Spring Veggie Pasta

I only have 6 miles left to do on my marathon training plan.  The race is super close and I figured I would share a yummy pasta dish in honor of all the carb loading I've been doing.  I ate this for dinner the night before my big 20 mile run and I felt great.  It was a pasta dish filled with great flavors and I loved the way the roasted broccolini and tomatoes came out.  I used whole wheat pasta and the whole thing ended up being a really healthy way to get some good carbs in your diet.  

Tomorrow I have a 4 mile run and then Thursday is a 2 mile run and then that is it! I am ready to run Chicago's fantastic 26.2 mile route!

School this week is also somehow flying by.  I'm not sure if it is excitement or nerves, but the time is just slipping right by me.  Plus, Wednesday is a testing day where I am proctoring the ACT and Friday is an Institute Day with no students.  Then, we also have Monday off for Columbus Day.  All this is making this, plus the marathon is making this week feel extra special and super strange.  Today my students are starting some graphing work for precalculus and my AP guys are getting ready for a test on Thursday.  I am trying real hard to stay focused, but I honestly feel a bit all over the place! Then, I also have cheer practice, but that is mostly just a lot of fun and the team is getting really good!

So to wrap up, this week is crazy, this pasta is crazy good, and I am a bit of a scattered-brained, mess.  So head over to Food & Wine for this pasta recipe, it is really yummy.  I followed everything pretty exactly except for the fact that I used whole wheat linguini and instead of shaved ricotta salata cheese (my grocery store did not have any), I used a hard goat cheddar cheese (which was super delish).  Have fun and enjoy!

Deconstructed Spring Lasagna

I have been promising big things for this blog for a while now, and now it is time to start following through on that! I miss blogging as much as I did in college and I am going to work on balancing my time better between school, working out, and cooking.  These are my favorite things and I want to make sure I give every single one attention! Any bloggers out there with tips on how to balance all of this?

Anyways, in Chicago, it is always exciting when those 60 degree temps finally roll around.  Everyone starts walking around in shorts and flip flops!  I know 60 isn't "hot," but after what feels like an eternity of winter, it is pretty exciting.  Yesterday, I went for an 8 mile run along the lakeshore path and it was just amazing to be outside and not feel sharp pains in my face as the wind hits me.  Plus, this weather means that summer is really right around the corner!

In honor of this amazing spring weather we are enjoying, I am sharing a delicious recipe for a Spring Lasagna.  I was inspired by How Sweet It Is and I was excited to try a lasagna without all the layering work.  This "lasagna" is actually deconstructed.  Your just throw everything into a pan all "willy nilly" and cook it just like that!  Also, I didn't use lasagna noodles, but you definitely can!  You can use whatever fillings your want.  I went with some vegetarian options so that Bri could enjoy, but meat lovers could do this as well!

Deconstructed Spring "Lasagna"

Ingredients:
12 oz whole wheat pasta
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup asparagus, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup packed baby spinach
12 oz light fontina
1 cup shredded light mozzarella
1 cup pasta sauce (Your favorite)
salt and pepper
olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cook pasta noodles according to directions until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
3. In a large cast iron pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the garlic and onion.  Cook until onion starts to become translucent and add in the mushrooms and asparagus.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add in the spinach and cook until spinach wilts.
4.  Pour in the pasta sauce and about half of the fontina cheese.  Stir to combine with the veggies.  Then, stir in the noodles.
5. Top everything with scoops of the rest of the fontina cheese and sprinkle with mozzarella.   Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes so that the cheese becomes all melty.

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: "Green Foods" for St. Patrick's Day

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with Eco Natural Soaps!  This week you can win from our sponsor, Alicia, at Eco Natural Soap.  Alicia is giving away 5 items ($29.95 retail value!).  Winners may select two bars of bath & body soap, one Dry Skin Balm, one Lip Balm, and a Cuticle Relief Balm!  This is a great giveaway! Just follow the rules and link up your green recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up Cream of Asparagus Soup, Green Veggie Risotto, and Green Bean Almondine.

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Honey Salmon with a Brown Butter Lime Sauce

I made this amazing salmon for my family and everyone agreed, it was the best.  It was super tasty and the salmon came out perfectly! I love salmon and whenever I can find a good recipe that involves salmon I am all over it.

We served the salmon with my Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and a side of asparagus.  The salmon has a honey glaze and then you top it off with a brown butter lime sauce.  I had a little of the brown butter sauce left over and so I poured it over the cooked asparagus.  It was an amazing meal!

Honey Glazed Salmon (adapted from Cooking Classy)

Ingredients:
5 salmon filets
10 tsp flour, divided
10 tsp honey, divided
extra-virgin olive oil
zest of 2 limes
brown butter lime sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
1. Drizzle about 1 tbsp of olive oil into a pan and let it heat over medium heat.
2. Place salmon filets on a plate and coat each side of each filet with 1 tsp of flour.  Next, coat the tops each with 1 tsp of honey.  Place 2 filets at a time in the heated pan, honey side down.  Coat the bottoms with the honey at this point.  Cook each filet for 3-5 minutes in the heated pan and then flip and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes on the other side.
3. Sprinkle the lime zest over the cooked filets.  Drizzle the sauce on top and serve warm.

Brown Butter Lime Sauce

Ingredients:
6 tbsp salted butter
3 tbsp lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Heat butter over medium heat, swirling frequently, until it is melted, turns tan, and is fragrant.  This should take about 5 minutes. Once the butter has browned, whisk in the lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Whisk well and then pour over the salmon.  Or, if you make this ahead of time, simply let it sit, and then reheat and re-whisk before pouring over the salmon.  I used a little lime sauce over my asparagus as well.

Enjoy :)

Creme of Asparagus Soup

Soups on! Now that I've shared Chris' and my trio of appetizers it's time for the second course in The Dinner Party: Creme of Asparagus Soup!

This soup was super yummy, totally vegetarian, and we made it a week in advance and froze it until the day before where we moved it to the fridge to allow it to defrost.  It was great! Bri said it was confusing because it looked liked split pea soup, which he dislikes, but then tasted great! It was an awesome way to get more veggies in and people said they liked eating this soup better than plain asparagus.

But first, as I've been sharing these recipes, my week has continued fairly normally.  Yesterday, I was reminded of why I love exercise so much.  I had a great day at camp. Everyone was having a good time, kids were having fun, and counselors were awesome.  It was the second day of the second session and we have a ton of new campers, all fantastic.  But then, it was time for the kids to get picked up.  There are two camps, about 100 kids, who all get picked up at the same time in the same place.  Yes, it's slightly hectic and being the second day, a ton of parents haven't figured out the whole routine yet.  We had people parking in places they shouldn't and people walking between cars that were trying to move and it was a little bit of a mess.  The other site director and I have been talking to parents trying to explain why it's hectic and everyone has been understanding.  Except this one lady, who decided it was as well idea to scream at the other site director, in front of her child, that we were doing a terrible job and that it was completely unacceptable.  She suggested having a different pick-up spot (there isn't one) and moving faster (um...would you like me to throw children in the cars?).  The other site director stayed calm and attempted to explain why things were slightly crazy, but she wouldn't listen.  Anyways, it was frustrating to me to watching this 40-something year old woman scream at college kids who take care of her child all day.  I understand people get upset, but it is frustrating when people don't even attempt to listen to why something might not be working completely okay.

The other site director and I were super annoyed, and headed straight to the gym to work out and chat.  It was awesomely therapeutic and that is when I had an, "Oh, how I love exercise," moment.  I continued to make myself feel better by cooking my family a delish dinner (more on that later) and baking a TON of cookies for a pampered chef party.  Exercise and cooking...isn't it fantastic?  I ended the night feeling much better and my parents continued to reassure me that that lady was one of the few and that if that was the only camp complaint we got, we were doing pretty well.

So many cookies...

Creme of Asparagus Soup

Ingredients:
2 lbs. green asparagus
1 large onion, chopped
3 tbsp unsalted butter
5-6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
shredded gruyere and chopped basil, to serve

Directions:
1. Trim the asparagus and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.  If you want, reserve 12 tips for garnish.
2. Cook the onion in 2 tbsp of butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat.  Stir until softened.  Add the asparagus and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring for 5 minutes.  Add 5 cups of broth and let simmer, covered, until the asparagus is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Puree the asparagus mixture in a blender until smooth.  You will have to do this in a few small batches.  Transfer the blended mixture to a large bowl and stir in the creme fraiche.  Add more broth if needed to thin the mixture and achieve a desired consistency.  season with salt and pepper.  Return to the large pot and bring to a boil.  Whisk in the remaining butter and add the lemon juice.  Place in containers to freeze, or serve if ready.
To serve: garnish with the asparagus tips, a little basil, and some fresh, shredded gruyere cheese.
Enjoy :)