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

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

Apolinaras is pretty spoiled in the culinary department.  Last weekend I made a bunch of tofu fried rice for my weekday lunches, and also cooked up a separate batch of chicken breasts for him because he likes to loudly proclaim the fried rice is the worst dish I make. Apparently, it’s not spicy enough and of course, he’s biased because it’s vegetarian and he’s not a huge tofu fan. His grumbling always makes me roll my eyes and giggle though – more rice for me to enjoy, right? Is there a dish that you really like but your significant other can’t stand?

I also try to fulfill most of Apolinaras’ dinner requests, since he doesn’t make them very often. One night he told me that he was in the mood for some chicken stuffed with leftover blue cheese and bacon – umm, yes please, what a great idea! I decided to go for a black and blue theme and made a spice rub to coat the outside of the chicken so it was blackened. In addition to the bacon and blue cheese, I also put shallots, garlic, and cream cheese in the stuffing. I loved how the creamy filling provided a yummy built in sauce for the chicken. Hopefully Apolinaras will inspire another tasty dish soon!

Blackened Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Blue Cheese and Bacon
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup chopped shallots (3-4 large shallots)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 strips turkey bacon, chopped
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 tablespoon ground thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a medium nonstick pan and sauté shallots for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Remove from heat and place in a medium bowl. Add bacon to the same pan and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until browned. Place bacon in the same bowl with the shallots. Allow to cool to room temperature and stir in cream cheese, blue cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to 1/3-inch thickness using a meat mallet. Place filling evenly lengthwise down each chicken breast, roll up the sides, and secure with toothpicks. Mix thyme, allspice, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle chicken breasts evenly with seasoning mix and rub into the chicken.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 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 all four sides. Place seared chicken breasts seam side up in a large baking pan and repeat with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and two chicken breasts. Bake at 350˚F for 18 to 22 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Allow to rest 5 minutes, then remove toothpicks, and cut on a bias. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 541 calories, 26.9g fat, 0.0g fiber, 64.4g protein per serving
Cost: $2.00 per serving

I hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend! Apolinaras and I are celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary with a mini vacation in Portland, Maine, and the eats have been phenomenal so far. I’ll have a full recap soon! In the meantime, I thought sharing the recipe for these Caramelized Pineapple Pulled Pork Flatbreads would be the perfect way to usher in the summer.

I topped warm pieces of naan with BBQ pulled pork, caramelized onions and pineapple, and a touch of cheddar cheese. This is my version of a semi-homemade meal since I bought the smoked pulled pork from Costco and mixed it with a little jarred BBQ sauce. I also used frozen naan instead of making pizza dough. Of course, caramelizing the pineapple and onions takes a little bit of extra time, but I did this the night before so it the meal would come together quickly. I also actually caramelized several onions and a whole pineapple, so I had extra to use in other recipes like this one!

Caramelized Pineapple Pulled Pork Flatbreads
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cups chopped pineapple, patted dry
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
4 pieces naan
2 cups pulled pork with BBQ sauce
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add onions, cover pan, and cook for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, or until onions are caramelized.

Meanwhile, heat over broiler. Place pineapple on a large cookie sheet and sprinkle brown sugar evenly on top. Broil for 5 minutes or until caramelized.

To assemble, top each piece of naan evenly with pulled pork. Sprinkle caramelized pineapple and onions on top. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Place on a cookie sheet and broil for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 644 calories, 34.8g fat, 2.8g fiber, 29.8g protein per serving
Cost: $2.24 per serving