Christmas Pasta Casserole

Hello and welcome! 

Today's dish was one that could only be called "Improv Cooking" (thanks to Alec for the term). While cleaning out all the food in Turman, Lauren and I decided it was time to have an actual meal. To be honest it has little to do with Christmas other than being red and green with "snow", but I suppose that says something for my one-track mind...

The Recipe: Christmas Pasta Casserole

• 1 Box Penne Pasta
• 1 cup Spinach Leaves
• 1 can Crushed Tomatoes
• Parmesan Cheese to taste

The Process: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176.6 degrees Celsius)
2. Boil enough water to fill 3/4 of a pot on the stove. 
3. Cook pasta to desired consistency. 7-8 minutes should produce al dente pasta, depending on your stove. 
4. Strain pasta and transfer to bowl. 
5. Mix spinach, tomatoes, and cheese with pasta. 
6. Transfer to casserole (or other oven-safe) dish. 
7. Sprinkle the top with cheese. 
8. Bake for 5-10 minutes (as desired). 
9. Enjoy!

The Calories: 

Pasta: 800 calories

Tomatoes: 136 calories 

Spinach: 7 calories

Cheese: 52 calories

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TOTAL: 995 calories

Divided by the two of us, this makes a very nice filling meal of only 498 calories each, made of quite healthy components! 

What went right: 

          The pasta was cooked nicely, the spinach was great even though it wasn't sauteed, and the whole dish really fit together quite well! 

What went wrong: 

          Nothing necessarily wrong. I don't know that I can classify it correctly as a casserole without the massive amounts of cheesy layers and far more ingredients, but I can say that it's delicious! 

What would I do next time: 

           Potentially add sauteed zucchini and mushroom. and bake slightly longer. 

Overall, this was a great dish that will definitely be made over and over! 

Spring Easy Salad

Happy Spring!

Yet another late night fridge raid that led to a wonderful meal :) 

The Recipe: Spring Easy Salad

• 1 apple, peeled, sliced, and diced
• 3 inches of cucumber, sliced and cut in half
• 1 tomato, sliced and diced
• 5 leaves of Romaine lettuce, chopped

The Process:

• Chop lettuce
• Peel, slice, and dice apple
• Slice and dice tomato
• Slice cucumber
• Toss salad
• Enjoy!

The Calories;

Lettuce: 24 calories

Cucumber: 15 calories

Tomato: 33 calories

Apple: 77 calories

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TOTAL: 149 calories

Of course, if you want to add any sort of dressing or oils that adds a lot of unnecessary fat and sodium. 

What went right:

          It's a great salad, light but filling. The great part about this salad is that it is light enough to have a large portion if you feel so inclined, but this size is definitely enough to satiate hunger. 

What went wrong:

          The tomatoes started to get a little warm since it took a while to eat the salad. Other than that, nothing. 

What I would do next time:

         I think it would be good to try it without the tomatoes, and instead add halved grapes and toasted nuts...possibly pecans, or honey roasted walnuts. 

Would I do this in college:

          Salads are definitely going to be a large part of my diet in college. 

Lean Salad Sandwich

 Hey food fans!

This is somewhat of a late night leftover sandwich, as we had chicken a few nights prior, only a few slices of ham left, and part of a loaf of french bread. Simple, no cooking needed, and delicious :)

The Recipe: Lean Salad Sandwich

• 2 oz low sodium Ham
• 1/4 grilled chicken breast
• 3 slices of tomato
• 5 slices of cucumber
• 4 leaves of Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 6 inches of french bread

The Process:

• Slice your french bread in half
• Lay down the ham across both sides
• Slice the chicken and lay it across one side
• Lay cucumber across the non-chicken side
• Slice the tomato and lay it across the chicken side
• Wash and chop the lettuce and toss it on the cucumber side
• Close your sandwich, and enjoy!

The Calories:

French Bread: 200 calories

Ham: 60 calories

Chicken: 100 calories

Tomato: 11 calories

Cucumber: 6 calories

Lettuce: 8 calories

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TOTAL: 385 calories

That's awesome for a very filling sandwich, with rich bread and fresh, all natural ingredients. This recipe works well because it has a strong balance of crunch, meat, vegetable, juicy, and dry ingredients. It is most notably healthy because it does not have mayo, mustard, dressing, or any other kind of high-sodium, low nutrient value condiments. It is these additions and other chemical additives that make what could be a healthy sandwich into a problem. 

What went right:

          Everything...it's kinda hard to screw up...

What went wrong: 

          Nothing :)

What would I do next time: 

          To make this more salad-like, I might try hollowing out the bread; making croutons from the insides; loading it with lettuce first and then chopped tomato, cucumber, and chicken; using ham cubes or bacon pieces; and finally adding the croutons on "top", closing the sandwich, and eating it that way. It would become somewhat of an inverted sandwich, with all the meat at the center, surrounded by lettuce. This might also make the sandwich easier to close and eat. 

Will I do this in college:

        I think a late night leftover sandwich sounds like a very collegiate thing to do, don't you agree?

You may be asking,  'Who really needs a recipe to make a sandwich?' I don't, necessarily, when I'm tired and have nothing else that needs my immediate attention. But in college, at 2am, when I have papers to write and about zero brain cells left to focus on what I want to eat? I'd rather be able to scroll through my blog, see a nice and easy healthy sandwich, and make that than turn to whatever other snacking I can get my hands on in the same amount of time. 

Tomato Basil Mini Quiche-cakes

Breakfast. Introduced to most of us as "The Most Important Meal of the Day". Yet as we get older, most people end up skipping breakfast, giving the excuse: 'I don't have time'.

Not having time to eat is a common problem I've heard from most of my friends already on campus. Ironic, yes, because we also gain weight...but I think this stems from the larger metabolic lifestyle changes we don't need to get into right now (perhaps in a separate post!).

Regardless of age or schedule, we all have days when we wake up late or have to wake up early and lose out on that precious first meal. For those days, I thought about a way to solve the problem without resorting to expensive granola bars...

The Recipe: Tomato Basil Mini Quiche-Cakes

• 2 large eggs (feel free to get whatever kind of egg you prefer, although I used white eggs)
• 1/2 tomato, sliced and diced
• 1 leaf basil, torn
• A couple shreds of low-fat mozzarella, or other cheese, if desired. (I did some with and some without)

The Process:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• Place desired size cupcake paper in cupcake pan (any baking pan would work, but since I also made a small batch of cupcakes, it felt right to use the rest of the pan simultaneously)
• Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk well with a fork
• Slice and dice tomato and mix it into the eggs
• Tear basil and mix it into the eggs and tomato
• Fill each cupcake paper about 2/3 of the way full so your Quiche-cakes don't overflow (I had a bit much in two of mine...oops!) **Try to get a good portion of all three ingredients in each Quiche-cake. Otherwise it just isn't the same!**
• Sprinkle desired cheese shreds on top.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, checking for bubbles and a gelatinous/solid-looking texture (just in case your oven isn't the same as mine)
• Allow to cool without covering for 10-15 minutes (longer if you make a larger size)
• Carefully remove and refrigerate in tupperware
• At this point, you may eat them warm, with a small fork or spoon, or you may keep them in the fridge. Personally, I like them as a cold finger food. If you are not going to eat immediately, you must refridgerate.
• Don't skip breakfast for a few days :)
  

The Calories:
        This may vary slightly based on the kind of eggs you use, if you use cheese, etc. In my version:

Eggs: 147 calories
Tomato: 11 calories
Basil: 1/5 calorie
Mozzarella (1/4 tsp): 28 calories
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Total: 186 calories

I made seven Quiche-cakes, so each held about 27 calories of mostly high-protein egg. Definitely high on the healthy scale!

What went right:
            The quiches that did not overflow were delicious and nutritious. The smaller portions make it easier to eat a few over 30-60 minutes and not feel the guilt or weight of a larger quiche or an omlette, while still providing necessary protein. They save well in the fridge and are still yummy three to four days later. I can't see them not being eaten before then.

What went wrong:
          Other than the overflow, I would like to try some different cupcake wrappings. The ones I used stuck to the Quiche-cakes and were harder to remove the first day. By the second and third they came off well but took a layer of food with them...which I, embracing my subconscious childhood cupcake reflex, ate off the paper. I'm going to try some different types with other ingredients and I will re-post when I find the right one :)

What I would do next time:
         Other than the paper and the overflow, I would like to try it in a larger size, just because, and with varied ingredients. I think it would be great with peppers, mushrooms, squash, zucchini, artichoke, and maybe even trying a kind of sweet-and-savory Quiche-cake with banana and chocolate chips.

Will I do this in college:
         Yeah I definitely think having premade mini breakfasts would be better than having to run to the dining hall in the morning, and cheaper/healthier than buying premade toaster treats or granola bars. Additionally, it saves fridge-space to make and keep them compared to buying and keeping the ingredients until I feel the urge to cook them. That initial laziness will be immediately forgotten when there's food at the ready...

...so maybe that's why breakfast is "The Most Important Meal of the Day"! Food is our fuel, and a good boost of protein and fruit/vegetable (I don't discriminate against your personal beliefs regarding the tohMAYtoe/tohMAHtoe) in the morning is a great way to wake up and feel invigorated for the day ahead. Why stay in bed when there's something yummy in the fridge across the room? Now that you're up and eating, wow...it's really nice out! let's leave a little early for class and enjoy the day :)

 

Salami Caprese Panini

Hey there healthy food fans!

Yet another of my late night find what you can in the fridge meals gone oh so right, I present for your consideration:


The Recipe: Salami Caprese Panini

• 2 Slices of Italian Bread
• 2 tbsp shredded, low fat mozzarella
• 1/2 tomato, cut in slices
• 1/8 tbsp butter
• 4 slices of salami, cut in half
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 leaves of basil, shredded

The Process: 

• Turn on one of the burners to high
• Let your panini pan heat up while prepping the food
• Spread the butter on both sides of both slices of bread
• Wash and slice the tomato
• Cut and separate the salami
• Shred the basil leaves
• When the pan is warm, spread the olive oil on the pan and put the bread down
• Sprinkle mozzarella on both slices 
• After a couple minutes, watching to see that the mozzarella is secure and most of the butter has soaked into the bread, sprinkle the basil onto one slice of the bread

• Lay the salami half slices onto the same slice of bread
• Lay the tomato on the same slice of bread
• Using a spatula, put the other slice of bread on top and press until the sandwich sears to taste and is secure. This should take a minute or two, but it depends on your stove. 
• When you are satisfied with your sear, remove the press and set it on the stove to cool. 
• Carefully use the spatula to remove your sandwich and slice in half

The Calories:

          The bread was 108 calories; the tomatoes were 8 calories; the mozzarella was 35 calories; the basil was 0 calories; the salami was 99 calories; and the butter was 8 calories. This makes the total sandwich 258 calories. Most of the olive oil remained on the pan even after cooking, but adding the 126 calories for olive oil, that makes it 384 calories, still. 

What went right: 

         Everything. Loved this sandwich so much and I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

What went wrong: 

        I can honestly say nothing went wrong with this recipe. Success!

What would I do next time:

        Salami is the perfect meat for this sandwich. For a healthier (or vegetarian) version, feel free to eliminate it and substitute with more tomato, roasted peppers, cucumber, or anything else your taste buds desire!

Will I do this in college: 

       I think this is a given. I'm lucky and ecstatic to be bringing a single serve panini pan to college. Look forward to more panini variations because I am in love. 

Overall, a healthy, filling sandwich that had me licking the plate ;D