Simple Supper :: Chana Masala, Biryani Rice, Simple Salad and Whole Wheat Naan

We're trying to think of very simple suppers for the baby days to come. We are going to try to stock our freezer with homemade lasagna, casseroles, soups, etc but I also want to have some easy grocery store dinners that are as healthy and tasty as homemade as well.

Tonight we are having a 15 minute prep dinner with limited cooking/heating time.

TJ's shopping list:

for the salad:
bag of organic mixed greens
tomato
feta cheese (store broken in freezer)
balsamic
olive oil

for the chana masala:
canned garbanzos
masala simmer sauce

for the biryani rice:
frozen grilled chicken (optional)
bag of biryani rice

whole wheat tandoori naan
butter

I don't remember what those loud camping things are.

Gracie: I don't remember what those loud camping things are.
translation: We're having campanelle pasta tonight.

Five minute tomato sauce:
adapted from 101 cookbooks
saute evoo
garlic
28 oz crushed tomatoes
parmesan rind
lemon zest
toss with parma grana and fresh basil and "camping yell" pasta

B: What are you doing? Making a mess with my parmesan cheese?

G: No, I'm making a cake!

Zucchini Penne

After having a BIG lunch at Zuni Cafe with Grammie, we all needed something light for supper. This was quick and so tasty. It would be good for a summer picnic too. We'll have all of the ingredients fresh from the garden by then. Grace picked out the Ronde de Nice and Eight Ball Zucchini at the farmers market.

Zucchini Penne:

Saute:
olive oil
garlic
8 small zucchini

cook 12 oz whole wheat penne or other pasta

place in serving bowl:
LOTS of chopped basil
5 large roma tomatoes diced
parma grana
pine nuts
evoo
s+p

toss with cooked zucchini and pasta and serve.


**While eating dinner Gracie asked Grammie how long she was staying. Then she said "I want you to stay the same size week as Grandpa"

Banana Pancakes

We're having too much fun reading books, singing songs and pushing furniture around so at 6 pm we have no idea what is for dinner and I wasn't as crazy about last night's soup as Gracie and Ryan. Let's put in some Jack Johnson and have banana pancakes!

We sometimes have the Vegetarian Times pancake mix ready to go in the freezer but instead we are using TJ's multigrain mix

2 mashed bananas
2 1/2 cups pancake mix
1 cups milk
2 Tsps oil
2 eggs
I also like to add chopped pecans sometimes

Cinco de Mayo - Zucchini Tacos

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Gracie was excited to drive by Lulu's today which was decorated with balloons galore. So we are making our own tacos...Coffee Cottage style.

My mother in law bought me a micro-plane with interchangeable plates years ago in Boulder and it is really one of the best kitchen tools we have. It is perfect for grating cheese or zucchini right onto a tortilla.

Zucchini Tacos:

preheat oven to 350 degrees
lightly coat corn tortillas (preferably handmade) with olive oil
spread refried beans on tortillas
sprinkle cheese on top of that
grate zucchini on top of that
bake for 5 minutes

top with your favorite salsa, guacamole, etc

Almost Pantry Pasta

We have been battling naps lately (and whether or not they are going away forever or hopefully NOT) so when Gracie took a late nap today and was still asleep at 6 pm with nothing, I mean nothing, not even milk, in the fridge...I had to get creative. Good practice right?
So I started a new category--almost pantry--to collect last minute meals that can be made from pantry items, with maybe an onion or frozen vegetable thrown in for fun...and nutrition. Here is what we are attempting tonight with frozen spinach, garbanzo beans and olives.

Almost Pantry Pasta:
saute
1/2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 bell pepper
add
dried basil and oregano s+p
1/2 bag frozen spinach
one can of olives
2 cans garbanzo beans
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

toss with
whole wheat fettucini (Gracie loves the "long" noodles)
olive oil
grana if you have it in the freezer

On another note, this family HATES plastic, so indeed I started another category for this soapbox.
Canned goods are lined with a plastic coating that contains  bisphenol A  which we have tried to keep out of our household as well as other plastics. Eden brand canned goods is the only brand to date that does NOT contain BPA so stock up and send a message to other canning companies. I stock up when it is on sale at the market on goodies like the above items that we always try to have on hand.

Rub-A-Dub

We had a great dinner the other night that was the epitome of summer...even though it is only spring. A big salad, grilled corn (that was actually great for this early in the year) and grilled chicken rubbed/sprinkled with Rub with Love's Exotic Mushroom Rub. This takes basic chicken and makes it delicious. We also love their Bengal Masala Rub. Plus it took five minutes to prep dinner and no pans to clean except the grill.

Gracie is now my official corn shucker. She had so much fun with these three ears and then said "mom, thank you for teaching me how to do this!" I remember loving shucking corn when I was little too. Good traditions being passed on. 

It is much more fun to eat it though!

15 Minute Tuscan Bean Soup

We are spending more and more time at the garden now that it is planting season. That means I have less and less time to cook wholesome, healthy meals for the family. I am also trying to plan for the days to come when I will have even less time to spend on food. Inspired by Simple Lovely's posts about her family's favorite meal of white navy beans (but without a recipe to work with)  and my favorite cookbook (thanks mom!) Moosewood's Daily Specials...here is how today panned out for us.

In the morning:

I threw 3 cups of navy beans and 6 cups of water into the slow cooker on low.

We spent the morning planting in the garden. Heaven.

We came  home to cooked beans and to take a nap.

As Gracie napped I sauteed:

1 onion
4 cloves garlic
half a bag of carrots (1 1/2 cups+/-)
s+p

I added that to the slow cooker with:

1 capful (2 tsps?) sage

Now it is cooking (warm setting) until Ryan gets home and we are ready to eat. Maybe with sliced tomatoes, crusty bread and TJ's new batch of California Estate Olive Oil. Buon appetito!

UPDATE:

An EMPTY plate! Amazing.

Weekly Pasta

My goal is to make a weekly pasta (or grain dish) on Sunday night so that we can have leftovers for lunches throughout the week. The idea is to take a seasonal vegetable, a good cheese and pasta to create a simple and frugal dish. I was inspired by Jesse Cool's Roasted Beet Pasta with Chevre.  An AMAZING dish. This week we sauteed Italian chicken sausage and green beans and heirloom cherry tomatoes, then added campanelle pasta ("camping yell" according to Gracie) with a little parmesan on top. Very simple, not knock your socks off like Jesse's, but it is a start.