I eventually get to the Edamame Pasta here.

Hubby is so very good about my fondness for vegetarian nights. He's also very good about just shutting up and eating, however, so that could also have something to do with things. He winced ever so slightly when I told him I was going to make an edamame pasta, but he had two large servings, so whatever, I'm gonna take that as a win.

I kind of feel like I can just stop writing right here and let you get on with the recipe, but maybe you've missed me and therefore I need to keep blathering for a moment. Plus I've had a couple V0&Diets tonight and that obviously means I think I'm far more interesting than I actually am. Or it means I am more interesting than I usually am, and so either way, I can't stop.

So. What's new?  I spent a solo weekend in San Diego for Labor Day, not laboring other than the giant amounts of work my stomach did.

Saffron's Vietnamese Noodles

Case in point: Saffron for lunch on Saturday. My favorite Thai, and I get it approximately once every 5 years, so it was even more appreciated. And delicious. Holy shit, it's delicious. And THEN I had sushi. Like, a lot of it. For two days in a row.

I also went snorkeling with sharks (and my two fave SD dudes) but NBD. Also, they are LEOPARD Sharks. I kept calling them Tiger Sharks, cause whatever, cat sharks, but my snorkeling host/oldest&dearest/guy on fire Jon pointed out that Tiger Sharks will eat you, while Leopard Sharks will let you, like, snuggle with them. So, yeah.

Ok...enough of that. Pasta time! I used yellow tomatoes but red are of course fine, and I like romano cheese, but parmesan would be just as good. Just pick a pasta that has the little grooves in it, cause it holds the pesto better than the smooth kind.

Edamame & Pesto Pasta

1 package frozen shelled edamame (about 2.5 cups)
About 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup extravirgin olive oil
1 pound (1 box) uncooked cavatappi (or similar) pasta
1 cup grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated fresh Romano cheese

Combine basil and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Slowly pour oil through food chute (or just pour it in there if you need to, whatever), and keep blending/processing until all evenly mixed.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. In same pot, place edamame and cover with water. Bring back to a boil (or until hot), then drain them into pasta. Combine pasta, edamame and basil mixture in large bowl or the pot, tossing gently to coat. Add tomatoes and half the cheese, tossing to combine. Taste and add salt if needed. Sprinkle with remaining cheese to serve.

I'm not even going to think about what is in sausage.

I should preface this post by explaining that we live half a block away from one of the best butcher shops in town. And we live in Meat City, so that's saying something.

Hubby brought home some sausage the other day, some Kickin' Chicken and some Sweet Italian. Told me he knew I'd only asked for steaks, but we could find "something" to do with it. Then helpfully added that Sausages and Peppers would be good.

Sigh. 

Sausages and Peppers? What? I'm questionable on bell peppers, and the idea of a Meat Lovers pizza makes me want to make immature icky-poo faces ( I don't actually know anything else sausage is good for, other than sliced up and served with hot mustard as appetizers).

And so to the internet I went. I found a couple of recipes that seemed simple enough (I didn't want to get crazy here), and hubs asked if we could add pasta to it (no, I don't know why he didn't just make it himself), so I dug around and found some small elbow macaroni to add to this business.

Turns out it smelled delicious (especially once the basil was in), and it looked gorgeous. Here was the finished recipe that actually made it to the table. And yes, it was delicious. Even for a non meat/pepper lover. Seriously.

Sausages and Peppers with Pasta
Spray oil
4 uncooked sausages (about 1 lb), your choice of flavor, but mild is best
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, halved and sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 orange bell pepper, halved and sliced (or green or red)
1 yellow bell pepper, halved and sliced (or green or red)
1 tsp dried oregano
about 1/4 cup thinly sliced basil
1/4 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
About 3 servings cooked pasta (al dente; any shape you like)
1/4 tsp salt
good pinch fresh pepper
Parmesan (optional)

Coat a large pan with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add sausages and brown each side around 3 minutes (let them rest against each other if it makes it easier to get each side.)

Remove sausages to large cutting board or plate.

Add onion and garlic to pan. Sauté about 3 minutes. Add bell pepper, wine, and oregano. Stir occasionally, about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, slice sausages.

Add sausage and basil to mix and cook about 3-4 minutes or until sausage is hot and no longer pink. Add cooked, drained pasta, toss well, and cook until everything is heated through.

Season with salt and pepper as needed and Parmesan if desired.

I don't always plan ahead, but when I do, I prefer something tasty.

For the negative three of you who don't know...I had a baby in February. And I don't know how many times I can use E as an excuse for not cooking/posting, but I'm going to milk it for as long as humanly possible. Because when I DO cook, it's more likely than not of the of the "Holy shit, how is Jeopardy already on? WTF are we going to eat?" variety.

What I need to do is plan ahead and make weekly meal plans. When I do, it works out, but it's so much easier said than done. This is from one of those magical days where I planned ahead—we had a cold greek pasta salad from somewhere I honestly can't recall (Costco, maybe??), so I thought I'd try and recreate it as a hot main entree. A list was made, E and I went shopping (he's great as long I narrate the shopping trip to him as we go...once we hit the check out line, however, he loses it and turns into Mr. Crankypants. The second I pay and wheel the cart out, however, he's his usual sweet, babbling, giggly self. He loves the "let's make strangers think my mom mistreats me" act. He thinks it's hilarious.)

Anyway, the plan worked. I'm still not eating much dairy, so I went without the feta and I didn't miss it at all. Hubby was a fan of it both ways.

Greek Pasta
One jar marinated artichoke hearts, undrained
2 small chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved
Half a small red onion, halved and sliced
Olive oil
Thyme
Basil
Oregano
Balsamic vinegar
Pasta
Herbed feta (optional)

Heat oven to 425. Combine tomatoes and onion in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and a splash of balsamic. Toss to coat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

While the tomatoes roast, cook the pasta. Drain and return to pan with a bit of olive oil or cooking spray.

Sprinkle chicken with thyme, basil, oregano and salt. Heat a tbsp or so of olive oil on medium high, add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Add artichoke hearts and tomato mixture, cook another couple of minutes til hot. Pour into pasta and combine gently.
Top with herbed feta to serve.

Some days the grocery store hates me.

I planned ahead and did my shopping for four dinners at once this week, planning to make some gooey spinach and cheese stuffed shells the first night. But then I got home and realized I hadn't bought shells. Or sauce....or cheese. I stomped around for a minute, pouting, until I realized I had three other perfectly good options; Hubby opted for this one, a super easy and filling pasta based soup I dressed up just a bit. I wanted to use refrigerated tortellini, but there was a reduced fat ravioli option, so that won out.

I also intended on making Pepper Garlic Flatbread to go with it, but the dough somehow didn't make it from the grocery conveyor belt to my house. I have a feeling the woman in line behind me now has no idea what she's going to do with refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough. Some days the grocery store hates me, what can I say.

I didn't get any, but the hubby swears it was also delicious as lunch leftovers. Double score.

Cheese Ravioli Soup
1 package fresh light 4 cheese ravioli or similar (tortellini, etc.)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp butter
4 cups chicken broth or stock
1/4 cup chopped basil, plus extra for garnish
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
Asiago or parmesan to top
Fresh ground pepper to top (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm. In large soup pot, saute garlic in butter about 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and tomato and bring to a boil. Add pasta, then remove from heat and stir in basil. Top with 1 tbsp cheese, pepper and fresh basil.

235/4 servings
313/3 servings
470/2 servings

Man-made meatballs

Meatballs should taste like meat. Or so says Esquire magazine, anyway. And that said, their Eat Like a Man recipe this month does not disappoint. Hubby was reading the latest issue in bed the other night, and it was all he could do to not get up and start cooking right that second. (Which I would have been ok with. Spaghetti and meatballs are always welcome right now.)

The two days we ended up waiting were well worth it, however. It was absolutely fantastic—totally restaurant quality, totally time consuming, and totally appreciated. All I had to do was run to the store for him, eat and do some dishes (and not even that many! He cleaned as he went! He's learning!!). Well, and not think about how many calories are in these suckers. Bacon and olive oil are kind of in excess here...

There were some changes, of course...veal is not allowed in our house (yep, I pull that card), so that went out the window. We also wanted to use pancetta, but it was $6 per 3oz, and bacon was $6 for 16oz. So, yeah. Oh, and we did half in the toaster oven and half on the stovetop...the stovetop set ended up having a thicker sauce, but that seemed to be the only real difference.

So here you go. The man's awesome, total fat-kid, meat-heavy meatballs and sauce. It makes a ton. Make it on a night you have a handful of hungry dudes to feed.

Basic Tomato Sauce (also from Esquire)
4 28oz cans good quality whole tomatoes
6-8 garlic cloves, crushed
olive oil
a few basil leaves

Pour tomatoes and their juice in a huge bowl and squish/crush tomatoes by hand (or use a potato masher, if that's more your bag)

Heat about a half cup olive oil in large-enough sauce pan, and add garlic. Let cook until they sizzle but don't brown, a couple of minutes. Add about a third of the tomatoes at a time, letting them come to a simmer before adding more.

Lower heat, tear some basil leaves (4 or 5 big ones), and throw them in. Cook at a low simmer for about 45 minutes.

Meatballs
1 lb ground beef (85 percent lean/15 percent fat)
1 lb ground pork (as lean as you can get)
About 2/3 a package of thick-sliced smoky bacon, finely minced
2 whole eggs
1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary

Combine above ingredients and mix well with your hands. Just do it.

1/3 cup bread crumbs (we used seasoned)
1/4 cup 1% milk
1 heaping tsp coarse sea salt
1.5 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Slowly add milk to bread crumbs, stirring until the mixture has the consistency of wet sand. Add S&P, and add to the meat mixture, mixing well. It'll be super sticky at this point-it's ok. Refrigerate the meat mixture for about 30 minutes.

canola oil for browning
your tomato sauce (above), kept warm over low heat
finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape meatballs into roughly 2 inch balls, shaping with your hands. In a large skillet, heat about a quarter-inch canola oil until very hot. Working in batches, brown all sides of each meatball ( a couple minutes a 'side').

As they finish, transfer browned meatballs to a deep, ovenproof dish. Cover meatballs with tomato sauce. (Totally submerged, if possible) Bake until done, an hour or more. They should feel firm to the touch.

If you're going the stove top route, place browned meatballs in large skillet or dutch oven—two if necessary, you don't want to overcrowd them—and cover with the sauce. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook, partially covered, about an hour.

Serve alone or over a bit of pasta.

Or you can just be lazy and open a bottle of Barilla.

I'm a big fan of meat sauce. You saute up some ground meat, add a bottle of marinara, and boom. Meat sauce.

Orrrr you can spend an extra 10 minutes and do it from "scratch." I'm pretty sure I'm in competition for The Laziest Preggo on the Planet this week, but I still peeled myself off the couch and away from the TiVo long enough to chop a couple things.*

*I totally cheated and used the Chop Wizard. Much like the infomercials, it is ridiculous. It is also awesome, and luckily I have a mother who enjoys buying me As Seen on TV products. Also, for the sake of full disclosure, I am being overly dramatic and totally worked out for half an hour after work, so I'm not quite as lazy as I complain that I am.

I even made a salad. Although, by "making a salad," I really mean taking the walnut and raspberry leftover salad from the night before and adding an extra handful of greens.

It's a little sad how much the small things impress me right now. Anyway, here is Giada's Bolognese, modified just a bit. (And see? When you make it from scratch, you can give it a fancy name like Bolognese, which sounds so much more legit than "meat sauce," yeah?)

Easy Bolognese
Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot (or handful of baby carrots) chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 package (around 20oz) lean ground pork (or beef or turkey)
1/2 cup red wine
Large can crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp oregano
Small handful chopped basil
Small handful chopped Italian parsley (opt.)
S & P
Shredded Romano or Parmesan

Heat a pour of oil (1-2 tbsp) over medium-high heat. Add onion, and saute for 5 minutes. Add carrot, celery and onion, and saute an additional 5 minutes. Add meat, and continue cooking until cooked through, about 8 minutes, moving often and breaking up into small pieces.

Stir in red wine and cook for another minute or two. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, basil and parsley, if using. Combine well, adding a bit more wine if it seems really thick. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

Cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes or until sauce has thickened back up. Add a good pinch each of salt and fresh pepper, tasting to make sure the salt is right.

Serve over hot cooked pasta and top with shredded cheese.

Let's just make a week out of it.

Since all I want lately is pasta, and I'm basically cooking for myself this week, I decided to just quit the front and let myself eat it every night. I'm starting with Ravioli with Sage-Butter and Walnuts, trying Giada's Bolognese next, and will round out the plan with butternut squash filled raviolis in some sort of sauce (a light alfredo?? Taking all suggestions.)

Served this with a side salad—mixed greens, raspberries, chives, toasted walnuts and balsamic dressing. Hubby asked if the secret ingredient for the night was walnuts...I guess kinda, though to be perfectly honest, I'm not a huge fan, and could have done without across the board. Plus, I probably should have chopped them more—or something. There were a lot left over on my plate at the end.

Ravioli with Sage-Butter and Walnuts
1 package refrigerated cheese ravioli
4 tbsp butter (1/4 cup)
1/3 cup fresh sage leaves (or about 1 tsp dried)
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Sea salt

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. The timing is kind of weird here, so read through the rest before you continue...done? Ok, once the water boils, cook ravioli according to package directions.

While the water's boiling on one burner, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the sage and walnuts. Cook for about 3 minutes, til the butter begins to brown. Take about a cup of the boiling pasta water and carefully add it to the butter, raise heat to high, and let boil about 2 minutes.

While that cooks, combine the vinegar, honey and bay leaf in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and let boil about 4 minutes. It should thicken quite a bit. Turn off heat and cover.

Drain the ravioli once it's done, and add to the butter mixture, mixing gently to coat. Remove from the heat, toss with the parmesan and season with salt. Check the balsamic glaze—if it's thickened too much and seems to be almost solid, return to low heat until it becomes syrupy again. Divide the ravioli among plates and drizzle with the balsamic syrup and a pinch of sea salt.

Lemon Basil Chicken

Well, it started off as a chicken dish.

I know the whole carb overload has been out of control lately, but I swear, it never sounds bad. (As I'm writing this I'm rethinking my dinner plan for mozzarella and basil stuffed chicken and rice-a-roni and thinking chicken parm over pasta could be better...hmmm) So I was on a search for a chicken dish that could stand alone. Of course, then I saw the photo here and decided the only thing better with a side of pasta would be to make the whole damn thing a pasta dish.

It's just pointless, I swear.But it was a good call on my end. Quite yummy and different.

Jesus Christ, a trailer for Dolphin Tale just made me bawl. BabyH is messing up more than my taste buds, let me tell you. Anybody watch the new Office? Big Pregs=me (but not so...big). I love that commercial.

Lemon Basil Chicken and Aioli with Linguini
handful chopped basil
3 green onions, chopped
zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp vermouth
good pinch fresh black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
olive oil
Chicken broth as needed

handful chopped basil
1 green onion, chopped
3 tbsp light mayo
juice from half a lemon
2 tsp dijon mustard
small pinch salt
dash olive oil

Package refrigerated linguine (Buitoni or similar)

In large bowl or dish, combine basil, green onion, zest, juice, vinegar, vermouth (or white wine) and pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat.

Bring a medium large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

As water boils for pasta, heat a splash of oil over high heat in large saute pan. Add chicken (and marinade) and cook 8 minutes a side or until done. If pan gets dry, add a splash of chicken broth now and then.

In the meantime, combine remaining ingredients in small bowl to make aioli.

When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and keep warm. When pasta is cooked, remove from water with tongs and add to the saute pan the chicken was in. Add about a tbsp
of the aioli, and toss the pasta to coat. If it's really dry, add a bit more chicken broth.

Serve chicken over a bed a pasta, and top everything with a spoonful of aioli.

I don't believe in "seasonal"

Well, Pumpkin Spice Lattes may be in the air, but Fall apparently is not. Did you know canned pumpkin is "seasonal?" Unacceptable. Like no one wants pumpkin flavored food any other time of the year? I call this a major grocery store fail, Vons.

I probably should have just gone to Trader Joes. But it's far. (It's not, but I'm lazy) And so I settled on pumpkin pie mix. It was still good, but it made it a bit sweeter than I would have preferred...more "gourmet" tasting than I was expecting. The sweet and spicy was a nice combo, though, if you can get past the idea of sweet and spicy pasta. Which I could. I'll be trying this again with regular pumpkin at some point to compare. Or better yet, if you can find regular pumpkin, you should try it and give me a review.

Very fall-ish. Even if this is the summer that just. won't. die.

Pumpkin Blue Cheese Pasta
One shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red chile, minced (or less, to taste)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp thyme
1 package sliced portabella mushrooms
3/4 cup pumpkin pie mix
1/2 cup reduced fat blue cheese
S&P
Two servings corkscrew pasta, cooked al dente
parsley, parmesan and sea salt (to taste) to serve


Coat pan with cooking spray and heat to medium. Saute shallot, garlic and chile for a minute or two. Add 1/2 a cup of chicken broth, thyme and mushrooms, and saute until mushrooms are soft.

Stir in pumpkin, remaining broth and cheese, and a good pinch each of salt and pepper. Let cook down 5 minutes or so, then stir in pasta. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 5 minutes or until thickened a bit. Stir again before serving. Sprinkle with parsley, cheese, and salt as desired.

875 calories total

Hiding veggies like I'm Jessica Seinfeld

Dishes are for suckers.

Especially when you don't have a dishwasher. (Or when you feel guilty making your handsome dish washer hang out in the kitchen all night). So I like to do what I can to make dish doing a little easier…I clean as I go, I re-use dishes when I can, and as you know, I swear by the all-wondrous immersion blender. (Ever cleaned a blender? Totally worth the 30 bucks to never have to clean one again.)

When I found this recipe, I had to roll my eyes at all of reviewers bitching about the number of dishes it makes. So screw that. Their way: six pots/pans/bowls. My way: two dish meal, kids. It's like magic.

Speaking of magic, this Mac & Cheese is so totally healthy food in disguise (well, kinda. It's still cheese and carbs. Over it.) That awesome cheddary color is all butternut squash, but the flavor is all cheese. I'm guessing this is the kind of thing I'll have to feed the kids someday when they turn against me and refuse to eat anything but Mac & Cheese and chicken nuggets...fitting, since that's all I want these days. I've resisted the mcnuggets so far, but I had to cave for the pasta.

We actually had broccoli on the side, but we both ended up mixing it in to the pasta as we ate. Feel free to skip the broc if one veggie is enough for you (one veggie should never be enough, btw) or go ahead and add in a cup or so of lightly steamed, bite-size pieces before cooking. Or have it on the side...it's a good addition, either way.

Veggie Mac & Cheese
olive oil (1 tsp or so)
1 shallot, peeled and diced
12 oz package cubed butternut squash
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup 1% milk
salt (about 1/2 tsp)
pepper (about 1/4 tsp)
Fat free greek yogurt (2-3 tbsp)
1 cup shredded fontina (Dutch)
1/2 cup shredded romano cheese (divided)
2 cups cavatappi pasta
Italian breadcrumbs
Heat oven to 375

Boil water for pasta in large sauce pan, and then cook for about 5 minutes (about half the time it says on the package). Drain.

Rinse pan, then heat oil and shallot over medium high, and cook about 2 minutes. Add squash, milk and broth. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over low about 10 minutes or until squash is soft.

Blend squash mix with an immersion blender (or transfer all to a blender then transfer back to pan when smooth), then stir in yogurt, salt and pepper. Stir in fontina and 1/4 cup roman until mostly melted, then add pasta and mix gently.

Coat a medium baking pan with cooking spray and pour in pasta mix. Sprinkle remaining romano cheese and breadcrumbs lightly across top.

Cook for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Pasta with Chicken and Brie

My darling friend Kate has up and left us "temporarily" for the German countryside. Actually, is it countryside? I really don't know, but it sounds far more pleasant that way...I really need to pay better attention. Miss and love you!

It seems, however, that she's been busy entertaining herself in my favorite way—with food—which results in her posting pictures of deliciousness on her facebook and making me hungry at really strange hours of the day. I stole this Real Simple recommendation from her, and adapted it to make it, well, meatier. Fantastic. Thumbs up from both the hubby and me.


Penne with Chicken and Brie
About 12 oz whole wheat penne (3/4 a box)
salt
freshly ground pepper
cooking spray
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/4 inch thick medallions
1 tsp butter
1 package sliced brown mushrooms
1/3 cup vermouth or white wine
2-3 cups baby spinach
8 oz Brie (rind sliced off), cut into small chunks

Cook pasta in large pot with salted, boiling water (add 1/2 tsp or so before you boil it) for about 8-9 minutes or until al dente (almost cooked). Drain pasta when finished and return to pot.

In the meantime, heat large saute pan over medium high, coat with spray, and cook garlic for about a minute. Add chicken slices, and sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Saute, flipping chicken over as needed, until completely white and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm. (When pasta is done and drained, you can just throw the chicken in the pot with it and cover.) Return pan to fire, and add butter, mushrooms and wine. Saute for about 3 minutes or until soft, then add spinach, and continue sauteing until wilted.

Combine pasta, chicken and mushroom mix (including any leftover liquids) in the large pot, and return to very low heat. Stir in brie, and combine gently until brie is melted completely (should take a few minutes).

Don't piss me off. I do it well enough on my own.

I am not what you might call 'graceful.' In the past six months or so, I've punctured my scalp on the medicine cabinet, had X-rays taken after landing chin first in a midnight fall, fallen teeth-first into my towel rack, and stubbed more toes than I can possibly remember. Within the first three months at my agency, I ended up at Urgent Care twice with Exacto blade-inflicted wounds (one resulting in a now permanently numb fingertip and a note in my medical file immortalizing my "self-inflicted stab wound"). I'm like a walking worker's comp suit.

Tonight was, of course, no different. Granted, it was only me slamming the back of my head on the bottom of the freezer door as I was digging around the fridge for the asparagus, but the resulting headache, mixed with Ramona's fondness for bitching nonstop at the back door about the sad state of her spoiled indoor cat life (You wanna live outside, Cat? Really? Really??) just pissed me off tonight.

Apparently, Hubby had somehow foreseen this evening's events, and requested pasta with Arrabiata ("Angry" in Italian) sauce. Luckily for him, he didn't piss me off, Arrabiata sauce is easy (even though it's made basically from scratch), and I really needed some recipes this week that will help use up the red Fresno chiles that are growing like crazy right now before that starts annoying me too. (They're right next to our tomatoes, which are NOT producing, but that's a complaint for another day)

If you don't have fresh chiles, and don't feel like buying them (why?) then just use a tsp or so of dried red chile flakes. Or enough to make the sauce angry. And if you want, just buy a can of crushed tomatoes. Hubby had the gall to ask why I hadn't done just that as he watched me stick my (clean) hand in the can to squeeze the whole tomatoes, but dammit it was fun and made me feel better.


Pasta with Arrabiata Sauce
Olive oil (less than a tbsp)
3 large garlic cloves, smashed (I used the back of a wooden spoon)
One brown onion, diced
2 red chiles, finely chopped
Half a carrot, shredded with a cheese grater (or about 6 baby carrots, but a regular one would have been easier and saved my fingers)
1 tsp dried thyme (or 2-3 tsp fresh)
1 large can whole tomatoes
salt to taste
1 package fresh linguine or other pasta
Freshly shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese, to top

In large stock pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, and stir often for about a minute. Add onion and chiles, and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add carrot and thyme, and cook another 3 minutes or so.

Open the can of tomatoes and pour the liquid into the onion mixture. Make sure your hands are clean, then stick one in the can and get to squeezing. They should be soft enough to kind of explode on impact, so just squeeze until you don't feel any big chunks left. Add tomatoes to sauce, stir, and bring to a boil.

Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about a half hour or until it's thickened up and doesn't seem very liquidy (wet?). You can cook it longer if you want; it's going to be edible right away, so don't worry too much about the timing here. Add a bit of salt to taste—probably about 1/2 tsp or so.

When it's just about done, bring a large pot of water (add a good pinch of salt) to a boil, then cook the pasta 2-4 minutes or according to the package's directions. Drain, but don't rinse, then add the pasta to the sauce. Toss pasta and sauce gently, then serve with a sprinkle of cheese on top. And some parsley if you want to be fancy.

(I served with trimmed asparagus that was coated with cooking spray, drizzled with balsamic and sea salt, then roasted in the oven about 12 minutes at 400)

If he can't handle turning on the oven, he's basically worthless.

I'm leaving the hubby all by his lonesome next week, as I'm off to Buffalo to play with the parallel and her brand new bubba for a few days. Um, and according to the forecast, just in time.


I really don't worry about him when I'm out of town...he's a big boy—he knows his way around a kitchen. And if he's lazy, I know he'll be just fine with a bowl of frosted mini-wheats for dinner. But since he's going to have to deal with all the cat-related fun I normally take care of, I figured I'd be Nice Wife and make him something that he can just pop in the oven one night and pick at for a few days. Or take with to a 4th of July potluck. Or give to the cats...Whatever, I don't care, as long as it gets eaten.

Plus it was good practice-I'm planning on making a few dude-friendly freeze-and-bake meals for my girl and her hubby...with a 4 week old, I'm guessing they aren't doing a whole lot of cooking. I'm not going to attempt Italian in their kitchen, but the hubby will let me get away with not-quite-authentic here.


Cheese, Basil and Sausage Stuffed Shells
Dash of olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pre-cooked Italian-seasoned chicken sausage link, diced (use 2 if you want it meatier)
1 regular sized container of low-fat ricotta
2 cups shredded mixed Italian cheese (2% or part skim if possible)
1 egg
salt & pepper
dash of nutmeg
small handful chopped parsley
large handful chopped basil (about 1/4 cup or so)
Package of large pasta shells (or manicotti shells, either will work), cooked according to package directions
1 bottle of marinara

Preheat oven to 375.

While your pasta cooks (if you haven't done that yet), saute the onion, garlic and sausage in a little bit of oil for about 5 minutes or until the onion is a little transparent. Let cool. In large bowl, combine ricotta, 1.5 cups of shredded cheese, egg, nutmeg, a good pinch each of salt and pepper, parsley and basil. Stir in onion mixture.

Coat a large baking pan with cooking spray. Spread about a half cup of marinara across the bottom. When pasta is done, drain well, and fill each shell with a big spoonful of cheese mix, and place each stuffed shell cheese side up in cooking pan. When you've used up all the mixture (or you run out of room—either way, you may have a handful of shells left over), pour over remaining pasta sauce, spreading gently with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.

Cover loosely with foil, and bake about 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes or until cheese and melted and sauce is bubbly.

The Jamie Oliver Experiment

I'm not sure how I feel about Jamie Oliver. I mean, I hardly ever watch him, and I don't know much about him...Being British indisputably gives him that pompous air, which is bad, yet funny (you know this is true)…but he's got that laid-back vibe going on, which is good...so far, the worst thing I can find about him is that his children are named Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow and Buddy Bear Maurice. Though, really. That's, well...siiiigh. I can't talk crap about people's kids. Even if it's just their names. But come. on. Even for a big hippie-fan like myself, that's kinda much.

Anyway. Hubby bought me one of his cookbooks for Christmas, and thumbing through it, we both saw tons that looked great. So, as a heads-up, we'll be adding a lot of his recipes in the next few months.

This particular recipe came from his website; I was at work when I made my shopping list, so the first couple we're going to try are basically our 'intro to Jamie' recipes. Starting with Linguine with Tomatoes and Capers.

At the beginning, I was a little worried. A) I had never heard of tomato passata, and even me, the Google Queen, couldn't find any definitive explanations for it. Instead, it was a bunch of generic, "it's sorta tomato paste but not tomato paste and sometimes it's cooked and sometimes it's not and it's not really sauce but it's kinda sauce...and so I was forced to wing it. And B) This is basically red clam linguine, sans clam. And since I think the clam is the best part of red clam linguine, I was worried it would be pretty much blah.


All was fine. For my passata, I chopped a brown onion and about 6 garlic cloves, sauteed them in a bit of olive oil about 5 minutes, then added about half a can of tomato puree (the big can). Cooked a few minutes and then proceeded with the recipe. Easy, especially with my chopper. And I do love easy.

Final results? We both give thumbs up. Simple, fast, and tasty. Make sure and use the lemon, btw, I think it brightens it up quite a bit.

Anyone know what Florentine is?

Me either. But I know it's spinach...and something...I'm looking, I'm looking...

Huh. Seems that you can make just about anything, add spinach, and voila. Florentine. Good to know.

Makes for a good pantry meal, I'll tell you that. We have food...I just have been knee-deep in freelance, a good new book (The Help, by Kathryn Stockett), and season 6 of Grey's. And therefore have other things to do than cook long, drawn-out meals. Even/especially when my freezer has been costco-sized (tempting to cook something good, but enough frozen chicken that I don't have to)

And so:


Chicken Florentine Pasta
2 breasts of chicken
S&P
Cooking spray
About 1.5-2 cups cooked penne pasta
One can cream of broccoli soup
Large handful (2 cups?) baby spinach
Shredded Romano cheese to top

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Spray hot sauté pan with cooking spray, cook chicken on high about 4 minutes til brown. Turn, cook another 3 minutes, reduce heat to low, add a tbsp or so of water, cover.

Cook about 8 minutes or until done. With a fork and some tongs, pull chicken into small pieces. Add soup, another pinch each salt and pepper, and cook a couple minutes. Add spinach and pasta, mix gently. When the spinach starts wilting, grate cheese over everything (as much as you want...don't be a fat ass, 1/4 cup or so should do.)



-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

How is it 98 degrees still?

Might as well make the most of it and BBQ with friends, yeah?

I love this recipe for so many reasons: it reminds me of my mom, it's super summery, and it's easy. There's chopping, yes, but a rough to small chop is fine...the onion is really the only thing that needs a finer chop.

I actually boiled the eggs in with the pasta to save from cleaning two pots. You have to rinse the pasta anyway...so why not.


Mom's 'Macaroni' Salad
One package small macaroni noodles (the ones shaped like jujubees)
Two tomatoes, chopped
One can of olives, sliced or chopped
Two hard boiled eggs, cooled and chopped
Three stalks celery, chopped
Half a small red onion, finely chopped
About 3/4 cup light mayo
Salt and pepper

Boil a few quarts of water in a stock pot (enough for all the pasta), add pasta and cook according to directions-10-12 min or so. Drain well, put in large bowl and chill in the fridge.

In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, eggs, celery and onion.

When pasta is cool, mix in mayo, and then stir in tomato mix. Salt and pepper to taste, chill til ready to eat.

Eat with anything worthy of other BBQ food, summer food, or otherwise. And friends, obviously.

-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

It's fall enough

Hubby and I have been on a budget. Which isn't really cool, cause that basically means I'm on a budget, seeing that I do all the shopping...
Not the point. We've been good...especially me, who counts Starbucks, the chiropractor, and mani/pedis among the (few, actually) major cuts. And let me-my bare toed, nail-bitten, sore self-tell you...I need me some pumpkin spice latte. They've been at the 'bucks for like a month, and I haven't had as much as a sip. I'm telling you, the air changes a bit, it's suddenly dark when my alarm goes off in the morning, and my need for pumpkin hits.

And so, as I'm trying to save money...this is my alternative. I cook. I wanted to do stuffed shells, but all I could find were lasagna noodles, so once again, I adapted...it worked. Served nicely with baby carrots steamed with dill. Even KittyH wanted some.


Pumpkin Lasagna
Olive oil
A few thin slices onion, chopped
A couple garlic cloves, minced
About half 14oz can pumpkin
1 container low fat ricotta
1 egg, beaten
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Allspice
Cardamom
1/4 cup or so of chopped walnuts
Lasagna noodles, prepared or no-bake (I love you, trader joes)
Store bought light alfredo sauce ( I use the refrigerated buitoni stuff..molto bene), diluted with a tbsp of water or so, if needed, to get to a smooth, medium thin sauce
Parsley, to serve


Preheat oven to 400.

Sautee onion and garlic (or use an equal amount of shallot) in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Remove from heat.

In medium bowl, combine ricotta, pumpkin, egg, about 1/4 tsp each of ground allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt. Add pepper to taste (good pinch). Add garlic/onion mix. Combine well.

In casserole dish, cover bottom lightly and evenly with a bit of the Alfredo (1/3 cup or so). Make layer of lasagna noodles, breaking pieces up if needed to puzzle piece it together.

Spread 1/3 of pumpkin mix across noodles. Cover with another layer of noodles. Spread 1/3 pumpkin mix, then sprinkle across half the walnuts. Cover with noodles, then rest of pumpkin, then noodles, then pour over remaining Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle rest of walnuts across top. Cover with foil. (if using no-boil noodles, let sit 20 minutes before continuing)

Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil, cook another 10 minutes or until bubbly.

Let cool 15 minutes or so. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.


*if you can see, the rockalicious salt on the carrots (and everything else I cook lately) is the.best.ever. Let's just say it was a gift. From Cambodia. From a straight up salt field. I also have the.best.pepper.ever., also from Cambodia, but I've been afraid to use it. Much like the super awesome olive oils we got as wedding gifts two years ago(Thanks L&E!)...I've devoured one of each of said 'duel gifts,' and have been delighted...which makes me more hesitant to use the other. It's like a good wine...Perfect occasion, you know? Anyway. Thanks again, Boss Lady. Get better and go on vacation already. You and Tom bring back the best stuff. (xo)

-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

Clammy, in a good way

I really, really love clam linguine. It's easy, it's quick, and it goes well with wine. So, hello, I'm all for it.

You could use fresh clams, if you were so inclined, but, um, I'm not. I'm poor. And impatient, so...I go with the canned ones. They totally work just fine.


Clam Linguine
2 servings cooked pasta (linguine/spaghetti/whatever)
olive oil
3-6 cloves chopped garlic, more or less depending on your preference
1 can whole baby clams, undrained
1 can chopped clams, undrained
1/3 cup or so of white wine
red chili flakes
salt and pepper
Handful chopped parsley
Splash of milk or half and half
Half a lemon plus slices
Fresh grated parmesan or romano cheese

Heat a bit of olive oil in large skillet, then saute garlic over medium for a couple minutes. Drain the clam liquid into skillet, saving clams. Add wine, a good shake of red pepper (to taste), and a good pinch each salt and pepper.

Bring to a low boil, let cook about 4 minutes. Add clam pieces. Let cook another couple minutes, then add pasta, parsley, milk, and juice from the half lemon. Mix well, cook about 2 minutes. Serve hot with cheese and a lemon slice.

Lasagna, pig style.

A few years ago, back when we had just started living together, Hubby-then-boyfriend decided to buy a pig. Well, a third of a pig, to be exact. This was at the tale-end (tail-end?) of my semi-vegetarianism, so this was absolutely not my idea—I'm pretty sure the convo went something like this:

Boyfriend: So, my dad wants to buy a pig from the fair this year, and I think we should go in on it with him.
Pammy: ...like...to eat?
BF: well, yeah. We'd split it with him and a friend.
Pammy: ...you'd split it. You do realize I don't eat pig...
BF: Oh, you'll eat this. Fresh pork is different...
Pammy: (roll-eyed smell-poo face)

He was right, of course, I ate it—but it wasn't for the taste...it was out of absolute necessity, seeing that a third of a pig is approximately 6 million pounds of meat. In my freezer. Leaving zero room for ANYTHING else.

It's...interesting. You pick a pig, they load it on a truck, and it comes back to you in about 68 wrapped parcels, with everything from chops to sausage (plain and Italian seasoned!) to bacon to ribs to rump roasts. So we got creative looking for ways to get me to eat some. (He ate most of it like some sort of caveman, but I still had to help.) And I still don't love pig, let's be clear here. But I'll eat pork chops now, and I do have him and that damn pig to thank/blame for that.

The point, however, is that the best creation was the Italian sausage and veggie lasagna we came up with one night. Seriously, it's fantastic. And it popped into my head for some reason when my girlfriend Dr. N. (our first official Docta in the 'family'!) asked me to show her how to cook something new this weekend.

I think she was surprised by how easy this was...yeah, it takes a little while to cook and to sit, but that's the most time consuming part. If you want to substitute ground Italian-seasoned turkey or plain sausage, go for it. We also used the no-cook lasagna noodles from Trader Joe's, which saved us from having to wash another pot. If you don't have those, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions-you'll want them a little undercooked so they don't get too soggy.

Oh, and hubby made the sauce. Lucky us! (and lucky you, cause he told me what he put in-recipe for that is below)



Sausage & Veggie Lasagna
1 package spicy Italian sausage, casings removed (about 6 sausages)
1 package sliced mushrooms (I used brown)
1 package frozen artichoke hearts
About a half cup frozen chopped spinach
One tub low-fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
nutmeg
S&P
1 package pre-shredded low-fat mozzarella (2 cups)
Prepared lasagna noodles
Hubby's Marinara (or about 6 cups of store bought)
Parsley and/or Parmesan, to top

Brown the sausage over medium high heat, breaking into chunks/pieces as you cook it. When it's close to cooked through, drain out the fat, and add the mushrooms. Cook a couple of minutes, then add the artichokes. When all is cooked through (about 5-10 minutes), remove from heat.

In a bowl, combine ricotta, egg, a dash of nutmeg, and some salt and pepper (is it too Rachael Ray to say S&P?). Add mozzarella, mix well.

In casserole dish, cover bottom with thin layer of sauce. Fit noodles across in a layer, overlapping if you need to to cover. Spread about 1/3 of the sausage mix across noodles. Spread 1/3 cheese mixture across that. Add another layer of noodles, then a layer of sauce. Repeat til gone-the layers should be*(bottom to top):
sauce
noodles
meat
cheese
noodles
sauce
meat
cheese
noodles
sauce
meat
cheese
noodles
sauce
(*If it doesn't work out exactly, or you switch it up, it really doesn't matter. Don't stress about it)

If you use the no-bake noodles, let the thing sit at this point for about 20 minutes before continuing.

Cook at about 375-400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Let sit about 15 minutes to cool before serving. Top with parsley or cheese.


Hubby's Marinara
This is still better when he makes it.

Olive oil
One onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
Large jar of plain marinara sauce
1 can tomato sauce
oregano to taste
basil to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
S&P
good pour red wine

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil. Reduce and simmer for at least 45 minutes, more is fine.

Spicy noodles with chicken and cucumber

I think maybe one of my favorite things about Asian food is how awesome the prep work always looks. Colorful, textureful, flavorful. Just...full, if you will.


It may look like a lot is going on here, but it really was quick. Careful with the sriracha. It was hot even for us, so be warned (I put in a hefty squirt).


Spicy noodles with chicken and cucumber
adapted from a Cooking Light cold sesame noodles recipe

About 8 oz of chicken tenders
Peanut oil
Salt and pepper
About 3 servings rice sticks
1 cucumber peeled, seeded, then sliced or chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
Large clove garlic, minced
About an inch of peeled Ginger, minced
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Sriracha to taste
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sesame seeds
One stalk green onion, chopped
Handful dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Boil enough water to cover the dry noodles. Pour over noodles, let sit until just tender to eat, 10 min or more (taste a couple times if you need to). Drain and rinse well.

In the meantime, heat a splash of peanut oil over medium high. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, cook about 5 min a side or until just cooked. Let cool, tear into small pieces.

In small bowl, mix 1 tbsp peanut oil, and fish sauce through honey. In large bowl, combine cucumber, chicken, sesame seeds and noodles. Pour sauce over. Toss well, top with peanuts and green onion.

-posted out of laziness from my iPhone