Filling (and really darn good) Pasta

A few weeks ago I whipped up a lunch with some random things I had in the refrigerator and pantry and I came up with a tasty little pasta dish that had kale, chickpeas, olive oil, and garlic in it. Tonight, I recreated the dish but added a spicy/zesty red sauce to it. One word: AWESOME!

That bowl of goodness you see above contains:

Whole Wheat Penne

Chickpeas

Kale

Crushed Red Tomatoes w/ olive oil, crushed red pepper, crushed garlic, salt and pepper

Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

- Boil penne noodles.

-Sautee kale and chickpeas in olive oil with garlic and salt.

-Combine crushed tomatoes with olive oil, red pepper, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat.

-Toss everything together with the pasta and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top.

Beware: This is a very filling meal!

QQQQuinoa and a Kitchen Cart

In order to recover from my Super Bowl binge fest I decided I would eat lots and lots and lots of vegetables today. Tonight's bowl featured quinoa, chickpeas, brocoli, zuchini, red and green peppers, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, red onions, and yellow carrots.

I toasted the chickpeas with some garlic, pepper, and salt to give them a little kick.

I put olive oil, salt, and pepper on the vegetables and roasted them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

I tossed the quinoa, chickpeas, and veggies together.

COMING SOON! Pictures of my new KITCHEN CART!!!

Veggie Curry

I have been craving a curry like CrAzY lately. So, I made it! I threw cauliflower, green beans, carrots, red peppers, and chick peas into my saute pan. Seasoned them with curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. Covered and steamed for 10 minutes. Added about 1.5 cups of plain yogurt to the pan, mixed it up and served over quinoa and sprinkled some cashews on top. My craving was satisfied in about 20 minutes. Perfect.

The inpsiration for this recipe came from Savvy Vegetarian, which is a great website.

While eating this meal I came to realize that chick peas are quickly becoming one my new favorite foods. I just love their nutty, earthy taste. It doesn't hurt that they are really good for you too!

Weekly Lunch Prep

My grocery shopping trip was fun today. It felt good to go with a meal plan and buy all sorts of whole foods for the week to come. After returning from the store I put in a Beatles CD, turned up the stereo, and prepped for this week's lunches. I started by making a basic hummus.

Yum: Olive oil and lemons.

Hummus:

2 tablespoons Tahini

1 can Chick Peas

2 large cloves garlic, sliced

Juice of half lemon

Approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil

Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Pepper

Place tahini, chick peas, garlic, lemon, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper into food processor. Begin to blend together while drizzling in olive oil. Blend until smooth consistencey. It might be necessary to add a bit more olive oil or a little bit of water to reach your desired consistencey.

After making the hummus I chopped all sorts of colorful and bright veggies. Don't you just love the colors of vegetables? This weeks veggie selections: Carrots, yellow squash, zuchini, red pepper, green pepper, and celery.

All packaged up for easy packing in the morning.

Let us not forget the nutritional value of these SUPERfoods!

Tahini (made from sesame seeds)

Chickpeas

Garlic

Cayenne Pepper

Carrots

Yellow Squash

Zuchini

Celery

Bell Pepper