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Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There are few things more beautiful than garden fresh, organic vegetables. Especially tomatoes.  They’re ripe with the promise of wonderful flavor and I thought about just eating them as a snack, but in the end I decided to coax the most flavor out of them that I possibly could.  Here’s what I did:

  • 2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes (or any tomatoes that are fresh and beautiful) halved or chopped if they’re larger
  • 2 red, ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 heads broccoli, florets only
  • 5 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • a pinch of red pepper flake
  • salt
  • cracked black pepper
  • 2 boxes of whole wheat pasta
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium pan (I love my dutch oven for this) heat about a tablespoon of olive oil – when it’s hot, add the chicken breasts.  Cook about 5-6 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is browned.

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 5 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Transfer to a lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness, till  they’re cooked through.  After letting them sit to redistribute their juices, slice them into bite size pieces and set aside.

Here are the gorgeous tomatoes:

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 4 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Put the dutch oven back on medium heat and add another tablespoon of olive oil.  When it ribbons add the garlic and red pepper flake.  As soon as you can smell the garlic, add the tomatoes and a big pinch of salt and allow them to slowly cook until they start to break down.

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 3 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

When the liquids have really been released, add the broccoli, cover and let the tomato sauce steam the broccoli. (so much tastier than steaming in water, don’t you think?)

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 2 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Meanwhile, put up a pot of well salted water for your pasta and cook according to package directions.  We used whole wheat pasta because we’re trying to cut the processed carbs, but I really, really love pasta and miss it. I decided this little indulgence wasn’t going to kill anyone.

Drain the pasta into a colindar, and transfer the tomato sauce to the empty pasta pot.  At this point, I decided to add a cup of vegetable broth to make sure that there was enough liquid to cover the pasta. When the broth has heated, add the chicken and pasta to the sauce and gently toss.

Full Disclosure: I clearly wasn’t gentle enough, because a lot of my penne broke. I do find that the whole wheat pasta breaks more easily.

Plate and serve. We add salt and pepper at the table, because while I like mine heavily seasoned, my son doesn’t and my husband likes a lot more pepper than I do. So… do whatever works for you.

penne broccoli heirloom tomatoes 1 Penne with Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli

Super easy dinner recipe that your whole family will love! Serves 8.  Four people for dinner and the same four get lunch the next day. Enjoy!



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Vegetable Lentil Soup

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

For the past couple of months I’ve been making soup about once a week.  It’s a nice, healthy way to eat for 24 hours.  I mostly keep it vegetarian and we just eat it all day and night, every time we get hungry, there it is on the stove and I don’t worry about refrigeration, because there’s nothing that can go bad. I want to make a point here today though, just how easy soup making is. I really measured nothing… All amounts were what I had left in my fridge and pantry.

  • Olive Oil (a nice big glub)
  • Salt (a couple of pinches)
  • 1 package dried lentils
  • 2 large yellow onions, plus half a red onion I had left over, chopped
  • 8 carrots chopped (if they’re organic I don’t even peel them)
  • 12 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped
  • 3 bell peppers (red, yellow and orange) seeded and chopped
  • 2 cubanelle peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 3 chipotle in adobe, chopped (again it was what was left, use less or more according to taste)
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 75 oz. organic vegetable broth – (Use what you have, I had two containers and a third opened in the fridge, I poured them all in)
  • 2 boxes Pomi strained tomatoes

Let’s talk a bit about lentils.  I sometimes use beans in my soups and sometimes I don’t.  I find them a bit of a pain to soak overnight, I don’t usually plan my soups that far in advance.  I had never tried lentils before a couple of months ago – No, I have no idea how I’ve gotten this far without eating lentils, it just happened.  A friend was talking about them on Facebook and I was inspired to try them.  They have changed my life.  I love these tasty, little things.  You don’t have to soak them, they’re ready in 20 minutes and they’re easy.  Really, really easy… Use them if you like, leave them out if you don’t.

Prepare the lentils according to package directions, drain and set aside.

lentil soup 6 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Dry the pan, heat to med/high heat, add a big glub of oil and then the onions, carrots and celery.  Add a big pinch of salt and toss and cook till they’re all soft and glossy.

lentil soup 5 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Add the peppers, another pinch of salt and cook till they’re softened.  Then add the chipotles, and toss and cook until the chipotles are almost dissolved.

lentil soup 4 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Add the garlic, cook until you can really smell the garlic and then add the broth.

lentil soup 3 Vegetable Lentil Soup

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and stir well, add the lentils, cover and allow to simmer on low until you’re ready to eat.

lentil soup 2 Vegetable Lentil Soup

So easy, so good.  Spicy, satisfying, lots of vegetables, broth, tomatoes.  You will love this and you won’t miss the carbs or the meat at all.  I promise.

lentil soup 1 Vegetable Lentil Soup



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,

Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

April 16, 2012 By 8 Comments

I know I’ve said it before, but I can not believe how much fish we’re cooking!  It was really one of my most important goals for 2012 and I’m so proud at how far, not just I, but my whole family has come on this particular journey.  This dinner was ready so quickly you can’t believe it.

  • 4 Chilean Sea Bass Fillets
  • salt and pepper
  • oil
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 Tablespoons capers, drained and even rinsed if yours are really briny
  • the juice of two small lemons (mine were super tiny, if you have big, juicy lemons, just use one)
  • a handful of fresh, chopped, flat leaf parsley

Take your fish out, put it on a plate and pat dry.  Salt and pepper one side.

chilean sea bass 3 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Look how pretty.  You want the fish nice and firm and with no detectable odor.

Heat a grill pan to med/high heat – oil the pan well.  When it’s almost smoking, lay the fish seasoned side down on the pan and season the other side.

chilean sea bass 2 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Meanwhile, heat up a saute pan and melt the butter. Add the lemon juice and allow to cook away while you tend to the fish.  The fish only needs a couple of minutes on each side.  I just flip it when I think it’s ready and then after a couple of minutes check for flakey opaque texture all the way through. If it’s not quite there, I flip it again.

At this point things were moving so fast, that I never got a picture of the pan, but once the lemon juice is cooking off a bit, add the capers.  Let them warm through and then remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped parsley. Stir and let stand until the fish is ready to plate. Once it’s done. Put a filet on each plate and spoon some sauce over the top.  We served it with a plain tossed salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar.

chilean sea bass 1 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Elegant, delicious and ridiculously easy!



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Fish, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mushroom Cap Pizza with Balsamic Tomato Sauce

April 15, 2012 By 3 Comments

I love pizza. There’s just nothing about it that doesn’t make me very happy.  When we’re eating low carb, I like to use different things as the base, or the crust, if you will.  One of the things I like to use is a mushroom cap from a large portabella mushroom! I’ve done it before with Roasted Eggplant and Asparagus, but this time I wanted something a little more traditional.

  • 4 portobello mushrooms caps, trimmed
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • big pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • a pinch of oregano
  • a pinch of parsley
  • 1 box of Pomi strained tomatoes
  • fresh mozzarella (to taste)
  • basil leaves, chiffonade (cut into strips) or just ripped into small pieces

I like to remove the gills of the mushroom cap for this use.  I know some people like it, but I don’t, so I just take a spoon and carefully scrape them out.  Wet a paper towel and give the caps a little wipe to remove any dirt. Put a little olive oil on your hands and give the mushrooms a little massage.  Full disclosure: I forgot to do this, and they came out delicious, but they look a little nicer with the oil massage.

Set a pan on med/high heat and add a little bit of olive oil.  When it’s hot, add the onion and salt.

mushroom balsamic pizza 4 Mushroom Cap Pizza with Balsamic Tomato Sauce

Sweat them down a little bit and when they’re translucent, add the parsley, oregano and garlic. I like to smush the dried herbs in between my fingers to release any oils.  Cook for a minute or two, just until the garlic is aromatic.  Add the vinegar and let it cook down a bit – stand back, a big whiff of the vinegar burning off is pretty lethal, but it goes away in a minute or so.

mushroom balsamic pizza 3 Mushroom Cap Pizza with Balsamic Tomato Sauce

Stir until everything coated and cooked down a bit and then add your tomatoes.

mushroom balsamic pizza 2 Mushroom Cap Pizza with Balsamic Tomato Sauce

Bring the tomatoes up to temperature and then taste.  Adjust salt/pepper/any other seasonings you like to add. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for at least ten minutes. The longer the better.

Preheat the oven to 400. Line a sheet pan with foil, place the mushrooms, top side down onto the tray and begin to assemble; a little sauce, a lot of cheese, whatever other topping you might want to add. Cook until the cheese is melted. Alternately you could put this under the broiler and let it broil until the cheese started to brown.  I like it both ways.  When it’s done, sprinkle a little basil on top.  We served it with a tossed salad and a balsamic vinaigrette to bring all the flavors in.

mushroom balsamic pizza 1 Mushroom Cap Pizza with Balsamic Tomato Sauce

Really delicious and satisfies that pizza craving!



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

April 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sabra Hummus is BOGO at Publix this week and while you could certainly make your own, I love the Sabra brand (no one gave me anything to say that).  I think the flavors are terrific and my family eats so much of this that sometimes it’s a bit of a pain to make since I don’t buy canned beans anymore and however much I make it seems to disappear twice as quickly as it took to make.  When Sabra is BOGO, I always indulge.

I had this gorgeous salmon and I thought about pairing it with the hummus.  I Googled “Salmon with Hummus” and had over 3 million results, so people were clearly enjoying them together, but I still wasn’t super sure.  I decided to give it a shot and boy were we glad that I did. It’s delicious. Here’s what I did:

  • 4 portions of salmon, skin on
  • 3 tablespoons of butter, softened to room temperature
  • salt and pepper

Take the salmon out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature, uncovered. If there’s any moisture on the skin, pat it dry. Lightly salt the skin and let it sit for just a couple of minutes. This will help to dry it a bit more so that you can get super crispy skin.

crispy salmon with hummus 3 Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

Rub the butter onto the skin – I honestly didn’t need the whole 3 tablespoons, so I just scraped of the excess.

Heat the pan to med/high heat, add two table spoons of olive oil and when it’s almost smoking, add the salmon, skin side down to the pan. If you want really crispy skin, let it cook almost completely skin side down – about 5-6 minutes. Lightly salt the top side.

crispy salmon with hummus 2 Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

Flip and cook on the other side for a minute or two. Just until seared.

Plate with a nice, big scoop of the hummus – we used Roasted Red Pepper.

crispy salmon with hummus 1 Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

That skin was so crispy and the fish was so moist and buttery and the flavors in the hummus were perfect.  We served this with a garden salad dressed simply with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and White Balsamic vinegar.

Delicious and super easy.



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Fish, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

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