Showing posts with label pesto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pesto. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Broccoli
January may be long and over, but hopefully those New Year's resolutions have not completely gone out the window just yet. I, for one, have not had the greatest of willpower over the last month, but I'm trying hard to get back on track. It's just really unfortunate that chocolate tastes so much better than say, brussel sprouts.
Aside from obvious taste preferences, though, my biggest problem these days is time. I'm busy! Sometimes I just don't have time to cook a healthy meal. Or if I do have time, I completely lack the energy... we've all been there. Or, I get sick and spend three days straight laid up on my couch wanting to die, which is how I spent most of last week. So, unfortunately, we spend more nights than we really should ordering in pizza or Chinese food from our favorite restaurant down the street. Sometimes it's just too easy to let someone else do the work for me, even if the options aren't always that healthful.
But this pasta kind of invalidates all of those excuses. It comes together in a matter of minutes, with very little effort. I'd wager that you could make this in less time than it would take that Chinese take-out to get to your house. And it's healthy without tasting like diet food. It's packed with flavor, but not with calories! If you've never had sun-dried tomatoes, you're really missing out... they add a wonderful savory-sweetness to just about any dish, and they pair amazingly well with a little pesto and broccoli. Add some creamy cannelini beans for protein and you've got yourself a delicious, guiltless, vegetarian meal in under 20 minutes. Beat that, delivery boy!
So who's ready to jump back on that healthy-eating bandwagon, huh?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Pesto Potato Salad
Isn't it amazing how pesto seems to make everything taste fantastic?
Today, on the first day of March, Mother Nature blessed us with a gorgeous spring day. Sunny, 55 degrees, with just a slight breeze... way too nice to spend the afternoon cooped up in the apartment doing homework (like I should have been). So, after being trapped indoors all winter, I laced up my tennies and went for a long-overdue walk on the greenbelt. I've never been much of a runner but I do love going for walks. I can hardly handle a five-minute jog, but a brisk, hour-long walk? That I can do. Aside from being decent exercise, a long walk on a nice day is one of my favorite ways to de-stress... I put in my headphones and let my worries melt away in the good beat of a Sheryl Crow song and the warmth of the sun on my face. Just what I needed with only nine weeks left in the semester and midterms on the horizon.
This dish is the perfect complement to a warmer, hopeful day like today. Soft, comforting potatoes, crunchy peppers, and bright, sweet pesto - three simple ingredients, combined to create one super-flavorful dish. I've never met a pesto dish I didn't like, but this one definitely is a contender for the favorites list. The recipe calls for this to be served cold, like a traditional potato salad, but it's just as good warmed slightly, as Dane chose to eat it... perfect for a warm day in March or a scorcher in July. :)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Italian Club Sandwiches
I wasn't planning to post about these.
No, my next post was going to be about the butternut squash soup I'm going to try my hand at tonight.
These were simply supposed to be an easy weeknight dinner, with a little something different for a change of pace.
But after one bite out of these savory... flavorful... heavenly sandwiches...
...I knew I had to share.
This is quite possibly the most delicious sandwich I have ever eaten. Chewy focaccia, light, fluffy egg crepes, salty, crispy bacon, savory, thin-sliced turkey,sharp provolone cheese... and all with that distinctive zing of pesto. The only problem I have with this sandwich is that I can't stop eating it.
I got the recipe from Giada De Laurentis on the Food Network website while I was looking for appetizers. She recommends cutting them up and serving bite-sized portions as finger foods... and they would be perfect for any kind of get together. But trust me, once you take one bite of these delicious sandwiches... you won't want to share.
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