Balsamic Honey Rosemary Pork Chops, Hasselback Potatoes, and Creamed Chard

Balsamic Honey Rosemary Marinade:
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 TBSP honey
- 2 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
- tiny sprinkle of salt

Put marinade in a zip lock with the pork chops and massage around for a few minutes. Then refrigerate for at least two hours, but as long as overnight if you really want (I did mine in the morning before work so it was about 8 hours).

The pork chops developed a fantastic carmelization on the grill thanks to the honey, and the balsamic helped to tenderize the meat. I *loved* these pork chops, and ended up eating two (because sometimes I am a pork chop). Tim just thought they were "okay", but I might keep this marinade in the rotation.

Hasselback Potatoes
I saw this crazy delicious looking photo on serious eats and just had to make them myself. I sliced the potatoes thinly, stopping about a 1/4 inch from the bottom of the potato. Then I rubbed the potatoes with smart balance oil and then rubbed a combo of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and dried parsley-- making sure to get some of the yumminess in between all the slices! Then you bake for 45 minutes at 375 (give or take depending on the size of the taters.)

These potatoes look incredible, but their taste doesn't quite match up. I mean, they were good, but not heaven-sent amazing.

Creamed Chard
I take great pride in saying that the swiss chard I used was from my garden!! I didn't really follow a recipe here, but just threw together things I had. First, I sauteed a bit of red onion (yellow would have been better)  in some olive oil, and then I threw i the chard stems until they were softened. Then, I added the chard leaves (that I cut into strips) and continued to sautee. When everything was nice and soft, I just poured a teeny bit of cream (usually I just use milk, but I had cream leftover from baking for Tim's birthday) over the top and stirred to combine. This was yummy, but the red onions discolored the cream so it looked kinda gray.... not very appetizing.

"Light" Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

I'm not the biggest cheesecake fan, but I am in a relationship with someone who is. While I had elaborate plans for a birthday cake for his big day (he turned 30 about two weeks ago!) I was paranoid my cake decorating skills would be that of a kindergartener so I made some back-up treats.

I saw a few different recipes on the interwebs lately that piqued my interest. First, was a recipe for oreo cheese(cup)cakes that used an oreo cookie as the crust. These seemed completely adorable, and almost looked like they'd taste good. I also saw a recipe for a greek yogurt cheesecake that made even my mouth water.

So... I kind of combined them.

a shot of the oreo "crust"

• 8 oz Neufchatel Cheese at room temp  (Does anyone in the world know how this is pronounced?)
• 1/2 cup sugar -- I used superfine because it is what I have on hand
• 1 rounded cup of Greek yogurt (I used fat free, but I bet it would be even better with 2% or full fat)
• 4 egg whites at room temp
• cinnamon and vanilla to taste (I used a dash of each)
• 16 reduced fat oreos in the bottom of cupcake cups
• 6 reduced fat oreos all smashed up. (I used the food processor but if I did it again I'd just put them in a baggie and break them. They ended up way too uneven in the good old FP. Half dust, half giant chunks...)

Preheat oven to 275. Whip egg whites until frothy and then whip in all other ingredients (except oreos). Then fold in the Oreo crumbs and fill the cupcake liners (with Oreos in the bottom)-- I filled exactly 16. Then bake for 22 minutes, allow to cool to room temperature on your counter and then put in the fridge before serving.

These were so delicious that I ended up making them again for book club! The second time I  used golden oreos and put sliced strawberries on top. The cupcakes are the perfect portion controlled size of cupcake, and they taste just enough like yogurt to make me very happy!

yum!

Shrimp, Scallop, and Veggie Kabobs with Mint Pesto

I'm tired of blogging. I need to stop procrastinating and just write about things when they are fresh in my mind! But, it's too late for that now. Last Wednesday I made some kabobs on the grill and they were pretty tasty.

I made shrimp, bay scallop, cherry tomato, and one with red onions and green peppers. I marinated the shrimp and scallops in a mint pesto (mint leaves, parsley leaves, almonds, water, olive oil, and garlic-- in food processor) which was surprisingly good. I would make it again-- especially on a lamb burger or something!

I served the Kabobs with a spinach and arugula salad with edamame, pecans, and goat cheese. It was kind of a weird combination, but all I had on hand. The dressing was balsamic vinegar mixed with some of the mint pesto. I saved the extra to drizzle on the Kabobs.

I have nothing else to say about this and feel like I sound like a robot. So.... I'm going to be done now.

Chorizo and Seafood Paella

I love me some paella! Actually I love any one-pot meal that is flavorful and spicy and healthy and full of surprises. I always forget about making them (probably because they are not very friendly if you are cooking for one or two, and require a crowd of at least six), but last weekend I was inspired. By no means is this dish a traditional paella in any way other than the type of sausage and seasonings I used. If I were to swap out the chorizo for andouille and the saffron for cajun seasoning, this could have just as easily been jambalaya! I didn't follow a recipe when I made it, nor did I measure anything, so this is all just from memory... hopefully it's accurate, because man oh man was this yummy! If you are making your own paella, definitely experiment! You can skip sausage altogether (but in that case you should sautee the veggies in 2 TBSP of olive oil), you can add chicken, you can add other seafood, and you can definitely switch out the veggies!

Chorizo and Seafood Paella -- serves 6 (or in my case, 2 with many leftovers)

• 2 (local!!) chorizo sausages*
• 1/4 lb shrimp
• 1/4 lb bay scallops
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 Spanish yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3-4 threads saffron
• turmeric
• paprika
• cayenne
• parsley (save some for garnish)
• secret ingredient: 1 TBSP cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice 
• chicken broth

*My chorizo sausages were made from local pork (so exciting!) and were uncooked. They were about the size and color of brats. Typically, you will find cured or smoked chorizo near the deli counter which will be thinner and much darker in color. You can basically follow the same instructions as the fat will still be rendered from them. 

Slice the chorizo thinly and put in the bottom of a large pan (I started in a cast iron skillet, but had to switch to a larger dutch oven by the time I added the rice). As the fat is rendered out of the sausage, add in the onions and garlic. When they are translucent, add in the peppers and the seasonings. Add the chocolate in too-- this was the first time I've ever put chocolate in paella, but I saw it on an episode of Grill It with Bobby Flay and decided I had to try it!  Then, pour in the frozen peas, the canned tomatoes, and the rice. Allow the rice to cook without any extra moisture for a few minutes so it can absorb some yummy flavors. Then, pour the broth over the whole thing and let it simmer for 20 minutes; add more broth as necessary, or if there is too much, just let it cook longer. This dish is high maintenance in that is has many ingredients, but it's low maintenance in that it cooks in one pot, and you really can't over cook it (well, the only thing you can overcook is the seafood but if you followed my directions you haven't added it yet!) Right before serving, put the seafood on top of the rice mixture and allow the flavorful steam to cook it. I put the shrimp on about 7 minutes before eating and the scallops on about 5 minutes before and they were both perfect! Garnish with parsley, and enjoy! (But watch out, it's very hot).

Baby Swiss Chard, White Bean, and Tomato Soup

Remember last week when I went on and on about how great soup is? Well, today was another "yay soup" day. I was down in the dumps, it was gray and rainy outside, I was super hungry after the gym, I was out of town for the weekend so I had no groceries.... and magically, with a few moves of my knife and turns of a can opener I had delicious, nutritious soup in front of me!

Luckily, I went out to my garden today to do some weeding. In addition to pulling out a garbage can full of creeping charlie (how do I get rid of that stuff?) I also decided to do some thinning of my Swiss Chard. To quote my friend Lisa, thinning is "psychologically difficult". It was getting obvious that I had let the difficulty get the best of me because every other plant was still baby tiny. I pulled them all out and was just about to throw them in the compost when I realized that they were probably just as delicious is full grown chard. So, in the house they came, and in the soup they went!

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 2 cups baby Swiss Chard leaves and stems
• S&P
• something spicy-- I used cayenne and chili powder
• 1/2 can northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small can diced tomatoes (juice and all)
• enough chicken broth to cover it all in the pot

First, I sauteed the onion in the canola oil. Then, I threw in the chard. Most of the pieces I threw in whole, but one or two were big enough that I tore them into bite sized pieces. I stirred everything around to coat the leaves in the little oil I used. I also added sea salt and black pepper at this point, and my "something spicy" after a few stirs. The salt will draw the moisture out of the leaves and help them wilt faster (I was all about "fast" tonight-- the whole meal took ten minutes to make). As soon as the leaves were tender and the onions translucent, I added in the beans, tomatoes and broth (obviously if you used vegetable broth this would be vegetarian-- vegan, really). Then, I brought it to a boil, and served it!

I had three little crostini to dunk in my soup, and I actually ended up garnishing it with a dollop of Greek yogurt (not pictured because I ate it too fast). The soup was great. It was flavorful and had great textures. The beans were creamy, the tomatoes juicy, and the chard had just enough crispiness to make a difference. Plus, I just felt good eating this. It is full of vitamins and low in fat. After a weekend full of graduation party food, I was craving anything without frosting.

I don't know that I'll make anything exactly like this in the future, but that is the beauty of soups-- each one is special.

Crispy Quesadilla with Spinach, Black Bean, and Tomato

This was a super quick lunch I made about a week ago. Basically, I assembled the quesadilla  in the following order: corn tortilla, cheddar, spinach, black bean, tomato, cheddar, corn tortilla.

This looks like Pac Man...

Instead of trying to flip this bad boy in the pan, I actually put both tortillas in the pan (just sprayed them with cooking spray first) on high heat. I piled the layers on to one, and just cheddar onto the other. After the tortillas started to crisp up, I put the loaded one on a plate, and topped it with the other. The melty cheese acted as glue, and the veggies got just warm enough to get tender. I garnished it will my favorite-- some Greek yogurt. The crispy texture of the tortillas was really good, though they were difficult to eat without making a mess. Luckily this meal was just for me, and not part of a date night :)


**oh, I remember this not being bland, so I'm pretty sure I had some cayenne or chili powder sprinkled on the black beans....

Watermelon Margaritas-- Take Two!

Did anyone ever see Brian Boitano's show on the Food Network? It was called What Would Brian Boitano Make? and it was bleep-ing hilarious. I only saw two episodes but they are ingrained in my mind as some of the funniest cooking television I've ever seen. First of all, how is it fair that an Olympic medalist has talents other than figure skating? Secondly, why aren't there more celebrity shows like this" You know, where they actually have a talent and are teaching us something! (HGTV has the Vanilla Ice one, so they are doing their part....)

I haven't seen this fantabulous (I'm pretty sure he'd approve of this description) in a couple years, but his recipes are archived on www.foodnetwork.com so I decided to take a gander through them. When I saw this recipe for watermelon margaritas I had mixed feelings. They sounded great, but after such a lousy experience last time I was nervous to waste more expensive booze and delicious watermelon (which I brought home from my mom's Memorial Day picnic. Thanks to friends Susie and Mel for sharing-- it was great!)

Anyway, these margaritas were much better than my last go-round... I could actually taste watermelon, and the tequila was very smooth. But I really need to invest in a mesh sieve so it has less of a "smoothie" texture. I tried to press it through a colander with very small holes instead and it didn't really do the trick. I still liked mine, but I'm not convinced Tim loved it since he nursed it for about three hours. But, he did finish it, so that is what counts.

Oh, and I almost forgot! For the ice cubes, I froze a couple of cubes of watermelon. This was really a cute idea and great in theory, but in practice it just helped add to the slightly thick texture. I might do this again for a sangria or something... along with frozen grapes. Can't wait!

Steak, Salad, and Sauce (I love alliteration)

I am actually up to date on blogging! It's a miracle! This is a meal I made just two days ago for Wednesday night date night with Tim. It wasn't the best meal ever, but I am pretty much obsessed with the poblano yogurt now.

Grilled Sirloin Steak and Red Onion Slices 
I put a dry rub on the steaks of cayenne, chili powder, minced garlic dried parsley, fresh cilantro, lime zest, cumin, S&P. It was very tasty, but the steaks were a bit tough. The onions just had canola oil, salt, and pepper and I grilled them for about five minutes. The thicker slices should have gone for a minute or two more but overall they were great!

Poblano Yogurt Sauce

• poblano pepper
• 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• garlic powder (better if it was fresh and also roasted but oh well)
• sea salt

Fiesta-Green Goddess Salad

• spinach and arugula leaves 
• avocado, diced
• cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (thawed or cooked or whatever)
• cilantro
• juice from half a lime
• 1/4 crumbled feta cheese
• 1 TBSP poblano yogurt dip

Everyone (I assume) has heard of Green Goddess salad. It's a delicious blended yogurt-y, green-y salad dressing over a delicious bed of greens and fresh veggies. After taking a bite of my poblano yogurt sauce, I realized that if I thinned it down just a bit (with the juice of a lime), it would make a fantastic salad dressing very similar to a green-goddess dressing. But, keeping with my spicy "fiesta" theme, my other toppings all somewhat resemble Mexican food (except the feta of course, but just go with me).

As with all salads, I toss the greens with the dressing first so each leaf is coated and I don't use too much dressing (yay low calorie), then I throw on half of the toppings, toss once or twice, and then put the rest of the toppings on before serving.

Quote of the night: "Is this Arugula?" -Tim  This may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but I am just so proud that my "picky eater" boyfriend can now successfully identify arugula. He's turning into a regular foodie!!

Preakness Party

I know nothing about horse-racing other than the fact that I love watching the Triple Crown. For 90 second intervals, three times a year, I am the biggest horse-fan around! This year I was on a bus during the Kentucky Derby, so I decided to have a Preakness party to make up for it. So, I had entirely Baltimore and Preakness themed menu!  Last year, Tim and I had a Preakness party of our own which was some what disastrous. The crab cakes were ungodly salty and the drinks were so strong we both fell asleep immediately after the race. This year was much more successful. There were lots of sundresses, a few hats, and plenty of crab to go around...

Black Eyed Susans 
The Black Eyed Susan is the official drink of the Preakness. There are many many recipes for this drink floating around online. Last year I made one that tasted dangerously like orange juice and not at all like bourbon. This year, I could not remember what that recipe was (perhaps it was for the best... didn't need another 6 pm nap time) so I found a new one. This year I picked one that used all fresh juices and no simple syrups or sour mixes. The drink was weaker than last year, but actually tasted stronger. I liked the drink, but many of my guests were very sensitive to the bourbon flavor and shied away.

• OJ
• Bourbon
• Vodka
• Pineapple
• Lime Juice

Hot Crab Dip

half-devoured deliciousness

Who doesn't love a creamy, cheesy dip? Especially when it is loaded with crab and packs a spicy punch!  I actually made two dips in one: one for my vegetarian friends, and the other for me (I mean.... for everyone else).

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese at room temp
• 1 8 oz package fat free cream cheese (so sneaky) at room temp
• 1 can jumbo crab meat-- I got this out of the canned tuna aisle. I am sure that fresh crab meat would be even tastier, but this was much friendlier on the budget (only $3 or so a can) and tasted just great.
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
• 2 TBSP mayo (mine is kraft olive oil)
• Old Bay seasoning (I used probably 2 TBSP, but it's definitely "to taste")
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (reserve 2 TBSP to sprinkle on top)
• tobasco sauce

nom nom nom

Basically, I combined all ingredients except crab in a mixing bowl and mixed it up until the seasonings were evenly dispersed throughout the cream cheese. Then, I scooped out half the mixture and put it in a mini pie pan (for the veggie version). Then, I dumped in the crab and re-mixed it all up and put that into another mini pie pan. I topped both dishes with cheddar cheese (and put some extra scallions on the veggie one so I knew which was which), and popped in a 375 oven for about 12 minutes.

This dip was a-MA-zing. It was great on celery, on crackers, and even straight off a spoon.... don't worry I waited for the guests to leave before I did that. I will definitely be making this again (because otherwise I think Tim would leave me), and I might try to "health it up" even more by using all fat free cream cheese, or maybe some neufachtel cheese.

Crab Cakes
My crab cakes were somewhat disastrous again. This time, the salt level was right, but they just completely crumbled on the griddle. I managed to salvage enough for people to enjoy, but I "forgot" to take a picture. Whoops. 

"Crab" Boil
Nothing seems more authentically Baltimore than a crab boil. But, half my guests were vegetarians, and I am cheap so instead I just boiled veggies in crab seasonings and doused it all with butter. I'm pretty sure nobody noticed the crab was missing.

• five ears sweet corn, cut in half (clearly this corn was not from Iowa... and it was just okay)
• 2 pounds B-sized red potateos
• 11/2 large white onions, sliced into wedges
• Garlic (I think I used fresh cloves AND garlic powder)
• a TON of Old Bay Seasoning (3 TBSP?)
• fresh thyme and sage from my garden
• butta (okay, I actually used Smart Balance and olive oil mixed together)
• S&P

Boil all ingredients. Done.
Okay, not really. First, I coated the onions and taters  in seasonings and put in the bottom of a kettle and cooked for 5 ish minutes. THEN, I covered them with water and brought to a boil (and I likely added more seasoning to the water). I boiled for 20-30 minutes and then added the corn just about 5 minutes before serving. To serve, I put in a large bowl and I poured a mixture of melted butter, oil, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme over the whole thing and garnished with thyme sprigs from my garden. Simple but YUM.


Lady Baltimore Cake

A Lady Baltimore Cake is just white cake with white frosting, and a filling of frosting mixed with dried fruits (golden raisins and cherries for me) and pecans. I cheated and used box cake mix and canned frosting. I added lemon zest to the cake mix and the filling to freshen it up a bit, and I covered the top in pecans to hide my pour frosting job. And, I can't lie, it was pretty tasty.



My friend Jillian totally outdid me with a Smith Island Cake-- it was 8 layers of chocolately, sugary, peanut buttery goodness. I wish I had a photo-- the only one I took was blurry because I was reaching forward to eat the whole thing whilst taking the picture.

In order for the guests to place bets, I made little cutouts of the jockey jerseys with horse information. After a few Black Eyed Susans, people got pretty in to it! After Shackleford upset Animal Kingdom, the winnings were split three ways between my friends Aaron, and Matt, and ME!

Party = success!

Garlic and Chive Fritatta, and Hashbrowns

Hashbrowns
I'm sure I did something against someone's hashbrown religion here, but all I did was put a few spuds in my food processer to shred them, then I tossed them with S&P, garlic powder, and a few herbs I can't remember anymore, and then browned them in a fry pan with 1TBSP of canola oil. They were super crispy, and more like a giant potato pancake than typical hashbrowns, but I loved them. l.o.v.e.d.


Garlic and Chive Fritatta
Fritattas are so easy-- you just sautee your "mix-ins" (garlic and chive in this case) in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes, then pour some beaten eggs over it. After the eggs are cooked on the bottom you throw it under the broiler for a few more minutes to brown the top. It takes just a few minutes, you never have to worry about the egg sticking to the pan, and usually they are very healthy and filling.  I think I added some parmesan and milk to my eggs (I can't remember-- it was like two months ago), which makes the eggs extra fluffy.

Warm tomato, olive, and chickpea salad

A month ago (or more- who knows, I am so behind), I made a quick dinner for myself that was inspired by a warm olive salsa that I saw someone making on food network. They were putting it on fish, but I just added a bunch of other stuff and ate it like a salad. It was a decent meal, but nothing I feel strongly about making again-- mostly I just enjoy how pretty it was!

Warm tomato, olive, and chickpea salad

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 vidalia onion, diced
• 3 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can chick peas, drained and well-rinsed
• 1/4 cup pimento stuffed green olives, rough chopped
• 3 small vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped (it was about a cup I'd say)
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 rough chopped parsley, plus a handful for garnish

Marinated Pork Chops and Roasted Asparagus

***This post is probably a month overdue, which is too bad since it was one of Tim's favorite meals ever. I will have to repeat this marinade!

Pork Chops

• 2 boneless 4 oz pork chops
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 2TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire
• garlic powder (I would have used fresh garlic, but when I got it out, I realized it was so old that it was sprouting new garlic.... which led me to wonder, can I plant that bad boy in my garden? Probably not.)

Put chops and marinade ingredients into a zip lock. Mash it all up and throw it into the fridge for up to 8 hours (the longer the better). When you're ready, take the chops out and grill-- or if you are like me and your grill runs out of gas after 2 minutes, put under the broiler.

I did the asparagus (fresh from the farmers' market) the same way I usually do-- olive oil, salt, pepper.

This meal took a whopping ten minutes to prepare, and it was great. The salty briney marinade on the pork really tenderized it. I actually cooked the pork and the asparagus on the same pan under the broiler, so they juices all mixed together and flavored the veggies too-- yum! This would be a fantastic weeknight dinner since it was so easy-- and a side of minute rice or a quick salad would balance it out! (Since we just had bruschetta, we didn't need anything else).

Fish Tacos

***This post is ten days overdue and out of order. 

Tonight, I made fish tacos. I wanted them to be awesome. Tim thought they were, but I was left wanting more (literally- I have eaten like ten things since).

I seasoned the tilapia and shrimp  with one of my favorite Penzey's Spice (a little plug for Penzey's-- they have the best herbs and spices) blends called Arizona Dreaming (a little cayenne, a little chipotle-- you get the idea) and grilled it up really quickly, and then chopped up all the meat and piled it on corn tortillas. The toppings were: chipotle crema (1 canned chipotle in adobo blended up with a cup of sour cream), cilantro, salsa fresca, white onion, and red cabbage.

It just fell flat for me. It didn't taste great (though this version of the chipotle crema was much better), and I am still so hungry. Ugh. And I have 3/4 of a head of red cabbage in my fridge that I have no idea what to do with. Neat.

Warm Red Cabbage Salad

*** a week overdue, and out of order. 
What does one do with an entire head of red cabbage? One googles "red cabbage recipes" and finds a zillion different slaws and salads... and then one chooses the recipe that most resembles the contents of one's fridge.

Okay, I need to stop. Anyway, I had most of a giant head of cabbage left after last night's fish tacos and I am really against wasting food, so I decided to make something resembling this recipe from 101 cookbooks this evening for dinner.

Warm Red Cabbage Salad

• Most of a head of red cabbage; quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 white onion, finely diced (also leftover from fish taco night)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup great northern beans from a can; drained and rinsed (this was a last minute addition because I used the rest of the can earlier this week for a quick tuna salad lunch)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• S&P
• fresh rosemary and parsley
• 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
• 1 oz chevre goat cheese, crumbled

Saute onion in oil and season with S&P. After a few minutes, throw in the garlic, raisins, almonds, beans, and fresh herbs (keeping some for garnish) and continue to saute. Add more S&P as necessary. As onions are becoming tender, put cabbage on top. Slowly and carefully toss cabbage with toppings. Cook about five minutes until cabbage seems to lose some of its edge, but so long it turns flimsy. Drizzle with balsamic and toss in serving dish. Garnish with herbs and goat cheese.

This salad was better than expected in flavor; however, it was quite difficult to eat. The cabbage was difficult to get with my fork. If I ever find myself with a large abundance of this veggie again, I would chop it into very small pieces, or even shred it so I could avoid this annoying situation. I might go for the balsamic/onion/rosemary/raisin/chevre flavor combo again though, because yum!

Sweet Potato and Chard Gratin

Last week, my friends Lisa and Mandy came over for a discussion of the latest Sookie Stackhouse book (see my other blog for details). When the three of us hang out, we always have a-ma-zing meals (and are each responsible for the entree, salad, or dessert). This time, I was responsible for the entree. I was ready to go with fish tacos when I found out that neither Lisa nor Many like them! So, I saved the tacos for another day and scrambled for a new idea.

As usual, I went to my trusty smitten kitchen for advice. Even though a gratin seems kind of wintery, this Sweet Potato and Chard Gratin sounded great! My version is fairly similar bar a few changes:
1. My chard looked way different and the stems were thick and tough so they went straight to the compost instead of in the dish.
2. I used my food processor to chop the taters (and onions... and shred the cheese) so they were a little on the thin side-- I just used two layers instead of one.
3. I used 1% milk instead of whole milk and I think the bechemel tasted just fine! (I also added ground thyme to it)

I made everything the night before, so it was all in a casserole dish in my fridge just waiting to be popped in the oven (400 degrees for an hour).

It was absolutely delicious! Sweet, savory, creamy, and filling. And very light! Each of six servings (fairly large since it was our main-dish. If you were serving this as a side you could probably serve 10-12) only had 290 calories so it is definitely a guilt free dish.

Shrimp Quesadillas and Warm Acini di Pepe and Corn Salad

***this post is 2-3 weeks late, and is very much out of order. oops!

Last night's dinner was good. Really good, in fact. So good that I ate leftovers for breakfast! I made shrimp quesadillas (inspired by Pionner Woman's Quesadillas de Camarones) and this warm corn and pasta salad my mom used to make.

Shrimp Quesadillas --  (serves two with leftovers)
The quesadillas were a little higher calories than I'd normally like to eat for dinner, but I think the future I could just use one tortilla and a little less cheese. Otherwise, they are very healthful. Lot's of veggies, a little protein-- what's not to love?

• 8 shrimp, deveined and peeled
• half a yellow onion, diced
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• 1 small red pepper (I used half a large, but same idea), diced
• four whole grain tortillas, sprayed lightly with cooking spray
• olive oil
• red taco sauce
• colby jack cheese 

Pioneer Woman does a fantastic tutorial for how to assemble these, but basically you sautee the veggies til they are soft, then cook the shrimp in the red sauce and chop it all up. Then you assemble quesadillas-- tortilla, cheese, veggies, shrimp, cheese, tortilla. Cook long enough to heat through and melt cheese. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Acini di Pepe and Corn Salad
Have you ever seen acini di pepe in the past aisle? They are like tiny dots of pasta-- as if someone took spaghetti noodles to a mandolin. They almost act like couscous in this dish, which I'm sure could be used instead. Also, at some grocery stores it's easier to find pasta stars. As long as you use something grainy that is smaller than a corn kernal, you are set!

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• sea salt
• 4 oz acini di pepe (or whatever you use)
• 1 cup or so frozen corn kernels

Boil acini with package instructions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan and then cook garlic until translucent. Throw in the scallions and plenty of sea salt. When the pasta is done and drained, add it and the frozen corn to the pan and toss around. The corn cooks almost immediately, and you don't want to over cook it because you want to keep it nice and crisp. Garnish with more scallions on top, and enjoy!

"Vegetarian" Tortilla Soup

I love soup. It can take on many flavors, textures, and temperatures but it is always soothing and comforting. Soup makes you feel like home, no matter where you are or how lousy you feel. This is why I love not only making and eating soup, but taking soup to my friends who are feeling ill or down. No other food has magical healing and cheering powers like soup! And I especially love soup because it is so easy to make.

Thursday night was a perfect soup night-- it was a chilly and rainy day, at the (almost) end of a frantic shortened week, and most importantly I was hungry and needed something fast! As I said, soup is incredibly easy to make, especially when you cheat and use lots of canned ingredients as I did (see below); but with the inclusion of just a few fresh ingredients you can make each pot of soup special and unique. Plus, you can use up leftover produce with soup before it goes bad!

"Vegetarian" Tortilla Soup serves two (or one with lunch the next day!)
 First off, a note-- I call this "vegetarian" because I did not actually use chicken in the soup, but I used chicken stock (because I had it on hand). This could easily be made with vegetable stock to make it truly vegetarian, or you could make it truly chicken tortilla soup by adding diced or shredded chicken.

• 1/2 a red (because that's what I had) onion, diced
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Rotell tomato & chile (you could also use a can of tomatoes and a can of green chiles... or fresh tomatoes and fresh chiles... or some combo of any of these things)
• Enough chicken (veggie?) stock to make the soup as broth-y or chunk-y as you like (I am a chunk person)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, rough chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 avocado chopped (the other half of my avocado was all black and rotten)

Garnish:

• cilantro
• poblano yogurt I made yesterday
• tortilla strips (I don't like limp tortillas, so I pan fried them in a teaspoon of oil for about 90 seconds)
• 1 TBSP shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

The base of most soups is some combination of onion or celery. In this case, I had half a red onion and no celery so I just went for it. I sauteed the onion for about 5 minutes and then I dumped in the corn, beans, and tomatoes, and poured broth over it all. Typically I add a lot of seasonings to my soups, but the rotell tomatoes have decent flavor and spice so I honestly didn't add anything. I brought the soup to a boil, then I removed it from the heat and stirred in the cilantro and avocado (I wanted the flavor but didn't want to cook it too much). To serve it, I garnished it with the leftover cilantro, a dollip of my poblano yogurt from yesterday (which promptly sunk to the bottom, whoops!), tortilla strips, and a bit of cheddar cheese.

Despite taking only 10  minutes to prepare and requiring hardly more than a can opener, this soup was flavorful, filling, and definitely made me feel warm and cozy inside just as soup should!