More pasta.....it's good for you

This is my 100th post! Be excited. I sure am.

Tonight, I continued my game of "how many CSA vegetables can I get into one dish?" It's a really fun game. I eat healthy, I cook with new things, Zack doesn't bother me about how I never use vegetables......everybody wins.

Tonight, my dish is very similar to last nights.....whoops. It's different though and it's still good.

CSA Grab Bag Pasta

1 box whole wheat rotini
1 bulb fennel, chopped, fronds reserved
1/2 can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 package ground turkey
1 bunch swiss chard
fresh basil
salt
pepper
olive oil

1. Boil your water, salt it good, and cook your pasta al dente.

2. Heat some olive oil in a saucepan (not too much), and saute your fennel.

3. Add your turkey and season it well. Brown it up good! Remember, raw turkey = death.

4. Remove the stems from your swiss chard. I don't usually do that, but I thought that the stems would be weird in pasta. Chop up the leaves and throw it in the pan with the fennel and the turkey. Wilt it down.

5. Squish up your tomatoes and throw them in the pan. Add more salt and pepper and let it all break down. It looks pretty right?


6. Now add your pasta! Let it all heat together and let the flavors mix.

7. Eat it! Add some cheese if you want. I love cheese.


I feel like I have to make more varied things.....any suggestions?

I can't cook under these conditions....

...but I try anyways. Boxes are everywhere, my utensils are in a plastic bag on top of a filing cabinet, I can't find most of my pots and pans, but I soldier on, because I have a fridge full of CSA vegetables to use. Since all I've really been able to locate is one pot, one pan and a cutting board, I make a lot of simple dishes - no food processor, nothing that would require me to wash a lot of dishes or use a lot of space. Here's tonight's adventure. It's just me this time, so I've made it small. No leftovers! If you're not here, you can't eat my food.

Whole Wheat Bowties with Beef and Fennel

1/4 box whole wheat bowties
1 small bulb fennel
2 oz thin sliced beef
a few canned tomatoes (or fresh ones, I had canned)
a sprig of fresh basil, ripped up
salt
pepper
oregano

1. Boil water, make pasta to al dente (a little firm). While it cooks, make the rest of the dish.

2. Heat a pan on over high heat and add some olive oil.

3. Slice the beef into strips, salt and pepper them. Throw them in the pan. Let them get brown on one side, then the other. Take them out and set them aside so that they don't overcook.

4. Turn the heat down. Chop up your fennel (minus the fronds, save those for later) and throw it in the pan. Let it get a little brown.

5. Squish some tomatoes, throw them in as well. Add some salt and pepper and oregano. Let it all mix together.

6. Add the beef back in, then the cooked pasta. Then throw on some of the fennel fronds and the basil.

Eat it! I crumbled a tiny bit of ricotta salata on top, but it would be good with any cheese (or no cheese) or whatever you want.

I forgot to take a picture before I ate it. I'm really bad at that. It would have just been a cell phone picture anyways.