Devon's Cooking...Food to Keep Dave Fed While I'm Gone!

Last summer Dave and I were gone for nearly the entire month of June-- we went to Rome, Venice, Florence, Croatia, Barcelona, Naples, Monaco and Monte Carlo first, and then went on a great diving trip to Roatan, Honduras. This June, our travels are a little less exotic and a little more local, but I'm still gone for nearly the entire month of June. I head to New Jersey for 2 weeks (not quite Europe for 2 weeks, huh?) tomorrow and then Dave is meeting me at the end of my summer institute there and we're going to New York City, Annapolis and DC. Of course, this means 3 weeks of no blog updates (I know my NINE followers will just be heartbroken over this), but it also means that Dave has to fend for himself for the next two weeks.

Dave is a grown man, fully capable of feeding himself...I know this. But I have fully embraced the role of happy homemaker now that I am on summer vacation, so I couldn't leave him high and dry. Dave only has to look so far as our freezer, then, while I'm gone for good eats. I left him comfort food (he'll be sad that I'm gone, right?) with some meatloaf and "fried" chicken, and Italian food (I've been on a tear with Italian food lately-- I'm worried he'll go through withdrawals without it) with some homemade pesto. Enjoy and Happy early 4th of July!

TURKEY MEATLOAF
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground turkey (I used the 93% fat free kind)
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1 cup salsa
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 package Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, mix all the ingredients together with your hands. Place meat into loaf pan and smooth out. Cook for 60 minutes, or until juices run clear. Let meatloaf cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serves 8.

OVEN-"FRIED" CHICKEN
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 oz. buttermilk
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Directions: Preheat oven to 365. Mix flour, salt and cayenne in one shallow bowl. Pour buttermilk in second shallow bowl. Put panko in third shallow bowl. Coat each piece of chicken with flour mixture, then buttermilk, then panko. Place in 8x8 glass baking dish (that has been coated with Pam) and bake for 30 minutes. Serves 4.

HOMEMADE HEALTHY PESTO
Ingredients:
1.5 cups lightly packed fresh basil
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts (you can buy pre-toasted pine nuts at Trader Joe's or toast them yourself in a frying pan for about 2 minutes)
2 Tbsp vegetable broth
2 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 package fresh pasta

Directions: In a mini-food processer, combine basil, pine nuts, broth, oil, garlic and salt and process until a smooth paste is formed. Cook pasta according to package directions; after draining pasta of all water, combine with pesto and serve! Serves 4.