Day 182 - I Had a Lot of Extra Feta Cheese

I really, really  love feta cheese. And I had some leftover, and no idea what to do with it.  So, I thought, "Hey!  Why don't I just eat feta for lunch?!"  So, I did.  I mixed feta, olive oil, kalamata olives, and red pepper flakes together for  lunch today, which I heated in the microwave for about 30 seconds to make a warm feta spread.  Soooooo worth all of the calories!  Put in some leftover pita bread, leftover caesar salad, and sections of a Cara Cara orange.  Good, healthyish, easy, and quick! Pin It Now!

Day 100 - Shrimp Pasta for Two

Shrimp Pasta, cookies, apples & grapes.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO! ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF LUNCHES!

Ahem.  Yes, I am excited.  Lunch #100  is finally here!  And to celebrate, we have an Operation: Lunch Box first packed for today:  Oreos!  Ok, not really oreos...the generic brand, fat free cookie that looks like Oreos.  But seriously, cookies for lunch!  And, you know, some fruit.

But, of course dear readers, I included a recipe for you as well.  Remember my thing about single servings and leftovers yesterday?  Well today, I'm using those same leftovers (cooked pasta, asparagus, feta cheese, and whatever I find in the pantry), but I'm making a different recipe...and this time, it makes TWO servings.  Yeah, you heard me right.  Two servings.  That way you can have a friend over, or just eat one serving for dinner and pack the other for lunch.   Enjoy!

Shrimp Pasta for Two

2 cups cooked pasta (I used a combination of spaghetti and vermicelli)
1 cup frozen shrimp, thawed and peeled
1/2 cup asparagus
1/2  cup feta cheese
2 T white wine (or broth)
2 T oil
1 T butter

1 T minced garlic

Heat oil and butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add wine and garlic; bring to a simmer.  Place shrimp and skillet and cook until pink on both sides, about 2-5 minutes.  Toss in asparagus (raw or previously cooked) and cook for about 1 minute; stir in pasta and cook until heated through.  If pasta is still hot, then just toss to coat and serve; if your pasta has been in the refrigerator, then reduce heat to slow and stir constantly until heated through, about 3 minutes  Add in feta, toss, and serve hot.


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Day 99 - Mediterranean Pasta Toss for One!

Mediterranean Pasta, Grilled Chicken, Apple Slices

If you cook for yourself a lot, as I do, you find that you have lots of leftovers and a LOT of desire to revamp those leftovers for variety's sake.

Or, maybe you're always cooking for yourself and you dream of being able to cook that one, perfect meal by yourself.

But, of course, there are no recipes for one.  Ok, there are plenty, but not as many out there in the universe as I'd like, so I'm adding one more!  I had tilapia and a side of pasta and asparagus last night.  I had lots of leftover pasta, asparagus, and feta cheese, and so I made a couple of dishes for the remaining week.  For today, I made a single serving of a Mediterranean Pasta Toss, made of my leftovers and some random items I found in my fridge.  I put some leftover chicken from a few days ago on the side (which I mixed into the pasta while eating) as well as some apple slices.  It was good, fresh, and filling.

Tune in tomorrow for what I did with the rest of my leftovers. :)

Mediterranean Pasta Toss for One

1 cup cooked pasta (I used a combination of spaghetti and vermicelli)
1/2 cup fresh tomato, chopped (go ahead and use canned if that's all you've got)
1/2 cup fresh (or recently cooked) asparagus, chopped into one inch pieces
1/4 cup feta cheese
1 T olive oil
1 T dry white wine (or broth)
2 t capers
1 t minced garlic (I use the bottled kind)

In a nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add wine, garlic, tomato, and capers.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the garlic just begins to brown.  Stir in asparagus - if it is raw, cook for 3-5 minutes until tender; if it has already been cooked, then immediately proceed to the next step.  Stir in your pasta.  If pasta is still hot, then just toss to coat and serve; if your pasta has been in the refrigerator, then reduce heat to low and stir constantly until heated through, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle in feta cheese and serve immediately.

Reheats well in the microwave.

I highly recommend a green salad and a good, crusty bread on the side! Pin It Now!

Day 51 - Quick Hummus Lunch

Pita with hummus and feta, carrots, grapes.

Delicious cold lunch here.  Mini pitas, hummus, crumbled feta cheese, chopped carrots and green grapes.   I ended up splitting the pita in half and stuffing them with hummus and feta...then eating the leftover hummus with the carrots.

I really wanted some red bell pepper with this lunch...but I didn't have any in my fridge.  I did, however, have carrots. Anyone else call the crinkle cut carrots "carrot coins" when you were little?  Anyone?

Already working on tomorrow's lunch.  It's going to be sooooo good... Pin It Now!

Day 43 - Roasted Chick Peas

Red bell pepper, dijon and lemon potatoes, broccoli, and roasted chick peas!

This lunch is, clearly, very inspired on the Greek style lunch I had a few days ago.  I had lots of ingredients leftover, so I tried to use some of them up this week.  Dijon and lemon potatoes, steamed broccoli and red bell pepper, and roasted chick peas.

If you haven't discovered roasting as a way of having delicious chick peas, then you're missing out.  Roasted lightly, they are chewing and flavorful...roasted a little longer, they get crunchy and crisp and delicious.  They handle a lot of flavors well, so feel free to experiment!  Here's my usual method...

Roasted Chick Peas

1 15-oz can Chick Peas, drained and rinsed
2 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t dried sage
1 t dried rosemary
1 t dried dill
1 t onion salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper

Whisk oil, vinegar, and spices together in a small bowl (I usually use a large soup bowl for this).  Gently fold in chick peas and allow to marinate at room temperature while oven is pre-heating.  When ready to roast, evenly spread chick peas on a parchment lined baking sheet, pouring any leftover marinade over the peas.  For soft, entree style peas, roast for 15-20 minutes.  For a crunchier version, roast 30-35 minutes.  Enjoy hot or cold!


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Day 38 - Greek Chicken

Greek grilled chicken, roasted asparagus, potatoes, and chick peas.  All bathed in a warm afternoon sun!

I know...food all in one, undivided container.  Shocking!

Ok, for real though, all my other containers were in the dishwasher.  And these flavors all mingled well, so it was actually pretty delicious!

Leftovers from  last night include roasted asparagus, pan roasted potatoes in yogurt sauce, marinated and roasted chick peas, and grilled Greek chicken. I've gone back and forth over which recipe from this lunch to share, and I've decided to go with the chicken for two reasons.

1.  It's really easy, and everyone likes it.

2.  It's the chicken I use for my gyros, so that might help you create past recipes!

This microwaved beautifully at work.  I wish I had thrown in some more chick peas, though, because I got real hungry around 3:00.  So, learn from my example and always pack extra protein!

Marinated Greek Chicken

1 two pound package of chicken breasts
1 cup plain Greek style yogurt, any fat  content (the more fat, the less yogurt-y the taste after cooking.  Your preference).
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 T marjoram or oregano
1 t black pepper

In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, vinegar, lemon juice, and spices.  Gently fold in chicken breasts.  Cover and let sit in refrigerator at least overnight.  When ready to cook, let the chicken lose it's chill by sitting at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

I grill mine on my George Foreman grill for about 3 minutes each; cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your chicken and the heat of your grill.

Alternately, you can bread and bake these at 350F for about 45 minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

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Day 31 - Potato and Green Bean Salad

Potato and Green Bean Salad, Greek green salad, red plum.

Still eating leftovers from gyro night!  Had a little of the green salad left, and included a plum from the farmers' market.  But the main dish was a delicious Potato and Green Bean Salad.  I got this recipe from some magazine quite a while ago, but I can't remember which magazine.  I've made my own edits over time, and  it's one of my favorites at a party.  It's good cold,  melt-in-your-mouth delicious when hot.  It's also fairly cheap and good looking...in other words, the perfect potluck dish.  Had it cold for lunch today and loved it! 

Potato and Green Bean Salad

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
4 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp whole grain Dijon
1 Tbs parsley
Salt and  Pepper to taste
1 lb small red and/or Yukon gold  potatoes
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed.

Whisk together first 6 ingredients; set aside.  Simmer green beans in salted water until barely tender and bright green, 2-3 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of ice water.  Drain and pat dry.  Add potatoes to the same pot and simmer until tender, 10-20 minutes.  Drain potatoes and halve them.  Add in green beans and gently toss with olive oil mixture.  Serve hot or cold. Pin It Now!

Day 30 - Greek Salad Dressing.

Greek Salad, hummus, pretzels.

Remember those gyros I made the other day?  I decided to make some for company last night, along with a hot potato salad and this delicious Greek green salad.  Romaine, spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, olives, and feta cheese with a great Greek Salad Dressing.  Threw in some pretzels and homemade hummus and it was an extremely quick lunch to put together.

Salad dressings are so easy to whisk up, and way cheaper than store bought.  I usually keep olive oil, walnut oil, sesame oil, and a variety of vinegars on hand...that way, I can make up a number of dressings at the last minute!  Some recipes, though, are standards in my house.

Greek Salad Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup  red wine vinegar
2 T lemon juice
1 T  fresh oregano, chopped
1 t dried dill
1 t  onion salt
1 t minced garlic
dash of black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together.  This can sit on the counter for a couple of hours while you're cooking, which allows the flavors to mingle. You can also serve it immediately, if you're in a hurry.  Just make sure it's freshly whisked when you pour it on your salad!



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Day 26 - Chicken Gyro!

Chicken gyro,  watermelon, pistachios.

Last night, I went out for Greek food.  We went to a new place and found my new favorite guilty pleasure: fried portobello mushrooms with marinara and feta dipping sauce.   It was so bad for me.  It was so tasty.

How did I not think of combining marinara and feta myself?

Needless to say, I got the vegetable plate for my entree.

Anyway, it inspired me to try to make a chicken gyro for lunch.  I was honestly a little shocked at how good it is.  I've made pretty good tzatziki sauce for a while now, just never mastered the gyro.  All I did was made up some fresh tzatziki, heat up a wheat pita, add some tomato, mixed greens, red onion, feta cheese, and chicken grilled with Greek spices.  It was soooo good.  Added some watermelon and pistachios, and it was a pretty great lunch.

Throwing together gyros and other Greek wraps is pretty easy, as long as your components are good.  Here's my recipe for tzatziki sauce.


Tzatziki

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 large cucumber
juice of 1 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon dried dill
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel the cucumber and cut in half, longways (is that a word?  Guess it is now).  Scoop out the seeds with a spoon; discard seeds.  Chop roughly and pulse in a food processor until finely diced or pureed - the smoother your cucumber, the smoother your sauce will be.  Spoon the cucumber into a sieve and press until most of the liquid is removed.  In a small bowl, combine cucumber, yogurt, and remaining ingredients.   Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow flavors to mingle.

Don't know what to do with your leftover cucumber juice?  Add it to a gallon of water and keep in the fridge for a super refreshing drink! Pin It Now!

Day 10 - More Fun Products

Grilled Pita with Feta, Fruit Skewers, Shrimp, and Trader Joe's dried Green Beans

This was a quick lunch, despite appearances.  I used up the leftover shrimp (which, apparently, looks horrible in photos but not in real life) by sprinkling it with salt and lemon juice.  Then I threw some wheat pita filled with thin slices of low fat feta cheese on my trust old George Foreman grill while I fixed breakfast.  Then I tossed in some dried green beans and threw some cherries and grapes on skewers.  I put them on skewers mostly so that they wouldn't roll around all over the pita, but they were also very good for raising in the air and gesticulating while I made some witty and profound point about shoes or something during lunch. 

Food as accessories, people.  Never forget it.

I wrapped the pitas in a little bit of parchment to keep the bread nice and crispy.  And here's a product I absolutely love for this:  PaperChef parchment bags.

Parchment Bags - why didn't I think of this?

 

These are great for baking, and I particularly like to use them for salmon and/or vegetables.  These are so much easier than making your own package out of flat parchment.  However, I don't cook en papillote nearly often enough to use up all of these.  My mom gave me a box of 10 for Christmas and should give me some more this year because I love them almost as much as I love her hint hint, but I'm just now beginning to feel like my supply is waning.  So I often find more creative uses for these.  In this case, I cut off the top half of a bag, making a sleeve with two ends to wrap the pitas in.  I just slipped the pitas in one end and folded the bottom over.  I'm hoping it will stay dry enough to reuse on another sandwich, but we'll see!

The other thing that I love to buy in this lunch was Trader Joe's Green Beans.  They're dried, and salted, and delicious.  There's also a little bit of natural sweetness to them, which complements the fruit and nicely contrasts with the salty bite of the grilled feta.  They also keep for a loooong time in the pantry. :)

Crunchy like chips, but good for you!  Or, at least, better for you?

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Day 9 - Greek Orzo with Shrimp and Asparagus

Greek Orzo with Shrimp and Asparagus, Broccoli, Black Seedless Grapes

Before I start talking about today's lunch, I should tell you about a few cooking challenges I'm having this week.

First, there just aren't many great sale prices in my area...at least not on things I want.  I picked up some asparagus, broccoli, grapes, cherries, lemons, pineapple, and shrimp for pretty decent prices this weekend, but other than that I may be relying pretty heavily on pantry staples.  I've also got some dairy left over from last week, and I splurged and got some pre-made hummus.

I'm also pretty busy this week, so I'm going to be leaning on the leftovers and super quick cold lunch assemblies.

And the most irritating problem is that my overhead kitchen light decided to die last night, and I just don't think I'll have time to buy and replace the tubey bulbs (that's a technical term) til the weekend.  So, whatever I cook at night needs to be quick enough that I can whip up before the sun sets, and still easy enough to not need great light anyway.

So, without further ado...lunch!

Grape and broccoli.  Self explanatory and good.  But I just couldn't decide what to do for a main.  Pre-cooked shrimp was a good price at the farmers' market, as was asparagus.  I ended up combining it with some orzo that I found in the back of a cabinet, feta, and a vinagrette.

So.  Good.  SO.  Good.

I had it hot for dinner and cold for lunch, and I can't decide how I like it better.  The picture above looks pretty bland, but I promise it was incredibly flavorful and light.  There's also a lot more shrimp and asparagus than appears in the photo...that happens when you eat it all up the night before. :)


Greek Orzo with Shrimp and Asparagus

1/2 cup dry orzo pasta
3 cups water
3 Tablespoons chicken bouillon
1/2 cup cooked shrimp
1/2 cup asparagus, trimmed and chopped to 1 inch pieces
1 Tablespoon low fat feta cheese
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon dried marjoram
S&P, to taste

Bring water and bouillon to a boil.  In a heat proof bowl, add asparagus and about 1/2 cup of the boiling water.  Set aside.  Pour orzo into boiling water and cook according to package directions.  Meanwhile, whisk olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and marjoram together.  When orzo is al dente, drain orzo and asparagus.  Place back into warm pot but keep removed from heat.  Add remaining ingredients and stir well.  Serve hot or cold.

This made enough for about 3-4 servings of the size you see above.  Pin It Now!

Day 4 - Reinventing Leftovers

Wheat Pita filled with White Bean Mediterranean Salad, Cucumber Slices, Blueberries, and Pistachios

It's late in the week, which means I need to clean out my fridge before I go shopping this weekend.  I had just a little bit of that White Bean Mediterranean Salad that I made earlier this week, but there wasn't much of it.  After a  lunch, a dinner,  and a serious afternoon snack, there wasn't much left but the marinade and a few tomatoes.  I also may or may not have also eaten all of the avocados out of it with some toasted pita earlier.  Maybe.  Anyway, not enough to make a lunch.

So, I just added another half cup of chopped tomatoes and feta cheese, finishing off those supplies for the week.  That's the beautiful thing about a good marinated salad - you can just keep adding ingredients for about a week as they pop up, and the marinade just gets more and more delicious.

I stuffed the salad into two halves of a whole wheat pita, added some cucumber slices and the last of the blueberries, and treated myself to some crunchy-salty-yummy pistachios!  I know I can buy them out of the shells, but I like having to shell them myself.  It makes me eat slower, and on a rough day it can be therapeutic to have something to break open repeatedly. Maybe. :)

Had just enough leftover for dinner last night, so I spooned it onto a whole pita and toasted it in the oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese got all melty and fabulous.  Added a bagged caesar salad and it was divine!

Not the prettiest picture ever, but seriously - so good.

I realize I've relied heavily on the tomatoes, feta, and avocado this week.  Some of you might be thinking "that lunch lady is crazy, I could never eat so repetitively!"  To be honest, neither can I, usually.  These are just some of my favorite things so I don't mind eating them over and over.  Other weeks, there will be more variety, promise.  Also, more non-vegetarian meals. :)

Happy Weekend, everybody! Pin It Now!

Day 1 - White Bean Mediterranean Salad

Blueberries, Watermelon, Cold Seasoned Quinoa, White Bean Mediterranean Salad

I like to think of the summer as produce season.  Everything is so ripe and delicious...and on sale!  As such, lunch for today included watermelon, tiny early blueberries from a friend's yard, cold seasoned white quinoa, and a Mediterranean white bean salad.  It was, all things considered, pretty good.  The quinoa and beans gave it a nice punch of protein, and the fruit sweetened out an otherwise fairly salty and savory meal.  I'm more than happy eating a vegetarian meal, but if you feel incomplete without meat then a little grilled chicken over the quinoa would be lovely!

White Bean Mediterranean Salad

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 small avocado, chopped (sub with cucumber for an even healthier salad)
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled low fat feta cheese
2 Tablespoons dried dill
Olive oil and red wine vinegar, to taste

Mix together all ingredients, saving oil and vinegar.  You may add salt and pepper at this point if you like, but I find that the canned beans and feta add more than enough salt for my taste.  Add in the oil and vinegar slowly, stirring gently.  If you're insecure about the amounts to add, I'd start with 1 tablespoon at a time, tasting between each tablespoon until it's how you love it.  Remember that the vinegar flavor will intensify somewhat if you leave it in the fridge for a few days.  I'd say I ended up with about 1 T oil and 3 T vinegar, but  my love for vinegar is weird and beyond most people's desirability...you may not want to follow my example. :)  Enjoy! Pin It Now!