Pearl Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes

When watching what I eat and spend, I think its really important to make lists. A weekly dinner list and, from that, a grocery list. This helps me do two things. One, I know whats for dinner every night and, ensuring its a tasty or new item, it keeps me from making poor choices for my late afternoon snack. For example, I am less likely to grab something high in calories and fat (bag of chips, candy bar, fries...) and more likely to eat a piece of fruit and/or yogurt because I want to save room for the upcoming dinner.
Two, by making the list that includes only the items I need for the week I am reducing my spending and also food waste as I am not buying anything that will not be used. The list includes items for lunchmaking and snacks, of course. It works 95% of the time for me; there are definitely splurge buys here and there.
I was looking through the fridge last Saturday, scoping out what we already had on hand before I created our weekly dinner menu. Turns out, last week was that rare 5% of the time I over buy. We had an abundance of Splendido tomatoes in there, all with that early shriveley-skin sign of "Use me now or lose me".


Splendido tomatoes, like a large Grape tomato but not as large as a Roma


I immediately went online and looked up roasted tomatoes. I found Pearl Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes on Epicurious and couldn't be happier with the results. I changed the recipe a bit and here is what I added or swapped:

1. Added fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs to the roasting tomatoes; tossed them when the roasting was done
2. Caramelized a medium yellow onion in 2 tsp olive oil before adding the couscous and toasting it in the pan for about 5 minutes.
3. Reduced the amount of olive oil in the dressing to 3T instead of 1/4 cup.

As a main meal, it was satisfying. I think it would be fantastic with grilled garlic shrimp or sardines.

Mushroom Mania

I love lasagna. Who doesn't? Sometimes, though, I get a little tired of the same ol' pasta, filling, sauce, repeat. Well, really, I don't. But what I do like is finding a recipe that can satisfy the lasagna urge for vegetarians, gluten free-ians and health conscious folks combined. Based on an Eating Well recipe, I've added a few ingredients to really boost the flavor and vegetable content.

*Stuffed Portabellos*
serves 6

6 large portabello mushroom caps
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
1 cup finely chopped fresh broccoli
2 T finely chopped kalamata olives
1 tsp granulated onion (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried marjoram (or basil)
1 1/2 cup prepared marinara sauce
1 cup whole wheat pasta (or rice, or polenta if you need it gluten-free)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat a foil lined baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Gently remove stems and gills from the mushrooms by scraping them lightly with a spoon. Place the caps bottom side up on the pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and roast until tender, about 20-25 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, broccoli, garlic, olive oil, remaining salt, pepper, onion, oregano, marjoram, 2T Parmesan and olives. Heat marinara sauce in the microwave and keep covered to keep warm.
4. Set a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to instructions.
5. When the mushrooms are tender, remove them from the oven and carefully drain off any liquid that accumulated in the caps. Return them to the pan and add 1 T marinara sauce to each, making sure to spread it to the edges of the cap. Mound about 1/3 cup of the filling into each cap and sprinkle the tops with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve one cap over 1/2 cup pasta topped with a few tablespoons of marinara.

Nutrition Info:
287 calories; 7 g fat (4g saturated); 26g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 13 g protein; 7g sugar

WW points: 6