Pasta, Green Bean and Tomato Salad

The al dente pasta in this salad makes it nice and hardy, while the vegetables keep it fresh and light. This salad is great to take to a party, or at the dinner table as a main or side dish.



Large Pot of Water
s/p
handful of Green Beans - ends trimmed, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 pint Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half
1/2-1 Yellow Hot Chili/Hungarian Wax pepper - thinly sliced, seeds removed
Green Onion or Chives - use scissors a sharp knife to cut into thin slices
2 cloves Garlic - pressed or finely chopped
Lemon Zest
Lemon juice from half a lemon
Fresh herbs - chopped (I used Sage. Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, or Thyme would also taste great.)
EVOO
Ziti or any bite size shaped pasta
Fresh Spinach or any hearty leafy green such as romaine lettuce, watercress, endive, young mustard greens, arugula, or a blend of greens



Cover the pot of water and bring it up to a boil over medium-high to high heat. When the water boils remove the lid, heavily salt the water, and add the green beans. Cook the beans for about two minuets, no longer.

In the meantime, put the tomatoes, hot peppers, green onion, garlic, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl.

Mini Frittatas - Part B

I've gone a little crazy with these frittatas. They're so easy to work with. You can use any combination of meats, veggies, cheeses, and herbs that you like. I would avoid foods that have a lot of liquid in them, such as tomato seeds though. Here's three meals that I made with my leftover eggs. See my post Mini Frittatas - A for the original recipe.



Tacos

Butter
Mini Frittatas - cut into quarters
Salsa
Spinach
Tortillas - warmed
Cheese (I used sliced provolone and a grated cheese blend)



Heat a little butter in a pan. Add the egg chunks to the pan and cook just until they are heated through. Remove the eggs form the pan. Loosely cover the frittatas and set them aside.



Heat your salsa up in the pan that the eggs were in. Once it's hot, add spinach to the pan. Toss the spinach around to evenly coat it with salsa. Then, turn off the heat.



Lay a tortilla down on a flat surface. Top with provolone, spinach mixture, and eggs. Then sprinkle a little cheese on top and roll it up. If you're going to eat the tacos latter, wrap them in foil. If not, place them on a plate and keep rolling until you're out of stuffs to stuff.



Frittata Foo Young

I had some leftover egg mixture that I had not cooked yet. Instead of cooking it in a muffin tin, I just baked it in a pie pan until it set.



Vegetable or Chicken Stock (I made a quick stock using the bones from a rotisserie chicken)
White Wine (optional)
Green Onions - thinly sliced
Corn Starch
Dark Soy Sauce - chilled
Chicken - shredded or diced (I used meat from a rotisserie chicken)
Egg Mixture - cooked
Rice - cooked

Potato Spinach Enchiladas

I made these enchiladas after it snowed. We didn't want to leave the house, so I used what was on hand. I like to keep a can or two of enchilada sauce in my pantry. It's great for all kinds of quick meals.



This recipe makes 6-8 enchiladas, depending on how full you stuff them.

1 Potato
1 T EVOO
1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper - diced
1/4 large Yellow Onion - diced
1-3 cloves Garlic - diced
1 Tomato - diced (peeled and seeded, optional)
s/p
Dried Oregano
CRP
Chili Powder
Fajita Seasoning
Vegetable Stock, Chicken Stock or Water
2 handfuls Spinach
Oil for frying*
Corn Tortillas
1 can Enchilada Sauce
Cheese - shredded or crumbled (I used Feta, Chipotle Gouda, and Parmesan)

Preheat oven to 375°

Clean the potato. Place it in a pot and cover it with cold water. Place a lid on the pot and bring the water up to a boil. Once the water is boiling, remove the lid. Cook the potato till it's fork tender (the fork should easily slide in and out of it).



As the potato boils, heat the EVOO in a small pan. Add the onion and pepper. Cook for two minutes. Stir garlic into the pan and cook for another 2 minutes.



Add the diced tomatoes to your pan. Stir.



Season the vegetables to taste.



Add a couple splashes of stock or water to the pan, carefully so that you don't splash yourself. Cover the sauce and cook it over med-low heat while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.