20

Jan

Farmer’s Market & Lemon Spaghetti

When it comes to groceries, I’m picky.

Sometimes it’s because of quality of ingredients, how the meat was handled, et cetera, but it’s

always about PRICE.
I can’t help it. I grew up in a family that saved and planned and scoured the ads for good deals. No extreme couponing needed here, because my parents and grandparents were really smart with their money. And it proved to pay off for them when they wanted to plan a big trip or retirement, and that legacy is something I hope to carry through.
Our finds at Dallas Farmers Market

That being said, I love fruits and vegetables and we eat a fair amount, so we like to get good deals on good stuff. Here’s where the Dallas Farmer’s Market (or anytown’s farmer’s market) comes in. Mattand I tried it out on a cold, rainy day. The market closed at 6 and we got there at 4, so we didn’t expect much. We were wrong. The crop was good (bigger/more flavorful/brighter than any grocery store produce) and the prices were awesome (3 giant ruby red grapefruits for $1, giant bag of spinach for $2, a dozen tangerines for $2).

Here are some of our market picks:
large honey crisp apples 8 for $2

$3 for 1 1/2 pounds of blackberries, $2 asparagus, 6 sweet oranges for $2

All of those tomatoes for $3—I counted 27 total

Now onto a fun recipe. I spotted this on Rachael Ray’s site a year or so ago, but haven’t gotten around to trying it until this week. Lemon spaghetti is light, citrusy, and slightly creamy. I adapted Rachael’s recipe a little, and it turned out well. We had bright green broccoli and tuna burgers (minus the bun) on the side.

Lemon Spaghetti

(adapted from Rachael Ray)

This dish is light, creamy and great to serve with fish. You can decrease the crushed red pepper if serving for kids.

20 minutes to make; 4 servings

Ingredients

  • Salt
  • 2/3 pound spaghetti
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
  • 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 lemons, zested and juiced
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan (or parmigiano-reggiano)
  • Handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
  • 8 leaves fresh basil, very thinly sliced (optional, or sub with 2 t. dried basil)

Directions

step one: Boil a pot of salted water, dropping in the spaghetti. In a large, deep skillet, add the olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper.

step two: After the pasta has been cooking about 5 minutes, add a ladle of the pasta water, the lemon juice

step three: When the pasta has been cooking about 5 minutes, add lemon juice, a ladle of the cooking water from the pasta and the milk to the skillet. Raise heat a bit to bring sauce to a bubble.

step four: Drain the pasta when it is al dente. Add the lemon zest and the cheese to the cream sauce. Season with salt and red pepper, to taste. Add pasta to pan and turn off the heat. Toss the pasta for a couple of minutes so that all of it is coated in sauce. Top with parsley, basil and additional cheese, if you like. Enjoy.  

Happy eating and happier weekend!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

///

10

Oct

Surprise dinner and Caramelized peaches

Happy Sunday!

This weekend has been full of work and papers and a (little) bit of baking.

Matt surprised me with a deliciously tasty shrimp pasta. Mmm.

 And, to thank him, I made dessert…for myself. Oops. Easiest dessert ever.

 1 very ripe peach, sliced
1 1/2 TB margarine/butter
1 1/2 TB brown sugar
Dash of cinnamon

In a saute pan, add margarine, cinnamon and brown sugar. Stir until melted. Add in peaches and cook on a lower heat for 3 minutes. Cover (with lid propped open slightly) and let simmer for 8 minutes or so. Eat!

Serve by themselves or over yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy.

 On a random note, after 24 years, I have stopped biting my nails. I just had to document it! Okay, enough of that. Go eat the peaches.

Happy eating! Laurel

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

//

07

Aug

Guilt-free Green Lasagna

Okay, normally green lasagna makes you think of those 3 week old leftovers in the back of the fridge that never quite made it to the trash. Ick. This lasagna was Matt’s idea, and it’s some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Not only is the cheese melty and strategically placed to make your tastebuds happy, but it’s actually quite healthy with all sorts of veggies and good stuff. And there aren’t 300 ingredients in it, like in a chefs lasagna, so you don’t have to spend $8,000 on all of the ingredients.*
Kids can help you make this tasty dinner, and it’s enough for two casserole dishes (16 generous adult-sized portions, or one hyper 3 year old’s entire messy birthday party).

Guilt-free Cheesy Lasagna
Makes two 9X11 pans of lasagna, 16-18 servings, or can be easily halved
INGREDIENTS:
2 large jars marinara
2 12-oz packages of wheat (or whole grain) lasagna noodles
1 pound ground turkey
5 garlic cloves, sliced thinly (remember the razor blade that sliced paper-thin garlic slices in Goodfellas?)
1 16-oz bag frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 16-oz bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3 TB Italian seasoning 
1 TB dried or 3 TB fresh basil 
Dash of black pepper
Dash of red pepper
1 quart low-fat ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella

GADGETS/UTENSILS:
1 large pot
1 large skillet/wok with lid
1 large bowl with ice cold water
sharp knife
wooden spoon
tongs
spatula
plate
2 casserole dishes (AKA lasagna pans, 11X7, 12X8, 13X9) 
INSTRUCTIONS:
step one: Boil a large pot of water and cook lasagna noodles, 5 at a time. 
step two: In the meantime, brown the turkey in a large skillet and drain, if needed. Keeping the heat on medium-high, add the garlic and a drizzle of olive oil and let the turkey soak up the flavors for a couple of minutes. Add broccoli and spinach and let cook for a few minutes. Then stir in marinara and seasonings. Cover and put on medium-low to let flavors unite. Preheat the oven to 350 now and take the cheeses out of the fridge.
{a small learning moment}
{Depending on the flour in the noodle, lasagna boils for 7-11 minutes. Tongs are the safest (avoid boiling water burns) but can be slippery.}
step three:  When the first batch of lasagna noodles are cooked (soft to the touch by a tongue, but not falling apart), transfer noodles to big bowl of cold water. This prevents sticking and frustration while assembling the dish. Leave the noodles in the cold water for a minute and lay flat on a plate. Repeat this cooking process with the next batch of noodles until all are cooked. (Trust me, this goes by faster than it sounds.)
step four: Time to assemble. This goes by really quickly with a buddy. Layer of sauce, noodles, ricotta (use the spatula), noodles, sauce, noodles, ricotta, etc. Of course, layer how you like. Just be sure to top the lasagna with lots of mozzarella, 2 cups per dish. Spray a sheet of foil with nonstick spray and top the casserole dishes (spray side down, to keep cheese from sticking to foil). Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly on top. Let sit for 10-20 minutes and serve. Yum.

Hope your weekend has been loverly. We had a bunch of dear and not-so-near friends visit for a couple of days. So much fun!
 

Happy cooking and happier eating! 

*Disclaimer: a slight exaggeration, but only slight. 🙂

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

///

Proudly powered by WordPress
Theme: Esquire by Matthew Buchanan.