White beans, Zuppa Toscana style

I cooked a two pound bag of white beans yesterday (I think they were navy beans) and was trying to figure out what to do with them for dinner. Then I remembered that when Mom and I went to Olive Garden and had the Zuppa Toscana I mentioned how I would like to try it with beans instead of potatoes. David was getting ready to go to the store so I gave him a list and this is what I came up with.

I set aside 4 cups of the beans for another meal and added about 4 cups of water and some chicken "Better than Bullion" to the beans in the pot.

In a little bacon grease in a skillet I sauteed a diced onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic and then added that to the beans. Salt, pepper and little garlic powder and I let that simmer for about 20 minutes.

I took three Italian sausage links and cut them up into chunks and browned them in the skillet. While they were cooking I added several handfuls of kale to the bean pot and then added the sausage when it was done. We just had bread and butter on the side.

The kids loved it which is usually how I gauge things since David and I like just about anything!

Today I am making polenta and chilling it then I will cut it into squares and heat them in a skillet to go with the leftover soup.

Veggie Pasta and salad

I made this for dinner last night and everyone really liked it. I just made the sauce as I went along and the salad dressing is from a Taste of Home magazine. Remember, I cook for 6 people and even we had a little left over. (just enough for my lunch!)

Sauce:

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced or 1 can of carrots diced
1 tomato, chopped
1 can of chick peas
1 14 oz. can of tomato sauce (I used some leftover spaghetti sauce I had in the freezer)
Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste

Cook the onion in a little oil until it become translucent. Add the garlic, carrot, tomato and chick peas and cook until the tomato starts to break down. Add the sauce and seasonings and cook for about 15 minutes. I just let it simmer while the noodles cooked.

Cook 1 box of whole wheat macaroni. If you don't like chick peas you could leave them out and use a pasta like Barilla Plus which is made with lentils and other protein rich ingredients.

Mix sauce with pasta and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Lemon Salad dressing:

4 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
!/2 c. oil (it called for olive oil but I can't stand it on salad so I used canola)
1/4 c. water (I added this because I cut the oil)

Mix all ingredients well, toss with salad greens and serve immediately or refrigerate dressing until ready to serve. This makes enough for two dinners or one if you have 6 people who really like salad.

We had some hard rolls to round out the meal.

Resolutions, smesolutions

This has nothing to do with it being a new year. I have seriously got to clean out my pantry and get back on track. During the fall when I was (more) depressed I really let things slide. I lost weight when I started my antidepressant but we still need to get back to eating healthier.

Goals for this month:
Main course salads for dinner at least once a week
Protein from a non meat source for dinner at least twice a week
Less wine (boo-hoo)
Healthier daytime snacking for me and the kids