Doesn’t get easier than this and salsa verde is my favorite. I’m kicking myself for not growing tomatillos this year, but maybe next when we have more space in the garden. I used this for shredded chicken in salsa verde, but it’s great with anything.
Easy
Salmon with Pesto
Our basil plants have gone nuts…basil everywhere. Not that I’m complaining! But I felt like it was time to start doing something with all that basil, and my first time back in the kitchen after a 2 week study hiatus was a good occasion. I use Skinnytaste’s lightened pesto, which is really just pesto with a bit less oil and no pine nuts…believe me, you don’t miss them. Anyway, this was a great, easy way to prepare fish. I served this with some asparagus from our CSA tossed with fresh mint and manchego.
Soy Citrus Scallops with Soba Noodles
This one is another result of “clean out the cooking magazines frenzy,” and it came from Cooking Light. We really liked it. I changed up the cooking method a little – I skipped marinating the scallops because I didn’t think they would pan sear as well if already wet. I like a nice sear on them, so I took care of that first, then cooked them in the sauce for a minute to get the flavor set in. I served with a side of snow peas tossed with a soy and mirin vinaigrette, which was nice but alas I overcooked the peas. Don’t do that and it’s a great side! 🙂
Pasta and Greens Salad
I can eat an army’s worth of pasta salad, seriously. It’s kind of ridiculous. This is a taken from something my mom emailed me about 10 years ago that I think *she* had on hand for 10-15 years. I could never get enough. I started mixing it with far less pasta and lots of greens (arugula or a spring mix are best…something a little bitter takes the dressing well and doesn’t get lost in the pasta) and using whole wheat pasta and here we are. No less delish, and it’s actually a complete meal or a nice cookout side dish, whichever works for what you’re doing. Very bright, adjustable, and great leftovers for lunches.
Baked Pesto and Mozzarella Chicken
This was a quick and tasty meal that tasted a lot more caloric than it was. 🙂 I used Skinnytaste’s method of making basil pesto, leaving out the pine nuts and cutting out a lot of the oil. It was very good; you’d hardly notice it. I also used part-skim mozzarella, which also worked well. This made enough for leftovers, and it reheated for a nice lunch. We had this with asparagus tossed with a leftover pepper I had lying around. Definitely a make-again, but worth waiting until summer when the tomatoes and basil are very fresh.
Thai Curry Steamed Mussels
I know, I know, more mussels. But we *love* them, plus they’re a ridiculously fast and delicious meal for MMM. This is a recipe/method I’ve been meaning to try and always just end up doing my mussels with some white wine, tomatoes, you know the drill. But we really liked this, and I think next time the only thing I would do is increase the curry paste for a little more bite. I served this over soba noodles tossed in the sauce that resulted from steaming the mussels, with roasted bok choy as a side.
Spicy Roasted Brussel Sprouts
I never get tired of brussel sprouts, and my favorite way to prepare them is roasted. This is a nice garlicky, spicy side that goes well with many different dishes – I like to use it to accompany a mild main dish.
- 1-2 lb brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 1.5 teaspoon olive oil
- Pinch Kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 425. Place sprouts and all other ingredients in a roasting pan and toss to combine. Roast for 20 minutes or until browned.
Slow Cooker Adobo Pork
I am a big fan of Adobo, and I feel like it’s one of those “recipes” that is really just a guide. How it’s made just depends on how someone’s grandmother made it, so it’s just which old family recipe you prefer. I almost always do this in the slow cooker, and use chicken or pork interchangeably. I also feel like it’s a little different every time. For this one, I saw a recipe on Serious Eats that added ginger, and thought that sounded great…it was! This one is a make again, and though I think I prefer it with chicken, we had pork on hand so there you have it. I served this with roasted sugar snap peas and yellow peppers, and a brown rice mix.
Picadillo
I really enjoy Cuban food, but this was not something I have tried before. When I saw it on Skinnytaste, I thought perhaps it was worth a try, as it was pretty healthy when made with very lean ground beef (in this case I used 96%, but 93% would fine). I checked out some other recipes and will modify a few things next time because we like a lot of flavor, but this was quite good! Definitely a keeper recipe, and the great thing is that it can be made in the slow cooker! Directions for both below. We served this over brown rice with steamed broccoli on the side.
Corn Salad
A colorful and fun side salad, this is one I’ve served mostly with Latin or Mexican themed meals. It has a lot of flavor and dresses up chicken and pork especially well, I have found. This would be a good one at a picnic or BBQ. If you can do fresh corn with this, great – about 3 -4 ears. If not, a bag of thawed out frozen corn would be fine too.
Om nom nom! 