I have spent the majority of my work-week celebrating the joys of mass transit.  If you don't know me, and you've been reading this blog thinking to yourself, "Wow, Katie seems incredibly patient and full of love" - then I've haven't been communicating properly.  I am pretty irritable and impatient - and if I'm being honest - mass transit brings out the hater that lives within.  So when I disembarked from the NJ Transit today at 5pm - let's just say I wasn't awesome to be around.

Which brings me to the hell-ride that was my local grocery store.  I thought - "this would be a nice night to cook" - I thought wrong.  Maybe you didn't know this - so let me share my newly acquired knowledge....DO NOT GROCERY SHOP ON THE FRIDAY BEFORE A HOLIDAY WEEKEND.  Do I sound bitter?  I do?  Ok then, on to the good news...

Due to the crowd at the grocery store and my indecisiveness - this recipe is a Katie Safrey original.  I knew going in to the store that I wanted to make pesto - but when I got too frustrated with the lack of fresh basil, I just grabbed arugula (although, I wasn't sure if the recipe for arugula pesto needed to be modified - walnuts instead of pine nuts? I still have no idea).  Then I started thinking about baked ziti - and figured if I made a pesto and mixed it with some fat free ricotta cheese and ziti - then melted some cheese on top - I'd have a healthy-ish masterpiece on my hands.  And I gotta tell you....I'm proud of the result.

Arugula is so peppery - it makes a really unique pesto, and the ricotta really helped the pasta to hold moisture and added some creaminess.  The beauty of pesto is that you can't screw it up.  Too dry? Add more olive oil.  Not dry enough? Add more arugula.  Needs flavor? Add a bit more parmesan.  And always make a double batch of pesto - you can use it for 2-3 days on crackers, in pasta and on chicken breast.

One day when I'm famous with my own cookbook - you'll be demanding this recipe...so without further adieu....

Saf-tastic Arugula Pesto Bake

Ingredients

For the Pesto:
4 cloves of garlic (I love garlic - if you don't, or are making this for a date, reduce this to two cloves)
2 cups of arugula (packed)
1/2 cup parmesan (grated)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
salt and pepper (taste the pesto, if you need salt and pepper - add it to taste)

For the Rest:
1 lb ziti
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 shakes of chili garlic sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat  the oven to 350.  Put a pot of salted water on for the pasta.  Now it's pesto time - put all ingredients for the pesto in your food processor and combine until smooth (like I said above, if it seems dry add oil).  Combine the pesto with the ricotta cheese, red pepper flakes, chili garlic sauce and salt and pepper.  Combine the cooked pasta with the pesto/ricotta sauce and mix well - I used a large foil baking dish (same dish you'd use for baked ziti - can you tell this is a pretty informal recipe?).  Taste this combination - adjust season based on what your tastebuds are telling you.  Top with mozzarella cheese (and if you are on the "ish" side of healthy-ish, top that with a sprinkle of parmesan).  Bake for 15 minutes, remove and enjoy with a glass of Pinot Grigio.

Last night I was so excited to tell you about this recipe.  Then tonight, I got even more excited when I tasted the leftovers (after a day of relaxation in the fridge).  So without further adieu...I give you....

A recipe from Rick Bayless for Beef and Potato Salad with Smoky Chipotle.  Before I get into how delicious this recipe is, and how amazingly easy it was to prepare - I have to ask, Rick Bayless will you marry me?  Seriously, this recipe is that good.

Once the warm beef hit the potatoes and mixed with the chipotles and a dash of vinegar and salt - the result was incredible.  Once the creamy avocado was mixed it - it was literally perfect.  This dish was so simple - simple preparation, easy to find whole ingredients.  It's the healthy-ish definition of meat and potatoes.

This recipe is listed on Rick's website as an appetizer that serves as a topping for tostadas.  Since it was Sunday (our big supper day) we spooned this on to soft warm corn tortillas, with a small side of spanish rice.  For tonight's dinner, I slimmed this down a bit by eating it as a cold potato salad right out of the fridge.  I HIGHLY recommend the latter.  Once the tortillas were gone I could really taste the flavors.  I also cut the rice because it's Monday (no need to carbo-load two nights in a row).  To keep this healthy-ish, be sure to portion this for 4 (although it's tempting to do 3).  There is 3/4 of a lb of beef and 3 potatoes in this recipe - if you are cooking for two, you will have the perfect amount for leftovers. 

In other news - this went really well with Corona Light (add a pinch of salt and a lime and you won't miss the calories).

So make this - seriously, go make this.  And happy Monday - eat well and enjoy your week!

Beef and Potato Salad with Smoky Chipotle (Salpiccon de Res al Chipotle)

Ingredients
3/4 pound stewing beef (preferably from the chuck), cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt
3 (about 3/4 pounds) medium-size boiling potatoes, cut into roughly 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 to 3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
1 small red onion, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
1 medium, ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions

Scoop the beef into a medium saucepan, cover it generously with water, add 2 teaspoons salt and set over high heat.  When the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low.  Skim off the grayish foam that rises during the first few minutes of simmering.  Partially cover and simmer until the meat is fall-apart tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, remove the meat to a plate to cool.  Scoop the potatoes into the meat broth (if there isn't enough to cover the potatoes, add water) and simmer over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes. 

Use the slotted spoon to scoop the potatoes into a medium bowl, sprinkle with vinegar.  Break the up the meat into coarse shreds and stir it into the potatoes, along with the chipotles, onion and olive oil.  Let cool completely, then taste and season with salt if you think necessary.  Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. 

Just before serving, scoop the mixture into a wide serving bowl and mix in the avocado.