Antipasto Salad, by Diane

Last night it felt like summer, and all I wanted was a fresh and light dinner. I created this mix of deliciousness and afterwards I realized it kind of reminded me of an antipasto salad- but way better! To make it whole30 compliant, just check the meat doesn’t have any sugars in it. This was delicious, quick, and exactly what I wanted after a hot day in the sun.


Ingredients:

30 baby multicolor heirloom tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, diced
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1 cup black or kalamata olives
1 14.5 oz can hearts of palm, sliced into inch rings
1 14.5 oz can artichoke hearts, cut into bite size pieces
1 package prosciutto, rough chopped
1/4 cup EVOO
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
A splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar


Directions:

Toss everything together and adjust seasonings/oils/vinegars to taste. Eat fresh!

Pan Seared Chicken w/ Tomato-Olive Sauce, by Cheryl

Sooooo I signed up for Blue Arpon. I've been in such a cooking rut lately and needed some inspiration. I like cooking, but just couldn't put forth any more brain power trying to figure out new things for us all to eat. We're only on the second week, but so far it's going well! The recipes have been great and everything is spelled out for me to do. So far this has been my favorite recipe though I feel like there could be more ricotta cheese at the bottom. The dish is creamy, filling, and healthy. Yum!

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 boneless chicken breasts
1.25 cups fregola sarda pasta (israeli or pearl couscous would work too)
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
1oz pitted nicoise olives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
0.7 oz grana padano cheese, grated
1/2 lb sweet peppers, stems and cores removed, medium diced
1 yellow onion, medium diced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp capers
1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1) Boil the pasta and cook for 14-16 minutes, or until tender.

2) While the pasta cooks, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

3) Heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium high until hot. Add the chicken and cook, occasionally pressing down with a spatula, 6-8 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board. Keep warm.

4) Add the diced onion and peppers (add oil if needed). Season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high stirring frequently, 4-5 minutes, or until slightly tender.

5) Add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 30seconds to 1 minute.

6) Add the tomatoes, chopped olives, and capers; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened.

7) Transfer to the pot of cooked pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and stir to combine, season with salt and pepper to taste.

8) While the sauce cooks, in a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

9) Slice the cooked chicken crosswise.

10) Divide the seasoned ricotta among four dishes; spread into an even layer. Top with the finished pasta and sliced chicken. Garnish with the grated cheese.

Pizza Spaghetti Squash, by Diane

Unfortunately my large mixing bowl is also orange!!!

This is week 3's installment of Whole30 dinners. It is easy to throw together for a quick weeknight meal, and tasty too! Recipe from @thewholesmiths

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash, halved and de-seeded

EVOO

Salt and Pepper

1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and sliced or crumbled

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/2 cup roasted mushrooms

Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and nutritional yeast to taste

15 oz. can pizza sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425, roast the squash on a baking sheet skin side down until fork tender after brushing with EVOO and sprinkling with salt and pepper.

2. Shred the squash into a large bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients.

Summer Salad, by Diane

Last night was so hot, I barely felt like eating anything at all for dinner. So I walked to the whole foods in my neighborhood and bought all sorts of summery veggies, a few extras, and threw them together into this amazing salad!! This was so good as a main dish, and would be a great side dish at a summer bbq too! I can't wait to eat it again today!

A few notes- if it hadn't have been so hot I would have grilled or roasted the corn and it would have been a great extra flavor in this dish. Also, I forgot to buy fresh basil so I used dried, but would like to try it fresh next time in sticking with the summer theme! Finally, I would like to say that these ingredients cost me 8.67 at whole foods- I've never spent that little in that store in my life! What a good deal for fresh organic ingredients!


Ingredients:

3 heirloom tomatoes- I picked a yellow, purple, and red/green type for variety
1 just ripened avocado
1/2 large cucumber, peeled
2 ears of corn, cooked/1 large can of corn (optional- grilled or roasted)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup black and green olives, mixed
1/2 cup feta cheese
Basil and parsley
Drizzle EVOO
Sea salt and black pepper
Balsamic vinegar


Directions:

Chop veggies into bite-sized pieces and mix all ingredients together. Toss to mix, refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors meld, toss again and serve!

Halibut with Olive Tapenade, with roasted tomatoes and Israeli couscous, by Cheryl

This meal was awesome! I'm so excited to incorporate it into my dinner rotation. It's very easy, very healthy and very tasty! I ended up doubling the ingredients for the olive tapenade since I know that halibut is a very mild fish in flavor and because I also love olives :) The recipe comes from my Clean Eating magazine. Yum!

Ingredients (original recipe):

12 pitted kalamata or black olives
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp capers, drained
1 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
4 6-oz boneless, skinless halibut fillets
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup Israeli couscous
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400.

2) In a food processor, pulse olives, garlic, capers, and 2 tsp oil until coarsely chopped.

3) In a medium bowl, toss tomatoes with remaininf 1 tsp oil.

4) Arrange halibut and tomatoes in a pan and sprinkle both with salt and pepper. Divide olive mixture over top of halibut. Bake for 15 minutes, or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork and tomatoes are soft and collapsed.

5) Meanwhile, cook couscous according to package directions. Drain, return to pot, and stir in parsley and lemon zest. Serve fish and tomatoes over couscous.

Moroccan Chicken with Lemons and Olives

This is one of my most favorite recipes, so much so that it's hard for me to believe I haven't posted this over the years. It's simple, amazingly tasty, and impressive for company. Combined with a bed of couscous and mint tea you really can't go wrong!


Ingredients:

2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground pepper
4 chicken breasts, cubed and patted dry
2 tbsp EVOO
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
2 lemon peels, sliced thinly
1 cup green olives, pitted (reserve 1/2 cup liquid)

1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4-1/2 cup dates, sliced

Directions:

1. Combine spices in a large bowl, add in chicken and toss to coat. Refrigerate for one hour.

2. Heat EVOO in a large saucepan on medium high heat. Add in chicken and brown on all sides.

3. Lower heat to medium low, add in garlic and onions, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

4. Add in water, lemon juice, and olive liquid to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to loosen any bits that have browned. Add in remaining ingredients, lower heat to low, cover, and cook another 30 minutes. All liquid should be evaporated, if not cover and cook until liquid is gone.