Okay, you saw that coming, right? It conjurs up all sorts of images of me doing that running-in-place flash dance thing with a sweatshirt half off my shoulder and leggings. Come to think of it, a little dance and soundtrack probably would've only enhanced last night's QT in the kitch. Note to self for next time.
So on my recent trip Bret introduced me to the fabulous, Melissa Ellen, who so graciously gifted me a couple of her cooking light magazines. I was making a grocery list on the plane ride home I was so excited. One of the things it featured was a TurkeyRicotta meatball. I am not really a ball-of-meat kind of girl (is there such a thing?) well that I'm not. However I am intrigued of late of the versatility of this cheese for all things desert/italian/etc etc. Turns out, this was pretty Delicous. The ricotta makes the meatball kind of light and sweet.It'z-a Turkey/Ricotta Meat-ball-a (cooking light)
- lean ground turkey
- ricotta
- bread crumbs
- basil
- egg
- S&P
The picture totally doesn't do it justice for how tasty it was. I had it with some Newman's own spaghetti sauce (yes i realize how ridiculously easy it is to make your own sauce with a can of chopped tomatoes and some seasoning... lay off) WW spaghetti noodles, and sauteed zucchini seasoned with some pepper & sea salt.
Next on the agenda was this baked artichoke dip. Too bad I realized it called for 2 cans of artichokes instead of one.... so I added some spinach and more parm to supplement... Also I ran out of NF yogurt (which is pretty much devastating to me) which probably doesn't bode well. I had a quick bite which was artichoky and yummy, but plan on spending more time with it later this week in experimentation. Particularly I'd like to recreate my favorite Panera turkey/artichoke Panini with this healthier-organic-ish version. Keep you posted.
Despite having incorrect amounts of the ingredients, which usually results in disaster, I haven't been lead astray by Heidi, so here is her recipe:Baked Artichoke Dip: (Heidi Swanson)
- cans artichokes
- silken tofu
- garlic
- parm, freshly grated
- plain yogurt
- Tsp sea salt
- cayenne
Next up was my hummus which I feel like I haven't made in AGES. When I have it in the fridge I will eat it non-stop every day until it's gone. Things like yummy veagan hummus keep the pizza rolls at bay. I use a variation of a super simple recipe from this 365 days of vegetarian recipes cookbook I got on sale at Barnes and Noble for like $3 last year. It has no pictures, which means it rarely gets used.
Lauren's bomb-tastic roasted red-pepper hummus:
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Teaspoon EVOO
- 4 tablespoons water (i like it creamier than pasty)
- 1/4 jar organic roasted red peppers
There are kalamato olives and paprika on there just DYING to be eating with some carrots and cucumbers. Dying I tell you.Amidst all of the cooking I did last night I also managed to get to Yoga again (whoop whoop) where we practiced back bends. How cool is that? Then I ran home to cook for the week/weekend and feverishly clean my mess of an apartment. All of the preparation is for one of my college roomies who is back in town (she just couldn't quite get enough of me in her visit a few weeks ago) and tonight we are heading out with a slew of our college friends. Dresses, dancing, food, airport runs, boots, more dancing, getting into some political conversations which will ultimately end in an Obama-victory-booty dance and many... many sarah palin impressions. But you saw that coming too, right? TGIF!
