Showing posts with label pasta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pasta. Show all posts

"Plain" Chickpea and Vegetable Penne Toss

8:08 AM | Labels: , , , , , ,



Do you think that “plain” is a negative word? I know it has its connotations – Plain Jane, plain looking – but for me, it really isn’t an inherently bad adjective. I get into a little bit of trouble sometimes when I go to refer to something as plain without intending it to be interpreted as a bad thing. For example, plain food. That sounds bad, right? But it doesn’t have to be. It could just mean simple. Clean. Some people get offended when I call a food plain, or if I say that they tend to enjoy plainer foods. Apparently, it can be synonymous with bland – and that, my friends, is inherently negative. But as my 12th grade English teacher said, there’s no such thing as a synonym.

An overcooked chicken without anything on it is bland. Mashed potatoes are bland. Those really cool rice puffs from Wegmans or Whole Foods, without peanut butter spread on them, are very bland.

But a bowl of fresh pasta drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil is plain. A homemade dinner roll fresh from the oven is plain. Even a well-cooked fillet of tilapia with a side of steamed vegetables and a spritz of lemon juice is plain.

This Chickpea and Vegetable Penne Toss is also plain, but if you think that’s a reason not to make it (again and again and again), you would be sorely mistaken. This recipe is simple anddelicious. It’s far from extravagant, yet one of the most perfect meals I can think of around this time of year. It’s filling and quick to make, too.  And no one – and I mean no one – will call it bland. 

 
One Year Ago: Chicken Tropicale with Pineapple Rice Pudding
Two Years Ago: Israeli S’mores

Chickpea and Vegetable Penne Toss
This pasta dish is simple and light, yet will keep you full and satisfied. It’s the perfect dish for Spring or Summer, and can be infinitely adapted based on your taste preferences and what fresh produce is available in your area.

Yield: 3 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients1
1 cup whole wheat penne
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 ⅓ cups broccoli florets, coarsely chopped
¾ small zucchini, chopped
¼ cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup mushroom stems, sliced thin
¼ cup halved grape tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
14 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
¼ cup reduced-fat crumbled feta cheese

The Method
Set a pot of water on the stove to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, prepare all of the vegetables as indicated. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and lower the heat to medium-high. Cook until al dente, approximately 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, broccoli, zucchini, and pepper and allow to soften, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, tomatoes and oregano and cook, continuing to stir occasionally, for 3-4 minutes. Add in the chickpeas and toss to combine, cooking another 5 minutes or so, until the vegetables are tender and the tomatoes have begun to break down.

When the pasta finishes cooking, drain and add to the vegetable mixture. Toss together to incorporate well, then sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

Source, adapted: Diabetic Cooking Magazine

Notes:
1I served L’s with sliced chicken, which you can certainly do, but personally I loved it as a vegetarian dish.

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Posted by toni

Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

11:20 AM | Labels: , , , ,




Mexican meets comfort meets health food – are there many better culinary combinations than that? I have yet to be convinced otherwise. And clearly, because I managed to find a Thirty Minute Thursday post that didn’t summon the flavors of Mexican cuisine, I had to make up for it by telling you about one that does, today.

This Mexican Lasagna is the result of leftover refried beans, cilantro, and avocado from the various other Mexican-inspired meals (mostly from Rachael Ray) that I have been enjoying recently. I chose to turn it into a lasagna because, quite simply, that’s what I have in my pantry. As the semester winds down and I prepare to move back home, I’m making a concerted effort to get creative with the food I already have in stock rather than spending boatloads at the grocery store and keeping a full kitchen. I pretty much refresh my fresh produce and yogurts each week (and make sure I always have a backup jar of peanut butter on hand for emergencies, naturally), and otherwise make due with what I have. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge, and there’s something oddly satisfying about one by one using up all of those odds-and-ends ingredients I’ve collected over the course of the year.

But back to this lasagna – this tasty, filling, spicy, comforting lasagna. Arguably the best part about this is how downright easy it is, too. When I think of lasagna, I often feel discouraged – it always seems to be one of those labor of love dishes that is best reserved for a leisurely day spent in the kitchen rather than a harried weeknight dinner fix. In that vein, this is not your typical lasagna. Also, because I made it as a single serving, the layering of the noodles got a little bit creative to fit the personal-sized baking dish that I used. If you want to scale it up for a full-size meal, simply layer the noodles as you would a traditional lasagna (and not all “fakockta-ed”  as I did).

One Year Ago: Vibrant & Healthy Tofu Stir-Fry
Two Years Ago: Lamingtons

Mexican Lasagna
This personal lasagna is the solution to all of your stress woes: healthful nutrients to keep you going, ease of preparation to make dinner a reality in a minimal amount of time, and all of the bliss that more traditional comfort foods have to offer.

Yield: 1 serving
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
2 whole grain lasagna noodles
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetarian refried beans
¼ onion, diced
¼ bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons cheese
¼ avocado, chopped
cilantro, to taste

The Method
Place a large (or at least deep) pot of water to boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until tender, 10 minutes. While you wait, prepare the vegetables and grease a loaf pan (glass preferably).

Lay 1 cooked lasagna noodle along the bottom of the loaf pan and drape the extra over the edge. Top with 2 tablespoons of beans, ⅓ of the pepper, ⅓ of the onion, ⅓ of the avocado, 2 teaspoons of cheese and a small pinch of cilantro. Place the next noodle over the cilantro and drape the extra over the other side of the container. Repeat the layers. Fold the first noodle over the toppings. Repeat the layers. Fold the second noodle over the toppings and top with any leftover cheese. Cover loosely and bake in a toaster oven at 350° Fahrenheit for approximately 15 minutes.1 Optionally, remove the foil for the final 5 minutes of baking to brown the cheese a little.

Notes:
1You can certainly bake this in a conventional oven – just make sure to preheat it.

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30 Minute Thursdays: "Faux-thentic" Veggie Lo Mein

1:34 PM | Labels: , , , , ,





My goal this week was to only write about delicious recipes that, though not specifically made forPassover, could certainly still be eaten on Passover. I didn’t exactly have a 30 Minute Thursday recipe that worked that way, but thought maybe there was hope when I made Veggie Lo Mein using the last of my box for quinoa spaghetti. Quinoa, being a seed, is kosher for Passover, so I thought, how perfect! Unfortunately, quinoa spaghetti does not mean spaghetti made solely from, well, quinoa. The first ingredient is, of course, wheat flour. And with that realization, my hopes of revolutionizing your Passover (and mine!) went right out the window.

Still, I have a feeling most of you are not keeping Passover anyway, and if you are, you can – and certainly should – bookmark this for later. Maybe even make it next week as your first non-Passover meal! What could be more Jewish than Chinese food, right? Of course right. Cue Fiddler on the Roof music.

This dish is beyond easy to make, but it’s entirely too salty as is. I don’t even just mean salty the way that Chinese food is salty. This was so salty that I wasn’t even tasting the soy sauce anymore; in some bites, I could’ve sworn there was actually just a forkful of salt granules heading straight for my mouth. I think if you reduce the soy sauce a little (which I’ve indicated in the recipe) andchoose lite varieties, you can capture that quintessential Chinese food take out flavor that is, yes, still salty, without going overboard. With that one minor adjustment, you’ll have yourself a killer meal. I want to call it authentic because of how close it tastes to real Chinese take out, but it seems too ironic to be calling anything akin to Chinese take out “authentic.”

The lo mein is full of crunchy, vibrant vegetables, but feel free to add even more! Carrots, cabbage, and water chestnuts would all make great additions. It originally called for bean sprouts, which I omitted because I just get a little paranoid about foodborne illness and those things; and scallions, which I didn’t have so I used diced onion instead. There’s also no real protein source here, but chicken, beef, tofu, or even some shelled edamame would be perfect to bulk it up a little bit and make it more of a main course. I also thought it might be fun to swap the pasta out for brown rice and add an egg to make it more like fried rice – I’ll definitely have to play around with that! Overall, though, I really, really liked this dish – yes, even though the salt at times overcame me. It originally called for 2 tablespoons of soy sauce per person, and I don’t think you’ll lose the robust flavor or “faux-thenticity” of the dish by halving it as I’ve suggested below.


One Year Ago: Baked Chicken Chili Brown Rice Casserole

Veggie Lo Mein, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
½ pound whole wheat spaghetti
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups fresh snow peas
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
¼ small onion, sliced
1 inch peeled ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup lite soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil

The Method
Set a large pot of water on a back burner to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 10-15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

When the pasta is done, heat a wok or large, nonstick skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the vegetable oil followed immediately by the snow peas, pepper slices, and onions. Stir fry for 1 minute before adding the ginger and garlic. Cook for another minute, then stir in the pasta and toss to combine. Pour in the soy sauce and toss once more to coat evenly. Divide the pasta evenly amongst four bowls and drizzle each one with ½ tablespoon of sesame oil.













 

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Choose Your Own (Kitchen) Adventure: Homemade Arugula Ravioli or Lasagna

3:28 PM | Labels: , , ,






Ever since my last (and first!) run-in with wonton-based homemade ravioli, I’ve wanted to prove that I had what it takes to make them without them falling apart. When L came for the weekend a little while back, I knew it was the perfect excuse – in fact, when he found out that I was planning to make these arugula ravioli for dinner on Sunday, he decided to extend his stay to make sure he was there for them.

As it turns out, they were really easy to make this time and the whole meal came together well! I think the trick to cooking with wonton wrappers, and perhaps with ravioli dough as well, is to limit the amount of time that you keep them in the boiling water. I overboiled them last time and the ravioli came completely undone in the water; this time, I was more vigilant, and they stayed intact.

In terms of taste, these ravioli are knock outs. The arugula gives a really nice, spicy bite, and the colors are definitely vibrant and appealing. I’d say that wonton wrapper ravioli don’t look as pretty as store-bought or restaurant-made ravioli do, but once you cover them in a zesty tomato sauce and add a little parmesan cheese garnish, that’s not too much of an issue. Pair this with a side salad or as a bed for some grilled chicken and you have yourself a stellar meal, though L and I certainly liked it just fine all by itself.

Another idea is to turn this meal into personal lasagnas. I had some leftover filling and sauce, but didn’t feel like laboring over the ravioli assembly. I simply dropped some wrappers into boiling water to cook them, and then layered them in a ramekin with the filling, sauce, and cheese. Pop them in the oven if the filling wasn’t just made and it needs a little rewarming, and you have yourself an even less labor-intensive meal that still captures the same amazing flavors as the ravioli. In fact, if I’m being perfectly honest, I liked it even better this way! If I had thought to take pictures of this version of the recipe I probably wouldn’t even mention the traditional ravioli but, alas, hindsight certainly is 20/20.


 One Year Ago: Curried Chickpea Salad (one of the most searched-for recipes on Floptimism!)

Arugula Ravioli, adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yield: 4-5 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces arugula, washed, dried and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons (whole grain, homemade) breadcrumbs
⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg, yolk and white separated
20 wonton wrappers
1 – 1 ½ cups marinara sauce1

The Method
Set a large pot of water to boil over high heat, covered. Place the oil in a separate, large sauté pan over medium heat, and add the shallots and garlic once heated; sauté 7-10 minutes, or until the shallots have become translucent but not brown. Stir in the arugula until it has cooked down and the water has mostly evaporated, 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Mix in the breadcrumbs and cheese, season with pepper, and stir in the egg yolk.

Meanwhile, set your marinara sauce on to start warming over low heat. If the large pot of water is boiling, reduce the heat to a steady simmer.

Begin assembling the ravioli: lay out all of the wonton wrappers on a flat surface and coat with the egg white. Add 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling to the center of each wonton, then fold them diagonally in half to create a filled triangle. Press firmly along the edges to seal well.2 Add the ravioli to the large pot of water, working in batches if necessary to prevent overcrowding, and cook for just 2 minutes (when the ravioli rise to the surface, they’re done). Top the ravioli with the sauce and garnish, optionally, with extra parmesan before serving.

Notes:
1I used leftover sauce from the margherita pizza I had made earlier in the weekend.
2Alternatively, you could double the amount of wontons needed (or cut the serving size in half, though that might look a little sad on someone’s plate), and instead of folding the wrappers over, simply top them with a second wrapper (also brushed with egg whites) to create a square ravioli. I’ve never done this before, but think they might wind up looking a little prettier.


blog hop button March Blog Hop: Favorite Spring Recipes and Giveaway






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Posted by toni

Thirty Minute Thursdays: Wonderful Walnut-Spinach Pesto over a Homemade Ravioli Flop

6:22 AM | Labels: , , , ,


This week did not go as planned. I sat down on Tuesday to write about these to-die-for petit fours cakes that I had made over the holiday weekend, and just then, the phone rang. My grandfather. A fall. A broken hip. Maybe fractured. I spent the rest of the day at the hospital, keeping both him and my grandmother company while he waited to be taken into surgery. Thankfully, the fracture was small and the surgery went well, and he is now on the road to recovery.

All of this to say, my plans for the past two days were thrown out the window, and all of the productivity I had planned for – including things related to this blog – were little more than a joke. I felt a twinge of regret for being so absent, though understandably so, over the holiday weekend, and had every intention of coming back this week full force. And suddenly, it’s already Thursday, and so the petits fours will have to wait at least one more day, making way for a Thirty Minute Thursday post.

One of my latest meals from Rachael Ray’s book was a mushroom ravioli with a walnut-spinach pesto. The recipe was actually for tortellini and pesto, using pre-made frozen cheese tortellini, but I have always wanted to try making my own. So, I followed the recipe for the pesto, and instead of dumping some frozen ravioli into a pot of boiling water, I laid out my newly purchased wonton wrappers and got to work on a different recipe for fresh ravioli I had bookmarked most likely centuries ago.

The ravioli were a total bust. I don’t really know what happened, though I’m thinking I may have boiled them too long, since they absolutely fell to pieces. It was, as I so aptly wrote in my notes about this dish, a hot mess. I also didn’t find the crudely salvaged meal to be particularly filling, despite the high-fat and, therefore, high-calorie nature of pesto. Making the pesto with a cheese-filled tortellini would likely solve that problem, but so could throwing in a protein like tofu, chicken, or fish.

The pesto itself, on the other hand, was very nice. It was easy to come together, though maybe it wound up being less pureed than I typically expect from a pesto sauce. This is either a result of my “trusty” little mini-chopper that I use instead of a real food processor, or just the nature of the recipe itself. It was even a little spicy, and I can’t quite place why that was (there’s really nothing in it that has any heat). The combination of spices must have just come together in this synergistic way so that the sauce was greater than the sum of its parts. Or, my taste buds have gone totally wacky and you should no longer listen to a word I say. Let’s go with the first one, ok?

One Year Ago: Oatmeal, 3 Ways

Walnut-Spinach Pesto, courtesy of Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: enough for 10 servings of pasta
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
4 ounces chopped walnuts
1 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth
10 ounces baby spinach
4 cloves garlic
⅔ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

The Method
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan on the stove or in the toaster oven until lightly browned, shaking occasionally and checking often. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a sauce pan and then remove from the heat. Working in batches, puree the spinach, walnuts, broth, and garlic in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients. If using for pasta, add the cooked pasta and toss until evenly coated.






 

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Posted by toni

Thirty Minute Thursdays: Broccoli Rabe & Ricotta Penne

1:08 PM | Labels: , , ,


There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love ricotta cheese, and those who hate it. It seems to be one of those polarizing foods, and there’s really no getting around it. If you love it, lasagna and stuffed shells aren’t the same without it. If you hate it, there’s no method of preparation that will make it palatable. My family comes from the second camp, and somehow, my body synthesized the ricotta-loving gene out of thin air.

At least, that’s what I thought, anyway.

I never eat homemade meals with ricotta in it, because my family doesn’t like it. This means I’ve never bought ricotta before. I only ever eat it at restaurants or in some other sort of prepared dish. I decided to treat myself and buy a container recently – some would go into a pasta dish, this pasta dish that I’m about to share with you, and the rest I would experiment with. I chose part-skim because I wanted something a little leaner than whole milk ricotta, and a little less…artificial, shall we say? Than the chemical-laden nonfat variety. Ever since cracking into this tub of part-skim, though, I’m starting to think that either I’m not really a die-hard ricotta fan – just another poser enthusiast - or I’m such a ricotta purist that only the fresh, full-fat kind will suffice. Sigh.

If you can spare the calories, I would recommend making this dish (or any other in which ricotta plays a pretty prominent role) with the best quality, least processed kind you can get your hands on. This means, I think, more fat. The flavor and texture will really take the meal to a new level. Still, even with part-skim you can get decent results.

I swapped the plain chicken with lean chicken sausage, fresh thyme with dried, and broccolini with broccoli rabe. To be honest, it was missing something – a sprinkling of mozzarella, a dash of sugar, some small addition to heighten the flavors already in the pasta. The higher fat ricotta (or maybe the addition of a few tablespoons of creamy, plain greek yogurt instead) might do the trick, too. Even so, it’s an easy and different recipe, so I enjoyed it, and hope you do, too!



Ricotta & Broccoli Rabe Pasta, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4-6 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
1 pound penne
2 heads broccoli rabe tops, chopped
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 lean chicken sausage links, sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
couple pinches of ground nutmeg

The Method
Start a pot of water to boil for the pasta, adding in the penne once the water reaches a boil. Cook until al dente and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water before draining the rest.

Meanwhile, simmer the broccoli rabe in a cup of fresh water in a small saucepan for at least 10 minutes to extract some of the bitterness. Drain well and set aside.

In a large, deep skillet set over medium heat, add the olive oil, chicken sausage, and garlic. Cook to brown the sausage, turning occasionally, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the broccoli rabe, pasta, ricotta, and the reserved pasta water. Season with thyme and nutmeg, and any salt and pepper, to taste, if desired. Toss the mixture until it reaches a creamy consistency. 



 

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Kitchen Sink Pasta Pie Saves the Day!

2:10 PM | Labels: , ,


I used to post any old recipe on here that I attempted, regardless of how wonderfully or horribly it turned out. I noticed, however, that most food bloggers – the ones who had really been successful and had a lot of followers – only, for the most part, posted the Good Stuff. I was faced with a dilemma: do I try to emulate the bloggers who I admire so much and, ultimately, strive to be more like in terms of success; or do I throw caution to the wind and stick to the fact that Floptimism is all about taking the good with the bad, and sometimes that means telling you all about how much of a failure a particular recipe wound up being?

In the end, I decided to do a combination. I try to make the good outweigh the bad, just as I’m trying in general to focus more on the positive things in life, but I do confess to royally messing up every now and then. I also try to refrain from posting about a recipe that either didn’t quite live up to expectations but had potential, or something got in the way of making it a really classy post, like I forgot to take a picture or for some reason wrote next to nothing in my notes about alterations to the original or my opinion of how it turned out. For those situations, I stick them on my “make again list,” and every once in a while I go back and give them a second chance.

This pasta pie is one of those recipes that got its chance at redemption only recently. I originally made it back in February and found it to be a little lackluster. Still, it was easy to make and had a lot of potential as one of those “clean out your fridge” recipes that you find yourself in need of every so often when your fresh produce has seen better days and your pantry is more of a mash-up of half-used containers than anything else.

The second time I made it, I made a lot of changes, admittedly. I don’t think all of them are necessary to make it a first-rate dish, but that’s the nature of a recipe whose purpose is to help you clean house. You can either roast the vegetables first (which I did in round 1), or not; you can add breadcrumbs, or not; you can use the herbs and spices suggested, or go with whatever you have on hand; you can make it gluten free and vegan, or absolutely 100% traditional; it can be based around leftover pasta, rice, or – as I did in round 2 – a really nice combination of the two. I mean, this really shouldn’t even be called a recipe – it’s definitely one of those “guideline” meals - but it should be called delicious, and simple, and wonderful to have on hand in times of culinary emergencies. 

  
One Year Ago: Crockpot Roasted Chicken & Homemade Stock

Kitchen Sink Pasta Pie, adapted from the Gluten Free Goddess1
Yield: 4-6 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients – The Pie
1 ½ - 2 cups cooked pasta or rice
3-3 ½ cups vegetables
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
various dried herbs of your choice
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
basic white sauce (recipe below)

The Ingredients – The White Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cups low-fat milk
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour, divided
(3 tablespoons cheese of your choice)2
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon dijon mustard
pinch of nutmeg
1 onion, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder

The Method
If roasting the vegetables, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice and chop the vegetables coarsely and arrange on a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with dried herbs and pepper; toss to coat, then place in the oven to roast until tender, approximately 30 minutes.

While the vegetables roast, you can make your white sauce. If not roasting, start with this step. Whisk the olive oil, milk and 1 tablespoon flour together in a sauce pan over medium heat and allow it to thicken. Optionally, add in the cheese, continuing to whisk together. Lastly, stir in the vinegar, mustard, nutmeg, onion and garlic until thickened. Mix in the egg whites, followed by the remaining flour and baking powder.

Assemble the pie in a lightly greased pie plate by tossing or layering the cooked pasta with the vegetables and additional herbs and spices. Pour the sauce over the mixture and shake the plate gently to get everything to mix. Top with bread crumbs and additional herbs, if desired, and bake in the center of a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Allow the pie to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:
1Refer to the original website for ideas on how to make this gluten-free and/or vegan.
2I left this out twice because the original recipe called for nutritional yeast, and I didn’t understand what that meant. I found out recently that it’s used to mimic the flavor of cheese in vegan recipes, so although I enjoyed the recipe without any cheese at all, it certainly would make the flavors pop even more.




 


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30 Minute Thursdays: The Sicilian Eggplant Marinara That Nearly Wasn't

2:44 PM | Labels: , , , ,



This is the story of a girl, a day that left no time for cooking, and a meal that demanded way too much time in the kitchen. I left the house just after 10 in the morning to volunteer at an involvement fair on campus. Straight from there, I drove home for a doctor’s appointment. I managed to fit some study time in there. Straight after the appointment, I drove another 40 minutes back to school. Oh yeah, and it was torrentially downpouring. And there was construction on the highway. I walked through the door of my apartment at 8pm, cracked open my cookbook, and realized that this Eggplant Marinara Pasta that I had picked out for that night was no quickie. So I did what any tired, hungry person would do in this situation – I took shortcuts. I didn’t measure, I didn’t wait for things to roast or cool, and I didn’t really do much of anything the recipe told me to do. I burned some of the ingredients, too.

But in just 20 minutes, I had a piping hot bowl of food in front of me, and even if I was still tired, I at least wasn’t hungry anymore.

And when I took my last bite, I stood up, walked back into the kitchen, and started baking a cake for L’s birthday.

Yeah. It was a long day.

At least the meal was enjoyable, never mind the fact that it’s a far cry from how Rachael Ray intended it. This is another solid recipe from her cookbook. Allowing the eggplant to roast fully (as I didn’t) would probably add a depth of flavor, but I certainly liked it a lot the way I made it. It was comforting and filling, but it did make a strange amount of food. Granted, I did a lot of pouring and dumping of food into skillets, and not a lot of measuring, so maybe I just made a whole lot more food than I should have. Still, I think this more appropriately serves 6 than 4, especially if you add in sides like a salad or crusty bread.

Sicilian Eggplant Marinara over Penne, courtesy of Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 6 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
1 pound penne rigate
1 medium eggplant
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic
fresh parsley, to taste
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
20 leaves fresh basil (or roughly 2 teaspoons dried)
grated parmesan or asiago cheese, for topping
warm, crusty bread, for dipping (optional)

The “Real” Method
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, set a pot of water to boil for the pasta, adding in the penne once it reaches a rolling boil. Cook until al dente, then drain.

Cut a few slits down one side of the egg plant and place the eggplant, slit side up, directly onto the oven rack. Roast for 20 minutes then set aside to cool before gently removing the skin (this should pull away easily with the help of a sharp knife). Add the eggplant to a food processor and blend into a paste.

Heat a skillet over medium or medium-high heat. Add to it the garlic and olive oil, cooking until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add the eggplant paste and season with pepper before also adding in the parsley, tomatoes, and basil. Allow the sauce to heat through before tossing with the pasta and topping with the grated cheese. Serve alongside crusty bread, a side salad, or just a big fork!

The Method, a la Floptimism
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, set a pot of water to boil for the pasta, adding in the penne once it reaches a rolling boil. Cook until al dente, then drain.

Cut a few slits down one side of the egg plant and place the eggplant, slit side up, directly onto the oven rack. Start to roast the eggplant.

Turn your attention to the sauce. Heat a skillet over medium or medium-high heat. Add to it the garlic and olive oil, cooking until the garlic begins to sizzle. Accidentally burn the garlic.

Give up on the eggplant; remove from the oven. Don’t wait for it to cool, don’t bother with the food processor, don’t even take the time to peel it (the skin is healthy, anyway!) – just chop it up as finely as you can, and dump it into the skillet with the garlic. Season with pepper before also adding in the parsley, tomatoes, and basil. Allow the sauce to heat through before tossing with the pasta and topping with the grated cheese. Serve alongside crusty bread (also burnt) and a big fork. 


 





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Posted by toni

Alpine Mushroom Pasta (or: mushrooms, cabbage & pasta oh my!)

3:57 PM | Labels: , ,

 
It's still September, and that means it's still National Mushroom Month! Although I took a break for 30 Minute Thursday and this weekend's cookie cake, I have a few more fantastic mushroom recipes to share with you before the month is out. This mushroom and pasta dish is especially perfect for the chillier weather settling in slowly but surely, as it's warm and filling, and completely satisfying. The flavors are subtle, and the texture is creamy and soft, if soft makes any sense as a description of a food. It also makes very large servings, but in the end it felt 100% appropriate - it's really more of a cabbage dish with pasta, so it's not nearly as heavy as a more traditional pasta dish would be.

I altered the recipe a little bit, using red wine vinegar and stock made out of bouillon and the pasta water instead of the wine (I just never keep wine in my apartment), and substituted dill in for the sage. I think that the sage and wine would add a really nice depth to the dish, but I enjoyed it as it was, so don't feel too tied down by the ingredients the recipe calls for. This is absolutely a recipe that you keep in the back of your head but don't write down - remember the flavors, the experience of the meal, and recreate it liberally based on whatever you have on hand. It'll still be delicious, I'm sure.

Alpine Mushroom Pasta, adapted from Eating Well
Yield: 6 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
8 ounces whole wheat pasta
6-8 cups shredded or chopped cabbage
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 portobello mushroom caps, gills removed and thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons stock (can be made from leftover pasta water)
2 teaspoons whole wheat flour
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup cheese1
3/4 teaspoon dried dill

The Method
Bring water to a boil for the pasta, and cook for just 4 minutes. Add in the cabbage and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until both the pasta and cabbage are tender - roughly 4 additional minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid plus another 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (the latter for the stock).

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium and add in the mushrooms, onion and garlic. Stir the mixture often as it cooks, approximately 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened and started to release their liquid.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the stock, red wine vinegar, and flour. Pour it into the pan, season with pepper, and stir until the vegetable mixture thickens, approximately 1 minute. Add in the tomatoes and cook until they just start to break down, another minute or so.

Finally, add the pasta, cabbage, and reserved 1/2 cup pasta water to the skillet along with the cheese and dill. Remove from the heat and toss to combine.

Notes:
1The recipe calls for "diced smoked" cheese but I just used what I had on hand - presumably a sharp cheddar of some kind. Again, this recipe is forgiving - use what you like, can afford, and have in your fridge already. If that happens to be "diced smoked" cheese, all the better!



 




 

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Posted by toni

Pesto Vegetable Pasta

2:14 PM | Labels: , ,


A lot of people think that I’m a vegetarian or tell me that they’re surprised when they find out that I’m not. I’ve considered “taking the plunge” before, but ultimately know that I will never be a full-fledged vegetarian. It isn’t that I don’t love animals or keeping my carbon footprint in check (to an extent, of course; I’m no saint); it’s more that, being a human and, therefore, an omnivore, and having as big of a passion for food as I do, I don’t see myself being tied down to any one label or food group. Plus, L will even more definitely never give up meat entirely, though he does enjoy a nice tofu or bean-based dish from time to time, and I don’t see myself being the type of home cook who will make multiple meals each night to placate everyone simultaneously. (Does that make me sound uncaring?)

Still, the excitement I feel for new vegetarian dishes is unparalleled, and there are times when I feel “meated out.” For example, this past week not only have I been eating my fair share of meat-based meals, but three of them have included red meat – an ingredient that I’m used to eating sparingly, as an occasional indulgence. What all of this meat has left me with is almost a heavy feeling that has blossomed into a strong desire for vegetables and lighter fare.

It’s times like these that I turn to meals like this one for Pesto Vegetable Pasta.  It was filling without being heavy, and while extra veggies are always welcome in my book, I did not find myself missing meat one bit. It also won me over not only by how delicious it was, but by how ridiculously fast it came together. I mean, really – I’m talking 15 minutes. I’m talking it took longer to boil my water and cook my pasta than to have the rest of the meal ready to go. My only complaint about the meal was that my tomato:pesto ratio for the sauce was off; the picture in the original was red from the tomatoes, whereas mine was decidedly green. My only guess as to what went “wrong” was that the recipe called for “1 can of tomatoes,” and perhaps it was implied that that can would hold 28 ounces whereas I stuck with 14.5, the only can of fire-roasted tomatoes I found at the store. Because of this, I’ve suggested using a 28 ounce can (or two smaller ones) in the recipe below. If you do this, just taste it and adjust the pesto to make sure that flavor isn’t completely lost by the added tomatoes.

Pesto Vegetable Pasta, adapted from Stephanie Cooks
Yield: 8 servings
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
5 small zucchini, sliced thinly
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
28 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cup pesto
2 2/3 - 4 cups dry whole wheat penne

The Method
Start the pasta water to boil and, once ready, add in the penne. Meanwhile, sauté the zucchini and mushrooms in a skillet greased lightly with cooking spray until almost completely cooked, at least 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes for an additional 3-4 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to evaporate. Stir in the pesto and lower the heat to low to hold the vegetable sauce at temperature. When the penne is done to your liking, drain it and add it to the skillet with the sauce, tossing to coat well.


 

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Posted by toni

Honey-Lemon-Ginger Chicken Pasta

11:25 AM | Labels: , , ,


If all of that talk the other day of honey-flavored treats for your pooch got you feeling a little jealous, here is an even more enticing (and infinitely more human-oriented) recipe to cheer you up! It's a little surprising that it has taken me so long to share this recipe for Honey-Lemon-Ginger Chicken with you, since I more or less thought that I was in heaven the moment I took my first bite. It really is sweet and tangy at its best, with flavor out the wa-zoo to make every drop of simple, refined sugars it dumps into your blood stream well worth it. I even like to think the mouthful of a title is appropriately reminiscent of how jam-packed it is with flavor - one succinct title could never adequately encompass the full taste experience that is this dish.

Of course, I had to add some veggies to it, because in my mind, every savory meal could benefit from a healthy serving of extra vegetables. The original also calls for skin-on thighs, and I used my tried-and-true boneless, skinless (flavorless? ergh) breast meat. If you like to rationalize your food decisions (which the budding counselor in me vehemently discourages, but the human being in me does oh, I don't know, a half dozen times a day...), just say these additional vegetables, switch to white meat, and, perhaps, a side of whole grain pasta or brown rice in place of their refined counterparts completely counteract the downsides of the sugary marinade.

Or, you know, just eat it and enjoy it, because it's ridiculously good.

Also, feel free to make this with precooked chicken - I'm almost positive that's what I did all those months ago, in which case you would just skip the initial step meant to sear the chicken. All of my changes that I made led to a less photogenic dish - as in, the "sauce" wasn't as glistening and "sticky" looking as the original - but the flavors are all still spot-on.

Honey-Lemon-Ginger Chicken Pasta, adapted from Home Cooking Rocks
Yield: 1 serving
(printable recipe)

The Ingredients
4-5 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken breast (approximately 1/2 - 1 breast)
1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup baby bella mushrooms
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/8 - 1/4 cup broccoli cuts
1 tablespoon water
scant amount of oil (or nonstick spray), for cooking
1/2 cup cooked whole grain pasta, for serving

The Method
Place the chicken in a sautee pan, greased with the oil or spray, and cook over high heat for a couple of minutes; if you're using meat with skin, you're looking for the skin to turn golden brown. Flip the chicken over and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove the chicken (disposing of the rendered fat if using meat with skin) and slice down before returning to the pan.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and wait for the sauce to start to bubble. At this time, lower the heat and cover the pan, letting it continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes or so. After 10 minutes, adjust the consistency of the sauce if it's too thin by raising the heat and removing the lid to allow the sauce to cook down and thicken for a couple of minutes. Serve atop a bed of pasta with any extra sauce drizzled over it.

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Posted by toni

Chickpea Pasta Casserole

12:30 PM | Labels: , , , ,


The first semester of my Freshman year of college, I went to school in New York - Ithaca, to be exact. It took me a grand total of I think 2.5 months to realize I wasn't even going to make it to January there, much less through the entire second semester. It rained or snowed every day after late September, and the gusts of wind were enough to freeze your lungs and knock you out cold. Sunny days in Ithaca are beautiful, but too few and far between to outweigh every other rotten weather day hovering atop that small mountain. So, I transferred. Now, of course, the winter here is beginning to feel much too akin to that of Ithaca than I would like, and although the sun is out today, I still find myself dreading the lab I need to walk to in just under an hour from now.

This winter calls for heavy dishes - and I don't necessarily mean calorically dense. I mean, rib-sticking recipes: soup, casseroles, stews, chili. Homemade bread to get the rib stickage factor up another ten notches. Although this recipe for chickpea casserole doesn't have a homemade bread component, it does throw some hearty pasta into it, so carb lovers should have no fear. I'm sure that true carb lovers would still add a loaf of homemade dough to this menu, but I can assure you that it certainly doesn't need it.

As it is, exactly as it is, this casserole is everything you need to forget about the harsh winter raging outside your kitchen. There's no heavy cream involved, just sour cream and some parmesan, so you can play around with the literal heaviness of it; but either way, it's thick and creamy, and doesn't have to be too sinful. Instead, it's savory and a little salty, creamy and indulgent, and warm and filling.

I've made this twice now, and the first time could not get it to thicken up. It wound up being a soup that still tasted incredible, but lacked a little bit of the heartiness that a thicker consistency brings. The second time around I was able to get it to thicken better, partially by pureeing the chickpeas first and also by allowing for more reducing time. I've come to find that the canned parmesan is much saltier and stronger than the Real Deal, so if you're using that you might want to decrease the amount by a little bit. I'd also encourage throwing in some spinach or pureed or chopped veggies (cauliflower, pepper, asparagus...), and maybe even slightly increasing the amount of chickpeas and pasta (though not by too much). I made a few adjustments, some out of laziness, some just to try to use up similar products that I had in my pantry.

Chickpea Pasta Casserole, courtesy of Gourmet Fury
Yield: 4 main dish servings

The Ingredients
1/2 pound dry pasta
1 large can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 head roasted garlic (I used un-roasted minced instead, maybe 3-4 tablespoons)
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 cups chicken stock (use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian)
1/2 cup sour cream, any fat
3 cups grated parmesan*
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped (I used 1.5 tablespoons dried basil)
salt and pepper, to taste
good olive oil, for sauteeing

The Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the pasta al dente in a medium pot. Once finished, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the onions in a large sauce pan coated in olive oil until caramelized - this can take a decent amount of time. Season, optionally, with salt once caramelization is reached. If you do not have an immersion blender, while you are waiting for the onions to finish, puree the chickpeas.** You may need to add some olive oil to the food processor to help the chickpeas along. Add the chickpeas and the garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat until the chickpeas are warmed through. Pour in the chicken stock, and allow the mixture to come to a simmer.

If you own an immersion blender, blend the mixture to reach a smooth consistency, all the while drizzling about 1/3 cup of olive oil into the mixture (though I have my doubts that this is really necessary). Once this is done, stir in the sour cream. Finally, add in the pasta, half of the cheese, and the parsley.

Transfer the mixture to either one 9x13" oven-safe pan or several individual ramekins and spread the remaining cheese on top. Place into the preheated oven and bake until the cheese has turned golden, approximately 10 minutes. Serve hot.***

Notes:
*If you're using the cheap, canned parmesan cheese, I wouldn't use more than 1/2 cup. I used 2/3 cup and still found it to be too overpowering.
**Alternatively, you can wait until after adding the chickpeas and chicken stock to the pan, and then transfer the warmed mixture to a food processor to puree the entire thing in batches. This may lead to a product more similar to the original, but is a big pain in the neck to do.
***Here, the directions state to drizzle with even more olive oil. I say, enough already! It was plenty delicious without all of that.

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Posted by toni

Taco Pasta Toss

1:59 PM | Labels: , , ,


There are always a couple of nights each week where I don't get back to my apartment until after 6:00, and no matter how much I love to cook and how much I hate those frozen, microwavable dinners...I'm hungry. I don't want to wait an hour to eat. I want to eat, digest, and still have time to eat a nice little sinful dessert before bedtime - scratch that, before 2 hours before bedtime, since I try to be good even with my sinful dessert and give my belly time to digest before it switches into sleep mode. Sometimes, I do pop a meal into the microwave, and sometimes, that meal is not one I had prepared earlier on in the week and frozen myself. However, what's even better than that is finding a recipe that you can make, fresh, in no time at all.

This recipe for Taco Pasta is by far one of the easiest, simplest, and most delicious recipes I've devised. It takes no more than five minutes to throw together once the pasta has cooked, which means you're looking at, what? A 20-30 minute meal, tops? It may not solve the dinner situation for someone coming home at 8pm, but it's perfect for those 6:30-7 nights. Plus, it's pretty healthy, heavy enough to fill you up but not so much that you feel gross about eating it so late at night, and it has tons of flavor. I wouldn't have it any other way, come on! Have you noticed my opinion on bland food? It doesn't fly in the Floptimism Kitchen. Period.

I tend to do a lot of "Mexican" themed dishes. Really, they're all some form of variation on each other: burritos, fajitas, taco salad, taco pasta, my Mexican Fiesta Omelet. I do enjoy many other cuisines, but this is a set of ingredients that I tend to keep in my kitchen more than others (except, maybe, Italian), and most of the ingredients pack a big flavor punch with limited extraneous calories and prep time. Plus, I'm a one-person household, basically, so when I buy a jar of something like salsa, it gets used for many meals until it's gone. But beyond that, I've found Mexican foods in general really great for home cooking. You can also easily do vegetarian with them, throwing in some black beans, or scrap that and include any kind of meat your heart desires. It's flexible that way. Plus, it's a safe choice, despite having that creative element in your ability to mess around with some ingredients based on what you have on hand. And if you're walking in at 6:30 and want dinner a-sap, it might not be the best night to toy around with flavors. This will give you something reliable and fast, no questions asked.

Taco Pasta Toss
Yield: 1 serving

The Ingredients*
1/3 - 1/2 cup dry pasta**
1/4 cup frozen corn
3/4 - 1 cup loosely packed spinach
1/2 cup black beans
lemon juice, to taste
1/3 cup salsa
2-3 tablespoons sour cream

The Method
Cook the pasta to desired consistency, and then drain and return to the pot. Add in the remaining ingredients, except for the salsa sour cream, and heat until the spinach has wilted. Add in the salsa and warm thoroughly. Remove from the heat and top with the sour cream, optionally mixing it in or leaving it as a garnish.

Notes:
*Because I was adding the salsa, I didn't throw in too many veggies like tomatoes and onions, because I knew those flavors would already be there. It's also the reason why I didn't use too many actual spices, like cumin or chili powder. However, don't let that stop you! Peppers - especially some hotter ones - onion, tomato, tomatillo, avocado, a little cheese...all of these would be incredible. Use what your refrigerator and pantry have in stock; that's what quick meals are all about, anyway.
**I liked the orecchiette here, since the black beans and corn tucked themselves cutely inside of them and the salsa seemed to hold on a bit better. But really, use whatever you have. Rice would even be fine, but just be wary of the less instant varieties, if you are trying to use this as a quick meal.

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Posted by toni

Cannelini-Mushroom Spaghetti

3:15 PM | Labels: , , , , ,


I'm a woman of my word: I told you I wouldn't leave you hanging in unbearable suspense after yesterday's post. You see, the cannelini-mushroom crostini was good. Very good. But I took the leftovers and, being that I can't leave things well alone, added more to it. I tend to do this a lot with leftovers, which helps me cook in batches and have quick meals without feeling as though I'm eating the same thing day in and day out. It makes sense that a lot of my second go-arounds are enormously successful (a mon avis - in my opinion, that is), because the recipes I post here are almost exclusively first attempts on my part. So, the leftovers give me the opportunity to tweak - and let me tell you, I am so glad that I did!

I added some different Fall veggies and some condiments, and mixed it into a pasta to make this hearty fall pasta dish that you must try. I don't even think I'm going to make the dip without incorporating some of these changes. It really took the dish to a new level in every way: a better variety of textures, a gorgeous burnt-orange color, and so much flavor! This was a smash hit, if you ask me - making this a unanimously approved meal.

What I wound up with was a heartier sauce reminiscent of a more traditional marinara, but so much more special. You get a complete protein without any meat, tons of in-season veggies (though frozen would work just fine here), and what I think is a pretty snazzy name. Cannelini-Mushroom - it just kind of rolls of your tongue, right? Yeah? Well, I think it does, anyway.

Cannelini-Mushroom Spaghetti
Yield: 1-2 servings

The Ingredients
Cannelini-Mushroom Dip, found here
1 1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 Tbsp. sour cream
1/4C kale
scant 1/4C cauliflower
chicken stock, for consistency

spaghetti noodles, for serving

The Method
While you wait for the water for the pasta to reach a boil, prepare the bean dip. Transfer the dip to a skillet and add the remaining ingredients, stirring to incorporate. While the pasta cooks, allow the bean mixture to warm up. Toss with pasta when ready, and serve.

Yes, that's it! I'm not messing around with these quick meals. This semester has kicked my butt something fierce, and as important as good, nutritious meals are to me, I'm not about to slave over dinner (often) after a long day of classes. Some of my days leave me away from my apartment for 9 hours. I know anyone with a full time job understands that feeling of walking through the door at 5:30, absolutely starving, and wanting nothing more than a hot meal. It can be so tempting to call for delivery or pop in a lean cuisine, but options like this spaghetti make those so much less appealing (especially when you're on a college student's budget, too). Quick, delicious, and healthy meals are not budget-breaking or time-wasting - necessarily, anyway.

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