Happy Monday and Happy Belated birthday to my US neighbors. This week is action packed on the zesty front with 7 blog consulting gigs to finish, work work, zesty cooking, soccer and some chores outside to stay on top of before I am on vacation next week.  Did I tell you we rented a 36′ camper trailer next week to hang out by the water and do nothing but play, relax and eat?  I am pretty excited to say the least.

Do you ever feel that you want to get take out because you are lazy and do not want to wait for lunch or supper?  I have that feeling sometimes but I often revert and hold off my cravings with a dish like this one below.  It is super easy, tasty and really takes all of 15 minutes to make.  You could not even drive out , order and take it back home in 15 minutes.  Next time you are on the fence for wanting take out – give this dish a try.

There is not shortage of flavor, with fresh lemon zest and rich hoisin sauce.

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups Penne pasta
• Handful of baby spinach
• 1 Head of broccoli
• 1 Cup chopped button mushrooms
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp.  Soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp.  Hoisin sauce
• 1 Lemon ( juice and zest )
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 Garlic clove ( chopped )
• 1 Tsp. thyme

Method

1. Cook pasta according to directions
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, mushrooms and begin to cook down and add the garlic and thyme.
3. Now toss in the broccoli and begin to brown ( about 2 minutes )
4. Combine soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lemon juice and zest in a bowl and mix together.  Pour into mushroom and broccoli mixture.
5. Add spinach and cooked pasta and stir to mix thoroughly.
6. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve it up.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: To avoid the broccoli getting soggy, keep the heat on, constantly stir and avoid over crowding the pan.  Over crowding will cause it to steam and quickly become soggy.

Now this dish is nothing over the top but it is a great dish for a quick meal and another way to easily clean out your fridge before grocery day.  I so despise throwing out food from the fridge so dishes like these aide in that by throwing in some vegetables that may be on the verge of breaking down.

Let’s kick start this busy week with a bang!  I hope you have a fantastic Monday and I will be back with a “very special” post on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

What a weekend!  I don’t know about  you but the weather here in zesty land was absolutely fabulous.  Playing at the park, driving bicycles, washing  cars and even dusting off the vintage chino plaid shorts was in order for this past weekend.  Just a much needed break from work as well as a time to love the SUN.  To summarize the weekend in one word – FANTASTIC.

Now when you are speaking with zesty you know I always evaluate fantastic with food in some way shape or form.  This was no exception.  We had a huge Easter family dinner yesterday at Mother Zesty’s which included prime rib and a pork roast followed by all the trimmings.   Dessert was comprised of homemade cherry cheesecake, toffee fill tarts, chocolate dipped strawberries and homemade sugar cookies avec sprinkles.  It was delicious!

For today’s dish, I want to go back to a little leftover dish.  I know some people love leftovers and others will not see themselves eating them.  I am one who loves using leftovers to make a different dish.  Take for example the pork roast I made 2 weeks ago.  There was a bag of left over meat off the roast that I wanted to use a few days after I cooked to avoid having to throw it out.  I remember I had a bought a head of broccoli and a light bulb went off in my head…. Beef Pork and Broccoli!

This is a super easy lunch and one that I found very satisfying and tasty.  I used the Chef Hymie Sweet Barbecue Glaze – which is amazing!!  It gave the pork a lovely flavor and enhanced the flavor that it already had from the balsamic chili crust from the original roasting.

Ingredients

• 1 Head of broccoli
• 2 Cups of cooked pork
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Chef Hymie Sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Water
• 1 Tbsp. Slivered almonds
• 1 Clove garlic
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat sauce pan/wok to medium high heat.



2. Start pan frying the pork and garlic to heat through; about 4 minutes.
3. Add the broccoli, salt and pepper and begin to stir fry; 2 minutes ( try coating all the broccoli pieces with the oil and pork flavor )
4. Add water and steam broccoli with a lid for 1 minute.
5. Remove cover, add chef hymie sauce and cook down for another 2 minutes.





6. Top with slivered almonds and serve.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip:  I like to use the water and the lid just to give the broccoli an extra minute to cook through in the center.  I do love my broccoli crunchy in this dish but you want to avoid the broccoli being dry and cold in the center.  The barbecue glaze will help char and darken the outside of the broccoli and lock in the flavor.

So there you go, a quick weekend recap, an even quicker lunch but with no flavor missing!!  Hope you have a great Easter Monday and I will see you all on Wednesday for another giveaway.  Can you believe it?  I think this one may be a fun giveaway to win…. stay tuned.

Take care

zesty