I like to shop at three grocery stores: Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Costco. I used to go to all three in the same weekend, talk about taking up an entire day! Now, I just pick one for the week and stick to that store. Lately, Trader Joe's has been my jam, I love that I can get so many prepackaged ingredients to make meals easier. For some reason, as the days are getting shorter, I feel like so is my time to get things done. Who knows, but either way I love you Trader Joe's and thank you for making my life easier in the kitchen.
I have to give my lovely, big sister credit for the first recipe. She made it for me one fall when I went to visit and I've been making it ever since. It's a quick and easy pasta dish that barely has you lifting a finger. Your entire house will smell like broccoli, fyi, but the dish itself tastes so good.
The second dish is a soup recipe made with their Holiday Vegetable Hash. It has chopped up sweet potatoes, butternut squash, red onion, garlic and herbs. It's a huge flavor boost and again, you don't have to do anything except throw it in the soup pot.
Butternut Squash Noodles wth Roasted Veggies
Ingredients:
1 Package of Fall Zucchette Pasta
1 Package of Broccoli Slaw
1 Package of Cherry Tomatoes (Optional)
2 Garlic Cloves Minced
Olive Oil
Salt + Pepper
Pecorino Romano
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
On the baking sheet, drizzle the broccoli slaw and tomatoes with olive oil, garlic and salt/pepper. Roast for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, toss the pasta and veggies. Top with the pecorino and season with more salt to taste. You can also add some fresh chopped oregano or basil if you have it.
Harvest Vegetable Soup with White Beans
Ingredients:
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 container of harvest vegetable hash
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cans of white beans, rinsed and drained
6 cups of chicken stock
1 lemon juiced
1/4 cup of fresh parmesan grated
Directions: In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute' the vegetable hash and garlic until softened for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add in the bay leaf, white beans and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Off the heat, add in the lemon juice and fresh parmesan. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.
