My Favorite Sandwich: Pesto, Tomato, Mozzarella

This is my favorite sandwich - a fresh baguette slathered with pesto and topped with basil leaves and thick slices of mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. The first time I had a variation of this sandwich was with Katie when we took the train into Harvard Square and got the sandwiches at Au Bon Pain. It became a ritual of sorts, and every time we went to Harvard Square we'd get the sandwiches. Now every time I eat one of these I think of her. 

Even better is making the sandwiches at home, when you can use homemade pesto and pick the freshest ingredients to fill the sandwich. This is exactly what I was in the mood for this weekend - a big sandwich to fill the bottomless pit of my belly (no matter what I eat, it always seems like I'm hungry all day long after I've finished a big run. Saturday was no exception after my 12 mile run).

To make these sandwiches you'll need the following:

• baguette
• pesto
• mozzarella cheese
• tomatoes
• fresh basil (optional but strongly recommended)

Once you have all of your ingredients, the assembly is quite simple.

Cut sections of your bread and slice down the middle.

Slather both sides of bread with pesto.

Add slices of mozzarella.

Add slices of tomato and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired.

Add fresh basil leaves.

Close your sandwich and enjoy!

This sandwich really hit the spot! Sometimes I'll make an open-faced sandwich, but I was hungry enough to eat a full one - and a little more pesto is never a bad thing. This is also the first "meal" I ever made for Pat on my own. It was probably five years ago at this point - one day I bought all of the ingredients and surprised him. He'd never had it before and loved it - and I was so excited to have made something for him that he liked (since he's always been the food expert). I made him one on Saturday, too.

Speaking of the bottomless pit of my belly...I pack a snack to have on the ride home from work (since its over an hour drive). Usually I pack some baby carrots and/or an apple, but I still find that when I walk in the door I'm starving and ready to devour everything in sight (which is especially inconvenient if I'm going to the gym). I realized that these snacks weren't really enough to tide me over from lunch until dinner, so I've been making baggies of assorted snacks that combine a little fat, fiber and protein. The snack I made today was my favorite so far:

Peanut Butter Puffins cereal (if you haven't tried this yet, you must), raw almonds, and unsweetened dried apple rings.

This keeps me full a lot longer and prevents me from tearing apart the kitchen when I get home (or at least delays it for a while!).

What's your favorite snack? What do you eat before working out?

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Pat and I had some family over for linner (lunch/dinner) on Sunday and I made chicken cacciatore in the crock pot. I'd made this in a skillet before, but this was my first time using a crock pot - as expected it was quite easy and came out very well!

Pat called his dad for this recipe, and I made a few changes to the process and ingredients.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

(serves 10 with a lot of leftovers)

Ingredients

• 5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp dried basil
• fresh basil
• 2 cans (28 ounces) Pastene "Kitchen Ready" crushed tomatoes
• 12 ounces mushrooms, cut into thirds
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 red and 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 2 boxes pasta, cooked and drained
• fresh Parmesan and Romano cheese, grated

Prepare your chicken and vegetables.

(I recently read that lighting a candle will stop you from crying when cutting onion - this didn't work for me!)

Put chicken, vegetables, garlic, Italian seasoning, dried basil, wine, and 1.5 cans tomatoes in the crock pot (reserve the remaining 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes to toss the pasta when cooked). Mix until everything is well coated.

Cook on low/high for 4-8 hours (this depends on the amount of food in your crock pot and how long you have before you need to serve it - my crock pot was completely full, so I cooked it on high for about 6 hours).

About 30 minutes before serving I added fresh basil to the crock pot. Wash, tear, and add.

 

Then in a small bowl, stir together chicken broth and corn starch until smooth. Add mixture to crock pot, stir in, and cook on high for another 10-15 minutes or until sauce thickens.

 

Linner is served!

 

(This picture was taken before I added some of the fresh Parmesan and Romano cheese on top - definitely do this because its the perfect finishing touch!)

Everyone said that they really liked this dish, and several people went back for seconds. So either it was a big hit or I just have very polite guests!

Big Night

At about noon yesterday I realized something quite exciting...that night was the first night I didn't have plans, have to study or work on essays in weeks! I had absolutely nothing to do! Sometimes when you feel like you're constantly running from one thing to another (I feel this way often) it is so nice to have a night with absolutely nothing planned. But of course, being the type-A that I am, I immediately started planning my night. Pat would be gone until late evening because he had several meetings, I was out of work at 3:30 because I'd gotten in so early, so that left hours of time to myself. How will I entertain myself? A couple years ago the answer to that question would have been Thirsty Thursday! But now, all I wanted to do was cook! I had my appetizer, entree and dessert planned by the time I left work. I made it back to Nashua in record time, stopped at Trader Joe's to stock up on some ingredients, and then hit the gym for a six mile run. 

I got home at 6:45 energized, starving, and sweaty. After showering, I got to work in the kitchen.

Tonight's Menu:

Appetizer: Broccoli Hummus with Baked Pita Chips and Carrots

Entree: Tofu and Mushroom Marsala

Dessert: Salted Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, that's a lot of food to make for myself and eat myself, but I'd managed to work up quite the appetite on the ride home and treadmill.

Broccoli Hummus

I've been meaning to make hummus for a while now that I have a food processor, but hadn't gotten around to it. For this I used all of the typical ingredients of hummus, but added broccoli, halved the oil, and didn't use tahini (Trader's didn't have any and I didn't feel like going on a quest for it). Pat and I are a little bit obsessed with broccoli and have it almost every night with dinner. I thought that adding broccoli to my hummus would be a fun new way to incorporate it into a meal.

This is so easy to make - just throw all of your ingredients into the food processor and continue to process until it reaches the desired consistency (several minutes).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw broccoli
• 15 ounce can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any, didn't think it needed it)

I also made some whole wheat pita chips to have with the hummus.  This came out to be so delicious! The garlic and lemon add a lot to the taste of this dip - it was a wonderful snack to have as I made dinner, and good for you, too! I can't wait to use this in a sandwich this weekend.

Tofu and Mushroom Marsala

I've never made Marsala before, but Pat has made me chicken Marsala several times and I've always loved it. When I saw a recipe for tofu Marsala I couldn't wait to try it! This meal came together very quickly but tasted as though someone had spent hours in the kitchen (well I did, but this dish only took about 30 minutes from start to finish!).

In a large pan heated on medium, saute minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant.

Add bell pepper, oregano and salt. Saute for about 5 minutes.

Turn the heat to high and add Marsala and tofu, cook for 4 minutes (I wanted the wine to reduce more so it would be less liquidy, so I cooked about 5-6 minutes).

Turn heat to medium-high and add mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and stir in basil.

Serve in bowls with freshly grated Parmesan on top, and crusty bread on the side (I bought Ciabbata rolls from Trader Joe's that were perfect for this).

This was so good - definitely one of the best tofu dishes I've made. I love the basil and Parmesan cheese with the tofu, and all of the flavors blended really well together. As I said, I wouldn't have thought to make tofu in a Marsala dish, but it worked so well!

Recipe

This is from Serious Eats - their recipe serves 4 but I cut mine down to serve 2.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup Marsala cooking wine
• 1/2 package firm light tofu, pressed and cut into strips
• (1/2) 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (I used Trader Joe's fire roasted tomatoes for some spice)
• 5 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped basil
• Parmesan cheese (to grate on top)
• Crusty bread or pasta to serve with

Directions:

1. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bell pepper, oregano, and salt. Saute 5 minutes.
2. Turn heat up to high. Add Marsala and tofu and cook 4 minutes, so wine reduces a little (I cooked 5-6 minutes so it reduced more).
3. Turn heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in basil. Serve in bowls with crusty bread or pasta.

Salted Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love anything that combines salty and sweet, so I had a good feeling about these cookies. They did not disappoint! Though they look more like little dough balls than cookies, the taste is outstanding...and its impossible to eat just one. I also love that this recipe uses whole wheat flour instead of white...and that there's oats in them!

In a medium bowl, mix oats, flour, and baking powder.

In a smaller bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, and syrup.

Add egg and vanilla - mix thoroughly.

Combine dry and wet ingredients.

Roll dough into balls. Place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper and sprinkle with sea salt (don't be shy about the salt!). Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

I wish I'd flattened these a bit before cooking because they maintained their ball shape. I'd forgotten the difference between brown and white sugar - the white sugar allows the cookies to spread, whereas brown sugar usually maintains the original shape. So though the shape isn't perfect, the taste was!! These go so well with a cold glass of milk. For you nut lovers out there - definitely include nuts if you have them. The added crunch is great!

Recipe (from Nutrition Nut on the Run)

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1/4 cup because I only added to half the batter, use 1/2 a cup if adding to all of batter)
• sea salt

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix oats, flour, and baking powder. 
2. In a smaller bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, and syrup. Add egg and vanilla - mix thoroughly.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
5. Roll dough into balls. Place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Hungry with a Chance of Meatballs

 

Pat and I have both been craving meatballs...spaghetti piled high with sauce and meatballs, subs stuffed with meatballs and melted provolone cheese...we considered getting meatball subs the other night, but agreed that it would be far tastier and more satisfying to make them at home (and much healthier!). After a phone call to Pat's dad (who makes amazing meatballs) we set off for the grocery store. Everything went off without a hitch, except perhaps the meat selection. Pat's dad's meatballs are made with equal parts ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal. I am not down with veal. Yes, I understand that veal is beef (Pat thought that explaining this might change my mind) ... but I also understand that veal is baby beef.  Usually it is a male calf taken from its mother at birth and kept in very restricted living spaces so it does not develop muscle (so it tastes more tender) and slaughtered after about 4 months. The thought of the whole process is really upsetting to me; I've never eaten veal before and don't think I ever will. So I told Pat, you can use veal in the meatballs, I just won't participate in making them or eating them. He decided to use two parts ground beef (1 pound 96/4 and 1 pound 93/7) to one part ground pork (1 pound 90/10). That was the right decision.

Making the sauce and meatballs:

Garlic cloves in olive oil:

Add diced onion:

Add basil, oregano, crushed bay leaves, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper:

Continue to cook and stir until fragrant and onions are translucent.

Add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of tomato paste:

Stir the paste into the onion mixture and saute for a few minutes.

Next you'll add your "Kitchen Ready" tomatoes. The McGourty family swears by Pastene.

Pat adding all 3 cans:

And stir it all together. Continue stirring for a few minutes on medium heat, then turn down to low and allow to simmer.

Allow the sauce to cook for at least 2 hours before adding the meatballs.

To prepare meatballs, mix together all ground meat, 2 eggs, and add the following to taste: crushed red pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Then add about 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and mix together.

As you form the meat into balls, put them into the pot of sauce to cook.

Once all meatballs are in sauce, carefully stir to cover. Cook for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, until cooked through. At this point your kitchen will smell amazing and your stomach will probably be growling!

Pat had regular spaghetti with his, and I had whole wheat.

These are so good! Nothing like homemade sauce and meatballs! I really like the crushed red pepper Pat added to these, it gives them a nice little kick.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds ground meat (we used 2 pounds beef and 1 pound pork)
• 3 (28 ounce) cans "Kitchen Ready" tomatoes
• 3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, whole
• Olive oil
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• Spices - basil, oregano, bay leaves, crushed red pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat olive oil on medium (use just enough to coat bottom of pot - you don't want your sauce to be oily). Add the gloves of garlic and cook for a few minutes until browned. Add diced onion and cook for a few minutes, then add spices (we used basil, oregano, crushed bay leaves , crushed red pepper, salt and pepper) and continue to cook for several minutes, stirring, until onions are translucent.
2. Add tomato paste and stir into the onions. Cook for a few minutes. Add all 3 cans of "kitchen ready" tomatoes and continue to stir until sauce starts to bubble. Reduce heat to low and let sauce simmer for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. To make the meatballs - in a large bowl combine ground meat, eggs, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and spices (we used garlic powder, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper). Mix until evenly combined, then form meatballs. We made balls that would fit in the palm of my cupped hand, but you can make whatever size you like. 
4. Put meatballs in the sauce and cook for about 45 min - 1 hour (cook time will depend on the size of your meatballs) on low heat. To test, remove ball from sauce and cut open to ensure it is cooked through.

Day 2 of Meatball Mania - Meatball Subs!

First we cut 6 meatballs in half and heated with sauce until very hot. Then we put the meatballs and sauce into our sub rolls:

We added some sliced provolone to the top:

And baked at 275 degrees for about 5 minutes, until bread is a little bit crispy and cheese was melted.

We enjoyed our hot, cheesy, meaty amazing subs with some steamed broccoli. Wow, so good.

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I also made another batch of the Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies (back by popular demand!). I feel like I've been a cookie-baking machine lately!  I made one tweak that produced different cookies. Instead of using 3/4 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup Sugar In The Raw in the batter, I decided to use 1 full cup of dark brown sugar. These produced the flat cookies that Martha was talking about, but did not spread too much like many people had commented. I got several compliments that these looked  and tasted like they were from a bakery!

Pat liked these a lot, he said they were better than the first batch. I also loved these, but think I might prefer the thicker cookies to these (although these do look nicer). Its fun to experiment with different changes to see what looks and tastes better!