Day 84: Pasta Special

Another quick dinner.

1. Put a big pot of water up to boil
2. chop one onion and mince 1-2 cloves of garlic and start them cooking in 1-2 tsp olive oil
3. slice 1 red bell pepper in thin slices and cut the slices in thirds, then add to the onions
4. while this is cooking, boil some fettuccine according to the directions on the package
5. slice up some sun dried tomatoes and quarter 2/3 can of artichoke hearts
6. drain and rinse a can of Cannelloni beans
7. Grate 1/2- 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
8. Add 4 cups rinsed baby spinach to the onions and garlic + a little pasta water and cook till it wilts

9. Add the SD tomatoes, artichokes and beans, salt & pepper and cook until heated through
10. Heat a little pasta sauce
11. Put some fettuccine on a plate, top with a little sauce, lots of the veggie mix and some grated cheese.

Day 83: Husband's Birthday Dinner

I made him his favorites, a piece of salmon, Brussels sprouts (pan roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper) Quick Roasted Red potatoes  (small ones, cut in half, 5  minutes in the microwave, then tossed with a little olive oil, salt & pepper and under the broiler for 10 minutes until nicely browned) and a salad of Romaine, sliced pear, shaved smoked Gouda cheese and toasted walnuts. I do not eat fish, so I had leftover stuffed peppers and salad.

Day 80: Veggie Hot Dogs

Fastest, high protein, low fat, filling, and pretty tasty dinner possible. Veggie dogs & beans heated in the microwave and a salad of Romaine& carrots.

Day 81: My Nephew's Birthday Party

I should not have eaten all that food! My sister had a lovely assortment of cheeses, crackers, and pretzels and some perfectly spicy mustard to go with them - for a starter. Then we were treated to an assortment of flat bread pizzas from their new "favorite" place: a margarita with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil, and one with Brie, thinly sliced pears and sage, and pulled pork and bacon for the carnivores. I would normally say that pears - and Brie - have no place on a pizza - but this one was quite tasty. Also quite pretty - I should have taken a picture. Of course, there was also a Shrek themed birthday cake - and that was yummy too.

Day 82 : Quick Stuffed Peppers

As I was driving home I was, as usual, running through the contents of the fridge and pantry in my mind to see what I had on hand to make into a quick dinner. I thought of one of the last things left in the freezer from the summer CSA share, a bag of frozen green pepper halves. I cut them in half, blanched them for 3 minutes, and froze them back in August. so when I got home, here is what I did.
1. Followed the package directions on the ten minute brown rice and made 4 servings.
2. While that was cooking, I took 6 small half peppers out of the freezer, put them in a covered dish and into the microwave on auto defrost - when they came out, I blotted them with a paper towel - they were a little watery because they had been frozen - but they retained their lovely green color.
3. I chopped an onion, diced 2 cloves of garlic, and began to sautee them in about a tsp of olive oil
4. Pulled the leftover chopped canned tomatoes from the Minestrone soup out of the fridge and opened, drained and rinsed a can of black beans
5. grated about a cup or so of low fat cheddar cheese
When the onions were soft and brown, I mixed everything together in the pan with the onions & garlic; rice, tomatoes, beans, cheese, then scooped it into the pepper shells in the covered dish and put it back in the microwave, covered, for 10 minutes on 70% power -
Made a quick salad of Spinach, sliced apple, dried cranberries, and feta cheese -voila - dinner.

Day 79: Out to Dinner

Went to a new place, Sweet Jane's Cafe in Johnsonburg, NJ to hear Kate & Paul because we like their music and like to support our friends who make music here in northwest New Jersey. The music was excellent, as usual. The cafe was interesting, nice atmosphere, but the food sounded better on the menu that it turned out to be in execution. I had a "veggie burger" that was mostly mushy rice served on a charred bun. The "burger" was a little too big and a little too spicy and did not hold together at all. It was served with sweet potato fries all of which were either burnt or undercooked. L.had a flat bread pizza with hummus, spinach, feta and black olives and reported that the flat bread was also burnt on the bottom. He did have a nice salad with fruits and nuts though.

Day 78: Home Made Minestrone

L. came in to join me at work, as usual. I made a lovely minestrone soup yesterday for lunch with kidney beans, carrots, celery, onion, the last of the summer corn and green beans from the freezer, fresh spinach, and some canned tomatoes and tubetini pasta. The leftovers were very nice with a grilled cheese sandwich for a work night supper.