White House Dinners

This is quite possibly the easiest dinner I have ever assembled. Short of a freezer meal.

Last week, there was one night I didn’t get home until almost 10pm. After work I went shopping and then I went running and then I had to pick up a few things at Target. By 10pm I was hungry and tired and not in the mood for a lot of fuss. But I still wanted something tasty and relatively healthy. Enter this beautiful creation.

In a bowl, toss together:

• 1/2 cup cannellini beans (from a can that has been drained and rinsed)
• a handful of artichoke hearts, quartered (also from a can that has been drained)
• 1/2 a pint of cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 of a small avocado, diced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• a generous sprinkle of goat cheese
• salt, pepper, Garlic Gold

I served this with a big glass of water and one of my grandpa’s homemade whole wheat rolls topped with a smear of Earth Balance.

I was surprised at how quickly this meal came together and pleased with the tastes, textures, and nutritional balance. The artichokes and tomatoes were sweet and light, providing a contrast to the rich, buttery avocado and beans. The beans provided fiber and protein, the avocado and olive oil provided healthy fat, and the tomatoes and artichokes contributed to my 5 – 9 daily servings of fruits and vegetables.

I highly recommend keeping some pantry staples (beans and canned veggies) on hand to mix with fresh veggies when you are crunched for time but still want to eat real food. I can definitely imagine this combination appearing in my life again for a quick, light summer lunch or dinner.

Last night for dinner I whipped up a delicious pasta salad. It was chock full of seasonal vegetables and tossed in a light, garlicky cream sauce. I got the idea from a few recipes I’ve seen on blogs that use avocado to make delicious, creamy sauces without actually using heavy cream.

Start with 1 pound of short pasta in any shape you like (elbows, bow ties, etc.). I used a fun shaped pasta from Trader Joe’s. Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente, making sure to salt the pasta water generously. Drain, transfer to a large serving bowl, and set aside to cool.

Prepare the following:

• 2 zucchini, sliced into rounds and the quartered
• 1 bag of broccoli, cut into tiny florets
• 2 ears of corn, kernels removed
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
• Handful of cilantro, chopped (basil would be delicious here, too, but we had cilantro on hand)

In a large skillet, heat a few teaspoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the zucchini and broccoli. Saute until slightly softened. Add the corn and sauté for another few minutes. You want the vegetables to be softened, but not overcooked. I like my corn to still have a bite to it. Remove from heat and add  the sautéed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and set aside. Add a drizzle of olive oil and still to combine. After it has cooled slightly (you don’t want the cheese to melt when you add it!), add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and cilantro. Stir to combine. While the pasta and vegetables cool, prepare the sauce.

In a small food processor, combine a few teaspoons of olive oil and one clove of roasted garlic. Pulse until the garlic is minced. Add one small avocado, and 6 ounces Greek yogurt. Pulse until smooth. This will create a delicious, fluffy sauce. If you think it is too thick, thin it out with additional olive oil.

It is important that you do NOT add the sauce to the pasta/vegetables. Leftover pasta will turn brown from the avocado (because of enzymatic oxidative browning – one thing I remember from my food preparation class in college). To serve, portion out the pasta/vegetables into bowls. Top with a dollop of garlic and avocado cream and stir to combine. This is also good because each person can control how much sauce they have. Top with a few cubes of avocado and enjoy!

The result is a light, delicious, creamy pasta salad that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating. The corn and tomatoes are sweet and brighten up the dish and serve as a good complement to the creamy, rich avocado and mozzarella.

A few notes/words of caution:

• To increase the protein quotient in this dish, you could add a can of rinsed and drained beans (garbanzo, black, or cannellini would all be delicious). You could also add cooked and diced chicken sausage.
• I may or may not have used 4 cloves of raw garlic in the sauce instead of one clove of roasted garlic, resulting in an overwhelming garlic flavor (I believe Artie actually said it burned his tongue…). I would highly NOT recommend doing this.

To store leftovers, put the sauce in a separate container from the pasta. The top layer of sauce may turn slightly brown but it will still be fine to eat. The pasta actually tastes better after the flavors have had a day to merry. I guarantee this dish will be making an appearance in our house all summer long!

If I’ve learned anything about life during my six years in grad school, it is the importance of balancing work, school, and life. I always look forward to girls night. A few weeks ago, Shannon, Kaitlin, Abby, and I got together to relax, fellowship, and recharge. The evening centered around good conversation, silly YouTube videos, and, of course, delicious food.

I was trying to think of something fun, moderately healthy, and delicious for dinner. I landed on top your own pizza night. I asked Artie to pick up toppings and pre-made pizza dough from Publix that afternoon. When I arrived home, I was surprised to find he had prepared homemade pizza dough. Turns out it was more affordable, healthier, and relatively easy.

When the girls showed up for dinner, Artie rolled out four individual pizzas and we got to work decorating them with deliciousness from a toppings bar.

Toppings included sauce and cheese (of course) plus broccoli, mushrooms, chicken sausage, sweet bell pepper, Cubanelle peppers, sautéed eggplant, spinach, and black olives.

The only downside is that our oven could only cook two pizzas at a time. If I did this again, I would make the mini pizzas smaller so that two could cook on each baking sheet allowing four pizzas to be cooked at once instead of two. We had plenty to talk about though, so no one really minded the wait.

The end result was delicious. The crust was thin but tender and the veggie toppings were plentiful. While these were supposed to be individual pizzas, they were still too large for one serving so as a bonus, everyone went home with half of a mini pizza.

All in all, I would say top-your-own pizza night was a success. Hopefully Artie can share the pizza dough recipe on the blog soon. The end result was yummy, fun to make, and more or less healthy.