Day 108: South Carolina Trip Day 1

South Carolina Trip Day 1:
Lunch on the road. I had some zucchini and red onion I didn't want to leave in the refrigerator to rot (I blanched a head of broccoli and some leftover cauliflower and threw them in the freezer) so I pulled out the George Foreman Grill. I cut the zucchini in half and sliced them thickly lengthwise, tossed the slices with olive oil, salt & pepper and grilled them on the Foreman grill till they had grill marks and were tender. I sliced the red onion thickly and did the same with that. I had some leftover fresh mozzarella from the spinach pizza and some pita bread in the freezer. I tossed the veggies with some balsamic vinegar and put them in a plastic container, sliced the cheese and wrapped it separately and kept the pita in its own bag. When we stopped in North Carolina (where it was WARM enough to picnic!), we put everything together to make some lovely sandwiches. We had a spinach salad too - because there was also spinach in the fridge before we left.
Dinner: Panera Bread. I had my favorite (though not the lowest calorie option), the mozzarella and tomato Pannini and Vegetarian Creamy Tomato Soup. Yum.

Day 107: Ziti with Ricotta Cheese

I started with this recipe and left out the bacon:

http://www.pasta-recipes-made-easy.com/pasta-with-ricotta.html

and I didn't have a red onion - so I used a yellow one

and I didn't have any plum tomatoes - so I used a can of diced tomatoes instead

I chopped the onion and cooled it in a little olive oil, then added the diced tomatoes and a little tomatoe paste from a tube. I let that cook down, as recommended, until it was pretty thick.

I cooked the pasta while the sauce was thickening up. Mixed the pasta with some grated Parmesan and the ricotta and stirred it all together, then added the pasta and mixed.

Day 106:Pizza with Spinach, Fresh Ricotta & Fresh Mozerella

I picked up some fresh pizza dough at Trader Joe's. 

Sauteed some onions and garlic in olive oil.

Added 4 cups or so of baby spinach and let that wilt.

rolled out the dough

spread some blobs of fresh ricotta cheese (also from TJ's) across the crust

topped that with the spinach/onion mixture

Threw on some chopped sun dried tomatoes and quartered Calamata olives

topped that with some fresh mozzarella cheese

Cooked at 450 F until the cheese was melted and the crust was browning - about 8-10 minutes I think.

Day 105: Black Beans, Spinach, Tomatoes & Onions over Polenta

This was a dinner from the cupboard. We had a roll of packaged polenta on hand, as well as some canned black beans and canned tomatoes. We almost always have onions on hand and usually fresh baby spinach - so I made all that into a quick supper.

Sauteed the onions with some garlic in a little oil (isn't that how every supper recipe begins?).Added the tomatoes and spinach - cooked down the spinach, then added the black beans and a little chili powder.

I sliced the polenta and browned it in a littl olive oil. Then placed it on a platter and topped it with some grated cheddar cheese (about 1 cup) - you could also use pepper jack, or muenster.

Then topped the polenta and cheese with the bean and vegetable mixture

We had this with a salad of Romaine, red onions, red grapes, and pecans.

Day 104: Ziti, Broccolli, Chick Peas & Feta

Quick supper

1/2 lb Ziti cooked as per package directions.

2 stalks broccoli, cut into florets, steamed 3 minutes

1 can chic peas, rinsed and drained

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

6-8 sun dried tomato halves, sliced thinly

A handful of Calamata olives, quartered

Mix everything together with the hot pasta and some pasta water over low heat until heated through.

Day 103: Pasta with Cauliflower, White Beans & Ricotta

I started with this recipe.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/pasta-with-roasted-cauliflower-chickpeas-ricotta-recipe.html?source=thekitchn

I had never roasted chic peas before, but it worked out fine. Roasted the chic peas with the cauliflower and some olive oil (I cut the oil to 2 tblsp ) at 450 about 25 minutes - stirring several times - until the cauliflower was browned. Baked the bread cubes on a separate baking sheet for 5 minutes at the same temperature. I cooked the shells in boiling water and when they were done, mixed them with the roasted cauliflower and chic peas, some pasta water, and about 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (fresh parsley gives such a wonderful flavor). I set out the croutons, grated Parmesan cheese and ricotta and let everyone top their own pasta. This was wonderful - I will certainly make this dish again.

Day 102: Soft Tacos with Black Beans and Spinach

Fresh vegetables on hand were spinach and zucchini. so I sliced an onion, diced a clove of garlic and started that in some olive oil, then added the zucchini, when they were getting soft and beginning to brown added the spinach and cooked until it was wilted, then threw in a can of rinsed and drained black beans. a dash of cumin and a dash of coriander, some salt & pepper and let that cook until everything was heated through.

I warmed some flour tortillas in the microwave, grated some cheddar cheese and set out some salsa.

Everyone made their own soft tacos.