Valentines days Healthy Dinners in 40 Minutes or Less

Mediterranean Pork and Orzo

"My whole family loves this dish. However, I did make a few tweaks: I throw the spinach in the with the tomatoes to wilt it. It holds its flavor better. I also squeeze fresh lemon juice (juice of one lemon) over the orzo after I drain it, and I add a bunch of red pepper flakes and about a half teaspoon of dried basil to the pork mixture right before I add the orzo. It's fantastic. We make it about every two weeks and it's so quick to make."

For those who don't know what orzo is....its short-cut pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice

RECIPE

READY IN: 30mins SERVES: 6
UNITS: US
INGREDIENTS Nutrition
2 pork tenderloin (3/4 pound each)
1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 quarts water
1 1⁄4 cups uncooked orzo pasta
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 (6 ounce) packagefresh Baby Spinach
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
3⁄4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS
Rub pork with pepper; cut into 1-inch cubes. In a large nonstick skillet, cook pork in oil over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in orzo and salt; cook, uncovered, for 8 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook 45-60 seconds longer or until orzo is tender and spinach is wilted.
Add tomatoes to the pork; cook and stir for 1 minute or until heated through. Drain orzo mixture; toss with pork mixture and feta cheese.

Raspberry & passionfruit Martini

This fruity vodka cocktail for two is perfect for a romantic Valentine's meal - float half a passion fruit on top for an extra special touch

RECIPE
PREP: 5 MINS
plus chilling
EASY SERVES 2

Ingredients
100ml vodka
1 tbsp raspberry liqueur
50ml passion fruit juice
handful of ice
½ passion fruit

Method
Put 2 Martini glasses in the freezer for 5 mins to chill. Mix the vodka, raspberry liqueur, passion fruit juice and a handful of ice in a jug or cocktail shaker.

Strain into the glasses and float ½ a passion fruit on the top of each, if you like

Amatriciana chicken traybake

Ingredients
1 long red chilli
3 tbsp tomato purée
3 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves
8 skinless chicken thighs
500g new potato

4 thyme sprigs
140g cubetti di pancetta(or smoked bacon lardons)

400g tomato, half cherry or baby plum, the rest is up to you - any larger ones halved
green salad and bread, to serve (optional)

Method
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Find a large roasting tin that will hold the chicken thighs and potatoes in a single layer. Halve the chilli, scrape out and discard the seeds if you don’t like it too hot, and remove the stalk. Put in a small food processor or mini chopper with the tomato purée, olive oil and garlic. Whizz to a paste, then spread over the chicken. Add the chicken and potatoes to the tin with a good grinding of black pepper and some salt, then mix everything together well with your hands. Add the thyme and roast for 30 mins.

Stir in the pancetta and roast for 15 mins more, then add the tomatoes and roast for another 15 mins until the tomatoes have softened and the chicken is cooked. Serve straight from the pan and eat with a green salad and some bread, if you like, for mopping up the juices.