Tag Archives: 30 minute meal

Steak Penne pasta with homemade tomato sauce

As I’ve been developing my cooking skills i have been wanting to try new techniques for prep and presesentation. For this dish i will be making full use of fresh tomatoes from start to finish. This is a fun twist to a simple penne pasta.

For this dish you will need the following:

3 petite sirloin steaks

4 large red tomatoes

1 box penne pasta (Alternatively you can use protein penne if available for extra protein)

Assorted seasonings of choice ( for this i used garlic powder, black pepper, basil, mrs dash salt free table blend, steak seasoning, italian seasoning and onion powder)

2 cups heavy whippng cream

1/4 stick of butter

First we will want to place our pot onto the stove with water and cut the bottoms of our tomatoes in an x shape and place into the water. Boil these for 60 seconds. This wi blanche the tomatoes making them easy to work with. Once blanched pour over cool water to stop the internal cooking and drain. Once drained, peel the tomatoes and retain the skins for later. Once peeled place into a blender and blend into a tomato juice.

Next we will place our pasta into water and cook until al dente and drain. While we are waiting for the pasta to cook, we can work on prepping our steak for cooking with our seasonings.  Once the pasta is done we can get to work on our steak. Cook and butter baste to your desired level of pink (or lack thereof if well done). For cooking the steak i utilized a family size forman grill to drain extra fat and once the steaks are done we can put our tomatoe skils in to char a little for presentation.

Once the steak is cooked,  cut it into small bite sized pieces and mix into the pasta. Afterward, heat your heavy whipping cream and add your tomato puree and stir in garlic and onion powder, itallialn seasoning, basil and pepper to add more flavor. Stir until color changes and to desired taste. Pour the sauce into the pasta and heat on a low simmer stirring the pot to blend it all together. Place onto a place and add some of the charred tomato skins and serve!

And there you have it, a simple flavorful dish using all of a tomato. This was a very good dish that has a lot of versatility to it in terms of how to make the sauce and pasta options. Until the next time dear readers. Excelsior!

Working on my presentation more

Simple Salmon Quesadillas

Sometimes, the simplest things in life are the best. Some days are just so long and exhausting that you might not feel like doing anything, let alone cook. These salmon quesadillas are quick and easy for those long days or those lazy afternoons. For this, you will simply need some salmon, your preferred shredded cheese and spices of your choice , low carb wraps, salsa, and light sour cream.

This recipe works with fresh or frozen salmon that has been thawed out. Simply bake the salmon on a lightly greased baking dish for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (or grill to desired tenderness) after applying your seasoning of choice. (For mine in utilized Mrs. Dash all-purpose seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, and a healthy dash of Tony’s Cajun seasoning).

After the fish flakes with the touch of a fork, you can then chop up the salmon into small pieces with a chefs knife or shred it to pieces with a food processor if you have one. Warm up your wrap in a skillet for about a minute, being sure to flip onto both sides and apply a healthy layer of cheese around the wrap and place a serving of the shredded salmon into to wrap (about 4 to 6 ounces should do depending on how big your wraps are). Fold over the wrap and place into a lightly oiled skillet and cook both sides until the cheese has melted together both sides of the wrap. Once removed from the skillet cut into four pieces and serve with the salsa and sour cream.

Very low effort dinner but delicious nonetheless

This is an easy low effort dinner that can be prepared within 30 minutes. The best part about this is that you can put in other ingredients such as tomato and spinach and peppers for a nice serving of vegetables as well. Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!

Spring salad dressing

With spring around the corner, I figured it would be a good time to get a wonderful spring recipe together that anyone can make and enjoy. This will combine two of my favorite things: salads and Mason jars. This tasty dressing will male a fine addition for any salad or wrap.

To start you will need a few crucial ingredients: 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 garlic clove (crushed), 1 table spoon of parsley, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, a dash of salt and pepper to add to taste.

Once you round up your ingredients, you’ll need to get one mason jar to put in all dry and wet ingredients. Once all ingredients are in the jar, vigorously shake the jar to mix your ingredients, and you are ready to serve. This makes roughly 1/4 of a mason jar full of dressing. You can add more as you see fit.

The finished product

This dressing is very flavorful and adds a wonderful zing to any dish you pair with it. As the weather warms up I look forward to sharing more recipe ideas to share with you. Until the next time dear readers, excelsior!

Quick shrimp wraps

The year has flown by at a breakneck speed. With days seeming to fly by at light speed, it can be hard to keep track of things, let alone take the time out to cook. In response to this it’s easy to get a fast food meal out, but of course if you’re looking to eat something healthy and quick there is a fun quick recipe I’d like to share for your viewing pleasure: quick and easy shrimp and veggie wrap with chimchurri sauce. I used a simple assortment of veggies, but you’re free to add more as your heart desires.

Ingredients needed

1-2 lb frozen shrimp (tail off peeled and deveined preferred)

1 of each: green bell pepper and yellow pepper

2 cups fresh spinach

1 pack of 8 count high fiber Wraps

Assorted seasonings: for this batch, I used Mrs. Dash table blend seasoning, pepper, paprika, Tony’s creole seasoning, turmeric, and garlic powder.

For chimchurri sauce

1-2 lb of fresh parsley

1/4 cup oregano

2/4 red wine vinegar

6 cloves of garlic

A pinch of salt

2 dashes of red pepper flakes

2/3 cup olive oil

Step 1 – Be sure to thaw out the shrimp if you haven’t already done so. Be sure to double-check your shrimp for any impurities that may need to be removed.

Step 2 – After the shrimp have been thawed and cleaned, place the shrimp into a bowl and apply the assorted seasonings listed above. Set the shrimp to the side

Step 3- Chop peppers into strips and set aside in a bowl or container.

Step 3- In a food processor (or by hand), finely chop the garlic cloves and parsley and, upon completion, place into a bowl. Once in the bowl, apply the oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, olive oil and vinegar, and mix. Once all mixing has been complete, set this aside

Step 4- Heat up your desired cooking oil n a large saucepan and add the shrimp. Cook until the shimp is opaque in color and remove from heat. This should take roughly 5 minutes

Step 5- Once the shrimp has been removed, proceed to cook the pepper strips to your desired tenderness and remove from heat.

Step 6- Take one fiber wrap tortilla and apply a layer of spinach, followed by the pepper strips, and add a layer of shrimp and finally a helping of the chimchurri sauce.

Step 7- Enjoy!

The finished product!

And there you have it. A quick and easy, nutrient dense, and savory meal that can be enjoyed any day of the week. Feel free to add and subtract your favorite vegetables as you see fit for even more nutrients. Bon appetite dear readers, until next time!