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.

Sweet Potato & Corn Chowder

Since the temperature in NJ has been more autumn like the past few days, we wanted to add a soup to this week's menu.  It takes a lot for me to absolutely love a soup, especially as a main event for dinner.  As we were going through our usual sites and books for recipes, I decided to look for a corn chowder recipe and I stumbled across a sweet potato & corn chowder.

Absolutely delicious!  I made a few variations to the recipe and am glad I did.  This was an absolutely delicious and filling chowder and will definitely be added to the frequently made recipes.

Ingredients:

Adapted from Stacie N. on hubpages

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red pepper, diced (I added this to the recipe)
• 10 ounces frozen corn
• 3-4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup water 1 cup chicken broth (I changed)
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbs. flour
• 2 cups 1% milk

Directions

1. Saute onion, red pepper, and garlic in oil over medium heat, for two minutes
2. Add corn, potatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil on high heat.
3. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. In a small bowl, whisk flour into 1/2 cup of the milk, until smooth.
5. Gradually add the flour and milk mixture to the vegetables, stirring constantly.
6. Continue to stir as you add the rest of the milk, cooking until soup boils and thickens.
7. If desired, use a stick blender for about 5-10 seconds to blend.  (I added this step as well.  I think it gave it that extra blend of the flavors melding together!)

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).

French Onion Mac 'n Cheese

When I was working, a few free issues of Rachael Ray's Every Day with Rachael Ray were sent to our school.  I would peruse the magazine, but then they went on the bottom of our bakers rack to be looked at another time.  I was doing some early spring cleaning back in January when I came across this recipe for French Onion Mac 'n Cheese.  I really enjoy her recipes because they are usually fairly easy and quick, but never lack on taste.  And this absolutely fit into those categories and will definitely be added in to our rotation.


Ingredients, Adapted from Rachael Ray's Every Day with Rachael Ray

• EVOO
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 2 large onions, very thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound whole wheat penne 
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 3/4 pound munster cheese, shredded

In a skillet, heat EVOO on med-high heat.  Stir in onions, thyme & bay leaf for 5 minutes; season with salt & pepper.  Lower heat and cook until the onions are browned, 10-15 minutes.  Transfer to a plate and discard bay leaf.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain and return to pot.

In reserved skillet, melt the 2 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the chicken stock & milk and bring to a boil.  Season with salt & pepper.  Lower heat and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in cheese until melted.

Combine onions & sauce with pasta and toss well.

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.

Recipe Swap :: Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder

The second exchange of the recipe swap was this past week.  This swap was lunch.  Lunch is a difficult category for me because usually I eat leftovers from the night before, yogurt or even a small salad.

The recipe that I was fortunate enough to receive was for Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder.  I must admit that making soups and/or chowders is very intimidating to me.  Honestly, I don't know where that stems from, but whenever my husband suggests soups, I usually have him make them.  However, this was probably one of the easiest chowders to make.  Again, not having a lot of experience with soups, I was surprised at how thick this chowder was without using cream or a heavy ingredient.  

Before even opening the link that I was sent, I was very excited to see chowder as the title of the recipe because I would have to tackle this intimidation.  Especially a chowder that is cheese+corn+potatoes, you can't go very wrong with those ingredients.  Very, very easy to make... this is a perfect comfort food especially on a cold, dreary day.  

The only thing that I would add next time is a touch more of salt.  Potatoes are the one thing that I like saltier than other foods.  The only other change I made was that I didn't use roasted garlic, but I used minced garlic instead.  

Source: GroupRecipes

• 7 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes
• 1 carton (32 oz) chicken broth
• 1 tbsp roasted garlic 
• 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 cans (7oz) whole kernel corn, drained
• 4 scallions, (1/4 cup), finely chopped, optional

• In 5 qt. Dutch oven, place potatoes, add just enough water to cover. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 to 15 mins or till potatoes are very tender. Drain. Reserve 1 c potatoes; return remaining potatoes to saucepan.
• In small bowl,mash reserved potatoes with fork; return to saucepan. Stir in broth, garlic, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium; cook, uncovered 2 mins.
• In small bowl, stir flour into milk with wire whisk until well mixed. Add milk mixture to potato mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in cheeses and corn till cheese is melted.
• To serve, ladle chowder into bowls; top with scallions.
• 
• The recipe that I submitted was for Eggplant & Mozzerella Melts from Everyday Food.  Instead of tomato sauce, we lighten it up with a balsamic dressing for a delicious lunchtime meal.  
  
  
  Source: Everyday Food
  2 large eggs
  Coarse salt and ground pepper
  3/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs 
  Olive oil, for baking sheet
  1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
  1 loaf (8 ounces) soft Italian bread --- we use ciabatta bread or a great thick, crusty bread.
  Shredded mozzerella for topping

• Balsamic Dressing:
  1/4c. balsamic vinegar
  1/4c. EVOO
  1 tbsp. honey or agave nectar
  1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  1/2 tsp. dried oregano
  salt & pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In a shallow bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread breadcrumbs in a pie plate or shallow bowl.

  Oil a rimmed baking sheet. Dip eggplant rounds in egg, then dredge in breadcrumbs, turning to coat completely; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake (without turning) until golden and tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
  While the eggplant is baking, mix together ingredients for the dressing.  

  Meanwhile, split bread lengthwise, and place cut side up on another baking sheet; press gently in centers to create a well. Layer both halves with balsamic dressing, eggplant, and cheese. Bake until cheese is browned in spots, 6 to 8 minutes.