Roasted Garlic, Spinach, Walnut, Pesto

Ingredients:

1 5 oz pkg of fresh, washed baby spinach

1 C grated Parmesan Cheese

1 C walnuts

1 whole head of garlic

Salt to taste

About 3/4 C Olive oil


Directions:

Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and roast in 350° oven for about 30 min till it is slightly brown on top.  A wonderful smell will fill the house as it roasts.  Allow to cool so that you can handle it then squeeze out as much garlic as you can, it should be paste consistency.

Place all ingredients into food processor except oil, pulse processor a few times then with processor running drizzle in olive oil till desired consistency.  You could add a bit of water if you like it thinner.

While still warm toss with hot pasta and enjoy.  It can also be frozen for another day or freeze in small portions to use as needed.

My Cuisinart is 30 years old, one of the most used items in
my kitchen the pesto is ready in seconds.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Have ordered this out but had never made it so thought I'd give it a try.  This makes a great side dish with just about any entree, the sauce has a little bite to it and was very easy to make.  As usual I made a few adjustments and combined a few recipes to get the taste I thought I wanted.






Penne with Vodka Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 c butter
1 med onion chopped fine
1 head of garlic
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4-1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 c vodka
3 oz tomato paste (the tube style is more intense if you have it use that)
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup 1/2 & 1/2  (they called for heavy cream but I always substitute down with dairy)
1/4 c fresh grated Romano cheese
1 lb penne pasta (I used whole grain, extra fiber)

directions:

First slice garlic head off drizzle with olive oil wrap in foil and roast in oven till softened, squeeze out garlic & mash.

Melt butter in medium pan over medium heat, add onion saute till translucent, add rest of ingredients including mashed garlic down to 1/2 & 1/2 and simmer for 10-15 min till flavors meld.  Just before ready to serve stir in 1/2 & 1/2 bring back to temperature then stir in cheese till blended.  Serve over penne, top with additional cheese.

simmering

stir in cream, don't let it boil but bring heat back up

stir in cheese

Enjoy!

Spinach Mac & Cheese

Let's face it, just about everyone I know will eat Mac & Cheese anytime so throwing in spinach makes it a step healthier.  This turned out so good!  I am a Mac & Cheese connoisseur, I would love to find out it is the healthiest low calorie thing to eat someday........I'll keep dreaming.
This is just my regular Mac & Cheese recipe with spinach added.  As I have in the original post I like using a variety of cheeses and therefore it always comes out a little different.  This night it was Gruyere (always a good choice & melts nicely), Cheddar, a small bit of Blue Cheese for the intensity, and some Parmesan.  So next time you want to add to that Mac & Cheese or healthy it up a bit through in some dark greens of your choice.


Penne Pasta
2 c skim milk
2T butter
2 T flour
garlic powder
ground mustard
fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 c grated cheese --total Gruyere, Cheddar, Parmesan, Blue Cheese
2 pkgs frozen spinach, cooked, drained and squeezed dry
breadcrumbs or club crackers crumbles for crunchy top 


Boil penne till al dente, drain, set aside.  In same pot melt butter, stir in flour to form rue, let cook 1 minute, stir in milk, spices and let thicken.  If it gets a little to thick slowly add more milk till desired consistency.   Add spinach & cheese stir till blended, mix in penne and spoon into buttered baking dish.  Top with a little more grated Gruyere cheese and breadcrumbs.  Bake till bubbly about 15 min in 350 oven.

Pennsylvania Dutch style Chicken Pot Pie

The perfect warm you up meal.  I had always associated Chicken Pot Pie as the type baked like a pie with a crust top which I blogged awhile back here.  When I moved to this area I was introduced to this style with a homemade pasta cut into large squares.  The broth, chicken, mixture is similar and you could add other vegetables if you like I really don't measure this part at all just throw in enough to feed your crowd.  I did celery, onion, carrots, with the thyme, sage, salt and pepper for the spices.  Saute vegetables, add a lot of broth, add cooked chicken, then slide pasta squares into pot.  I have also made this in a large baking dish and let it finish in the oven.

Pasta Squares (dumpling style)

Ingredients:

2 c flour

2 T butter

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c milk

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients and mix.  Cut butter into flour to form coarse crumb type mixture, then slowly stir in milk to form dough.  This is a really nice dough to work with.  Roll out dough on floured surface, cut into squares and drop into broth. Let cook about 15 min check the dough it is best if you don't over cook it.  The flour on the pasta thickens the sauce a bit making it even better.  If you want to make the broth part and let it simmer you an just add the dough 15 min before you are ready to eat.

Creamy Mascarpone Cheese And Wild Arugula Pasta

I'm a big fan of NPR, always enjoyed it on the radio but my current car came with Sirius Radio which I didn't think I would use that much but my husband would have bought the car just for that.  In fact he has been swayed by a car for its stereo system before, I just wasn't that into it.  However I spend a lot of hours on the road so after the 6 months of free Sirius I was convinced to buy the subscription.........6 months free has to have been a great promotion for Sirius.  Well if you haven't heard Click and Clack you gotta check it out online, between the Boston accents and their infectious laughter it'll give you an hour of fun whether you are into cars or not.  My father in law is a huge "Prairie Home Companion" fan, we would often listen to that coming home from State College after Penn State games with him.  The NPR website is a wealth of information on all types of subjects so when I saw this article on Arugula and I had a ton of it in my refrigerator I had my dinner side dish for the night.  The recipes in this article come from Susan Russo who is a contributor to "Kitchen Window" and her blog Food Blogga  is a great find for new ideas, especially after a visit to a farmers market.   This pasta recipe is really simple, easy, quick and for me could have been the whole meal. A good meal if you are home alone and you'll have some to reheat the next day---maybe.

Link for NPR article:
Fresh, Feisty Arugula:  More Than a Salad Green

Creamy Mascarpone Cheese And Wild Arugula Pasta

Ingredients:

1/2 lb spiral pasta  (Barilla Plus  my favorite)

3 oz mascarpone cheese (I used 6 oz)

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 T pasta water  (I used 1/4 cup)

3 c packed arugula

4 T fresh grated parmigiana cheese (I stirred some into the pasta also)

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

extra olive oil for drizzling

Directions:

In a large pot, cook pasta in salted water till al dente.

Meanwhile in small bowl whisk mascarpone cheese, lemon zest & juice, salt & pepper, and hot pasta water until smooth and creamy.

Drain pasta, add back to pot with arugula and toss.  

Add cheese mixture and toss till coated.

Divide onto plates, top with grated parmigiana, red pepper flakes, and drizzle of olive oil if desired.

I add a bit of grated lemon zest on top
with the cheese and red pepper flakes.

Served it with Tilapia sprinkled with Old
Bay on Spinach.

Pasta Zucchini

Zucchini is in abundance this time of  year so I am throwing it into every recipe.  This pasta actually highlights it though.  Zucchini is one of the vegetables most everyone will eat, mixed with onions & cheese you can't go wrong.  I have made this or similar for years, good way to get kids to eat vegetables mix it with pasta.






Pasta Zucchini

Penne Pasta--I use a whole grain Barilla
Zucchini
                 >chopped
onion
oil
salt & pepper
Parmesan---grated
pasta water or broth
1/2 & 1/2

In large skillet drizzle bottom with a little oil (you don't need much zucchini is a little watery) add zucchini, onion and saute till edges begin to caramelize.  Zucchini will really soften down.  Meanwhile boil pasta till aldente, drain.  I use a little pasta water maybe 1/2 a cup to deglaze my pan of zucchini/onion (you could use broth or wine also), stir in pasta and then incorporated about 1/2 cup of 1/2 & 1/2 remove from heat add Parmesan and serve.  I also do this without the 1/2 & 1/2 if you want a less "saucy" outcome.  I really adlib a lot if it needs more liquid etc just add to your liking.  I also like mushrooms but you have to watch the browning of them it can give the pasta a color that isn't always as attractive but goes well with beef.

Had it with chicken kabobs this night.

Ratatouille Pasta

Ratatouille Pasta

Ratatouille is a traditional French dish from the Provence area, there are many variations on it.  This is about as easy as it gets, yet healthy, delicious, & filling.  Make a salad and you have your whole meal.  The most time consuming thing is chopping all the vegetables, no need to measure anything, add or subtract whatever your gang won't eat.  I'll bet if it is chopped up enough they won't even know it's in there.  What a great way to get your family to eat more vegetables!

Eggplant

Zucchini

onion

leek

carrots

green pepper

tomato

bay leaf

thyme

salt & pepper

garlic chopped

favorite red sauce

capers

pasta 

Parmesan fresh grated

Chop vegetables small and saute the first 7 ingredients till just softened, add everything down to the pasta and let simmer.  The longer it simmers the richer the sauce, the capers add a nice flavor to the sauce.  The carrots I usually chop small but the sweetness in them really helps with the acidic sauce, for years I used a little brown sugar for that but the carrots seem to do the trick and so much healthier.  When ready to serve just boil up your pasta, mix, sprinkle with Parmesan--enjoy.  

saute in a little olive oil the vegetables

sprinkle with Parmesan

Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Ricotta Stuffed Shells

This is the basic recipe for Stuffed Shells, very similar to the recipe on the box I'm sure.  What a go to meal for a crowd, to make ahead, to make vegetarian, to make extra and freeze, it works for some many different occasions.  I never look at a recipe for this, you can always wing it and it is always good.



Box of large pasta shells
favorite red sauce (I have started adding capers to my sauce I like the bit of zip it gives it)
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella shredded
Parmesan shredded (fresh makes a huge difference)
parsley
1-2 eggs (to desired consistency)

Boil pasta --do not over cook!
Mix cheeses, parsley, eggs and any other add ins you like together.

Add in possibilities depending what you have on hand or want:

spinach, kale and leafy dark green (steamed or sauteed can be mixed into cheese mixture)
mushrooms (added to sauce or layered under shells)
chicken or ground beef or sausage ( add to sauce or layer on bottom)

Spread sauce in bottom of 13 x 9 pan, fill shells, line shells on top of sauce, drizzle sauce over shells, sprinkle with more grated cheeses.  Bake at 350 for about 30 min.  If you made it ahead and refrigerated it let come to room temp and it may need a few more minutes of baking.  If you froze it take it out the day before and put in refrigerator it takes forever to thaw.