Angel Hair with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil Capelli d`Angelo con Pomodorini e Basilico

Ingredients

1 package	Angel Hair Pasta
1/4 cup	extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves peeled	garlic
1 teaspoon	crushed red pepper flakes
2 pints	cherry tomatoes, halved
5 leaves	fresh basil leaves
to taste	salt
1/2 cup	Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

HEAT olive oil in skillet. Peel and gently press garlic. Add garlic and red pepper flakes.
CUT cherry tomatoes in half and tear basil into small pieces. ADD cherry tomatoes and basil to the skillet. Simmer for five minutes. Season with salt. Discard garlic cloves.
COOK Angel Hair pasta according to the directions. Drain and toss with sauce. Garnish with freshly grated pecorino cheese.

Fish Tacos

source

FISH TACOS

1/2 lb. Mahi Mahi fillets (per person) cut into approximately 4 long strips (Tip: Costco has frozen wild Mahi Mahi fillets individually packaged. Each is about 1/2 lb.)
OR you can use 2 lb tilapia (or any firm white fish) cut in 1" strips

1. Heat grill and baste with olive oil spray (or similar)
2. Brush Mahi Mahi with marinade
3. When grill is hot, place Mahi Mahi on grill and turn after about 4 minutes. Brush on more marinade and cook another 5 minutes or so.

Grill Tortillas and Top with Fish and favorite garnishes
Here are our favorites:
Salsa
Green Cabbage
Green Scallions
Fresh Mango Chunks
Chipotle Cream Sauce

Marinade:
1/4 cup canola oil
2 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Pour into a bag w/ fish and marinade for 15-20 minutes.

Chipotle Cream Sauce
1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (Kosher salt has the best flavor)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 chipotle chilies in adobo, minced
1/2 lime Juiced
Dash of sugar

FRUIT & VEGGIE DIPS w/ Variations

What goes better with fresh fruit and veggies??

DIPS!

My kids LOVE to eat anything with dip! There are a lot of things that make a good dip already prepared:

Hummus
Peanut/ Almond/ Cashew Butter
Ranch Dressing
Yogurt
Salsa


OR you can make up some dips ahead time too. Here are a few recipes:

Basic Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

1 8-ounce package cream cheese,softened
3 tablespoons sugar or Agave Nectar
1 cup sour cream or Mascarpone
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.

Variations:

Almond Fruit Dip:

Add 3 tablespoons finely chopped almonds and 1 1/2 teaspoons almond liqueur to the basic recipe. Garnish with 1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds, if desired.

Raspberry Fruit Dip:

Puree 1 cup sweetened raspberries (aprox. 1 10-ounce package). Spoon half the basic recipe into a serving dish and smooth. Top with half the raspberry puree and smooth. Repeat.

Lemon Fruit Dip:

Add zest of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 extra tablespoon sugar to the basic cream cheese fruit dip recipe.

Marshmallow Fruit Dip:

Add 1/2 cup marshmallow creme to the basic recipe.

All recipes: Chill and serve with assorted fruit dippers such as bananas, grapes, kiwi, apple, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, and papaya, cut into bite-size pieces, if necessary. Bagel bites are good, too. Makes 2 to 3 cups.

Honey-Yogurt Dip

• 2 cups vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Coconut Fruit Dip

1/2 C. softened cream cheese (4 oz., or half a block)
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. sweetened shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients well.

Veggie Dip


1 8oz container of Greek style yogurt (1 cup)
2 tablespoons grated onion (sweet preferred)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon fresh chopped mint
2 teaspoons of honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, stir all ingredients together and serve immediately or chill in refridgerater.

Taco Soup -- SLOW COOKER

TACO SOUP -- SLOW COOKER

Today I made this soup for my family -- it is pouring rain here and this is a perfect warm, delicious COMFORT food for a rainy day! I am serving the Taco Soup with some Nacho Cheese Tortillas chips I found from Trader Joes.

This is one of my favorite easy crock-pot meals. Probably because it is easy to throw together and you can really vary it however it suits your tastes, what you have on hand in your pantry, and whatever dietary needs you may have. I adapted the recipe from here... and I have made it many times with different variations.


TACO SOUP - SLOW COOKER

The Ingredients:
--2 cans of kindey beans

--2 cans of pinto beans

--2 cans of corn

--1 large can of diced tomatoes

--1 can diced green chiles

--1 packet taco seasoning

--1 packet ranch dressing mix
--1 32oz box of broth (veggie or chicken--whatever you prefer)

--1 lb browned ground turkey or hamburger (optional.) I used Trader Joes Veggie Sausage Links

--shredded cheese, sour cream, diced green scallions, and/or avocado for embelishment

The Directions:

--brown whatever meat (if you are going to use it) -- I sometimes add a small diced onion.

--add to crockpot

--sprinkle seasoning packets on top of meat

--drain and rinse the beans and add

--add the ENTIRE contents of the corn, tomato, and green chili cans
--stir.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5. I think the longer you cook soup, the better, so if you have the time, opt for cooking on low. Stir well, and serve with your favorite toppings!

Spinach And White Bean Lasagna

This is a new recipe to me. I have some dry white beans that need to be used up and some lasagna noodles. I found this recipe here and decided that I would give it a try....there will be an obvious update to this recipe and I will let you know how our family fares from this dish. I will be adjusting the recipe a little bit by using fresh spinach, cooking dry white beans instead of canned, and my lasagna noodles are the boil kind .

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 carrots diced
• 2 onions chopped
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 2 cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes - (14 ½ oz ea)
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 can cannellini beans - (19 oz) rinsed and drained
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach - (10 oz) thawed, squeezed dry
• 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large nonstick saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the carrots, onions and garlic; cook, stirring as needed, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, mushrooms, beans and spinach; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Spoon one-fourth of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a 13— by 9-inch baking pan; top with 3 lasagna noodles. Repeat the layering three more times, ending with the tomato mixture. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top. Bake, covered, 35 minutes. Uncover and bake, until bubbling and golden, about 10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Per Serving: 285 Calories, 5 g Total Fat, 1 g Saturated Fat, 4 mg Cholesterol, 280 mg Sodium, 48 g Total Carbohydrate, 109 Dietary Fiber, 15 g Protein, 208 mg Calcium.

Serving Provides: 1 Bread, 2 Fruit/Vegetables, 2 Protein/Milk, 1 Fat.

Points Per Serving: 4.

Corn Relish (Sweet Corn Salsa)

Corn Relish (Sweet Corn Salsa)

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix & Pour over veggies below

2 Cans corn niblets (or use frozen corn)
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced red or green bell pepper
1/3 cup diced white onion
3 Tbl chopped cilantro (more if desired)
1 can black eyed peas

Marinate in dressing (overnite if possible)
Serve w/ tortilla or corn chips

MEAL PLANNING FORMS

Here is an example of the pantry and freezer inventory list that I use...the freezer list looks exactly like the pantry list (but with freezer written on the top instead of pantry-- you get the idea)



And then I have a grocery checklist too that I will use on occasion. Most of the time I end up writing it on a piece of paper.