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Harvest Grains Mac and Cheese and Peas

January 20, 2015 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 5 comments

It’s only a few weeks in, but I feel like we have made some big changes in the New Year, including cutting out weekday wine and cooking at home more often. It’s hard. We love food and wine and to go out around Boston and we have well-stocked wine fridge. It’s a constant temptation to stay in line, but I want to be back in shape and feeling more vibrant, so it’s a worthy cause.

We all know that healthier eating can be absolutely delicious. Case in point, this “Mac” and cheese I made last week with Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains, peas. a yummy cheese sauce, and a Ritz Chips topping. No butter involved.

 

shredded cheddar

The success of this healthier mac and cheese like dish comes from sharp cheddar, which comes with lots of flavor. As a result I only used a cup of the shredded cheese. A mix of Kerrygold cheeses would have been great as well.

frozen sweet peas

A veggie component also helped to add to the nutritional value of this dinner. I love sweet peas, and frozen peas are both delicious and a great value.

Harvest Grains Blend   Third, I replaced traditional macaroni with a Harvest Grains Blend, which includes Israeli couscous (one of my favorites), along with lentils and quinoa.

harvest grains blend

Since I wanted a true baked macaroni and cheese feel, I used toasted Ritz Chips, which are lighter than the crackers but super crunchy and yummy and browned up without the addition of butter. But oh how I wanted to melt some butter over the top. . .

Ritz Chips mac and cheese topping

healthy "mac" and cheese healthy mac and cheese

I am pretty much the worst when it comes to actual recipes, but I can tell you I cooked the Harvest Grains according to package directions, in chicken stock. I made about two cups of the grains.

Separately, I mixed in two cups of skim milk with a cup of shredded cheddar and some garlic and truffle oil and simmered until it thickened a little. I mixed the grains and the cheese sauce, added the peas and topped with cracker crumbs and baked at 350 for about 10 minutes. This dish was super easy and SO delicious. We had leftovers for lunch the next day and wished we had more.

It can be a fun challenge to make yummy, healthy dishes for every day, and we are getting back in the swing of things as we go along.

Have you been making an effort to be more healthy in 2015?

Tags: comfort food, cooking at home, Food, macaroni and cheese, recipes, Vegetarian, vegetarian recipes, winter recipes

CSA Week 12: Late Summer Deliciousness

September 5, 2014 in Food by traveleatlove | 2 comments

Our CSA continues to fill each week with a little bit of excitement and lots of healthy local produce. The last couple of weeks have simply been bursting with summery delights like heirloom tomatoes, peaches, and corn, possibly the best foods in the world (paired with a lovely Rosé, of course)

 

Heirloom Tomato BLT

As is often the case in the warmer months, simple was really our goal in highlighting the beautiful food provided by our local farmers. Big, juicy heirloom tomatoes and crisp local lettuce lent themselves to quick and easy, yet completely heavenly BLTs while green beans were perfect sautéed in a little olive oil, chopped garlic, and black pepper.

green beans

Each week brings its own share of greens, and I imagine that will continue once summer ends. Rainbow chard is yummy chopped and cooked down with a little olive oil, a great balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper. This would be a great side dish for a good cut of beef and your favorite red wine.

rainbow chard

We drooled over the fresh peaches we received, super juicy and sweet. They were more often than not eaten on their own, but once warm night called for a peach and tomato salad topped with goat cheese and a little fig balsamic. Simple and perfect.

peach and tomato salad

Finally, while we did eat plenty of corn from our CSA, the below dish is actually from my beloved Steel and Rye. Their soups are always phenomenal, and this chilled corn soup was one of my favorite dishes of the summer.

chilled corn soup

What seasonal dishes are you loving right now?

Tags: cooking at home, corn, corn soup, CSA, farm, green beans, healthy, peaches, produce, summer, tomatoes, vegetables

Simple Summer Cooking

May 29, 2014 in Food by traveleatlove | 3 comments

Here comes the sun? I hope? While summer unofficially began on Memorial Day weekend, I am not quite believing it. Instead of summer whites, I’m still cozying up in wool pants for work and hoping a post on some summery cooking will help Mother Nature get the hint.

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Fish in a packet – This is nothing new or too exciting, but it’s healthy and delicious and easily done on the stove or on a grill. Last weekend when we had a bit of sun, we fired up the grill and stuffed foil packets with filets of cod, lemons, garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil. The person watching the grill just needs to keep an eye on the fish, checking until it’s perfectly flaky This grilled dinner felt so decadent, but it was pretty health overall.

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On the same night we grilled, I also had a huge craving for one of my favorite New England summer foods, steamers dipped in butter. The key to making steamers is making sure they are clean. There’s nothing worse than a bit of grit! I soak them in cold water, which I change two or three times, and I also scrub the shells. Steaming is easy; just make sure the shells are open and you have plenty of melted butter (and napkins)!

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One day, it actually is going to get hot (please. . . ), and we’ll be craving cool, light meals. I whipped up the below “Cool as a Cucumber” soup using six baby English cucumbers, an avocado, two cups buttermilk, two cloves garlic, a couple of spoons of light sour cream, a large jalapeno, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Blended together, the ingredients made for a cool, creamy soup with a slight hint of spice. I would add more jalapenos next time to give it more of a kick.

cool cucumber soup

Finally, we have a most excellent summer side dish, designed to use up all of those vegetables from your garden, farm stand, or CSA. This slaw is cabbage, carrots, finely chopped broccoli, cilantro, and thinly sliced jalapenos all doused in rice vinegar and mixed with a teaspoon of honey. It could not be simpler, and since it has no heavy mayo dressing, it all stays crunchy. I could see doing this with summer squashes, kale and other greens, radishes, etc. We joined our first CSA this year, Red Fire Farm, and I can’t wait to see what new recipes we can dream up with what will likely be an overload of produce.

crunchy veggie slaw

Have you started cooking up summer recipes yet? Do you have a garden or belong to a farm share?

Tags: cooking at home, easy recipes, Food, recipe, seafood, summer, summer cooking, summer meals, summer recipes

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