Tuna Pasta Salad
This classic and awesome Tuna Pasta Salad from Kids Can Cook – the cookbook I grew up with & did lots of my early on my own cooking from. I almost did not get this cookbook when I moved out! My parents would not let …
Tag: healthy
Banana Carrot Whole Wheat Muffins
I decided to round out “breakfast sweets” week with just one more recipe of another tasty breakfast goody that traveled to the shore with us last weekend! This one is in the HEALTHY breakfast goodies category and will be making a repeat in our kitchen …
Arugula & Tomato Pasta
Pasta: go to & quick and easy.
There are so many ways to do pasta, but so often we find ourselves going to the same recipes. No no no – not this time! I pulled out my Pasta and Sauces cookbook from the Prevention Magazine’s Quick & Healthy Low-Fat Cooking cook-book. I do not even know where I got this cookbook from! I am assuming that years ago my mom got one of those “free” offers (you know, the ones where you send in the info and then they try to rope you into buying more but even if you don’t you get to keep the ‘free gift’) I’m very glad that mom (assumingly) got this book years ago since we often used it for pasta inspiration when I was growing up & now that I am always looking for healthy tasty recipes I find myself returning to this book 🙂
This pasta is quick and easy & tastes so fresh (even though you can use some canned products). If you use those canned items the only thing you need to buy fresh is your scallions (which I always have) and arugula (or watercress) so its really budget friendly too if you stock up on sale items (yay – go sales!) Whip this up the next time you are short of time: enjoy!
Arugula & Tomato Pasta
- 1 cup water
- 1 oz (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil for a healthier option)
- 2 t olive oil
- 6 thinly sliced scallions
- 3 minced cloves garlic
- 3 large ripe tomatoes (1.5 lbs) coarsely chopped OR 1 medium can diced tomato
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/4 t crushed red peppers
- 8 oz spaghetti
- 1 bunch watercress or arugula (washed & tough stems removed)
- < 1 T grated parmesan
Boil your water and your dried tomatoes. Once boiling remove from the heat and let stand for about 5 minutes, until soft. Drain & cool then cut into small pieces.
Bring your pasta water up to a boil. Heat a skillet over high heat with your olive oil. Add the scallions & garlic and saute for a minute or so until scallions have wilted. Stir in all your tomatoes, salt & red pepper and cook until juices from tomatoes have released (fresh) and the juices just come to a boil. Reduce your heat to medium then cover and simmer (stir occasionally) for about 10 minutes.
While your sauce cooks – cook your pasta according to package directions for al dente pasta. Drain your pasta. Place your arugula/watercress into a [warmed] serving bowl. Add your pasta then the sauce. Toss to mix all ingredients together and wilt the greens. Top with some fresh parmesan & enjoy!
And I leave you with a question: what is your favorite (not just sauce & pasta) quick go-to pasta recipe!?
Spinach & Mushroom Frittata
You are less than a 1/2 hour away from a delicious & healthy breakfast made to please! Use all those fresh veggies you have from the market, or the garden and enjoy a breakfast to thrill.
Baked Onion Rings
“If I ordered these in a restaurant and they tasted like these, I would be happy.” and “I really hope you are going to make these again” … when those are the phrases I heard from Rich when he was enjoying these, I knew that I had a winner!
I personally love Onion Rings (seriously, who doesn’t) but hate the fat that I know they are soaked with. The fact that I knew (and added) every single ingredient that went into these made me enjoy their awesome flavor even more!! For this whole thing (serves 2, in our house) there was probably 500 calories (whatever comes from the breadcrumbs & the one egg) – so you get all the flavor without all the sacrifice!
Problem: this is one of those recipes I had sitting around for a while (and bought the onions a few weeks ago too) but life just gets in the way. Why is that a problem you ask? That is a problem because we had a few months that these could have been in our lives that they weren’t. As you can tell – these are a great healthy treat and so much better than the alternative, SO don’t wait to make these like I did and enjoy today, or whenever you want a healthy classic side dish like Onion Rings (think burgers and grilling [we plan to try these on the grill actually: right on the grill OR on foil, t.b.d.] and sandwiches and so on)!!
Baked Onion Rings (from For the Love of Cooking)
- 2 sweet yellow onions, sliced into thick rings
- 1/2 cup of flour
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 1/2 cups of Italian seasoned panko crumbs
- Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper (sprayed with cooking spray just to be safe). Slice the onion(s) into thick rings then separate them (go ahead and use even the smaller pieces or chop the smaller ones small & put them in a freezer bag and freeze until tomorrow’s dinner or whenever). Pour the flour into a bowl & season it with a bit of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper then mix well. Mix the egg and milk in another bowl until well combined. Pour the panko crumbs into a third bowl. Dredge the onions first in the flour, then in the egg mixture, and finally in the panko crumbs until fully coated. Place each coated ring on the baking sheet. Repeat with all remaining rings. Spray again with cooking spray then place into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes then flip the rings over carefully with tongs. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately (with your favorite sauces)
AND REMEMBER: eating healthy doesn’t mean giving stuff up – it just means all things in moderation and finding ways to enjoy what you like!