Cacio e Pepe (Cheese and Pepper Pasta)

The fancy name for this pasta is Cacio e Pepe.  Literally, cheese and pepper.  A certain Bengali gentleman just calls it "Macaroni and Cheese that grew up and went to college."  This dish is not necessarily diet-friendly, but it's a nice weeknight dinner, and certainly an improvement on Kraft.  The dish is also a one-pan wonder, so that makes the dishwashers (both people and machines) happier.

The dish is rich and the black pepper adds some deep and complicated spice.  If you grind it fresh for the dish, it is really worth the effort, though I won't say it is completely necessary.  Last time we had this, I did about half pre-ground and half fresh ground, and it was totally delicious.  The dish also has some lovely, salty Italian cheese (and some butter) as a counterpart to the pepper.  It's a fantastic, simple combination that is sure to win you over.

Although not present in this shot, a nice green salad with some fresh tomatoes was an excellent way to round out the meal.

Mexic-esque Caramelized Corn and Black Beans

In the words of my new favorite video-blogger over at My Drunk Kitchen (It's decidedly PG-13, language wise, and obviously includes drinking. Warning over), I'm pretty much in a constant state of desiring Mexican food.  I'm obligated to tell you that the dish I'm presenting to you isn't really like anything I've eaten while in Mexico.  It's Mexic-esque, or Mexic-ish.  Mexinspired.  It's full of black beans and onions and chiles and onions.  Now, it's also sweet corn season here in the midwest, so we added some Indiana sweet corn to the mix, and the result was delish.

For this dish, we caramelize both the onions and the sweet corn to get some deep sweetness to counteract the starchy beans and the spicy chiles.  This can be served with a sprinkle of cheese over the top or some sour cream or omit both and just slather with some hot sauce (Cholula is my favorite).  Either way, serve it with some tortillas or chips and enjoy!

And now, on with the recipe!

Power Granola Bars

So, you can make granola bars at home. And they are going to be better than store bought ones. And you can even put coffee in them so that they have a bit more of a kick than the ones for the kiddies. No, really.

These lovely power bars are full of whole grains and unrefined sugars and, although they contain some ingredients that are only available at the Hippie grocery store here, they are totally worth the effort. And, they have coffee in them. I mean, comeonpeople. It's like the perfect mid-afternoon snack. I have a habit of making these for car trips or picnics because they are really filling and give you a bit of hitch in your giddyup. They are also a great lunch when you have to grab and go.

These beauties are adapted from Heidi's recipe over at 101 Cookbooks. I really can't recommend that website enough for lovely pictures of food and totally delish vegetarian food.

So, on to the recipe:

Spinach Pizza and/or Flatbread

Pizza versus Flatbread.  What the heck is the difference?  I have no idea.  I just know that I love the entire category. You could even call me an enthusiast.  I'm also kind of a pizza snob.  As a native Chicago Suburbian, I grew up with some fantastic pizza.

Once a week in our house, a certain Bengali gentleman and I have pizza night.  We try all sorts of different permutations and combinations, but this spinach pizza is particularly tasty.  It's got two delicious kinds of cheeses for twice the delicious and some nice spinach to keep the green veggies in our diet, and decrease the guilty-pleasureness of pizza.  I tend to like to make it spicy (no surprise there!), but you don't have to.  You can also add some cherry tomatoes if you have them on hand.  That's the great thing about homemade pizza, it can be whatever you want!

Okay, so here we go with the recipe:

Tortellini Soup

So, I know that August isn't exactly full of what I would call Soup Weather (cold, possibly rainy, and generally dreary weather), but I'm telling you, this soup is a winner even in the summer.  Besides, let's be honest with ourselves, there's no such thing as Not-Tortellini-Weather.

So, this soup is another awesome go-to weeknight dinner, full of lovely vegetables, as well as some cheese, which is good for the soul (unless you are a vegan, in which case, butternut squash or artichoke stuffed tortellinis are good for the soul too).  The other nice thing about this lovely dinner is that you can have the stuff on hand all year round, because you can use fresh or frozen spinach and fresh or canned tomatoes and artichokes.  Hooray for versatility!

This recipe is taken and adapted from a lovely little blog called the Well-Fed Newlyweds.

So, here goes nothin' (recipe-wise):

TVP Tacos

Obviously, I've been a very bad blogger.  But, the good news is, I'm really going to try and get back on the blog-wagon.  The other good news is that I really love some of the recipes I've stored up to share with you all and the one pictured above has recently become a real favorite chez moi.  It's taco filling (or Nachos or enchilada filling) made from a vegetarian meat-substitute called TVP.

About a year ago, I was gifted with a bag of Bob's Red Mill Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP).  It was from a lovely fellow Bloomingtonian who had purchased it on a whim and never knew what to do with it.  I have to admit that it sat in my cupboard for about 9 months without being touched.  Textured Vegetable Protein?  Is there any name that sounds less appetizing?  Finally, I was cleaning out my food storage and (with the Eye of the Tiger playing in the background), I resolved to make use of this alien ingredient.

And what did we make?  TVP tacos!  These tacos are spicy and delicious and way more calorie-conscious than your average meatatarian taco.  These come together in a snap once the chopping is all finished and make a great weeknight meal.  Also, they reheat well as leftovers.

The recipe above is ground-meat free but you could do a TVP/meat combo to make it a bit richer, or you can make it vegan by omitting the cheese.  Fantastic!  Let's get down to it.

Spinach Pinwheels

I had a serious debate with myself about what to call these. There aren't a lot of circle words that we use to describe food that are all that appetizing. Wheels? Nah, too transport oriented. Twirls? That's not food, that's movement. Rounds? Discs? Rings? None of these sound terribly appetizing. I really wanted something that sounded as tasty and light and crunchy as these lovely things. Ultimately, (as you can see above), I landed on pinwheels, but I'm not totally satisfied with that. Do you, my lovely readers, have any suggestions?


Anyway...this dish is, in the most basic description, spanakopita in a hurry. I posted a recipe a while back on here for spanakopita, the traditional way. It's a spinach pie with feta cheese and it's deliciously flaky and lovely. But, the fact of the matter is, working with phyllo dough is really time consuming. So, this recipe is a way to enjoy the wonderful spinachy-flavor of spanakopita, without having to worry about all that finicky phyllo. You make the filling in exactly the same way, but then you spread it on some puff pastry, roll it all up and they are in the oven in less than an hour. Gotta love a good shortcut!

Spiced Pasta

I have two words for you. Brown. Butter. When put together, they produce total heaven. Now, I won't claim that they produce the most nutritious or healthy kinds of foods. I won't even claim that they should be eaten with any regularity, but every so often, they are truly wonderful.


So, this particular recipe is for spiced pasta. It's egg noodles covered with a brown-butter based (say that 5x fast!) spice mixture and paired with some lightly cooked asparagus and topped with some toasted nuts. Like the previous recipe, this is a perfect meal for a busy weeknight. It comes together in less than 30 minutes, it's satisfying and balanced and spicy and delicious. Don't let the ingredient list get you down. Most of these spices are pretty common, and you absolutely do not need to follow the recipe to the letter. Let your creativity, spice cabinet and taste buds be your guides! This recipe originally came from the lovely 101 Cookbooks, but I've modified it a bit. I hope you love it even half as much as I do!

Honey, Peanut and Lime Chicken

This past week has been totally crazy. I can't even tell you how little motivation I had to do tasks that were outside of what was listed in my day planner. But, as we all know, it's really necessary to have some good food in your stomach to face stressful days, so I rallied. The good news is, I discovered and tested a whole slew of quick, easy, delicious, filling and nutritious meals that can be ready in the time that it takes a pizza delivery person to get to your house. (This does not even include the amount of time it takes for said pizza delivery person to claim that he/she has no change, and for you to scramble to find the right denominations.)

Anyway, this recipe really couldn't be simpler. It's easy enough to mix up before heading off for the office, and once you get home it comes together in a snap. Basically, you take chicken and marinate it in some soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, honey, hot sauce and garlic. It's savory and sweet and spicy and completely delicious. The recipe was originally from a forum on The Pioneer Woman's site, called The Tasty Kitchen, but I found it via a charming blog called The Well-Fed Newlyweds. According to these sites, and personal experience, this chicken is good enough to inspire profanity-laced compliments at a generally swear-free dinner table.

Red Lentil Curry

This recipe comes from the very first vegetarian blog I ever came to love, 28 Cooks. I have made this recipe more times than I can probably count. It's good, it's quick and best of all, it's super healthy. It's a go-to for me all year round. It's Red Lentil Curry.

The basic flavor profile of this recipe is South Indian. It gets its punch from Thai red curry paste and coconut milk. Both of those are available in the average supermarket's "international" food aisle. It takes about 40 minutes all said and done, which makes it an excellent weeknight meal. Also, it reheats beautifully. This recipe is one of the handful of recipes that endeared me to my future mother-in-law, which means that it will be certain to impress even your most accomplished foodies.

Have I tempted you enough? Let's get to the recipe:

Pita Chips!

These guys are probably my favorite snack food right now. Easy as pie to make and way more cost effective than the kind that come pre-bagged. These are great on their own or with dip, and can easily be modified however you choose.

Recipe:

1 Package of pita (I like whole wheat best)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Directions

1) Preheat the broiler on your oven

2) Open the pita pockets and rip at the back seam so that you have a single layer of pita.

3) Cut each half pita into quarters (so each full pita will make 8 chips)

4) Arrange the pita pieces on a baking sheet. Brush each with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on each.

5) Put the pan of pita pieces in the oven (under the broiler) for about 2 1/2 minutes. Make sure to check every 30 seconds or so because these burn quickly, and the broiling time can be very different, depending on the heat of your oven.

I think that these would be very nice with cinnamon and sugar, or with some parmesan cheese added. The sky is the limit!

Until our next dinner,

ceh.