Turkey Meatloaf with Chipotle Glaze

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Our internet was down, and I also had a million things on my to-do list to tend to.  I accomplished one of them, in case you were wondering, which was showering this morning.  Anyway,  I digress...

Another reason to purchase this book is for this recipe: Mini Turkey Meatloaf with Chipotle Glaze.  I've made many a meatloaf before, but none with such unique ingredients as this one.  Grated sweet potato and zucchini, sauteed with onions, add flavor, richness and nutrition!  Listen to me, I'm like a pocket of health.  Also, instead of the traditional addition of bread crumbs: oats.  Oats!  It made for one delicious meatloaf.  And I will eat any chipotle anything.  Anything.  I didn't take many pictures because I was eating too much.  Also not on my to-do list.  Oops.    

Pesto, White Bean and Broccoli Dip

I was sent a copy of The Truly Healthy Family Cookbook by Tina Ruggiero and after a brief page-through I knew it was a keeper.  You can usually tell when a healthy dish will end up stale and flavorless just by reading the recipe, and all of these sound delicious (yes, I read recipes for fun, what's it to you?).  Some of the meals on my to-do list: Risotto with Mushrooms, Butternut Squash and Kale, Mini Salmon Sliders and Turkey Meatloaf with Chipotle Glaze.  Yes, please, all of that.  

Right off the bat I made this Pesto, White Bean and Broccoli Dip because I'm trying to feed my daughter more iron.  Beans and Broccoli are great sources of iron!  Iron, iron, i-ron... that's a weird word.  Anyway.  This was simple to make, yielded a HUGE batch, and was great on pasta or crackers.  

Thanks for the book, Tina!  Recipe here.
  

Pearl Couscous with Roasted Veggies and Pumpkin Seeds

I hereby proclaim it Veggie Week here on Siriously Delicious!!!  (And you will find me use that term loosely, ahem, more on that later...)  After eating every carb and protein in sight in New York City for 2 full weeks, I've been feeling the need to lighten things up.  A bit.  Last night, Carson and I ate like plant-eating dinosaurs and it was a nice change.  This couscous dish accompanied with a simple salad of tomato, avocado and feta was the perfect dinner.  I've always had trouble finding pearl couscous but finally discovered they keep it in the ethnic food aisle.  Go look!  It's so delicious, and kids love it because it more closely resembles pasta.  By "kids" I mean Carson and I, by the way.  You can also find balsamic glaze at most grocery stores, and it is delicious on roasted fall vegetables.  

Please enjoy, like fancy restaurant people say.

Pearl Couscous with Roasted Veggies and Pumpkin Seeds

(Serves 4)

Printable Recipe

2 1/4 cup chicken broth (or water)

2 cups dry pearl couscous

2 cups chopped butternut squash

2 cups chopped brussel sprouts

2 cups chopped mushrooms (I use portobello)

Olive oil

Balsamic glaze 

Salt and pepper

Pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 450.  In a large baking dish, toss chopped vegetables with a generous amount of olive oil and a few drizzles of balsamic glaze.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are caramelized.

While vegetables are roasting, bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium pot.  Add couscous, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until broth has absorbed.  Fluff couscous with a fork.

Add couscous to pan of roasted veggies and stir.  Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, taste for seasoning and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.

Double Spinach Pasta Casserole with Pesto and Fontina Cheese

I like to eat things that are healthy and not healthy for me.  Nearly a pound of spinach?  Yes please!  4 eggs plus cream?  Sure, why not!  Veggie pasta?  Definitely!  Gobs of ooey, gooey, cheese?  Why, absolutely!  If you like a good balance in your diet as well, then this recipe is for you.  And if you need to get some green food into your belly, make this ASAP.  I followed this recipe here, but used veggie pasta instead of spinach (also had zucchini in it) and fontina cheese instead of asiago.  I also doubled the recipe and it fed over 10 adults, WITH leftovers.  It was delicious... hearty, bright (the pesto added a lot of depth) and everything you would expect from a healthy/indulgent meal. 

Linguine with Kale, Pine Nuts and Pecorino

I read the best quote on one of my favorite food sites which I will re-quote here: "the world would be a better place if we could all stop pretending that kale tastes good."  Oh, that makes me chuckle.  I actually do like it, but only if it's in chip form (here), surrounded by avocado (here), or a part of fried rice (here).  I'm not going to munch on the raw leaf and proclaim, "I love kale!"  But here's another way to enjoy the vegetable: in pasta.  Whole wheat pasta!  I am so healthy, who wants to go for a jog?!  (Have fun.)  Inspired by that little food blog above, I combined kale with garlic, panko, toasted pine nuts, pecorino and pasta and it was delicious.  Sprinkled with some good olive oil, served along side fresh tomatoes and avocado (which we ended up eating with the pasta bites) and you've got yourself a meal worthy of bikini season.  Oh it's fall?  Never mind let's get fat.      

*Please excuse the paper plates.  Our dishwasher hasn't been installed yet and I'm lazy.  And thank you for being patient with the kitchen reveal.  I'm trying to find a moment to take a picture when it's clean and there aren't transformers cluttering the counters.  So can you wait 14 more years?

Linguine with Kale, Pine Nuts and Pecorino 

(Serves 4-6)

Printable Recipe

1 box whole wheat linguine

2 T extra virgin olive oil, divided

1/2 cup panko

2 cloves minced garlic,

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 head of kale, finely chopped

Grated pecorino

Salt and pepper 

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic, panko and pine nuts.  Toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside in a small bowl.  Using the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Add chopped kale and sauté until it just begins to wilt.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add panko mixture and toss.  Set aside.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then throw in some salt.  Add linguine and cook until al dente.  Remove with slotted spoon (or drain) and add to skillet with kale and panko.  Toss, add a generous amount of pecorino, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve!  

Also, the winner of the new Weelicious Cookbook is... The Lazy Standup!  Please email me, you'll find my contact info at the top : )

Green Goddess Chopped Salad

Two salads in a row, can you handle it?  Are you like, Siri, make a cronut already you idiot.  Don't call me an idiot!!  I'll get to the unhealthy stuff, but another salad I wanted to recreate from our New York trip was one we ate at a restaurant called Quality Meats.  If you're ever in the city, go there, and order the Broccoli Cheese Bites.  But also order the Green Goddess Chopped Salad, it's so good.  I tried to remember the gist of it - chopped romaine and spinach, granny smith apples, avocado, parmesan cheese and sunflower seeds - and I made it at home with a store bought dressing.  But you could also make your own dressing here.  It's a delicious salad and you are a delicious person.

Pesto Quinoa Salad

WHAT UP BLOG?!  Sorry, it's been awhile, I've forgotten how to do this.  I should probably not start by sounding like a tween.  Is that how tweens sound?  I'm a cool mom.  ANYWAY.  I've missed you guys!  Last week, in New York, all I could think about were things I wanted to cook and share with you.  Like this salad we ordered in our hotel room one night.  It was so simple and delicious and I knew it would be easy to recreate and I was right.  I'm usually right, except for when I'm wrong, which is most of the time.  

Pesto Quinoa Salad

(Serves 6-8)

Printable Recipe

2 cups quinoa

4 cups water

2 T olive oil

2 small zucchini, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

3 cups arugula, chopped

1 7oz. store-bought pesto, defrosted

Salt and pepper

In a medium-sized pot, combine water and quinoa and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Uncover, fluff with a fork, and remove from heat.  Set aside.  While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add zucchini and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add arugula and cook for another minute or so.  Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.  In a large bowl, toss quinoa and vegetables and add pesto.  Stir, and season with salt and pepper to taste.    

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Summer Vegetables

I am iPhone blogging.  Is that ghetto or desperate or totally awesome?  I can't decide.  All I know is, I MISS MY KITCHEN!!  *Sigh*  Well, as we all exercise patience in awaiting the Royal Baby's name (yup, capital B) (also I think it should be Simba) I suppose I can keep waiting nicely too.  In the meantime, make this easy side dish:

Bake a spaghetti squash for roughly 30 minutes at 350.  Slice in half and remove seeds.  Shred the "spaghetti" with a fork and place in bowl.  Set aside.  Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add diced summer squash (yellow and green varieties) and chopped tomatoes.  Sauté for 5 minutes.  Add some frozen corn and cook for another minute or so.  Toss in spaghetti squash and season with salt and pepper.  Place everything in a greased baking pan and top with queso fresco (or feta) and bake for 20 minutes at 350.  Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and red pepper flakes (optional).  YUM.  Maybe they should name the baby Yum?

Crispy Artichoke Hearts

I ate a ridiculously good appetizer over the weekend - which was creamy burrata cheese served with crispy artichoke hearts.  Simple, but the different textures and flavors were incredible.  While I don't know how to make my own burrata (one day... one day I will have cows and churn butter), I did figure out how to make crispy artichokes and it was stupid easy.  Buy a can or jar of artichoke hearts, drain them, heat about 1/2 inch olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat, add artichokes and pan fry! I left them in for a couple of minutes per side.  Using a slotted spoon, I removed them onto a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkled them with sea salt.  Eat these plain or with burrata or over a salad or... you tell me.  The possibilities are endless.  Hope you enjoyed your weekends, Internet friends!

Balsamic Glaze

Have you guys tried Trader Joe's Balsamic Glaze?  It's stupid good, or "sick" as my 4-year-old now likes to describe happy things.  Deep in flavor, not overly sweet or vinegar-y, and a perfectly thick consistency.  I use it as dressing ALL the time.  Just drizzle it over your salad with a splash of good olive oil (yup, I strive to sound like Ina) and that's all you need.  Marinate your chicken, or serve it over ice cream and fresh berries (which I have yet to do).  The other night, I used it to roast vegetables (with olive oil, salt and pepper).  It was so perfect, and much better than using watery balsamic vinegar.  

Sorry for all the iPhone photos as of late.  I lost my camera card and my to-do list says BUY ANOTHER.  My to-do list currently says 347 things.  I hate my to-do list and it's stupid face.  

Red Lentils with Feta and Tomato

As I type this, I'm sitting in my family room staring at large pieces of plywood and plastic covering.  I can't see my kitchen.  Have I mentioned we're redoing our kitchen?  So you'll have to bear with my postings for the next few months.  I might make a lot of peanut butter toast and easy mac & cheese.  Which both sound delicious to me!  But for now lets talk about lentils.  Lentils!  Doesn't that excite you??  Well it should, because while they might have a bad reputation, they're delicious.  I've had a bag of red lentils in my pantry for months, and I finally decided to do something with them over the weekend.  And because my best friend AND her sister are having babies on the same day, which is today(!), and because my mind is being blown over this construction, I am not going to write a recipe...

Take one cup of red lentils and put them in a pot with one cup of water.  Bring to a boil, then lower temp, cover and let simmer for roughly 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Meanwhile, sauté halved cherry tomatoes in 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic and then a splash of really good balsamic.  Let cook over low heat until all bubbly and delicious.  Once lentils are done, add tomato mixture and crumbled feta cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  A great side dish!  

English Muffin Pizzas

I know I always talk about the english muffins at M Street Kitchen but GAH!, I wish I could send one to each of you so you knew why I said things like GAH! when referring to them.  Last night, in an effort to do more with our farmer's market vegetables, I made mini pizzas with the muffins.  They were ridiculously perfect.  Of course, you can use any english muffin for this, but if you're able to purchase some from a bakery DO IT.  They're usually larger than the supermarket kind and made with more butter, which results in a crispier pizza crust.  Jack had a regular old cheese pizza (with a can of crushed tomatoes as the sauce) but our adult version included sautéed red chard (olive oil, salt, pepper)...

...and roasted garlic (Power Ranger hands not included).  

For the adult versions, instead of the shredded mozzarella I used for Jack's pizzas, I used these mozzarella pearls.  I love having these on hand for salads or school lunches...

450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.  They were PERFECT.  And a fun way to shake up dinner, because I say things like that because I write a food blog.    

Cauliflower Fritters

How were your weekends?  I went to the farmer's market yesterday and it had been so long since I'd done that.  I acted like a kid in a candy store, buying anything and everything that I could fit in the stroller (or on top of Etta).  I was so excited and overwhelmed, that when a teenage boy told me my avocados would cost me 400 pennies, I blankly stared at him while I tried to do the math.  Not one of my finer moments (but you can blame everything on no sleep when you have a baby).  Now I have veggies coming out of my eyeballs and I'm trying to eat them up in creative ways.  Like these Cauliflower Fritters that I adapted from this recipe.  Instead of an egg I used sour cream, instead of feta I used grated Romano and I added fresh basil too.  They sort of fell apart on me without the egg, but they were DELICIOUS.  I will make them again and again.    

Spinach Pesto and Sausage Strata

My friend Beth made this Rachael Ray egg dish yesterday and it was absurd (recipe here).  Incredibly filling and delicious in many ways.  She also made Monkey Bread and I practically had to roll myself out of her house.  I don't have willpower, especially when it comes to bread and cheese.  If you ever have to torture me into revealing information, just put me in a room full of bagels and cheese curds.  You'll win.  You'll also witness a frightening amount of bagels and cheese curds enter my body.  Anyways, the above dish would make a lovely Mother's Day brunch.

And remember this?   

Melting Tomatoes

Melting Tomatoes.  Don't they sound divine?  Don't you want to take a spoon to that picture and scoop them all into your mouth?  Do you hate it when I say words like divine?  I sort of do.  I sort of hate it.  Ina can get away with saying that word, because she says and does everything with such a calm, non-pretentious confidence.  I love her.  Is this post getting creepy?  It started out obnoxious and now it's just weird.  I'll wrap it up.  Ina serves these tomatoes over salmon, and we did too, but the leftovers could be used for ANYTHING.  Toast, eggs, pasta, etc.  Add them to your life.  Recipe here.