Roasted Tomatoes Over Pasta

Looking at this list of ingredients I thought to myself, "I don't know about this, seems too simple." But MAN OH MAN was I wrong about that! Not only is this an incredibly easy dish, its so tasty! Using common pantry ingredients only makes it easier to throw together!

Roasted Tomatoes Over Pasta
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pint grape tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 C breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Handful basil, chiffoned
1/2 lb. thin spaghetti

Heat oven to 400 F. In the bottom of a casserole dish drizzle one tablespoon of the oil. In a small bowl mix together garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Slice tomatoes in half and place in casserole cut side up, top each slice with garlic-breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over the top. Roast in oven until breadcrumbs are toasted and tomatoes let out some juice. Meanwhile cook spaghetti according to box directions. When tomatoes are done toss with spaghetti and basil, add additional olive oil if the pasta seems dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Thai Lettuce Wraps from Cheesecake Factory are my favorite dish to get when we go out! I don't even need the cheesecake for dessert when I get these! Unfortunately, my husband is allergic to peanuts so I do not have the option to remake them in their entirety at home. Based on several "top secret" recipes found online I have tweaked them to our tastes. Use which ever ingredients you think would taste best!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

serves 4

Ingredients

6-8 Boston Lettuce Leaves

Thai Chicken Satay (recipe below)

2 medium Carrots, julienned
1 large Red Bell Pepper, julienned

1 bag Bean Sprout3

1/2 package egg based Asian noodles, or whatever you find at your market

Thai Marinaded Cucumbers (recipe below)

Sweet Red Chili Sauce, I like A Taste of Thai

Remove the hard stems from the bottom of each leaf of lettuce. Wash and dry the leaves and arrange in a group on a larger platter. If you have any leftover leaves feel free to fill with the carrots, peppers, and other toppings, makes a really nice presentation! Start building the wraps by placing a piece of chicken, your choice of toppings and sauce. Fold the leaf in half and enjoy! They tend to be very juicy, have plenty of napkins on hand! 

Thai Marinated Cucumbers

Ingredients

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flake

1 large cucumber – seeded and cut into 1/8 inch slices
1/2 red onion thinly sliced

Combine the vinegar, sugar, water, salt, and pepper in a small pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring until it boils and the sugar is dissolved. Place cucumber and onion in a bowl and pour hot marinade over the top, stirring to coat. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours, the longer they sit the better they get! These are also really awesome on fish tacos!

Thai Chicken Satay

Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

8 Bamboo skewers (10-12 inches), soaked in water for prep time

Cut chicken into 3/4″ strips. Marinate in the soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in a bowl for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Weave the chicken strips onto each skewers, until only about 1 inch of skewer is left uncovered with chicken. Grill the skewers over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning halfway through the grilling.

Roasted Red Peppers

After posting the pizza I realized I didn't let you in on the secret of making roasted red peppers! Better late than never!! And roasting peppers is FUN stuff!

Good, charred, bubbled up skin!

First, wash the peppers and PLEASE remember to peel off any stickers! For a gas top stove, set your flame to medium-high, place the pepper directly in the flame and burn it to hell! For an electric stove, set your broiler to high, place the peppers on the top rack, and...you guessed it...burn 'em up! Slowly rotate and get each side equally charred. As soon as they are thoroughly charred place in a paper bag, crumple the top and let sit for about 20-30 minutes. This allows the peppers to steam, which pulls the charred skin away from the "meat" of the pepper. To peel the pepper, simply use your fingers to pull away the skin. Running the peppers under water while doing this will help the process. Seed and slice into thin strips and they are ready to use! Mine last about 3 days in tupperware in the fridge (if we don't eat them immediately).

Glorious, sweet and smokey, goodness!

A very simple, easy way to save money is to try and not buy prepared foods whenever possible. This means doing a little more work yourself, but they payoff is amazing food that you made!

Spinach Pesto Pizza with Roasted Peppers and Portobello

Pizza is always a good quick way to use up leftovers, but sometimes it needs to be mixed up a bit. I get easily sick of the "yooj." I had a leftover portobello cap that I wanted to use, and who doesn't like a good roasted red pepper? Add some feta and pesto, voila! This pesto couldn't be easier to make. Any leftover can be frozen to be used later in sauce, or on another pizza, even a pasta salad!

Spinach Pesto
Ingredients

1/4 cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 pound baby spinach (about 10 cups)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts and garlic until chopped. Add the spinach, oil,  Parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor bowl as necessary. Mix in lemon zest and parmesan.

Using my recipe for whole wheat crust, pesto, slices of the leftover mushroom, roasted red pepper slices, and feta cheese I put together a really amazing pizza! Paired with a salad made a delicious dinner!

Spiced Candied Nuts

Naked Nuts, haha!

Caution, these are highly addictive! Make in large batches to share or to hoard and eat alone! I made a batch for a girls' night and am making two more for my dad and my father-in-law for Father's Day. Its okay to splurge on the nuts, I bought bags of walnut pieces, pistachios, and almonds at Trader Joe's for $6 each, I don't think I would be able to put together a good party snack or two gifts for under $20!!

Spiced Candied Nuts

Ingredients
Mixed raw nuts of your choice, about 4 or 5 cups worth, unsalted
2  Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp raw sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne

Heat oven to 400 F. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper or pachement arrange nuts in a single layer. Bake for about 15-30 minutes until nuts are toasted and fragrant, stirring every 10 minutes. Be careful not to let the nuts burn. While nuts are roasting combine maple syrup, agave nectar and vanilla in a bowl large enough to hold all the nuts. In a food processor combine sugar, salt and spices until ground to a medium fine powder. Pour the hot nuts into the syrup mixture, stir to thoroughly coat. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture over the top, stir gently, then add remaining sugar and stir gently to coat. Place nuts back on sheet pan and return to oven for approximately 10 minutes, or long enough for glaze to set. When nuts have cooled, salt to taste. Store in a covered container at room temperature.

Roasty Glazed Goodness!

Feel free to adjust seasonings to your taste, if you like things a little spicier add more cayenne, less spicy feel free to omit or add your favorite flavor. Enjoy! To give as a gift, fill a ball jar with nuts and top with a bow, nothing fancy to get in the way of digging right in!

heh heh, nuts!