3 Minute Pasta

I'm posting this because Tracey is lame. Even though she has three recipes lined up to post, she keeps going to bed at 8pm and leaves no time for this place. Well, I say there is no excuse great enough...except for an adorable 6 month old who like to wake up and just giggle at 5:45 am.

I know this because Tracey and I took the kids on an adventure in the woods this week and witnessed the cuteness and giggling wake-up call first hand. I don't know how she does it.

Vi and I returned home from our time away happy, tired and hungry. I had a box of penne and a can of garbonzo beans in the cupboard and decided that had to make a meal since I certainly wasn't shuffling out to Wegmans on this cold, dreary night.

I call this 3 minute pasta because that's how long it takes to prepare after the pasta is cooked. Hey, most of Rachel Ray's meals aren't actually achievable in 30 mins unless you have a production crew and three arms. :p

This turned out really yummy so I wanted to share. Great dish to throw together when you need something fast and comforting.

Mangia~
lora

Lemon Chickpea Pasta

1/2 lb penne - cooked until al dente
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 can chickpeas - rinsed
Zest of one lemon
2 dashes dried oregano
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed
1/2 cup grated parm
Dash hot pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Cook pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain pasta and add evoo to hot pasta pan. Add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add chickpeas, sauté 1 min. Add remaining ingredients and add pasta back to pan. Stir well until heated through (add another splash of evoo if it's too dry). Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve with more cheese.

Lasagna al Forno

For me, lasagna ranks right up there with my other favorite comfort foods; pizza, arroz con pollo, spaghetti/meatballs, nachos and hot fudge sundaes. When we ventured home from college for a long weekend, that's what we'd request for dinner. Momma G's lasagna can't be beat.

This recipe hit my inbox last week and it looked like a creamy, tasty twist on an old classic. I made some tweaks to make it a bit lighter and more garlic-y. It's really easy to put together, but it does take some time. It would be a great make-ahead meal since it takes approx. 30-40 mins to cook. Vi ate a handful of black beans, a piece of toasted bread, and two steamed mussels (rich's appetizer for the eve) while waiting. She even agreed that it was worth the wait. And she's 4.

Mangia~

Lora

Lasagna al Forno

Ragu:

Heat in saute pan:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

Add:

1 large carrot chopped fine

2 stalks celery chopped

1 med onion chopped fine

Simmer until very soft: 5-7 mins

Add:

3 cloves garlic minced

Saute for 2 mins and add:

1 lb ground beef (I used organic - it's far less greasy than non-organic)

When brown, add:

1/3 cup red wine (or chicken broth)

1 can diced tomatoes

pinch of dried oregano and dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook as long as you have time for (I cooked mine for about 45 mins. Could cook for up to 2 or so hours to intensify the flavor. If you cook this long though - salt after it's reduced.)

While the ragu simmers, prepare the cream sauce:

Cream Sauce

Melt in sauce pan:

4 tbsp unsalted butter

Add - 1/4 flour

Let cook for 1 min - whisking constantly - then:

Add 1 cup chicken broth

1 cup milk

Whisk on high heat until it comes to a boil

Lower to a simmer and add:

1 cup ricotta

1/4 cup grated parm

sprinkle of garlic powder

salt and pepper

pinch of nutmeg

Turn off heat and whisk until smooth

Build the lasagna:

Ladle some of the cream sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place three Barilla no bake lasagna noodles side-by-side. Spoon half of the ragu, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Top with more noodles, white sauce, ragu and more mozzarella. Top with noodles and the remaining white sauce, sprinkle heavily with grated parm.

Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 for 30-40 mins, until noodles are soft. Remove foil and bake 10 mins longer (throw on the broiler if not brown enough on top). Let it sit for at least 10 mins before serving.

Enjoy the rest of the wine. ;)

Halloween Night

Before we headed out yesterday to stuff our molars and gullets with refined sugar and chocolate, we ate vegetables. Yes, I HAVE turned into my mother. Although, I don't think my mom was so cruel as to serve us swiss chard and spinach salad before trick-or-treating. I remember warm soups and stews. Turns out I'm not as nice as my mom.

Halloween coincided with the collection of our last share of harvest from Mud Creek Farms (sniff). The last haul brought us a rainbow of swiss chard, yellow cauliflower, tender spinach, and celeriac root. My mom and Tracey were here, and we worked every single one of 'em into our menu: roasted veggies, spinach salad with apples and penne with swiss chard and cider.

I was placed in charge of the chard. What to do...

I've eaten it before but never prepared it before this fall. The last time I prepared it, I served it over mashed potatoes. We knew we had to incorporate pasta into the deal somehow since Poppa G was here. So that's where the penne came in.

Now, I'm convinced the organic methods used by Mud Creek produce the best tasting vegetables I've ever eaten. This swiss chard was so fresh and delicate tasting it could have been a salad green! It did present some bitterness though, so to be sure the kiddies would gobble it up I added some cider to the mix.

Mangia~

Lora

P.S. I also promised Karie that I would share this recipe I used for the Jalapeno Popper dip I made for a Halloween party this weekend. It's soooooooooo bad (bad meaning good).

Penne with Swiss Chard and Cider

A large bunch of swiss chard (about the size of the bunch above)

1 lb penne

1 largish glug of olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

1-2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup apple cider (maybe more if you are using store-bought chard? just taste as you go and if you need the bitterness cut more, add another splash)

pinch red pepper flake

salt and pepper to taste

Generous handful of Parm cheese (although my mom and I agreed that crumbled goat cheese would be even better)

Put pot on to boil for pasta.

Glug olive oil into a deep, saute pan.

Add minced garlic and turn on the heat to low-med.

Let the garlic bubble away for a few minutes until the scent fills your kitchen (or the deepest corners of your bedroom closets, like at my grandma's house).

While the garlic is getting toasty, tear the chard away from the stem and begin to toss bite-size pieces into the pan.

Mix to incorporate with oil and garlic as you go.

Add 1 cup of stock, cider and turn up the heat to med-high. Cook until wilted and tender and then turn down to low. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flake to taste and simmer for a minute more (this is when you would add more stock if you need it. This IS the sauce for the pasta so it needs to have some looseness to it).

When pasta is cooked, add to the pan and simmer together until ready to serve.

Add cheese and mix and then sprinkle more on top.

Greek Feast

This menu was born from a craving for greek olives and feta cheese. It couldn't be simpler.

Mangia!

Lora

Lemon chicken:

1 lb organic chicken thighs

Sprinkle with:

Salt and Pepper

Juice of one lemon

Let marinate for one hour (if time allows).

Grill until crispy, yet still moist (grill a lemon, peppers, and any other veggie you have on hand - tossed with olive oil and S/P first).

Fettuccine:

Place a few heavy drizzles of olive oil in a cold skillet

Add three minced garlic cloves

Warm until the scent of garlic fills your kitchen and then shut off the heat

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to a boil.

Cook 8oz of fresh pasta (we used Wegmans brand) according to package directions.

Once pasta is cooked, add to olive oil. Add chopped greek olives, a large sprinkling of feta cheese and chopped scallions.

Hummus was adapted from this recipe.

Simple Shrimp with Tomato and Angel Hair

This shrimp was one of those things you grab at the store on an impulse, without any real purpose in mind. Sometimes pre-cooked is an easy way to get us eating seafood. Then, if I am making something that Abel-son might be unsure of, I usually mix it with pasta. Because... really, kids love noodles. Mix in a quick and cheap sauce: saute garlic in olive oil and add fresh tomatoes and salt, and voila! And to this I added a few more things I had in the fridge.

By now there is a common theme on this blog. Garlic. :)



Saute 2 cloves garlic chopped in 3 T olive oil plus some crushed red pepper, just cook until tender.
Add 2-3 chopped fresh tomatoes and cook until they are soft. Smash with potato masher or glass bottom until smoother sauce is formed.
Add 1/2 c sour cream about 1/4 c parmesan and mix until smooth and bubbly
1 T dry sweet basil
salt and lots of pepper

1/2 lb cooked angel hair, and I added the cooked shrimp in when the pasta needed a couple min left to cook in order to warm it up.

Mex Mac n' Cheese

Orange powder = super powers. Or so we thought growing up!

All we wanted was to get our grubby little hands on some florescent mac n' cheese...instead, our Mom insisted on spending TIME and MONEY on making us the HOMEMADE stuff, and we complained all the way through dinner.

Mom persevered and it took a few years until we eventually came around. Now we understand my mother's form of torture. Scratch mac n' cheese is soooo yummy...gooey...and cheesy. It really is the ultimate comfort food (next to mashed potatoes & lasagna). How could we ever crave that nasty processed stuff again!?! (OK - I make it once in a while and enjoy every bite...shhhhh.)

This is probably not too far off from the Master Chef's (see sidebar) recipe. I made this version "Mex" by using queso blanco and oaxaca cheese, in addition to cheddar.

Mangia ~ Lora

Saute:

One medium onion, chopped

Drizzle of olive oil

Until soft

Add:

4 tbs. unsalted butter

4 tbs. flour

Cook a few minutes

Whisk in:

an eyeball amount of milk - 3-4 cups maybe?

Just until a thick cream sauce forms

Sprinkle of chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper (taste - if you like it then move on)

Turn off heat and add:

1 tbs spicy mustard

Shredded/crumbled cheese - enough that the sauce is still thick and gooey, but not gloppy. Does that make sense? I probably used a total of around 3 cups of cheese.

Stir in:

3/4 lb of our favorite cooked pasta (mine is Barilla's campanelle - sooooo good)

Chopped Cilantro

BTW - I was in a purist mood when I made this, but you could certainly spice it up a bit (and boost the nutritional power) if you like. Here are some things I might have thrown in on a different day: minced red pepper, roasted peppers, black beans, chopped fresh tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes - drained, green chilies, and sometimes I do the whole top-it-with-breadcrumbs-and/or-cheese-and-bake-it thing. I use panko, some melted butter and some dry, crumbly cheese like parm.

P.S. - I was lucky to be visiting Tracey and Scott when they made the salmon below. If you want to convert a salmon nay-sayer...this recipe will do it. I stole a chunk off Tracey's plate when she wasn't looking.

Creamy Chicken Tomato Basil Linguini

Our philosophy is cook what you have and what you know. I know that the flavor combo of tomato and basil is hard to beat and a favorite of many! Fresh basil is a summer-time treat but with the garden buried under snow a produce aisle replacement works just as well. And let us be honest, anything mixed with pasta and cheese makes us drool.

Oh, and this dish earned me a "Mom, I love when you cook. It always tastes so good!" Shucks.

When my Grandma, Excutive Chef Millie, makes pasta she breaks out the "pasta platter". This plate is not for the wimpy. Friends have stared at amazement as its brought to the table. Sometimes 5 pounds of perfection piled high interlaced with her super-sublime red sauce and meatballs (in a post to come!). And every time Master Meatball Taster says "Oh, that is WAY too much!" And every time my family and friends prove him wrong.

Mangia~ Tracey


Saute with a little olive oil:

3 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 chopped onion
1 med sweet banana pepper chopped

Make a roux:
2.5 tbls unsalted butter
3 tbls flour

Wisk into cream sauce over medium heat:
2.5 cups milk
3 oz sliced sharp cheddar
1/2 c cream cheese
Splash of cream
Salt & pepper
3 c Shredded chicken

Add just before leaving the stove:
Pint of grape tomatoes halved
Fresh basil
1/2 lb cooked linguine