The MBA Widowhood Diet

With my perennial dining companion at Michigan State doing his first MBA residency week in East Lansing and with a refrigerator overflowing with summer squash coupled with a hectic work week, lots of sports to play, and extra household chores to attend to, I tried to decide a strategy to efficiently cook healthy, tasty snacks for myself using up the produce at hand. Feline preferences not withstanding, I resorted to vegetarian fare - and came up with a nifty little recipe. The results can be used in several different ways (I would have the Quesadilla one night and the pasta for lunch the next day).

1 medium summer squash - sliced thin (ovals cut into halves or quarters if too big)
1 medium zucchini - sliced thin (ovals cut into halves or quarters if too big)
1 onion diced medium
2-3 jalapenos, diced (seeds removed on preference)
3-4 mushrooms sliced thin
Garlic Powder
2 tsp Cumin
Olive Oil
1 can black beans rinsed/drained

Heat approximately 2 TBSP olive oil in large skillet

Add onions and saute 1-2 minutes. Add remaining veggies, season with garlic powder to taste and cumin, and saute until soft but not mushy about 10 more minutes over low heat. Add black beans and saute 2-3 more minutes until heated through.

Serve 1 of 3 ways:

Pasta:

Toss 2 cups of mixture with 2 cups whole grain fusilli pasta cooked as per package directions (optionally top with grated parmesan cheese).

Quesadilla:

Spoon about 1/2 -3/4 cup of mixture into flour tortilla, add a small amount of shredded jack cheese and fold over in half. Heat in a preheated Forman Grill for 5 minutes. (serve with optional salsa and sour cream).

Plain:

Terrific as a stand-alone dish.