Broiled Scallops with Miso Stuffing

April is going to be an amazing month. I'll be dining not only in NYC and NOLA, but also at some of my favorite places in DC. So needless to say, consumption will be at a high, so in times like these, I find it important to eat as healthy as possible when cooking at home. Last weekend, Easter would bring a healthy dose (read: large) of chocolate as well as sugary and salty dishes shared with friends. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those things, but this weekend was the first of many where I wanted to try some lighter meals at home.

We had some Miso that we wanted to use and found this great recipe in "How To Cook Everything." We served these scallops on a bed of greens with an Asian dressing. A wonderfully light meal and very easy to make!

Broiled Scallops with Miso Stuffing (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs large sea scallops
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB peanut oil.
• 1/2 cup white or yellow miso
• 2 TB mirin
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• Chives

Directions:

Make a paste by combining the miso, mirin and light sprinkling of salt, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and the peanut oil.

Make a deep horizontal slit in the side of each scallop, but don't cut all the way through. Fill each scallop with 1/2 teaspoon of the miso mixture, and close. Pour the remaining oil onto a plate or pan and turn the scallops in it. Let them sit while you heat a broiler until very hot (500 degrees) and put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source.

Put the scallops under the broiler and broil for 2-3 minutes per side. Serve immediately, adding a little dollop of the miso paste/oil to the top if desired. We also added some chopped chives.

Browned Butter and Sage Sauce

Sometimes, the sauce truly is the boss. The right sauce can transform the most basic pasta meal into something amazing. And it can be achieved with less than 5 ingredients!

I've made some pretty awesome sauces over the years, from romescos to marinaras. But I believe that with certain types of pasta, in particular those made with pumpkin, squash or sweet potato, that something a little lighter and savory fits the bill. One evening I found myself in possession of some leftover fresh sage, as well as sweet potato gnocchi that I had brought back from Pittsburgh over the holidays. With just a few more staples, I had what I needed to make this very basic sauce. So if you find you are short on time, and ingredients, this is a favorite.

Browned Butter and Sage Sauce (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 4 TB butter
• 8 sage leaves
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions:

While your pasta of choice is cooking, melt the butter in a saute pan and cook until it starts to turn into a golden brown color. Add sage leaves and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and then sit aside until the pasta is done.

Once you've drained your pasta, save a bit of your cooking water and then gently pour into the pan and return the sauce to heat. Add the cheese, toss to coat and then serve.

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

It started with a sniffle, and then manifested into something far worse...a complete loss of voice. This is what I experienced over the holidays and I'm just now starting to feel more like myself.

From what I hear in the hallways  at work and amongst others in the area, this nasty bug has been hitting everybody. When you're sick, you often crave comfort food. For some people, that is the types of foods mom would make you when you were sick as a child. Peanut butter toast or grilled cheese were my go-tos. Nowadays, I tend to gravitate more to the exotic and I like to think that spicy food will cure what ails me most of the time. Unfortunately, when I was told I had a mild form of laryngitis, I was advised to avoid spicy foods and to focus on hot liquids and soups to nurse my way back to health.

When I'm not feeling well, the desire to cook anything that takes longer than 30 minutes is completely lost on me and when you don't have your mom around to make you that toast or soup, you have to cook through your Sudafed haze. So quick and easy is the way to go.

So I made the simplest, quickest soup I could come up with that included protein and vegetables: chicken noodle soup. Like most soups, this freezes well so I will continue to experience this soup's healing powers throughout this winter. But let's hope I don't need it!

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken thighs, diced 
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
• Salt and pepper
• 6 cups chicken stock 
• 1/2 lb. wide egg noodles

Directions:

Place a large pot over moderate heat and add olive oil. Add diced chicken thighs and cook for 5-6 minutes until the pink is gone. Remove from pot and set aside.

Add stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add bay leaves to the pot. Then add carrots, onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Add diced chicken, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate. Add the noodles and cook soup an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender and remove soup from the heat.

Remove bay leaves and serve with saltines, if you desire.

Apple Chutney on Toast

Ever since I last posted to this blog, nearly 8 weeks ago, I've debated whether I had the time and the desire to keep it up. I've posted over 250 times since I started this blog in January 2012.The blog came about a year after I decided to cook one new recipe each week for a year in 2011. It was the first resolution I'd ever kept, and I was determined to dive in head first to food blogging. And I enjoyed it, and I still do, but I found that the perfectionist in me was bound and determined to post twice a week without fail, writing about new recipes, restaurants I've visited and the foods I've eaten during my travels. And I was failing. A transition to a new job as well as sick family members made it nearly impossible to keep up in a way that I felt was adequate.

This doesn't mean I haven't been cooking, I just haven't been writing about it as much. But in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I'm ready to recommit myself to this blog, but in a smaller way than in years' past. I vow to post once a week without fail, and more if time and the situation calls for it. I'll post about fun food events and restaurants I check out, my travel food adventures, and most importantly, what I cook up in my little kitchen in Columbia Heights.

I also plan to maintain last year's resolution of getting out of town for at least an overnight every quarter, which I'm sure will lend itself to more fun food travel blogging, which has been what I enjoyed most about writing this blog last year.

So here's a dish I made for a holiday party back in December. The recipe comes from my friend Nick's blog, www.macheesmo.com, which continues to be a great resource for when I want to cook something new.

 

Apple Chutney on Toast

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup dried currants
• 2 scallions minced (not the green parts)
• Baguette, sliced and toasted
• 5-6 oz. blue cheese

Directions:

Combine the sugar, red wine vinegar, orange juice, cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar melts, about 2 minutes.

Peel, core, and chop your apples and add them to the chutney.  Stir everything together and cook over low-medium heat until the apples are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add currants and chopped scallions to the chutney at the very end.

Cool the chutney for at least an hour and serve on toasts with blue cheese.

Citrus Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Quinoa

I spent the past week in Pittsburgh where I ate my way around the various food spots in Oakland, but I'll cover that in my next post. The real reason I was in Pittsburgh was to be supportive to my family following my mother's breast cancer surgery. Everything went well with the procedure and the prognosis is excellent.

My mother spent most of the week in the hospital and between the pain meds and the effects of coming back from anesthesia, food was the farthest thing from her mind. But we knew that once she got home, it would be important for her to keep her strength up. I wanted to be sure that I helped out in one of the best ways I know how--cooking something she could not only eat, but perhaps even enjoy. So once my mother was discharged, I hit the grocery store, scoured the latest issue of Cooking Light, and found something mild in flavor and high in protein to cook.

This may not be the most exciting food to look at (though with my parents' large plates, everything looked uber sophisticated and petite) but my mother ate every last bite. This was the first meal she had that didn't consist of  bananas and bread, so I consider it mission accomplished. If you know someone with a sensitive stomach and/or recovering from surgery, this is a good option.

The sauce didn't glaze as I expected it to, making it more runny than expected, but the flavors were solid. I served the chicken and quinoa with coriander carrots.

Citrus Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Quinoa (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. grated lime rind, divided
• 3/8 tsp. salt, divided
• 1 TB olive oil
• 4 (6-oz.) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 TB lime juice
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1 TB butter

Directions:

Combine 1 1/4 cups chicken stock and quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in cilantro, 1/2 tsp. rind, and 1/8 tsp. salt.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Sprinkle chicken with remaining salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan, cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.

Add remaining 1/2 cup stock to pain; cook for 1 minute and scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp. ring, orange juice, lime juice, and honey; simmer 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in butter. Return chicken to pan; turn to coat. Serve chicken with quinoa.

Sweet and Spicy Citrus Tilapia

Tilapia is the type of fish that by itself, doesn't really have a lot of flavor. It will take on the flavor of the seasoning you place on it, and is a really nice accompanying fish to more dominant ingredients. If you're not into fishy fish, it really is a good option. Or if you're trying to get picky eaters on board with increasing their weekly fish intake.

This dish is a pretty basic marinade and if you're looking for something quick, mildly flavored and simple, it's a good fit. But for me, I need a bit more oomph. Give this light recipe a shot and you be the judge. I served it with a side of squash and zucchini from the farmer's market.

Sweet and Spicy Citrus Tilapia (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 4 (6-oz.) tilapia filets
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 3 TB lime juice
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 1 TB olive oil
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• cooking spray

Directions:

Arrange fish in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Combine orange juice and next 9 ingredients (through garlic); pour over fish. Let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat broiler and prep your side dish.

Sprinkle fish with paprika; broil 15 minutes. Serve.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Asparagus

I am finally back in the kitchen and committed to cooking regularly again, not only to provide myself with tasty lunches to take to work, but also to get a grip on relying too readily on picking up something to go on my way home from work.

As I mentioned in recent posts, I've been traveling a good bit and this has put me not only behind on cooking, but also far behind on my magazine perusals for new recipes. I follow a few blogs for recipes as well as my monthly Cooking Light subscription but it had been weeks since I'd given any of those a look. So this first recipe as I find my way back to cooking again is a simple, light version of fettuccine alfredo, which relies on a lighter cream sauce and the addition of vegetables to flesh out the flavor. This was quite good and relatively guilt-free.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Asparagus (serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

8 oz. uncooked fettuccine

1 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 TB butter

1 TB vodka or water

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

1/4 cup fat-free milk

1.5 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, about 6 TB

1 TB chopped fresh chives  

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander over a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. I find the best way to do this is to position a bowl directly below the colander.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add asparagus, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat. Add rind and juice; toss. Keep warm.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add vodka and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add cream cheese, stirring until smooth. Stir in milk, Parmesan cheese, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Be sure to stir this consistently at a steady temperature to avoid clumping. Stir in reserved pasta water, pasta, and asparagus; toss to coat noodles.

Sprinkle with chives and serve. I enjoyed this with a fresh tomato salad.

Orzo with Chickpea Salad

Summertime in DC means countless of opportunities to picnic outdoors. From the Sunday drum circles in the park near my condo to the outdoor movie nights throughout the city, I regularly have picnic food on the brain. A few weeks back I went to the first Screen on the Green of the season. This annual tradition features four weeks of free movie classics on the National Mall. This year's offering included The Karate Kid, so it was a no brainer that I would attend for some Wax On/Wax Off action.

We had beautiful weather for it and I decided to make one of my favorite picnic side salads, an orzo with chickpea dish. I've posted about this dish before when I first started this blog, but it's so nice I'll post twice. This holds up really well in the heat and makes for a great lunch for work as well. So the next time you are asked to bring a side for a picnic outdoors, consider making this!

Orzo with Chickpea Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 3 TB fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 TB extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 TB cold water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. bottled minced garlic 

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Combine pasta, onions, cheese, dill, and chickpeas in a large bowl, tossing gently to combine.

Combine juice and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat.

Carnitas Tacos

As I mentioned last week, I've been working through the pulled pork chapter of my friend Nick's cookbook: Love Your Leftovers. You can find the core pulled pork recipe in my post from last week, but for this post, I'll write about one of the many suggested recipes in his book. It uses the slow cooker pulled pork in a new way. I hope to take some of the frozen pulled pork out of my freezer and make a third recipe later this week. Because as far as I'm concerned, a week without pork products is a sad one!

Carnitas Tacos (makes 8 tacos)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. shredded pork (approximately 3 cups)
• 3 TB unsalted butter, melted
• 16 (6-inch) corn tortillas (or 8 flour tortillas, whatever is your preference)
• 2 avocados, mashed
• 4 radishes, sliced thing
• Fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juice only

Quick Pickled Red Onion

• 1 red onion
• 1 large lime, juice only
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

To make pickled onions, peel the onion and slice it first in half and then into thin slivers. Add to a bowl and toss with lime juice and salt. Let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the carnitas.

Add shredded pork to baking dish. Try to spread out pork so it is in a thin layer and covering the entire pan. Drizzle pork with melted butter.

Bake until the shredded pork becomes crispy on top, approximately 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your other toppings.

If you have a gas range, and you like your tortillas a little toasted, you can do so my placing the them directly over the gas flame over medium heat. Let them cook until they are lightly charred, about 10 seconds per side.

To make the tacos, use two toasted corn tortillas per taco. Smear tortillas with some mashed avocado and then pile on the pork, followed by the radishes, cilantro and pickled red onions. Finish off with a little squeeze of lime juice.

Pears with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto

Today is Oscar Sunday. Anyone who knows me knows two things. 1) I'm a movie fanatic. 2) I love to have people over for food to watch particular TV events. Such as the Super Bowl. The Oscars. World Cup. You name it. And Oscar Sunday this year is no different. While I will be making my posole for some friends (as you'll recall, I had a bit of pork left over after that debacle, so I froze some large chunks of meat for later), I wanted to share a simple recipe that I made for a party late last year. So if you're going somewhere to watch the Oscars and need to make a simple appetizer, this will do the trick!

Pears with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 2 pears, such as Bosc or Bartlett, each cored and sliced into 8 wedges. Toss with lemon juice
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 3 oz. blue cheese, cut into small pieces
• 6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in half, lengthwise
• 1 cup arugula

Directions:

Roll up an arugula leaf, a piece of pear, and a piece of cheese in the prosciutto. Yep, that's it!

Cinnamon-Sugar Mini Muffins

It's a fairly rare occurrence that you can look at a recipe and realize that you have EVERYTHING needed to make it. No need to go to the store. Knock on a neighbor's door for a fraction of a teaspoon of a certain spice. These are a rarity, even with the amount of cooking that I do!

We have a snow day today. And if you're anything like me, you try to be productive in your home and find this a good time to cook food. But I have a ton of leftovers from food I'd made earlier this week, so I find myself uninspired to make more food at this time. And I elected not to run to the grocery store in a panic yesterday. I had my toilet paper. I had my milk. I had my leftovers. I'm good for a few days as far as I'm concerned. But maybe you want to bake and need a little inspiration. I'm here for you. And so is this recipe.

I made these mini muffins last week. They are simple and I'm guessing many of you have the needed ingredients already. So bake away, you won't be disappointed. They taste a little like Snickerdoodles...for breakfast!

Cinnamon-Sugar Mini Muffins (makes 2 dozen mini muffins)

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Topping:

• 2 TB sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and allspice. Combine the egg, milk and butter; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon into greased or paper-lined mini muffin cups.

Bake at 400° for 12-14 minutes or until muffins test done. For topping, combine sugar and cinnamon.

 

Brush the tops of warm muffins with butter; sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

In my continuing efforts to use food in my refrigerator, I found that I had all the necessary ingredients to make my very simple chicken cordon bleu. This is something I've been making for over 10 years and probably the most complex part of the recipe is rolling everything together in a way that it sticks together, rolled, in a toothpick in order to bake.

This process has become easier in recent years since Perdue started to sell very thin chicken breasts, I think usually used for scappoline or some other similar dish, but they work really well when you roll anything into chicken. Unfortunately, this type wasn't available and since I was working my way through the fridge, I thought this was a good a time as any to take out some of my frustration over the government shutdown by taking a mallet to the chicken to flatten it out.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breasts, pounded thin and flat.
• Deli ham, thinly sliced
• Deli swiss cheese, thinly slice
• Dijon mustard
• Italian breadcrumbs
• Toothpicks

Directions:

****You'll notice that I didn't give very specific amounts to the above ingredients, because this is really easy to just eyeball. But as a rule of thumb, you'll use one slice of ham and one slice of cheese for each flat breast. I used very small breasts, so the cheese and ham kind of spill out into the pan and get crispy. But that's how I like it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Take flat piece of chicken and spread dijon mustard on top of it, just enough to lightly coat the chicken. Then, place one piece of cheese and one piece of ham on top of the chicken. Gently roll the chicken lengthwise until it becomes ball and stick with a toothpick to secure. Lightly dust with breadcrumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I like to serve with brown rice and green beans.

Mint Pesto

Last weekend, I ran my second 5K. Correction: I ran most of my second 5K. Due to a crazy crowd, having to stand way too long to wait, etc., I came up with a variety of reasons as to why I didn't run the whole damn thing. But one thing I didn't skimp out on was carb-loading the night before. So it was only a 5K. So what. I still wanted an excuse to gorge on some pasta, which I don't do very often.  So I made this mint pesto recipe that I've made a few times before, just never featured on this blog. It comes from my buddy Nick at www.macheesmo.com, who is always coming up with interesting takes on very simple dishes. This is a typical pesto recipe, but you swap the basil for mint. And it's great.

Mint Pesto (serves 4)

Ingredients:
  

• 1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh mint   
• 1/2 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley   
• 2 TB pine nuts   
• 3 cloves garlic   
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese   
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• Salt and Pepper to taste 

Directions:

Wash the mint and parsley well. Toast the pine nuts for a few minutes in a dry pan.

Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until they resemble a coarse paste.Taste the pesto and adjust the flavors. It might need a bit more oil or salt and pepper.

Toss pesto with hot pasta and serve with extra Parmesan cheese.

Tuscan Salmon with Rosemary Orzo

In keeping with the theme of simple meals and those that require rosemary (seriously, I had a ton of rosemary to go through) I found this recipe on epicurious. Even though I cut the recipe in half, I managed to eat this three days in a row. While fish can sometimes be tricky as leftovers, this turned out to be just as good the next day. This is a great option when cooking for one.

Tuscan Salmon with Rosemary Orzo (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. orzo
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
• 1 TB chopped fresh rosemary
• 4 salmon fillets (5 ounces each), skin on
• 1/4 cup plus 1 TB chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 2 TB chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Cook orzo as directed on package until al dente.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 1/2 cup onion and rosemary until onion softens, 9 minutes. Combine with orzo in a bowl.

Season salmon with 1 tablespoon basil, salt and pepper. Heat same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook salmon until golden, 5 minutes per side, flesh side down first; set aside.

Add garlic and remaining 1 cup onion to skillet; cook until soft, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and olives; cook until tomatoes break up, 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in parsley and remaining 1/4 cup basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve fish over orzo; top with tomato mixture.

Orzo with Artichokes and Pine Nuts

The official start of summer (i.e. warm weather and the ever-present smell of grilled foods) is now here and if you're like me, you're lucky to have friends who host a fair number of BBQs. They truly are synonymous with long holiday weekends and tailgates. Sure, you could bring a bag of chips, or pick up a six-pack of beer, but if you're like me, you use these opportunities to try out a new side dish.

The following recipe covers several bases.

1) It's easy.
2) It's healthy.
3) It uses very basic ingredients, most of which you may have sitting in your cupboard.
4) Did I mention it's easy?

Orzo with Artichokes and Pine Nuts (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups orzo (10 oz)
• 3 TB pine nuts
• 1 (14-oz) can whole artichoke hearts (not marinated)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 TB red-wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest

Directions: 
Cook orzo in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain in a colander.

While orzo cooks, lightly toast pine nuts in a dry small skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 1 minute, then coarsely chop. 

Drain artichoke hearts in a large sieve and rinse well. Pull off leaves from bases of hearts and quarter bases. Rinse leaves and bases well, then drain thoroughly. 

Stir together oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add orzo, pine nuts, artichokes (leaves and bases), parsley, and zest and toss to combine.

Spicy Tomato and Chicken Pasta

I'll keep the word "spicy" as the title for this post, because perhaps it is in fact spicy for some people. But for me, I found this to be pretty mild. In fact, this might be a kid-friendly dish for families to try because it is pretty simple, doesn't require any exotic ingredients, and healthy. I don't eat a lot of pasta and when I want to go on a carb-binge, I also want it to include binge-worthy ingredients. Like meat. Sausage. And lots of cheese. Yes, this is on the lighter side and probably not something I'll make again. But if you're looking for something mild in flavor and easy to make, this is it!

Spicy Tomato and Chicken Pasta (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 tsp ground fennel seed

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 lb chicken breast tenders, cut into (1-inch) pieces

1 TB olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups canned diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup white wine

8 oz uncooked penne

1/4 cup (1 oz) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl; rub over chicken.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes, turning once. Remove from heat; set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds or until garlic is soft. Add tomatoes and wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken, and simmer 5 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Toss pasta with sauce in a large bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin

When I went to make this last week, I double-checked to be sure I hadn't posted it on here before. I was very surprised that I hadn't because this is something I used to make all the time, especially when having someone over for dinner. It never disappoints and dinner guests always think it is a much more complex dish to make than it really is. Probably because it tastes so damn good. I don't really think you can screw up pork tenderloin, but if you're looking for a simple recipe that you'll likely have all the ingredients for in your pantry, this is it.  I served it with scalloped potatoes with spinach.

Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
• 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs
• 1 TB dried basil
• 3 TB olive oil
• 1 TB fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried thyme

Directions:

Moisten tenderloins with water. Combine all ingredients and mix to blend. Press bread crumb/herb mixture over tenderloin and place on rack.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees for 30 or more minutes. Thicker ones may take 35-40 minutes. Don't overcook. I checked mine with a meat thermometer. 170 degrees for medium well done is what I cooked mine to.

Sausage and Spinach Rice Bowl

I'm a fairly recent convert to Cooking Light magazine. I've been a subscriber now for several months and I've been very happy with the recipes I've made out of the magazine. I wasn't always so enthusiastic about this magazine as my limited experience with Cooking Light was from a 5-ingredient cookbook I had bought years ago on discount at Border's. Yes, back when Border's was the place to go. I should have realized that since it was in the bargain bin, it wouldn't be one of the best purchases, but I was cheap and trying to eat healthy. It's no brainer that recipes comprised of only a few items don't tend to be the most flavorful, but I tried just about every recipe in that book...and wasn't crazy about any of them.

Fast forward several years later and I'm in the grocery checkout aisle and I see an issue of Cooking Light magazine with some awesome looking food on the cover. I picked it up and after perusing its contents, had a change of heart. So now I'm a subscriber and a believer. The good thing about Cooking Light in its present form is that while it is light, it doesn't sacrifice flavor like some of their recipes back in the day. Having said that, some may feel these recipes aren't super healthy, but I think they strike a happy medium.

Last week I made one of the recipes in the section 40 Meals under 40 minutes. I've made a few of these before and have been happy with each one, not just due to taste, but they actually are able to be made in under 40 minutes. This one took 20 minutes from start to finish. Take that, Rachel Ray.

Sausage and Spinach Rice Bowl (serves 3)

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice

1 TB olive oil

6 oz hot turkey Italian sausage, casings removed

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup of shredded or shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Cook rice according to directions.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add sausage and pepper; cook 4 minutes or until sausage is browned, stirring to crumble. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add spinach; cook 30 seconds or until spinach begins to wilt, tossing constantly.

Stir in rice; cook 1 minute or until heated. Sprinkle with cheese.