Green beans with tomatoes, olives and eggs

Whew! What a weekend. I shot my first wedding over the weekend, which turned out to be an incredible experience. The rest of the weekend involved sickness, sickness and more sickness. I had a parenting moment on Saturday ("moment" = 3-hour period) that I will never forget, for as long as I live. I won't go into details because I will shortly be talking about food and I do not wish to turn anyone away from reading! So, yes, the weekend is done and I am somewhat thankful for that.

Abrupt change of subject here. Food! Salads! If you've been reading for a while, you know that I am quite fond of The Salad. I salivate over salads the way most people salivate over fried chicken. Or sweets. Or Chinese food. This green bean salad is such a simple concept, but the flavors are anything but simple. It is such a delicious combination of flavors that will keep you coming back to the fridge until the bowl is empty. 

(Source: Food Everyday: Martha Stewart)

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook 1 pound of trimmed green beans until crisp-tender, 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Halve the beans and place in a large bowl. Add:

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste

Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Click here for a printable recipe!

Spicy tomato-olive sauce

This post written by the original Ebby.

It's Friday! It's sunny! Tonight I get to visit a great friend. We're making guacamole and grilling chicken. It's one of the first days in recent memory that the wind isn't whipping around at 30 mph. The grass is green and there are tiny leaves on the trees. And I have plans for delicious tomato sauce with pasta for lunch (again). All of these things make me one happy girl.

This sauce has turned into somewhat of an obsession. I've made it three times this week. What is wrong with me?

The thing is, it's fabulous. And easy and super-fast. By the time my pasta is done, the sauce is ready! What could be better? It blows jarred sauce out of the water and uses standard pantry ingredients. Perfect!

Here's what you do:

Warm 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add two cloves of minced garlic and cook for another minute.

Grab a can of diced tomatoes and dump it in with the onions and garlic. Chop 1/4 cup each of black and green olives; throw 'em in. Then add 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Salt and pepper to taste.

After simmering for about 10 minutes it should be slightly thickened and ready for eating.

I've been adding cooked chicken to my sauce and using it over spaghetti, topped with a sprinkling of feta cheese. Yum! It would also be great with ground beef or shrimp. Sauteeing mushrooms along with the onion and garlic sounds wonderful too.

Around here the fresh oregano and basil at the grocery store leave much to be desired. So until mine is ready to harvest, I stick with the dried stuff. But if you're lucky enough to get your hands on some fresh herbs, using them instead would certainly add a great burst of flavor.

This sauce definitely puts out some heat. If you need to tone it down you can halve the amount of red pepper flakes.

Happy Friday!

Click here for a printable recipe!

Parmesan-olive wedges

This tasty, olive-y treat was one of my favorites from Ebby's and my Bloggy Day a few weeks ago. I'm a total sucker for olives. They are one of my all-time favorite foods. As with The Mushroom, I will never understand my husband's dislike for them. It perplexes me.

For those of you in my camp, the olive-loving one, you really must try this recipe. It is delicious.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and generously coat it with cooking spray. Remove one crust from a 15-oz. package of rolled refrigerator unbaked pie crusts. Unroll the crust into an 11-inch circle and place it onto the greased aluminum foil. Allow it to stand according to package directions.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add to the skillet:

1 cup chopped leek (white parts only)

1/2 cup chopped fennel

Cook for 5 minutes, or until tender.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in:

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Spread the mixture onto the center of the pastry, leaving the outer 1 1/2 inches uncovered. Fold the uncovered pastry up over the filling.

Bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the crust is golden brown. Cut into 8 wedges and serve warm.

Mmmmmmm, olives..

Click here for a printable recipe!