Hey there Thursday, you came so soon, it’s been a nice week. Except for the 90+ degree heat, and the intense sweating and red face, June is lovely.

Today I have two one-dish dinners to share. The first is a tortellini dish with peppers and olives. I was trying it out for a baby shower in a few weeks. I will make it again then, but maybe with a different pasta because tortellini doesn’t go very far and penne or spaghetti might fill out the dish better. This was a great sized dish for 2-3 people for dinner or 4-5 for a side dish.

Tortellini with Peppers and Olives

Ingredients (serves about 2 for a full dinner, or about 4 as a side dish)

• 2.5 C tortellini, I used Buitoni
• 1 can artichoke hearts
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 C black olives, pitted, I used Lindsay Olives
• 1/3 C Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 C basil, chiffonade
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 C grape tomatoes
• 1 C spinach*
• red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, EVOO

Instructions:

• In a pot large enough for pasta, boil water and cook as according to box, about 10 minutes once water boils.
• In a separate skillet, pour 2 T EVOO and 2 cloves garlic and let saute. Add bell peppers, olives, tomatoes and artichokes and let cook until peppers are soft and grapes are starting to pop.
• In a third pan, steam spinach (could also use microwave, or do this before the vegetables and remove). Spinach is optional but adds a green leafy vegetable. *One cup is for one person, add more if it’s for more people.
• Once spinach is steamed and pasta is cooked and drained, add both to vegetables and mix together. Top with parmesan cheese.
• A sauce is not necessary, but you could use a pesto, marinara, or make your own with olive oil.

My second dish was also a one-dish dinner, but I’ll warn and say Jeffrey didn’t enjoy it. It didn’t help that he doesn’t like broccoli or cherry tomatoes, and those were two of three vegetables I included. I thought it was very tasty, and made great leftovers for lunch. Ignore the sausage, it was not good.

I really like one-dish dinners, especially with quinoa because it’s considered a complete protein. I bulked it up by putting it over spinach. We added sausage for more sustenance, but this brand wasn’t good. I also think one-dish dinners are great for weeknights and are easy to use as leftovers.

For more dishes like these using quinoa, click the “quinoa” tag at the bottom of this post or on the tag cloud sidebar.

Quinoa with Vegetables and a Crunch

Ingredients:

(serves about 4)

• 1 C dry quinoa (I mixed black quinoa and regular)
• 2 C water
• 1/2 C frozen or fresh broccoli (I keep a bag of frozen in the freezer)
• 1/2 C edamame, frozen
• 1 C cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 C Parmesan cheese, grated
• 4 dates, pitted and chopped
• EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic powder, teriyaki
• 1/4 C cashews

Instructions:

• In a soup pot, bring 2 C water to a boil.
• Add 1 C quinoa and stir every few minutes until quinoa dissolves water.
• In a separate pot, add about 1 T EVOO and add broccoli, edamame and cherry tomatoes. Add a dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a splash or teriyaki.
• Stir together until tomatoes start to get soft.
• Add dates and cashews, stirring well together.
• Add quinoa to vegetables and mix well  over low heat to combine.
• Serve over spinach, raw or steamed.

What are your favorite one-dish dinners?

P.S. I had a guest post on one of my favorite blogs–The Weekly Bite. Estela and her family are moving from the DC area to San Diego, and she’s having a baby in a few months. I wrote about some of my favorite healthy snacks to have on hand.

Sometimes people ask me where I come up with recipes. The answer is that I read a lot and try a lot of combinations. I started by following recipes to the T, and then when I became more comfortable in the kitchen, I can sub ingredients, or alter cooking techniques. I still follow recipes, make notes of ideas I have, and read a lot of cookbooks.

This dinner is one instance of how I created a one-pot dish just by looking in my refrigerator and pantry.

Mixed Vegetable Black Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 2 C uncooked spinach
• 1/2 C dry black quinoa
• 1 pear, chopped
• 2 dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 C mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 C snap peas
• 2 T apple juice
• salt, pepper

Instructions:

The thought process of this dish started with quinoa. I have some leftover dry black quinoa from a dish I had a few weeks ago called Black Quinoa Pudding. It cooks the same way as any quinoa but looks so pretty. I also like cooking with quinoa because it is full of protein but acts like a grain. Kind of like a 2 for 1 special.

Then I went to my refrigerator to see what vegetables I could add. This week I had mushrooms, snap peas, and spinach. I like adding spinach because you can get so much bang for your buck when it wilts down. And the snap peas and mushrooms add nice color and texture. Then I added a bell pepper for color and crunch.

I also like putting an apple or pear in with quinoa, and dates go with those. I always have both of those on hand. And to bring out the fruity sweet flavor, I added a tiny bit of apple juice. I keep little juice boxes in the pantry instead of a large container of apple juice. I still don’t finish the whole juice box, but it takes up less space than a container in my refrigerator.

So here’s how it comes together:

• In a sauce pot, combine 1 C water with 1/2 C quinoa. The proportion is always 2:1, so you can do however much quinoa you want. This whole dish was about 2.5-3 dinner servings, so it lasted a few meals. Bring the quinoa to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, or until all liquid has dissolved.
• In a separate pan, steam spinach in a shallow layer of water until wilted. Drain the water from the pan, leaving a little bit left. Add other vegetables and cook together until soft. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add pear and dates and apple juice and cook together.
• When quinoa is done, add it to the vegetable pot and toss together.
• It is ready when everything is hot and combined.

You could use any vegetable you have at home, raisins instead of dates, an apple cider instead of juice, rice instead of quinoa, etc. This is just one technique that can be adapted in many ways.

Sorry for the lack of pictures! I wasn’t planning to make a post of this, but it turned out really delicious and flavorful, and then I realized it would be good to share.

What are your favorite meals to throw together? Are you scared to create your own recipes?