Skillet Lasagna

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cooking, easy recipes, fast meals, food, lasagna, quick meals, recipe, recipes, skillet meal, whip it up wednesday

Making lasagna can be a chore, and it certainly is never an option during the week because of all the labor that goes into it.

So when my mom told me there is such a thing as skillet lasagna, I got a little giddy. Lasagna in less than 45 minutes? Hoo-rah!

Skillet Lasagna (Adapted from Kraft Foods)
Serves 4-5
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small eggplant, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 12 no boil lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
• 1 (24 oz jar) spaghetti sauce
• 1 and 2/3 cups water
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, cook the onions, eggplant, and pepper until the onion and eggplant is soft and the pepper is crisp-tender. Add the vegetables to the skillet with the ground turkey; stir well.
3. Add the garlic, sauce, water, and Italian seasoning to the skillet; stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then stir in the noodles.
4. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, sprinkle the cheese on top of the mixture — serve and enjoy!

My two cents: Simple, scrumptious, full of flavor, and the essence of lasagna!

Thanks to my mom for the beautiful kitchen and natural light. Also, these meals are now essential to me as the big day draws closer. Instead of coming home and worrying about what kind of big, complicated meal I’m going to cook, I can make something simple and hearty, then sit down with my laptop and plan away

(Though, I will admit that I really love to take breaks on weekends and relax by baking or kneading my own homemade pizza dough…)

It all evens out in the end.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: Poached Eggs in Pasta Sauce

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cooking, easy, easy meals, eggs, food, pasta, quick meals, recipe, recipes, skillet meals, vegetables, whip it up wednesday

This is my new favorite way to eat eggs.

I love poached eggs, but I always fail miserably at making them…or at least making them pretty.

However. If you poach them in pasta sauce, you will instantly become a master egg poacher, no matter your expertise with poaching eggs in water.

Don’t believe me? Give it a try.

Plus, if you like runny eggs (if you don’t, we can’t be friends), but if you do, the runny egg acts like an extra, silky sauce that leaves you wondering why pasta sauce isn’t always made with egg yolks…

And, this meal is fast, easy, painless, and all the ingredients are fridge and pantry staples.

aka.

You must make this!

Poached Eggs in Pasta Sauce (Adapted from Cooking Light)
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1 medium onion, cut in half, then sliced into strips
• 1 (24 oz) jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 4 large eggs
• 1 box orzo
• Parmesan cheese for serving
• parsley for serving (optional)

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to get soft and the peppers are crisp-tender.
2. Meanwhile, cook the orzo according to the package directions.
3. Add the pasta sauce and oregano to the pan and stir. Let cook for 3 minutes.
4. Make 4 little wells in the pasta sauce/veggie mix. Crack the eggs and slip them into each well. Cover the pan and let the eggs cook for 6-8 minutes until they have set to your desired consistency.
5. Serve the egg and pasta sauce over the orzo. Sprinkle with pepper, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Enjoy!

My Two Cents: Can someone explain to me why so many people are afraid of eggs? One week they’re horrible for you, the next, eat ‘em every day, twice a day. I say, eat them in moderation, and don’t worry about it. In fact, eat everything in moderation, and don’t worry about it.

This meal is so balanced. It’s chock full of veggies, the egg gives you your protein, and the pasta gives you your carbs. Add in some cheese, you have the dairy. All of your food groups in one bite? I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Whip it up Wednesday: Sloppy Joes

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cooking, food, ground turkey, quick meals, recipe, recipes, sloppy joe, whip it up wednesday

The classic, comforting, easy, sweet, flavorful Sloppy Joes….

…that I haven’t made in my apartment until just last week.

This is partly due to the fact that I wasn’t a huge fan of Sloppy Joes as a kid. It wasn’t the taste, but the mess. I didn’t like eating something in a sandwich bun with a fork and knife — either that or get the food all over my face when I bit into it. I think the texture weirded me out, too.

But alas.

Just as I got over my strange hummus aversion, I have overcome my mild dislike towards Sloppy Joes. This is partly due to my maturation into my fabulous adulthood, and partly due to the fact that the sauce is 100% homemade. Those McCormick packets are great in a pinch (and to make things even more simple for you), but I promise, making the sauce for this took about 5 minutes of chopping and measuring.

It’s worth it.

Sloppy Joes (Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier)
Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 20 minutes
Serves 6 -8
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small/medium sized onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• dash of Worcestershire sauce
• dash of Tabasco sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 – 8 hamburger/sandwich buns

Directions:

1.  Brown the ground turkey in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Drain off the fat.
2. Add in the green pepper, onion, and garlic; stir. Then add in the ketchup and 1 cup of water. Stir to combine.
3. Finally, add the brown sugar, chili powder, mustard, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper. Give it one more stir, then cover, turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Toast or warm the burger/sandwich buns, then place a heaping spoonful of the ground turkey mixture on the bun. Close shut, try to eat with your hands, resort to fork and knife. Enjoy.

My Two Cents: This is several notches healthier than the Pioneer Woman’s original Sloppy Joe recipe, which called for ground beef, more ketchup, more sugar, and buttered buns.

This is a great, quick meal to make for the family or a hungry (moderately-sized) dinner crowd. To spruce up the meal, serve with a spinach salad (complete with pecans, mandarin oranges, and balsamic vinegar dressing).

But this also makes great leftovers — so if there’s just 1 or 2 of you in the house, half of your meals will be whipped up all week

P.S. Ever wonder why they’re called Sloppy Joes? Much to my surprise, I have never looked this up until now! According to Wikipedia:

A sloppy joe is an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings served on a hamburger bun. Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat. The Original Sloppy Joe Sandwich was invented by a cook named Joe at a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa, as a variation of the popular “loose meat” sandwich (which does not contain tomato sauce).

And there you have it! Thank you, Joe, from Iowa, for inventing such a tasty dish.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: Soy-Glazed Cashew Chicken Wraps

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chicken, cooking, food, poultry, quick dishes, recipe, recipes, skillet meal, stir-fry, whip it up wednesday

When you want to fancy up your standard chicken stir-fry, use this recipe.

My friends Rachel (from BostoNite) and Fran and I frequently get together for dinner dates. And usually we opt for some sort of pasta dish because it’s quick and easy to make. But last time we got together we wanted something different, yet still quick and easy to throw together. They spotted this recipe on Pinterest. We all split up the ingredients to bring, cracked open a bottle of wine, and got to work. In no time we were chowing down on this healthy chicken wrap, polishing off the wine, and watching some trashy mid-week TV.

What could be better?

Soy-Glazed Cashew Chicken Wraps (Adapted from She Wears Many Hats)
Makes 4 servings
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (3/4 – 1 lb), diced
• 8 big leaves of iceberg lettuce
• 2-3 tbsp canola or olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup cashews, crushed
• 1/3 cup prepared ginger soy stir fry sauce

Directions:

1.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan over medium heat. Add chicken and brown until no longer pink.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the other tbsp of oil. Add the onions, garlic, and 1 tsp of soy sauce to the pan; brown.
3. When the onions and garlic are browned, add to the chicken and also add in the cashews, crushed red pepper, and ginger stir fry sauce. Heat through.
4. Spoon chicken mixture onto lettuce leaves. Top with additional hot sauce and cashews if desired.

My Two Cents: A great meal overall — and better with wine and friends.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: Black Bean and Quinoa Burritos

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black beans, burrito, cooking, easy, food, mexican, quick meals, recipe, recipes, vegan, vegetarian, whip it up wednesday

When I was in college, eating a burrito meant going to Moe’s, telling them to stuff as much pork and refried beans as possible into one giant tortilla, topping it with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole, asking for a side of tortilla chips, and then shoving it into my face.

Don’t get me wrong, Moe’s makes a mean burrito, but I’m afraid the days of 1,000+ calorie meals are over for me (especially now that there’s this thing called a wedding dress that I kind of need to fit into this July).

But I often discover recipes that are not only healthy — they actually taste better than the meal it’s modified from.

It’s probably because my palate can’t handle too much salt or fat anymore.

My taste buds usually yearn for fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains.

My arteries will thank me later.

These mondo healthy burritos are made with the great grain quinoa, fibrous (non-refried) black beans, sweet corn, and just a little dollop of salsa — all wrapped in whole-wheat tortillas. And I promise, you won’t leave the table hungry.

Black Bean and Quinoa Burritos (Slightly Adapted from The Six O’Clock Scramble)
Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 30 minutes
>> Click here for printable recipe 

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 ½ cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cans (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• juice from 1/2 a lime
• 8 large whole wheat tortillas
• your favorite salsa for serving

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. While onion and garlic are cooking, defrost the corn in the microwave for 2 minutes and rinse the quinoa.
2. Add quinoa, broth, and cumin to saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover it, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir corn, beans, cilantro, and lime juice into the saucepan and simmer until heated through.
4. Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds on high. Fill the tortillas with the black bean filling. Top with salsa and any other toppings you desire. Wrap the tortillas tightly and serve.

 

My Two Cents: I get giddy when I find vegetarian/vegan recipes that are full of flavor and make you full for hours.

You should, too.

If you don’t cook quinoa a lot, you might be wondering, “Do I really need to rinse it?” The answer to that is yes and no. You don’t have to, simply because it won’t kill you. But if you do rinse quinoa you will notice that the water doesn’t run clear — that means it’s usually a bit gritty and dirty. It’ll taste better, too. But be careful when picking your strainer; it must be super fine. You don’t want to rinse all your quinoa down the drain

Oh yeah, and this meal is very quick to make and mighty cheap.

Enjoy!

Whip it up Wednesday: Cranberry Couscous

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cooking, cranberries, food, quick meals, recipe, vegetarian, whip it up wednesday

On the days I open up my fridge and see no milk, no juice, no bread, no cheese, no fruits, and no greens, I do two things:

• Sigh.
• And then make some plain pasta and/or order some food.

But I was determined to make something more interesting this time around, and just because there aren’t a lot of ingredients in the fridge doesn’t mean I can’t whip something up from the cupboards.

So ladies and gents, I surveyed the ingredients I did have and ended up making a remarkably delicious dish.

And fast.

Cranberry Couscous (Adapted slightly from The New Vegetarian Epicure)
>> Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 3 3/4 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups plain couscous

Directions:

1. Slice onion into thin strips. Heat olive oil and butter in a medium/large pot over medium-high heat and saute until soft and lightly browned.
2. Add broth and cranberries to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add the couscous. Cover the pan and leave it to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, leave covered, and let sit for 2-3 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

My Two Cents: This is a great side dish, but also works well for the main. Serve with steamed broccoli, edamame, or spinach.

For a non-vegetarian option, mix in cubed browned chicken to the couscous. I think I’ll do that next time to make it a bit more filling.

Original recipe called for 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, but that wasn’t enough. Plus, I love dried cranberries, so the more the merrier.

Not bad for having next to nothing in my fridge, eh?