Spaghetti with Kale and Tomatoes

It's kale time again!

Spaghetti with Kale and Tomatoes
Adapted from Real Simple


Ingredients

6 oz whole-grain thin spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
dried chili flakes
salt and black pepper
1 bunch kale, thick stems removed and loosely chopped
Roma and grape tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped roasted almonds
parmesan cheese

Directions

Boil water in a pot and steam the chopped kale for about 5-8 minutes; remove. Cook the pasta according to package directions in the same pot. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, chili flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the kale and cook, tossing frequently, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, tossing frequently, until the tomatoes begin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the pasta and reserved liquid to the kale mixture and toss to combine. Toss in almonds and garnish with parmesan cheese.

Serves 4

A Simple Pizza Dough Recipe

I made a pretty darn healthy pizza last week. Can something like pizza even be healthy you ask?  It is to me if you are making the dough from scratch using whole wheat flour and topping it off with choke vegetables like tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus, onions, and olives. Oh yeah, I also used the cilantro pesto I kept in the freezer from the batch I made in my previous post.

We enjoy making our own pizza at home because you get to customize it the way you want.  We even do pizza potlucks with my family to see what creations other people come up with. I've tried many pizza dough recipes and this one is foolproof. This recipe uses a KitchenAid stand mixer but since I don't have one I just kneaded it by hand and it turned out just fine.

The Best Pizza Dough
From Eat, Live, Run

Makes 2 large pizza doughs

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 packet yeast
1.5 tsp sea salt

Method:

In a mixing bowl, combine the warm water and yeast.

Stir in the salt and flour and mix on medium high speed on your KitchenAid for 5 minutes. While the mixer is going, drizzle in the olive oil.

When the dough is soft and elastic, take out of the bowl, rub with olive oil and then place back in the bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise for one hour.

After the dough has doubled in size, cut in half to make two large pizza doughs or make mini doughs. You can also freeze whatever dough you're not using in a freezer bag for another time. When you are ready for your pizza, roll out the dough, cover with your toppings and bake at 425F for 10-15 minutes.

Orzo Salad with Chicken and Lemon Ginger Dressing

The other week I made Noodles with Mushroom and Lemon Ginger Dressing from Simply Recipes.   It was actually a recipe from Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen.  I really like the lemon ginger dressing which I used to throw together this orzo salad.  I just used what I already had in my pantry and refrigerator, plus the leftover dressing I made from the noodles.  It came together perfectly and I was really pleased.  Here is the recipe for my orzo salad and Jaden's lemon ginger dressing.

Orzo Salad
1 cup orzo pasta
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast
7-8 asparagus spears
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
olive oil

Cook orzo pasta according to package, about 8-10 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

While pasta is cooking, make the chicken. Pound the chicken to uniform thickness and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat.  Cook chicken on both sides, about 3-5 minutes, until done.  Set aside and let cool.

Prepare the asparagus.  Wash them thoroughly, break off the white bottom parts and discard.  Cut into 1-2 inch sections. Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil.  Parboil the asparagus for about 2 minutes over medium low heat. Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

Put the cooked orzo pasta into a medium bowl.  Chop the cooked chicken into bite size pieces.  Add to pasta.  Toss the remaining ingredients together and stir in the lemon ginger dressing.  Serve warm or cold (I liked it cold).

Lemon Ginger Dressing
From Steamy Kitchen

3/4 tsp Asian chili powder
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 inch section of ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 T honey
1 T sesame oil
3 T EVOO

Combine all ingredients, except for the sesame oil and extra virgin olive oil in a food processor.  Run the food processor for a few seconds, until all ingredients are combined.  With the machine running, drizzle in the oils.