Healthy Fridge Dinner

Some days time gets the better of you and you don’t get to the grocery store, so dinner has to come from what is already in your fridge. This is a healthy and pretty awesome dinner to have from ingredients that are already in the fridge.

Chicken with mushrooms and lemon with warm sautéed tomato and zucchini salad

4 chicken breasts

3 lemons

1 box mushrooms

2 zucchini

½ box cherry tomatoes

Pound out chicken so that it is thin and even. Squeeze the juice of one of the lemons over the chicken and slice another of the lemons and put a slice on top of each piece of chicken. Sauté in a little olive oil. When the chicken breasts are cooked through, cover them and put them in a warm oven.

Swish some more olive oil around the pan and add the mushrooms. Add the squeezed lemon skins and slice the third lemon into slices and add them to the mushrooms. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes together. When the mushrooms are browned, stick them in an oven proof bowl and put them in the warm oven.

Swizzle a little bit of olive oil around another warm pan and add the tomatoes. Cover and allow to simmer for about 5-7 mins. Slice the zucchini and then add them to the pan. Sauté for about 8 more mins until the tomatoes are bursting and the zucchini is lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the mushroom mixture onto the chicken and serve next to the warm zucchini and tomato salad. 

Hungarian Yogurty Chicken

In terms of the mantra of this blog (basically: cheap, easy, delicious and looks unbelievably impressive), Hungarian chicken is top notch. It’s a one-stop shop so, pair it with a green salad and you have your whole meal taken care of. The flavors are very clear and simple, while still a little different. This is perfect for a week night meal: it’s fast, simple, wholesome and healthy.

Hungarian Yogurty Chicken

3 chicken breasts, pounded and cut into strips

1 onion

1 large can diced tomatoes

½ small package of cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 scant tbsp. paprika

1 cup plain yogurt (need about a dollop per serving)

Basmati rice

Sauté the chicken strips and the onion in a little bit of olive oil until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are translucent. Set aside. 

In a pan on medium-low heat pour in the can of diced tomatoes, the cherry tomatoes, the tomato paste, the bay leaf, paprika and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add the chicken and onions and simmer for another 10 minutes, just until the fresh tomatoes are bursting. 

Meanwhile cook the rice according to package directions. After 20 minutes total remove the chicken and tomato mixture from heat and try it to ensure the canned taste as well as the taste of raw spices has been cooked out. Serve over basmati rice and top with a splodge of plain yogurt. 

Caprese Pasta with Broccoli

Sometimes the best pastas can be those made without sauce. By slowly cooking some vegetables in olive oil on the stove top, maybe adding a splash of white wine if you have any already open, the veggies become their own sort of sauce. If you choose vegetables that have a high water content, like tomatoes or zucchini, you can get a pretty full sauce and your pasta will be delicious.

When you don’t add sauce to pasta, it also means that your leftovers become a fantastic pasta salad for the next day. If you think about it, the pasta just continues to marinate, soaking up more flavor the longer you leave it. Two (plus) meals in one.

I chose to make this one based on a caprese salad (mozzarella, tomato and basil) but added some broccoli for more umph. You could also try adding some zucchini, squash, or even eggplant.

Caprese Pasta (salad) with Broccoli

1 box penne or fusilli pasta

1 package cherry tomatoes

1 bunch of broccoli OR one bag of pre-cut broccoli florets

1 bunch basil leaves

3 lemons

1 ball fresh mozzarella

Olive oil

¼ cup dry white wine (optional)

½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Parmesan (optional)

Swish some olive oil around in a pan and turn on medium heat. 

Add the tomatoes (I cut some in half and left others whole), then the broccoli, then about ¾ of the basil. 

Cut 2 of the lemons in half, squeeze the juice in the pan and add the halves (to give more flavor). On one of the lemons cut off about 2 tsp of the rind and cut into very thin strips and then add to the pan. Add some wine, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and allow to simmer about 20 mins, or until the tomatoes are bursting.

Boil a pot of water, add salt and pasta and cook through.

When the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan of cooking vegetables and stir so that the pasta is coated in the sauce.

Cut the mozzarella into cubes and add to the pasta.

I then added a dressing to my pasta. You don’t have to do this, but I chose to add it for even more flavor – and to make it even more like a caprese salad. So combine about 1/3 cup olive oil with about 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar and season vigorously with s and p. Stir and then pour over the warm pasta salad.

Try adding grilled chicken if you want.

Garnish with more strips of basil and a lemon wedge. 

Lasagna

What is your ultimate comfort food? Mine is pasta of every shape, size and color. Sometimes it is great with just butter, sometimes with red sauce and parmesan – spaghetti carbonara, macaroni and cheese, risotto and cold pasta salad. I love it all. But nothing beats a good lasagna. Just the right amount of sauciness, not too much ricotta and the meat and vegetables of your choice. Crunchy on top, soft and piping hot in the middle. Saucy, messy, cheesy goodness: a pick-me-up on a plate.

My mom has making lasagna down to an art, so whenever I make it I think of her. Fast assemblage, even layers. Turkey instead of beef. TONS of mozzarella. Yes, with every bite I can hear “go get ‘em!”, “you can do it!” and “why don’t you relax a little now and then you’ll be prepared to get everything done”. Thanks mama.

Try her fabulously easy recipe. You might even hear her too. “One thing at a time”. “Break it down”. “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything”. And most importantly “would you care for some lasagna?” Never say more, instead say “some”.

Lasagna

1 package ground meat. I use turkey but you can use beef or even leave it out.

Vegetables of your choice. This time I used:

            1 onion (I actually used half because my onion was abnormally huge)

            1 package mushrooms

            1 zucchini

            1 box cherry tomatoes

1 large can unseasoned tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

3 cloves garlic

basil

lasagna noodles

1 small package ricotta

2 bags shredded mozzarella

1 package shredded parmesan

Preheat oven to 350. In a pot on the back burner of your stove pour the tomato sauce, the diced tomatoes, the garlic cloves (whole), a big swish of olive oil, a torn off clump of basil and lots of s and p. Simmer for as long as possible. In a pan on the front burner cook your meat if using and season lightly. Then wash the pan and sauté your vegetables. I added the mushrooms first (if they get crowded in the pan they don’t brown), then the cherry toms because I wanted them to slowly burst, then the zuc and the onion. When everything is cooked, the fun begins.

 A secret to lasagna is that you do not need to cook the pasta before putting in the casserole, if you do it gets a little too mushy. Note here that I like to buy little loaf pans at the grocery store and make smaller lasagnas so that I can freeze them or give them away – all of the above works for making one large lasagna as well.

Next add the vegetables and the meat:

Next a big handful of mozzarella:

Next ladle the sauce over the pile. Careful not to let the garlic cloves fall in.

Then dot a few dots (about 1 tsp) of ricotta around. If you like it creamy add more.

Then repeat. Add another pasta layer and keep going until the pan is full. I usually get about 2 -3 layers in each dish. On the top add one last pasta rectangle, cover with tomato sauce, sprinkle the mozzarella a little lighter (about half as much as other layers), then cover with parmesan. Cook for 30 mins in the oven, serve hot with more parm if desired. 

Don’t anticipate left overs.

A Vegetarian Dinner: Eggs with Swiss chard, mushrooms, potatoes and a few other things on toast

Vegetarian dinner – so lame right? You can’t be that person ordering the vegetarian main course. Portobello mushroom burger? Get ‘er outta here. Spinach and mushroom burrito? Get ‘er a taxi 'ome.

Actually… so not lame. Prove it? I will. I am about to bring you into the world of filling and delicious vegetarian dinners. You might not even realize it’s vegetarian. Needless to say, your tummy is in for quite a surprise.

Vegetarian Dinner 

4 eggs

2 garlic cloves minced

2 cups new potatoes cut in halves

1 bunch swiss chard

½ yellow onion

1 leek chopped up (leave off the top really tough parts)

1 cup mushrooms sliced

2 handfuls spinach

paprika

grated parmesan

rustic bread (for lack of better terminology -- don't cringe too much)

Wash the vegetables very carefully. Nothing puts you off your dinner like gritty veggies. The leek retains tons of dirt and grit, so what I do is chop it up and then fill a bowl with very cold water and place a strainer down in the bowl. Put the leeks in the strainer and let the dirt soak off. Then rewash. Same goes for the chard.

Swizzle some oil around in a pan on low-ish heat. Add the leek and cook for about 4 mins. Then slice the chard very thinly and dump that in. Add in the potatoes. Cook for like 14 mins or so stirring a LOT. Then add the garlic, mushrooms and onions. Keep stirring. Onions will get soft and translucent. Stir in some salt and pepper and a couple of shakes of paprika. Stir in the spinach and cover the pan for about 4 mins, letting the spinach wilt. Check and make sure that potatoes are getting soft in the middle and crispy outside.

Slice your bread, drizzle with olive oil and pop them in the oven for about 6-8 mins. When they are crispy you can rub them down with a raw garlic clove if you’re feeling wild.

Crank up the pan to about medium heat. Make four little holes in the veggies and carefully crack your eggs in to them. Sprinkle with a handful of parmesan, a shake of paprika and some s and p. Then cover the pan for about 2 mins for the eggs to cook through – about 3 ½ mins if you like your yolks hard. This is sort of a combination of frying and poaching the eggs. Froaching sounds gross though.

Using a spatula scoop up the egg and vegetables and carefully place them on your toast. If you're like me, whack on a couple of dashes of Cholula and dig in.

Try it on a guy and see if he even realizes it’s vegetarian. Better yet, try it on your vegetarian friend and as she gobbles it up let her tell you why the vegetarian path is the right one. Neither way is better – but this dinner is totally delish.

College Quiche Lorraine

Quiche is a great thing to make right after the weekend - when you have all of that stuff in your fridge that you had high hopes of eating at that banquet you planned on Friday, the casual dinner party for 20 on Saturday, and of course that church brunch on Sunday. None of which really happened. But your tortilla chips are all gone instead. 

Quiche accommodates all kinds of flavors: cheeses, meat (although I tend to use deli meats and bacon most frequently), and all kinds of vegetables -- from spinach to broccoli and even tomatoes. Just whatever is quickly approaching its sell by date in your fridge. So for this one I used prosciutto, a bit of bacon, mushrooms, an onion and green onions -- and wow it was great. Good for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. This one is pretty breakfast-y too so maybe I'll eat it then -- although that might just be the college kid in me talking. 

College Quiche Lorraine

1 package prosciutto (or ham)

4 strips of bacon (cooked) (plus a piece for snacking while you cook)

Half a package of mushrooms -- chopped up

1/2 onion diced

1/4 cup (rough) green onions (tops and bottoms mixed)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs 

pinch of nutmeg

1 large cup of grated cheese (I used sharp white cheddar)

1 Pillsbury pie crust (I used my leftover from chocolate pie)

Preheat the oven to 400 and lay your piecrust in the pan. Poke some holes in the bottom of it with a fork and line the pastry with foil, add some rice or dry beans onto the foil (so that the pastry doesn't rise) and place the piecrust in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Drizzle a tiny bit of oil into a pan and add the mushrooms and onion. Cook for about 4 mins then add the green onions. Then take a pair of scissors and chop pieces of the prosciutto into the pan. Cook together for about 3 mins. Take off the heat and crumble in the bacon. At this point your piecrust will be ready. 

Lower the oven temp to 375. In a bowl combine the eggs, cream and milk and whisk very vigorously. The only way your quiche can go wrong is by not having these ingredients thoroughly integrated. Add some nutmeg and quite a few shakes of pepper. You can add a little salt if following this recipe -- but remember cheese, prosciutto and bacon are all extremely salty. 

Line the bottom of the semi cooked pastry with the mushroom mixture. Then cover that with the cheddar cheese. Pour the cream and egg mixture over the top of the other ingredients and fill the pastry until it is almost full -- remember this won't rise too much so fill 'er up. 

Cook in the oven for about 35 mins. It will be golden brown on the top and it will make your room mates want to do this:

Turkey Masala Burgers with Roasted Tomato, Toasted Pine Nut and Arugula Salad

Upon starting this blog I could not wait to ask my good friend Malcolm to cook with me. He is far and away the best cook I know which was (and is) a little intimidating, to be honest. He has a real sense for flavor and through that has come up with some great avenues for experiment on a college budget. When I asked him last Thursday to cook with me he came up with a fantastic idea which fits perfectly with the mantra of this blog: Turkey masala burgers with roasted tomato, toasted pine nut and arugula salad. No, I’m not kidding.

I arrived at Malcolm’s apartment and was met with a glass of wine and the words “I love to use wine when I cook – and sometimes I even use it in the food!” I knew I was in for a great evening. From then on it was a veritable kitchen tango – leaning across to taste each others food – add some spices, stir something, squish something, and even clean something (queue Malcolm’s haunting phrase “dinner isn’t over until the dishes are done too”) I must say, together we came up with something pretty spectacular. A line of people followed their noses and traipsed into the living room as we ate – “I'm just looking for a taste” or "uhhh - do you mind if I try a bite?" Yeah, right.

Turkey Masala burgers

1 Package ground turkey

1 jar Tikka Masala sauce – Indian section at the grocery store

2 spring onions

2 cloves of garlic

Basmati Rice

1 box arugula (I am lazy so I buy prewashed)

1 box grape tomatoes

1 small package pine nuts (get the smallest they have because places really rip you off with nuts – giving you way more than you’ll ever use for a crazy price)

1 lemon

Parmesan (I buy a block – cheaper and less artificial tasting)

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Dijon Mustard

Chop up onion and mince garlic and sauté them together in a pan with a little oil – save this pan when these are cooked. In the mean time put the raw turkey in a bowl. Add the onion and garlic to the raw turkey. Season with salt and pepper and whatever else you think looks good – we added some red pepper, curry powder and paprika – although if you just have s&p that’s fine. Pour in about ¾ the jar of Tikka Masala. Knead it into the meat with your hands. Cover and put it in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut lemon in half and cut one of the halves into segments. Lay out the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper so each one is seasoned. Squeeze some of the lemon segments over the toms and then nestle the lemons in with them on the tray. Roast for about 12 minutes (keep checking – skins will get wrinkly and toms will soften).

Take the turkey out of the fridge. Roll it into balls a little smaller than your fist. Now you have a choice – if you are lucky enough to have a George Foreman grill (which Malcolm was) then cook them on that. If not (like me) then put a little oil in a pan and cook them on that. If you cook them on the stovetop remember to flatten out the balls a little with a fork. Remember that turkey is not like beef and it needs to be cooked all the way through – about 5-6 mins per side.

Then cook the rice according to the instructions on the package. Just a little per person. When the rice is cooked – push about 3 tablespoons of it down into the bottom of a ramekin or shallow glass. Let it sit there for a second and then turn the glass upside down and knock it onto the middle of a plate. This will make a little even stage or platform made of rice for your burger. Put your burger on top.

Pour about ½ cup of the pine nuts into the old pan you used for the garlic and green onion. Toast them in the pan. Pine nuts really need constant attention because they look like they aren’t even cooking and then burn very quickly. Keep stirring them

Make a ring around the burger and rice stand with your arugula. Add the tomatoes and the pine nuts. Mix some olive oil, Dijon mustard, a little squeeze of the lemon and a little balsamic vinegar in a bowl with salt and pepper and mix. Top the salad ring with the dressing. Cut some parmesan shavings off of your block and sprinkle the salad.

Our package of turkey made 2 burgers – but this is easily expandable.

King Ranch Chicken

This is one of my most popular recipes. It is great in the summer and in the winter. It’s a great side dish at a barbeque, and it stands completely alone as a dinner with enough left over for a late night snack and lunch. I would like to dedicate this post to my roommate who, for anonymity’s sake, we will call Peg Bexsen.  She won my heart before we lived together when she said “you always know a good recipe when it has a coupl’a’ cans’a soup in it”. She knows what she's talking about. She has stuck by that and absolutely loves this dish: almost without fail, each time she walks in to the kitchen and sees me cooking Peg asks “Are you making your Mexican casserole?”

So I am sharing it with you. If you have Texan roots, like me, I am sure you are pretty familiar with this recipe – but it’s a good one to always have at the back of your mind when you’re in a pinch.

King Ranch Chicken

2 chicken breasts (split breasts, bone in skin on)

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 tablespoon chili powder/ red pepper (or more)

1 teaspoon garlic salt/powder

12 corn tortillas

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 cans RoTel tomatoes (I buy 1 original and 1 hot – but gauge it based on hot spicy you like)

Fill a pot about 2/3 with water and boil. Boil the chicken breasts in the water (remembering it takes some time for them to cook through). When they are cooked, take them out and keep the water. Quickly soak tortillas in broth from cooked chicken (I've skipped this step no problem). In a greased 9x13 inch pan make a layer the tortillas and then layer the chicken. Mix the chopped onion and pepper in a bowl. In another bowl combine soup, chili powder, and garlic salt. Sprinkle the onion and pepper over the chicken and tortillas. Pour some globs of the soup mixture and part of 1 can of RoTel over and sprinkle with the cheese. Repeat layers until your casserole dish is full. Sprinkle the top layer with remaining cheese and pour over the remaining can of RoTel.

Bake, covered at 325 F for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes. Make sure it’s brown-ish on top.

Serves 6 at least.

Another of my roommates calls this “Mexican Lasagna”. In all truthfulness, as she knows, I find this term hideously irksome – but it does help in understanding how to make it. Imagine the tortillas are the noodles and work your way up.  

This is fantastic for dinner on a Friday night, and even better when you come in and microwave it at 3am – and eat it on chips!