What's for Dinner?

Homemade Lasagna

This is the first time I've made lasagna and it got a very warm reception from Dave. We used some frozen red sauce made form his mom's recipe (his favorite), added some tomato sauce and italian sausage. Then noodles and cheese, in layers of course. 

Dave's reaction...."Mmm-mm-mmm!! Lasagna with no onions! All right, baby!" 

Win. 

What's for Dinner?

I feel like we must eat pizza a lot since a lot of my What's for Dinner posts include pictures of pizzas... What makes this pizza different is its almost 100% organic ingredients. I made the tomato sauce from the tomatoes from our garden (Big Beef variety), the basil is from the garden, and the cherry tomatoes (Sunkiss Sweet variety) are also organically grown by Amy and I. The dough was homemade - Wrigley "Secret" Pizza Pi Recipe - and the cheese I bought. 

Pizza Pi!

Another organic item was homemade french fries made with potatoes from our garden. We used canola oil. They turned out to be basically exactly the same as In-and-Out fries. We refroze some fried ones and will attempt to refry them to make crispier fast-food style fries.

homemade french fries

 And once you've got the oil hot, what ELSE can you fry? We tried left over pizza dough. Basically came out like garlic knots. We sprinkled them with powdered sugar to make them dessert-like. If we fried dough again, we would try a different recipe because let's face it - pizza dough with powdered sugar isn't the best. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't wholly satisfying either.

fried pizza dough

Any suggestions for what to fry next??

What's for Dinner?

Lemon pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes and asparagus. With cheese.

Beaucoup veggies. Farm-stand-fresh sweet corn, steamed broccoli and a salad.

beef kebabs sooo good

Dave's favorite: Cluck-U Chicken. 

Busting out the Nerdiness

Dave and I decided to be social and throw a party. Not just any party: A STAR WARS party. We had it on May the 4th, because it is Star Wars day since it sounds like "May the force.." With Star Wars costumes, themed food, and a trivia contest, i think we out-nerded some of our friends, and came out as nerds to others. 

I'd like to say this was all Dave's idea... but really, I was the driving force. Dave asked me, "If you were to go back to 20-year-old Annie and tell her about this party, what would she say?" I probably would have just looked confused. I definitely didn't think this is what I'd be doing...hah!

Here are some photos of our nerd-fest. 

What's for Dinner

Paleo Eggplant Parm

1) I am not on the paleo - or caveman - diet, where you eat very few grains, very few meats, no dairy, lots of nuts, and veggies. 

2) This is based off Rachel Ray's recipe from her Big Orange Cookbook. Instead of breadcrumbs, I threw some nuts (walnut and pecan) into a processor and used those as the breading. I also used goat cheese-pesto filling between layers. Goat cheese is acceptable in the paleo diet. This version is sprinkled with real mozzarella. 

I'm making this again this week.  :)

What's for Dinner

Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Chili Slaw

My first experience with fish tacos was a success! I'm slowly getting back in to the groove of cooking regularly again. When Dave's gone, there's a lot of Lean Cuisine in the freezer. I was worried Dave wouldn't like this - because of the lack of red meat (and we know I tend to eat vegetarian when Dave's away). Dave gave it a double thumbs up and suggested we add it to the rotation! Woot! AND - wait for it - there is an onion in the recipe. And he still ate it! And liked it! Granted, I did substitute the red onion for the shallot. But success none the less!

photo from bhg.com

ingredients

• Tacos:
• 1-1/2
  lb. fresh or frozen cod or halibut fillets, thawed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2
  fresh tomatillos, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
• 2
  tsp. olive oil
• 1
  clove garlic, minced
• 1/2
  tsp. finely shredded orange peel
• 1/2
  tsp. finely shredded lime peel
• 12
  6-inch corn tortillas
• Slaw:
• 5
  oz. green cabbage, thinly shredded (1-1/4 cups)
• 1/2
  cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1
  poblano or pasilla pepper, halved crosswise, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1
  carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1/4
  cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3
  Tbsp. olive oil
• 2
  Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1
  Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In bowl toss together fish, tomatillos, oil, garlic, orange peel and lime peel. Season with salt and black pepper; set aside.

2.Cut six 12-inch-square sheets of foil. Place one-sixth (about 2/3 cup) fish mixture in center of each square. Fold diagonally in half in a triangle. Fold edges two or three times to make a packet. Place packets in single layer on a large baking sheet.

3.Bake fish 10 to 12 minutes, until packets puff slightly (carefully open a packet to check fish doneness; fish should flake easily with a fork). Meanwhile, in dry skillet warm tortillas over medium-high heat until soft, about 15 seconds per side.

4.To serve, divide fish mixture between two tortillas. Top with Cabbage and Chile Pepper Slaw. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Cabbage and Chile Pepper Slaw In a medium bowl combine cabbage, red onion, poblano pepper, carrot, and cilantro. For dressing, in small bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, and orange juice. Season with salt. Toss with slaw.

nutrition facts

• Calories341
 
• Total Fat (g)13
 
• Saturated Fat (g)2, 
• Monounsaturated Fat (g)7,
• Polyunsaturated Fat (g)3, 
• Cholesterol (mg)36, 
• Sodium (mg)293, 
• Carbohydrate (g)30, 
• Total Sugar (g)3, 
• Fiber (g)5, 
• Protein (g)28, 
• Vitamin C (DV%)1.11, 
• Calcium (DV%)12, 
• Iron (DV%)14, 
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet