Egg Salad

Quick and easy snack or lunch. I like to refrigerate and serve cold rather than eating it right away. Check out how to make perfect hard boiled eggs here

Egg Salad  

Egg salad doesn't photograph well

Makes 2 servings. 

8 hard boiled eggs, chopped (I take out a few of the yolks because I don't care for the taste)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp paprika 

1. Combine eggs in a bowl with the mayonnaise, mustard, and green onions.
2. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
3. Stir and serve on your favorite bread or crackers.

Chicken Piccata

Are you ready for some restaurant style chicken piccata? In less than 30 minutes I couldn't believe that I made!  I read a bunch of recipes to determine how I would go about creating this dish.  I looked at Giada de Laurentiis's recipe and this blog.  

This tasted just like from the restaurant and was very straightforward to make.  This will be added to the regular meal rotations, as these are regularly stocked ingredients.

I tried to butterfly the chicken breast, but it wouldn't cut evenly. We had several smaller pieces that I tried to make flatter, but I didn't really understand what I was doing... Next time I will be patient and cut the chicken right. The flour parmesean breading was tasty and was nicely golden once I added in more oil. Before I added more oil the chicken was cooking but not getting any color or looking very moist.

I wanted to have some sort of green vegetable in the dish so I tossed in some arugula leaves at the very end so it would wilt.  This part took maybe 2-3 minutes as leafy greens can overcook very quickly.

I was reviewing recipes and they recommend using either a white wine sauce or chicken broth for making the lemon sauce.  Originally, I was going to use the chicken stock, but at the last minute, I went for the white wine sauce.  It was a great choice!

orig from 5/30/2013
updated 4/3/2015

Enjoy!

 

Chicken Piccata
Serves 2

~2 cups dried pasta
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup flour
Fresh cracked pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
3 Tbsp lemon juice (or a w hole lemon if you want)
1/4 cup brined capers
Arugula/Spinach

Start to boil the water for the pasta. Cook pasta according to directions.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat.
Cut the chicken breast halves horizontally. Pound flat or butterfly them to about 1/4-inch thickness. 
Mix together the flour, pepper, and grated Parmesan. 
Dredge chicken pieces in the flour mixture, until well coated.
Add the chicken pieces, brown well on each side, about 3 - 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve to a plate. 
Add the white wine, lemon juice, and capers to the frying pan used for the chicken. 
Reduce the sauce, generally I let it cook until the pasta is done.
Melt in the butter, wilt arugula/spinach. 
Add the drained pasta to the sauce. Plate the pasta and add chicken on the top!

Salsa Poached Chicken

I was looking for a new chicken dish to go along with the leftover rice, limes, cilantro, etc. I was inspired by the Salsa Poached Chicken recipe from here.

This took about 15 minutes to cook as I had sliced the meat up prior to poaching. I think next time I would use a similar technique... but saute the chicken in the pan with the salsa to see if it still brings all the taste with even less time. But poaching it in the salsa had great flavor for such a short cooking time.

I did add in some lime to the salsa while cooking the chicken to try and help tie the meal together.

I served the chicken with cilantro lime rice, homemade yogurt, and fresh tortillas.

Enjoy!

Salsa Poached Chicken
Serves 4-6

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped onion
Water

Add chopped onions to a pot with a lid with about 1 tbl olive oil until slightly opaque. Add the salsa, chicken breasts, and water to cover the chicken, place lid on pot.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 min or until chicken is cooked.

Remove chicken from pot and set on a cutting board until cool enough to handle. With two forks, shred the chicken breast and place shredded chicken breast into the pot with the fresh salsa mixture.

Citrus Bow Tie Pasta

Warm weather is upon us! This is a light and fresh meal that takes only as long as the pasta takes to cook!

While the pasta is cooking you can slice and chop up the rest of the ingredients. When the pasta is done toss it all together, and dinner is ready!

What did I change? Overall I kept with the main recipe, I just made changes to my preferences. I sliced a couple cherry tomatoes since I'm not a huge fan of raw tomatoes. Since we had cilantro from other recipes, I used some more of that. Parsley is also an option however. You can swap the lemon juice for lime juice as well. I didn't mix the feta into the entire bowl since I'm not a fan, but it was pretty sprinkled on top of the food.

This is great served warm or cold. This will be ok for leftovers the next day, but won't last much longer than that. Once the avocado is turning brown - toss it!

Next time I might try using sundried tomatoes instead of fresh or even try some basil and fresh mozzarella!

Citrus Bow Tie Pasta

recipe adapted from Whole Foods
Serves 2

1/2 pound bow tie pasta
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cubed  

4 green onions, both green and white parts, chopped
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
a couple diced cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon
1/3 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain, but do not rinse the pasta. Place hot pasta in a large mixing bowl. Add avocado, green onions, feta, tomatoes and cilantro. Whisk together lemon juice and olive oil and drizzle over the warm pasta. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm or cold.

Roasted Eggplant Bites

Eggplant! One of my favorite veggies, but it can be cooked so horribly wrong. I also was curious about baking it instead of frying the pieces up.

Verdict? Baking / Roasting the eggplant was great! However, it was very pale and didn't look very appetizing. Next time I will sprinkle some olive oil over the top to see if that helps to make it look more golden.

I like the Panko breadcrumbs because they are bigger and flakier, the spices in the mix were just to taste, about a tsp of each. I sprinkled the minced garlic over the top of the breaded eggplant prior to roasting it. You can use a tsp or so of garlic powder mixed in the breadcrumbs as an option too.

It also could be topped with a slice of tomato or some tomato sauce and then some fresh mozzerella cheese and some basil for an appetizer... Anyone want to come over for dinner so I have an excuse to make some?

Roasted eggplant served with a side of pasta

Roasted Breaded Eggplant Bites
1 egg plant, med size
1 egg
Panko bread crumbs (1-2 cups?)
Red pepper flakes (1 tsp)
Oregano (1 tsp) or Italian seasoning
Garlic, minced or powdered

Slice eggplant about 1/4 inch thick.  No I have never measured this.
Liberally sprinkle salt on the eggplant and let it sit in a strainer in the sink for about 30 minutes. Rinse.

Preheat oven to 400F
In one bowl scramble an egg and with a splash of water. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, oregano, and garlic.
Dip eggplant in the egg, let it excess egg drip off.  Dip in breadcrumb mix and then place on cookie sheet.
Put in oven for 15-20 minutes.

Remove and top with sauce and cheese and a side of pasta! Or just eat it right off the tray!

Chobani Night: Veggie Mac & Cheese

Girls night! For our book club (that we don't read books for) we decided we would have a food theme of Greek yogurt. This has thrown us all in a loop trying to figure out what we can swap the yogurt in for, or for what recipes already call for the yogurt!

What we made tonight:

• Plain Chobani with some olive oil, salt and pepper and consumed with pita chips. 
• Plain Chobani with quartered grapes, peanuts, and a scoop of jelly and and a scoop of peanut butter. I ate it with wheat thins.
• Mango Chobani combined with guacamole and crushed almonds then topped with spicy corn relish served on wheat thins.

I decided on a veggie mac & cheese casserole. I've made my godmother's mac and cheese recipe before, so I figured this one wouldn't be too different. This recipe is adapted from the Chobani website and from this recipe for Confetti Mac & Cheese. It is a tangy mac and cheese that could be due to the cheeses and the yogurt. I don't know, I've never had Gruyère before. I added in the veggies to bulk up the recipe but also so we could pretend we ate something healthy.

If you are making this ahead of time (the day before), use lots of the milk and cheese as it will absorb into the noodles and not be as cheesy. The recipe below does not reflect the addition of more milk and cheese. If you were curious, I would add in an additional cup of cheese and probably a few splashes of milk to get to a creamy consistency. 

Melted butter, Add flour, It will clump.

Added Milk, Spices, and Cheese. It is thick!

Pre Broil

Nom!

Veggie Mac & Cheese Casserole
Makes 1 9x9 pan

3 cups pasta (I used ziti)
2 tbsp of butter
3-4 tbsp of flour
1 1/2 cup 1% milk
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 heaping cup of Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 heaping cup of mild white cheddar, shredded
1 6  oz container of plain Greek yogurt
Panko breadcrumbs
about 1 - 2 cups of frozen veg of your choice

Cook pasta according to box directions, but 1-2 minutes less than al dente.

Melt butter in frying pan or sauce pan. Add in flour and whisk. Slowly add in milk and whisk to remove clumps. (I don't have a whisk, I used a spatula and mashed the lumps outs). Once a smooth slightly thickened sauce add in ground mustard, garlic powder, and black pepper as well as the cheese.

Remove from heat. Stir in pasta, yogurt, and optional frozen veggies. Pour into 9x9 pan. If you are eating it that night, top with bread crumbs and pop under broiler for a few minutes to get the bread crumbs golden. If you are making this ahead, omit the breadcrumbs. When you are ready to heat the mac & cheese, top with the bread crumbs, cover with tin foil, and heat in 350F oven for 30 minutes or until hot. Take off foil and broil for a few minutes, until top is golden.

Kale, Canneleni Beans, and Sausage soup

Kale season!!! This is a pretty fast soup, can probably be made and cooked in a half hour. I went a little overkill on the kale because I think it is so tasty, but adjust according to your preferences. Kale will wilt, but not as much as spinach. You can also use less broth and serve it as almost a sauce over pasta too.

I like Italian sausage because it has all the seasonings in it. I add extra black pepper and garlic, but that is just my preference.
 
Kale, Cannellini Beans, and Sausage soup
makes 3-4 servings

1/2 cup onions, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
5 -8 kale leaves
6 cups chicken broth, I do a big can and do 1/2 that can filled with water
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
2 hot Italian sausage, out of casings

Prep kale
Hold kale leaf by the stem, the leaf part pointing down to the cutting board. Use knife and slide it along the stem, separating the leaf off the stem. Cut kale to bite sized pieces. The stems are edible, but tougher and need extra time to cook.

Make soup

Saute onions, garlic powder, kale stems, carrots, and celery. Once starting to get soft add in sausage, kale, and broth. Let cook at a rolling boil until sausage is cooked through and kale is tender.

Serve over pasta if you'd like.

Brown Butter Raviolis with Walnuts and Snap Peas (plus Roasted Asparagus)

One of my friends came over for dinner so we made a variation of the brown butter raviolis with chicken and walnuts. We wanted something lighter, so we omitted the chicken and added in snap peas. We also made a side of roasted asparagus. I've never had roasted asparagus before...it is pretty darn tasty. You should make some too. Roasted veggies are a very easy way to prepare veggies too.

Brown Butter Raviolis with walnuts and snap peas (plus roasted asparagus)
Serves 2
8 jumbo frozen cheese ravioli
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
Snap peas (2-3 handfuls, peeled the ends to get rid of the strings that are along the bean)
1/3 cup fresh sage leaves, sliced into ribbons
Asparagus (peeled from the base of the spiky top to the bottom of the stalk)

Raviolis
Cook according the to package directions.

Toasting Walnuts
Place the walnuts in frying pan on medium heat and toast for ~5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove and chop.


The Rest of the Meal
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan. Add onions and garlic, saute until soften. Add butter and let it melt. Add the snap peas and the sage. Add the cooked raviolis and walnuts then stir to combine.

Roasted Asparagus
Put on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper if you would like. Roast at 425F for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Turkey Chili

Nate and I love chili. Here is another easy chili recipe for you!

This one is a chunky meaty chili made from ground turkey or ground chicken, I go with whichever is on sale. Please note that this is a very spicy recipe!! What I have listed below has quite a kick and the original recipe calls for more spice that that!

Onions, Peppers, and Garlic

Add meat

Once meat is done, add spices and other things

Add sauce, tomatoes, beans, and corn

Serve with chips!

When you cook ground turkey it tends to clump instead of crumble like ground beef so when you put the meat in, stir it constantly and keep breaking it up with the back of your spoon.

If it is too spicy, add in a little at a time, some cocoa powder, cheese, sour cream, plain yogurt, etc.

Even though the recipe says to let it simmer for 50 minutes, I let it simmer for longer or until I'm ready to eat it. Just make sure you stir it otherwise the bottom might scorch.

This recipe freezes well.

Turkey Chili
makes approx 5 big servings

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 med green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 lbs of ground turkey/chicken
1 heaping tsp of chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 - 3/4 of a 16 oz jar of Salsa
8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of corn

Heat olive oil in a large pot over med heat. Add onion, garlic, green peppers and stir until onion is starting to look clear.

Add the meat, stir and break up the meat until it is no longer pink.

Add spices, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans, and corn. If you are hesitant, add in half of the spice and add more as it cooks down and you test it.

Let it simmer for about 50 minutes and stir occasionally.

Top with cheese and serve with chips!

Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Apples

Looking to cook your apples with things other than cinnamon and sugar? Try this savory dinner recipe! This unlikely combo is a filling and satisfying meal.

Onions!

Add Apples & Vinegar

Add Chicken!

Combine with Raviolis!

Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Apples

Olive Oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 medium apple, diced (I used the crank apple peeler then cut the apple into 6ths)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 chicken breast, diced
Salt & Pepper

Heat oil in the pan, add onions. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until onions are golden and a deep brown
Add apple and vinegar, cook for 5 minutes or until apples are starting to get tender. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute in the same pan until it starts to get golden. [Depending on how big the pieces of chicken are, this could be added at the same time as the apple and vinegar.]

The original recipe says to serve with a slice of provolone cheese on top. I don't eat cheese like that or have it in the house. Instead, I made 4 jumbo raviolis according to the package directions. When the chicken was cooked I tossed the raviolis into the pan with a pat of butter and mixed it around get everything all nicely coated.

Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce

Here is a quick and easy tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes and left over cream cheese (from the Lime and Coconut Cupcake frosting!).

 Tomatoes, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder. I also added in 1/4 cup of water

 Mash as they cook down. Then pulse in the food processor until pureed. Pour back into the pot. Add in basil.

 I added in spoon by spoon the cream cheese. I added in a little under 1/4 cup of cream cheese. But basically go until it tastes how you'd like it to.

The rest of the meal... I seasoned the chicken with garlic powder, oregano, and sauteed in olive oil for about 8-10 minutes. Pasta was whole wheat spaghetti which cooks in about 4-5 minutes.

Next time maybe add in a few red pepper flakes for a little kick. 

Tomato Basil Sauce
Makes 3 servings

8-10 Tomatoes
1 tsp each Onion powder, garlic powder, oregano
1/4 cup cream cheese
Basil

Heat pan with tomatoes and spices. As tomatoes heat through mash them down with a spoon, about 5 minutes. Puree in the food processor. Stir in cream cheese until its reaches the desired creamy taste and let simmer until rest of meal is ready to eat.

I served over pasta with a side of chicken.

Slow Cooked Thai Chicken

 Ok... not the best looking meal to photograph... but it was SO tasty!

Nate was the main chef of this meal and got everything going while I was at work the other day. He assembled all the ingredients and started the cooking process. After I was home from work and realized we didn't have any more lime (see Coconut and Lime Cupcakes) or any peanuts to garnish, he drove us to Wegman's when I realized . He also waited patiently while I debated on the cilantro (decided on omitting it since it was a little pricey).

This is slow cooked chicken with all sorts of yummy spices! I found the basic recipe here but I added more of the spices, extra coconut milk, and some chicken broth because we wanted a saucier texture. Crushed the peanuts in the food processor and mixed it in the chicken mix at the end. 

Next time? I'd add in some cilantro to see what we were missing. Also, keep the chicken into larger pieces otherwise it turns into a chili/blended together texture. But overall it was great!

Serve over rice or noodles. Happy eating!!

Slow Cooked Thai Chicken

Makes 4-6 servings

3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 cup medium or hot salsa
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbs. lime juice
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk
Cilantro (for garnish)
Chopped peanuts
 

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a small bowl, mix salsa, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. Pour mixture over chicken. This was really thick so I added in the chicken broth. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Remove chicken from cooker and shred. Return to crock pot. Add coconut milk and turn to warm setting for 15-20 minutes prior to serving.
 

Serve over rice or noodles. Top with the cilantro.

Almond Crusted Chicken

 This recipe is a keeper! Nutty, versatile and fast. 15 minutes for making breadcrumbs and bake for about 20 minutes (depending on thickness of the chicken).

I found the basis for the recipe from Cooks Illustrated, but you can't actually see the recipe unless you sign up... so I found another blogger who made their recipe :) See here. Basically I didn't follow the recipe at all, I just took the breadcrumb technique from them.

Melt some butter in a pan. I added oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper at this point.

Meanwhile use the food processor (I love using this machine..) to chop the nuts. I used almonds because they were the cheapest. I wanted to use pecans or macadamia nuts... but it was about twice as expensive. FYI the 99 has macadamia crusted chicken... its amazing.

Once the butter is melted, wait a few more minutes. It should start to turn a golden brown. Once that happens change the temp to med low and add in the panko breadcrumbs and the almonds. Stir it around gathering up all the butter and spices. Stir occasionally but this step toasts the almonds.The kitchen starts to smell awesome at this point.

I want to point out that we used panko breadcrumbs. This blogger gives more information about panko. But long story short, these are Japanese breadcrumbs, flakier and bigger than regular style, and don't absorb grease as much either. This yields a crispy and crunchy crust for whatever you are cooking.

Time to get the chicken ready! I used thin sliced chicken breast because it cooks faster and I'm an inpatient chef. The recipe says to pierce the chicken a few times with a fork and salt it. I did it, I didn't notice any changes though. Does anyone else know?

Flour the chicken and shake off any excess.
Dip it in the egg mix and let the extra drip off.
Then go ahead and put it in the heavenly breadcrumbs.

I used foil in my pan for faster clean up.

Bake at 350 for about 15-25 minutes. I'd keep an eye on the chicken though, you don't want it over cooked but the cooking time really changes based on the thickness.

This also makes about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds (8 pieces of chicken).

What would I change next time? I would be more patient when browning the butter. I would try different nuts. I'd add in more oregano, closer to 2 tsp because I like oregano.

Almond Crusted Chicken
Serves approx 8

4 tbsp butter
1 tsp oregano, garlic powder, onion powder
Salt & Pepper
1 cup Panko Bread crumbs
1 cup chopped almonds
2 lbs of chicken (8 chicken breast, thin slice)
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten

1. Melt butter with the spices. Once melted wait another 4-5 minutes for butter to turn light brown. Add in bread crumbs and almonds.
2. Lower temp to med low. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. Taste to see if you need more seasonings.
3. Put some flour in a bowl and beat 2 eggs in another bowl.
4. Coat chicken in the flour. Shake off excess. Dip it in the egg, let excess drip. Dip in bread crumbs. Press crumbs in as needed.
5. Place in casserole dish and cook at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Shepard's Pie

N. and I made Shepard's Pie this weekend! Layers of ground turkey, creamed corn, and mashed potatoes then baked in the oven.

First, start the mashed potatoes. This will take the longest to cook. We had 1 large potato and one med size potato. 1 large one would have been enough for us. Dice potatoes to about the same size. I didn't peel them. Add them to a pot of water. Then put on the stove and bring water to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, aka when you stab with a fork it slips right off. And anyways, you are mashing them, you want them softer rather than harder.

 

Mash the potatoes with a fork or masher until there are no more lumps. As my mom says, "If you leave lumps in the mashed potatoes, everyone knows they are real potatoes." While mashing I added in some salt, butter, garlic powder, and sour cream until it was the consistency I wanted. If you don't want to use sour cream you can also use milk.

While the potatoes were cooking we diced up some onion. We heated up some oil (with a dash of garlic powder) and added the onions when the pan was hot. Then we added in the ground turkey and cooked it until there was no pink left.

Lastly, creamed corn. Open can. :)

Assemble the ingredients, meat in the dish, then creamed corn, and then put the dollop the mashed potatoes on top. Add some pats of butter to the top and cracked black pepper.

Cover with foil and put in the oven for 25 minutes. Take foil off and broil for about 5 minutes or until mashed potato topping starts to get golden.

Next time? Maybe add some tomato paste/ketchup or Worcestershire sauce to the meat while its cooking. I tried not to mess with it like I normally do with recipes.

Shepard's Pie
Makes approx 4 hearty servings

Mashed Potatoes
1 to 2 large potatoes, cut into chunks
Salt (to taste)
1/2 stick of butter (but do it tbsp by tbsp until its the flavor you want)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup sour cream or milk (could probably use a little more if you want softer texture)

 Place potatoes in water in a pot. Bring water to a boil. Cook until fork tender, approx 20 - 30 minutes. Drain potatoes. Add butter, garlic powder, and milk/sour cream. Mash until desired consistency, adding in additional butter or sour cream as needed.

The rest of it...
1 lb ground turkey (or beef, or chicken)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup onion, diced
Salt & Pepper
1 can creamed corn
Additional butter for topping casserole.

Heat oil in pan, add garlic powder, add onion. When softened add ground turkey, add salt and pepper. Cook until no pink is left.
Assemble in baking dish, meat and then corn, and then mashed potatoes. Leave pats of butter and some cracked black pepper to the top.

Cover in foil, cook 25 minutes. Cook additonal 15 minutes until everything is heated throguh (corn will bubble up the sides) and if you want a golden crunchy potato top, heat for about 5 minutes under the broiler.

Enjoy!!

Pasta Verde (plus summer squash & eggplant)

I have a bunch of veggies remaining from previous dinners so I decided I wanted to make a primavera. I searched a few recipes but they need milk or cream and I didn't have that. Then I saw Martha Stewart's Pasta Verde here. I even had all the ingredients (and a few extra)!

I prepped the eggplant. Sliced or cubed the veggies (summer squash, zucchini, onion, snap peas).

Eggplant: Slice, Salted, Sits for 30 minutes, Rinse, Squeeze liquid out

Heated the frying pan, added oil, and then some garlic powder. Added the onion. When the onion started to look translucent I added the other veggies.

Meanwhile I cooked some pasta.

When the veggies were just about tender I wilted in some spinach and added in the snap peas into the pan.

Combine ingredients for dressing

Then I added the dressing. The dressing was ok, I just don't really like Dijon mustard. I tossed the pasta in with the veggies and served.

Next time I would try using less Dijon mustard. And maybe more vinegar.

Pasta Verde
makes 4

Dressing
1 tbsp Olive Oil, 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard, 2 tbsp Cider Vinegar, Salt & Pepper

Pasta
Olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Onion, diced
Eggplant, salted/strained then sliced/cubed
Summer Squash, cubed
Zucchini, sliced
Spinach
Snap Peas

Cook pasta according to directions
Combine ingredients to make dressing
Heat olive oil and garlic powder in frying pan. Add onion. When translucent add veggies. When tender add a handful or two of spinach and snap peas.
Combine dressing, veggies, and pasta.

Enjoy!