Garden!!

What do you get with 4 trips to Home Depot, 880 pounds of compost, 2 garden kits, 12 plants, and 3 herb planters? Our beautiful garden. And some big guns and bonus manure in your mouth. Don't ask. I spent the afternoon today with the 8-year-old neighbor boy finishing it up. I have a feeling I will have a new friend all summer long. For some reason he thinks I'm cool and gets a kick out of helping. Too cute.

Not only will we save $$ this summer with less trips to the grocery store, but I can grow them organically too. It's a win-win situation. I'm so proud. I felt the need to share. Can you tell?

I'll try to post a progress pic as things start growing :)

Halibut with Roasted Fennel, Carrots, and Mushrooms

I decided to try a new eating strategy this weekend (excluding the college reunion festivities on Saturday). It involves cutting out starches from meals...except pasta. I just made up that rule because I can't live without pasta. Why the crazy change you ask? Well, I joined in on a "Biggest Loser" competition at work this week, so it got the wheels turning. I'm not one to support dieting, but I'm an advocate for eating smart. I mean, I cook for fun. Diet is not in my vocabulary.

My thought was for any meal with the usual protein, potato, and vegetable, that I cut out the potato and substitute with another vegetable. In theory, this sounds like a boring regime. Are you picturing mounds of bland broccoli and frozen mixed vegetables? No, no, no. That would give me nightmares too. My trick to this plan is to have a salad with every meal as the other vegetable. That way you can get creative with toppings, dressings, and veggies. That just gave me the idea for a mexi-ranch salad for later this week.

I've been dying to make halibut on my own since visiting Seattle, so here's my first attempt. I served the fish over roasted vegetables with a side Caesar salad. It was delish, and I am so not craving the missing starch...

4 Servings

1 bunch carrots, washed and cut into strips

1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced

1-8 oz. package sliced mushrooms

1-2 tsp. fennel seeds

Salt and Pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 C. water

4-6 oz. portions halibut

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large roasting pan, toss the carrots, fennel, mushrooms, fennel seed, salt, pepper, and olive oil together. Roast in the oven covered for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the fish portions by seasoning with salt and pepper.

Once the 15 minutes are up, take the veggies out of the oven and toss/turn to prevent from burning.

Next, place the fish portions atop the vegetables, cover, and cook 10-15 minutes (depending on thickness of fish). Serve.

Spaghetti with Olives

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 stalks celery, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 C. green olives, chopped

1/4 C. black olives, chopped

1/8 C. kalamata olives, chopped

1-28 oz. can whole, peeled tomatoes

1 C. white wine

1 lb. thin spaghetti, cooked and drained

Parmesan cheese, shredded

In a food processor, chop the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Add chopped vegetables to a large skillet with the ground beef and cook over medium heat breaking up the meat. Simmer over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add the chopped olives, tomatoes, and wine. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Cover, simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve over cooked pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

Cherry Chicken Pasta Salad

Cherries must be in season because I'm on a cherry kick. However, this Cherry Chicken Pasta Salad recipe is old news and it uses dried cherries. But either way, cherries are good for you. Did you know they are packed full of antioxidants and have more beta carotene that blueberries or strawberries?

Well this salad came about after trying a few variations at local restaurants around town. I'm a big fan of my recipe because I like the whole almonds, bacon, and the health benefits of the vegan mayo. Yes, I am aware I just said bacon and healthy mayo in the same sentence. So sue me.

But really, what I like best about this version is that you get to control the extra calories in the dressing by changing up a couple simple ingredients. And the dressing is key to making this salad turn out. So instead of using regular mayo which has all the extra calories and fat (not to mention eggs) you can cut back using vegan mayo. I know it will make some turn up their noses, but honestly, you can't tell a difference between it and that Wonder Whip crap. I use Nayonaise by Nasoya.

Nutrition comparison:

1 Tbsp. vegan mayo

35 Calories

3.5 g fat, 0.5 saturated, 2 g polysaturated, 1 g monosaturated

115 mg sodium

1 Tbsp. regular mayo

90 calories

10 g fat, 1.5 saturated

70 mg sodium

1 Tbsp. light mayo

45 calories

4 g fat, 0.5 saturated

95 mg sodium

1 Tbsp. mayo with olive oil

45 calories

4 g fat, 0 saturated, 2 monosaturated

95 mg sodium

1 Tbsp. Miracle Whip

40 calories

3.5 g fat, 0.5 saturated

105 mg sodium

Now here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Cherry Chicken Pasta Salad

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large bone-in chicken breasts (or 1 2.25-lb pkg. of boneless, skinless)

1 box (16 oz.) dry spiral tube pasta

3/4 C. celery, finely diced

1/3 C. red onion, finely chopped

2/3 C. dried cherries, roughly chopped

1/2 lb. crisp bacon, crumbled

1 C. whole almonds, toasted

1-1/4 C. vegan mayo

1-1/4 C. creamy poppyseed dressing (recommend Brianna's or Bolthouse)

Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Dress the chicken with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook bone side up on a cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes until no longer pink. Cool. Remove skin, throw away the bones, and cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Keeping the oven on, raise the temperature up to 375 degrees. Place the almonds on a cookie sheet and toast until fragrant - about 7-10 minutes. Be sure to watch them carefully so they do not burn.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles until al dente. Drain, allow to cool.

Next, cook the bacon in a frying pan, drain, and cool. Crumble into tiny bits.

Mix the mayo and dressing together until smooth in a small bowl.

Lastly, combine all ingredients in a large bowl - chicken, pasta, celery, onion, cherries, bacon, almonds, and dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight.

Grilled Cheese and Cherry Salad

Random, huh? I was inspired by an article I read this week about dressing up salads for main courses. And well, I had cherries, veggies, and grilled cheese fixings that seemed to call out my name. Shockingly, it was pretty darn tasty and a good way to use up things I had in the fridge. The balsamic vinaigrette and cherries really work well together. I hope you like it as much as I did!

For the salad:

1 pkg. lettuce

1/2 C. pitted and chopped fresh cherries

4-6 radishes, sliced and chopped (about 1/4 cup)

4-6 baby carrots, sliced and chopped (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 C. cucumber, sliced

2 slices bread

2 slices American cheese

Butter

For the dressing:

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, cherries, radishes, carrots, and cucumber together. Set aside and make grilled cheese.

(To make grilled cheese slather butter on 1 side of each bread. Place 1 slice of bread grease side down in a non-stick skillet. Top with cheese and remaining slice of bread with the grease side up. Grill until golden, flip, grill till golden on the other side and cheese is melted. I really hope we all know how to do this, but I felt obligated to type this out).

Once grilled cheese is ready, set aside and allow to cool slightly. While this is cooling, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Carefully cut the grilled cheese into cubes and serve atop salad mixture and add the vinaigrette dressing to your preference.