a quick weeknight dinner that won’t weigh you down
Sniff sniff.
I got a nasty cold over the weekend and it sidelined my productivity. That just makes me so mad, ya know? 😷 😤 I’m feeling better now, but it definitely knocked out a good workout streak I had going on. I only left the couch on Saturday to force myself to shower, because when you look good, you feel good. Kind of. I have this whole issue with my appearance that I don’t want to go into right now, but let’s say I looked as good as Annie could look with red nostrils and pillow hair. I have a friend, Emma, and she looks like a cute little snow pup all the time. When she’s sick, she looks like a cute little red-nosed snow pup. I’m Yeti. Rawr.
I did not feel like cooking much. I ate leftovers and Jason ate beaucoup pizza and worked on his bike while I watched a lot of Netflix from my blanket igloo.
On Sunday night, I decided to pull myself off of the couch and see what I could make. I’d had these frozen artichokes for ages, because I’d made these pea-artichoke tacos that were quite good, but for reasons and other reasons, never made it to the blog. I was super glad I still had them in the freezer, because they made for an excellent quick-and-ready comfort meal.
I am usually doubtful about how frozen veggies will roast up. I’d bought these anyways because I dislike having to fight with the whole artichoke. I love eating them in the pull-leaf-and-scrape-with-your-teeth fashion, but chopping chokes down the the heart is too much work.
Frozen artichokes roast of beautifully, just like you’d want them to. I have always adored artichokes, and I really want to start incorporating them more here. They are citrusy and meaty and elegant in down-to-earth kind of way. As I am talking about them, I am loving them more and more.
It’s not shown in the photos, but I totally sprinkled cheese on top. You should too. Did anybody else see this article about cheese basically being a drug? That explains a great deal. A great deal.
Ingredients
- 8 cups of packed-ish kale
- 3 roasted garlic cloves (or garlic powder equivalent)
- a few sprigs of thyme
- a tiny drizzle of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 servings of pasta
- 2 cups of frozen artichoke hearts
- lemon juice
- sesame seeds
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- sesame seeds
- 2 servings of gf dry pasta
- shredded cheese, optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450
- Place artichoke hearts on a tray and drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with lemon juice and salt an pepper
- Roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway through
- Prepare pasta per box instructions
- Wilt kale in the microwave, about 1-2 minutes
- Combine all the the kale pesto ingredients in a blender.
- Toss pasta in the kale pesto, top with roasted artichoke hearts, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with love and cheese.