Taco Tuesday and Pasta Salad Wednesday

Wednesday's lunch consists of blueberries, pili nuts, pasta salad, and a choice of frosted miniwheats or mixed greens.  The recipe for the pasta salad is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

1 tbs olive oil

a drop of lemon flavored grape seed oil

4 stalks of asparagus, cut into small pieces

4 grape tomatoes, each cut in half

4 chunks of marinated artichoke hearts, broken up

1 tbs of balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, drain, and set aside.  Do not rinse.  Meanwhile, heat the oils in a small frying pan, and add the asparagus.  Add a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper then saute until the asparagus pieces are bright green.  Once proper color is achieved, add the tomatoes, and saute until they are a bit soft and can be squished easily with a wooden spoon.  Remove pan from heat and scrape everything in the pan into a medium sized bowl.  Add the artichoke hearts, pasta, and balsamic vinegar to the bowl.  Give it a good toss and taste it.  Add salt and pepper as you see fit.  Let chill before serving.

Taco Tuesday Pasta Bake

ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef

2 tbs of taco seasoning

1 lb of tricolor rotini

1 stick of butter

1 tbs of all purpose flour

3/4 cups of heavy cream

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup pico de gallo, drained of liquid

4 slices of cheddar cheese

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Cook the rotini according to package directions, drain, and set aside.  Do not rinse.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat then add ground beef and taco seasoning.  As the meat browns, break up any chunks with a large cooking spoon.  Once mostly browned, add 1/2 cup of water and cover.  Let it finish cooking while you prepare the cheese sauce.

To make the cheese sauce, melt 1/2 stick of butter in a small sauce pan.  Whisk in the tablespoon of flour.  Once incorporated, add the cream.  Once incorporated, add the shredded cheese a little bit at a time.  Add a handful of cheese, whisk it until it's all melted and thoroughly incorporated.  Add more cream if it gets too thick. When the sauce appears homogeneous, stir in the pico de gallo.

In a large casserole dish, combine the sauce, meat, and pasta.  Stir it up to make sure it's all mixed together, then smooth the top so it will cook evenly.  For the topping, melt 1/2 stick of butter in the microwave and mix with 1/2 cup of panko.  Lay 4 slices of cheese down the center of the casserole, then sprinkle the panko mixture around it.  It should look like this:

Bake at 350F for approximately 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top has melted and the panko has browned a bit.

For a vegetarian option you could use some kind of meat substitute for the ground beef or just omit it completely.