Lemon Linguine w/ Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Pine Nuts Plus Artichoke Appetizer

Wow. Been a while, huh?
This is a recipe that was inspired by a plethora of other linguine dishes with lemon. I didn't measure anything, but I will try my best to give you an idea at least. Yum.
The dish started off because my daughter and I were grocery shopping and she really wanted to get artichokes for me to steam....and we had a ton of lemons. So it evolved from there.
Here we go!

Steamed Artichokes

 (this can be made so many ways, this is just the way I have learned to love it-other than grilled)

2 Artichokes cut (there are a ton of places on the web so see how to do this)

Enough chicken broth/water to cover artichokes (I had one box of broth and used water for the rest)

Herbs (I use rosemary stems and basil stems from garden)

Two peeled cloves of garlic

1 sliced lemon

Bring broth/water to a boil with the lemon slices, garlic and herbs

Place artichokes in liquid and simmer for about 10 minutes

Place artichokes (along with lemon and herbs) in a steaming basket over simmering liquid and let them finish cooking by steaming.  When they are soft enough for the leaves to practically fall off is when I know they are ready. Save liquid in pan for the pasta.

At this point I called the family inside and we devoured the meat on the leaves in about 5 minutes. We usually dip them in a mayo mixture, but this time we dipped in melted butter. Next time I think I will get 3 artichokes...maybe more. It is embarrassing the way my family eats these things.

 Lemon Linguine w/ Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Pine Nuts

I winged this meal....so I am not going to use exact measurements!

Box of wheat linguine

Handful of pine nuts (toasted)

Handful of baby spinach roughly chopped

2 Garlic clove minced

A half of a jar of sun-dried tomatoes chopped(about 2-3 T oil reserved)

Juice of a large lemon plus a teaspoon of lemon zest

Parmesan Cheese (I used asiago because I have it and love it)

2T Sour Cream

Olive Oil

Basil or Rosemary for garnish

Cook the pasta according to directions in the broth mixture left from the artichokes, then drain reserving about 1/3 of a cup to keep pasta from drying out

While pasta cooks, warm a pan and drizzle with olive oil. Saute garlic for about 2 minutes then add spinach. Once spinach is wilted, toss in the sun-dried tomatoes.

Combine drained pasta with spinach mixture, lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil, reserved sun dried tomato oil (awesome flavor), and reserved broth mixture if it seems too dry (white wine would be good here too). At the end add in sour cream, pine nuts, and asiago or Parmesan.

Garnish with lemon zest and fresh herbs. Add s&p (and red pepper flakes if you like...I do!).

That was wordy but the best I can do with describing my thrown together meal. :)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Kandice

P.S. Bacon would SOOOO rock this meal, but since yesterday I promised myself I wouldn't have any, I didn't. Haha.

Greek-Style Penne w/Chickpeas

I found this recipe in Eating Light Magazine. I thought it would be good for a healthy busy night meal. I cut the recipe in half because it would have been way too much food for our family of 4, plus I switched it up a little. It was a great, light meal with plenty of flavor. Chicken would be a nice addition to it, but I kept it a veggie meal.

Here is my version:

8oz penne pasta

1/2 can chickpeas drained

1/2 jar roasted peppers, drained and sliced

1/2 jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts, undrained

1 green onion chopped

a handful of sliced and pitted kalamata olives

sprinkling of feta cheese (I used low fat)

half a lemon

freshly ground pepper

1. Boil Penne as package directs, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water before draining

2. Meanwhile, toss chickpeas, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, green onions, and olives until hot

3. Toss with drained pasta, squeeze juice from lemon over the top, add feta cheese, pepper and cooking water as needed.

(if it needs more kick, Italian seasoning adds a touch)

A Santa Fe Beef Salad Un-Recipe

Un-Recipe because it was kind of thrown together after I couldn't find the ingredients for the original recipe I was going to try. I wanted something pretty light and good clean flavor. I have still been eating in vacation mode, ya know?

Here is the gist of the salad:

Flank Steak: marinated in a mix of oil, minced garlic, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, cumin, and maybe more. Haha. The husband mixed it together, so I am not certain what all is in it. We like to keep it simple so you can actually taste the meat. After it was marinated for a couple of hours, it was slapped on the grilled to mouth watering goodness. Then we squeezed a tad of lime on it while it was still hot. After letting the meat sit, we thinly sliced it.

Green leaf lettuce: You know...wash it....chop it....arrange on a platter or in a bowl

Diced tomatoes: I wanted plum, Target didn't have plum....so I used on the vine

Thinly sliced red onion because it is pretty

Avocado: ours was mangled due to a little girl who wouldn't stop eating the avocado slices. I couldn't cut it fast enough.

Homemade Tortilla Chips...cause they are good. Just don't make too many...because you can't stop eating them. You should only make a handful. And when I say you, I mean me.

Black beans: rinsed and drained

Arrange it all in a pretty fashion and add a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Use dressing of choice, but I kept it light and just used lime juice. You can also top with your fave salsa and cheese.

That was fancy, huh? :)

Making Use Of Leftovers! Crostata with Mushrooms and Pancetta

Every few weeks we do homemade pizza. We don't aways make our own dough (didn't this week), but we sometimes do. The kids made their own crazy pizzas, and my husband and I sauteed some things we had sitting in the fridge. Shallots, mushrooms, garlic. Then added on random toppings that sounded great at the time. Then we sliced up a ball of mozzarella and he grilled the pizzas. (We have a Big Green Egg). I tell you what, grilled pizzas are so much better than baked pizzas. Doing so makes DiGiorno taste like the bomb on those lazy nights! Ok....so the pizza was great. But we had left over veggies. Hmmmm...what to do? (ahem, scroll down)

After watching Food Network, I was inspired by the oh so lovely (okay....okay...smokin HOT) Giada! So I picked up some pancetta (and a couple of other things needed for the crust) and went to town on Crostata w/Mushrooms and Pancetta. Oh my. The crust was TO DIE FOR. It was awesome. Like really really good. Since my kids don't dig the mushrooms, I think next time roasted root veggies would be very nice. So if you make this, don't hold strong to the mushroom idea. Add in any roasted or sauteed veggies. But don't leave out the pancetta. It made the dish! Enjoy!

P.S. I plan on trying the other recipes from that episode. They looked yum.

French Toast Baked in Honey-Pecan Sauce

Valentine's Breakfast Rocked. I had to share. Check out the recipe!
Please take the time to prepare the night before. It will be worth the time. Yum!

Snow Ice Cream

I live in North Texas y'all. We don't get much snow. It has snowed nonstop since we woke up this morning. So much in fact, I decided to attempt making snow ice cream. I have never (gasp) tried it.

After a morning of playing outside and then inside to warm up by the fire with hot cocoa, I checked our bowl that I had set out back. It was full! Yippee!

This is the recipe I used. Kids pretty much licked their bowls clean. I ate mine out of this glass that my mom gave me about 20 years ago. Just because I am missing her today.

I love snow days, they make me happy shmappy.

Wow...Where Have I Been?

Busy, that is what. Still making some great meals and trying new recipes in between my crazy schedule of photo sessions, editing, being a mom, etc. Last year I completed the Breast Cancer 3Day....so between training and raising money in addition to life, I put this blog on hold.

But lately I have had a few people (Facebook friends no less) ask me to revive my blog. I will try. Not going to promise anything. But I will attempt it.

To make me stay a tad more motivated, I will post my planned meals first. We will see how many get photographed. I will try. Pinky swear!

So, without further wait....my planned menu for the week...starting with last Monday. No fancy posts or pictures yet. Baby steps folks.

Monday: My darling husband made spaghetti and meat sauce while I was at my daughter's gymnastics class. It was yum with a loaf of bread. Bread is no good to my belly mind you. I adore it. Too much.

Tuesday: I finally made a wonderful Buffalo Chicken Chili recipe that a friend recommended. It rocked. Like a lot.

Wednesday: Panini of Smoked Ham, Provolone Cheese, Garlic Sauteed Mushrooms and Sundried Tomato Pesto with chips

Thursday: Make your own pizza night, but we will grill it on our Green Egg.

Friday: Hot Dogs....my son is having a friend over to spend the night. Keeping it simple!

Saturday: Taco night with the best margaritas in the world and a black bean salad.

Sunday: No Idea. Hubby and I will discuss since it is Valentines Day and we tend to fight over who cooks sometimes. We may compromise and make something together. Maybe get the kids involved. We will see. I am thinking a pounded chicken breast in a white whine/pepper sauce with fresh veggies and pasta. We will see.

Monday: Blue Cheese Turkey Burgers and a side of sweet potato fries and a salad of sorts.

That is all I have so far! Let's see how I hold up.

XOXO

THE Best Homemade Soft Pretzels EVAH!

After searching for a recipe, I decided on one courtesy of 2Bleu (Bird&Buddha) (thank you thank you thank you!) at www.recipezaar.com.

I have to say that these are wayyyyyy better than any at the mall. Holy cow. Especially after brushing them with melted butter fresh out of the oven. I didn't even need any dipping sauce. Perfect as is.

Recipe Here

Try This Margarita TONIGHT!

THIS

I like a bit more lime juice than what is in the recipe...but all in all it ROCKS!!

Cheers!

Italian Chicken Salad w/Garlic Croutons

I love being able to use leftovers to make a tasty dinner.

I had on hand (you use whatever it is that you have around):

• Left over grilled chicken (chopped)


• tomato (Roma)


• capers


• a little bit of Romain lettuce


• a little bit of baby spinach


• roasted bell pepper


• fresh bell pepper


• asiago cheese


• sliced yellow onion


• black olives


• stale whole grain baguette

Sounds like the makings of an Italian salad, huh?

So I first mixed together a little dressing:

About 1/2 C red wine vinegar, juice of one whole lemon, 1 T honey, 1/2 t minced garlic, s&p to taste, and about 1/2 C of olive oil (may have been more, I eyed it all).

I then sliced the stale bread into a large crouton size...dipped the bread into a plate drizzled in olive oil and minced garlic and then toasted the bread under the broiler for about 3 minutes (turning once).

I threw all of the chicken, veggies and dressing together and topped the salad with some grated AND shredded asiago cheese and the croutons.

Did that make any sense at all? Either way...it was yum.