5:01 Dinner Club

This is GFC! Good enough for company!

Serves 4 in about 25  minutes

•  6 Roma tomatoes
• 1 ½ lb. Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 ½“pieces
• 4 Shallots, (or 1 medium sweet onion, chopped) quartered
• 4 Tbs Olive oil, divided
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1-1   lb Box angel hair pasta (I like the whole grain), cooked in salted water according to package directions but not drained
• 1-4oz Package goat cheese, divided into 4 rounds
• 1 C Fresh basil leaves, washed and shredded just before serving

1. In a large bowl, mix 1^ST 3 ingredients with 2 Tbs olive oil and salt & pepper to taste
2. Heat a large, deep sauté pan (preferably nonstick) or pot over high heat
3. Add vegetables and stir periodically as the tomatoes break down and other veggies caramelize for about 10 minutes
4. Remove vegetables and then use about 1 C of the hot pasta water to “deglaze” the pan (pull up the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom) while stirring constantly
5. Return vegetables to pan, add 2 Tbs olive oil, and a little more pasta water if the sauce is too thick
6. Taste and add salt & pepper if you want
7. With tongs or a pasta spoon, pull hot pasta straight from water and put directly into serving bowl or plate, top with ¼ of the sauce, 1 slice of goat cheese, and ¼ of the shredded basil

You’ll want to let the goat cheese si out at room temp after it’s sliced.  Being room temp allows it to sort of become an important component of the sauce as everything mixes together on the plate.

Me In My Favorite Place!

Speed 1: It’s been a horrible day and I am running behind on everything speed!:  5 minutes prep time-30 minutes bake- You want to eat at home and you want hot food but you are not into cooking.  So buy a bag of frozen stuffed shells (or ravioli if you can’t find shells), dump them in a greased 2 qt casserole dish, top them with a jar of marinara and a little shredded mozzarella and bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes and serve!  Easy-

Speed 2:  It’s been a decent day-you just don’t have tons of time to cook speed:  20 minutes prep time-25 minutes bake- Follow my recipe below but use a jar of sauce instead of making home made.

Speed 3:  I am so into the food tonight, I cannot wait to melt into to the kitchen with a glass of red wine and some music to put together a home-made Italian masterpiece speed (My FAVORITE Speed!):  35 minutes prep time-25 minutes bake-  See below!!!!

 This recipe starts with my spicy home roasted marinara.  It’s so easy to make-just chop, roast and puree.  And the return in fresh, home-made flavor is definitely worth the effort.   The filling takes about 6 minutes to mix up and once you get this meal in the oven (40ish minutes prep time with homemade marinara-20 minutes if you use marinara from a jar) you have time to clean up or just chill with a glass of wine while you let the scent of a wonderful dinner infuse your home!  I (especially) like this for the 5:01 Dinner Club because it’s everything you need for dinner in one dish (protein, carbs & a veggie)- And if you are someone trying to steer clear of carbs-take this stuffing and fill hollowed out zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, yellow squash, or bell peppers and it will be delish!  Oh and it is absolutely better the day after it’s made so love the leftovers!

Stuffed Shells At Any Speed Are So Good!

Serves 4-6

The Sauce!

• 10 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 1 Sweet onion, chopped into 1” chunks
• 6 Large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 C Fresh basil or oregano, packed
• 2 Tsp Sugar
• Salt to taste
• Red chili pepper flakes to taste
• 3 Tbs Olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients
3. Arrange tomato mixture in an even layer on a jelly roll pan
4. Roast vegetables for 30 minutes, remove from oven
5. After letting vegetables cool for a couple of minutes, place them in a food processor
6. Puree mixture until smooth, taste, and add salt/pepper if needed

 The Rest:

•  1 -32oz Container ricotta cheese
• 2 Eggs
• 2 10oz Package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
• 3 Tbs Fresh (1 Tbs dried) Italian herbs like oregano, basil, etc, chopped
• ½ C Parmesan cheese, grated
• Salt & pepper to taste (not much salt because you have already added parmesan)
• 1 Box Large Pasta Shells, cooked according to package directions & drained
• ½ C Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Garnish with fresh chopped basil if you want!

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix 1^st 6 ingredients, mix well
3. Place cheese & spinach mixture in a large plastic baggie and snip a corner (about an inch) so that you can squeeze the filling into the shells
4. Hold each shell in one hand and squeeze filling into each shell-then place each shell into a greased baking dish (9″ x 11”) that has just a little sauce spread across the bottom
5. Fill the baking dish with the shells, cover with the sauce and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese
6. Bake for 26 minutes-Until heated though

Serves 4 in about 20 minutes

Quick, Easy & Delicious!

• 4-6 Whole wheat Mediterranean flatbreads
• ½ – ¾ C Basil pesto (I like basil pesto V tomato sauce because pesto doesn’t make the bread soggy)
• 1 ½ C Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 ½ C Rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1 ½ C Spinach, shredded (optional)
• ½ C Sundried tomatoes, julienned (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread pesto evenly over flatbread pieces
3. Distribute cheese evenly over pesto
4. Spread next 3 ingredients over cheese
   

   Looks good even before it hits the oven!

5. Bake 10-12 minutes-until edges are golden brown, cheese is melted, and ingredients are thoroughly heated

A great, light meal when you're craving sweet & spicy food!

Serves 4 In about 20 minutes

• ¼ C Soy sauce
• 2 Tsp Fresh ginger, grated
• 1-2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs Honey
• ¼ Tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
• Drizzle of sesame oil (optional but I like it)
• 3 Cups Broccoli, steamed & cut up into bite size pieces
• 1 lb of Angel hair pasta (I like the whole wheat), cooked according to package directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1^st 6 ingredients
2. Add pasta & broccoli and toss until everything is evenly coated
3. Chill & serve

Pesto is really just some ingredient (herbs, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes…) combined with olive oil and seasonings to form a sauce that really concentrated flavors.  So although I am posting my recipe for basil pesto today, you could use a wide variety of ingredients including pizza, pasta, bread, roasted/grilled meats or vegetables-you could even use it as a spread or a dip.

Keep basil fresh longer by putting it in water!

 

Serves:  Depends on what you’re making.  You just spoon out as much as you think you need and if you need more, get more.

• 3 C Fresh basil leaves, packed
• 3 Cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/3 C Parmesan cheese, grated
• Scant ¼ C Walnuts
• ¼ – ½ C Olive oil
• Salt

Place 1^st 4 ingredients in a blender or food processor and turn on to begin to puree.  Slowly pour in olive oil and process until desired texture.  (I like mine pretty smooth.) Taste, add a little salt, and taste again and add more salt until it has the desired flavor.  (I usually add ¼-1/2 Tsp) 

How do you turn this in to a very 5:01 DC Dinner?

Make a double or triple order of basil pesto and freeze each batch separately.  This way, you stick one batch in the fridge to thaw when you begin your day.  When you start thinking about dinner in the evening, cook 1 lb of pasta and combine with the pesto.  Serve with a bag of salad.

You’ve just thrown a dinner together that:

Serves 4

Takes about 15 minutes to prepare

Costs less than $2/person

Serves 4

Takes about 10 minutes to prepare

Costs less than $3/person

4 Large multi-grain wraps (you could use tortillas)

1 6.5 oz. Container soft, spreadable herb cheese (like “Alouette”)

**2 C Arugula, washed & dried (Tracy uses spinach which would be equally delicious!)

20 Thin (lunch meat) sliced turkey (or ham or make it vegetarian and leave the meat off)

Spread about 1/3 C of cheese onto each tortilla

Layer the arugula and then turkey over cheese

Roll up wraps and then slice at an angle

Serve with some sliced fruit to make it as healthy as it is easy

**Arugula is a very hearty, flavorful salad green.  You find where you find all of the other salad supplies at the grocery store.  I love it but it does have a stronger flavor than other greens, so you may want to taste it before you commit. 

10 Roma tomatoes, quartered

1 Sweet onion, chopped into 1” chunks

4 Large cloves of garlic, peeled

Salt & pepper to taste

3 Tbs Olive oil

Spanish-Ranchera Sauce

½ C Fresh cilantro

2 Jalapenos, seeded

1 Tbs Cumin

1 Tbs Paprika

1 Tsp Sugar

Italian-Marinara Sauce          

½ C Fresh basil or oregano (or ¼ C each)

2 Tbs Balsamic vinegar

1 Tsp Sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a large bowl, mix 1^st 5 ingredients

Arrange tomato mixture in an even layer on a jelly roll pan-I knew I was making marinara with this one so I roasted the herbs with the vegetables… 

Roast vegetables for 35 minutes, remove from oven

After letting vegetables cool for a couple of minutes, place them in a food processor or blender with either the ingredients for the “Ranchera” or “Marinara” sauce.

Puree mixture until smooth, taste, and add salt/pepper if needed

Use ranchera sauce on enchiladas (see enchiladas Cancun), burritos, etc. and use marinara sauce on pasta, pizza, chicken parmesan, grilled vegetables etc…

Put this meal together in about 5 minutes (not kidding-5 minutes to prep!) after a long, busy day with kids or work or both!  Whether you have the home-made roasted tomato marinara sauce or your favorite jar of marinara on hand, you can throw this one together in no time. 

To feed a family of 4, preheat oven to 375 degrees and take:

1 Bag of frozen ravioli (least expensive option) or (2 packages refrigerated ravioli)-pour into a greased 2 qt casserole dish

1 Jar marinara sauce or a 1 batch roasted tomato sauce-pour over ravioli

½ C Mozzarella cheese, shredded-sprinkle over sauce

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes

Take a “bag” of Caesar salad, put it a large serving bowl & toss

And THERE-a very last minute, very satisfying hot meal!