Tuna Orzo Salad

Here's a quick and easy recipe that I recommend for lunch or a lite dinner. I apologize for the photo. I forgot to take one once we plated it.



Ingredients

8 oz. dried orzo pasta

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/4 c. Italian parsley, chopped

1 can tuna fish (fresh tuna would probably be excellent with this as well)

3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. lemon juice

2 t lemon zest
2 t lime zest

1/2 t Dijon mustard

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 t ground black pepper



At least 30 minutes prior to meal time, but less than 2 hours before meal time, make the dressing for the salad. The flavors need time to meld. Whisk lemon juice, zest, mustard, salt and pepper together. Slowly add extra virgin olive oil in a light steady stream while whisking vigorously to combine the juice and oil. Allow to sit for at least 1/2 hour - cover and refrigerate while waiting to use.



Prepare orzo pasta according to package instructions. After cooked, allow orzo to reach room temperature and gently stir in tomatoes, parsley and tuna (or place the tuna on top of the salad for a different presentation). Add 1/4 to 1/2 of the vinaigrette to the salad and stir. Upon serving the salad, drizzle a small amount of vinaigrette on top of each plate.



Bon Apetite!

Pick the Ingredient Results

The ingredient I selected for Dave was couscous. Dave won on the budget side as he spent less than $5 on ingredients. He used chicken breasts from our freezer instead of drumsticks per the recipe ingredients. He had to buy couscous, chick peas, carrots and a turnip. The recipe he used was from Food & Wine Magazine's Quick from Scratch One-Dish Meals Cookbook titled Couscous with Chicken and Chickpeas. It is a Moroccan-inspired dish that has a very earthy flavor. I think this would be a great cool weather dish served in the fall. The use of the various spices provided a very earthy, rich, deep flavor (think Cabernet Sauvignon) and the cayenne pepper provided a little kick at the end. I enjoyed this dish, it was a nice change for us. However, Dave felt it was okay, not one of his favorites.

Ingredients

2 T cooking oil

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 t salt

1/2 t fresh ground black pepper

1 onion, cut into thin slices

1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 T tomato paste

1 t paprika

1 1/2 t ground cumin

1/8 t cayenne pepper

6 c water

3 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 c packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 1/3 c couscous

Even Kaitlyn enjoyed the couscous! She didn't have the chicken because of the heat from the cayenne.

The ingredient Dave selected for me was zucchini. I unfortunately went a little over budget and spent $11.63, but won in the taste department. I decided to find a recipe for a zucchini soup and add a salad for a nice light meal.

I found a Barefoot Contessa recipe that looked easy enough to try. It is called Zucchini Vichyssoise and the link is below.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/zucchini-vichyssoise-recipe/index.html

You may be saying Vichy - WHAT? You say it vish-e-swa. The name is based on the town Vichy in France and the key components to this soup are the potatoes and leeks used in it along with cream and chicken stock. It is my understanding that it is traditionally served cold, but if you refer to the Joy of Cooking, it indicates that you can serve it warm or cold. I'm sure detailed information can be found on the net detailing the origination of this dish.

My mom used to make vichyssoise when I was in high school and I think I teased her relentlessly about eating 'cold' soup, but now that I've matured, it's actually quite nice. I recommend giving it a try. We didn't taste the zucchini as much as the leeks and potatoes, but nonetheless, it was quite tasty. It would work great in place of a salad with a complete meal. Dave said he enjoyed this dish better than his couscous dish.

A couple of notes... a small garnish is nice. We used cucumber, parsley and cream. However, a baguette slice, crouton, some chives and/or a little sour cream might work well too.

Food Challenge - Pick the Ingredient

Dave and I decided to make our cooking fun this week. Instead of picking a theme and each of us a making a dish, we decided that we would pick a key ingredient for the other person to use. The same rules apply in that we can use any food items in our fridge, freezer or pantry and spend up to $10 at the grocery store.

Dave has never been a big fan of couscous, so this is the ingredient I selected for him. He selected zucchini for me as he enjoys it more than I do.

We'll let you know how everything turns out!!

Painting for Daddy!

If you want a fun, creative card for mommy, daddy, grandparents or anyone else, buy some non-toxic paint and have your little one make the card. I recognize that this idea is by no means 'new' or 'outside the box', but it was fun for me to watch Kaitlyn experience painting and see the smile on her daddy's face when we gave him the card.

We bought non-toxic, washable paint at Toys R Us. Kaitlyn got some paint on her clothes and it came out after one wash cycle. Have fun with your little Picasso!!