Veggie Filled Pasta in Tomato Sauce

Today was a pretty typical summer day in Tallahassee - hot, humid and rainy. I guess it's my Colorado instincts, but I always seem to believe that it must be cold outside once the rain, thunder and lightening start. Even though I was fully aware that it was hot and muggy outside, something about hearing the rain fall outside for a couple of hours made me want to make something comforting for dinner that would be great after a cold, wet winter day. This pasta came out nice and cheesy, but I used a lot of veggies and whole wheat pasta to keep some balance.

You can really use any combination of things for this - don't feel obligated to stick to the veggies I used. You can also most certainly use half the amount of cheese I did - I probably will only use half a cup next time. Make sure to remove the stems from the kale - it doesn't cook down very quickly. Spinach would go nicely in lieu of kale. I'm typically not a huge fan of plain tomato sauce, but the vegetables and cheese in this take it to a whole different level.

Pasta with Kale, Carrots and Onions in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1 pkg. whole wheat pasta (I used medium shells, any short pasta will do)

1 cup shredded carrot (I buy "matchstick" carrots pre-shredded in the store)

3 cups kale, stems removed.

1/2 white onion

3 cloves garlic, pressed

2 tbsps. olive oil

1 small tomato, diced largely

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

sprinkle of parmesan cheese for each serving

1/2 jar of tomato sauce

Method:

1. Bring a bot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Drain when at desired level of doneness.

2. Bring a tablespoon of olive oil to a simmer in a medium size pot and add garlic. Saute garlic for a minute taking care not to burn it. Add diced onion and carrot. and saute, stirring frequently adding more olive oil as necessary. When the onions and carrots are tender add the chopped tomato and the kale (a handful at a time if you're short on space - it cooks down quickly). Stir the kale frequently to cook down, add lid briefly if it's not cooking quickly enough.

3. When kale is incorporated add the tomato sauce and some salt and pepper. Cover for a minute or two until the sauce is heated and then add the mozzarella cheese and stir to incorporate. Cover for a minute to help cheese melt.

4. When the cheese is melted pour the sauce mixture over the pasta. Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top if desired.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

I was pretty happy with these muffins, I adapted them from another recipe I've used before, but I decided to add the sour cream and brown sugar on top for the sake of experimentation. They turned out nice and I definitely recommend them for a quick summery treat.

These muffins are a great way to use some fresh summer blueberries. I used half whole wheat four and half white, but next time I'll probably use all whole wheat flour because these are probably sweet, moist and flavorful enough to taste just as good without the white flour. The zucchini and sour cream keep these nice and moist, so they should stay tasty for quite awhile. Walnuts or pecans would be a great addition. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, plus extra for topping

1 cup finely shredded zucchini

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking power

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinammon

1 cup fresh blueberries

Method

(Makes about 18 muffins)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pans.

2. Beat together eggs, oil, sour cream, vanilla and the sugars. Next, stir in the zucchini. In a separate bowl, beat the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vital wheat gluten and cinnamon until combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet then fold in the blueberries with a spatula. I use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups. Sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar on top of the batter in each muffin cup.

3. Bake about 15 minutes until golden brown. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center, which will come out clean when the bread is done. Cool in pan for 20 minutes then transfer to wire racks.

Lemony Whole Wheat Pasta with Squash and Zucchini

I love pasta. Pasta dishes were the first thing I learned to make. The problem with pasta is that it goes really well with vodka sauce, butter, alfredo sauce and other fatty, high calorie, heavy stuff. That's the great thing about this dish - no sauce, and you won't even miss it. This is really light, perfect for summer and my boyfriend always loves it, even though it's vegetarian. This is good hot or cold, so you can always make it for dinner and then take the cold leftovers for lunch later in the week.

Lemony Whole Wheat Pasta with Squash and Zucchini

Ingredients:

1 pkg. short pasta pasta (I like fusille, penne or farfalle for this)

2 zucchinis

3 squash

3 cloves of minced garlic

Juice of 2 lemons

Splash of white wine (I like Riesling for this)

3 tbsps. olive oil

1 tsp. lemon zest

4 oz. feta cheese

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta and a bit of salt.

2. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and garlic to a large pan and saute over medium heat for a minute - be careful not to burn it. Increase heat to medium-high and add sliced zucchini and squash and add a liberal amount of salt and pepper. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. When the vegetables are slightly browned reduce heat to medium, add a splash of white wine, scrape any burnt stuff from the pan to incorporate and cover for a few minutes until the squash and zucchini are cooked through. Watch them carefully, if you overcook the squash and zucchini they will fall apart a bit, but don't worry, they're still delicious.

3. Drain pasta when it is at your desired level of doneness. Toss the pasta, lemon juice, squash, zucchini and remaining olive oil until incorporated. Sprinkle with feta and more salt and pepper if desired.

Wilted Spinach with Toasted Pine Nuts

Pine nuts are, in fact, nuts that come from various species of pine trees. They have a nice mild flavor that is a bit earthy and slightly sweet. Pine nuts are often used in pesto and as a salad topper. I was definitely pleased with the combination of the pine nuts and spinach, both of which have a long list of health benefits. Spinach has antioxidants, calcium, Vitamins A and C and fiber, to name just a few. Pine nuts are also rich in antioxidants, monounsaturated fats, protein and pinolenic acid - an appetite suppressant. I'm still a little shaky on the science of antioxidants, but I'll be dammed if I oxidize. Anyhow, I'm fairly certain that this dish is fairly healthy (in my non-nutritionist opinion), and it's tasty too! I could munch on the toasted pine nuts all day, but like all nuts they're fairly high calorie.

You could add some diced grilled chicken or other protein to this for a more filling meal. Omit the cheese for reduced calories, a shallot for additional flavor for fresh diced tomato for flavor contrast. Enjoy!

Wilted Spinach with Toasted Pine Nuts

Serves four as a side, two as a meal

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh spinach

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 tbsp. olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp. lemon zest

pinch of parmesan cheese per serving

Method:

1. Heat a dry saute pan on medium heat and add pine nuts. Swirl the pine nuts around until they are slightly browned.

2. Add the olive oil (I used the same pan - yay for less dirty dishes), spinach, lemon juice and zest. Keep heat on medium or medium low and stir the spinach until wilted.

3. Top wilted spinach with the toasted pine nuts and a pinch of parmesan cheese.

The spinach and pine nuts was delicious with my Chicken with Goat Cheese (below)

and some brown rice and orzo compliments of the good people at Rice-a-Roni.

Roasted Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese and Basil

I'm a little concerned that I may need to rename the blog "3,000 things to do with chicken," but this is amazing and you need to try it. I don't follow a lot of recipes and I only really own one cookbook, but this recipe from Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa at Home" cookbook is a must try. It really only involves a couple minutes of prep time but the flavors are amazing. This is a dish that's really simple to make for a few people or for a crowd. I don't generally buy chicken with the skin on, but for this dish the skin keeps the chicken moist, plus, you can always pull the skin off before you eat it and save yourself the extra fat and calories.

Roasted Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese and Basil

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (I couldn't find completely boneless, but the breasts with ribs worked just fine)

8-10 ounces garlic and herb goat cheese

6 fresh large basil leaves

olive oil

Sea Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat often to 375 degrees.

2. Put the breasts on a sheet pan. Gently loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving most of it still attached. Cut the goat cheese into 1/2-inch-thick slices and place one or two slices along with a large basil leaf under the skin of each chicken breast. Pull the skin over as much of the meat as possible to keep the chicken from drying out. Rub each piece with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. I also added some herbes de provence to compliment the basil and the herbs in the goat cheese.

3. Bake the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes until the skin is browned and the chicken is cooked through.

Tuna Steaks with Spicy Pineapple Soy Sauce

One of my favorite flavors is raw tuna with wasabi and soy sauce and I like to bring those flavors in when I make tuna steaks. Unfortunately these were not sashimi grade tuna steaks, so I had to cook them the whole way through. You can make plenty of adjustments to the sauce depending on if you want something sweeter or spicier.

Tuna Steak with Spicy Pineapple Soy Sauce

Ingredients:

4 tuna steaks

Sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper

1.5 tsp. wasabi

1 tbsp. tablespoon pineapple juice

1.5 tbsps. lime juice

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tbsp. soy sauce

Method:

1. Heat a saute pan with a drizzle of olive oil to medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of each piece of fish with salt and pepper. Cook each piece for a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked through.

2. For the sauce I used a plastic squeeze bottle which was handy for shaking the sauce and dissolving the wasabi powder.

3. Drizzle cooked steaks with sauce and serve.

Roasted Chicken

Everyone should feel comfortable roasting a chicken. So many people would never even consider buying a whole chicken because it seems foreign or intimidating. But really, it's one of the easiest things you can prepare. The usual price for a whole chicken is more than reasonable considering how much a few breasts usually cost. I bought a couple at Publix recently for under $5 each, which is a value you can hardly disagree with. After a few simple steps you'll be a little over an hour from a golden, crispy and delicious chicken dinner.

I will certainly admit that this roasted chicken isn't the most attractive one ever, but it was delicious. Most roast chicken recipes call for the bird to be trussed, which just requires you to tie the legs together with kitchen string. I always forget to buy the

Simple Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken

5 cloves of garlic, pressed

1 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil.

1 teaspoon herbes de provence

1 teaspoon rosemary leaves

Sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper

1 onion (I used red, but anything will do).

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Remove giblets and any excess fat from the chicken. Rinse the outside and the c

avity and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure the chicken is thoroughly dried.

3. Brush the chicken with the olive oil and pressed garlic. Liberally cover the chicken with salt, pepper and

any other seasonings. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the bird and put a few slices of lemon in the cavity along with a quarter of the onion. A few whole cloves of garlic, sprigs of thyme or other herbs are also a good option and will help flavor the bird. I also put a few slices of onion under the skin of the breast area. Place the rest of the onion around the bird. Carrots and fennel are also good vegetables to add to the roasting pan along with the onion.

4. Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 20-23 minutes per pound at 350 degrees. To check for doneness insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the bird or cut near the thigh - when the chicken is ready the juices will run clear.