Easy as pie lunch, sans the pie

One of the foods I associate so much with childhood is shells. The medium sized shell shaped pasta takes me back to my grandma's house where I'd spend all day playing and she'd make me shells with butter and salt. It makes me feel like a little kid, happy as a lark. I now eat the same dish once in awhile, but love to use the shells with a bunch of other goodies. One of my favorite cheap lunches is Shells with canned tuna, black beans, canned corn, red bell pepper, avocado, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and a homemade dressing (lemon, olive oil, white wine vinegar and another dash of salt). I could eat it all day, and usually make a huge bowl of it. I'm talking huge mixing bowl, not that tiny white bowl. The creaminess of the avocado, sweetness of the corn, crisp pepper and black bean flavor make it all come together. A great have a minute and that's it lunch. Enjoy!

Cousins Cooking

Last night my wonderful and amazing cousin Paige came over for a much needed catch up, bottle of wine, and dinner. We munched on goodies and opened the wine immediately. As the talks of life and what's happening in it began, I started cooking. I made the "dish" a few nights before and thought, let's have it again. I rolled tiny meatballs from the Jimmy Dean sausage with Sage (yes, one package of it goes a long way) and cooked them in a bit of olive oil. I chopped up onions, garlic, carrots, red bell peppers, and mushrooms. After I flipped the meatballs, I threw everything is the pan to saute. After I was satisfied with their sauteing, I poured in some red wine, a dash of cayenne pepper, and capers. The other night I added oregano, but forgot it last night. I boiled some water, salted it, and threw in some whole wheat angel hair pasta. Once the pasta was ready, I mixed it with the goodness already cooked and topped with grated Parmesan cheese. My dear sweet cousin brought over lettuce and and a tomato for salad. I squeezed the juice from a lemon and whisked in olive oil for a quick dressing. A dash of salt and pepper, and we were on the way to dining destiny. We sat down in my living room, ate to our heart's content, drank and enjoyed the evening. It is always a pleasure to have someone so fantastic to share a meal with, hope you can try this one out with someone you love. Enjoy!

Veggie Delight

I don't claim to be a great cook, but I like dabbling in my tiny kitchen (no joke, a mouse would feel crammed). For dinner last night, I decided to make a stuffed red bell pepper. I've done this a million times, and wanted something healthy to the max. I pre-heated the oven to 400, sauteed celery, onions, garlic, carrots, and mushrooms (stems and all) with a dash of salt & pepper. I cut the top off the red bell pepper, and drizzled with olive oil and salt inside and out. I stuffed the veggie heaven into the red bell pepper, and popped it into the over for 15 min. The smell of garlic and onions made my tiny home fill with the timeless aroma of goodness. I got out my bowl and filled the bottom with black beans, a perfect compliment to the veggie delight. I topped it off with a glass of Pinot Grigio, and dove in. Fantastic as always. I added a bit of sour cream to pull it all together. Great, easy, healthy way to get your veggie on. Fills you up more than you'd think!