Pasta and Veggies in 15 Minutes or Less

This is a great little recipe when you don't have much time to cook, or if it's a little too warm to start the oven. My supply of fresh ingredients is running low so I experimented with what I had on hand. Use your favorite fresh veggies for this healthy recipe. I used gluten-free penne pasta and my family grated some fresh parmesan cheese over the top.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh asparagus, I use the tips
12-14 grape tomatoes
2 cups sugar snap peas
2 T olive oil
Garlic, 1 clove, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
1/3 c vegetable stock
Fresh basil, I cut 2 leaves
Penne pasta (12 oz box)
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated cheese, optional
Directions:
Boil the pasta in salted water about 7 minutes, uncovered. In a skillet, add the other ingredients, garlic and oil first, then the stock. Add the fresh herbs and veggies to the skillet and heat over medium heat about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the pasta is cooked and drained, add the veggie mixture. Stir and enjoy!
Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Grilled Orange Roughy

My favorite food choices are often related to family memories, so I wanted to share one of our favorite grilled fish recipes. Our Dad used to take us fishing and we grew up eating the fish we caught ourselves. Then came the time when we had to start buying fish, I searched for types of fish that didn't taste too "fishy". It's hard to accomplish that in the Midwest, we don't always have many choices. We were introduced to orange roughy during a trip to San Diego where my great-uncle treated us to some of the most wonderful seafood we had ever eaten at an establishment called Anthony's. It was the first time we had eaten orange roughy and it was white, flaky and not too fishy tasting. After a few experiments, this is my favorite method to prepare it at home. Serves 4 or 2 with leftovers!
Ingredients:
4 orange roughy fillets
1/4 c fresh cilantro, I use a small handful
* if you are not a cilantro fan use fresh dill, about 1/4 c chopped
2 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon, quartered
1 lime, quartered
salt and pepper to taste

1. Rinse the fish fillets with water and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Spray or rub olive oil on a large piece of tin foil.
3. Place fish on the foil and cover with cilantro or dill.
4. Sprinkle with garlic or garlic powder, salt and pepper.
5. Using your fingers, lightly pat the seasonings into the fish.
6. Squeeze the lemon and lime juice over the fish and place the fish in the foil wrap.
7. Fold the foil over the fish so it is sealed on all edges.
8. Use another layer of foil so the juices stay inside the foil wrap while grilling.
9. Place the foil packet on the grill and cook on medium for 10 minutes on each side (or until flaky).

My garlic secret? I buy the best garlic and garlic powder from Annie's Garlic.


Enjoy!

Love and peace,

~ Simply Tammi

Fresh Veggie Salad

Fresh Veggie Salad

A healthy, simple to make summer veggie salad is a great addition to any meal. You can use any fresh veggies for this salad. I only used a few items for this salad but it still tasted delicious!
Fresh Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus tips, sliced
2-3 cucumbers, sliced
6-8 tomatoes, I used Roma
1 c sugar snap peas
1/2 shallot or onion
1/4 c fresh, chopped basil
2 T freshly chopped dill
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 red wine vinegar
1-2 tsp honey, optional
salt and pepper to taste
(or use your favorite Italian dressing)

1. Cut all ingredients into bite size pieces until you have approximately 5-6 cups of veggies. 
2. Whisk olive oil and vinegar together. I added a little honey to sweeten it up a bit. 
3. If you have a favorite Italian dressing, pour that over the veggies and skip the olive oil and vinegar.
4. Pour dressing over veggies and stir gently until the veggies are coated. 
5. I usually let my salad sit for about 30 minutes. It's great if you let the veggies soak up the dressing before serving.  

Enjoy a blessed day!
Love and peace,
Tammi

Fruit Smoothies

Pineapple-banana smoothie

It finally happened to me...I'm officially addicted to smoothies! I was looking for something filling for breakfast because I wasn't enjoying my hot oatmeal during the summer months. I bought a KitchenAid blender (that I love) and knew I would end up using it to make something delicious! This led me to my current smoothie experiments and they are simply awesome! These are my 3 favorite smoothies (so far): pineapple-banana, banana-vanilla and peach-vanilla bean. 
So try something new and let us know your favorite fruit smoothie ideas!

Pineapple-banana directions:
1 cup V8 Splash Smoothie juice (tropical colada)
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1 banana, peeled
1 cup crushed ice
1/2 tsp coconut extract
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Banana Vanilla Smoothie

Banana-vanilla directions:
1 banana, peeled (fairly ripe)
1/2 c vanilla soy milk (or milk of your choice)
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped insides
1/2 c crushed ice
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Peach Vanilla Bean Smoothie

2 peaches, fresh and sliced (I left the peeling on)
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
1/2 c 1% organic milk (or any milk of your choice)
1/2 vanilla bean, sliced down the middle and the insides scraped
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c crushed ice
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Enjoy a blessed July 4th holiday as we thank those men and women that have made our freedom possible!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi