Wine, dessert and delicious soup!

Curried Coconut-Squash Soup from The Runner's World Cookbook 

(pre-run, gluten-free, fast, low-calorie)

3 cups fresh or frozen cubed butternut squash

1/4 cup water

1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup low-fat plain greek yogurt

Put the squash in a microwavable dish. Add the water and loosely cover the dish. Steam it in the microwave on high for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the squash is soft. Let it cool in the microwave for 1 minute. 

In a blender, combine the squash, coconut milk, broth, curry powder, and salt. Puree until smooth. 

Transfer the soup to a pot and heat over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until gently simmering. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a dollop of yogurt. 

THANKS SUSAN!

Bolognese Lasagna

Trader Joe's Bolognese Lasagna: (shared by Courtney)

Ingredients

1/2 Box "no boil" lasagna noodles 

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Jar Trader Joes Alfredo Sauce  

1 jar Trader Joes Bolognese Meat sauce   

1 lb Trader Joes Uncooked Sweet Italian Chicken sausage   

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the casing from all the sausage links; place sausage in a large skillet and pan fry until done. Add bolognese sauce to pan; mix and warm through. Set aside. Spread thin layer of Alfredo sauce on the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. Top with a (single)layer of lasagna noodles. Spread a thin layer of meat sauce on top of the noodles, top with a thin drizzle of Alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese on top with another layer of noodles. Keep layering in the same sequence until all of the ingredients have been used, making sure that the final top layer cheese. Bake for 45 minutes until bubbly.

*Serves six

PLEASE NOTE:  Courtney made a few modifications to the recipe above--> "I like it really cheesy so I use a bag and a half of the Quattro farmarggio cheese mix. Instead of bolognese sauce I use the three cheese marinara and I also add sautéed spinach and mushrooms to the chicken sausage before layering"

Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce Wraps- shared by Susan 

Ingredients:Ground turkey or chicken
Water chestnuts, drained and chopped
Green onions, chopped
Roasted peanuts, chopped
Carrots, diced (I buy the bag of slivered carrots from Trader Joe's, then dice those)

Iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves

2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 pkg Lee Kum Kee (Panda Brand) Sauce for Lettuce Wraps (in the asian food aisle at the grocery store)

Directions:
Heat oil over high heat in large frying pan or wok.
Add chicken or turkey and stir fry until browned. 
Add all vegetables, stir fry another 2 minutes
Add 3/4 pouch sauce. Bring to a simmer. Add peanuts. 

Save some sauce for drizzling into lettuce cups.

ENJOY!

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas

Zoe hosted book club and provided a delicious main dish.  

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas

4 servings

Ingredients:

1 – 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken

2 Tbs. Butter

2 Cups chopped Onions

½ Cup chopped Scallions

2  15oz. cans of Chickpeas (Garbanzos)

1 Cup Water

1 Tbs. Minced Garlic

1 Tsp. Ground Ginger

¾ Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

½ Tsp. Black Pepper

¼ Tsp. Ground Red Pepper

½ Cup Chopped Cilantro

Directions:

-       Melt butter in pot.  Add chicken (cut into whatever size pieces you prefer) and brown on both sides.  Remove all chicken to a plate.

-       Add onions and scallions to the pan.  Cook 5 -7 min.

-       Stir in chickpeas (drained), water, garlic, ginger, salt, cinnamon, black pepper and red pepper.

-       Return the chicken to the pan and coat.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cover tightly and cook 35 – 45 min., stirring occasionally.

-       Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

-       Serve with rice, cous cous or quinoa.  

Beet Nectarine Salad

Thanks to Molly we had an AMAZING Beet Nectarine Salad.

Beet Nectarine Salad

Spinach
Sliced nectarines
Steamed sliced beets, cooled
A handful of chopped red onion
Chopped pecans
Goat cheese sprinkled on top
Dressing - Brianna's creamy balsamic

YUM!

Orzo with Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette

Orzo with Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette (shared by Talia)

1lb orzo pasta
1lb cherry tomatoes

Vinaigrette
1/2 c packed fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp Agave sweetener
1 Tbsp smoked salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the tomatoes in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes are tender and the skins are charred in spots, about 15 mins.  set aside to cool.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 mins.  Drain and place in a large serving bowl.

For the vinaigrette:  place th tomatoes, basil, vinegar, olive oil, agave, and smoked salt in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour vinaigrette over the pasta and toss until coated.  Season with smoked salt and pepper to taste.  Top with Parmesan.