Tag: bell peppers

10 Minute Lunches, Couscous, Recipes, Sides

10 Minute Lunch #6: Italian Chicken & Veggie Couscous Bowls

Sarah

Eeeek! It’s been a long time since I’ve shared a 10 Minute Lunch, eh? Whoops. I’ve been eating a lot of leftovers for lunch on days I work from home, or have been snacking my way through the day, which is not a good idea because then I’m hungry for dinner at 3 pm. Ahem. #seniorcitizeninthemaking

Italian Chicken & Veggie Couscous Bowl | The Pajama Chef

But not anymore! I’m bound and determined to let this month be the month I get my lunch act together and actually eat a real meal for lunch everyday–not just on days that I’m on campus at work. Starting with this little number! 🙂 It’s totally simple, flavorful, and fast–perfect for the days that you have to deal with crazy computer drama with no time to cook. As I said yesterday, my MacBook has been acting up–not charging, randomly shutting off, resetting the date, etc.  So now it’s back at the shop for the second time in a week, and thanks to my dramatic Facebook post, I had not one, but three offers of a loaner laptop until mine can be fixed or replaced. I have some generous friends, what can I say? 🙂

But laptop woes [and lunch breaks spent writing blog posts] aside, these couscous bowls are incredible! Quinoa is so popular and rice is so common that couscous [at least in my house] becomes the forgotten grain. You can bet I won’t forget it anymore! It is super fast to prepare and is so light and filling. Once you mix up the couscous, veggies, and chicken, just add a fresh Italian dressing to your bowl for instant flavor–minus the work of measuring and dicing herbs. Perfect! I can totally see so many variations–instead of chicken, beans! Instead of frozen veggies, a chopped tomato! Instead of Italian dressing, Caesar! I could keep going, but I gotta get back to w-o-r-k. What would you add? Enjoy!

Italian Chicken & Veggie Couscous Bowls
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup couscous
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 mini sweet peppers, finely diced [or ~ 1 cup diced bell peppers]
  • ~ 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
  • ~ 1 cup frozen vegetables
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • garlic powder [could substitute 1 clove minced garlic]
  • 2 green onions, diced
  • large handful arugula, chopped [other light salad greens like spinach would also work]
  • Italian dressing–we are obsessed with this recipe from Macaroni and Cheesecake

Directions:

In a small pot, bring water and butter to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in couscous, and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the chicken and vegetables.

Heat olive oil in a small saute pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add peppers, chicken, and frozen vegetables, then season with pepper and garlic to taste. Saute for a minute, then cover and let cook for 2-3 minutes to heat everything up.

Next, add green onions to the chicken and vegetable mixture.

To serve, divide the couscous between two bowls, then top each with half of the chicken and vegetable mixture. Stir in green onions and arugula, then top with a drizzle of Italian dressing to taste. Enjoy!

Time: 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 delicious lunches!

Notes: To take this lunch to go, I’d recommend keeping the green onions and arugula separate and stirring them in immediately before eating and after heating it up. The dressing would be fine mixed in already, though!

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Baked Pizza Pasta

Sarah

So, when I made this awesome Baked Pizza Pasta on Sunday, this was my view outside:

Snowy Day | The Pajama Chef

Snowy Day | The Pajama Chef

So, so gross. I don’t like this second winter thing. But it certainly was a great backdrop for this comfy, cozy baked pasta dish, don’t ya think? And even now, when the forecast for today is in the 50s, I’d still eat this. It just might even be my lunch!

Baked Pizza Pasta | The Pajama Chef

I know there are a million recipes out there for pizza pastas, but since I really think it’s the sauce that makes a pizza, I decided to concentrate on the sauce and let the rest come to me. Instead of using a bottled spaghetti sauce, I whipped up a quick and easy pantry pasta sauce out of canned crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and load of herbs and seasonings. Feel free to add and subtract from my choices as you see fit–this is very adaptable. I’ve made many homemade pasta and pizza sauces, and find that we like using dried herbs instead of fresh here, but again, do what suits you. Then, I tossed in some hot Italian sausage, salty pepperoni [Ben’s fav!], some bell peppers [that I LOVE!], and a little onion. Add in curly rotini pasta and lots of mozzarella cheese, and you have yourself one heck of a pasta dinner! Very adaptable, very forgiving, very delicious.

Baked Pizza Pasta | The Pajama Chef

We’ve been eating this all week long, so I can testify to the fact that it heats up beautifully and even tastes better the next [and the next next next next] day. Yum-o! Next time I make this, I might increase the amount of sauce [or use a little less pasta], so keep that in mind if you wanna make this saucier, but really, we thought this was perfect as is. Fresh and flavorful like pizza, just in a more comfort food friendly form. Enjoy!

P.S. You have my permission to serve this at Easter dinner. I totally think that would be great. 🙂

Baked Pizza Pasta [TPC original]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried onion
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 pound rotini
  • 8 ounces hot Italian sausage
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 ounces pepperoni [reserve 5-10 slices for topping]
  • 1 cup diced bell peppers [I used red, yellow, and orange]
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded [reserve about 2 ounces for topping]

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then begin by bringing a large pot of water to boil to cook the pasta.

In a saucepan set over medium heat, combine crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, and oil with all dried herbs and seasonings. Stir sauce occasionally and heat thoroughly.

Meanwhile, begin browning the sausage in a small skillet, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When sausage is fully cooked, remove to a plate and use a paper towel to blot up some of the grease from the pan. Add onions to the hot skillet and cook over medium-low heat about 7 minutes or until soft.

When pasta water is boiling, add rotini and cook to al dente. Drain and return to pan, then add sauce, sausage, onion, pepperoni [minus reserved pepperoni], peppers, and about 6 ounces shredded cheese. Stir together then transfer to a 9×13 baking dish. Top with reserved cheese and pepperoni.

Bake for 20 minutes or until hot.

Time: 50 minutes.

Yield: 10-12 servings.

Linked up with: Weekend Potluck.

Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Sarah

Like many other parts of the country, this summer has been hot. From Facebook status updates to blog posts, I’ve been reminded almost daily how people simply don’t like to cook when it’s hot. It makes sense since an oven can heat up a house pretty quickly, especially if a/c isn’t your thing, and because some people lose their appetite in the heat. Well, neither of those things are really me.

I definitely like to eat at all times [and so does Ben], and I’m just not a “windows open” kinda girl [Ben is… a “windows open” kinda guy–not girl]. Maybe that will change one day when we move from an apartment to a house [started typing “hotel” there… uhh, that’s not in the plans, though my family did once live in a hotel for two weeks in between selling our old house and buying the new one… I was 8 and had fun]… since apartments have apartment size electricity bills and houses have house sized bills. But for now, I will luxuriate in our air conditioned apartment and use the oven whenever I please.

That does NOT mean though that I can’t enjoy cold dishes like this Corn and Black Bean Salad for a light meal or hearty side dish. No siree. I know that there are many version of such dishes, and this is one that my mom recently introduced me to that I have fallen in love with. The simple dressing of oil and vinegar spiked with lime and paprika really makes the dish, since the tang is the perfect pairing for the sweetness of the corn, black beans, and peppers, as well as the spiciness of the [optional] jalapeno.

I could literally eat this salad all day long… and Ben could too since there’s no onions for him to pick out! Perfection in a bowl, I say. 🙂

Corn and Black Bean Salad [from Coastal Living, July 2005]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 15 ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups frozen whole corn, thawed
  • 1 large red or orange bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 small jalapeno peppers, minced and deseeded [optional]
  • 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Directions:

Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, and paprika in a large bowl. Add beans, corn, and peppers; toss well to coat. Finally, add cilantro and pepper and gently mix to incorporate.

Time: 10 minutes.

Yield: 6 cups.

Appetizers, Recipes

Mediterranean Feta Dip

Sarah

Update: recipe is now my blog. Check it out here! 🙂
Today I’m sharing this awesome no-cook summer dip over at Today’s Housewife. Sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, feta cheese… what’s not to love? Happy Thursday!

Pasta, Recipes, Sides

BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad

Sarah

So… high school lunch. While most people I know have horror stories of inedible cafeteria food or exciting tales of sneaking off school property to go out for lunch during their high school years, I was fortunate enough to have an open campus… and an entire hour for lunch. It was pretty sweet, I do admit. My lunch hour as a high school student typically were spent one of three ways: 1) going out to lunch with friends, 2) eating a packed lunch at school to attend one of my many extracurricular activity meetings, or 3) going home. Even though I had great friends and thoroughly enjoyed being an involved high school student, as soon as I got my driver’s license and a car, I absolutely adored going home for lunch. It was bit of relaxing bliss during a busy school day. By graduation day [9 years ago…yikes!] I had my routine perfected down to the minute how I would rush through the hallways to get to the parking lot and beat the underclassmen [walking] crowd to my car, quickly making the sometimes tricksy left turn in order to have smooth sailing home… and subsequently, maximum time to heat up leftovers or make a tasty hot lunch at home.

There were many quick meals I made during those high school days–scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, Ramen noodles… you know, the good stuff. These meals had to be quick so I could get back to school on time, but also so I could watch as much of my Mad About You reruns as possible. Oh, and if it was a rerun I’d seen a zillion times, I’d turn on TLC [A Wedding Story=LOVE]. Or some dating game that I now forget the name of. Quality TV at lunch makes for a great day, folks.

But you know what makes for an even better day? A quality lunch, made while watching said reruns on the small kitchen TV, instead of on the comfy family room couch. And as a 17 year old, my idea of the most high quality at-home lunch was…. BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad! And not the version you’re seeing here. That version is almost embarrassing to admit to, because it was pasta + alot of ranch dressing + a little BBQ sauce + some zesty Southwest Mrs. Dash-esque spice blend. That’s it. No veggies, no cheese, no meat, no nothing. It was darn tasty though! In a moment of high school reminiscing last week, I set out to recreate that lunch… in adult style, of course.

This version of BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad brings the old school up to date. Rotini noodles, cooked to al dente perfection are still bathed in a luscious ranch/BBQ sauce blend… but the noodles are whole wheat, and the sauce isn’t quite as thick or overwhelming. A thinner sauce means more room for veggies… and this pasta salad is hearty enough for plenty of raw tomatoes, peppers, corn, and onions. Adding some black beans makes the salad truly hearty enough for a meal, unlike the old pasta salad of days gone by. And my good friend Mrs. Dash? Sorry to say but she has been replaced with not one, not two, not three, but NINE herbs and spices, including three types of pepper. It definitely has a kick to it, but the ranch and lime juice cool it down considerably, so don’t worry about the spice factor.

Absolutely glorious, no?

This isn’t a lunch I would have made during my high school days, but it’s so quick to throw together that I sure could have. And you can too… it’s great hot when first made, but it’s also fabulous chilled. I’ve been enjoying it for lunch over the past week, but I’m sure it’d be the perfect addition to your 4th of July BBQ, so I hope you enjoy!

What were your high school lunches like?

BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad [a TPC original]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces whole wheat rotini
  • 3/4 cup black beans
  • 1 ear corn, kernels sliced off
  • 1 roma tomato, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/3 cup ranch
  • 1/4 cup barbecue sauce [I ❤ Sweet Baby Ray’s]
  • 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped [or 1 teaspoon dried]
  • 1 tablespoon fresh pineapple sage, chopped [can use regular sage; 1 teaspoon dried]
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • pinch crushed red pepper

Directions:

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, combine corn, tomato, celery, and red bell pepper in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together ranch, barbecue sauce, lime juice, basil, sage, garlic, oregano chili powder, parsley, and peppers. After pasta is ready, add to bowl with vegetables, pour on dressing, and toss to combine.

Enjoy warm, or cover and refrigerate for two hours before serving. Refrigerate for up to one week.

Time: 20 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Linked up on Life as Mom’s Ultimate Recipe Swap: Summer Salads.