Mozzarella Bites

Sometimes you just need a little bit of comfort food, even if it's for nothing more annoying than really bad traffic. I'm not sure how often I'll make these, because they're a bit fiddly, but they were really good. Original recipe for the balls here and the marinara sauce here, but I did change a few things.

Ingredients:
1 tub of mozzarella balls
30-40 basil leaves*
1 package of square wonton wrappers
1 egg white
1 Tlbs milk
1 can tomato sauce
1 garlic clove
3 Tlbs fresh parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1/3 cup minced onion
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1-2 Tlbs grapeseed oil

Directions:
Make the marinara sauce first. Put the tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper into a food processor, and process until smooth. Then heat the grapeseed oil in a saucepan, and saute the onions for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato sauce and the white wine vinegar, and let it simmer for half an hour or more while you prepare the mozzarella balls. Rinse, drain, and dry the balls, then cut them in half. Chiffonade (slice) the basil leaves. Then whisk the egg white and milk together in a small bowl, and open the package of wonton wrappers. Take a wonton wrapper, and brush the egg white mixture along two sides. Then put half of a mozzarella ball and a few slices of basil in the center and fold the un-egged sides up to make a triangular package. Press the edges together. Then brush more of the egg mixture on one side of the triangle, and fold the sides and top wings down to make a little envelope. Set it aside to cure for a while. Continue doing this until you have as many as you want. Let the last ones cure for about 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 350, and spray some olive oil on a baking sheet and let it heat as well. When it's hot, put the mozzarella envelopes on the pan, spray the tops lightly with olive oil, then let them bake for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, turn the  marinara sauce off and let it cool slightly. After removing the mozzarella balls from the oven, drain them (if needed) and let them cool slightly before eating.

*Basil. More is ALWAYS better. If you have extra, toss it in the marinara sauce.

This was good, but fairly time-consuming. It took me about an hour to prepare everything before putting the envelopes in the oven. This did not mesh with the time on the original recipe, so she might be a genie or something. I would assume you could make these ahead of time and refrigerate them for maybe 24 hours before cooking, but if you do, I would recommend keeping them in a sealed container, and make sure there is no moisture on them before you bake them.

Rating? 4/5
Why? They took a while to construct, but were really good once they were done. I ate too many. =)

Grilled Chicken and Barley Salad

Ugh....summer cooking. I just....don't. It's so much work. Fortunately, this one was easy, and only seems like it takes a long time. Most of it is just letting things cook while you watch Netflix in front of the fan. This was also the first time I have cooked with barley. It's pretty good, actually, and takes the same amount of time as regular rice. Original recipe here, which I followed with just a few tweaks.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, fat cut off
1/2 cup barley*
1.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup fresh or thawed corn
3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup minced red onion
2-3 Tlbs cooked, chopped bacon**
10-12 leaves of basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Vinaigrette/Marinade
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1.5 Tlbs olive oil
1 Tlbs water
1 Tlbs red wine vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tlbs red onion
salt and pepper

Directions:
Put the marinade ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth. Put 1/4 of vinaigrette/marinade into a plastic bag, add the chicken breast, and toss it in the fridge. Set aside the other 3/4 of the vinaigrette. Heat the broth and barley until it's boiling, then put a lid on the pan and turn it to low. Let it simmer, untouched, for 40 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and fluff the barley with a fork. Drain well and let it cool. Put the corn, cherry tomatoes, onion, bacon, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl. When the barley is cooled down, add it and the remaining vinaigrette to the bowl and toss well. Meanwhile, grill  the chicken until done, then let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

*I used pearl barley.
**I used previously cooked turkey bacon because I had it, she used 3-4 strips.

This was good, and like I said, really easy. I probably spent 10 minutes doing hands on chopping and prep and it was a good summer dish.

Rating: 4/5
Why? I'm not sure how I feel about the marinade being used on the chicken. I might not do that next time.

Asian Noodle Veggie Bowl

A few months ago, I stumbled across the Minimalist Baker (thanks Pinterest!) and fell in love with her recipes, her photography, and the good food. I don't love everything - she's vegan and I am most definitely not - but I do like that her goal is to use as few ingredients as possible and I appreciate the effort she puts into creating really great, healthy, filling food. This recipe popped up a few months ago, and it joined the many other recipes of hers on my pinterest page, until I decided to try it this week. Holy Deliciousness, Batman. This is going in the permanent rotation!

Ingredients:
Thin rice noodles*
1 chicken breast
green onions
1 med-lg carrot
several basil leaves**
2 tsp sesame seeds
(Dressing Ingredients)
1 Tlbs black sesame oil
1 Tlbs honey
1 Tlbs peanut butter
2 tsp tamari soy sauce
1 tsp-ish of lime juice
1/4 tsp chili sauce
1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger

*I bought these at Uwajimaya. I can't read the instructions. But it's cool. =) These would work too, and you can get them at most traditional grocery stores. Use about a handful.
**I have a deep and abiding love for basil, and I usually triple it, at a minimum. I used probably 10-12 large leaves for this recipe.

Directions:
Heat up the grill, and put the chicken on it when it's hot. While it is grilling, boil some water and put the rice noodles in a dish that is deep enough for them to be covered. When the water is boiling, pour the water over the top of the noodles and without stirring, let them sit for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the carrot into matchsticks and chop the basil. Then whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside. By this time the chicken should be done, so let it rest, then cube it. By this time the noodles should be cooked, so rinse them with cold water and let them drain. This recipe makes two servings, so split the noodles, carrots, basil, chicken and green onions between the two bowls. Drizzle the dressing over the top of the ingredients and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

This is DELICIOUS and super fast. If I hadn't had to cook the chicken, it would have come together in ten minutes, a lovely end to a really busy day. In addition, it was really filling and tasted great. I didn't deviate much from the original recipe, but it would be delicious with edamame or fresh snow peas. In addition, I added sesame seeds to the recipe above because I thought it sounded good, but it wasn't part of the original recipe and I didn't put them in this time.

Rating? 5/5
Why? Fast, healthy, and delicious. Perfect.

Vegetable Quinoa Skillet

You know, there really is nothing better than a really easy, vegetarian meal...unless it's a hamburger. I like the idea of vegetarianism, but I don't like it in reality. I'll always like chicken and the occasional hamburger, and you can't have Thanksgiving without turkey, but this little skillet mix is pretty stinking amazing. Original recipe here (warning...very picture heavy post). I didn't know what to call this - skillet, stir-fry, hash, I don't know - but it's good no matter what you call it.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1.75 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 small zucchini, cubed
1.5 cups corn
1 cup green onions, chopped
1-2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese
15-20 leaves of basil, chopped

Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1-1.5 Tlbs honey
pinch of salt
1.2 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, finely minced

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine the quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to boiling and then turn down to low. Let it simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes, until liquid is gone. Set it aside. Meanwhile, in a jar with a lid, mix 2 Tlbs lemon juice, 1 Tlbs lemon zest, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic. Shake well, set aside. Then warm 1 Tlbs of olive oil in a LARGE* skillet on mediumish, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so, until it is fragrant. Then toss in the zucchini, corn, and green onions and saute for another 4-5 minutes. Add the quinoa and half the vinaigrette, and stir for another minute. Then add the tomatoes, feta, basil and the rest of the vinaigrette, and toss in a little bit of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let it sit and meld for 5 minutes or so before serving.

*She said in the original recipe to use a large skillet, and she wasn't kidding. This is a HUGE recipe. I could have cut it in half and still had enough for at least two more meals, and as it is, my fridge is full of leftovers. My pan was actually kind of crowded. Cutting it in half would probably serve 3 adults comfortably and might make the stirring process easier. She also had less basil, (but we all know how I feel about my best friend basil...) and recommended fresh corn. I had frozen, and threw it in the pan still frozen, and it turned out fine. She also says this is good cold, I haven't tried it that way.

Holy cow, this is freaking delicious. I really don't like zucchini, but I thought I'd give it a shot, and I love it in this. She originally wrote this as a farmers market recipe, and it really seems like it could be really versatile. Be careful with the salt, though, since the feta is pretty salty it is easy to go overboard. I cut it down in my recipe from the original. The feta is super creamy in this, and really goes well with the lemon. I also am not a fan of lemon zest, but I liked it in this. I highly recommend prepping everything while your quinoa is cooking, as the actual sauteing goes really fast...no more than 10 minutes, start to finish.

Rating: 5/5
Why? Fast, easy, delicious, and healthy. Mmmmm....

Tomato Garbanzo Bean Salad

School starts tomorrow, so I am sad to say goodbye to summer. And by sad, I mean desolated. One of my least favorite things about school is how early we start...I have to be at school  at 6:50 in the morning, which means I have to leave my house no later than 6:15. I do not function well in the mornings, so the last thing I want to do is think about lunch at that ridiculous hour. This will work well for that. Original recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans
1 package grape tomatoes
12-15 basil leaves
1 Tlbs red wine vinegar
1 Tlbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tlbs olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
pinch of salt

Directions:
Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans. Rinse the tomatoes and slice them in half. Chop the basil and add it as well. Mince the garlic. Toss everything together with the vinegar, olive oil, and salt and let it marinate for at least an hour before serving. Serve chilled.

The original recipe called for 1/2 Tlbs of honey, but I forgot to put it in, and liked it just fine without it, so I left it out here as well. 

Rating: 5/5
Why? This was very easy to put together and tasted very delicious and filling.

Roasted Red Pepper Penne

I may have mentioned my love of basil here before, but seriously, I LOVE basil. I don't have much planting space - just a little balcony - but I am planning on planting only basil this year. Otherwise, I spend $4 a week on a 6 oz box of organic basil at Safeway, and I use all of it each week. So this recipe has become an instant favorite, as it incorporates a full cup of basil as well as another favorite, red peppers. Original recipe from here (via pinterest, of course), but I have changed it a bit to make it a little healthier.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups penne pasta
1/8 cup olive oil
4 whole garlic cloves
1/3 cup pine nuts
2-3 chopped roma tomatoes
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 cup fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4-1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the oil and garlic over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, then add the pine nuts and heat for another 1-2 minutes. Put the oil, garlic, and pine nuts into a food processor, then toss the tomatoes into the warm pan and let them break down just slightly (1-2 minutes, tops). Back at the food processor, pulse the warm oil mixture. Then add the parmesan and pulse again, then add the bell peppers, basil, salt and pepper and pulse until smooth. I like mine a little creamy, so I add a little Greek yogurt and milk, then pour it over the cooked and drained pasta. Stir it all together, then stir in the chicken and tomatoes. Top with chopped basil and parmesan cheese and serve.

Seriously, this stuff is awesome. And if your chicken is already cooked, it comes together in about 20 minutes. I love how much basil is in this (of course) and since I use whole wheat pasta, it is really filling. In the original recipe, she used cream instead of Greek yogurt and milk, and used 1/3 cup of oil, but I hate oily pesto and so I cut it down significantly. I also sometimes throw in a dash of hazelnut oil just for kicks, but that isn't really necessary.

Rating? 5/5
Why? It's simple, delicious, and filling.