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.

Coffee Bean Shortbread and Cottage Pie

coffee bean shortbread

ingredients:

2 sticks of salted butter

1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of very finely ground coffee (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F and line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment.  Cream the sugar and butter in a stand mixer.  Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir in coffee, if using. To form the coffee bean shape, take a small lump of dough and use your hands to roll it into an oblong shape.  Press the thicker end of a chopstick down the center of the cookie.  Place cookies about 2 inches apart from eachother.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before serving.

Cottage Pie

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 stalks of green onion, sliced thinly
3 stalks of celery, diced small
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small bag of some sort of frozen vegetable medley, thawed
1 small bag of frozen peas, thawed
1 lb ground beef
2 small cans of V8 (original flavor or low sodium)
1/2 cup of chicken broth
3 large potatoes, large dice
salt to taste

about 1/2 teaspoon each of the following ground spices:
cardamom
coriander
pepper
fennel
sage
turmeric
black pepper
paprika

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and saute until clear. Add spices and garlic and cook until fragrant (abt 1 minute).  Add the vegetables and saute for a bit.  If your blend includes cauliflower, pick it out after it has absorbed some of the spices and set it aside (the cauliflower will go into the mashed potatoes).  Add the ground beef to the skillet and break it up as it browns.  Once it is browned, taste a small piece.  Add salt and more spices if needed.  Add the V8 and chicken broth. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer while you make the potatoes.
Bring water to boil in a large pot with lots of salt.  Once a rolling boil is achieved, add in potatoes.  Allow to cook until potatoes are soft enough to easily pierce with a fork.  Drain the water and put the potatoes back into the pot.  You can remove the skins from the potatoes now if you'd like, i prefer to leave them on.  Add in 1/2 stick of butter, cauliflower (if using), 1/4 cup of milk, salt and pepper to taste, and about 1/4 teaspoon each of turmeric and garam masala.  Mash everything up until mostly smooth and everything is a uniform yellow color.  Pour the meat mixture into the bottom of a large casserole dish.  Spread the potato mixture over the top of the meat.  Use a fork to make a hatch design across the top of the potatoes.  Bake, uncovered, at 350F until the top is crispy and golden, about 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool a little (at least until it's stopped bubbling) before serving.