Delicious Dinner

Let me just say, out of all of the stuff I've put together for dinner. . . tonight was by far one of the best ones we've had and was completely vegetarian.

I used this recipe I found online for the baked 'fried' zucchini slices. I followed this recipe about 98%. I used panko bread crumbs instead of any other ones. However, the only recommendation I have is to put the zucchini on either parchment paper or foil directly to avoid the coating from coming off. I had used a rack that I put them on and struggled to pull them off of it without stripping the coating. . . They tasted amazing. I think next time, I might use the same coating method, although use baby portobellos instead to see how that flavors out. And, I snuck in a veggie with dinner. WIN!

For the main part of dinner, I read this recipe and decided to fiddle with it. I decided against parsley and used basil instead and added red onion.

I used a box of quinoa spaghetti noodles. I did use the full 8oz box.

Why you ask? They are traditionally healthier for you than regular noodles and quinoa has an immense amount of nutrients and protein that you wouldn't really expect for a type of grain.

While the zucchini was cooking...

- a pound and a half of roma tomatoes and diced them up (removing the seeds).
- about a quarter cup of red onion
- a quarter cup of kalamata olives
- three tablespoons of garlic
- about two tablespoons of capers
- three tablespoons of basil - I used this instead of fresh basil due to the cost (and it tastes the same)
- about a teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper

I added the six tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and instead of just using it raw like the recipe recommends, I added all the veges and seasonings above and put them in a large deep pan on the stove. I put the heat at medium low and covered it. This broke down the tomatoes a little more and made the onions more palatable since they weren't crunchy anymore. I think the total cook time on that was around 20 minutes. Just watch the liquid in there; if it looks like its burning off (every stove is different) turn down the heat- you want this liquid.

Once the pasta was done, I strained it and added it to the tomato mixture and added the quarter cup of feta cheese and mixed well.

Needless to say, it was enough to feed the both of us and for me to have a little more than three servings (about 1/2-3/4 cup) for lunches or dinner later this week. My man even said the spaghetti was really good. He is a true meat eater, so after tasting it, I believe either a grilled chicken breast diced in there or shrimp would be amazing.

Enjoy!