Easy Chickpea Curry

I made this Friday night and we put it into some pita bread for a nice picnic at the park. I served it with spinach and plain yogurt wrapped up inside. You could also put it over rice for a weeknight sit down. The spice is around a medium here. Feel free to tone it up with a little more ginger, garlic and jalepeno, or tone it down with a little less curry powder. To make the curry paste, I use my little kitchen-aid chopper, but you can also just chop it all up as small as possible if you don't have one

Serves 4
$6

Ingredients

1 Tbls olive oil
1/2 small organic onion - diced
3 organic garlic cloves - minced
1 tsp minced organic ginger
1/2 organic jalapeno - minced
1 Tbls curry powder
1 x 14.5 oz can diced organic tomatoes
1 x 25 oz can organic chickpeas
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put the olive oil over medium heat in a pan on the stove
   
2. If you're using the food processor, put in the onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno and pulse it until it's a nice paste (about 15-20 seconds). If you're doing it by hand, chop away!
3. Add the paste to the pan and sear it for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure none of it burns.
   
4. Add the curry powder and mix it in with the paste
5. Pour in the tomatoes and chickpeas and stir it all up
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it cook for 30 minutes until the sauce as reduced down and the flavors are amazing. Salt and pepper to taste
7. Enjoy!
   

Pasta with Fresh Thyme, Garlic & Goat Cheese

Garlic? Check! Thyme? Amazing! Goat Cheese? Irresistable! Put it all together and you've got a whole lot of Awesome!!! This recipe is so simple and so tasty, you may never make spaghetti and marinara again:) Serve this with some greens and crusty bread and you'll be a happy camper.

Serves 2

$9

Ingredients

• 1 package fresh pasta (fettucini or linguini)
• 6 cloves of garlic
  
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme - leaves picked
  
• A good handful of goat cheese
• 2 Tbls olive oil

Directions

1. Cook the garlic cloves unpealed in a good sized skillet, turning every so often, for 15 minutes (this is making roasted garlic without turning the oven on!)
2. Put some salted water on to boil while you cook the garlic
3. When the garlic's done, peel it
4. Put the pasta in and cook al dente
5. Drain the pasta and toss it in the skillet with the garlic, thyme, goat cheese and olive oil. Mix it up good, bashing up the soft garlic a bit and getting it all mixed together
6. Enjoy!
   

Easy Goulash (Think Fancy Beef-a-Roni)

I made this last night and it was super easy and super tasty! It may be a little salty (how I like it:), but you can ditch the salt included in the recipe and it should still come out great!

Serves 6
$14

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 1 large onion - chopped
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomato
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 Tbls Italian Seasoning
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• Pinch of Salt & Pepper
• 1.5 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1 cup dried macaroni (I like whole wheat)

Directions

1. Brown the beef and turkey over medium high heat in a Dutch Oven or heavy saucepan. Break it up into crumbles while it cooks
   

2. Throw in the onions and saute until about 5 minutes
   

3. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, salt & pepper, and seasoned salt. Stir well
   

4. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 20 to 25 minutes

5. Add the elbow macaroni and stir it up, put the lid back on and simmer for about 20 minutes
   

6. Turn off the heat, pull out the bay leaves and allow it to sit about 30 minutes

Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Pizza

This recipe is best (and less messy!) with Golden beets, but it will work with the red ones too. It's so simple and so delicious!!!

Serves 4 - $13

Ingredients

• 4 oz olive oil (2 oz for the beets and 2 oz for the pizza)
  
• 1 lb golden beets
• 4 oz goat cheese crumbles
  
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pizza dough (fresh or premade)
• Salt & Pepper for seasoning
  

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. Scrub the beets and slice them into 1/2 in disks (I usually go a little thinner, because I like them really crispy. If you do this though, you have to pay close attention to make sure you don't burn them up!)
3. Throw the beets on a foiled baking sheet or baking pan and drizzle 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil on top. Season with salt & pepper and toss it in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping them once during the cook-time
4. As the beets are cooking, get your pizza dough or shell ready. Spread the olive oil and goat cheese, and chopped garlic on the pizza. When the beets are done, pull them out and turn the oven up to 450
5. Toss the beets on the pizza and put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is all melted and a little bubbly
6. Enjoy!
   

Lentil Soup with Lemon, Pancetta & Mint

This is a Nigel Slater recipe I found on the Guardian website. It's such a mash-up of flavors, but it really works! We had this for dinner with some nice crusty bread. The whole thing was ready in 45 minutes from first onion slice to first spoonful in my tummy!

Ingredients
1 large onion
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
3 slices Pancetta
a small bunch of flat-leafed parsley
½ lb French Green Lentils
32 ounces of stock
3 big handfuls of spinach
1 lemon
a small bunch of mint

Directions

Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic. Toss some olive oil in a medium sized pot and throw them in over medium heat. Dice up the bacon and throw it in when the veggies have softened a little. Cook until the veggies and bacon have all browned nicely.

Chop up the parsley and throw it in the pot. Wash the lentils and stir them in too. Pour the stock in and bring the whole shabang to a boil. Turn the heat down so it's at a nice simmer and partially cover with a lid. Cook for about 30 minutes until the lentils are tender (but not too tender)!

Rinse and quickly steam the spinach in a separate shallow pan with a lid. Squeeze it dry and divide it evenly between the soup bowls - you'll pour the soup right on top.

Season the soup with salt, pepper, lemon juice and the torn mint leaves. Taste as you go and call it good when it's good! Serve over the spinach and enjoy.

Peas with Fettuccine, Basil & Sunflower Seeds

This recipe comes from Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food and is ready start to finish in less than 30 minutes. An amazing dish for how simple it is to prepare! I served this with grilled patty pan squash fresh from Brooke's Dad's Garden (thanks Mark!) and some fresh bread.

Serves 2
$8

Ingredients

• Fresh fettuccine for 2
• 4 TBLS Olive Oil
  
• 1 & 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1/3 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 10 fresh basil leaves - torn into small pieces
  
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• Fresh black pepper to taste
  

Directions

1. Toast the seeds on a baking sheet in a hot oven or under the broiler until their brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool a bit.
   
2. Boil plenty of water for the fettuccine. When it's ready toss the noodles in with a little salt. Drain.
3. While the water's boiling/noodles are cooking, heat up the olive oil in a skillet.
4. Toss in the peas, minced garlic and basil and cook stirring frequently for about 7 minutes.
5. Combine all of the cooked ingredients in a big bowl and toss, adding black pepper if you'd like.
6. Enjoy!
   

Poor Man's Pork Picadillo

This recipe's great and simple! You can make sandwiches out of the filling if you'd like, but I serve it up with boxed Spanish rice and black beans. It's great for leftovers too!

Ingredients

Serves 4
$16

• 1 medium organic onion - diced
• 2 cloves organic garlic - minced
• 1 lb natural ground pork
• 1/2 cup organic raisins
• 1 - 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup organic green olives from the deli section - chopped
  
• From the cupboard - 1 Tbls chili powder, 2 Tbls red wine vinegar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp salt
• 1 can organic black beans
• 1 box organic Mexican rice
  

Directions

1. Put the rice on to cook according to the directions (or cook from scratch if you've got the time...I recommend Rick Bayless Red Rice Recipe if you're cooking from scratch).
2. Throw the onion, pork and garlic in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until the pork begins to brown. Don't worry about adding any oil, the oil from the pork will be great to cook the veggies in. Stir the pork around and crumble it up really good!
   
3. Add the raisins, spices and vinegar to the pan and stir it all together.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan, leaving a nice spicy coating of goodness on the meat.
6. Drain the Black Beans and add them to the red rice for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
7. Add the green olives and stir
8. Enjoy!
   

My Secret Broccoli Recipe

Here's how kind I am people - I'm going to give away my secret broccoli recipe. This is probably the one thing I cook that makes Brooke classify me as a kitchen genius (I don't think she's actually ever said that, but oh well:). It's really easy too, it just takes a little more work than your standard vegetable fair. It's so good, if you make a big batch of it, it can be it's own side dish instead of a vegetable accompaniment. You can do this on the grill too, instead of roasting it in the oven - just grill on indirect heat for about 15 minutes or until it starts to blacken on the edges.

Serves 4
$5

Ingredients

• 1 Big Bunch Organic Broccoli - Cut into big florets
• 1 Organic Lemon
• From the cupboard - 1.5 Tbls Olive oil, 2 cloves garlic - peeled & pressed, 1 tsp Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 or preheat the grill for indirect heat
   
2. Put the broccoli in a good sized bowl and pour the olive oil on top. Throw in the pressed garlic, salt & pepper and toss the broccoli to get the goodness spread around
3. Pour the broccoli into a 13x9 inch pan or onto a foil lined baking sheet and put it in the oven for 20 minutes
4. Pull it out of the oven and squeeze the lemon juice onto the broccoli, making sure you get it onto all of the florets
5. Enjoy!
   

Spicy Vegetable Jumbalaya

I'm not in any way, shape or form a vegetarian, but I try to give Brooke one vegetarian meal per week since she's not quite the carnivore that I am. This Vegetable Jumbalaya does the trick too, since it's spicy enough that I might forget there's no meat in it.

Serves 6
$15

Ingredients

• 2 Large Organic Onions - Chopped
  
• 1 Large Organic Green Pepper - Chopped
  
• 1 Medium Organic Green Zucchini - Chopped
• 3 Ribs Organic Celery - Chopped
  
• 1 - 28 oz Can Chopped/Diced Organic Tomatoes
• 32 oz Vegetable Stock
• 1 Handful Chives - Chopped
• From the cupboard - Olive Oil, 4 Cloves Garlic - peeled & chopped, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp cajun spice, salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot heat 3 Tbls olive oil and saute garlic and all fresh vegetables until they're tender
2. Add tomatoes with their juice, vegetable stock and all of the spices and bring to a boil
3. Reduce heat to medium low and add the rice
4. Stir well and cover - cook for 30 minutes or until rice is tender
5. Add the chopped chives and salt & pepper to taste
6. Enjoy!
   
   

Beef & Sweet Potato Burritos with Easy Rice

This is one of my favorite quick Thursday night recipes (when I'm too tired to cook something fancy). Adding the sweet potato makes the burrito filling go a long way.

Serves 4 (with lunch leftover the next day)
Under $20 for the whole meal!

Ingredients

• 1 Large Organic Sweet Potato cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 Large Organic Onion - Diced and Divided (1/2 for the potatoes, 1/2 for condiment)
  
• 1 Clove Garlic - Diced or Pressed
  
• 1 lb Oregon Country Beef (or your closest substitute)
• 4 oz cheddar or pepperjack cheese - shredded
  
• 1.5 cups organic white rice
• 16 oz Organic Salsa - Divided (1/2 for the rice & 1/2 for condiment)
  
• 1 large Organic Tomato - Diced
  
• 1/4 lb Organic Salad Greens
  
• Organic Whole Wheat Tortillas (10 ct)
• From the cupboard/pantry - Olive oil, cumin powder, chili powder, 1x15 oz can black beans
  

Directions

1. In a 2 qt saucepan heat up 1 Tbls olive oil and throw in the rice. Stir to coat and heat, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of the salsa. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. This is poor man's red rice!
   
2. Heat up 2 Tbls olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Toss in 1/2 the onion and all of the garlic and saute for 8 minutes
3. Toss in the cubed sweet potatoes and stir until their coated with olive oil.
4. Sprinkle as much ground cumin and chili powder on as you like. I go for 1 tsp of each and add too taste. Add 1/2 tsp salt and cook over medium high heat - stirring frequently to avoid burning the potatoes
   
5. In a separate skillet, cook the beef according to the seasoning packets instructions
6. Heat up the black beans on low in a seperate pan
   
7. When the beef is done, add it in with the potatos and stir
8. Serve in the tortillas or on it's own with the cheese, onion and salsa. Beans, Rice and greens on the side or in the tortilla for the worlds largest burrito:)

Variations

• Pork Chorizo in place of the beef is a little less healthy, but really tasty!
• If you've got some plain yogurt in the fridge, it's amazing with the spicy sweet potatoes