What’s one to do with leftover goat cheese and asparagus? Why make a goat cheese risotto with spring veggies, of course!

Risotto has been a little controversial on Top Chef lately. Apparently, it’s supposed to spread on the plate and be a certain consistency to be considered a proper risotto. I don’t think the judges would like my version because it’s completely packed with goodies like chicken, asparagus, artichoke hearts, and peas – the rice just barely holds everything all together! I love that it’s a one pot meal though and the goat cheese just makes me smile.

Spring Goat Cheese Risotto
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bit sized pieces
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 15-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock
4 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet and sauté chicken for 5 to 7 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Place cooked chicken in a large bowl and add asparagus to pan. Cook asparagus until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes, then place in the bowl with the cooked chicken, artichoke hearts, and peas.

Meanwhile, heat 1 remaining tablespoon olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large stockpot. Sauté the shallots for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the rice and stir until well-coated and translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in 1 cup of chicken stock. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the stock has been absorbed; add another cup and continue in this way until all the chicken stock has been absorbed, for about 30 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese and salt and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until desired consistency is reached. Stir in chicken and veggies. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 652 calories, 20.2g fat, 9.3g fiber, 46.3g protein per serving
Cost: $3.08 per serving

Dinner party time! Shannon, Elina, and I decided to follow up our Spanish tapas party with a spring themed feast. Shannon rocked the appetizer course with a radish and polenta masterpiece and Elina’s scrumptious lemon strawberry shortcakes were the perfect sweet ending to an amazing spring meal!

I was in charge of the main course. Since we were hosting on a weeknight, I wanted to make something I could completely prep the day before and then just heat up prior to serving so I wouldn’t have to leave work too early. So, I decided to make a lasagna! A special spring lasagna, similar to this one, with layers of lemony ricotta, chicken, asparagus, mushrooms, and spinach nestled between whole wheat noodles, goat cheese sauce, and mozzarella cheese. I assembled everything the night before and then just popped it in the oven for 45 minutes while we caught up and enjoyed our appetizers.

p.s. Thanks so much for all your sweet comments on my pregnancy announcement post!!

Asparagus, Mushroom, Spinach, and Chicken Lasagna with Goat Cheese Sauce
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken and Veggie Layer:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large leek, white and light green part only, chopped
16 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 pound fresh baby spinach
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt

Ricotta Layer:
32 ounces part-skim ricotta
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
10.5 ounces goat cheese (1 log from costco)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembly:
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
To make the chicken and veggie layer, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and cook chicken for 5 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Place chicken in a large bowl and add asparagus to the same hot pan; sauté 7 to 8 minutes or until crisp tender and place in the bowl with the chicken. Add 1 remaining tablespoon olive oil to the pan, along with the leeks and mushrooms and sauté 5 to 7 minutes or until veggies are tender; add spinach and sauté an additional 2 to 3 minutes or spinach is wilted. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Stir mushroom and spinach mixture in with the chicken, asparagus, and salt.

To make the ricotta layer, place ricotta, lemon zest, basil, oregano, salt, and egg in a large bowl and mix until smooth.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and whisk in pecorino romano, goat cheese, and salt. Heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package. To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of 4 noodles in a 13×9-inch pan and top it with half the ricotta mixture, half the chicken and veggie mix, half the sauce, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat this layer. Then place the remaining 4 noodles on top and sprinkle evenly with the 2 remaining cups of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350˚F for 45 minutes or until cheesy is light brown and bubbly. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 516 calories, 24.7g fat, 4.9g fiber, 43.4g protein per serving
Cost: $1.95 per serving

Although I make vegetarian meals a couple times a week, it’s usually because I’m feeling too lazy to really cook. I often whip up simple meals like pizza, tofu fried rice, or breakfast for dinner when I’m super busy, but I rarely put extra effort into making really special vegetarian entrees when I have extra time in the kitchen. I decided I should work on this a bit more though because it would be nice to have a couple dinner party worthy options up my sleeve when vegetarian guests come over. These Mediterranean Portobello Mushroom and Eggplant Stacks are my latest attempt to give veggies and beans a little extra love!

I started things off with a sturdy roasted Portobello mushroom and then layered slices of eggplant, basil, and a creamy chickpea, sun dried tomato, and goat cheese spread on top – so good! You could add some pine nuts for a little crunch too!

Mediterranean Portobello Mushroom and Eggplant Stacks
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 Portobello mushroom caps
1 large eggplant, cut into 8 1/2-inch thick rounds
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped basil

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Brush Portobello mushroom caps and eggplant slices evenly with 3 tablespoons olive oil and place on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 17 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Meanwhile, place chickpeas, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt in a food processor and pulse for 1 to 2 minutes, or until smooth.

To assemble the stacks, top each Portobello mushroom with a layer of chickpea spread, followed by layers of chopped basil, slice of eggplant, layer of chickpea spread, slice of eggplant, and chopped basil. Makes 4 stacks.

Nutrition: 401 calories, 24.6g fat, 9.1g fiber, 14.3g protein per serving
Cost: $2.43 per serving

I’m always on the hunt for new chicken recipes and often times will just write “chicken” on my blog recipe idea list as motivation to dream up something new! Stuffed chicken is one of our favorites, and I especially love using a little mascarpone cheese in the filling because it makes a little built in sauce with each bite. This time I used bacon and mushrooms in the filling and in the sweet potato and Brussels sprouts hash underneath the chicken, which really tied the dish together – yum!

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts over Sweet Potato Hash
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-sized cubes (about 4 cups or 20 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed of the brown bottom and cut in half
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
4 strips applewood smoked bacon, chopped
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Place potato cubes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoons olive oil. Stir well so all potatoes are coated evenly with the oil and spread on the baking sheet. Bake at 400˚F for 15 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts to the pan and drizzle with one more tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well and roast at 400˚F for 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts are browned and tender.

Meanwhile, place chopped bacon in a large nonstick skillet and sauté for 6 to 8 minutes or until crispy; drain on paper towels. Place mushrooms and onions in the pan with the bacon grease and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Remove from heat and place in a medium bowl with the drained bacon and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well and allow mixture to cool to room temperature. Mix half the mushroom mixture with the sweet potato hash. Stir mascarpone cheese in with the remaining mushroom mixture.

Reduce oven heat to 350˚F. Cut a lengthwise slit in the fattest side of the chicken breast and form a pocket in the center of each chicken breast. Stuff the chicken breasts evenly with the mascarpone mushroom mixture and secure closed with toothpicks. Place flour and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish and mix well. Cut ends of toothpicks as needed and dredge the stuffed chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter over medium high heat in a large nonstick pan and place two chicken breasts in the pan. Use large tongs to rotate the chicken and sear it on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes on each sides. Place seared chicken breasts in a large baking pan and repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Bake at 350˚F for 13 to 17 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Allow to rest 5 minutes, then remove toothpicks. Serve chicken over sweet potato hash. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 556 calories, 25.6g fat, 4.3g fiber, 60.8g protein per serving
Cost: $4.38 per serving

Taupo is a resort town with a super cute downtown, and I had a very tasty bowl of seafood chowder with mussels, shrimp, calamari in a light creamy broth, at Replete Cafe.

After lunch, we headed down to Tongariro National Park to go white water river rafting with Tongariro River Rafting! It ended up just being us and two guides on our raft, so it was really fun.

We took a break to jump off a few cliffs.

And the rafting company even had a photographer ready on the shore to capture some action shots!

Our picture perfect hotel that night was right next to the three prominent volcanoes in the area, Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro.

We drove to the top of Mount Ruapehu for some gorgeous views.

And yes, Mount Ngauruhoe was Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. Here it is peeking out from behind the clouds.

The next morning we drove down to Wellington, which is on the Southernmost tip of the North Island and a bustling big city like Auckland. The five hour drive was a bit of a journey, but a little pit stop for some traditional savory Raetihi pies at Kristy’s Café in Whanganui helped break the drive up a bit. I was also pretty tickled when we saw these sheep crossing the road!

In Wellington, we took the cable cars up to the Wellington Botanic Gardens.

Where we took in a lovely view of the city.

And I really enjoyed the many rose gardens.

We also had our very favorite meal of the trip in Wellington at Ortega Fish Shack that evening. I didn’t take any pictures, but everything was just amazing. We started with whitebait fitters, which are a New Zealand specialty. Whitebait are exactly what they sound like – tiny little fish used for bait. The fritters contained 100s of the little fish all cooked into a patty – really meaty and delicious, but probably not something I would have tried unless it was so highly recommended to us! For dinner, I had gurnard over a mushroom cream sauce with pasta and Apolinars had lightly smoked fish with pork and shrimp fried rice. We decided to drink our dessert at Mac’s BrewBar, right on the ocean that night.

The next morning we took the 3 hour Interislander ferry ride from the North Island to the South Island. Even though the boat was huge, the water was rough, and I got really seasick, ugh, so I don’t have much to say about our time on the ocean. Here’s a cute pic of Apolinaras though.

Then we drove to Marlborough wine country and checked into a lovely B&B called Hillsfield House, which I highly recommend you stay at if you’re ever in New Zealand. We had a causal English pub dinner of fish and chips and beef hot pie at Cork and Keg, which was a short stroll from our B&B.

One of the perks of Hillsfield House is that the hostess, Jo, delivers breakfast to your room whenever you request it. After filling up on hot croissants, fruit, coffee, and freshly squeezed orange juice, we drove to several wineries for tastings!

This wine region is most well known for their sauvignon blanc and Cloudy Bay is probably the most famous winery.

Since Apolinaras isn’t a huge wine fan, we also did a tasting at the only brewery close by – Moa!

We stopped at Wither Hills Winery for lunch and then left our car at the B&B and took some bikes out for a spin to explore a couple more wineries, including one of our favorites, Forrest Estate.

The next morning we drove to Kaikoura, a beautiful town on the ocean with seal colonies, and opportunities for whale and dolphin watching. Along the way, we stopped at Nin’s Bin for freshly caught crayfish (called spiny lobster here in the US) for lunch.

And my very first video on CB&B! I spontaneously recorded Apolinaras’ trick for the easiest way to remove meat from your lobster- no fancy tools needed!

We also visited a seal colony.

And then Apolinaras went for a dip in the ocean. Just gorgeous!

After taking a beautiful hike by the water, we had dinner at Tuti’s, which featured Indonesian/Singaporean dishes. I had a super flavorful green shrimp curry and Apolinaras had duck with an Asian orange sauce, which inspired today’s recipe.

I roasted a chicken with an Asian orange marinade and glaze of orange marmalade, soy sauce, rice vinegar, canola oil, sesame oil, and garlic. I stuffed the cavity of the chicken with an orange and some more garlic. Very juicy and delicious! Oh, and the recipe below is for one bird, but I actually roasted two because one chicken doesn’t last very long in our house! One more NZ recap post to go!

Orange Roasted Chicken
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 4 1/2 to 5 pound chicken, giblets removed, washed inside and out, and patted dry
1 small orange, cut in half
1 head of garlic, cut in half
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
To prepare the marinade, stir together orange marmalade, soy sauce, rice vinegar, canola oil, sesame oil, and garlic cloves in small bowl. Stuff the chicken cavity the orange and head of garlic. Tie the legs together with kitchen twice and tuck the wings under the body of the chicken. Place chicken in a baking pan and cover with 1/2 cup of the marinade. Refrigerate remaining 1/2 cup marinade. Cover chicken with foil and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours to overnight.

To roast the chicken, remove chicken 30 minutes prior to roasting, to allow it to come to room temperature, and heat oven to 400°F. Remove any large pieces of orange rind leftover from the orange marmalade marinade (otherwise they may burn). Place chicken in a roasting pan and sprinkle evenly with salt. Roast chicken at 400°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the juices between the leg and thigh run clear and temperature of the thickest part of the thigh is 160°F. Cover chicken with foil while roasting if the skin starts to get too brown (I covered mine after 45 minutes). Remove chicken from the oven and cover with a tent of aluminum foil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place reserved 1/2 cup marinade in a small stockpot and simmer over medium high heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Carve and serve the chicken and top with the sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 328 calories, 13.4g fat, 0.2g fiber, 32.7g protein per serving
Cost: $1.43 per serving

We flew into Auckland in mid-November, which is late spring/early summer in New Zealand, and then rented a car to explore both the north and south islands. After making it all the way down to Queenstown, we flew back up to Auckland for another night before heading home.

Our flight arrived at 5am in Auckland, and after renting our car, and attempting to get used to driving on the left side of the road, we enjoyed breakfast in the Parnell Quarter, which is home to many art galleries and cute boutiques. Then we wandered all around Auckland until our hotel room was ready. There just happened to be a World Cup triathlon taking place, so it was pretty cool watching the world class athletes speed past us during the biking and running legs of the race. I totally embarrassed Apolinaras by loudly cheering for all the US competitors!

We were in great need of coffee after our early morning and somewhat sleepless night on the plane, so I had a couple flat whites (regular coffee with milk). I also enjoyed a few iced holiday drinks at Starbucks during our trip. Since it’s hot during Christmas, they sell gingerbread, toffee chip, and cranberry white chocolate Frappachinos! Unexpected, but delicious.

Since we had an apartment suite for a couple nights, we also headed to Countdown, a local grocery store chain, to pick up stuff for our breakfasts and picnic lunch for our hike the next day. I just love wandering through grocery stores in other countries! We tried as many local products as possible, including New Zealand beer, Feijoa juice, and hard cider, amazing yogurt and cheese that I wish we could get here, and of course kiwifruit! They have golden kiwis in NZ, which I’d never seen before. They’re a bit sweeter than the green variety and apparently don’t ship very well, which is why they’re not available in the States.

The next morning we took a ferry to Rangitoto, which is a young volcanic island formed just 600 years ago.

We meandered through the lava fields,

explored the lava caves,

and hiked to the top of the crater to take in a gorgeous view of Auckland.

Due to New Zealand’s location, about 10% of Kiwis are Asian, so we enjoyed a lot of excellent Asian food in Auckland, including Japanese and Thai.

The next day we headed off to the Waitomo Caves, where we were pretty excited to slip into some sexy wetsuits and go caving with Black Water Rafting!

The caves in Waitomo are filled with glowworms on the ceilings, which sparkle like stars on a dark night. Imagine floating in an inner tube down a river through a pitch black cave while trying to take in all the sparkling glowworms above you – so cool!

We also enjoyed one of our favorite meals of the trip that night at Huhu. I had slow roasted lamb shoulder with gnocchi and smoked tomato sauce (which inspired today’s recipe!) and Apolinaras had braised beef with celeriac puree, mushrooms, and broccoli. We split a yummy rhubarb tart for dessert.

The next morning we enjoyed a lovely meal of farm fresh eggs and French toast with bacon at our bed and breakfast, and then checked out the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park. Kiwis, of course, are New Zealand’s national bird, but they’re nocturnal so the only way to really see them is to visit a sanctuary or zoo.

We also thought it was pretty funny there is a bird called a Kaka in New Zealand, because that’s our cockatiel’s name!  On our way to Rotoroua, I finally got out of the car and attempted to get a picture with some of the many roaming sheep, but they all sort of ran away – oh well.  The highways in New Zealand are mostly two lane roads and the countryside is just gorgeous.

Rotorua is home to many geothermal springs and Maori cultural events. The Maori are the native Polynesians who arrived in New Zealand sometime before 1300.

We spent the afternoon soaking in the tranquil and rejuvenating Waikite Valley thermal pools.

Feeling completely refreshed, we hiked around the lake in Rotorua.

I couldn’t help attempting a ballet pose when we ran into a flock of black swans, haha.

We also encountered some sweet smelling geothermal sulfur ponds.

That evening we attended a Maori cultural show and enjoyed a feast called a hangi, in which the food is slowly cooked in underground pits, at Tamaki Maori Village.

The experience was a little cheesy, but I really enjoyed watching the traditional tribal dancing and singing. Whew, I can’t believe I’ve only recapped 4 days – 9 more to go!

I knew I had to feature a lamb dish in my first New Zealand post, so I used my entrée at Huhu as an inspiration and braised some lamb that I served with gnocchi in a Mediterranean tomato sauce that included chickpeas, roasted red peppers and sun dried tomatoes. Make sure to have some crusty bread on hand to sop up all the extra sauce!

Mediterranean Lamb with Gnocchi
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, washed and drained
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds stewing lamb (ours was cut into 4 pieces), at room temperature
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 17.6-ounce package whole wheat gnocchi
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
Heat oven to 300°F. Place chicken broth, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, tomato paste, lemon juice, dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor and pulse for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Place sauce in a large Dutch oven.

Rub olive oil onto all sides of the lamb pieces and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Sear lamb pieces, about 1 minute per side, over medium high heat in a large skillet. Remove lamb pieces and place chopped onions in the pan. Sauté onions for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Stir onions into the sauce and place seared lamb pieces into the sauce in the Dutch oven. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 300°F; remove Dutch oven lid and bake at 300°F for an additional 30 minutes or until lamb is tender and sauce is reduced.

Meanwhile, prepare gnocchi according to the package directions. Stir gnocchi into the sauce around the lamb pieces. To serve, divide sauce onto 4 plates and place a piece of lamb onto each one. Sprinkle plates evenly with feta cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 729 calories, 22.6g fat, 11.9g fiber, 53.0g protein per serving
Cost: $4.16 per serving

I’ve slowly been working on a few recipes to go with my recap posts about our amazing trip to New Zealand, but I haven’t even started to go through all our pictures. The task just seems too overwhelming…but today I have a little teaser post – Thai turkey burgers inspired by the ones we enjoyed at Fergburger in the bungee jumping capital of the world, Queenstown! Queenstown is a beautiful resort town on the Southern Island of New Zealand with amazing skiing.

We arrived in Queenstown late one night after a long 5 hour drive and immediately headed to Fergburger, which had been recommended to us by multiple Kiwis during our trip. Mmm, the burgers really spot. And they’re also huge – see they were almost as big as my head! Apolinaras got a burger with a Thai plum sauce that I immediately became smitten with and it inspired today’s recipe. I gave mine a little twist and topped my burgers with a spicy slaw. Ok, back to sifting through all our pictures!

Thai Burgers with Plum Sauce and Spicy Slaw
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Spicy Slaw:
1/2 cucumber, coarsely grated
1 carrot, coarsely grated
1/2 cup thinly sliced roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt

Plum Sauce:
1/3 cup plum jam
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced

Burger Patties:
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup grated red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt

Assembly:
6 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted

Directions:
To make the spicy slaw, mix shredded cucumber, carrot, and red pepper in a medium bowl. Mix rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt in a small bowl. Pour dressing over veggies and stir well. Place in the fridge for an hour to allow the flavors to meld.

To make the plum sauce, mix plum jam, rice vinegar, and garlic in a small bowl and stir until smooth.

To make the burger patties, heat oven broiler. Place ground turkey, grated onion, garlic, and salt in a large bowl and gently mix all the ingredients together with your hands; form 6 burgers that are slightly larger than your buns. Place patties on a large cookie sheet and broil for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

To assemble the burgers, place a patty on top of the bottom half of each bun and evenly spread the plum sauce on top of each burger. Drain any excess liquid off the slaw and spread evenly on the burgers. Add the burger tops and serve. Makes 6 burgers.

Nutrition: 383 calories, 10.0g fat, 2.2g fiber, 26.7g protein per serving
Cost: $1.97 per serving

We’ve been so busy lately that I’ve baked more “emergency” frozen pizzas for dinner than I’d care to admit. I have managed to whip up some soba noodles a couple of times though. They’re so quick and tasty, and there’s nothing better than a one pot meal. For this version I mixed in tamarind eggplant, snow peas, and tofu, along with my favorite sesame soy dressing – yum!

Soba Noodles with Eggplant, Snow Peas, and Tofu
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 large eggplant, chopped into bite-sized cubes
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup hot water
9 ounces snow peas
15 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 pound soba noodles
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil over medium high heat in a large pan or wok; add eggplant to the pan and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until lightly browned. Stir tamarind concentrate into hot water until well dissolved and pour into the pan. Simmer eggplant in tamarind liquid over medium heat for 8 minutes; add snow peas and tofu to the pan, stir well, and simmer an additional 5 to 8 minutes or until eggplant and snow peas are tender and all the liquid has evaporated.

Prepare soba noodles according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Place soba noodles in a large bowl. Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, 3 remaining tablespoons canola oil, sesame oil, honey, and garlic in a small bowl and mix well. Pour dressing over soba noodles and toss until evenly coated; stir in eggplant, snow peas, and tofu. Makes 6 servings. Serve cold or at room temperature, if desired.

Nutrition: 454 calories, 19.3g fat, 3.3g fiber, 19.0g fiber per serving
Cost: $1.67 per serving

When I posted the recipe for my Fiesta Potato Pie a little over a year ago, I got a lot of comments about the fact that I used instant mashed potatoes to make the crust. I know, I know, I don’t normally buy instant mashed potatoes either, but I actually developed the recipe for a Hungry Jack instant mashed potato contest! I didn’t win, but still thought the recipe was blog worthy, and I did like the fact that I could easily control the moisture level of the crust by using the potato flakes. Anyway, everyone wanted to know if the crust could be made with real potatoes instead, which I totally understand, so when I was brainstorming ways to use up my 15 pounds of potatoes, I decided to tackle the crust once again!

I’m so glad I did because it turned out beautifully – crusty on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. This time I filled the unique crust with layers of caramelized onions, shredded gouda cheese, and goat cheese…soooo good! I served the wedges alongside a healthy dose of roasted Brussels sprouts, but a salad would also be lovely. Also, the tart is easier to slice once it’s cooled off a bit.

Cheesy Caramelized Onion Tart with a Mashed Potato Crust
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large yellow onions, sliced (12 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt, divided
2 pounds golden potatoes, peeled, and cut into chunks
1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 cups shredded gouda cheese
4 ounces goat cheese

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil over medium low heat in a large nonstick pan. Add onions, cover, and cook 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove lid and cook an additional 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until caramelized. Add garlic and cook for 1 additional minute; stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add potato chunks to the pot and boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and mash in a large bowl; stir in milk, remaining 3 tablespoons butter, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Press mashed potatoes into a greased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and bake at 350˚F for 40 to 45 minutes or until potato crust is golden brown. Push the center down with the back of a spoon.

Evenly spread half the caramelized onions in the cooked potato pie crust. Evenly crumble goat cheese on top and then half the shredded gouda cheese. Top with remaining caramelized onions and shredded gouda cheese. Bake for 5 minutes at 350°F or until cheese is melted. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes, use a toothpick to loosen the edges if needed, and remove from tart pan; cut tart into wedges. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 398 calories, 21.0g fat, 6.2g fat, 14.1g protein per serving
Cost: $1.52 per serving

This pasta has Apolinaras’ name written all over it. I guess you could call him my muse from time to time. He looooves mushrooms and was so happy when I encouraged him to go ahead and put the pricey fresh shitakes in the grocery cart the other day. When I told him I was planning to use the mushrooms in a pasta dish with a creamy goat cheese sauce, he did a cute little happy dance in the middle of the aisle!

Luckily, the pasta came together beautifully and lived up to his high expectations – he loudly proclaimed multiple times that it was his very favorite pasta dish I’ve ever made! Of course, I had to take this with a grain of salt because any dish with mushrooms and goat cheese would steal his heart. I do really like that while this dish tastes incredibly indulgent, it’s really not that bad for you. I used whole wheat farfalle that I purchased at Eataly, but any shape would work well. You could also add some chicken or shrimp if you’d like a bit more protein.

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Goat Cheese Sauce
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat farfalle pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
24 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used half baby bellas and half shitakes with the stems removed)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
10.5 ounces goat cheese (1 log from costco)
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to the package directions, drain, and place in a large pot.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick pan and add mushrooms. Sauté 8 to 10 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and whisk in pecorino romano, goat cheese, and salt. Heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Add the sauce and mushrooms to the pot with the cooked pasta and mix well. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 531 calories, 21.8g fat, 7.5g fiber, 22.0g protein per serving
Cost: $2.92 per serving

I don’t usually buy a lot of produce at Costco, since it’s tough for just the two of us to eat our way through their large packages of fruits and veggies before it all spoils (although I do regularly make an exception of their Brussels sprouts and berries because we gobble those right up!), but the other day a 15 pound bag of potatoes ended up in my cart. I was craving roasted potatoes and feeling way too lazy to head to the regular grocery store just to pick up a smaller package. Plus, I was feeling up for a little potato challenge!

The first thing I did when I got home was whip up a potato hash with bacon, onions, and apples. It’s great for breakfast, but I enjoyed it most topped with a lovely piece of salmon glazed with maple syrup and crusted with chopped pecans and panko. This yummy meal also came together in a flash since I made the hash the day before and then just quickly cooked up the salmon before dinner. Ok, I’m off to brainstorm some more potato recipes – only 6 pounds left to go!

p.s. The winner of my Milk Bar giveaway was Bianca – congrats!

Maple Pecan Salmon over Roasted Potato, Apple, and Bacon Hash
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Roasted Potato, Apple, and Bacon Hash:
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices hickory smoked bacon, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt

Maple Pecan Salmon:
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup panko
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
4 salmon fillets (ours were 7 ounces each)

Directions:
To make the hash, heat oven to 400°F. Place potato pieces on a large baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Roast at 400°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, place chopped bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until crispy; drain on paper towels. Place onions and apples in the bacon grease and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Mix roasted potatoes, bacon, onions, apples, and salt together in a large bowl.

To make the salmon, heat oven to 350˚F. Mix pecans, panko, and salt together in a small bowl. Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and sear the salmon fillets, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Place seared fillets in a large baking dish and use a pastry brush to evenly brush with maple syrup. Evenly sprinkle pecan panko and press gently into the salmon. Bake salmon for 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F or until cooked through. To serve, divide the hash evenly among 4 plates and place salmon on top. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 964 calories, 58.2g fat, 6.0g fiber, 63.7g protein per serving
Cost: $4.70 per serving

Happy Hanukah! Merry Almost Christmas! We’re on a bus right now headed to New York City, where we’ll be spending the holidays with my family. I’m really looking forward to eating our way through the city, and I’m especially excited about heading over to The Doughnut Plant, which my friend Britt has been urging me to check out forever. She knows how much I love donuts – I’m so excited!

I also kind of love the fact that the internet is working on our bus, and I’m blogging away. Multitasking just makes me happy – I wish I could do this daily during my regular commute! Anyway, I won’t be cooking for Christmas this year, but if I was, I think I would add this mac & cheese to the menu. It’s super creamy and packed with fontina, asiago, and goat cheese. Plus, the festive red and green sun dried tomatoes and roasted broccoli, respectively, just make me smile. I even snuck in some protein-packed chicken for Apolinaras, so this was a one dish meal for us, but you could leave it out and feature it as more of a side dish too. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Christmas Mac & Cheese (aka Three Cheese Mac & Cheese with Roasted Broccoli and Sun Dried Tomatoes)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 head broccoli florets (I had 5 cups, 11 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound orecchiette pasta
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
2 cups shredded fontina cheese
1 cup shredded asiago cheese
8 ounces goat cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, well drained

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Place broccoli florets on a large cookie sheet and drizzle evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes at 400°F or until tender.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and place back in a large pot.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat and sauté chicken for 5 to 7 minutes or until fully cooked and no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from pan and place in the pan with the pasta; add roasted broccoli to the same pot.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and mix in fontina, asiago, and goat cheeses, and salt. Heat 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth, whisking occasionally. Mix cheese sauce with the pasta, chicken, and broccoli in the large pot; stir in sun-dried tomatoes. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 847 calories, 31.3g fat, 5.6g fiber, 57.5g protein per serving
Cost: $2.20 per serving

I’m sort of in denial that it’s somehow already November, but the bright side is that peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes are back, and I’m finally getting some use out of all my cute boots. Plus, now that there’s a bit of a chill in the air, I’ve been brainstorming up some ideas for comfort food! Soup and mac & cheese always top my list, but chicken pot pie also warms me up, especially when it’s topped with puff pastry.

For my version, I made individual servings with my cute little French onion soup bowls again, but any small oven-safe dishes would work well. I couldn’t resist topping them with the aforementioned puff pastry, and I decided to give them a bit of Caribbean twist. I spiced the filling with jerk seasoning and added roasted sweet potatoes and plantains in with the chicken. Ahh, plantains just make me happy, and I really loved this flavor combo. It’s a cold weather comfort dish with some island flare, ironic perhaps, but very tasty!

Jerk Chicken and Sweet Potato Pot Pies
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium yellow plantains with brown-black spots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons jerk seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 box puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

Directions:
Heat oven to 400˚F. Place sweet potato pieces on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix until evenly coated with oil and roast at 400˚F for 15 minutes. Add plantains to the cookie sheet, mix well, and roast for an additional 10 minutes at 400˚F or until sweet potatoes and plantains are tender; place roasted veggies in a large bowl.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet and add chicken pieces. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from heat and place in the bowl with the sweet potatoes and plantains. Add chopped onions to the skillet and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Add onions to the bowl with the veggies and chicken and mix well.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk, chicken broth, jerk seasoning, and salt and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened. Place in the bowl with the chicken and veggies and stir until well combined. Evenly distribute filling into 6 mini oven-safe pot pie serving dishes. Place dishes on a large cookie sheet.

Roll out puff pastry and cut to fit over the 6 dishes (I used 3/4 of the package). Place cut puff pastry on top of the dishes. Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl; brush egg wash evenly over the puff pastry and poke a few holes in the top of each puff pastry. Bake at 400˚F for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 707 calories, 30.2g fat, 5.2g fiber, 46.8g protein per serving
Cost: $2.40 per serving

Umm, so if you’re watching your weight, you may want to click back to the last page you viewed right about now…. I tend to cook healthy dishes most of the time, but decided to go all in on this one and it was so worth it! I was in the mood for some comfort food this week, and my cute little French Onion Soup bowls were begging to be used again, so I dreamed up this French Onion Mac & Cheese!

Uh huh, cavatappi pasta mixed with a creamy fontina, asiago, and mascarpone cheese sauce and a healthy dose of caramelized onions (which just make everything better!). I didn’t stop there though. In order to mimic the soup, I filled up the bowls with my mac & cheese and topped them with some croutons and grated gruyere cheese. So rich and indulgent and definitely my favorite mac & cheese recipe so far. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

French Onion Mac & Cheese
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large yellow onions, sliced (9 cups)
1 pound cavatappi pasta
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
2 cups shredded fontina cheese
2 cups shredded asiago cheese
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups croutons
3 cups shredded gruyere cheese

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil over medium low heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add onions, cover, and cook 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove lid and cook an additional 10 minutes, or until caramelized.

Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and place back in a large pot with the caramelized onions.

Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and mix in fontina, asiago, and mascarpone cheeses, and salt. Heat 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth, whisking occasionally. Mix cheese sauce with cooked pasta and caramelized onions in the large pot. Pour pasta into 8 oven-safe dishes, preferably French Onion soup bowls! Place dishes on a large cookie sheet.

Heat oven broiler. Top bowls filled with mac & cheese evenly with croutons and shredded gruyere cheese. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 993 calories, 60.2g fat, 5.8g fiber, 42.2g protein per serving
Cost: $2.50 per serving

Whew, what a week! We moved and are finally mostly unpacked, although the guest bedroom is still a bit of a disaster and we need to go shopping for a few accessories (rugs, mirrors, etc). The most important room is completely organized and fully functional already though – the kitchen, of course! I made a super easy meal the third night in our new place – Mediterranean Couscous with chicken sausage, and it was so nice to have a home cooked meal after too many nights of takeout. And tonight, I finally found enough time to whip something up for my blog!

I made golden mashed potato cakes stuffed with shredded chicken, peas, and a bunch of Indian spices. The chicken addition was inspired by my Avocado Chicken Cakes. Can’t wait to cook again!

Indian Spiced Chicken and Potato Cakes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons canola oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and cut into chunks
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups cooked shredded chicken (I poached 4 chicken breasts)
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
7 tablespoons of your favorite chutney or Greek yogurt (I mixed a bit of tamarind sauce with Greek yogurt)

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and sauté onion for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add ginger and garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Add coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and salt. Immediately remove from heat and stir until spices are fragrant.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add potato chunks to the pot and boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and mash in a large bowl; stir in milk and butter until smooth. Mix in cooked onion mixture and flour until smooth. Stir in chicken and peas. Shape mixture into 14 cakes.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat in a nonstick skillet. Add 3 cakes and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining oil and cakes. Drizzle chutney evenly over cakes. Makes 7 servings of 2 cakes each.

Nutrition: 608 calories, 21.2g fat, 6.0g fiber, 39.2g protein per serving
Cost: $1.73 per serving

I’ve been unable to stop smiling lately. I just feel like we have so much to look forward to – we’re moving next week into a more spacious apartment and will finally have a grown up master suite with a walk-in closet. I’m already itching to organize our new kitchen and we’re working on buying new furniture to keep things more organized – yes, all our books will actually be on bookcases instead of hidden away in boxes in the garage! We also have a couple of fun trips planned for the fall including a visit with my mom over her birthday weekend, a trip to Portland, Oregon for my dear friend Britt’s wedding, and a once in a lifetime adventure to New Zealand!

Small things usually make me smile too though – a sweet training run, an iced mocha (soon to be a pumpkin latte – yay!), or a yummy dinner like these easy baked potatoes loaded with all the delightful goodies in today’s lengthy recipe title. These were really filling and perfect for leftovers the next day!

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Baked Potatoes with Corn and Roasted Red Peppers
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and poked all over with a fork
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
Corn from 4 ears of corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
Juice of half a lime
2 cooked boneless chicken breasts (I poached mine), shredded
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat oven to 400˚F. Place potatoes on a large cookie sheet and bake at 400˚F for 60 to 70 minutes or until tender. Cool 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving just enough behind that the potato skins can still stand up. Place flesh in a large bowl. Mash well and stir in butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions for 5 to 7 minutes or until soft; add corn and sauté 3 more minutes; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Remove from heat and stir in roasted red peppers, lime juice, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place veggies in the bowl with the potato flesh and mix well.

Preheat oven broiler. Mix shredded chicken and BBQ sauce together in a medium bowl. Fill potato skins evenly with the potato/veggie mixture. Top evenly with BBQ chicken and cheddar cheese. Broil for 2 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 660 calories, 26.7g fat, 7.2g fiber, 45.4g protein per serving
Cost: $2.53 per serving

When it comes to pizza, I’m a crust girl. It can make or break a pie for me and I will often scavenge up extra pieces of crust from my crazy family members who are somehow not all about the carbs. The very first thing I made with my sourdough starter was this amazing pizza dough, which resulted in the very best crust I’ve ever made! It’s an ideal way to use up some of starter that you would otherwise throw away when you’re feeding your culture, and the resulting crust had the perfect amount of tang and chew. It just baked up beautifully and I felt like I was in a pizzeria!

I love pizza of all kinds – thick, thin, deep dish – I don’t discriminate, but this time went for a nice hearty thick crust and used the entire amount of dough for one pizza. I topped the crust with a generous amount of an arugula and basil pesto blended with a hefty amount of goat cheese. Then I topped it off with lots of chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fontina cheese. So good!

Oh, and you can actually buy a sourdough starter if you don’t want to deal with making your own but would like to try a few sourdough recipes at home!

Pesto Goat Cheese Pizza
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Pesto Goat Cheese Sauce:
1 cup packed arugula (2 ounces)
1/2 cup packed basil (0.7 ounces)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ounces goat cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Pizza Assembly:
1 batch of sourdough pizza dough
6 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded fontina cheese

Directions:
To make the sauce, place arugula, basil, pine nuts, pecorino romano, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about a 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed. Put in goat cheese and salt and pulse again until smooth.

To make the pizza, heat oven and a pizza stone to 500˚F. Shape pizza dough into desired shape on a peel heavily dusted with semolina flour. Spread crust evenly with pesto goat cheese sauce and top evenly with tomatoes, mozzarella, and fontina cheese. Bake on the pizza stone at 500˚F for 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes and slice into 8 slices.

Nutrition: 384 calories, 14.1g fat, 2.2g fiber, 18.4g protein per slice
Cost: $1.67 per slice

I think I’ve mentioned before that I often devour leftovers for dinner because I tend to get home pretty late and I’m always starving when  I walk in the door. So, when I do manage to find time to cook during the week, I’m usually whipping up a meal to enjoy the next day, and I’m often just getting started in the kitchen around 10 or 11pm!

The other night I made this lasagna and instructed Apolinaras to stick it in the fridge before he hit the sack since it needed to cool down a bit more and I was heading off to bed. You can imagine my surprise when I was suddenly jolted awake by a grinning Apolinaras who had eaten a piece and came in to gush that it was the best lasagna I’d ever made! It was pretty cute that he couldn’t wait until morning to proclaim his lasagna love, and I fell right back asleep and almost thought the whole conversation was a dream until I asked him about the next day.

I stuffed my whole wheat lasagna with layers of creamy ricotta, chicken, summer veggies, and a luscious goat cheese sauce. I was very excited to recently find that the goat cheese at Costco now comes in two 10.5-ounce contains instead of one large package. Now there’s much less pressure to use it up before it goes bad – yay!

Summer Veggie and Chicken Lasagna with Goat Cheese Sauce
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken and Veggie Layer:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 zucchinis, chopped
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

Ricotta Layer:
32 ounces part-skim ricotta
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
10.5 ounces goat cheese (1 log from costco)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembly:
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
To make the chicken and veggie layer, heat olive oil over medium heat and cook chicken for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Place chicken in a large bowl and add zucchini to the same hot pan; sauté 5 minutes and add the leeks; sauté an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Stir zucchini mixture and roasted red peppers in with the chicken.

To make the ricotta layer, place ricotta, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, and egg in a large bowl and mix until smooth.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and whisk in pecorino romano, goat cheese, and salt. Heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package. To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of 4 noodles in a 13×9-inch pan and top it with half the ricotta mixture, half the chicken and veggie mix, half the sauce, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat this layer. Then place the remaining 4 noodles on top and sprinkle evenly with the 2 remaining cups of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350˚F for 45 minutes or until cheesy is light brown and bubbly. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 501 calories, 23.4g fat, 4.1g fiber, 41.6g protein per serving
Cost: $1.93 per serving

I’ve gotten in a little summer routine in the kitchen lately. We can’t get enough zucchini and yellow squash and every Sunday I end up sautéing a bunch of the veggies (7 yesterday!) in my huge wok to enjoy alongside some chicken and carby side dish of some kind. I’m dreaming of the day we have a garden and more summer squash than we know what to do with, but for the time being I’ll settle on what I can scoop up at the farmers’ market. The way I cook the chicken varies a bit, so at least I’m not completely in a rut! One of my favorite ways to keep chicken juicy is to marinate it in Greek yogurt and then give it a quick sear on my grill pan before finishing it in the oven. Of course, I can’t wait until we have a backyard for a grill too!

The other weekend I mixed the yogurt along with some tart lime juice, sweet honey, and a plethora Moroccan spices, which I picked based on this recommendation. I love the way spices can transform a dish from average to exotic.

Moroccan Spiced Chicken
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
Place Greek yogurt, lime juice, honey, turmeric, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl and mix until well combined. Spread marinade evenly over chicken breasts in a shallow dish and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium high heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray and sear chicken for 2 minutes per side or until browned. Place chicken in a large rectangular dish and bake at 350˚F for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 337 calories, 2.9g fat, 0.1g fiber, 59.6g protein per serving
Cost: $1.63 per serving

There are some things I never pass up and one of them is corn on the cob. I will eat it anytime, anywhere, even if I don’t have any floss with me. The deliciousness is definitely worth having a few annoying pieces stuck in my teeth! Of course, fresh summer corn is just as tasty off the cob and I recently decided to take advantage of the season’s bounty by making a lovely corn salsa that also featured poblano peppers, red onion, lime juice, and cilantro.

I ended up piling the salsa atop a mound of cumin and paprika spiced shrimp nestled on corn tortillas covered with a creamy avocado spread. Just one bite convinced me that I need to put shrimp in my tacos more often! Oh, and I actually doubled the recipe for the corn salsa and stuffed the leftovers into some cheese quesadillas the next day for lunch – yum!

Shrimp Tacos with Corn Salsa
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Corn Salsa:
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
Kernels from 2 ears of corn
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
Juice of half a lime
1/4 teaspoon salt

Shrimp:
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp with tails removed
1 tablespoon canola oil

Avocado Spread:
1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and mashed
Juice of half a lime
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Assembly:
6 corn tortillas, warmed

Directions:
To make the corn salsa, heat canola oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add onion and pepper and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes; add corn and sauté 2 additional minutes or until all veggies are tender. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

To make the shrimp, mix cumin, paprika, and salt in a small bowl and evenly rub into shrimp. Heat canola oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet and sauté shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes or until pink and cooked through.

To make the avocado spread, mix the mashed avocados, lime juice, cilantro and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

To assemble the tacos, evenly cover the corn tortillas with the avocado spread. Top evenly with shrimp and corn salsa. Makes 3 servings.

Nutrition: 547 calories, 21.4g fat, 11.5g fiber, 38.9g protein per serving
Cost: $3.98 per serving