Spinach Spaghetti with Walnut-Arugula Pesto

Wanted to try a new arugula recipe. Here it is!

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves
3 oz walnut pieces (about 3/4 c), toasted and cooled
4 oz arugula
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 oz Parma! Vegan Parmesan
1 lb spinach spaghetti (like Hodgson Mills)
1 T grapeseed oil
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1. In a food processor, pulse garlic until very finely chopped. Add walnut pieces and arugula; process until a coarse paste forms, about 5 seconds. Transfer to a serving bowl. Stir in the salt and parmesan cheese, and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti, and cook until al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, and immediately add to bowl with walnut-arugula mixture. Drizzle with the oil, and season with pepper. Toss thoroughly until coated evenly. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 304

Fat: 10g

Saturated: 1g

Carbs: 43.5g

Fiber: 7g

Protein: 11g

Ratings:

Kristen: 3

Dave: 2

Garlic Creamed Chard

Had some chard to use. I chose this recipe, which I liked because it uses both the leaves and the stems! :)

Ingredients:
1 T grapeseed oil
1 lb chard, stems and leaves separated, chopped
2 T minced garlic
4 tsp Earth Balance buttery spread
4 tsp all-purpose flour
2/3 c unsweetened soymilk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:
1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add chard stems and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 minutes. Stir in chard leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover and cook, stirring once, until tender, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a colander placed in the sink and press with a spoon to remove excess liquid. Return the chard to the pot, cover and keep warm.

2. Place garlic and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook
until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook until bubbling, about 30 seconds. Add milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg; cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the chard into the sauce and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 116
Fat: 8g
Saturated: 1.5g                                     
Carbs: 9.5g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 3.5g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4 (yum, garlic!)
Dave: 3.5 (He says I should definitely make this again!)

Baked Tilapia with Lots of Spice

I found this recipe via www.supercook.com. It is a website where you can enter all the ingredients that you have on hand and it will generate recipes that you can make. You can make a profile so that it will save your ingredients, so that way you can just add and delete things as your "inventory" changes. It is super handy!!

I adjusted this recipe for just one person, altered some of the amounts slightly because of fractions, and my tilapia was 4.7 oz (instead of 4). Feel free to refer to the original recipe.

Ingredients:
4.7 oz tilapia
1/8 tsp EACH:
-paprika
-onion powder
-dry mustard
-garlic salt
-black pepper
-cumin
-basil
-italian seasoning
1/8 c italian bread crumbs
1 T sliced green onion
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp grape seed oil

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Place the tilapia in a small baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine the spices (from the paprika to the italian seasoning). Sprinkle 1 tsp of the spice mix over the tilapia.
3. To the remaining spice mix, add the bread crumbs, parsley, and green onion. Add the oil and mix together.
4. Cover the tilapia with the bread crumb mixture.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until flaky.
Makes 1 serving.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 236
Fat: 8g
Saturated: 1.5g
Carbs: 13g
Fiber: 1.5g
Protein: 28.5g

Rating:
Dave: 4

Sesame Noodles with Broccoli and Peppers

I changed the original recipe a little bit, especially to pare down the serving size. Dear Martha Stewart, a serving size of pasta is 2 oz!!

Ingredients:
4 oz spaghetti
1 stalk of broccoli, chopped into florets, stalk peeled and chopped (Mine was 5-1/3 oz)
1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, cut into thin slices (Mine was 4-1/3 oz)
2 T creamy peanut butter
1/2 T sugar
1 T + 1 tsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 T + 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook spaghetti 3 minutes less than al dente. Add broccoli and bell peppers. Cook until pasta is al dente and vegetables are tender, 3 minutes more. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and vegetables.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, garlic, and red-pepper flakes. Add hot pasta and vegetables; toss to coat, thinning sauce with a little pasta water, if necessary. (I didn't need any.) Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 405
Fat: 11.5g
Saturated: 2g
Carbs: 59.5g
Fiber: 6.5g
Protein: 15g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4

Swiss Chard with Beans and Tomatoes

The original recipe calls this White Bean Stew with Swiss Chard and Tomatoes. I have to disagree though... it's not a stew at all. So I have re-named it appropriately. :) The original recipe calls for 16 oz of swiss chard, stemmed. I am guessing that this means before the stemming. I didn't have that much, so I used some chard and some kale.

Ingredients:
9 oz swiss chard, stemmed and torn into pieces (5 oz after stemming)
7 oz kale, stemmed and torn into pieces (5 oz after stemming)
1 tsp oil (I used grapeseed oil)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
14.5 oz diced tomatoes (Hunt's No Salt Added)
7.5 oz cannellini beans (Bush's)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1.Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add chard and kale. Simmer over medium heat for 8 minutes. Drain, cool slightly, and gently press out excess water.
2. In the same pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Saute garlic and red pepper flakes, 1 minute.
3. Add tomatoes (increase heat) and bring to a boil. Add beans and simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Add kale and chard, and cook for 3 minutes, so that the flavors blend. Season with salt and pepper.
Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 260
Fat: 3g
Saturated: 0.5g
Carbs: 49g
Fiber: 16.5g
Protein: 14g

Rating:
Kristen: 4
Dave: 3.5

Sausage-Stuffed Peppers

Stay tuned for next week when I make stuffed peppers with lentils!

Ingredients:
1 medium red bell pepper
1/2 c white rice, uncooked
1Original Field Roast Grain Meat Co. Italian Sausage
3/4 c tomato puree
Seasonings:
parsley
Italian seasoning
onion powder
garlic powder
black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F.
Cook rice. Meanwhile, crumble sausage and brown in a skillet. Add tomato puree and season to taste. Stir in rice.
Cut the top off the pepper and remove ribs and seeds. Cut in half lengthwise. Place on foil-lined cookie sheet and stuff with rice mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes, covered. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 253
Fat: 5g
Saturated: 0.5g
Carbs: 35g
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 17g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4
Dave: 3.5

Butternut Squash Fries

This is a Hungry Girl recipe. I saw it on her TV show. I was skeptical, but I have some squash so I decided to try it! I keep trying to eat squash since it's good for you but I don't particularly care for it. I definitely like it this way!!! It takes a little time, but it's super easy to make!

Ingredients:
Butternut Squash
Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F.
Halve, seed, and peel the squash. Cut into french fry shapes, using a crinkle cutter if you have one!
Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 40 minutes, turning halfway. (If you have a baking stone, you probably don't have to turn them!)

Notes:
Hungry Girl calls 5 oz (weigh it before cooking) a serving. This is a decent serving size, but I am sure you could eat more. :)  I'll put the nutritional info for 5 oz though. When I told Dave what I was making and asked if he wanted some, he said that he would try it, sounding wary. So I fully expected to make both servings that I made. I gave him one to try and he said it was "different". So I asked if I could eat his serving, and to my shock and awe (okay, it really wasn't shocking) he said no! Dave ate his with balsamic vinegar (yum!) and I ate mine with ketchup (yum!). I will DEFINITELY be making this again. (SOON!) Oh, for 2 servings (10 oz), I used about 1/2-2/3 of HALF of the squash. Of course it will depend on the size of your squash, but there you go.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 56
Fat: 0g
Carbs: 14.5g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 1g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4
Dave: 3