Pasta with Broccoli, Tomato & Garlic Oil

Even since I was pregnant with my first daughter, the teeniest amount of tomato sauce will send me on a hunt for some form of antacid.  So I try to avoid it as much as possible or at the very least, limit how much we do cook with it. My husband suggested a pasta dish with garlic oil this week. I created this dish entirely on my own and was very proud of the results.

Ingredients:


Garlic Oil:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)

• 1lb. pasta
• 1 broccoli floret
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil with garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Remove from heat after about 8-10 minutes, once the garlic is golden.  Set aside.

Boil water for the pasta.  Add the broccoli to the boiling water two-three minutes before the pasta.  Drain pasta and broccoli.  Toss with tomatoes & oil in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Pesto Primavera

Over the past 3 1/2 months I haven't eaten as many veggies as I have in my entire adult life.  And I am not talking mashed potatoes or french fries here, but healthy, tasty vegetables.  We have a year round Farmer's Market and are taking full advantage of not only the quality and selection, but the prices are unbeatable.

After receiving the pasta primavera recipe in the recipe swap, we made it three times and wanted to change it up before we grew really tired of it.  My husband recommended adding a pesto sauce to the primavera.  The great thing about this dish is that it can be changed with just the different veggies you decide to throw in each time.  Some other veggies to use are: eggplant, asparagus, and any bell pepper.

Pesto Primavera
1 large carrot, cut into thin strips
2 small yellow squash, cut into thin strips
1 onion, cut into eighths
1 zucchini, cut into thin strips
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. italian seasoning
1 lb. penne pasta

Pesto
2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts (I omitted)
1/2 cup EVOO
kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Combine the basil, garlic, & pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add 1/2 cup of oil and process until smooth.  Blend in grated cheese and season with salt & pepper.

Preheat oven to 450ºF.
Mix olive oil and seasonings in a small bowl.  Arrange cut veggies onto a baking sheet.  Pour olive oil mixture over the veggies.  Bake veggies for approximately 20-25 minutes in the oven, adding the cherry tomatoes for the last 10 minutes.

While the veggies are baking, prepare the pesto in a food processor.  Also, cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente.  Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.  In a large bowl, combine pasta with veggies and pesto.  Add the reserved pasta water 1/4 cup at a time and mix after each time.   (I only used 1/2 cup of the water).

Recipe Swap :: Pasta Primavera

This week's recipe swap's theme was a vegetarian dish.  I submitted our favorite, but unique macaroni and cheese recipe from Rachael Ray.  It  was a French Onion Mac 'N Cheese.  I have not made it again since starting this cooking blog, but I must put it on our list because it's just too good to not write about.

I received the recipe for Pasta Primavera from Christina who is the author of Tales of the Mad Men Kitchen.  She has a great cooking blog so I knew this was going to be a delicious recipe!

This was a huge hit in our house.  I made this for our "Tiff Tuesday" when my best friend comes over for dinner.  What a light, but delicious dish -  what a perfect Springtime dinner.  While we were eating, we were already thinking ahead to the next time I would make this dish and what other veggies we would add: broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, the possibilities are endless and just as yummy!  We didn't have any herbs de Provence on hand (I used it up and forgot I did) so I used a combo of dried basil, dried thyme, dried sage and then a touch of garlic powder.

Pasta Primavera
Ingredients
3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
1 pound farfalle 
15 cherry tomatoes, halved 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Skinnytaste's Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs

Spaghetti & meatball night is quite popular in our house and these are definitely a lighter alternative to a comforting bowl of pasta & meatballs!  We are always trying to find ways to sneak extra veggies into our entrees.  This was perfect- even my 2 1/2 year old daughter loved them.  To save on time, I used a jar of Barilla and tossed with our favorite whole wheat pasta.


I modified that meatball recipe slightly because parsley is not one of our favorite herbs so I tossed in some oregano & basil instead.  Very easy recipe to follow & the meatballs stayed intact while they were pan frying in the skillet.  


Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs

• 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid
• 2 slices whole wheat Weight Watchers bread (or any half point bread)
• 1 large egg
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley - I subbed dried oregano & basil for the parsley.  We are not fans of parsley in our family.

• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese (or your favorite Parmesan Cheese)
• salt and pepper

Wet bread with water then mash up with your hands. Add to large bowl and combine with chopped beef, chopped spinach, egg, garlic, parsley, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients well until thoroughly combined. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure meat, then divide in two so that each meatball is 1/8th of a cup. Roll into little meatballs.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil on low heat. When oil is hot add as many meatballs that will fit, cook on low, turning often so that all side get browned. Cook until the centers are cooked through. When finished, place on a dish lined with paper towels to blot any excess oil. Drop meatballs into sauce and continue cooking the remaining meatballs, repeating the process. When all meatballs are in the sauce, simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. 

Taken with my Palm Pixi

Cheesy Chicken Shells

Who says you can't have stuffed shells and still lose weight?  This recipe has been in our repertoire for almost six years as I received this recipe from a Weight Watchers at Work mtg back in 2006.  And we've been enjoying this since...

We have been using large shells instead of manicotti shells, as I made that mistake and didn't catch it until a few years later when I finally noticed that it called for manicotti shells. We tried them recently in manicotti shells and I wasn't a huge fan even though it was the same exact ingredients just changed the type of pasta.

Cheesy Chicken Shells
©Weight Watchers

12 jumbo uncooked manicotti shells
1 1/2 c. favorite tomato sauce
2 medium egg whites
4 oz. chicken breast, cooked & diced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 3/4 c. ricotta (recipe calls for fat free, but I used part skim)
1 tbsp. oregano
3/4 c. shredded mozzerella (again, it calls for fat free, but I used part skim)

Preheat oven to 350°

Cook manicotti shells in boiling water according to package directions.  Drain and rinse in cold water.  Set aside.  Coat a 9x13 pan with spray.  Spread 1/2 cup of sauce evenly over the bottom.

For filling:
In a large bowl, stir together egg whites, ricotta, chicken, garlic powder & seasoning.  Stir in 1/4 cup each of mozzerella & parmesan cheeses.

Spoon mixture into shells.  Place in dish.  Spread remaining sauce on top.  Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.  Bake 30 minutes.

3 shells per serving.  9 pts per serving (old WW).