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Monday
Favorite Meal This week: Farfalle with Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce! We’ve made this dish many times before. It’s a good meal to make for guests as it makes A LOT (Leftovers here we come!). For some reason we hadn’t made this dish in awhile, but I was trying to figure out what to do with the leftover mushrooms I had from last weekend’s quiche and this was perfect! I pretty much just had to go to the store to purchase pasta and whipping cream (“B” will use the leftover whipping cream to make fresh whipped cream later in the week.).
Farfalle with Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce
- 1 pound uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 12 ounces pre-sliced exotic mushroom blend (We used 8oz of mushroom blend and whatever I had leftover of portabellos)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2/3 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we use dried)
- Minced fresh parsley (optional)
Preparation
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
- Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, shallots, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook 12 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- Add the cooked pasta, whipping cream, cheese, and 2 tablespoons parsley, tossing gently to coat. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Garnish with minced fresh parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
Krista Montgomery, M.S., R.D., Cooking Light
DECEMBER 2006
Tuesday
This is a new recipe I saw online that looked quick and easy! A side note first about vinegar and olive oil. We have a store nearby that sells just vinegar and olive oil (Saratoga Olive Oil Company). We often stock up on interesting flavors that we use for salad dressings and to cook with. We really think these unique flavors really MAKE the dish. So if you can, find some good quality olive oil and vinegar, but if not, we’re sure the recipes will taste good as is.
The great thing about pizzas is that you can be extremely creative and do pretty much anything to them and they will still taste great! This would be a good healthy dish for those nights when you’re just cooking for yourself because you could just make as little or as much as you want! We really enjoyed this dish!
Insalata Pizzas
4 (7-inch) pitas
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 cup (4 ounces) part-skim Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 tablespoon cider vinegar (we used Saratoga’s pomegranate balsamic vinegar)
2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup quartered grape tomatoes (used leftover from the quiche the other day)
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
4 cups packaged gourmet salad greens
Preparation
Preheat oven to 475°.
Place pitas on a baking sheet. Salt, Pepper and oil the pitas. Spread 1/2 teaspoon garlic on each pita. Sprinkle each pita with 1/4 cup cheese, and divide onion evenly among pitas. Bake at 475° for 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cheese is bubbly.
While pitas bake, combine vinegar, oil, and pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in tomatoes, olives, and basil. Add salad greens, and toss gently to coat.
Place 1 pita on each of 4 plates; top each pita with about 1 cup salad. Serve immediately.
Adapted from Cooking Light
MAY 2004
Wednesday
A typical go-to dish: Marinated Chicken.
We will purchase chicken breasts (thin sliced and only the breast because “F” has a thing about meat looking like actual animals…ick) and then place 2-4 breasts in a ziploc bag with some spiedie (or other type) of marinade and freeze them. Just be sure to label each ziploc with the number of breasts, the type of marinade and the date you placed them in the freezer. (If you’re just making food for one, just place 1 breast per ziploc baggie!) Take the chicken out of the freezer and place in the fridge on a plate about two days before you are going to cook it so it can defrost. SO EASY. We usually serve with couscous or quinoa, a salad and a slice of toast.
Thursday
Salmon time! This dish is designed to serve one, so we just double it about to serve the both of us. PLUS it’s EASY to make and EASY TO CLEAN UP!!
HungryGirl’s Teriyaki Salmon in a Foil Pack
For One:
One 5oz salmon filet
1/2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1/2 tablespoon sweet Asian Chili sauce
2 Pineapple rings
Cayenne Pepper
Preheat oven to 375. Mix together the teriyaki and chili sauce. Lay a large piece of foil (recommend non-stick) on a baking sheet. Place salmon in center and top with the sauce. Top the fish with the pineapple and sprinkle with cayenne pepper. Fold foil together to make a sealed packet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.
Friday
We had friends over. “F” went out with some Girlfriends to dinner and “B” stayed in with two guy friends and a baby. They made Fish Tacos and I heard it was YUM.
Saturday
We had a date night… dinner and a play. A fantastic play about sex therapist, Dr. Ruth. Seriously I loved it!
Sunday
“B” had extra sauce from his fish tacos and was inspired to make more sauce and incorporate it in to a sloppy turkey joe type dish. He browned ground turkey with onions and garlic then mixed in 1/4 cup of brown sugar and just enough of the sauce from the fish tacos to make it moist enough. We served it over two pieces of toasted/grilled bread.
