Salmon & Potatoes in Tomato Sauce

I have been getting a ton of great ideas from the "Everyday Food" magazine I get on a monthly basis.  They have creative dishes, and I really like how they have the nutritional value for each recipe.  This salmon dish was in the most recent issue, and I thought it was a different way to cook salmon so I decided to try it. 

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic; and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is softened. 

Add tomatoes and juice, and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced.  

Add potatoes, olives and 1/2 cup of water to the skillet.  Partially cover and cook until the potatoes are almost tender, around 8 minutes.

Stir in parsley.

Season with salmon with salt and pepper; nestle among potatoes and sauce.  Cover and cook until the fish is cooked through and potatoes are tender.  

Serve salmon with potatoes and sauce.  This is a simple weeknight dinner, but delicious and good for you!  I really liked the salmon paired with the tomato sauce, cooking it all together adds a lot of flavor to the fish.  Enjoy!

Salmon & Potatoes in Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

Adapted from Everyday Food Magazine

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced small

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 28oz cans diced tomatoes

3/4 pound small white potatoes, halved or quartered

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

4 salmon fillets

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat.

Add onion and garlic.

Cook, stirring occasionally until onion is softened.

Add tomatoes and juice, cook until the liquid is slightly reduced.

Add potatoes, olives and 1/2 cup of water to the skillet.

Partially cover and cook until potatoes are almost tender, around 8 minutes.

Stir in parsley.

Season salmon with salt and pepper, nestle among potatoes and sauce.

Cover and cook until fish is cooked through and potatoes are tender.

Serve salmon with potatoes and sauce.

I love you, I love you not.

Oh carbs.. we have such a love hate relationship.  The most popular question people ask me when they find out I'm a food blogger is "what's your favorite kind of food to eat and make?"  It would be Italian, hands down; you can do so much with so little.  I have to create balance in my diet though.  Yes, I'd love to eat a huge pasta dinner with garlic bread every night, but as my parents say there's a difference between want and need.  I try and change things up, and look for some healthier pasta recipes, because there are a lot out there.  This recipe is somewhere in the middle, and those are worth a shot too!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.  While the pasta is cooking heat tomato sauce over low heat in a large sauce pan.  I used my homemade tomato sauce, recipe found by clicking here.  You can use store bought or whatever you have in the house and it will work just as well.

Once warm, stir in half and half.  This is optional, if you'd like to use skim milk that would create the more creamy sauce as well.

Add in the freshly grated Parmesan. 

Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and dump into the sauce, mixing to coat and turning off the heat.  Fold in the freshly chopped basil leaves.

Fold in mozzarella cubes. I used organic low fat mozzarella from Whole Foods and it worked perfectly.

Cut around a pint of grape tomatoes in half.  Also from Whole Foods, these tomatoes were locally grown and delicious.

Once combined into the pasta, spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the whole pasta mixture into the dish.  Top with additional fresh mozzarella if you'd like.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

You can also top with additional basil or Parmesan if you like.  I didn't add a thing, and it was tasty as is.  Creamy without being too thick because of the mix of tomatoes and cream.  Carbs, until we meet again...

Creamy Caprese Pasta

Serves 4-6

1 pound whole wheat pasta noodles

1 cup of tomato sauce

1/3 cup half and half or milk

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes

1 pint of grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the tomato sauce in a large sauce pan over medium heat.

Once warm, add the half and half and Parmesan cheese.

When pasta has finished cooking, drain and dump into the tomato sauce.

Fold in the basil leaves, mozzarella, and tomatoes.

Once combined, spray a baking dish with nonstick spray and pour the mixture into the dish.

Bake for 25 minutes until cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

Pizza for 2...or 3.

One of the great things about being a food blogger is the feedback I get from all of you.  I get many ideas for recipes, different ways to cook, or bake food every day, and I love it.  Keep the feedback coming, because I really do read all of it, and use the information as I continue to work on my kitchen skills.  After I posted my best meal for one  pizza recipe,  I got a lot of feedback on how everyone makes their own pizza.  One of my friends told me about the Boboli crust in whole wheat, and I decided to try it. Since they only had the large crust, it was perfect dinner for C and I, instead of just one.  Then after a visit to a local farmers market, and the purchase of way too many tomatoes, I got the idea via twitter for this fresh tomato sauce.  I decided to put the two together, and it was a hit! 

Again I want to discuss the fresh tomato sauce, it is so simple to make at home, and you will be hooked after tasting the first bite.  It tastes so fresh and light, perfect for any pasta or pizza!  I made a huge batch a couple weeks ago, and froze half of it so I can use it at later date, and it worked out perfect for the pizza.  Spread the sauce on the crust, use as much or as little as you like.

Chop up around a half a cup of onion.

Cut up 1/2 red pepper, or green pepper, which ever you prefer.  Using both always tastes great too!

I sliced around 6 mushrooms to add as well.

Garlic goes well in anything, and pizza is no different.  I minced two cloves of garlic.

I had extra basil from another recipe that I needed to use, so I chopped around 4 basil leaves to add.

Layer all the veggies on top of the tomato sauce, try and distribute evenly.

I wanted to try a couple different cheeses this time, so I grated around a half cup of Parmesan cheese on top of the veggies.

Then I added another half cup of Colby Jack cheese.  Sprinkle a little pepper on top to taste.  Then cook at 350 degrees for around 12 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

It was very yummy, and I believe I've become addicted to another creation :)  I served with a small side salad and had enough pizza for probably three people.  This is a great week night dinner because it's quick and healthy.  

Pizza with Fresh Tomato Sauce

tomato sauce - see recipe here

6 sliced mushrooms

1/2 chopped red or green pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Boboli whole wheat pizza crust

1 tablespoon chopped basil

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Colby jack cheese

Spread the tomato sauce on top of the pizza crust.

Add the veggies on top of the sauce, and spread evenly.

Grate Parmesan and Colby jack cheese on top of veggies.

Sprinkle with pepper to taste.

Cook at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.

Serve and enjoy! 

Fresh Tomato Sauce

As I said in this post a couple days ago, I had a lot of fresh tomatoes and wasn't sure what to do with them.  I knew I wouldn't eat that many salads by the time they had gone bad, so I used the wonderful world of twitter to see if anyone had any great ideas.  Traci (find her on twitter @heytrace) had a great recipe for fresh tomato sauce. Not a lot of ingredients, and wouldn't take long to make, so I thought it was perfect.  We both agree once you taste this sauce it will be very difficult to go back to canned store bought tomato sauce.

I had five tomatoes, but one took a fall on the way into my apartment, so I only used four, but that was plenty.  It turned out to be around three cups, and I had around 4-5 servings. 

Now, to all you stress-cases out there that are looking for an avenue to get some relief, this recipe will help.  Put your wine/beer down and smash up tomatoes with your hands, it's fun, messy, and sort of liberating.

Little messy, like I said, but totally worth it.  This was a really FUN recipe to make, because you get to get down and dirty!  I cut the tomatoes into four pieces and then squished them with my hands into a large pan that was coated with EVOO on the stove.

Then I added around three cloves of garlic minced to the sauce.

Plus a couple teaspoons of oregano, and some salt - to your taste.

Then simply let the sauce simmer for around 30 minutes. 

Ahh perfection!  I made whole wheat pasta to go with the sauce and added a little Parmesan on top, and it was so tasty!  It's light but full of flavor, and tastes so fresh.  I felt awesome after eating this.  Full, but not "ick" full.  Because it's a healthy dinner you feel great after eating it. 

I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend!  Talk to you next week :)

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Adapted from Traci @heytrace

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

~4 tomatoes, squashed up around 3 cups

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons salt

Squash up the tomatoes with your hands.

In a large pan on the stove heat the EVOO, then add the tomatoes.

Add the garlic, oregano and salt and stir to combine well.

Simmer for around 30 minutes.

Serve hot over pasta, and enjoy!

Turkey Meatballs & Spicy Tomato Sauce

Is it me or is this week really long?!  I don't know what you all wear to work, but I wear business casual clothing every day except Fridays.  This week was special because on Wednesday we got to wear jeans, and it threw me completely off.  Don't get me wrong, I like wearing jeans; I would rather it be sweatpants, but you have to pick your battles.  Going forward I need to just stick with jeans on Friday's so I don't get confused :) 

Now, let's talk about food shall we?  Here's the uber-healthy version of spaghetti and meatballs.  I've posted a couple times about how I'm loving turkey meat.  I'm finding more versions of popular dishes that substitute with turkey.  When I saw the spaghetti and meatball twist with turkey, I had to try it!

I thought it was interesting to add carrots to the meatballs.  I had just bought fresh organic carrots from Central Market and thought they were perfect to grate and add to the meat.

Along with grated carrots, you'll need to chop a 1/2 cup of onion, mince two cloves of garlic and grated Parmesan.

You can either use 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, or tear about a slice of whole wheat bread.

In a medium bowl combine the ground turkey with the carrot, Parmesan, onion, garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste.

Then add egg and stir to combine all the ingredients.

Form into 2 1/2 inch balls and place on baking sheet, that's been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Preheat the oven broiler, and broil for around 10 minutes until browned and almost cooked through.

The main ingredient in the tomato sauce is fire roasted crushed tomatoes.  I found a can of organic tomatoes at the grocery store and they worked perfectly.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large sauce pan.  Add onions and saute for around 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the fire roasted tomatoes and stir in with the onions and garlic.

Then add tomato paste, cayenne pepper, oregano, and salt.  Bring to a low boil, reduce and heat for around 15 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the sauce has simmered for around 15 minutes, and the meatballs are cooked, add them to the sauce.  Cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the meatballs have absorbed some of the sauce.  While the meatballs are cooking cook the pasta according to package directions.  Once pasta has been cooked, drain, and toss into the sauce over medium heat.  Garnish with parsley and grated Parmesan.

I really liked the fire roasted tomatoes and the cayenne pepper together, it gave the normal tomato sauce a bit of a kick.  The turkey meat balls were great, and again I couldn't tell much of a difference between turkey and ground beef.  I think from now on I'll only use fresh bread crumbs, I could taste the difference as opposed to normal packaged bread crumbs.  Enjoy!

Turkey Meatballs & Spicy Tomato Sauce

Adapted from: Food Network.com

Serves 4 (I cut in half)

Meatballs:

cooking spray

1 pound ground turkey

1slice fresh whole wheat bread, torn into crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup finely grated carrot

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, minced

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper

16 oz whole wheat penne or spaghetti

Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (28 oz) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes, including liquid

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons oregano

salt

To make the meatballs: preheat the broiler.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine the turkey with all other ingredients in a large bowl.

Form into 2 1/2 inch balls and place on baking sheet.

Broil for around 10 minutes, or until browned and almost cooked through.

To make the sauce: heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan.

Add the onions and saute for around 3 minutes.

Add garlic and saute for another minute.

Add crushed tomatoes and stir to combine.

Then add tomato paste, cayenne pepper, oregano, and salt.

Bring all ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking in the sauce, cook the pasta according to package directions.

Drain pasta and return to the pot, add the sauce and meatballs. 

Toss and heat through over medium heat.

Divide and garnish with parsley and Parmesan.