Sweet Summer Ziti with Spicy Sriracha Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip

Last night, I was feeling incredibly stressed out.  Work has been so overwhelming for me in so many different ways and I was looking forward to coming home and cooking a simple but tasty meal for dinner.  Even at the end of the worst days, I find that cooking dinner can help me clear my head and relax.  While I can never quiet my mind during yoga, there is something so therapeutic and calming about preparing ingredients and tasting flavors to make a dish.

Since it was still fairly warm out, I decided to make a very simple summer pasta dish for dinner.  I put a pot of water on the stove to boil along with a few dashes of salt. While my pasta water started to heat up, I prepped my ingredients by mincing a few large cloves of garlic along with chopping up half a large white onion.  I slowly sauteed the garlic and onion in a pan on medium heat with extra virgin olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt, and crushed red pepper flakes.

By this time, the water began to boil and I  dropped the ziti into the pot.

As the pasta began to cook, I added some pre-cooked sliced sweet chicken sausage to the pan with the softened onion and garlic.

I then added some still frozen peas and a small carton of delicious organic grape tomatoes.

When the pasta was done cooking, I drained it and added the ziti to the pan with the vegetable and chicken sasuage mix.  I also added a bit of the pasta water, a drizzle of olive oil and a bit more red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.  I tossed the pasta, vegetables and chicken sausage together and then covered the pan while keeping the heat on low.

I wanted to make a quick side vegetable dish to go along with the pasta.  Usually I would make a side salad but I was in the mood for something different.  Since I had a bag of baby carrots in the refrigerator, I decided to make a veggie dipping sauce for it.  I had plain lowfat 2% Chobani Greek yogurt on hand and I decided to make this the base of my dip.

I also included some finely chopped white onion, a few minced garlic cloves, and lemon juice to the dip.

To add some spice, I started out by adding red pepper flakes and cumin, along with some salt and pepper to taste.

I threw all of these ingredients in the food processor and pulse it smooth.  When I tasted it, something was misisng so I added a bit of Sriracha sauce and a bit more lemon juice.

By putting together these simple ingredients, the end result was a spicy and tangy dipping sauce that went along perfectly with a side of baby carrots.

The carrots and dipping sauce were a great cold and crunchy side to my warm summer ziti dish. 

I loved that the chicken sausage, grape tomatoes and peas added sweetness to the pasta which contrasted well with the salty grated Parmesan cheese that I topped the pasta with at the last minute.  I love making summer pasta dishes without the heavy red sauces because the pasta seems so much lighter, fresh and vibrant.  With last night's heat wave, this was a perfect summer ziti dish.

What do you like to make on a warm summer evening? 

Spicy Shrimp and Chicken Sausage Stir Fry

On Tuesday night, I was happy to find myself alone in the apartment.  B was off at the Celtics game for a guy's night out and I was ecstatic to be able to get some alone time.  I had some pretty low key plans - laundry, wrapping a housewarming gift, and catching up on some DVR.  I wanted to cook myself something simple but tasty for dinner and I ultimately settled on throwing together a simple stir fry.

Since B doesn't like shellfish, I rarely cook with it when I'm cooking for the two of us.  So when he is not around, I tend to try to incorporate shellfish into my meal.  I have a bag of frozen shrimp on hand so I took out about half a dozen of them and dethawed them.

I then got to work on my other ingredients.  I chopped up half a large white onion that was leftover in the fridge.

I also chopped two cloves of garlic along with some green onion.

We also had two leftover spicy Italian chicken sausages in the fridge, which I sliced up.

I wanted to make the stir fry spicy so I picked a few ingredients from the pantry to work with:

The beauty of a stir fry is how easy it is to cook.  I started out by heating up a pan on the stove with some olive oil.  I first added the chopped onion to the pan.

After the onion had softened a bit, I added some fresh cracked pepper, coarse salt, cayenne pepper and the spicy chipotle rub to the onions. 

I then added the coarsely chopped garlic cloves and the sliced chicken sausage to the pan.

When the chicken sausage had sufficiently browned, I added a few splashes of the Pickapeppa Sauce along with the chopped green onion and the shrimp.

At this point, I lowered the heat and put a lid on the pan.  I wanted to let all of the spicy flavor blend together.  When I opened the lid, the spicy aroma was so intoxicating.  As much as I love spice, I wanted to mellow out the heat so I grated some leftover cheddar cheese on top of the stir fry when I plated it.

I absolutely loved this improptu dish.  The stir fry had a lot of heat and I loved the combination of the green onion, chicken sausage and the shrimp.  I thought that the plate was really inviting in color but I will admit that it probably lacked some crunch.  Next time I would consider adding some water chestnuts or celery to give some contrast without taking too much away from the flavor.  Regardless, this spicy shrimp and chicken sausage stir fry was the perfect dish when I was cooking for one.  I was happy that there was enough leftover for lunch the next day.  The leftover stir fry really soaked in all of the spicy flavors overnight and I think it might have been even better for lunch.

 We all like to cook for ourselves sometimes.  This leads me to ask - If you cook for someone else like a roommate, family or signficant other on a regular basis, what do you like to make when you are just cooking for yourself?