Garliky Pasta

Adapted from "How to cook everything vegetarian"

1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 lb pasta
3 Tbs minced garlic
4 c chicken broth
Grated parmesan

1. Heat oil in deep frying pan at medium-high heat.
2. Add pasta and garlic. Saute until pasta is browned, stirring occasionally
3. Add broth. Reduce heat to low. Cook until broth has evaporated.
4. Serve. Sprinkle with cheese.


NOTE: I used tricolor Creste di Gallo pasta because it's prettier, but this would work with any pasta. The original recipe calls for vermicelli.

Spinach and Feta cheese bake

Adapted from "How to cook everything vegetarian"

6 oz crumbled Feta cheese
1 lb frozen spinach
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp hot Paprika
2 cups plain yogurt (I used 0% greek yoghurt)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Boil spinach until cooked. Drain
3. While spinach is cooking, mix flour and olive oil in pot. Heat on medium for about 3 minutes. Avoid burning.
4. Add yogurt and paprika to flour mixture. Mix until combined.
5. Stir spinach and feta cheese into yogurt mixture.
6. Put into shallow baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a light crust has formed at the top and mixture is no longer soupy.

NOTE: I served this with Quinoa but it would also be really good mixed with rice. It would make a nice side dish too. The result is a cross between creamed spinach and spinach souffle. Delicious!

I also tried adding asparagus and broccoli rabe as substitutes for 1/2 the spinach. It worked really well. I added Panko bread crumbs when I baked it (just a handful so that the top was lightly covered) and that made it a little crunchier, which was good.

Almond-crusted chicken fingers

Adapted from "Healthy in a Hurry"

1/2 c sliced almonds
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black & red spice (combination of black pepper and red pepper flakes)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
4 egg whites
1 lb chicken tenders

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray tin foil with non-stick spray.
2. Place almonds, flour, paprika, black & red spice, salt and pepper in food processor. Process until almonds are finely chopped and all ingredients are blended together. Drizzle in olive oil and process until combined. Transfer to bowl or shallow dish.
3. Separate egg yolks from whites. Discard yolks. Whites should be in a bowl.
4. Coat chicken tenders in egg whites and then in almond mixture. When fully coated, place on baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until fully cooked inside.

NOTE: The original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp dry mustard and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. I substituted the Black & red spice for these. You just need something to add a little tang to the mixture. I let the chicken fingers cool and put them on top of a salad. I used the salad dressing I posted a few weeks ago (garlic-olive oil dressing) on top. It was delicious. These would also be good hot with a side of potatoes.

Beef and Broccoli stir fry

1 TB sesame oil
1 package frozen, chopped broccoli
1/2 lbs sirloin (sliced thin or pre-cut for "stir fry")
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup nuts
soy sauce to taste

1. Heat sesame oil in wok on high.
2. Add broccoli and cook for about 2 minutes or until heated.
3. Add beef. Cook until there is just a little pink left
4. Add ginger, garlic, oyster sauce and nuts. Stir and mix well.
5. Serve. Add soy sauce to dish.

NOTES: I used walnuts and pine nuts. I'm sure that any kind of nut would be good here. Also, the meat ends up well done with these instructions. The meat cooks on high for another 30 seconds or so while you are adding the additional flavors. I turned down the wok a bit when I added the beef so that the beef wouldn't burn. Then I turned it up at the end so that the beef juices evaporated.