It’s official, I’m throwing in the towel…at least when it comes to meal times. From now on, nothing that isn’t Easy Peasy will find it’s way onto our table. No more recipes calling for making my own pie crust (refrigerated Pillsbury brand works just fine, thankyouverymuch!), brining my own chicken (ick!), or following a series of steps that stretches across multiple pages of a gourmet cookbook. I’m acknowledging here and now that when it comes to cooking, I’m half-baked at best. So for all you other Half-Baked Chefs who squeeze dinner prep in between Carpool and Karate, here’s the first in my (hopefully) running series of Easy Peasy dinner offerings. This particular recipe received mixed reviews because it involves the color green (*gasp*), but for older children or a Girl’s Lunch (or Drunch, preferably), it’s a knockout. Here ’tis:
-1 large container prepared refrigerated pesto (can also throw in an additional small container if you add extra vegetables, pasta or just like it “saucy”)
-1 small package refrigerated cheese tortellini (skip the multi-colored kind if you have picky eaters, but it’s a nice touch of color if not), cooked and cooled
– 8 oz. corkscrew pasta, cooked and cooled
-1 tub shredded parmesan, use about half and save the rest for another recipe or go nuts and use the whole thing
-1 large jar artichoke hearts (plain or italian seasoned), coarsely chopped
– 8 oz. diced fresh mozzarella
Gently combine all of the above. This is your “base” which you can spice up with any of the following:
– black olives & cherry tomatoes
– blanched asparagus, pine nuts and diced red bell pepper
– lightly steamed broccoli/broccolini/frozen peas or shoestring carrots
– pretty much any leftover steamed, grilled or roasted veggie
If you want to go carnivore, just ditch the cheese tortellini and add some shredded chicken — preferably leftover from the night before or from a nice rotisserie bird you picked up at the grocery store . Only Easy Peasy things, remember?
To make it go even further and to cut down the calorie load, serve a smallish portion over fresh greens with a broth based soup on the side. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and what your taste-buds can tolerate.
There you have it. Further successful recipes for the Half-Baked cook as they arise.
Thank you, Jodi, for sharing with the rest of us who have almost zero available kitchen time in the evenings! Keep ’em coming!
You are most welcome Paige! I just got sick of failing in the kitchen. When I complained of my win/loss ratio, it was Jason that pinpointed the problem as “difficulty of schedule.” 🙂 So now I’ve decided to put some recipes out there for anyone else who’s struggling to do it all. Thanks for the words of support! 🙂
I’m with you – love the easy peasy dinner. Even better if it makes enough for dinner for two nights!