Couscous with chickpeas and cranberries

I can't take any sort of credit for this recipe, as it's based on a Trader Joe's cookbook recipe. My boyfriend made it for me last week and it was so simple yet delicious that I had to replicate it.

A lot of my meals end up like this: a hodge podge of grains, protein, and veggies. They're great for packing in lunches and also super nutritious.

To make this, first I sauteed a red onion until it was translucent, then added the couscous, water, and a vegan bouillon cube. I used 1.5 cups of dry Israeli couscous (and water according to the directions). Cooked on low with the lid on, stirring occasionally. When the couscous was almost done, I added a can of chickpeas and a handful of baby spinach. Just before it was done I added a handful of dried cranberries and a few aromatic spices.

The cranberries are totally clutch for this recipe, as otherwise it's a lot of blandish high-fiber foods. The original recipe called for chopped pistachios (yum!) and I could see feta or goat cheese working really well.

Tasty, quick (minimal prep and cooking), and only one pot to clean! Works for me!

Orange oat scones

I admit that I made these last spring, but they're worth remembering. There's not much I love more than getting up early and beating some butter and flour together. I used a maple oat scone recipe, from Smitten Kitchen's recipe. I likely substituted agave syrup for maple syrup because that's what I had. And knowing my usual habits, I probably added a few spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

The most important part of making scones is the "incorporate" the butter into the flour while it's cold. You can cut up the butter into slices, freeze it for a bit, then put in all into a food processor. Works great for this!

Then I happened to have some orange buttercream frosting in the fridge, so I thinned it out to make a glaze. The frosting was made from powdered sugar, milk (or ricemilk), butter, orange zest, and a dash of Grand Marnier. I believe I added water and then microwaved it to make it liquid.

Once the scones were cool, I dipped them in the glaze, twice. They were delicious!

Haphazard spinach lasagna

I had six lasagna noodles leftover, a can of diced tomatoes, two almost-gone blocks of cheese, and the sudden urge to make dinner since I know I'll have no time to cook this week. It actually turned out pretty good!

I *very roughly* followed this recipe, because I had remembered hearing somewhere about making lasagna in loaf pans (in a standard pan, it's always too much for one, or even two people for a week, so I usually freeze it). Here's what I ended up doing:

Parboiled the 6 noodles while thawing a package of frozen spinach. Make cheese filling with 8 oz. of cottage cheese (local! yay! or use ricotta), 1 egg (could have used 2), a handful of laboriously shredded parmesan, and some herbs. Since it's fall, I've been adding freshly ground nutmeg to everything, and it goes REALLY WELL with spinach and lasagna.

In a 9x9 glass pan, I added a layer of sauce (mix of canned tomatoes and a 1/2 jar of roasted garlic pasta sauce), noodles (cut the noodles and save the ends), spinach, cheese filling, more sauce, then repeat (only had 3 layers of noodles, even with the ends patched together). Added a thin layer of monterey jack cheese to the top (mozzarella or provolone would work).

Covered, and baked at 350(F) for 30 minutes. Then baked uncovered for 15. Here I wish I would have raised the temp to 375 to boil some of the excess liquid. Broiled for about 3 minutes (until the cheese starts to brown).

Conclusion: frozen spinach is the best thing ever. Except getting it out of the plastic bag while it is hot and trying to burn you and I am using a knife with my left hand and ineffectively holding it with tongs. There weren't too many dishes, and the overall prep time was only about a half hour! Even in my stressed out, haphazard state, I managed not to burn or cut myself or spill anything. I'll count that as a win.