Great Lunch Ideas You Can Take To Work

Debbie K., a Simple Daily Recipes email subscriber, emailed me the other day. She said, “I’d really like some great lunch ideas that I can take to work maybe heat up in the microwave, things that can be made before hand that are hopefully tasty and healthy.” HERE’S WHAT I’VE COOKED UP BEFORE Minestrone with Pasta and Beans Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup No Heartburn Beef Chili Very Delicious Cream of Zucchini Soup Red Bean Tortilla Soup Butternut Chicken Stew Organic Italian Soup REAL Chicken Chili Sponsored by: Menus 4 Moms Busy Moms Menu Planning

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Great Lunch Ideas You Can Take To Work

Shrimp in Zippy Tomato Sauce

You can make the tomato sauce base as mild or spicy as you prefer.  I started with a mild tomato sauce then added the spicy goods at the end when I brought the shrimp and sauce together.  I kept aside half of the mild sauce for the sensitive folks in my family.  That’s just the way I have to roll. HERE’S HOW EASY THIS IS 6 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 1 small red bell pepper, seeded & chopped 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 (14 ounce) can plum tomatoes, chopped with their juice salt and freshly ground pepper 2 pounds shrimp, peeled & deveined 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried 1 piece dried chili, crumbled or chopped (optional) OR 1-2 teaspoons of the tomato sauce that comes from the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce Serves 6 In a heavy saucepan, heat half of the oil.  Add the onion, and cook over low heat until soft.  Stir in the celery and chopped bell pepper, and cook for 5 minutes more.  Raise the heat to medium high, and add the red wine vinegar and tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer until the veggies are soft, about 30 minutes.  Puree the sauce through a food mill OR a food processor then push it through a sieve with a spatula. Set tomato sauce aside. Heat the remaining oil in a clean heavy saucepan.  Stir in the garlic, parsley and chili, if using.  Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the garlic is golden.  Do not let it brown.  Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Taste for seasoning. Stir in the shrimp. Bring the sauce back to a boil.  REDUCE heat slightly and simmer until the shrimp are pink and firm, 4-6 minutes, depending on their size.  Remove from the heat and serve. My Notes It would be just as easy to use leftover, homemade tomato sauce from a previous spaghetti dinner. I happened to have been given garlic pickled with habeneros and used them instead of fresh garlic – WOW! They were HaahhOT & YUMMY! I didn’t have a dried chili on hand.  But I had some …

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Shrimp in Zippy Tomato Sauce

Tomato and Chickpea Soup

Mouth watering and full of fresh flavors, this soup was an instant winner with the family.  My son loved the soft chunky tomatoes and rice; I loved the fresh cilantro and chickpeas – OH it was ALL GOOD! HERE’S ALL IT TAKES 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 (14 oz) can cooked chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups home cooked chickpeas 3 cups water or vegetable broth 1 cup cooked rice 1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes with juice 2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped salt and fresh ground pepper In a large pot over medium heat, cook onion until soften.  Add garlic, chickpeas, water, cooked rice, tomatoes, paste,  and dried parsley.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in chopped cilantro, season with salt & fresh pepper to taste.  Remove from heat, let stand for about 7 to 10 minutes to blend the flavors.  Soup will thicken up, too.  You’re ready to eat! Tastes wonderful with fresh baked bread on the side. Sponsored by: Menus 4 Moms Busy Moms Menu Planning

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Tomato and Chickpea Soup

Pasta with Red Bell Pepper and Mexican Zucchini

I picked up a few Mexican zucchinis the other day.  They’re the ones that look like a fat zucchini with a lighter green skin.  Mexican zucchini have a much milder flavor than the darker skin variety. HERE’S ALL I DID fettuccine for four 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 Mexican zucchini, grated 2 peperoncini peppers, sliced 1 teaspoon dried parsley 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning salt & pepper to taste crumbled feta cheese or parmesan red pepper flakes (for an optional bit of heat) While waiting for the pasta water to come to a boil, prep the vegetables.  Right before it’s time to cook the pasta, heat the olive oil in a medium fry pan of medium heat.  Add the pasta to the boiling water and set the timer for the recommended time on the package. Add the onion and bell pepper to the fry pan and cook until onion begins to soften.  Add zucchini, peperoncini peppers, dried parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, cook for up to 5 minutes or until the timer goes off.  The vegetables are better with a little bite to them. After the pasta is cooked and drained off, toss it together with the vegetables, drizzle a little olive oil on top, then add crumbled feta or parmasan cheese.  Save the red pepper flakes for folks to add themselves. You’re ready to eat! This recipe is very good the next day for lunch, too. Sponsored by: Menus 4 Moms

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Pasta with Red Bell Pepper and Mexican Zucchini

Jalapeno Cilantro Soup

This soup is SPICY. I do not recommend it for the sensitive folks out there.  This one’s for the heat lovers that like to sweat while they eat.  I found this recipe delicious!  I can’t help wonder how it would taste if I used poblano peppers instead of jalapenos. HERE’S ALL IT TAKES 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 5 fresh jalapenos, stemmed and seeded 3/4 cup finely chopped onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 avocado, peeled and diced 2 cups chopped peeled and seeded tomatoes 8 cups heavy cream 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Mince the jalapenos and set aside.  In a large heavy saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat.  Add the jalapenos, onion and garlic and saute, stirring, until vegetables are softened (not browned). Remove from heat and stir in the avocado, tomatoes and cream.

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Jalapeno Cilantro Soup

Roasted Eggplant Spread

Roasted Eggplant Spread is scrumptious with crackers or toasted baguette slices.  It’s very good dolloped on top of ravioli, as a substitute for red sauce.  It’s hard to stop eating once you get started; thankfully it’s healthy for us. I’ve served this up many times to friends and as the weekend snack food.  The recipe comes out of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook .  I don’t follow it exactly, because I doesn’t always have tahini or parsley on hand.  I’m a cilantro person. And I always forget the cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Anyhoo.  Even without these ingredients, my version leaves folks craving for more. For Ina’s recipe, buy the book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook .  It’s loaded with wonderful grown up recipes that would make you the star of any gathering. HERE’S ALL IT TAKES IN MY KITCHEN 1 large eggplant, peeled 1 large red bell pepper, seeded 1 red onion, peeled 3 garlic cloves, chopped olive oil kosher salt fresh ground pepper Heat the oven to 400ºF. Cut the eggplant, bell pepper and onion into 1-inch pieces.  Pile the vegetables on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over vegetables; toss with clean hands to ensure that the vegetables are well coated but not too oily.  Add a couple of pinches of salt and pepper, hand toss again. Roast anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, until the vegetables are

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Roasted Eggplant Spread

Deli-Style Rye

Another example of the beautiful and scrumptious bread recipes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day .  I can’t stop the wonderful madness of baking bread.  It’s a part of me now; I&#

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Deli-Style Rye

Lemony Shrimp and Rice for Lunch

Zesty and light, shrimp sauteed in butter and lemon juice mixed with rice is a great lunch treat. I caught this shrimp, on sale of course, and couldn’t resist treating myself.  My husband and kids are NOT shrimp eaters, so I rarely cook it.  Have you ever noticed that you don’t see a lot of fish or shell fish on this site?  That’s why. Anyhoo. HERE’S ALL I DID 6 to 8 shrimp, already shelled & deveined 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper (it was on hand) 2 tablespoons unsalted butter juice from half a lemon salt & pepper 1/2 to 1 cup cooked rice (leftovers) 2-3 tablespoons cilantro or parsley Since the cooked rice was really a leftover, I warmed it up in the microwave first. In a medium fry pan over medium heat, cook bell pepper 2 minutes or so in butter, add shrimp, lemon juice, salt & pepper.  Cook shrimp until it becomes white, 1 1/2 minutes on each side.  Shrimp cooks fast! so don’t walk away. Add in the warmed rice and cilantro, toss together, cook just a minute or two more to get the rice hot.  Fix yourself a plate and EAT UP! Sponsored by: Menus 4 Moms Busy Moms Menu Planning

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Lemony Shrimp and Rice for Lunch