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Easy Dinner Recipe

Easy Pasta Salad

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At the beginning of the year, I set three food goals for myself. 1)Cook a meal for another family once each month. 2)Buy from my local farmers market at least once per month. 3)Bake a bread recipe of one sort or another each month. Friends, COVID-19 has seriously interrupted these plans! Social distancing, businesses (and the farmers markets) closed, and difficulty finding flour in the stores. I will revisit these goals when I am able to but in the mean time, I have been focusing on simple recipes.

Fancy ingredients and complicated cooking techniques are not prerequisites to a good meal. In fact, some of my favorite dishes are made quickly with just a handful of ingredients. With this in mind, along with my yearning for farmers market produce, I’ve created my easy pasta salad. There is also some versatility in this recipe. You can use whatever small pasta you can get your hands on. Eat it as a side dish, or add your favorite protein to make it your entree. And once you can go to your farmers market again, be sure to show your support and buy your ingredients for this one from your local farmers.

Easy Pasta Salad

Sarah Baade
An easy to make pasta salad that can be used as a side dish or an entree.
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Course Dinner, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb small pasta such as orecchiette, shells or elbow noodles
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (divided) olive oil
  • 15 oz canned chickpeas
  • 12 oz small tomatoes – mixed variety, halved
  • 1 medium cucumber, cut into 1/4" slices then quartered
  • 1/2 small red onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Optional: protein such as tofu, grilled bratwurst, or grilled chicken

Instructions
 

  • Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain pasta then rinse with cold water until cooled.
  • Transfer pasta to a large bowl and stir together with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
  • Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion then toss to combine.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, Italian herb seasoning and salt. Pour over pasta and gently stir until pasta is evenly coated. Top with protein of choice if desired.
Keyword Easy Pasta Salad, Easy Recipe, Pasta, Pasta Salad

SHEET PAN VEGGIE TACOS

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My first year of graduate school, I was blessed with a roommate who also loved spending time in the kitchen. We often weren’t home at the same time which left little room for cooking together. Instead, I might come home from class and find his homemade bread sitting on the counter. Or, he would come home to a slice of homemade cheesecake. Baking was truly the passion of the household. However, we also had a routine of taco night once a week. This was our favorite meal to share with friends and we had an entire speech that we would serve up with the food. The ingredients were routine but ample – ground beef, shredded cheese, avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, etc… The speech we gave encouraged our friends to make their taco experience their own. Add what you want, skip the toppings that aren’t your favorite. Taco night never disappointed.

Fast forward a few years and taco night has become a national trend. Hello, #tacotuesday! Over the years, I have also expanded on my taco repertoire. In particular, I love changing up the fillings. Lately, I’ve been making lots of veggie tacos. This is basically a sheet pan dinner – who doesn’t love an easy sheet pan dinner?! You’ll get your veggies plus protein from chickpeas all flavored in what you’ll recognize as classic taco seasoning.

Sheet Pan Veggie Tacos

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Course Dinner, Main Course
Servings 12 Tacos

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2" cubes
  • 2 cups red cabbage, chopped into 1" pieces
  • 1/2 lb Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, then cut in half length wise
  • 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 medium jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 12 flour or corn tortillas
  • Optional toppings: avocado, salsa, hot sauce

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 420°F.
  • Place squash, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, chickpeas, and jalapeno in a large bowl. Stir in olive oil and all spices until vegetables are evenly coated.
  • Spread vegetable mixture out on a sheet pan and bake for 20minutes, stirring halfway through.
  • While vegetables are cooking, wrap tortillas in foil then place in oven for the last 10 minutes of vegetable cook time.
  • Fill tortillas with vegetable mixture and toppings as desired.

Notes

Alternative methods for warming tortillas:
  • Heat tortillas, one at a time, in a skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds then flip and heat for another 30 seconds. Repeat this for each tortilla.
  • If you have a gas stovetop, you can heat tortillas, one at a time, directly over the flame, flip with tongs after 15 seconds. You might need to flip them a few times in order to get them slightly toasted. ***Keep flame low and watch the tortillas closely so you don’t catch them on fire.***
Keyword Sheet Pan Dinner, Veggie Taco Recipe, Veggie Tacos

SEMI HOMEMADE POT PIE (TWO WAYS)

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Comfort Food

Let’s talk comfort food. When I think about some of my favorite comfort foods, the recipes are often quite lengthy. These are perfect for special occasions, holiday meals, celebration meals of one sort or another. They are worth the effort when you have the time but a lot of us don’t have an extra few hours to spend on a single dish. But what do you do when you want, no, NEED comfort food but don’t have the time or energy for one of those special, hours to prepare dishes? I’ve got you covered with these semi homemade pot pie recipes. I’m just going to throw it out there that this is also a perfect dish to take to someone who needs a meal. Perhaps someone just had a baby, or just had surgery, or is just going through a difficult time in life. Cook this up and take it to them! These comfort food recipes are practically a hug you serve up in a pie dish.

Two Versions

I’ve been making the original version of this chicken pot pie for about 15 years and, to be forthcoming, it is not my recipe. The OG version comes from a collaborative recipe book put together by employees from some random company. In other words, I don’t know the exact source but wish I did so that I could give the person full credit on this one. However, I have updated it to literally double the filling. This means, you can feed more people without having to make a second pie. When I started eating a more plant based diet, I also created a vegetarian version of this pot pie. Both versions are semi homemade which means you can put them together in about five minutes and then relax while they bake into sheer comfort food. I guarantee you’re going to want second helpings on this one. Oh, and if you happen to have leftovers, this also tastes fantastic reheated.

Vegetable Pot Pie (Semi Homemade)

Sarah Baade
This pot pie comes together quickly and serves up pure comfort food.
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Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 9" unbaked pie crusts
  • 2 16oz bags frozen mixed vegetables (blend of carrots, corn, peas & green beans)
  • 1 cup frozen diced potatoes
  • 2 10oz cans cream of celery condensed soup

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Unroll one unbaked pie crust and place in a 9” pie dish.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together frozen vegetables, potatoes and condensed soup.
  • Spread mixture into pie crust and top with remaining unbaked pie crust.
  • Pinch edges of crusts together to create a seal.
  • Cut several slits into top pie crust.
  • Bake 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Notes

If you prefer a shiny crust, whisk together 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water then brush the mixture over the top pie crust before baking.
Keyword Easy Pot Pie, Pot Pie, Semi Homemade Pot Pie, Vegetarian Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie (Semi Homemade)

Sarah Baade
This pot pie comes together quickly and serves up pure comfort food.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 9" unbaked pie crusts
  • 2 16oz bags frozen mixed vegetables (blend of carrots, corn, peas & green beans)
  • 2 12oz cans premium white chicken
  • 2 10oz cans cream of chicken condensed soup

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Unroll one unbaked pie crust and place in a 9” pie dish.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together vegetables, chicken and condensed soup.
  • Spread mixture into pie crust and top with remaining unbaked pie crust. (You're going to feel like you can't fit all of the filling in there but trust me, it will work. Just pile it high!)
  • Pinch edges of crusts together to create a seal.
  • Cut several slits into top pie crust.
  • Bake 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Notes

If you prefer a shiny crust, whisk together 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water then brush the mixture over the top pie crust before baking.
Keyword Chicken Pot Pie, Easy Chicken Pot Pie, Pot Pie, Semi Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Looking for more comfort food recipes? Try this Tot Topped Shepherd’s Pie or my One Pot Vegetarian Chili.