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

Lunch! 10/27-10/31

Comments (0) | Sunday, October 26, 2014

So this week is steak which I grilled on my grill pan on the stove (seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper and a bit of Worcestershire sauce), Mac and Cheese and green beans. This got interesting because the Mac and Cheese recipe called for evaporated milk but all I had was sweetened condensed milk. As a result the Mac is a little sweet tasting but surprisingly not in a bad way! Who knew?




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HLotW 10/6

Comments (0) | Sunday, October 5, 2014

Spinach artichoke and mushroom pasta, green beans and grapes. Healthy Lunchbox of the Week 10/6-10/10


http://www.thelocalvegan.com/blog/spinach-and-artichoke-pasta-with-mushrooms

Changes: Used regular milk, doubled the artichokes and spinach.


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Chicken Fettuccine and Pesto Basil Sauce

Comments (0) | Saturday, July 30, 2011

Once I was gifted my Fabulous Bag of Basil and had gotten it into my head that I was going to make Delicious Pesto this weekend, I began a hunt for a yummy pesto-based recipe.

Chicken Fettuccine and Pesto Cream Sauce was the grand winner!

This was a pretty good pasta dish. I will definitely be adding it to my base repertoire. Not my most favorite pesto dish I have ever made (see: Spinach Mushroom and Pesto Lasagna) but an absolute keeper and a great meal. Only Little Sister and I were home to try it, but she seemed to enjoy it (plus her typical tablespoon of salt) so it couldn't have been that bad! Hah.

Who dun it? http://www.handletheheat.com/2011/01/chicken-fettuccini-with-pesto-cream.html

Ease of preparation: 3
Taste: 3
Feeds: 2


How pretty does that look? I love the way herbs look on pasta (or really, food in general). The chicken was super tender and juicy and it was all very flavorful. I did end up adding juuuust a sprinkling of salt, but I think that was because I undersalted the pesto to start with. My favorite part of making this dish was pounding down the chicken! We don't have a meat tenderizer/pounder/thing so I started by trying to use a rolling pin but that was pretty unsuccessful. I ended up literally PUNCHING the chicken flat! It was actually pretty fun.


Suggestions / Changes


I pretty much followed the recipe on this. The only thing that I did differently was that I just mixed it all together in the pot as opposed to putting half the sauce on the pasta, putting some chicken on top and drizzling extra sauce over it all on the plate. Not like I'm running a restaurant or anything! Hah.


Mmmmmm Pesto Cream sauce cooking on the stove! Yummy.


Recipe property of: Tessa of Handle the Heat
(http://www.handletheheat.com)


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Baked Mexican Ravioli (Original Recipe)

Comments (1) | Friday, June 24, 2011

What does Blair do when she is home alone and the kitchen is fully stocked? She cooks!
When I was doing the family grocery shopping today I bought some wanton wrappers on a whim. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with them, but I figured I could come up with something pretty easily some night. Little did I know, that night would be tonight!
I was initially supposed to make Teriyaki Chicken and Garlic Noodles tonight, but those plans were canceled when my parents were invited out to dinner. So I decided to experiment! We had a lot of leftover cheese slices from last weekend’s father’s day sliders, and some ground turkey in the freezer that I had picked up last week but didn’t have any plans for. I was thinking I wanted to try something pot sticker inspired, but baked instead of fried to keep it healthy!
These glorious little guys were the result:
Ease of preparation: 3
Taste: 2
Feeds: 5-6
I ended up getting adventurous and making three variations on these. I made meat and cheese, bean and cheese, and meat and bean and cheese. They were all quite good, but my favorites were just meat and just bean. I think the best way to eat these is with a serving of salsa and sour cream to dip them in!
I would say that these are an interesting twist on mexican food night, and definitely worth a try! Kids would probably love them because they’re little enough to be fun, and they are WAY less messy than most other mexican food varieties! Plus if you do bean and cheese only these are a tasty vegetarian meal!
Baked Mexican Ravioli
Ingredients:
One package of wanton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
1lb ground meat (beef or turkey, dealers choice!)
1 can refried beans (optional)
1 packet taco seasoning
8 cheddar cheese sandwich slices
salsa and sour cream, to garnish
Directions (see accompanying images below):
1. Pre-heat oven to 350, line a baking tray with tinfoil and lightly grease
2. Cook meat through, drain excess fat. Add taco seasoning and cook to seasoning’s specifications
3. Slice cheese into 6-7 triangles
4. Lay out wanton wrappers, top with cheese then a small spoonful meat/beans
5. Wet edges of wanton wrapper, press closed
6. Place on baking tray, repeat until tray is full
7. Bake for 5 minutes, turn raviolis over and bake 5 more minutes
8. Eat with salsa and sour cream! 
Helpful pictures!
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
STEP 7
yummy yummy yummy!


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Spinach, Mushroom and Pesto Lasagna

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SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR.
I know I always like what I cook. Well, usually. If I post it on here that pretty much means I liked it enough to share with people… but let me tell you: this lasagna is A-FREAKING-MAZING. Holy moly, so delish. This was night three of Blair Cooks For The Family (night one being the Scallop and Shrimp Bake with Parmesan Risotto and night two being Asian citrus marinated grilled Mahi Mahi) which is happening pretty much all week long since I got the green light to buy whatever I needed to do so on my Dad’s nickel this past weekend. This is the best result (in my opinion) so far.
Just to get this out of the way so you can stop reading and go make this for yourself: http://www.othersideoffifty.com/2011/03/spinach-mushroom-and-pesto-lasagna.html
image
Ease of preparation: 3.5
Taste: 4.5
Feeds: 6-8 easily
Like any good lasagna this bad boy takes a little bit of preparation and work, but all of that is definitely worth it for the end result. Including prep work and baking time this probably took me 2-2.5 hours, but I’m not really super fast in the kitchen. To be completely fair, I will say that Little Sister described this meal as “palatable” and would have preferred red sauce. I think she’s loony but I like to represent all opinions. Mother seemed to be a fan. Father will be testing later this evening or tomorrow.
Suggestions / Changes
Don’t change this. If you change it I will hurt you. I suppose I can support using an egg substitute as opposed to the egg if you wish to make this morevegetarian, but really that’s it. Perfect as-is.
Prepare for a photoshow!
The filling: spinach and ricotta and onion powder and an egg! 
Starting the sauce: garlic and onion and red pepper and olive oil!
Aerial view: the finished lasagna before the oven!
Finished product! Yummmm.
The inside of the lasagna after I removed the first slice. Yay!
Recipe property of: Maggie L.
(http://www.othersideoffifty.com) 


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Classic Fettuccine Alfredo

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So once again dinner time was rolling around and the parental units tell me it’s a “forage whatever you want from the ‘fridge” night. Of course I interpret this as “look around at what we have in the ‘fridge and pantry and then make something yummy.” Of course that’s what I then did.
I’d come across this recipe in my internet travels probably a few months ago but never really thought to try it until I found a giant wedge of Parmesan cheese in in the kitchen this evening. I don’t know if I would say it’s the best ever, maybe a little strong on the cheese flavor so next time I’ll use a little less, or a fresher parm.
Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 1
Feeds: 4-5 or so.
As you can see I made some garlicky steamed veggies to go along with it. This was a good recipe, very very simple and easy to follow. The end results were good and all who had it seemed to like it well enough. The only thing about this that I wasn’t crazy about was that it was juuust a little too buttery for my taste, but then alfredo is supposed to be heavy. 
Suggestions / Changes
As I previously mentioned, next time I’ll use a bit less butter than the recipe indicates. Also I will make sure to use fresher cheese to avoid SUCH a strong flavor. I also think this could be great with a little garlic added in or some fresh broccoli cooked into it. Just some ideas!
An aerial view! Yum.
Recipe property of: Jerry Russell (http://www.cookingbytheseatofmypants.com/)


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Pasta Carbonara and Cheesy Garlic Bread

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It’s been a while!
I’ve been very busy for the last few weeks. I’m about to have my very last finals week of university and then I will be graduating! Off into the real world for me. Job hunting, bills, being a Real Person. It’s quite scary, don’t you think?
But anyway, I’ve finally had some time to try a new recipe. I stumbled this one a while back and it looked super tasty. Plus it was two recipes on one page!
It was very tasty, though it didn’t turn out EXACTLY like the pictures on the website. I think this is because the recipe was VERY inexact and was missing a reasonable amount of helpful info. But no matter!
Ease of preparation: 3
Taste: 4
Feeds: About 4-6? 
Look! I took my own pictures! Helllllz yes. This was definitely a good dinner. The cheesy bread was amazing, and the red pepper flakes gave it a great little unexpected kick. The sauce on the noodles was a liiiittle clumpy but it still tasted fine. Perhaps it’s because I used half & half instead of cream, but I had it on hand and the recipe said that was fine. 
Suggestions / Changes
There are a lot of things missing from this recipe. For example, none of the amounts or cooking information was there for the cheesy bread. I used a whole french bread from publix, a stick of butter, 1/2 cup chopped parsley,  a metric ton of garlic, a whole big ball of mozzarella and red pepper flakes. I baked it at 350 for about 10 minutes. Just keep a good watch on it and take it out when the cheese is all melty and the bread gets crispy.
Also, when making the pasta, I used 1 cup chopped parsley. I cut most of the fat from the bacon in an attempt to make it a little healthier, but then added in 1.5 tablespoons of butter because some fat was necessary.  
Everyone I fed with this said they thought it was delicious!
Recipe property of: The Food in My Beard
(http://www.thefoodinmybeard.com)


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Taco Stuffed Shells

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I found this recipe probably two years ago and then lost it in one of my computer crashes where all my bookmarks went byebye. Just a few days ago I re-stumbled it, retried it, and decided to share it here!
Not my most favorite endeavor, but still good and a fun twist on traditional mexican food. I bet kids would like them too! The adult kids that I have cooked for sure did.
Ease of preparation: 2.5
Taste: 1
Feeds: About 4-6 shells per person, depending on what else you’re serving 
These are fun to make and fun to eat! They’re relatively cheap to make and they definitely fill you up. I serve it with beans or beans and rice, and some fruit.
Suggestions / Changes
I make these with ground turkey instead of beef, and I think they taste just as good that way (I have tried them both ways)… plus, they’re healthier! Also, I throw in some chopped up onion and garlic with the meat. A little extra cheese on top doesn’t hurt either!
The directions call for 12 large pasta shells, but I usually can fill about 18 with a pound of meat. Also I always make a few extra shells because inevitably a few will break/tear in the cooking process. If there are any leftover have them as a snack with a dash of salt while the rest bake in the oven!
Recipe and photo property of: Bobby of Blog Chef
(http://blogchef.net/) 


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Heart Healthy Stroganoff (Original Recipe)

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Best Friend and I love to cook together. It’s one of the Things We Do when we are busy being full of how Wholesome we are. We are very Wholesome. That is, when we aren’t getting trashed and dancing like loons in bars. But the rest of the time, yeah…
Where was I going? Oh yes. Cooking. This recipe was one of our earliest mutual forays. We were cooking dinner for Best Friend’s family, as we like to do on occasion. They don’t really eat much red meat but I wanted to get some good protein into the meal, and we all wanted to be pretty healthy about it, so this is what we came up with. Once again, this is a patchwork of other “heart healthy” stroganoff recipes that we found and liked.
Yummy!
Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 3.5
Feeds: 4-6
This came out really well, and the whole of Best Friend’s family liked it. Or at least they said they liked it to avoid bruising our wittle egos. We thought it tasted good. I know each of us has made it on our own, since then. Totally a great family dinner that everyone will like, even the picky eaters.
Heart Healthy Stroganoff
Ingredients:
3/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup margarine/vegetable spread
1 lb. ground turkey (you could use beef but it doesn’t even really need it)
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 can reduced fat or heart healthy cream of chicken soup
3/4 can reduced fat or heart healthy cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
12-16 oz. egg noodles

Directions:
1. Boil pasta according to package directions
2. Saute onions in butter for 5 mins.
3. Add turkey to onions, cook until browned
4. Add other ingredients to turkey, simmer 5-10 minutes until desired consistency
5. Mix with pasta or serve over pasta.
6. Die full and happy!


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Asian Inspired Slaw (Original Recipe)

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This recipe is a combination of several recipes I’ve seen on the internet, something one of my old roommates used to make, and my own imagination. So it is semi-my own creation. I would give credit if I could remember where credit was due! It’s a great salady sort of side dish that is cool and perfect for hot days. Sometimes I just eat a bowl of it for a meal. Plus, it’s relatively good for you! And it can be modified into a 100% vegetarian dish!
Here is a picture courtesy of my amazing google search skillz:
I promise, eventually I will start taking my own pictures and using those. I just haven’t actually cooked anything since I started this thing!

Ease of preparation: 1.5
Taste: 3
Feeds: 10+ if used as a side, 6-8 if used as a meal
This is something that I usually make as a side when I’m feeding a lot of people and I want to have a healthy side option. I made it for the same dinner party as I made the previously described teriyaki chicken and garlic noodles and it too was a hit. Everyone scarfed it right up.

Asian Slaw
Ingredients:
About a bag and a half of broccoli slaw mix (~16-20 oz) easily found at Publix
2 packages of beef flavored Ramen Noodles, or use vegetable flavored for vegetarians
About 6-8 green onions, chopped
Any other thin sliced veggies you want to toss in there
~1/2-1 cup sliced, toasted almonds
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

Directions:
1. Crumble up ramen noodles into the bottom of a big salad bowl
2. Top noodles with slaw, onions, other veggies, and almonds
3. In a bowl or large measuring cup mix together ramen flavoring packets, sugar, oil and vinegar to make the salad dressing
4. Drizzle dressing all over the top of the slaw
5. Put the bowl in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours, but the longer the better (up to 24 hours or so)
6. Stir it all up to get the now softened noodles mixed all into the slaw… Enjoy!


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Baby Lasagnas

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Baby Lasagnas are my most recent go. I discovered them in the process of reading an article/list of unusual things to cook in a muffin tin. It was a glorious list but this recipe was probably its crowning glory. They were quite tasty (and actually I thought they were even better as leftovers the second day) and simple enough, and of course awesome because they are baby!
Ease of preparation: 3
Taste: 3.5
Feeds: the given recipe makes 12, I tripled it to make 36 and that fed 5 people with 8 left for leftovers. The average person will eat ~5

These, as I said previously, are very tasty. The Boyfriend put about 8 away himself and they got good reviews all around. I suggest serving them with a fruit of some sort, or a good salad.

Suggestions / Changes

Typically I am not a huge fan of ricotta so I only did one layer of that, and I used extra mozzarella. Also I moderated this recipe somewhat. Instead of using tomatoes and spices in the meat I used garlic and onion flavored spaghetti sauce and it tasted great. I cooked the turkey in the sauce after browning it for about 15 minutes to really let the taste set in.
Recipe and photo property of: Can You Stay for Dinner? (canyoustayfordinner.com/)


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Chicken Teriyaki and Garlic Noodles

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This is another recipe that has become one of my signature dishes. It is literally so good that I can eat it for days in a row and not get sick of it. I made this for my very first big dinner party (14 people, woo!) and everyone liked it. It’s technically two separate recipes but they are both great and I always make them together.


Ease of preparation: 4
Taste: 4
Feeds: Pasta feeds at least 6, chicken feeds about 4 in the recipe quantity.
Some of my first real food attempts were asian inspired (I make a mean orange chicken with garlic green beans and white rice) so this was a natural progression for me. Also, something else I like about this recipe is that the teriyaki sauce you cook the chicken in can just be used as a regular sauce for other dishes. I used it as a dipping sauce for some potstickers I made once and it worked great.
Suggestions / Changes
I pretty much follow this recipe verbatim. I think the only think I do differently is that I throw some oil in the water when I cook the pasta to keep it from sticking together so bad, and I also saute the garlic and green onions of the pasta sauce for probably twice as long as the recipe indicates.
Recipe and photo property of: Megan Katauskas (megkat.com/)


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Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (Original Recipe)

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Lo! A recipe that I created myself! Yes, they do exist, but I am still a relative beginner in the kitchen so at this point I am still far more likely to trust other’s judgement than my own. Sometimes I get adventurous and try something of my own design, but it is true that I am usually just recreating the inventions of others.
Here it is! My very own Chicken Noodle Soup.
Ease of preparation: 1
Taste: 3.5
Feeds: 5-6 easily
So, the Boyfriend was sick. Sick enough to not be able to attend my weekly Family Dinner that I cook for a lucky few individuals (eyebrow waggle), so you know that was a BFD. Anyway, I felt bad so I figured I would whip up something and take it over to his place so he would feel better (and have something to eat other than cereal in his quarantine). This is the result!
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients:
32 oz regular chicken broth/stock
32 oz reduced sodium chicken broth/stock
8 oz (1 cup) water
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup  chopped carrots (I used frozen, they worked just fine)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups egg noodles
1/2 Publix rotisserie chicken (basically just wait for it to cool down and pick the meat off. You can use more or less than 1/2 to suit your tastes.)
Magic (this is what helps the sick people) 
Directions:
1. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside.
2. In a large pot combine broth, water and chicken skin, bring to a boil. Boil for 5 mins.
3. Remove chicken skin. Throw away.
4. Add in vegetables, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 mins.
5. Slowly add in cornstarch, stirring while adding.
6. Add in chicken and noodles, cook an additional 3 minutes on med-low heat.
7. Close your eyes really hard and concentrate on magicking the soup to make people healthy
8. OM NOM NOM NOM NOM! 


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Fancy Macaroni

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Fancy macaroni and cheese was one of the first internet recipes I tried.

My whole life I have been a devoted Kraft macaroni lover - but in an effort to expand my food and cooking horizons I tried this one out because it seemed like a tasty choice. Plus, I mean come on, it has bacon. How can one say no to bacon?

This is the recipe that I followed:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/12/fancy-macaroni/

Ease of preparation: 3.5
Taste: 4.5
Feeds: 4-8 (realistically about 6, depends on how hungry everyone is!)

It is divine.

I have made this recipe for a lot of people, and the general response is "This is fucking fantastic." Literally that, verbatim. And I must say I agree.

Changes / Suggestions

I find that generally the types of cheeses you use don't matter too much to the level of tastiness. I'm just an unfortunate poor college student so buying $10 blocks of fancy cheese can get a little bit out of my budget. Typically I just use shredded cheddar, Parmesan, fontina cheese and goat cheese.

Also, when I cook for my vegetarian friends I just leave off the bacons! :)

Recipe and photo property of: The Pioneer Woman (www.thepioneerwoman.com)


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