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

Happy Friday.  As promised, a fun little post today thanks to some free goodies that were sent to me from the fine folks at Swanson Health products.  Included in the package last week are Natural Organic Almonds ( YUM), Raw Organic Honey and some Eden Organic Kamut Pasta Vegetable Spirals.

I have never tries Kamut before so I was quite anxious to give it a whirl.  I will try anything once but I was a little unsure what to pair it with.  I decided to keep it an all “vegetarian” dish.  Anyone proud of me?  Really simple dish that was quite long lasting and filling.  The pasta had a great flavor and I will definitely eat it again.  Not sure I can buy it here so I will have to hit up Swanson or the Eden folks for some more.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Kamut Vegetable Spirals
• 1 Can 15 oz Black Beans ( drained and rinsed)
• 2 Cups baby spinach
• Handful of grape tomatoes
• 1 Tsp. Olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic ( chopped)
• Splash of lemon juice
• 1 Tsp. cumin
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Cook Kamut according to the directions.
2. In a separate sauce pan, heat over medium and add olive oil
3. Toss in black beans and tomatoes and begin to cook through
4. Add garlic, lemon juice and cumin and let cook for 3 minutes
5. Toss in spinach, salt and pepper.
6. Drain pasta and add in to bean mixture.  Mix well and serve.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Be gentle on the black beans, you do not want to have them turn into mush so when you are stirring them be sure to stir underneath them and try not to break them down.

I love getting free stuff sent to the house.  I am just like a kid when that happens.  I get so excited and get the whole family involved.  If you are a blogger, what was the favorite package you ever received?

Have a super Friday and a fantastic weekend.  Mine is action packed and will fill you in on Monday.  Rumor on the street is that we may be going to the Stock car races.  Zesty Junior’s eyes lit up like glow plugs and cannot wait.

Take care

zesty