It’s a Cooking Light kind of week. This recipe, which is essentially breakfast pizza, is very satisfying, and not to0 difficult – the hardest part was rolling out the French bread dough.

1 can refrigerated French bread dough

cornmeal to scatter

1/2 a red onion

4 oz (approx 1 link) sweet Italian turkey sausage

2 oz grated fontina cheese

6 eggs

salt and pepper

approx 2 cups arugula

juice from half a lemon

drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut dough in half and roll out into 2 rectangles on a floured surface. Dust two cooking sheets w/ cornmeal and put a rectangle on each sheet.

Heat up a skillet. Sautee onion and sausage until sausage is browned.

Scatter half the sausage mixture and 1 oz cheese on each flatbread.

Bake flatbreads for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Crack 3 eggs over each flatbread – sprinkle eggs with salt and pepper. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to continue cooking in oven for an additional 4-5 minutes.

While eggs are setting, toss arugula with lemon juice and olive oil. Scatter arugula over pizzas and serve. Each flatbread should be cut into 3 pieces – 1 piece is a serving.

This is what I served with pork noodle bowl. Cooking Light recommended serving with a honey/orange mix, but I only had one orange so I wanted to think of a way to stretch it. It’s better if you can section oranges competently, unlike me.

1 orange, divided into sections, juice reserved

half a bunch of asparagus, cut into pieces

honey (a squirt or so)

salt

allspice

Cook asparagus, shocking in ice water afterwards so it retains green color. Whisk together honey and orange juice.

Toss together asparagus, dressing and oranges. Season with salt and allspice.

Tasty, spicy recipe from Cooking Light. It’s super easy, but more of a 40 minute than a 30 minute meal, which I thought it would be going in. Reminiscent of sesame noodles. I bet it would be good garnished with toasted sesame seeds. Mine turned out a bit spicier than expected – I think because of the dried ginger.

olive oil

salt and pepper

8 oz pork tenderloin

8 oz uncooked fettucine

1/4 cup almond butter

2.5 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp fresh ginger (I only had dried and used less)

1 tsp sriracha or chili garlic sauce

1 cup scallions, chopped

1/3 cup chopped mint

Preheat oven to 425.

Drizzle pork w/ olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes on one side, and another 10 minutes on the other. Let rest and then shred. At this point I thought it was a bit bland, so I doused it with soy sauce and returned it to the oven for a couple more minutes.

As that is going on, boil water and cook pasta according to directions. Whisk together almond butter, 2 tbsp of salted pasta water, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and hot sauce.

The recipe serves 4, so divide noodles, pork, sauce and onions/mint evenly between bowls and serve.

Mmm, veggie burgers. Try to contain your excitement, hehe.

These were an interesting twist on the concept, though I found that they fell apart a little when cooked. My second batch were better, and more crisp. This was a Cooking Light recipe.

1 red potato

3 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 tbsp or so chopped parsley

1 tbsp or so preserved lemon (lemon zest is fine to substitute here)

salt and pepper

smoked paprika

2 egg whites

slider buns, whole wheat preferred

For garnish

radishes, sliced

roasted red peppers, sliced

lettuce (I didn’t have any, so omitted)

mayo (I made an aioli, but it was mediocre so I am not posting the recipe)

Microwave or boil potato so it’s cooked – chop roughly. Mash in a pot with a masher with garlic and 1 tbsp oil.

Add chickpeas (reserve 3 tbsp) and mash until combined. Stir in parsley, lemon, whole chickpeas, egg whites and seasonings. Form six to seven patties.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in pan. Cook one batch of chickpeas, browning on each side about 3-4 minutes.

Heat remaining oil, and cook second batch.

Assemble burgers with patty, garnishes and buns.

I made this in the crock pot one morning this week so sick John would have something to wake up to.

2 chicken breasts, cubed

chicken stock

1 onion, chopped

scallions, chopped

4 baby bok choys, chopped

handful baby carrots

cilantro (handful), chopped

sriracha to taste

soy sauce to taste

salt and white pepper

whole wheat egg noodles (a cup or two)

3 cloves garlic, minced

Add all ingredients, except egg noodles, to crock pot.  Cook on high for 4 4 hours or low for 6 ours+.

Cook egg noodles separately and refrigerate. Add noodles to soup and heat through when serving.

I made John breakfast in bed this morning (cue: Awwww), but we were kind of lacking in eggs, etc. This is what I came up with limited egg, a couple potatoes and a leftover link of sausage.

2 eggs

a bit of butter

1 link turkey andouille sausage, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 red potatoes

cumin

salt and pepper

paprika

olive oil

Par cook potatoes – I microwaved mine for a couple minutes.

Heat oil in pan. Sautee onion and garlic for a minute or two. Add sausage and brown.

Add potatoes to pan. Season with salt, cumin and paprika and cook until crispy.

While potatoes are finishing up, in another pan, fry two eggs in a little butter.

Serve pile of hash with a fried egg on top.

This is definitely not a Vietnamese recipe, but the flavor combo and balance reminded me of the cuisine.

asparagus

1-2 tbsp preserved lemon, chopped

sugar

fish sauce

soy sauce

sesame oil

Heat sesame oil in pan. In a prep bowl, whisk together lemon with a little fish sauce and sugar.

Toss asparagus in pan, and sautee with a bit of soy sauce. Cook a minute or two. Pour lemon mixture over asparagus and stir fry until asparagus is cooked.

Got this recipe from the last issue of Gourmet (RIP). Really good, satisfying and surprisingly quick! Pictured here with a side of bok choy.

olive oil
1 large eggplant (1-1.5 pounds)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water (note: I accidentally ommited this from recipe when I made it – still good)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 scallions, chopped
1/5 lb ground veal (I couldn’t find so I used meatloaf mix, which includes veal)
2 tbsp dill
flour

Heat oil in skillet. Brown eggplant with a little salt for five minutes. Whisk together tomato paste, sugar, water and vinegar and add to eggplant with about a third of the scallions. Cook on medium low for about 12 minutes.

While that’s going on, mix veal with dill, some salt, the rest of the scallions and a bit of pepper. Form into cakes – the recipe recommends 4, but I went smaller and made seven of them.

Heat oil in another plan. Dust cakes with flour and fry until golden brown. I cooked them about 6 minutes per side.

Serve cakes over a bed of eggplant.

Quick side dish.

mustard greens

1 spoonful dijon mustard

1 spoonful tarragon vinegar

olive oil

chicken broth

Sautee your greens in a bit of chicken broth until desired tenderness. Remove from heat.

Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard together. Pour over greens.

Loved the sauce for this dish (based on Emeril’s recipe). The shrimp I bought from the store, however, were not very good, bringing down the meal a bit. I ate the leftovers sans shrimp.

1 pound linguine
olive oil
1 cup small diced onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2 to 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1.5 cups canned tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed
salt
chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions

Bring a large 1-gallon pot of salted water to a boil, and cook pasta according to directions.

As the pasta cooks, heat oil in pan. Add the onions to the pan and cook about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and saute another 30 seconds. Add the red pepper flakes and saute briefly before adding the tomato sauce and tomato paste.

Cook the sauce until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in a cup of pasta water and cook a couple minutes more. Remove sauce from heat and toss with pasta.

Adjust seasonings if needed, and add parsley and parmesan.