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?

Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, friends, and chances are that your dip repertoire could use a little updating.

Oh come on, admit it... your family has eaten more of that sour cream + ranch packet dip that you serve at every single family function than anyone really cares to think about. Time for a change, friends.

This dip is too easy - and too tasty - not to share with you. Chances are that you already have everything you need to make this dip in your kitchen right now. (...especially if you're like me and have a mild obsession with cannelini beans.) The hardest part is going to be roasting the garlic, which is really a put-it-in-the-oven-and-forget-about-it-for-an-hour kind of thing anyway. Seriously... beans, roasted garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and a little rosemary. That's it. Almost as easy as that ranch dip. And waaay better for your heart.

And this dip is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. It's creamy, it's slightly garlicy with that distinctive fruity olive oil flavor, and goes great with Stacy's Parmesan, garlic, and herb pita chips. Or you could make your own pita chips, if you're feeling like an overachiever, but I don't want you to stress yourself. Plus it's packed with protein, good, heart-healthy fats, and antioxidant-rich garlic, so you can't go wrong. Make this as part of your Thanksgiving appetizer spread or make it as an after school/work snack... just make it. Trust me.

Black Bean Huevos Rancheros

You may remember from my brief photo recap of our honeymoon that my favorite meal that week was black bean huevos rancheros from this tiny little cafe/coffee shop in McCall. It was a dish that captivated me from first bite with its wonderfully complex mix of flavors... a meal so good that our entire breakfast conversation consisted of me repeatedly groaning at how delicious my food was while Dane grumbled over his overly simple bacon and potatoes. Hey man, sometimes it pays to be adventurous!

Anyway, after we got home from our short vacation, I kept thinking about that meal. It was always there, in the back of my mind, so tempting that I found myself coming up with excuses to go back to McCall just so I could eat there for breakfast again. And then I stumbled upon that amazing black beans recipe I shared just a few days ago, in a lovely little Cuban cookbook Jan & Jerry gave us as a wedding gift. Not only was I excited to try the black beans and rice by itself, but, I'll be honest, I really couldn't wait to see if I could recreate what I now consider to be one of my favorite breakfasts of all time.

And well, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think I did pretty gooood. Not that it was necessarily that hard, but hey, how often do we get it right on the first time? Crispy corn tortilla, creamy, savory black beans, melty tart cheese, spicy green salsa, all topped with a poached egg so light and creamy it melts like butter in your mouth... it was every bit as delicious as I remember it. So good, I just might make another big pot of black beans for next week. :)

Cuban Black Beans & Rice

It seems these days that beans get kind of a bad rap. Most people don't like eating beans in their burritos, let alone by themselves. And maybe it's because we're all eating those crappy canned beans these days. They're really nothing compared to what I'm about to share with you. But I dare you to try it... announce that you're serving beans for dinner and you're likely to hear groaning. At least that's what happened to me. But that quickly stopped after he tried a bite of it.

...because holy smokes. Not even I never imagined such a simple dish could be so damn delicious.

Though it isn't exactly a quick recipe - what with the 8+ hours of soaking and the hour and a half of simmering - it is so easy. And it's so worth the wait. It's really quite amazing that so few ingredients could deliver such amazing flavor, but they do! Combined with fluffy garlic rice, these beans make a full meal that satisfies on so many levels. And if you're looking for a way to feed a crowd on a budget, look no further. The recipe as listed makes a lot of food... you could easily halve it and still have plenty to go around! But whatever you do, make these beans. You will totally be glad you did.

Roast Pork & Veggie Burritos

Since I've begun working night shift indefinitely, I've been looking for and cooking a lot of meals that require the same base ingredient, which can be made in large quantities and then created into two or more different recipes. For me this serves two purposes. One, it gives me something to do (read: keep me awake) the night before my first night shift in the stretch, so I can stay up late and sleep most of the day. Two, it makes meal planning during my stretch of night shifts a breeze, because my main ingredient is already done... all I have to do is quickly throw the other ingredients together and voila! Dinner is ready.

Lucky for me, the September edition of Everyday with Rachel Ray was all about these kinds of meals, and I felt fortunate to come across this very tasty - and quite easy - burrito recipe. It starts with a great base roast pork, which can be eaten on its own with the usual roast sides, like mashed potatoes and gravy, but it can also easily be tossed with a little bottled BBQ sauce and piled on a bun with tasty results. The roast can also be easily frozen in smaller quantities once cooked, which makes future meal planning easy too. The rice pilaf used in these burritos is also quick and simple to throw together, and it too can be frozen for future use. Between the pork and pilaf alone, the recipe possibilities seem quite endless!

Even if you only make the roast and the rice for these burritos you won't regret it... freeze the leftovers because you'll definitely want to make these again and again!

Chicken Enchiladas

I have been on the hunt for a good enchilada recipe for a very long time. Enchiladas have always been a favorite item to order at Mexican restaurants and I've always wanted to make them at home, but I've never found a sauce recipe I could stand. Fillings are easy. You can really fill enchiladas with whatever you want... chicken, shredded beef, cheese, beans... anything you want to your liking. But the sauce - yes, the perfect sauce always eluded me. Until now.

None of the sauces I tried before were ever quite right. They were always too spicy, too smokey, too... weird. But this one totally fit the bill. The flavor is out of this world. Don't worry when you see that the sauce calls for two whole onions, it's not a typo. It's totally on purpose, because that's where all the awesome flavor comes from. The onion adds a hearty, body-ful flavor to the sauce, that none of the other sauces have ever achieved. And, as if blending the sauce didn't make give it a creamy-enough texture all by itself, the last minute addition of just a little sour cream makes it rich without making it heavy. I like this sauce so much I think I might make extra next time and freeze some to have on hand.

But the one thing I was not prepared for was how BIG these enchiladas are. I'm used to wimpy enchiladas made with little corn tortillas, small enough that I usually need to eat two to get full. So when I saw that this recipe only made six enchiladas I was a bit worried. But don't fret guys... as you can see from the photos, these are monster enchiladas. I'm almost tempted to call them smothered burritos instead, because that's essentially what they are. But an enchilada by any other name tastes just as delicious. So call them what you will. But promise me you'll make them? You'll be very glad you did.

Asian Three-Bean Salad

Yesterday's irresistible teriyaki chicken thighs deserved a worthy side. Rice seemed like a no-brainer, but we eat so much rice and chicken that I could hardly stomach the thought of creating yet another chicken and rice dinner. Plus the flavorful chicken begged for something light and healthy and not too strongly flavored itself. A salad seemed like a logical choice but I knew Dane wouldn't go for plain greens, especially when the only dressing he really likes is thousand island (talk about a terrible combo with teriyaki... yuck). Then I came across this quick and easy three-bean "salad" recipe, and I knew we had a winner!

Now, the dressing I used for this salad is not what the original recipe called for... at all. The original recipe had a lot of canola oil, a little rice vinegar, and some apricot preserves - which sounds good and all, but I'm glad I tasted it before I poured it all over the beans, because it was way, way bland. All I could taste was the canola oil, and who wants that? I knew Dane certainly wouldn't eat it, and I was going to be lucky to get him to eat a side consisting of veggies and beans in the first place (as I'm sure you're figuring out, Dane is kind of a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy). So, since we both love the teriyaki sauce so much I thought, "why not use it for the dressing?" I made the exact same sauce I'd used to marinate the chicken (not the actual sauce I marinated the chicken in, don't worry) and added a little toasted sesame oil for an extra-special touch, and voila! A star was born.

My first thought upon digging into this plate of healthy goodness was that it would be perfect for a summer barbeque. It's best served at room temperature, in my opinion, but you could just as easily eat it chilled, and there's little worry about spoilage at warm temps since it doesn't contain any mayonnaise or eggs. Plus it has all of the lovely crunch of a good green salad without boring you to death or requiring gratuitous amounts of ranch dressing! Dane didn't care much for the black beans (go figure), so I think I'll keep playing around with it and maybe sub in some sugar snap peas next time in their place. Garbanzo beans could be a nice substitution too, since they tend to retain some crunch unlike the mushy black beans. The possibilities are endless! Try it yourself, and I guarantee you'll be hooked.

Confetti Chili

It's funny how sometimes everything in the world seems to align to the same idea at the same time. Like, for instance, me coming across these adorable BSU soup mugs. Chili had been on the menu for last weekend for over two weeks and then suddenly, two days before I was going to make it, I ran across this irresistible find on my first trip to the Bronco Shop in a very long time. It was as if the Bronco Nation gods knew that I had chili (and cute dishes) on the brain. Then, Monday (and Tuesday), after last week's lovely string of 50-degree days, it snowed out of nowhere. Funny... perfect weather for a reheated bowl of chili. Oh, and it just so happens that I'll be super busy later this week and won't have time to cook... wouldn't it be nice if I could pull something out of the freezer for a quick meal without any effort? What was that? Did someone just say that chili freezes extremely well?

Chili is one of those weird things that, for some reason, Dane absolutely refuses to eat. Like won't even try it. Not even two bites. So it's something that's been on my list of recipes-to-try-when-the-boy-is-out-of-town for pretty much forever. I've bookmarked several prospective recipes over the last couple of years, but when I saw this recipe in (you guessed it) my Ellie Krieger cookbook I knew I had to pencil it in on the schedule.

Ellie calls this recipe "confetti" chili because it's speckled with all kinds of glorious colors from all the yummy, brightly-colored,  nutrient-packed veggies she managed to slam into it. But don't worry... it doesn't even remotely resemble beef stew like I was afraid it would. This recipe is a chili-lover's chili for sure. And even if you hate chipotle like I do follow the recipe at least once, because it's actually quite good! The amount she calls for is just enough to add a little flavor without overpowering the whole dish (like many recipes containing chipotle do). 

I can't wait to eat this again on Thursday and Friday! ...although I could totally do without the snow this time. :)

Pasta with Kale, White Beans, and Turkey Sausage

I don't believe in "dieting."

Don't get me wrong... I've been on my fair share of diets before, and all of them seemed to be very effective while I was on them.

But that's the thing - who can stick to a crazy restrictive diet? Not this food-lover, for sure. Inevitably we all fall off the bandwagon and go back to our old eating habits and wind up weighing the same if not more than we did before we started the stupid diet.

I do, on the other hand, believe in eating well.

Yes, I'd like to be skinny for my wedding, but I'm not going to crash-diet to do it. I'm ready to find a way of eating that provides a healthy balance of nourishment and pleasure. I, like most of us, already know what kinds of foods I should be eating - more veggies, fruits, and whole grains, and less of the fatty and sugary stuff. Lucky for me, I actually really like fruits, veggies, and whole grains, and I'd love to find ways to incorporate more of these into my meals. Most research indicates that preparing meals at home is the healthiest way to eat too, and I'm already doing that. So... I already know how to eat healthier. I already know how to cook. All I need is someone to show me how to cook healthier.

Why hello, Ellie. :)

I've been a fan of Ellie Krieger for a while. I love her food network show, and I love the fact that she's a registered dietitian. But what I love most about her is her holistic approach to eating. It's not about counting calories or banning certain foods with Ellie - it's about eating real food that is as enjoyable as it is nutritious. Basically - it's about eating the way we were intended to eat.

So, when Dane bought me her cookbook (The Food You Crave) for Valentine's Day, I was very, very excited. So much so that I sat down to bookmark the recipes I wanted to try...

...and wound up bookmarking almost the entire book. :)

This pasta recipe is one of the first I've tried out of this cookbook, and it lived up to every expectation I had. I had to make a few changes based on what I could find at my grocery store, but it still turned out every bit as delicious as I had hoped! I couldn't find Italian chicken sausage or escarole like the recipe called for... so I substituted low-fat turkey breakfast sausage with just a touch of Italian seasoning, and kale instead. I was a little wary at first that 6 ounces of sausage might not be enough meat for four servings - especially the way my boy likes to eat - , but even such a small amount added so much flavor that I certainly didn't miss it. The combination of onion, garlic, sage, sausage, and chicken broth created this light little sauce that made this dish truly to die for. If this is how the whole book is, I can't wait to try more!

Dinner Party: Winter Minestrone

Hot soup is always a comfort. Whether you're sick with the flu or simply trying to beat the winter chill, even a can of hot condensed soup will do the trick. But this soup... this is no meager can of chicken and stars. This soup is hearty.

With its large chunks of carrot, celery, and potato and the creamy cannellini beans, this soup is almost more like a stew, and it'll keep hunger at bay for hours. The pancetta adds a deep, savory flavor that takes this dish from a decent vegetable soup to a flavorful work of art. Serve with a hunk or two of crusty bread and you've got a hearty, comforting meal, that I'd wager would even melt the icy heart of the abominable snow man.