Pasta: Bacon and Bocconcini

I eat a lot of pasta, usually with tomato sauce. But some days I want something a bit different. I love the combination of red onions and garlic and used this as my base for this dish.  I had just bought some bocconcini cheese (one of my favourites) and had some bacon left over in the fridge. I think bacon is the right amount of salty to be paired with bocconcini. 

I cooked the bacon first, then added the onions and garlic to the same pan

Probably one of my favourite cheeses! I often eat them on their own. Grabbing a couple each time I pass the fridge.

After cooking the pasta, I mixed it together with the cheese and the bacon mixture. I added a bit of olive oil. Then dug in! 

What is your favourite alternative to tomato sauce?
Jaclyn

Veggie and Goat Cheese Pizza

The other night I was deciding what to make for dinner. I wanted something quick and easy and that I could have leftovers for lunch the next day.  I had a red pepper, red onion and a zucchini in my fridge, so I decided to go with a veggie pizza.  It was fast and simple and as an added bonus: I had plenty of left over veggies and sauce to make pasta with the next day! 

Ingredients: 

1 red pepper

1/2 a red onion 

1 zucchini 

2 cloves of garlic 

tomato sauce 

olive oil 

spices

goats cheese

pita bread

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut up the veggies and garlic, toss in olive oil and spices.  Roast veggies and garlic for about 25-30 mins. 

 While veggies are roasting spread a thin layer of sauce on pita. Once veggies are roasted remove from oven, top pita with veggies and crumble goats cheese on top.  Place in oven until goats cheese has softened (another 3-5mins).  Enjoy!

What is your favourite quick dinner recipe?
Jaclyn

Fried Rice

I saw this Edamame Fried Rice recipe on pintrest. I knew I had to try it. I used the recipe more as a guide and made a HUGE batch of this stuff. Let me tell you it was worth it. Being in university I often don't have a ton of time to prep dishes and love having easy left overs for lunch. This won in both categories.  

I didn't have a wok, so I just used a frying pan. I used red onions rather than scallions and used a mixed bag of frozen peas and carrots. 

This is one of those recipes that was easy to customize. It would be fairly easy to add or subtract a certain vegetable. 

This dish is great on its own, but it would also make a great size dish or it would be an easy thing to add some chicken to. 

What are you having for dinner tonight? 

Jaclyn

Taco Baked Potatoes

I love Tacos.  But I never finish all my delicious taco meat. So I have had to come up with some creative ways to use it all up (you can only have nachos so many times). One of those ways that is probably my favourite is Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Seriously, I have now taken to making taco meat just to make these delicious things. They are easy and simple to make.

All you need is: 

- left over taco meat (or taco meat made according to your favourite taco seasoning package) 

- potatoes 

-butter 

-milk 

-cheese 

- taco fillings (optional): sour cream, tomatoes, salsa etc 

Start by baking your baked potatoes as normal. Once they are fully cooked, slice in half and carefully remove the middle of the potatoes. 

Mash potatoes as usual. I like to add milk and butter to mine. Then add your taco meat (if you are using left over meat I suggest preheating it first). 

Re-stuff potatoes. Do not be afraid to over stuff them. 

Place cheese on top of potatoes and place back in the over until cheese is just melted. 

Remove from oven and serve with taco toppings. I usually also eat these with a side salad. 

Hope you enjoyed this recipe.  If you have any questions feel free to ask, 

Jaclyn