Super Simple Roasted Cauliflower gnocchi

Gnocchi is something new to me. And thanks to this really simple recipe from guess where - Real Simple it's something easy to make on a week night. We used whole wheat gnocchi because we are trying to be healthier and it happened to be on sale. I have made this before with regular gnocchi and it's good either way. Another note, if the store is out of fresh sage, it's good with fresh thyme too. The key is fresh herbs. 

Roasted Cauliflower Gnocchi 

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces 
• 1 pound gnocchi
• 12 fresh sage leaves (or the leaves of several sticks of thyme)
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

1. Heat the oven to 350.
2. Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste and your fresh herbs. 
3. Roast for about 20 to 25 minutes or unit it starts to brown and is soft
4. While that's baking, cook the gnocchi according to the package
5. Toss it all together and top with parmesan

**Makes about 4 servings

**This is a 2 on Bryce's dish scale. Baking sheet, pan, cutting board and knife. 

Quinoa mac and cheese

You've seen me say it before -  I love quinoa and this is another great way to make it. I again combined like 20 recipes I found on Pinterest - but the basic idea comes from here. You can use whatever veggies you like, but I included the ones we find to be the most tasty. Sometimes if we have a Banana Pepper from the garden I'll throw it in with the veggies too. I love that this makes a big batch so we can have plenty of leftovers.  This is a great spin on the classic mac and cheese in a much healthier way.  It does take a while to cook top to bottom, so plan ahead.

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 leek halved and chopped
• About 3 big carrots chopped
• about 2 cups broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 cup quinoa rinsed
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup soy milk (I use soy because I try and cut down on my lactose, you can use regular)
• 1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese (plus another 1/2 cup for topping)
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1. Heat oil in a pot. Add leeks, cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Then add in broccoli, carrots and other veggies. Cook for about 4 minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add in quinoa and garlic, stir until quinoa starts to turn colors.
3. Add water and seasoned salt. Bring to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Because the veggies give off a lot of liquid too, I find this takes about 25 minutes.
5. While that's cooking, combine your egg and soy milk.
6. Also preheat the over to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan (I use Olive oil pam)
7. When quiona is cooked let cool for a few minutes, then fold into milk/egg combo. Mix well, then add in 1 and 1/2 cups cheddar. Mix it all together well.
8. Spread into your 9x13 pan. Tops with more cheese and panko crumbs
9. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the top starts to brown.

**Makes about 6 servings.

*This is a 4 on Bryce's dish scale. I use a lot of bowls when I chop the veggies, plus the pot and the baking pan.

Keep this recipe: Best Chimichurri Sauce Ever

I've had Chimichurri sauce before. But nothing like this. This changed my life. Chimichurri is an argentine dressing that varies in it's makeup, but usually involves Olive oil, parsley and other spices. It's great on steak, chicken fish etc. The recipe comes from a text from a co-worker of a picture of a cookbook, so I have no idea where it was originally published. I just know it's good. It's the perfect combo of salty and fresh and kind of spicy. We do it on a grilled flank or flat iron steak. But you could do it on just about anything. My favorite way is to get a great flank steak, sprinkle it with seasoned salt and throw it on the grill for about 3-4 minutes a side. Then cut against the grain into strips and top with the sauce. It's great with some grilled veggies on the side. It's a lot of mincing, but totally worth it.

Chimichurri Sauce

• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1 head garlic, cloves peeled, and minced very fine
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves only (my grocery store has been out of flat-leaf before and I used regular and it was just as good, just make sure you don't get much stem in there)
• 1 cup fresh oregano leaves
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup of Olive Oil

1. Make a salmuera (no, I didn't know what that was until this recipe) by bringing the water to a boil, then stirring in the salt until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Mince your parsley leaves, and oregano leaves and combine them with the garlic and red pepper flakes in a bowl.
3. Whisk in the vinegar, then the oil. Then whisk in your salt water salmuera. Stir it up real good and put in a jar or container with a tight lid.

**this makes a big bowl of sauce. Plenty for 6.

**On B's dish scale it's pretty low- a 1. Just a cutting board and I mix it right in the storage container.

All-time favorite: Pesto pasta with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Turkey sausage

I'm not afraid to admit it. I totally jumped on the Brussels Sprouts bandwagon when they became the hip new food. They used to be my least favorite vegetable. Then I found out, I was cooking them wrong. I had roasted Brussels sprouts at a restaurant that were amazing and then started experimenting on my own. This is an idea I found on Pinterest - I changed a few ingredients and techniques. Also, it calls for Chicken Italian Sausage, which is only in my grocery store about once a month. I find it's much easier to find Turkey Italian Sausage and the flavor isn't much different to me. The key is both turkey and chicken are healthier than regular Italian Sausage. I have also used sweet, mild and hot variations of the turkey sausage - and all are good. This is one of my absolute favorite meals. But, because it requires a lot of pans and a lot of cooking, I rarely make it during the week.

 

 Pesto pasta with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Turkey sausage

 

• 1 pound of Brussels sprouts  (I trim off the woody stems and slice each one into about 3 slices length wise, I also often peel off the outer layer)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper (I always just say salt and pepper, but I use my grinders of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and it really makes a difference)
• 1 package (usually a pound) Orecchiette pasta (trust me - this is the best pasta with this dish)
• 1 package of Turkey Italian Sausage links (this is usually about 5 links)- sliced into half an inch rounds.
• 5 cloves garlic -thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of your favorite pesto
• Some shaved parmesan to sprinkle on top.

1. Preheat oven to 400. Toss your sliced Brussels with a tablespoon of oil and some salt and pepper. Spread them out evenly on a cookie sheet. I cover it in foil first. Roast the Brussels for about 20 minutes- flipping them over about halfway through.
2. In a non-stick skillet - heat the other tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Brown the sausage until heated thoroughly. this takes about 15-20 minutes. Then throw in the sliced garlic with the sausage to brown about 2 minutes
3. While the sausage is cooking, cook the pasta according to package instructions.
4. When the pasta is done - toss it with half the pesto. Then add in Brussels and sausage and garlic. Add in the rest of the pesto now.
5. Top each bowl with some parm.

*Makes 4 hefty servings
***This is a 5 on Bryce's Dish Scale. 2 pans. A cookie sheet, cutting board and knife, strainer, big bowl.

Combining my favorite things: Salad and Antipasto

I love the simple pleasures when it comes to food. And a good old Italian Antipasto spread is one of my favorites. The meats, the cheeses, the pickled things - makes my mouth water thinking about it. Combing that with a healthy salad and you get this amazing combo. I got the basic idea from Pinterest too, but added and took a few things away, and this is the way Bryce and I like it the most. We make a few swaps to make it a little healthier (some people add Roasted Red Peppers and red onion, roasted chickpeas would be good in this one too)

Antipasto Salad

• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• I package cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (quartered if they are really big)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced green olives
• 1/2 cup of sliced pepperoncini (I buy the jar of sliced ones, add as many or as little as you like)
• 1 cup Giardiniera (you know the jar of pickled carrots, cauliflower etc.)
• Half of a cucumber, diced
• 1 small package prosciutto, rolled up and sliced thin (Usually about 5 slices)
• About 1/4 of a package of turkey pepperoni sliced thin
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• some of the pickled juice from the Giardiniera
• Pepper

1. We split up the romaine into two big bowls, and then divide the rest of the ingredients evenly ( I use a little more pepperoncini in my bowl than Bryce's)
2. Mix the oil, vinegar, juice and pepper in a bowl, and pour evenly over the 2 salads.

**this serves 2 as a main meal, but you could totally adjust it to make 3 or 4.
**On Bryce's dish scale it's a one. You make it in the bowls you serve it in. Really easy.

Cajun Fish with Kale and Black-Eyed Peas

Guess where I got this one from? If you guessed Real Simple you are correct. It's originally a Cajun Catfish recipe, and it's awesome with Catfish, but I keep frozen tilapia in my freezer so I use that if I can't find good fresh Catfish. I also use  Kale instead of collard greens, because I just love Kale, and changed a few other things here and there. What I came up with is below. I love any meal where I can cook my sides and main dish all at the same time without much trouble.


Cajun Fish with Sautéed Kale and Black-eyed peas

• 4 skinless fish filets (Catfish if you can find it, tilapia works too)
• 2 bunches Kale, cut into strips
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• One medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• About a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Cavender's Greek seasoning
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 2 tablespoon oil
• Salt and pepper

1. Heat one tablespoon oil in a pot over medium. Add onion and cook for about 6-8 minutes. Add Garlic and let soften.
2. Slowly add Kale to pot (I say slowly because you have to cook a little of it down to get it to fit) then add diced tomatoes and little bit of water (about 1/4 of a cup). Season with salt and pepper to taste (I use one teaspoon garlic salt here). Put a lid on this, and reduce heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 20 minutes.
3. While that is cooking, heat black-eyed peas with the Cavender's, other teaspoon of garlic salt and 1/4 cup of water. This won't take long - maybe 5 minutes.
4. Season the fish with the Cajun seasoning on both sides. Heat other tablespoon of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish, cooking for about 3 minutes a side until it is done (will flake with a fork).

**Technically makes 4 servings, but if your Fish Filet's are puny - it really only makes 3.
**On Bryce's dish scale - it's a 4. There are a lot of pots and pans involved here.