Portabello and Spinach Pasta

       Last week I was out of town on vacation, so my blog took a little vacation too.  When I returned and was reconnecting with my computer, I saw this on Recipe.com & Pinterest. Spinach, meaty mushrooms and pasta?? Sold!

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Spinach
6  ounces farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1  tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion chopped or sliced, depending on your preference
1  cup sliced portobello or other fresh mushrooms
2  cloves garlic, minced
4  cups thinly sliced fresh spinach
1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves pulled off
1/8  teaspoon pepper
2  tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

It was perfect for a Friday night, carb-heavy, easy meal.  I needed carbs for my 13 mile run the next morning! 

 I added grilled steak into the Friday night meal, but forgot the thyme. It was still tasty but needed a little more flavor... so Saturday I made the same meal with the thyme, a few cut up patty-pan squash and kept it vegetarian. The thyme seemed to be the missing ingredient on Friday. 

Turned out super delish!

   Patty-pan squash... tender and so flavorful!

 Olympics, porch dinner and a warm summer night...Doesn't get much better than this.

P.S. The photo on the left is from recipe.com and mine is on the right... pretty close, eh??

I LOVE SPINACH & MUSHROOMS!

Cheers, 

Belle 

Strawberry Picnic

 

This weekend I hosted a Strawberry Spring Picnic! 

What is that you ask? Well, each dish we ate included strawberries! Yum!  

         A few months ago, my friend Tammy invited me to be part of a dinner club with a group of her friends who love to cook!  The idea is that each month, one of us hosts dinner club providing the place and theme for dinner and everyone provides a dish.  So far we have done Thai Food and Spanish Tapas. April was my month to host and let's just say... my apartment isn't very big. I had decided to make it a picnic at a nearby park, but after a few days of San Diego rain and a lot of indecision I moved the picnic to my living room. Turns out, it was still bunches of fun just relaxing on the floor and hanging out. Or maybe everyone's legs were so cramped from sitting criss-cross, either way there was good food!!!

Our Menu included: 

Spiked Strawberry Limeade 

Strawberry Balsamic Crostini 

Chile Lime Fruit Salad 

Beef Skewers with Strawberry Glaze

Strawberry Pesto Pasta Salad

Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad Sandwiches (this was mine! See recipe below)

Strawberry Shortcake 

                  

                        

(Refreshing Strawberry Limeade)

   (Strawberry Crostini with Goat Cheese & Balsamic) 

  

(Strawberry Pesto Pasta Salad)

  

(Beef Skewers with Strawberry Sauce) 

  

(Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad - my dish!)

(Avocado & Arugula with Chicken Salad = Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad Sandwiches)

  

It was fun to just sit around in a way that we aren't used to.  I think an indoor picnic would make such a great date!

Cheers to something that brings back childhood memories and making new adulthood ones!

                             

Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad Sandwiches:

(adapted from Our Life in the Kitchen) 

Makes about 4 sandwiches

The Dressing

Strawberries, 5 or 6 large

Honey or Agave Nectar, 1 tablespoon 

Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar, 1/4 cup 

Extra Light Olive Oil, 1/3 cup 

Coconut Milk, 1/4 cup

Salt/Pepper 

Optional: 1/2 tsp lavender for extra taste

The Salad 

Shredded & Cooked Chicken Breasts, 3 to 4 cups

Strawberries, 1 1/2 cups, sliced 

Green Onions, 4 or 5 

Sliced Almonds, 2/3 cup 

Lavender, 1 teaspoon

The Fixings 

Arugula 

Avocado 

French Bread or Baguettes

Blend strawberries, honey, vinegar, olive oil & salt and pepper together. Once blended and smooth, blend in coconut milk.  From the original recipe I replaced heavy cream with coconut milk and sugar with honey to make it "healthy fat" friendly. Set dressing aside.

Slice strawberries and onions and mix with shredded chicken, almonds and lavender.  Starting with a small amount, pour & toss dressing with chicken mix.   It was incredible how the lavender meshed with the other tastes. On whatever bread you prefer, add a handful of arugula, some fresh sliced avocado and a scoop of strawberry chicken salad and enjoy a delicious sandwich!   mmmmmmm...

Wild Rice Salad

A few weeks ago it was a warm day... so I wanted a cold and filling salad. I had some wild rice and the Trader Joe's brown rice medley in my cupboard. Threw together some veggies, cooked up rice and used a premade balsamic vinaigrette to make a fresh salad for a Saturday afternoon in the sun. 

 

Wild Rice Salad:

Wild Rice

Brown Rice Medley (Trader Joe's)

Fresh Spinach

Mushrooms

White Onion

Almonds

Golden Raisins

  

Only problem with wild rice is that it takes so long to cook!

  One pot of wild rice, the other of brown rice medley.

 

Brown Rice Medley - Brown Rice, Black Barley and Daikon Radish Seeds

Chopped fresh spinach makes everything better!

 

Almonds, Spinach, Golden Raisins 

Toss with your favorite dressing and you have a fresh & yummy salad!

Baked Pesto Chicken

After Mackenzie's delish Pesto Lasagna on Saturday night, I decided to use my leftover spinach and basil to make a homemade pesto to use throughout this week's meals.  Last night, I was craving chicken and thought about how I could put the two together to please my tummy. I sliced up some fresh chicken breasts and tossed in my pesto... yum! You could even make an entire platter or casserole with this, but I am just cooking for one and it worked out great!

Homemade Pesto
      The thing with pesto is that once you've made it, you can play around with ingredients and adjust according to consistency, smell and taste. I "eyeballed" everything for this pesto because I just wanted to use ingredients I had in my refrigerator.

Homemade Spinach Walnut Pesto:
1/2 bunch of Spinach
A few cups of fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup of Walnuts
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon

In the food processor, puree spinach, basil and walnuts together with some EVOO. Squeeze in juice from lemon. While the processor is going, slowly continue pouring the olive oil until you reach a smooth consistency. 

Baked Pesto Chicken
1 chicken breast, sliced into 1 inch pieces
(Homemade) Pesto
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then change oven to broil for a little crunch and browning of the cheese!

 Spread a thin layer of pesto on the bottom of baking dish

Then lay chicken pieces in dish, spread a little more pesto on chicken 

and then sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

 

Wow, yummy!

I was thinking I might just put the pesto on top of the chicken to cut out more oil.  But this turned out with the flavor and moisture captured in the chicken and the extra pesto just seemed to crust in the dish instead of swimming under the chicken. Pretty great results!

Spinach Mania!

This summer, I fell in love with fresh spinach and ate about 3 bunches per week. Then fall came around and I sort of got sick of it... Thankfully, my craving for spinach is back. I bought 2 full bunches of fresh spinach at Sprouts this week (89 cents a bunch is hard to pass up!)  I love finding new ways to use it in new ways instead of just salads or chopped and tossed in with pasta.

In the last two days, here is what I came up with:

Spinach & Goat Cheese Chicken Breasts

2 chicken breasts 

1/2 bunch of fresh spinach, chopped and sauteed

1 clove garlic, minced

3 chopped mushrooms

3 tbsp goat cheese

1/2 lemon

1 cup bread crumbs (I used gluten-free crumbs)

Fresh Herbs (chopped and mixed in with bread crumbs)

Salt & Pepper

First, saute the spinach in a little olive oil.  While that is cooking, mix up the goat cheese with mushrooms, salt & pepper. Juice the lemon into the cheese mixture and stir in the spinach.  Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken breasts so there is a large pocket for filling. Spoon the filling in and close hole with toothpicks if you have some on hand. Rub olive oil on chicken breasts and dip into breadcrumb mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

                            

 

Add some fresh vegetables on the side and a filling delicious meal!

(Gluten-Free) Quick Vegetable Lasagna

3 cups chopped spinach, eggplant, mushrooms zucchini and onion (can use any veggies you want)

15 ounces ricotta cheese with a tbsp of pesto mixed in

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 jar of tomato sauce (I used portabello mushroom marinara)

Fresh shredded parmesan

8-9 brown rice lasagna noodles

While water is on its way to boil lasagna noodles,  begin chopping your veggies. I am not a big eggplant eater but I have one that grew and I have been dying to use it. Once noodles are boiling, saute veggies in some olive oil to soften and brown - but not too much.
Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of 9x13 pan. Begin layering noodles, veggies, and cheeses until you finish with one final layer of sauce and cheese. Finish with sprinkling fresh oregano on top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes covered with foil, then 20-30 more minutes uncovered or until cheese bubbles.

I wish it didn't take so long!!

It turned out delicious but I think I would chop the veggies even smaller and add in some garlic, maybe even add more cheese!!! I was definitely inspired by one of my friend's who posted her amazing vegetable lasagna a few weeks ago and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Then I get to have even more lasagna this weekend, because another friend is making homemade pesto lasagna! Lasagna mania?!

I think I might try to make a spinach soup later this week... If not, I will be eating spinach salad for the rest of the week! I hate letting fresh produce go to waste! 

I also did some shopping for a few new crafts I want to try... keep your eyes peeled for those soon!