Falafel Salad.

My boyfriend and I really enjoy making falafels, something that I am always for when it is made into a salad. We use a boxed mix, which takes about 20-25 minutes to make. I just cut up some ice burg lettuce, tomatoes, and made yogurt dill sauce.

The dill sauce recipe is super simple and quick, it really adds much needed flavor to the meal. Simply mix:
1 cup of yogurt
1/4 of a cucumber diced
1 tbs lemon juice
1-2 tsp dill
salt and pepper to taste

The perks of working at a Country Club? I get to steal desserts to enjoy with my coffee. This was my first experience with Macaroons and I loved every minute of it. This was during the insanely hectic work weekend during Easter, so I felt it was ok to indulge in a snack. I took 3 days and 3 cups of coffee to finish off all three of them, and I wish that I had more.

When I was back home, my mom made me this incredible roasted red pepper and low fat ricotta cheese sauce with steamed veggies, zucchini pasta, and a small amount of normal pasta. I finally got the chance to make this on my own and it was amazing. Without the pasta, it is super low calorie, even with the cheese in the sauce. The recipe is simple, 3 roasted red peppers (remove the skin), 8 tablespoons of low fat ricotta cheese (60 calories), 1 small onion, lemon, salt, and pepper blended in a food processor.

I am the proud owner of a Panini maker!

Today and yesterday I opted for the quick and simple dinner with my (or more my boyfriend's) lovely panini maker. As expensive as these may be, they make perfect sandwiches. Usually I opt for the simple vegan tosti, but due to the homemade pesto I made, felt like making a mozzarella, tomato, pesto melt.

Pesto Recipe (from The Moosewood Cookbook)
Makes 1 cup, Takes 10 minutes to make:
1 cup well-packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
1 tbls toasted pine nuts
1/2 tsp salt

blend until smooth.

The Lasagne of Your Dreams

I made my very first lasagna for Unofficial (A university of Illinois made up holiday). Brendan had his friend visit, so I thought something large and super filling was in dire need. Two hungry boys can eat everything in sight unless you plan it well. It couldn't have turned out more delicious. I used the recipe from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I made homemade sauce and everything. I added mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers and a few other veggies to substitute the lack of meat. I think it was a great touch and we devoured it in a matter of days.

Sauce (I edited the recipe):
2-3 Tblsp. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 bell peppers, diced
1 box mushrooms
1-2 med. (6") zucchini, diced
2-3 med. sized ripe tomatoes, chopped
handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 28 oz. can tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 Tblsp. honey
lots of black pepper
4-6 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh minced parsley
(I included some store bought sauce to the mix, as I needed more for the lasagna.)

Heat oil in deep saucepan. Add vegetables, herbs (except parsley), and salt. Saute over med. heat until onion is very soft (15 min.). Add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, honey and black pepper. Use a spoon to break up tomatoes into bit sized pcs. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer, partially covered at least 30 min. Add garlic and cook 10 min. more. At this point, the sauce can sit for up to several hours or be refrigerated up to a week, or frozen.
Heat gently before serving and add parsley at the last minute.

Lasagna Recipe:
1 batch of sauce
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 1/2 to 2 cups ricotta (low fat is fine) or cottage cheese
1 lb. grated or thinly sliced mozzerella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan Romano, or Asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Spread some sauce in bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with 4 lasagna noodles (break as necessary to fit pan). Place mounds of ricotta cheese here & there (use half). Add 1/3 of the sauce followed by 1/2 mozzarella, randomly scattered. Repeat. Cover with remaining noodles. Cover noodles with sauce. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Bake for 45 - 60 min, covered with foil.

Hummus.

Recently I've been terrible at posting here. But I promise to make it up by posting a ton. I made Hummus from scratch awhile ago and it turned out fantastic. I used the recipe from The Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook by Roz Denny. A book I actually got from my mother's friend who was one of my teachers in middle school.

The recipe is as follows:
1x15 oz can of chick peas, drained
2 tbsp tahini paste
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and ground black pepper
olive oil and paprika pepper, to garnish

mix all in a blender and serve with a selection of vegetables. breads, or chips