To contact us Click
HERE
You know those days when you feel like you have nothing in your fridge to make for dinner, yet it's completely full? Yeah, me too. Sometimes it's hard to force yourself to work with what you've got because going and buying everything for a recipe you already know is so easy. Last week I decided I was just gonna do with what I had on hand and skip a trip to the market. Then I thought, why not make this a weekly tradition? Let's call it What's in Your Fridge Friday.
I had basically one of every vegetable in my crisper leftover from various other recipes I'd made all week. Luckily, the meal that came out of them was sooooooo delicious, easy, AND bonus: vegetarian! Hooray for forced creativity!
I chopped up all of the veggies to roughly the same size, browned and cooked them down until they were tender. Then I deglazed them with white wine and added in some good old marinara sauce and herbs.
I reduced that down on a low simmer for about 30 minutes and had a fabulous, thick gardeny sauce ready to go in under an hour. I boiled some whole wheat spaghetti, drained it and dropped it into the Veggies to finish cooking. Oh and I added lots of cheese. You can never have too much cheese.
This is a method you can do with any veggies you have in the fridge. Broccoli would be great, as would different types of squash or even celery. Be creative. You'll save a trip to the store, not to mention, money!
Quick Veggie Pasta1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 yellow onion
1 Carrot
1 zucchini
10 or so green beans
20 or so small tomatoes (I used mini heirlooms)
4 cremini mushrooms
1 baby eggplant
1 tsp. of garlic, minced
1 T fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C good white wine
1/2 a jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1/4 - 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
Chop all of the vegetables to roughly the same size. Heat a heavy saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Swirl a tablespoon of olive oil in the pot and dump all of the chopped veggies in, stirring occasionally. After about 10-15 minutes, the veggies will become tender and lightly browned. Add the basil, garlic and salt and pepper and pour in the wine to deglaze the pot. Stir and add the marinara sauce, turning down the heat to low at the same time. Simmer the sauce for another 15 minutes or until slightly reduced and thick.
Meanwhile, boil your favorite pasta. I used whole wheat spaghetti. Just when the pasta becomes al dente, drain it and pour it into the Vegetable sauce. Stir to coat the pasta, add the parmesan cheese, stir again and serve!
Remember, this is just a guideline, you can add whatever veggies you like, and whatever sauce you like. Just make sure to use a really good wine, that you would actually drink. A sip or two while cooking always helps.
Enjoy!
I always have cherry tomatoes on hand (unless there is something completely wrong with me) because they are my absolute favorite. They are always slightly sweet and juicy and they go well in everything from salad to spaghetti sauce. I also happen to have a new pot of basil that I'm nursing in my backyard and praying that the snails don't find. Growing herbs is a great way to give yourself multiple meal options as it opens up the variety of flavor profiles you can create. And a leftover tub of baby mozzarella balls gave me the idea to make a caprese salad. But seeing as I can have caprese salad anywhere, I decided to spice it up and make it a Roasted Caprese salad. Since I felt like the salad would need a little extra weight behind it to make it a meal, I added the rest of the whole wheat Israeli (or Pearl) Couscous I had in the pantry. Instant classic.
I coated the tomatoes in Olive Oil, salt, pepper, italian herbs, a little garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Then I broiled them....
And they came out like this, perfectly charred and caramelized.
I chopped up the basil and sliced the mozzarella balls in half. You don't have to halve them, but I wanted more cheese throughout the salad.
And here it is, a perfect summertime meal that took about 15 minutes to prepare. I added a few slices of grilled chicken over the top because my basketball playing husband needed some extra protein, but this would make an awesome lunch or dinner just as it is. You should probably make extra. 
This Coconut Honeybush tea from One Love Tea is probably one of the best things I have ever tasted! It is a highly fragrant, slightly sweet tea that tastes so much like coconut, it's crazy. I've enjoyed it hot and cold and can't decide which I like better. Either way you choose, a little goes a long way and it brews in a super quick 1-3 minutes. If you can't get this unique tea close to you, order it online!
The Chile Boys from New Mexico make this AMAZING salsa verde using chiles grown on their grandfather's farm. This salsa is about medium in heat and is incredibly fresh tasting, due to the flecks of cilantro and lime pulp throughout. I used it on grilled veggie tacos and with tortilla chips, soooo good!
How can you not want to just spoon this out of the jar? I adore honey, but there's something so special about honeycomb. I mean, bees made it. From nectar and wax...what??! I will be happily using this on everything from toast to cheese boards to who knows what else I'll come up with.
These organic, pesticide free blueberries were incredible! They were plump, juicy and just the right amount of sweet. I had planned on using them in some yummy baked good, but as you can tell from the past tense, they were already eaten by the handful.
Another fantastic fruit I found was this Flavoroso Pluot. A pluot is a cross between a plum and an apricot and the result is a super fresh, slightly tart flavor close to that of a plum combined with the creamy, soft texture of an apricot. These were so juicy i had to eat them over the sink! I can't wait to go back and get more.
I love buying all natural, handmade soap and these lovely bars came from Camlon Farm in Perris, Ca. They had photos of their goats at their stand. How could I say no? Plus, they had lovely mixtures that I haven't seen elsewhere, like the Rosemary with Coffee Grounds. The grounds act as an exfoliant and give off a slight scent, but you mostly pick up the fresh rosemary. The top bar is Rose Jasmine, which I am a sucker for. I bought a few of these to place around my house and so far, I'm in love!