummy! What I did was thinly slice the breast on a diagonal, and layer the tortilla with some rice, chicken, sauteed onions and bell peppers, spinach, and grated on some colby jack cheese, rolled it into a burrito, and toasted in it a hot skillet sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray and topped it with more cheese. I am a cheese girl! It's garnished with a dollop of sour cream, some salsa, and chopped cilantro! Soo good!

The recipe for the fajita is;
This is marinated overnight, and takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook

1/4 cup lime juice (1 lime)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 pound chicken breasts
salt and pepper
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
8 fajita sized whole wheat tortillas
salsa
sour cream
shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Combine lime juice, oils, garlic, oregano, cilantro, salt and pepper into a resealable bag. Add the chicken breasts, seal tightly, shake, and marinate in the refrigerator 2 hours to overnight. (The longer the better)

Set an oven rack 6 inches from the broiler and preheat. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, spray with cooking spray, and saute onions and peppers, seasoning with salt and pepper, until soft and golden brown. (It took about 10 minutes on my stove)

Meanwhile, remove chicken from marinade and transfer to a foil lined baking sheet and pour remaining marinade over the breasts. Broil chicken, turning once, until cooked through, roughly 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Warm tortillas while the chicken rests, and dish out sour cream, salsa, cheese, and whatever other condiments you choose. Guacamole is awesome, and if I had an avocado on me, I would have made some, too!

Arrange chicken on a platter with onions and peppers and set out buffet or family style so everyone can assemble their own fajitas!

This recipe serves 4.

How I made the rice;
This takes about 55 minutes to prep and cook

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3 tablespoons roasted, salted, shelled pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and pray with cooking spray. Saute onion until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add bell pepper, squash, zucchini and saute 3 minutes, until they begin to soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add rice and saute 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add broth, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until rice is tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Test for seasoning, re-season if necessary, and stir in pumpkin seeds and parsley.

This recipe serves 6

Snow Cones!!

Okay. I don't make snow cones. I don't want to ruin the novelty of the snow cone by making it myself. BUT, there is a snow cone stand super close to where we live. So, on a super hot day, I finally ran out to grab one after craving one for two weeks! I hadn't had one in ages, so I was super excited, and it was so good! It was Watermelon and Tiger's Blood. Sooo good!




The next day, Hubby had duty, and it was super hot, so I decided to take him a snow cone, too! The power went out at our place, and, subsequently, the snow cone shack lost power, too. However, a few blocks from that one is another, so off I went! I had a Hurricane with evaporated milk on top, and I got him s cotton candy one! They were awesome!!

(I took a bite out of mine before taking the picture! :) )

I love snow cones! I may need to go more often!!