It’s been a while since I last updated, but I’ve been busy working and traveling. I just returned from a trip to Boston for a week to attend the Food & Nutrition Conference Expo and the Adult Weight Management Certificate Program. I had a great time, attended some informative workshops, received lots of free food samples, and ate some great seafood!
This morning, for breakfast, I wanted to make an egg white omelette. I found some bacon and potatoes in the freezer, so I set out to make this delicious meal of a pepper jack egg white omelette, turkey bacon, and skillet potatoes.
I went grocery shopping today and it was very crowded – typical for a Saturday. In between dodging running kids, spilled messes, and the crowd gathered at the pizza food demo table, I was debating between whole wheat gnocci and whole wheat fettuccine. Then it occurred to me that I could just make lasagna because I could freeze the leftovers and take it to work. Problem solved! I didn’t feel like making homemade sauce, but you can substitute your favorite sauce or make your own. Below are the ingredients:
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 small carrots, chopped
* 1 bell pepper, chopped
* 1 (10 – ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
* 1 (8 – ounce) container mushrooms, sliced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (15 – ounce) container ricotta cheese
* 2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
* 1 jar of your favorite sauce
* salt, pepper, and italian seasoning to taste
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Saute onion, pepper, carrots, spinach, and mushrooms in olive oil. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and italian herbs (basil, oregano, etc.). Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add more oil and brown ground turkey. Cook until no longer pink, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add to vegetable mixture.
4. In a 9 by 13 glass dish, spoon sauce on the bottom to prevent noodles from sticking. Layer noodles, overlapping to fit dish, as necessary.
5. Alternate layers of ricotta cheese, vegetable and turkey mixture, shredded cheese, sauce, and noodles.
6. The last layer should be sauce and shredded cheese.
7. Cover with aluminum foil. Place in preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until bubbly and golden about 20 minutes.
After work today, I made a yummy summer salad to take to a friend’s house this weekend. I found the recipe from allrecipes.com. I modified the recipe with my own pantry items. Here is the recipe as I made it:
Ingredients
* 4 cups vegetable broth
* 1 (16 ounce) package orzo pasta
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
* 1/4 cup garlic infused oil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 cup pine nuts
* 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
* 12 ounces basil-flavored feta cheese
* 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
* 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
* 1 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach leaves, chopped
* 2 small lemons, zest and juice
Directions
1. Bring the chicken broth to a boil over high heat. Add the orzo pasta, and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well, then pour the orzo into a bowl, and toss with the butter to keep it from sticking; set aside.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the spinach, asparagus, and tomatoes until softened. Add the pine nuts and continue cooking, stirring often, until pine nuts are toasted and fragrant.
3. Stir the pine nut mixture into the orzo along with the feta cheese and lemon juice.
All the veggies prepped
Cooking the Orzo
Colorful asparagus, spinach, and tomatoes
The hardest part about the dish was chopping all the veggies. But, it came together really quick. Until next time, eat well!
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