Days 201 & 202 - One Ingredient, Two Lunches - Trader Joe's Style!

Salad and Stir Fry, both made with mixed Asian Vegetables from Trader Joe's.

I went a little crazy at Trader Joe's this weekend.  I do that, from time to time.  It's far enough away from me that I don't get weekly groceries there, so I tend to just buy large quantities of wine and frozen food at once. 

For the next two lunches, I took advantage of the produce section!  They apparently sell a pound of mix, pre-cut Asian Vegetables in the produce section - red and green bell pepper, red onion, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, watercress, and pickled corn.  So, what did I do?  Bought it, and used it for lots of meals this week, inlcuding two lunches! 

The first lunch is a tasty, French inspired salad with mixed greens, bell pepper, mushrooms, corn, broccoli, and carrots with a tangy honey mustard dressing that I made at home, along with a leftover dinner roll.

The second lunch is Trader Joe's Mandarin Chicken, amped up with all of the delicious veggies, over jasmine rice with orange sections and broccoli from the veggie mix.

And I still have some vegetables leftover - I'm going to use the peppers and onions in a pasta later this week (unlikely to show up for lunch), and then just snack on the carrots for the rest of the week! Pin It Now!

Day 110 - Ham and Asparagus Quiche

Ham and Asparagus quiche, tomato wedges, orange wedges, triscuits.

Ok, friends, it's mini quiche time!  I said I would keep making them, but it's been way too long.  These are so good...they're good cold, they're good hot...just perfect.  Not exactly low fat, though, so I made sure to amp it up with lots healthy stuff.  Tomato wedges, orange sections, and triscuits rounded it out.  Nice lunch.

These were so easy - I just popped these in the oven while I made dinner, let them cool while I ate, and them boxed them up for the next day.  The recipe makes two mini quiches, which is great for a single serve.  Feel free to multiply!

Ham and Asparagus Mini Quiche

1/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg
2 T ham, finely chopped (I used once slice of deli ham)
2 T goat chevre, crumbled
2 stalks fresh asparagus
pinch each of salt and pepper

In a very well greased muffin tin, divide the ham and goat cheese into two muffin cups (you may use a silicone liner if you prefer).  In a separate small bowl, whisk together cream, egg, salt, and pepper.  Gently pour over ham and chevre; the mixture should reach almost the top of the muffin cup.  Trim asparagus and chop into 1 inch pieces.  Place on top of your uncooked quiches - some asparagus should sink just a little, and that is fine.  Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes, or until quiches are golden and puffy.  Let cool for 10 minutes before gently removing with a spoon; expect the quiches to fall quite a bit during this time.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight for lunch. Pin It Now!

Day 88 - Slow Cooker Chicken with Tarragon and Leeks

Chicken Thighs with Tarragon and Leeks

I had a day off today, so for lunch I tried a new slow cooker recipe: Chicken Thighs with Tarragon and Leeks.  It was easy, hearty, and not terribly unhealthy.  It also involved just a little heavy cream, which I think makes everything taste better!  The only thing I changed was that I used peeled Yukon gold potatoes instead of whole potatoes. 

I wanted a little more flavor than this recipe provided, so you might want to experiment with some garlic or spices.  It's from Real Simple, so you know it's at worst a good basic.  I'd recommend it, but I'd also recommend amping up the flavor a little. Pin It Now!

Day 83 - Lunchtime Crudite

Snow Peas, Red Bell Pepper, Laughing Cow Cheese, Triscuits, Peach Halves

Crudites are a French appetizer that mostly consists of chopped raw vegetables - like carrots, bell pepper, etc. - with some sort of vinaigrette or cream dipping sauce.  Calling this lunch a crudite plate is a stretch, but we're going to go with it.  I just needed some good veggies in my system, so I had some raw snow peas and red bell pepper with some light Laughing Cow cheese, some triscuits, and some canned peach halves.  I was very hungry by dinner, but had lots of good energy during the day. Pin It Now!

Day 71 - Apple and Goat Cheese Pizza

Apple and Goat Cheese Pizza

 Oh dear...I stumbled onto something overly delicious.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and decided to make it my own.  Apple and goat cheese pizza with bacon and sage.  Seriously.

I used store bought, uncooked dough and made two pizzas - one that I shaped specifically to a Tupperware container for lunch transport, and then a large one for dinner that night.  My only complaint is that it fell apart rather easily - most pizza is kind of "sticky" because of stringy cheese, and goat cheese just doesn't bind things as well.  I'd recommend making these either bite-sized or in calzone form.

The recipe below is for one whole pizza.  Feel free to divide it into as many smaller pizzas as you like.

Apple and Goat Cheese Pizza

1 batch pizza dough (pre-made or homemade), uncooked
1 lb apples (about two large - I used Braeburn)
3-4 slices bacon, cooked crisp
10 oz goat chevre
2 T fresh sage, julienned

Prepare pizza dough according to directions, tossing to size.  Crumble goat cheese over pizza crust, leaving about a 1-inch margin around the edges.  Thinly slice apples and arrange them on top in whatever pattern you like.  Chop bacon roughly and sprinkle, with sage, over the pizza.  Bake at 400F for about 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden.  Eat hot, and enjoy!



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Day 57 - Gnocchi au Gratin

Gnocchi au Gratin

 
Alright, alright, I didn't take this to lunch.  I cooked it at home and it was good.  Decadently so.  And trust me, you want to know about this recipe.  Whether you take it to lunch or not, you'll love it.

Inspired by a number of dishes I've been served recently, I chose to make Gnocchi au Gratin.  If you're not familiar with gnocchi, it's a type of pasta most usually referred to as potato dumplings...potato flour in little grape sized nuggets.  You can buy them frozen or in the regular pasta section of your store, and they cook up very quickly.  They're great with just a little olive oil or a red sauce....or, in a gratin.  Cooking something "au Gratin" means, of course, that you cook it in a gratin dish and it has some sort of breadcrumb type topping that gets brown and good.  And, usually, cheese is involved.  It certainly was this time.

Pictured above is one entree serving, about 1.5 cups.  The recipe below is for twice that...so, either two entree servings or 4 side servings.  I had trouble eating an entire entree size, so be warned...this is very rich.  And good. 

Serve with a big green salad and you are good to go!

Gnocchi Au Gratin

1 lb gnocchi
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup emmental or gruyere cheese
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 T butter, divided
1 T flour
dash or two of nutmeg, salt, and pepper

Cook gnocchi according to package directions; set aside.
In a non-stick  pot or double boiler, melt 1 T butter.  Whisk in flour until just blended; do not let this mixture burn or brown.  Slowly pour in milk and heat over low heat until thickened.  Now, slowly stir in the cheddar cheese until cheese is melted and well incorporated into the sauce.  Add dashes of salt, pepper, and nutmeg as desired.  Remove from heat and stir in gnocchi.  Transfer into a buttered 3 cup dish or two 1.5 cup dishes.  In a separate pot or pan, melt remaining butter and stir in breadcrumbs.  Stir, over medium heat, until crumbly and lightly toasted.  Sprinkle over gnocchi mixture.  Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden and crispy.

Enjoy!  Nap.  Work out. Pin It Now!

Day 29 - More Trader Joe's Goodness

Trader Joe's Tarte d'Alsace, cucumbers, orange slices.

Woohoo, in the office for Labor Day!  Anyone else working today?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller?

At least I get an extra day off for working today. :)

Anyway, lunch was leftovers from last night - probably my all time favorite product from Trader Joe's.  It's called a Tarte d'Alsace, and it's the most delicious frozen thing I've ever had.  It's raw pastry with what I *think* is bechemel sauce, Gruyere, ham, and caramelized onions.  You bake it for 10 measly minutes and it's awesome.  It's crispy and sweet and salty and just a little chewy.

I didn't quite make a full grocery trip this weekend, so I just pulled this out of the freezer and enjoyed the heck out of it with a mixed green salad.  Had it with some cucumbers and oranges for lunch today, and it was super easy and delightful.

For those of you who don't have a Trader Joe's in town, I'm so sorry.  It's worth a trip when you're in a larger city.  For  me, though, I enjoy it every time I'm too lazy to cook something on my own. :)  I should cook something good tonight...

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Day 19 - Crustless Mini Ham Quiches

Mini cheese and ham quiches, sugar snap peas, raspberries, crackers and cheese.

 Let's continue with cute things baked in muffin tins, shall we?

I made mini quiches last night.  They were to die for.  Really.  I thought they'd be ok, but they were delicious. Expect to see lots of these in the future!  I made four - had two for dinner and two for lunch.  They were divine hot, and still really good cold.  The only problem was that I forgot to grease the muffin tin.  Don't forget to do that...then they won't look as pretty.

See?  Not pretty, but yum.

 Also, these would make a great salad topper.  I made them crustless just for ease, but I missed the crumbly crunchiness of a crust.  I may experiment with crusts later, but for now I highly recommend including something like crackers with these, just to give you a little diversity in texture.

Remind me to write an ode on my love for Laughing Cow light spreadable cheese sometime soon.

Anyway...recipe time!


Crustless Ham & Cheddar Mini Quiches

4 Tablespoons diced ham
4 Tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
dash each of onion salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and dried parsley

Grease four cups of a standard sized muffin tin.  Place 1 Tablespoon each of ham and cheddar in the bottom of each of the four muffin cups.  In a small bowl, crack and whisk eggs together with spices.  Slowly pour in the cold cream, whisking well.  Pour evenly over the ham and cheese in the muffin cups.  The mixture will reach almost the top of the cup.

Bake at 375F for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and fluffy.  These should rise quite and bit and will sink down to about half the size after cooling.  Let cool for 10 minutes before gently removing with a spoon. Pin It Now!

Day 18 - Baked Eggs

Baked Eggs, Dijon Asparagus, Pumpernickel Flat Bread, Goat Chevre, Strawberries

If you've never tried baked eggs, you really should!  They're a fairly common dish in France, and they are extremely easy to prepare.  Traditionally they're cooked in ramekins with cream, but I've discovered that you can also bake them in muffin tins for more portable servings.  Culinary apostasy, I know, but it works. :)

You can't tell from the pictures, but these are taken straight out of the muffin tin.  If your muffin tin is non-stick, like mine, then it works well.  If not, I'd recommend baking them in silicone baking cups. Either way, the edges get all crispy and delicious!

The most difficult part is decided how long to cook them - average cooking time at 350F is 10-20 minutes.  Yes, I know that's a really big time difference for something as delicate as eggs.  Here's why:

10 minutes means the yolks will still be runny.  Delicious hot, but that makes even me nervous for transporting in a cooler over long periods of time.

15 minutes will give you yolks that are the consistency of medium boiled.  This is how I like them.

20 minutes will give you eggs with a hard boiled consistency, if you're really worried bacteria, etc.

There you have it.

I paired it with some leftover Dijon Asparagus, pumpernickel flat bread crackers, chevre, and strawberries.

Hint:  If you spread the chevre on the crackers and then top it off with a strawberry slice, your mouth will be very happy with you.  Trust me!

Of course, the chevre is also really nice on the eggs, too. :)


Muffin Tin Baked Eggs

2 eggs
1 teaspoon sea salt
cooking spray

Spray a non-stick muffin tin with cooking spray.  Break each egg into a separate muffin  compartment without breaking the yolks.  Sprinkle salt over eggs, as well as any other desired spices.  Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, until whites are set and yolk is to your liking.  When eggs are done, gently run the tip of a knife around each egg, making sure it is seperated from the muffin tin.  Even more gently spoon the egg onto an appropriate serving dish.

These are fabulous hot.  They are...good...cold.  I might try them in a sandwich next time!


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