Rigatoni Mediterranean

So I was a little adventurous last night, and decided to make something meatless for Eric & I. Turns out, it was great! I love all the vegetables in this dish, and it was a great change up from just spaghetti & meatballs, pepper penne, or mac n cheese (which I would normally make).

Ingredients:
1 pound uncooked rigatoni
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
5 1/2 cups diced peeled eggplant (about 1 pound)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups thinly sliced red onion (about 1 large)
1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (about 6)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can organic crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup of ricotta cheese, ***optional
Cooking spray
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

**Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant to pan, and sauté 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in pan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add sweet onion, zucchini, and green onions to pan; cook for 6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add chopped basil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Combine pasta, eggplant, and tomato mixture in a large bowl; stir in shredded mozzarella & ricotta cheese. Transfer the pasta mixture to a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 15 minutes; uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!!

Salsa Rice Enchiladas

Here's a clean out the pantry/lazy dish!

1 1/2 cups chunky salsa
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup uncooked instant rice
1 can (15oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (11oz) whole kernel corn w/ red and green peppers, undrained
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6oz)
8 Flour tortillas (8in)
Additional chunky salsa if you want to

In a 10 in skillet, heat 1 1/2 cups salsa and chili powder to boiling. Stir in rice. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in beans, corn and cheese.
Spoon about 1/2 cup of mixture onto center of tortilla and fold like a burrito. Serve w/ salsa if desired.

Lasagna Pot Pie (Vegetarian)

I had to cook this a bit longer than the directions say, but everyone's stove is different. I'm sure if you HAD to have meat, you could make it w/ beef...but fool you DH's w/ veggie crumbles!

2 cups frozen veggie crumbles (I like Morning Star best)
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 cup Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk (I use soy milk)
1 egg
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

Heat oven to 400 F. In a 10in skillet, mix crubles and pasta sauce and heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Pour/spoon into 8in square glass baking dish.
In a bowl mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and 1 egg until mixed well. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls onto crumbles mixture.
In another bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk and 1 egg w/ fork until blended. Pour over mixture.
Spray a sheet of foil large enough to cover dish w/ cooking spray, cover and seal tightly. Bake 23-28 minutes or until golden brown. Uncover and sprinkle w/ mozzarella cheese. Bake another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Pasta w/ Szechwan Peanut Dressing

A veggie recipe for your enjoyment!
I'll post the full recipe but put the stuff I change in Italics. Enjoy!!

8 ounces pasta
2 cups broccoli florets (sometimes I don't add this b/c I'm lazy)
2 cups cherry tomatoes

Szechwan Peanut Dressing (about 3/4 cups)
1/3 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1/2 cup hot vegetable stock or hot water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons safflower oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (I usually just use garlic salt or powder)
1/2 teaspoon dry crushed red pepper (1 teaspoon for spicier)

Cook pasta until al dente.
Steam broccoli florets.
In a mixing bowl, whisk peanut butter and stock/hot water until smooth. Stir in remaining dressing ingredients.
Drain pasta. Pur sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Add broccoli and tomatoes toss again.
Eat.

Mango Salsa

this is fun to make, delicious, and makes a TON!

2 not-overly ripe mangoes
1 big red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 and 1/2 jalepeno
1/8 cup of rice vinegar

chop all the ingredients up and put them into a medium sized bowl. add the rice vinegar and toss. much better the next day!

(as a side note, this salsa is very pretty!)

Lentil Tacos

This is a healthy alternative to the ground beef or ground turkey tacos. In case you've never looked for Lentils, they're in the dried beans section. I usually just eyeball my cooking, and don't measure much, but these measurements are pretty close to what you should be using, I think.

1.5 cups vegetable broth (or beef, chicken, your choice)
1 cup dry lentils
1 cup salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp oregano

Boil the broth and add lentils. Let boil, covered, for about 25 minutes. Mash the lentils. Add in salsa, and spices. Simmer for additional 5 minutes. Put on hard shell or soft tacos and dress to your liking. I have a friend who highly recommends putting cucumbers and sour cream on them.

As far as the spices go, I always just spice to my taste. I recommend you do the same, and just use these measurements as a starting point. Enjoy! With similar spicing as regular tacos, the only difference between lentils and beef is the amount of grease you'll miss out on with lentils!

Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad

i LOVE this salad... making it tomorrow for memorial day picnic, in fact. :)

this salad is best if enjoyed the same day you make it, or at most, the next day.

Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced (or one long seedless cucumber)
4 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup light olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white sugar
2 tsp dried oregano

mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let marinate for at least an hour at room temperature.

meatless southwestern roll appetizer

I tried these out in the deep fryer and it didn't quite work. They came undone and let some of the filling fall out once it hit the oil. Sooooo maybe I will freeze them longer next time or just go back to the healthier baked method.

4 T. chopped onion
4 T. chopped red pepper
~ 1/2 c. Frozen corn
1 1/2 cans black beans (drain and rinse)
2 T. canned diced jalepenos (about 1 4oz can drained)
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 sprinkle cayenne powder
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese - mexican blend (optional)
6" corn tortillas

cook onions and peppers until onions are tranclucent.
add corn beans, seasoning, jalepenos and cheese, letting the cheese melt.
prepare tortillas for rolling by wrapping them in a moist paper towl and microwaving 30 seconds - 1 minute
put one generous (T) spoonful of mixture on tortilla and roll up like an egg roll
put on wax paper covered cookie sheet and freeze 3-4 hours (at least)
preheat oven to 375
coat another cookie sheet with non-stick spray and bake until brown - flipping once.