Pizza Beans

It’s the first Lenten Friday of 2018 and I’m marking it with – you guessed it! – a pizza dish.

For years, our Lenten Friday staples were spaghetti with tomato sauce and pizza. This blog series was born out of my desire to experiment with other options. Now in it’s fifth year, I’ve added so many more meatless meals to my repertoire – but pizza-inspired dishes still hold a place in my heart.

These beans are our pizza representation for the year. They’re not overly reminiscent of pizza, but the tomato sauce and cheese made it totally plausible to the kids – they happily ate it up! I loved that it was loaded with veggies, too.

Pizza Beans

Pizza Beans
(from Smitten Kitchen Every Day)
Serves 6-8

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup red wine
4 oz.  curly kale leaves, torn into bite sized pieces
2 1/4 cups crushed tomatoes
1 lb. giant white beans
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 lb. mozzarella, grated
1/3 cup  grated Parmesan

 

Soak the beans overnight. Drain, then transfer to an oven-safe dutch oven. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until beans are soft. Drain and transfer the beans to a bowl. Set aside.

Over medium-high heat, add the oil to the same dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits in the pan, then continue to cook until the wine disappears. Add the kale and cook for 1-2 minutes, until wilted in. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Stir in the beans and vegetable broth. Simmer for 10 minutes and adjust seasonings as needed.

Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan over the top and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Pizza Beans

Sheet Pan Steak and Potatoes #ImprovCookingChallenge

I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but I just bought my first sheet pan this year. As in, 2018. I’ve always just made do with cookie sheets but I was super excited about the idea of sheet pan pancakes so I bit the bullet early last month and ordered one with my holiday gift cards.

And now I’m kind of obsessed with it. It’s so perfect for cooking up a family-sized batch of whatever and, in the case of the dinner, having one pan to clean as opposed to 3 is great.

This month’s Improv Cooking Challenge is steak and potatoes – perfect for Valentine’s day. And since Valentine’s day is on a Wednesday this year, you’re probably looking for something easy. This is a great option. It’s ready in about 35 minutes and it’s delicious!

You can find more steak and potato dishes from the #ImprovCookingChallenge bloggers in the link up below!

improvchallenge
The #ImprovCookingChallenge is a monthly blogging event where two ingredients are assigned to a month. Bloggers can make any recipe they like as long as it features the two ingredients. If you are a blogger and would like to join us, please visit our Facebook page.
You can also read more about the event on our home page.  If you’d like to see previous creations, check out our Pinterest board.
Sheet Pan Steak and Potatoes
Sheet Pan Steak and Potatoes
(adapted from Carrie’s Home Cooking)
Serves 6
2 lbs. London broil
2 lbs. baby red potatoes
2 heads broccoli, chopped into florets
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp. balsamic
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the London broil to a large resalable bag and pour the marinade over. Seal up the bag, turn a few times to coat, then set aside for 20 minutes to marinate at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line your sheet pan with foil.
Place the potatoes in a bowl and add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat again then spread on the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and push the potatoes to the side. Add the marinated steak to the middle of the pan.
Add the broccoli to the bowl you used for the potatoes, adding the remaining olive oil and tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss again.  Spread the broccoli out on the pan around the steak.
Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the steak reaches the desired doneness.  Let rest 10 minutes before slicing the steak.
Sheet Pan Steak & Potatoes

Crispy Parmesan Garlic Chicken

 

Julie’s now 7 weeks old and I’m just getting into enough of a rhythm with the kids that I can actually stand over the stove and cook some nights. Up until this point, dinner has been something I can throw in the crockpot or oven between diaper changes. It’s been nice to do some hands-on cooking for a change!

Still, dinners haven’t been anything too involved – this easy, one-pan meal was a recent favorite. I added a loaf of crusty bed and dinner was on the table in a half hour. Mom win!

ParmGarlicChickenZucchini

Crispy Parmesan Garlic Chicken
(from The Recipe Critic)
Serves 4

2 chicken breasts, cut in half and slightly pounded out
8 Tbsp. butter, divided
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium zucchini, coin-sliced

In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat.

In the microwave, melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, whisk together the bread crumbs, 1/2 cup parmesan and flour. Coat the chicken in the butter then in the bread crumb mixture and add to the skillet.

Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through and the breading is golden. Remove chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Add the remaining butter to the skillet. When melted, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add in the zucchini and cook until tender. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Add the chicken back and cook until heated through.

Balsamic Pork Chop Skillet

You know what I currently have a lot of? Cell phone videos of my kid gagging on green vegetables. Peas and green beans were both an epic fail, so when we got around to trying asparagus with him, I only made a few spears – I knew there would be lots of disgusted faces and spitting it out. To be fair, I don’t know if I’d be a huge fan of plain, steamed asparagus either.

The asparagus in this dish, though, was awesome. My husband said it was his new favorite way to eat it. And a one pot dish = less to clean up, so this was a win all around.

Another win this past week? Getting Jake to eat broccoli without gagging. I mixed it with sweet potatoes and he happily gobbled it up. Why didn’t I think of that before?!

BalsamicPorkSkillet

Balsamic Pork Chop Skillet
(adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 2

2 boneless pork chops
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup  olive oil, divided
12 oz. red potatoes, cut into chunks
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp. herbs de Provence
1 small red onion, chopped
8 oz. asparagus spears
2 Tbsp. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Preheat your oven to 425F degrees.

On the stovetop over high heat, heat a heavy, oven-safe skillet. Add 2 Tbsp. of the oil and heat until shimmering. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. .Add pork to pan and cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and cover with foil. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the potatoes to pan and cook for 2 minutes, tossing occasionally. Remove pan from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, vinegar, tomato paste and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Take 2 tbsp. of this mixture and toss with herbs de Provence, onion, and asparagus in a bowl. Add this mixture to the potatoes and stir to combine.

Bake for 25 minutes, stirring about halfway. Place the pork chops over vegetables and bake until the pork is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Top pork chops with additional balsamic mixture and Gorgonzola cheese before serving.