Snow peas throw me for a loop. I am never sure what to do with them other than throw them into a stir fry, where their subtleties can get overtaken by a spiced-up Asian sauce. Not so with Creamy Lemon Pasta. Their crispy sweetness is a great match for the lemony tang of the yogurt sauce in this recipe. The color combo of the squash, peas and red pepper just screams “VITAMINS!!!”.

Look at their cute faces!

When I make a pasta, I will round out a meal with a simple salad consisting of bagged greens, a few olives, maybe some crumbled feta. I’ve started eating salads without dressing, opting instead for olives and a sprinkle of chesse. I honestly don’t miss it.

Creamy Lemon Pasta

Serves 4
Total time: 20 minutes
Cost per serving: about $3

6 ounce container of plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable or stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
12 ounces short pasta like shells, rotini, or fusilli
1 medium yellow squash
1 red pepper
4 green onions
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup snow peas
1 teaspoon dried fines herbs (optional)

1. Set a large pot of water to boil
2. In a small bowl mix the yogurt, stock, lemon juice and cornstarch; set aside.
3. While the water is heating up, thinly slice the squash and chop the red pepper and green onion. I used my food processor to make short work of this step.
4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package, usually 8 to 10 minutes. Heat the oil in no-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped and sliced veggies and the snow peas. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Drain the pasta and add to a large bowl. Add the cooked veggies, yogurt sauce, and dried herbs. Stir to combine and serve.

Check out all the fiber, vitamin C and iron in this recipe. Thank you, snow peas!

Stew can be quick if you use the right ingredients. This recipe from New Vegetarian Cuisine is a perfect example. The trick is to use red lentils if you can find them, which are actually yellow lentils with the outer husk removed. Whole Foods has them in the bulk section, but you may also be able to find them at larger grocery stores amongst the dried beans. They are a bright orange color and turn yellow once they are cooked. Bonus points: Lentils have plenty of iron, protein and fiber. If you can’t find red lentils you can substitute green or brown, but the cooking time will need to be extended by 10-15 minutes.

I modified the recipe in New Vegetarian Cuisine by using yellow potatoes, which hold up better to cooking than regular baking potatoes. If, like me, you like chunks of potato in your stew try using Yukon Golds. I also switched out the tarragon for basil because I had some left over from the Mediterranean Olive Bread I made, and it’s easier to find in most grocery stores. If you use a food processor to shred the veggies, this dish comes together in minutes. Did I mention how much I love my new food processor? I don’t even mind that I have to wash it by hand (since I don’t have a dish washer).

Balsamic Lentil Stew

Lentil Stew Action Shot!

4 cups water
1 1/4 cups red lentils
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
ground black pepper
5-6 green onions
2 carrots
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1. Cut the potatoes into cubes. In a large pot, combine the water, lentils, potatoes and pepper (to your liking) and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes.
2. While the lentils are cooking, chop the green onions and grate the carrots, zucchini and squash. You can also use the grater on a food processor for the veggies. Finely chop the garlic.
3. In a large no-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, veggies and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Once the carrots are softened, add the veggie mixture to the lentils. Mix in the basil and vinegar and heat through another 2-3 minutes. Serve in big bowls. You won’t need another meal for about 8 hours.
   ]]> http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/11/04/quick-and-cheap-dinner-balsamic-lentil-stew/feed/ 5 http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/10/29/quick-and-cheap-dinner-garden-pita-pizza/ http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/10/29/quick-and-cheap-dinner-garden-pita-pizza/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:48:26 +0000 drmiggy http://www.drmiggy.com/?p=969 October and November are always criz-azzy months for me at work. Everyone wants to wrap up their projects before the holiday slump, which means my diet and exercise routine suffer from half-assedness and downright neglect. Le sigh. When I’ve had a particularly exhausting day and would rather jump out a third story window than cook, I turn to the pita pizza. Not only are they quick, but pita pizzas are a great way to use up the odds and ends leftover in your fridge. Any cheapskate knows that wasting food is a big money sink.

   What follows is only in the loosest sense a pizza. I thought about calling it a garden flatbread, but that sounded poncey. Plus my new favorite book, The Recipe Writer’s Handbook, discourages cryptic and silly recipe names. I’m so, so guilty of that.

   If you don’t have all of the ingredients I list below, not a big deal. You can use a technique I like to call im-praaaaah-visation. As long as you can cut it into bite-sized pieces and it won’t be ick if you cook it, throw it on the pita. The combo I use below, however, is quite magical and has plenty of iron from the pumpkin seeds, which toast up in the oven. I love the bitterness of the radishes, the sweetness of the squash and pumpkin seeds, and the saltiness of the feta and olives all mingling together.

   Garden Pita Pizza

   Serves one
   Total time: 10 minutes
   Cost per serving: $3-5 depending on your toppings

   1 whole wheat pita
   1/2 teaspoon olive oil
   1/2 cup (1 oz) fresh spinach
   1/3 cup (1.5 oz) thinly sliced squash
   1 radish, thinly sliced
   4 green olives, quartered (I used some marinated olives from the olive bar)
   2 tablespoons (0.5 oz) raw pumpkin seeds
   1/4 cup (1 oz) feta cheese
   Italian seasoning (optional)

   1. If you are using a conventional oven, heat it to 350 degrees. I use a toaster oven so I skip this step. If you haven’t already prepped the veggies you could do that while the oven heats.
   2. Drizzle the olive oil on the pita, and spread it around with your fingers. Sexy.
   3. Spread the spinach out on the pita, then top with the squash and radish slices. Sprinkle on the olives, pumpkin seeds, and feta. Toss a few dashes of Italian seasoning on top, if using.
   4. Place in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, or until the pumpkin seeds begin to brown. Serve cut into wedges.
   
   Check out the nutrition information for this meal. The cholesterol should actually be 8%, but for some reason it keeps calculating to 33%. I think it’s just a glitch. More importantly, look at the fiber and vitamin content! You could do a lot worse

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