Farfalle with Turkey Sausage and Spinach

Ingredients:
1 lb. turkey sausage, casings removed
1 1/4 cups hot water
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. uncooked multi-grain farfalle pasta
1 package of baby spinach leaves
1 tbsp basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp oregano

Directions: Serves 4
1. Spray large skillet with cooking spray of your choice. Begin to heat over medium.
2. Add turkey sausage to skillet and break up with spatula. Stir continuously until cooked (no longer pink). When cooked, drain the meat.
3. Stir in water, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and pasta. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
5. Add in spinach, basil, garlic, and oregano, and stir for one minute or until spinach wilts.
6. Ready to serve!

Garlic Green Beans with Pine Nuts

With so few ingredients in this dish, it may be the easiest thing I've ever made (other than the bowls of cereal and PB&J's that filled my formative years). So if your friends make fun of you for the time you tried to cook broccoli with your facial steamer, impress them with this recipe...it's fool-proof! 


Ingredients: 
10 oz. green beans, washed and trimmed
Olive Oil
1 Clove of Garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Serves 4
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Throw in the green beans and cook until just tender, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, coat a skillet with oil and heat to medium. Add the garlic slices and cook for 1 minute. Then add the pine nuts and toast until brown, or about 3 minutes.
3. Drain the green beans and combine in skillet with garlic and pine nuts. Toss to coat in the skillet. 
4. Remove skillet from heat, toss with salt and pepper to taste, and serve!

Grilled Eggplant Rolls

This recipe is reminiscent of the traditional Italian dish: Eggplant Rollitini. They have a lighter feel than the original dish, and skip the breading, so they are actually gluten-free. These tasty roll-ups work well as a side dish, or an appetizer! I happened to go produce-shopping on a day, in a store, where all the eggplants decided they'd be gigantic (I kid you not, biggest I've ever seen), so yours will end up looking a bit narrower than mine. You can use a stove-top griller, griddle press, or regular outdoor grill for these. If it's available to you, I suggest the outdoor grill for that added charcoal taste. 

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, sliced length-wise

Olive oil (of your choice)

3/4 cup Ready-Made Pesto

1/2 cup Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese

2 tsp lemon juice

Directions: Serves 4

1. Preheat your grill.

2. Brush each side of eggplant slices with olive oil until coated.

3. Place slices on the grill, and grill about 3 minutes per side, or until slightly charred.

4. Meanwhile, prepare filling in a medium bowl. Combine pesto, ricotta, and lemon juice until evenly mixed. 

5. Remove eggplant slices from the grill and allow to cool. 

6. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the pesto-cheese mix onto each slice of eggplant, and spread evenly.

7. Roll up each slice, and place on serving plate seam-side down.

8. Serve immediately and Mangia! 

Summer Italian Birthday Menu

Italian Food is one of those bring-your-family-together cuisines...at least it is for my family! It's no wonder I love to cook. I grew up surrounded by Polish Jews (and we all know they're a close second to Italians when it comes to food-appreciation and "the-need-to-feed" feeling), who either pretended to be Italian, or married one. So when it was time to celebrate my mama's August birthday, I knew just the menu to choose: a lightened-up, summer Italian feast. This meal brought my family of 7 busy adults to the table for a night of togetherness. May it do the same for yours! 

*The recipes below serve 4. I doubled them for my hearty family. 

Grilled Eggplant Rolls

Garlic Green Beans with Pine Nuts

Farfalle with Turkey Sausage and Spinach

Kale and Carrot Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

*Pictured with chicken, served over quinoa.

Happy July 21st! After a few months off, a graduation (or two!), and plenty of rejuvenating life transitions, I'm back with new creations to share.  Cheers to doing the things you love, with the people who boost your smile, even on the ordinary Mondays.

Here's a fresh, savory recipe for a new spin on your salad tonight. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

2 bunches of kale, de-stemmed

3 large carrots, peeled

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3 tbsp chunky peanut butter

1 tbsp Sriracha 

1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tbsp almond milk, unsweetened

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

Directions: Serves 3-4

1. Chop the kale into bite-size strips, about 4 inches in length. 

2. Using your peeler, take your already-peeled carrots, and continue to shave strips off the sides. You should end up with about 3 cups of carrot shavings. 

3. Whisk together the peanut butter, Sriracha, ginger, garlic, almond milk, oils, and rice vinegar.

4. In a large bowl, toss together the kale, carrots, and spicy peanut dressing. Top with sesame seeds and toss again. 

*Option to add chicken: 2 chicken breasts, washed

- Double the ingredients in step number 3, making two servings of dressing.

- Slice chicken into strips.

- Bring 1 tbsp of oil to a simmer in a sauce pan.

- Begin to cook chicken until meat starts to turn white, stirring continuously with wooden spatula.

- Add dressing to the pan and coat chicken. 

- Heat until meat is cooked through and add to salad.

Butternut Squash and Lentil Stew

It's finally warmer in New Jersey than it is in the North Pole, so that calls for a celebration. And what better way to celebrate than with a winter crockpot creation (...I always say)! I was craving a warm bowl of "home", as I prepare to go back to school, and therefore a much smaller kitchen, and my crockpot delivered. I made this vegetarian stew with butternut squash, but kabocha or delicata squash would work well too. It's a simple recipe, and you'll find that the longer the ingredients sit together, the more the flavors will pop. This makes it a great leftover recipe, so you can stay warm all week!

Ingredients:

20oz. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cups dry red lentils

8 cups vegetable broth

4 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp ground ginger

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp chilli powder

1 tsp salt

Directions: Serves 6

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow-cooker.
2. Cook on high for 5 1/2 - 6 hours. Stir occasionally. Feel free to taste/smell and add seasonings to your liking.
3. Tada- Scoop yourself a bowl of home!

Vegan Cinnamon Apple Muffins

This is my first attempt at a vegan recipe! We were also out of eggs, so going vegan seemed like a really good option today. These tasty vegan breakfast bites are perfect for the -5 degree mornings when you wish you indulged your teenage self and stayed in bed until noon (or the afternoons when you actually did.) Dive into one of these and you're in for the perfect storm- a moist, sweet swirl of cinnamon against the tang of a juicy Mcintosh apple. Put them together and you're armed to start the day with a smile!

Ingredients:

Muffins:

Cooking Spray

1 1/2 cups baking flour (of your choice)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of apple pie spice

1/3 cup + 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 

3 tbsp walnut oil (or canola oil)

2 small Mcintosh apples, peeled and grated

Topping:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp. cold earth balance spread

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

1 tbsp. flour (of your choice)

Directions: Yields 12 Muffins

1. In large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and apple pie spice.

2. In a smaller separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, oil, and milk until just combined.

3. Add wet ingredients to the dry, and mix with wooden spoon until just combined. Add in the grated apple. 

4. Grease a 12-muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill each cup halfway with batter.

5. For the topping, combine the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture appears crumbly, then add in the oats. Sprinkle each muffin cup with this topping.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes. Allow to cool, and then enjoy!