Spaghetti Squash "Pasta" Puttanesca

crave healthy comfort food...

One of my favorite comfort foods is pasta. Macaroni and cheese, baked ziti, lasagna, really anything with a noodle, I'm in! Unfortunately, pasta is super high in carbs. So, it's important to enjoy in moderation. That's pretty difficult considering my husband is Italian and nearly every meal he wants to make includes pasta. So, for this post, I'm trying something totally new - spaghetti squash.

Yep, I've never made or even had spaghetti squash before tonight. But, in the spirit of eating healthier in this new year, I thought it was time to try it out. I was quite skeptical, but have to say, pleasantly surprised. The squash, while not the same as pasta, is a pretty good substitute. I'm serving this spaghetti squash with a puttanesca sauce. To make this sauce better for you, I'm adding tuna and arugula. Both of these are not traditional ingredients in puttanesca sauce. All in all, this meal is well rounded and satisfied my comfort food craving. Next time you have one, try out this recipe. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Serves 4
1 Spaghetti Squash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3-4 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 C Flat-Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 C Pitted Kalamata Olives, roughly chopped
3 T Capers
1 (5 oz.) Can Tuna (in water), drained
1 T Anchovy Paste
1 tsp. Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 (14 oz.) Can "No Salt Added" Diced Tomatoes
1 C Arugula
To Serve: Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Following the instructions on Eat Within Your Means, roast the spaghetti squash. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then squeeze the skin from the flesh and separate the strands into long "noodles". The manor in which the squash is cooked on the blog, worked really well. My "noodles" were nice and long!

While the squash is cooling, make the sauce. Heat 1-2 T extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the garlic, parsley, olives, capers, tuna, anchovy paste, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Then, add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Next, wilt in the arugula and add the cooked spaghetti squash. Carefully toss together to combine, adding extra olive oil if needed. Adjust seasoning as needed (I didn't need to add any salt or pepper).

Finally, serve the "pasta" puttanesca topped with grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy with a small side salad and bread. Here's to healthy comfort food!

Dirty Greek Martini

get dirty, Grecian style...

In doing research for this post, I came across many "Grecian style" dirty martini recipes. Each one simply swapped out green olives and juice for Kalamata. I was planning to do this myself, but felt that this was a little boring. So, I kept searching and found the recipe posted here. It includes pepperoncini juice, which added just the twist I was looking for.

This dirty martini recipe is not only briny from the Kalamata olive juice, but spicy too from the pepperoncini. Of course, I'm garnishing with the olives and pepperoncini, but I couldn't help but add feta cheese too. Even better would be feta cheese stuffed Kalamata olives! Make this drink when you need a change from the plain old dirty martini. Here's how...

Ingredients - Makes 2 drinks

3 oz. Vodka (or Gin)

1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth

1/2 oz. Kalamata Olive Juice

1/2 oz. Pepperoncini Juice

Garnish: Pitted Kalamata Olives, Cubed Feta Cheese, & Pepperoncini

Directions

In an ice filled shaker, combine the vodka, dry vermouth, Kalamata olive juice, and pepperoncini juice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with the olives, feta, and pepperoncini. Cheers! Or, as they say in Greek "yiamas".

Kalamata Olive & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts in White Wine Sauce over Couscous

a balancing act...

Continuing on with my goal to eat better in the new year, I'm coming to the realization that I need to have a more balanced diet. While I've been mostly a pescetarian for the past 10 years, I've decided that I need to eat a little bit more meat. That said, I still won't post recipes with pork or beef, but instead, lean white meats such as chicken and turkey will appear more regularly. In that vein, I'm starting with this dinner.

There are many parts to this meal, but each one is very easy to do, and creates a balanced dish. The kalamata olive and feta stuffing is rich and provides moisture to the chicken as it cooks. The chicken is a lean protein jazzed up with the stuffing. And, the white wine sauce finishes off the dish with a little bit of decadence and a pop of acidity. I round out the meal with a simple couscous. When you need a bit of balance in your life, make this dish. Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 4
Stuffing:
4 oz. Light Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 C Kalamata Olives, pitted & roughly chopped
1/2 C Feta Cheese, crumbled
2 Oil-Packed Sun Dried Tomatoes, roughly chopped

Chicken:
1 T Olive Oil
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, trimmed
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

White Wine Sauce:
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 C White Wine
1/2 Lemon, juiced
2 T Butter
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Couscous:
1 T Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
2 C Chicken Broth
1 (10 oz.) Box Couscous

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make the stuffing: In a small bowl combine the cream cheese, Kalamata olives, feta, and sun dried tomatoes. Stir until well combined. Set aside.

Prepare and stuff the chicken: Pat each chicken breast dry. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit along the side of the breast, from top to bottom and about 3/4 the way in. Be careful not to cut all the way through the breast (essentially, you are creating a pocket). Divide the stuffing mixture and evenly distribute between each "pocket". Stuff the mixture into the "pocket", moving it around to evenly fill the breast.

Cook the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over med-high. Add the oil and each breast. Cook on each side until browned, 6-8 minutes. Remove to a roasting pan and put in the preheated oven to finish cooking, about 20 minutes.

As the chicken cooks, make the sauce: In the skillet used to cook the chicken, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with the wine and lemon juice. Reduce by half, add the butter, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Make the couscous: In a medium pot add the oil and heat over med-high. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, remove from the heat, cover, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve the dish: Plate the couscous on the bottom, top with chicken, and drizzle with the sauce. Serve immediately with a small salad and a glass of your favorite red wine. Enjoy!

Kalamata Olive Tapenade with Homemade Pita Chips

new year + new goals = new you

It's a new year and with that comes new goals, ambitions, and a vision of a better life. Many of you will have goals of exercising more (me), watching less TV (yes, me), and eating healthier (yup, you guessed it).  I like to think that I eat healthy now, but there are definitely days, weeks, and December that mess that up. So, it's a new year and I'm starting off on the right foot with this easy appetizer.

This tapenade is full of kalamata and black olives, which are very good for you. They are low in calories, contain healthy monounsaturated fat (good for your heart), and can help with pain (they contain a compound that has anti-inflammatory properties, mimicking pain killers). As with anything, moderation is key as they are high in sodium. So, try out this appetizer and only have a little! Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Serves 6-8
Tapenade
1 C Pitted Kalamata Olives, drained
1/2 C Pitted Black Olives, drained
2 Cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 C Flat-leaf Parsley
1 T Anchovy Paste
2 T Capers, drained
1/2 Lemon, juiced (~2T)
1-2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pita Chips
2 Whole Wheat Pita Pockets
Cooking Spray
Kosher or Sea Salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Make the pita chips: Cut each pita pocket in half. Cut each half into 4 wedges. Separate each wedge by cutting or tearing long the "pocket" side. Each pita pocket will yield 16 pita pieces (32 pieces total). Line the pita pieces up on a large baking sheet and spray them liberally with cooking spray. Flip and spray on the other side. Sprinkle with a little salt. Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Meanwhile, make the tapenade: Combine the olives and garlic in a food processor. Pulse 6-8 times or until roughly chopped. Add the parsley, anchovy paste, capers, and lemon juice. Pulse a few more times to combine everything well. Stir in the extra virgin olive oil, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve the tapenade with the homemade pita chips. Enjoy (in moderation of course)!

Greek Style Veggie Frittata

an egg-cellent meal ideal

I love eggs! Any form, any way, any where, Sam I Am, yes, I'd probably even eat green eggs (no ham). Lucky for you, I didn't make anything with green eggs for this post. Instead I've made a veggie frittata. A frittata is much like an omelet or crust-less quiche that serves 6-8 people. It originated in Italy and is traditionally served with onion, peppers, spinach, and cheese. However, due to the versatility of eggs, you can choose any combination of ingredients you wish.

I've chosen to make a Greek style frittata for this post. The combination of red onion, cherry tomatoes, roasted red bell pepper, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, parsley, and feta cheese are quite common in Mediterranean cuisine. I've combined these ingredients into an easy to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner main dish. Make this when you have eggs and veggies to use up, here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 6
12 Large Eggs
2 T Half & Half (or 3 T Milk, any %)
1/2 C Feta Cheese, plus more for topping
Salt & Pepper
1-2 T Olive Oil
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1/2 C Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 Can Artichoke Hearts, drained & chopped
1/4 C Kalamata Olives, halved
1/4 C Parsley, roughly chopped

Directions
Make the roasted red pepper: You can purchase jarred peppers, but they are never as good and it takes no time to roast a fresh one.

Preheat the broiler to high and move your oven rack up to the top spot. Remove the top and bottom portions of the pepper, cut out the seeds/ribs, and then slice the pepper in half. On a foil lined baking sheet press the pepper down so that it is flat (the inside of the pepper should be on the baking sheet). Broil the pepper for 5-8 minutes or until charred. Remove the pepper to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the pepper to steam for 10 minutes. Remove the pepper from the bowl and peel off the charred skin, discard. Roughly chop the pepper and set aside.

Make the egg mixture: Turn the oven down to 375 degrees and move the rack back to the bottom third of the oven. In a large bowl beat the eggs, half & half, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper until combined. Stir in the 1/2 C feta and set aside.

Build the frittata: Bring a large oven-proof nonstick skillet to heat over med-high. Add the oil, onion, and tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and the tomatoes have given off their juices, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the roasted red bell pepper, artichokes, olives, and parsley. Cook until warmed through. Evenly distribute the veggies in the skillet then pour in the egg mixture. Make sure the eggs cover everything evenly. Cook on the stove-top for 2-3 minutes. Then top with a little more feta and carefully put the skillet into the oven. Cook until the eggs are set, about 15 minutes.

Serve the frittata: Remove the skillet from the oven and allow the frittata to cool for a few minutes. Then run a spatula around the edge of the frittata to release it from the pan and slide it out onto a cutting board. Cut the frittata into thirds, then cut each third in half (6 wedges). Serve immediately. I made roasted oregano potatoes to go with ours - delish! These are my Greek eggs (no ham), enjoy!