Lemon & Arugula Potato Salad

My weekend.. in numbers!:

10: Time that my new favorite trashy tv show, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding is on TV (light up dress this weekend!!)

9: Number of times I thought about going to the gym on Sunday... but didn't

8: Time that I woke up on Saturday AM. I know you're impressed.

7: Number of sports Adam was watching on Saturday... simultaneously

6: Number of corny jokes at which I laughed too hard

5: Amount of hours I spent editing a writing sample (GOOD GOD.. I know)

4: Times I ate ice cream (relax, I was a good sharer)

3: Number of foods I created on Saturday before 1 PM (Go me!!)

2: Trips I made to the grocery store (I was really ready for a third)

1: Times I made a list of my weekend in numbers

0: Number of rolls of toilet paper available in the bathroom at Morgan's Pier on Saturday night (I will forgive the place for being all around pretty awesome otherwise)

11: Rating on a scale from 1-10 of how excited I am about this potato salad. Yep. Potato salad makes me that excited. But here's the deal: I love potatoes. All kinds. And in salad form they are so much fun (yea I just called potatoes fun). Easy, breezy, and dressed up for summer. But this salad is so light and so unlike the mayo laden salads of old. It makes me feel as though I just ate a real vegetable... well 2 real vegetables. The tangy taste of the vinaigrette contrasts with the saltiness of kalamata olives and peppery arugula perfectly. It tastes even better outside, or alongside a turkey burger. It's easy to make and fun to share. 

And for those who hate mayo... promise them there is no mayo. Let them take a few bites before you tell them the secret ingredient is mayo. Let it eat at them for a minute before you tell them you're kidding.

Soundtrack: Ms. Patsy Cline


Lemon and Arugula Potato Salad
Inspired by Cooking Light's Lemon-Herb Potato Salad
Serves 5-6


1 lb red new potatoes
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp lemon zest, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey dijon mustard (I used Bookbinders. The key is a good dijon mustard, not a honey mustard dressing)

splash of kalamata olive juice (about 1/2 tsp)
3 oz arugula, chopped
1/4 c kalamata olives, finely chopped

1/2 tsp parsley (dried) or 1 tbsp fresh, chopped

1/2 tsp basil (dried) or 1 tbsp fresh, chopped

salt & pepper

Fill a 5 qt pot 3/4 of the way full with water. Place on the stove, cover, and bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Cover and simmer for ~10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the potato. The potatoes are done when a fork can be very easily inserted into the potato. Once the potatoes are finished cooking, turn off the heat. Allow the water to cool.

Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool fully (I let mine cool a while on the counter, then in the refrigerator to finish).

Once the potatoes are cooled, whisk together the EVOO, zest, lemon juice, honey dijon, and the splash of olive juice. Set aside.

Move the potatoes to a cutting board and cut into small cubes, about 1/4 in. Move the cubed potatoes to a large bowl.

Add the arugula, olives, parsley and basil. Add the dressing, then toss to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to marry. Serve chilled.

Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ok, first of all: THIS !!!!!!!

Second of all: If I could take a picture of my camera, I would. (Ok, I understand how mirrors work people, but c'mon it wouldn't be the same.) I can't stop being obsessed with it. This came to mind yesterday: I actually can't wait until it snows, so I can take awesome pictures in the snow. Of Jagger. And of course other things...

This will have to do for now .. breasts.

Third of all: It has come to my attention that I need to buy some stamps. I haven't bought stamps in maybe 3 years. And I just realized I have literally no idea how much they might cost anymore. Also, do I have to go to the post office? Because their hours are extremely inconvenient! And honestly, my own lack of knowledge/ apparent lack of usage of the good ol' USPS just makes me feel badly for the poor postal system and now I want to buy extra stamps and mail tons of useless stuff. 

Anyone down for a chain letter? Speaking of chain letters, are there people out there right now mailing 10 friends copies of a letter that claims to get them into the Guinness Book of World Records? Or was a phenomenon that died in the '90's with parachute pants? (Dear Lord, please bring back parachute pants.) (Please follow that link and enjoy the epicness that is parachutepants.com. Although, I could just be paranoid, but I wouldn't recommend that anyone actually buy any parachute pants from that site I just linked you too. Seems a tad shady.)

Ahh yumm!

And now that I've gotten us all reminiscing about parachute pants and chain letters, nothing seems more appropriate than this video:

Break it down!

Whooaaaaaaa whoooaaaaaa whoa.

Soundtrack: Hmm.. The new Black Keys album is pretty seriously awesome. Please find a way to download this... legally ;)

Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serves 3 (for 4, add an extra breast and 1/3 more of everything, obviously)

3 medium sized chicken breasts, pounded down to about 1/4 inch (the most important thing is uniformity in the thickness)

salt & pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 c Italian-style breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp chipotle seasoning (use more or less according to taste)

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1-1 1/2 c. fresh arugula

1/4 c grated Pecorino Romano cheese

cooking twine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken breasts with pepper and salt. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

In a shallow or large bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs, rosemary, chipotle, and oregano.

One at time, dip the chicken breasts into the egg and coat with breadcrumb mixture. Press the chicken hard into the bread crumbs to make sure they stick. Transfer the breaded chicken breasts to a greased baking dish and arrange side by side.

Top each chicken breast with 1/3 of the Pecorino cheese and 1/3 of the arugula. Working with each breast, one at time, slip a 12" piece of twine under the breast. Gather the arugula together and wrap the chicken around the greens until the ends meet. Wrap the string around the chicken and tie together. Repeat for each chicken breast.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Check for done-ness before serving.

This looks so real you could eat it! But don't... it's raw.

Grilled Eggplant Flatbread Pizza

One of my favorite things about this blog is the way in which I can often use it to procrastinate, operating under the pretense that I am still doing something pretty productive. This works to my advantage in a lot of situations; dishes, dog walks, ironing my granny panties. (Just kidding on that last one.. I don't iron them.) 


My favorite though, is blogging instead of putting my clean laundry to put away. I don't know what it is about laundry; I have NO problem getting it to the point of being a clean pile on my bed, but I just have the hardest time motivating to actually put. it. away. It usually takes me rounds and rounds of complaining and Jagger making a bed or two out of my clothes before I finally move it. This is probably one of the main reasons I should never live alone. No accountability. There would be clean laundry everywhere and I would just cook/bake myself into oblivion and have no one to feed.


I also make up some pretty embarrassing dance moves when I'm alone. And god forbid one of those was to get too much practice and somehow slip its way into my repetoire. No no, it's better I let other people keep me in check.

Pizza Pizza!

Anyway. I love flatbreads. So much so, that every once in a while at work, I find myself typing flatbread, instead of flatbed (that's right, I type "flatbed" at work. A lot.). Roll instead of role. Hunger for Hunter (it's a gentleman's name; it comes up frequently as well). This leads me to a whole 'nother set of issues. We'll save that for a different posting shall we?


This flatbread pizza is definitely the type of thing that, among those that I live with, only I will eat. It's totally Meghan-food. Goat cheese (adorable!), grilled eggplant, fresh basil. I also don't know if I've told you this before, but I'm obsessed with arugula. So it's the perfect thing to make when you are on your own for dinner (or lunch!). Or if you've got a buddy or two who also appreciate fresh vegetables and goats (so cute!), more power to ya. Just double or triple the recipe and you're there! And if you're not into goats as much as I am, you could probably sub out the cheese; just don't skimp on the fresh basil. 


Sountrack: This is quick, not a lot of time for a full soundtrack. But here are some of my Jimkata favorites, just to be inspiring:


Devil's In The Details by Jimkatamusic Ghosts And Killers by Jimkatamusic




Grilled Eggplant Flatbread Pizza


3-1/4 inch thick slices of eggplant (medallions, if you will)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 personal sized flatbread, for example 
2 tbsp pizza sauce (or pasta sauce will do if you've got a jar open)
1 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled
3-4 leaves fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1 handful fresh baby arugula
EVOO
salt & pepper


Preheat a toaster oven (or regular oven) to 350.


Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the eggplant slices and season with salt and pepper. Make sure eggplant slices are thoroughly coated in vinegar (I stacked them and moved them around a little) and give them a minute to soak it up. Meanwhile, drizzle a little EVOO in a grill pan (just enough to grease) and heat over medium flame. Once pan is heated, place eggplant onto the pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side, until the center of the vegetable begins to appear translucent. Remove the eggplant from the heat and cut into smaller than 1 inch pieces.


Place flatbread on foil (or small cookie sheet). Cover in sauce. Top flatbread with eggplant, goat cheese and fresh basil. Place in the oven for 4-5 minutes, until cheese begins to melt. Remove from heat and top with arugula. Serve!

Tres Amigos!

Tres grilled Amigos!

Toasty

Ready for it's close-up

Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes

If this were a friends episode it would be called "The One Where Adam and Meghan go on a Picnic." 

Pic-a-nic Basket!

If this were a friends episode, we would get to the park and Adam would get stung by a bee (again!). And then he would be allergic. But not the deathly kind of allergic, the kind where you just get really swollen. But we would be really far into the woods, so by the time we got to the car his face would be giant and purple. He would encounter some people who would make some funny comments about his face and then we would have to bring Jagger to the hospital with us. And Jagger would get into something while we were there. Maybe while we were in seeing the doctor, he would walk to the other side of the curtain and eat all the food from the lunch bag of the man sleeping on the other side. He is in the hospital because he just got giant a mole removed and is under anesthesia. It turns out that he is our neighbor who hates Jagger already, because he barks at his cat. We would make an effort to leave quickly before our sleeping neighbor awakes. The episode would end with Adam and Meghan, many hours later, having a candlelit picnic in their living room later that night. Their neighbor would stop by and recount to them how his lunch had disappeared and Adam would keep scratching while he was there and it would make the neighbor suspicious. Then he would leave and in true sitcom form, it would be romantic and there would be wine.


But that's not really what happened (mostly because in real life Jagger can't be in hospitals). In real life, we had a pleasant morning with delicious food and great company. And Jagger enjoyed himself too. It was all very sickening and adorable. AND I LOVE PICNICS!


In addition to the items listen above, I also brought along some of these scones since I wanted a brunch-type vibe. I also threw in a container of assorted olives and peppadews. I like to eat lots of different things .

Peek-neek stuff and sunflowers :)

These appetizers/small bites are fantastic to bring on a picnic. Many different components served separately that are meant to be assembled. They compliment and balance each other well, but each is also great on it own. It's a really easy spread (SO EASY) and you can either build small sandwiches or just have a smattering of different things (I love that word). Or both! Appenzeller is a really great and flavorful cheese that pairs really well with arugula. Pesto adds a nice touch.


Soundtrack: Cage the Elephant - Self-titled


Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes 
(Serves 2 or 3 as a meal or 5 as an appetizer)


For this spread you will need:


1 block of Appenzeller Cheese, cut into slices
2-3 handfuls Arugula
1/4 c. Pesto
1 baguette, sliced on the diagonal
Roasted Veggies (See below)

Arrange everything separately. Encourage mixing and matching to create different sandwich combinations! Yum!


Roasted Vegetables




1 medium zuchinni, sliced on a diagonal
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
1-8 oz package of baby carrots or carrot sticks
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt & pepper
cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350. Toss vegetables in oil, rosemary, oregano, & thyme. Season with salt & pepper to taste (just a sprinkling of each).


Spray a 9x11 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread vegetables evenly in dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are completely softened, stirring every 10-15 minutes. 


Allow to cool & serve cold.

Fraiche Vegetables

Add some flavor...

Bam! Delicious!

Gorgeous day in b-e-a-utiful Fairmount Park!

"Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world:
Then how can it be said I am alone,
When all the world is here to look on me?"

Portable food.. sigh

Uh, what?

Pan-fried Tofu in Lemon Sauce with Arugula & Tomatoes

So this morning I took Jagger for a walk and accidentally tucked my keys away with his leash upon our return (if you haven't guessed at this point, he's my puppy). I then proceeded to distract myself just enough by eating breakfast and doing other morning procrastination things that I freaked out when I tried to leave for work. I tore the house apart for a few minutes before deciding the closet would be a great place to check. Once I finally found my keys, I grabbed them out of their hiding place and did the following: I rolled my eyes and thought to myself something to the tune of, "Ugh, Thursday." Actually, I may have said that out loud, I do tend to do that. Regardless... 


I interact with a lot of people at work everyday and I've heard a lot hate for just about every day of the week in this exact form (must be where I'm getting it from!). But is there a day of the week on which it's inappropriate to blame mindless behavior? Obviously one can have a case of the Mondays, your brain has already checked out for the weekend on Fridays (and thanks to Rebecca Black we've all learned a valuable lesson this year about how we should spend our Fridays anyway), hump day is just a wash (middle of the week blues), Thursday you're just so excited for Friday, etc etc. But I'm going to go with Tuesday. I think you've got to be on point on Tuesdays. I'll accept counter arguments though. I'm always down for a good excuse to act a fool.

The Great Wall of Tofu!

This dish is a good one for those days of the week where you're feeling a bit slow, off, frustrated, etc. Long day at the office? Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday got you down? You just want a healthy and delicious meal, but you don't want to fuss over it.

Ok, ok, here's the REAL DEAL

I've practiced this a few times now since I found the original recipe on The Skinny Chef (follow that link to see the original). I love. love. love. this dish because it's delicious and I can make it happen in about 15 minutes with 5 dirty dishes. It's a science at this point. (Yea me!) That makes Adam happy. He hates to do the dishes. Grump. Grump. Grump.

The original recipe is made with chicken. I like this more with tofu, but chicken works great too.  The lemon flavor compliments the pepper-iness of the arugula very nicely. The lightly cooked fresh tomato is my favorite new addition. I serve it with couscous and make a little more than the original amount of sauce for drizzling. (PS Why does Snoop Dog carry an umbrella?..... Fo drizzle!)


Soundtrack: Nicos Gun (You won't REALLY have time to listen, but that's ok. That's the point. Make dinner and then listen to this while you do something else you enjoy.. ehemm.. don't wanna know.)


Pan-friend Tofu in Lemon Sauce with Arugula & Tomatoes
Serves 2-3


1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 20 minutes
1/4 c whole wheat flour
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 med tomato, cut into pieces
3 or more handfuls of arugula (this is really a matter of preference... I suggest more)
EVOO
salt & pepper


Cut the block of tofu in half to create two thin, flat pieces. Cut these two pieces into strips and then cut them in half. (If you were in Kindergarten, you would be instructed to cut hamburger style and then hot dog style.) On a plate, season the flour with salt & pepper, stir to combine.


Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a saute pan over medium heat. Dredge the pieces of tofu through the flour to coat and then drop into the pan once the oil is heated. Pan fry for a minute or so on all sides so that they become crispy.


Once tofu is crisped, remove from pan into a bowl. In the same pan, add lemon juice, chicken stock, and wine. Scrape bottom and sides of the pan with a spatula to remove and stuck remnants from the tofu. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes until sauce begins to reduce. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.


Once tomatoes are cooked, turn of the heat. Stir in the arugula and tofu. Serve!

Frying tofu. Sometimes after a long day at work
I feel like my brain is comparable.

Reduce the sauce. Simma down now.

Cooking the Tom A. Toes

Finished product!

Turkey, Hummus & Arugula Pita Sandwiches

This sandwich is my go to during the week. It's fresh, delicious, and easy to assemble.

It's what one might call a quickie. Most of the time, the more love and effort you put in, the better the result will be. But sometimes you just don't have all that time. Sometimes it's the middle of the day and you just need a quick fix. Sometimes you're really ravenous and you just. need. to be satisfied. Sometimes you're feeling lazy and you just want maximum enjoyment, with minimal effort. Are we sure we're talking about food here? 

Hello!!! I'm talking about this sandwich you perv!

This sandwich just requires some easy assembly, but I wanted to share it because I could probably eat it every day. In fact, I kind of do. I have my favorite veggies, but you could use any really (please don't use Chinese artichokes - google it, you'll gag). The essentials are in the title, the rest is rotating. I also have my favorite pita, Wegman's Whole Wheat, which I highly recommend (and not just because I admire anything with an awesome alliteration). I make my own hummus, I'm sure at some point I'll post a recipe (so stayed tuned!!) but there are some great store-bought brands out there as well. Weg's has a hummus bar (honestly I have an obsession, I'm realizing it more and more...) which is fab. 

Soundtrack: Magic Tape 10 (This has also been on repeat lately, mostly because of the Adele remix. <3<3<3 her!)

Turkey, Hummus & Arugula Pitas

1 pita pocket, cut off the very top straight across

2 tbsp any flavor hummus (use more or less, according to preference)

3 or 4 slices of deli-sliced turkey

1 handful arugula (again, adjust to desired amount)

1/2 mini cucumber, sliced thin

3 or 4 slices red bell pepper

pinch of shredded carrot

Lots of colors means lots of nutrients!

Open pita pocket and spread hummus on inner sides. Be careful to hold the pocket open and not to let it close; the sides will stick together and be difficult to open again. Fill pita pocket with turkey (1 slice at a time works best) , arugula, then the rest of your veggies.

It's honestly that easy.

Check out those cut veg. They must work out.

Arugula, you're so good. and good for us!

Anyway, just wanted to share this one. Try it out, enjoy it.

Til next time! <3