My Favorite Meal (As of recently...)

Once I get hooked onto something... I really get hooked. See this meal. I swear I was eating that meal for months! Since I usually cook for myself, I usually have to end up eating leftovers until it's all gone, but for this combo, I find myself cooking it over and over again and never getting bored of it.

Really, it's the simplest components that could be enjoyed separately, but I just love them together. First, it starts off with a simple but incredibly tasty rice pilaf. I make it all of the time and the fact that I can just put all of the ingredients into a rice cooker and walk away is magic; pure magic. Next, comes the fattoush salad dressed in a simple greek dressing. It's all of my favorite veggies in a dressing that keeps everything fresh and light. If I want, I sauté some spinach with some olive oil and garlic, set it all on a plate and sprinkle with some French feta. And yes, French feta is completely different than Greek feta, and much more tasty - in my opinion!

The picture above is how I normally enjoy all of this stuff but honestly, these are simple recipes for you to use with your own discretion. The rice pilaf is excellent under kabobs and the fattoush is awesome on top some lettuce! Let me know how you like to use these recipes :)

Simple Fattoush Salad

Yields: 4  servings

For the salad:

3 roma tomatoes, seeded and cubed

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cubed

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

3 green onions, sliced

3 tbsn. chopped fresh mint

For the dressing*:

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. lemon pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1 tsp. dried mint

To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a small jar. Seal the jar, then shake vigorously until combined and slightly emulsified, set aside. Toss all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. *The dressing makes much more than needed for the fatuous, but is excellent on almost everything, so save for future use. Use just enough dressing to coat the veggies. Set aside to marinade in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

Sometimes I like to enjoy the fattoush as a mid-day snack - I love it so!

Classic Rice Pilaf

Yields: 6 - 8 servings

1/2 cup fideo noodles

3 tbsn. unsalted butter, melted

1 cup jasmine rice

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 cups water*

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the fideo noodles out on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Make sure to check after 3 minutes just in case your oven is super hot; set aside. In a rice cooker, combine the rice, toasted fideo noodles, butter, spices and water. Cook under the 'white rice' setting. After done, fluff with a fork and enjoy!

*You could use low-sodium chicken stock as an alternative!

Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce

I think it's so funny, or I guess interesting, how much we learn as we grow up. Not only what we learn, information wise, but what we learn to like or dislike. As a kid, I used to hate tomatoes, onions, garlic and avocado - I know I'm really kicking myself about it.

Over time, I don't know what happened, all of a sudden they all began to just grow on me and now, well now, I love them, can't live without them! This pasta is just a simple, comforting meal. Just roast off some tomatoes, toss with some spaghetti and top with a drizzle of really good olive oil. Really, it's that simple. 

Mmmmm carbohydrates!

Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce

Yields:

Original recipe here.

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. pasta, cooked al dente

1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease a 13x9" baking dish with 1/3 of the olive oil. Place the tomatoes cut side up in the dish. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese and garlic and toss with a fork to mix well. Sprinkle the mixture over the tomatoes, making sure that each cut side is well covered with the crumb mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until the tomatoes are cooked through and starting to brown on top, about 20 minutes. When the tomatoes are done, add the basil and stir vigorously to mix everything into a sauce. Add the pasta to the baking dish, then top with the remaining olive oil and toss well. 

Bruschetta

I had a picnic the other day and I was having such a struggle thinking of foods to bring that were portable, delicious, and easily transportable. I came up with a few ideas and this was one of them. As a child, I hated a lot of things: garlic, onions, tomatoes, bean sprouts, carrots, etc. Now that I'm grown, I've also grown to love many of these things. Oh what age brings!

Anyways, tomatoes are now one of my loves! Juicy, sweet and tangy; in other words a perfect vegetable. The best way to enjoy them? Simply. My favorite kind of bruschetta is one that is simple and highlights the tomato. This is one of those and it's absolutely perfect. Make this immediately and fall in love with tomatoes. I'm head over heels for them!
Simple & Delicious Bruschetta

Yields: 4 - 6 servings

Printable Recipe

2 packages of cherry tomatoes, sliced

1 bunch of basil leaves, chiffonaded

2 tbsn. olive oil

1 - 2 large cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

Mix everything together, adding more salt and pepper to taste. You can eat it right away, but I prefer to let everything sit and marinade in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Serve on top of crispy crostini or toasted, sliced baguettes. Enjoy!