Pasta – Page 28 – Fun Foodie Family

Beet and Rainbow Chard Pasta

One pot meal, Pasta, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

Who doesn’t love a good farmer’s market? We have one that opens up a couple of times a week in the early summer to early fall. It is great! They have a variety of veggies, fruits, breads, honey, etc. Every Sat. morning and Tuesday evening I look forward to seeing what yummy things the farmers have grown. There is this one lady that I always go to. She even remembers me and gives me a few things for free. Last year, she would throw in a couple extra red potatoes, a bulb of garlic, or some other fresh home grown goodness. This Sat. she gave me some extra peas and a wilting head of lettuce =) It was still tasty as a fresh salad with tomatoes and homemade honey mustard dressing for a side. I always go through the market first. I see what each vendor has. Then I go back through again and buy some of my faves. I went back to my lady and bought beets, rainbow chard, and green pod peas. Can’t wait until next week!

p.s This was a mommy meal. My husband was at hockey and the girls gobbled up Sloppy Joes, peas (that they helped shell), and some cheesy pasta.

Beet and Rainbow Chard Pasta

Ingredients
3 beets- bulb and greens- I had 1 white and 2 zebra striped (red and white mixed)
bunch of rainbow chard (or regular chard would be fine)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 servings of angel hair (leftover from last night’s scallop dish)
olive oil
Salt and pepper
a dash of red pepper flakes for a kick

Directions

Wash your beets and greens VERY thoroughly! The first time I made some greens from my farmer’s market I ended up tasting more dirt than expected. A little dirt won’t hurt you, but it does take away from the deliciousness of the dish. The farm to table movement should include less of the dirt from the farm. =)

Take the bulbs of beets and put lots of olive oil, salt, and pepper on them. Wrap them in aluminum foil and cook until tender at 500. It takes a good 30 minutes, maybe more.

Separate the leaves of the beets greens and red stalk. DON’T throw them away! They are delicious!!!
Separate the leaves of the rainbow chard form the stalk. Cut up the stalks of the chard.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive in a large pot- I used my dutch oven
Add half of the green leaves. Cook them down for a few minutes. Add the rest. Add salt and pepper. Mix and cook until wilted. Take them out and add your chopped stalks. Put in a bit more oil and salt and pepper. Mix and cover. I cooked it down for about 15 minutes.

During this time, your beets should be almost done. When they are, carefully peel them and slice them in thin pieces. stack them up and slice them again.

I had some leftover pasta from last night, so I mixed it with all the greens. I added a tad bit more olive oil, lemon juice, and mixed well. Then I added my sliced beets on top! Add some parmesan cheese and a glass of Rose! Perfection!

Seared Scallops with Garlic Brown Butter on Angel Hair

Date Night, Pasta, Seafood

Epic cooking night, ya’ll. I love scallops. I mean, I really love them. Whenever we go to a restaurant that has a scallop dish, I usually order it. They usually serve you like 3 huge sea scallops and the dish is at least $20. I went to Whole Foods today and got 10 scallops for about $19. That may seem like a steep price, and it is, but much cheaper than eating out at a fancy restaurant.

It may seem scary to cook seafood at home. People who I have talked to about it are scared. It is not hard, I promise! I have cooked a lot of seafood on this blog; salmon, tilapia, shrimp, mussels… I think it is about time for more. I present to you my Seared Scallops with Garlic Brown Butter on Angel Hair.

Seared Scallops with Garlic Brown Butter on Angel Hair (serves 2)

Ingredients

1 shallot, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 container of cavatelli (angel hair)
1/2 cup of white wine (I used a lovely Chardonnay)

Directions
Boil water with lots of salt.
Heat pan to EXTREME HEAT!!!!
Pat scallops dry and season with salt and pepper.
Put in pasta.
Brown 1/2 stick of butter.
Put in scallops on first side for 2 minutes. Stir pasta.
Turn scallops over and cook for 2 more minute. They should be perfectly seared on both sides. Take them out and put them on a plate.
Add shallots and garlic. Add wine. Mix well and cook down for a minute or so. Add the pasta. Mix well. Plate and add scallops on top. Serve with a side veggie.
Enjoy!

Stove Top Lasagna and Bruschetta

Date Night, Girls' Night Out/In, One pot meal, Pasta, Pizzas, Flatbreads, Toasts

Last weekend, I was watching The Kitchen, a show that comes on the Food Network. It is kinda like The Chew, but only comes on Saturdays. Sunny Anderson is one of the TV chef personalities, and she was making this stove top lasagna. It looked so easy and delicious, I thought I would make it the next time lasagna was on the menu. I made this kind of from what I remember, so it is not exactly the same as hers. Here is the link to her original recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/sunnys-pan-sagna-one-pan-plan-lasagna.html
Here is how I made it…

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning and fresh herbs- next time I will add more
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground beef
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 container of mushrooms
1 to 2 cups beef stock
8 par-cooked lasagna sheets, broken into shards- I also added the end of a box of penne.
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions
You need a large pan with a lid that is also oven safe. I used a circular dutch oven. Add the olive oil on medium-high heat. When the oil begins to swirl around in the pan a bit, add onions, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, a little salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the onions become translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the beef to the pan. Cook while breaking up with a wooden spoon until cooked through and browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the stock to cover the contents by almost an inch. Bring the pan to a boil then add the broken lasagna sheets. Make sure you cover the pasta with the liquid. Cover the pot, lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the lasagna noodles are al dente, about 8-10 minutes. I uncovered it and stirred it around every few minutes to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

Once it is done, stir in the Parmesan cheese. The spread the mozzarella all over the top. Turn the oven on low broil. Put the pot in the oven and keep the door a jar a bit. Keep an eye on it and take it out when the cheese is melty and brown. YUM!

Of course I didn’t forget about the Bruchetta! Make this before you put your lasagna in the oven for a nice appetizer to munch on while you sip some wine and wait for dinner to be ready. Lots of different ways to make this- what kind of bread are you going to use; are you going to toast it first or toast the ingredients on it; what kind of toppings are you going to add etc.

I made mine pretty in a pretty basic way- Cut open some bread, minced some garlic and put it on the bread first, then add slices of a tomato, mozzarella, and top with some thinly sliced basil leaves. Put in the oven on low broil until cheese is melted. Perfect with a glass of Malbec!

Steak with Onion and Mushroom Blue Cheese Sauce, Creamy Spaghetti Pesto, and Roasted Asparagus

Beef, Date Night, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Girls' Night Out/In, Pasta, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Skip the steak house and cook your family a nice steak dinner at home! My whole family LOVES steak, so when we see them on sale at the store, we always buy them. This time Publix had Porterhouse steaks on sale, so we just had to get them! I have blogged a few times on making steaks, but here are the directions I use for making mine. Of course, it depends on the cut and size of your steak, so if the steak is thinner you want to go less time, etc. I always cook them in my cast iron pan or cast iron grill pan. We like ours med. rare, so if you like it cooked more, obviously add time. You could also finish it off in an oven on 350 for a little extra cooking time.

Steak

The main star was the Porterhouse. For the perfect med.rare you need to follow these instructions. Get your cast iron pan to screaming hot smokiness. Then salt and pepper your steak on both sides. Cook until the first side is nice and crusty, about 6 minutes. Then turn and cook about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and tent in aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes. YUM!

Onion and Mushroom Blue Cheese Sauce

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 onion chopped (or shallot)
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 container of mushrooms, sliced
1 cup heavy cream
1 container or package of crumbled blue cheese
salt and pepper

Directions
Cook onions and garlic in butter/oil on med. high heat for 5 minutes. Add your mushrooms and cook for 10 more minutes. Reduce heat to low heat and add your cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until it reduces to about half. Stir in blue cheese and melt. Serve with steak (or pork)

Roasted Asparagus

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Snap the tough ends off of the asparagus. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roast the asparagus for 25 minutes, until tender but still crisp. One of my favorite vegetables!

Creamy Spaghetti Pesto

Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup pine nuts
4 cups greens- I used a mix of parsley and basil
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Cook your pasta in boiling salted water. Stir Occasionally.
When Al dente, drain, but keep about 2 cups of pasta water.

While your pasta is cooking, pulse your pine nuts and garlic in the food processor until smooth. Add your greens, oil, and Parmesan Cheese. Process until smooth. Season with your salt and pepper.

Add your pesto to your pasta. Stream in your heavy cream a little at a time. Add any starch pasta water as needed. Mix well. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lasagna

Pasta, Vegetarian

So my Sunday cooking continues with making a pan of veggie lasagna for some lunches this week. I am going to share it with one of my vegetarian friends at school. This is a pretty versatile recipe. You could substitute any veggies you like in this. I made an easy mushroom marinara sauce, but you could easily use an delicious jarred sauce. I also used no boil lasagna noodles, but you could used dried ones. This is a simple healthy meal that you can feel good about eating!

Vegetarian Lasagna

Ingredients

1 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 container of mushrooms, sliced
1 eggplant, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
2 cups of red wine
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of crushed or diced tomatoes
fresh or dried herbs- rosemary, basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano
salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper (adds a nice spice) to taste
3 handfuls of spinach
1 small container of ricotta
Mozzarella- sliced or shredded
1 container of no boil lasagna noodles (I didn’t use all of them)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350

In a large pan, sweat your onions and garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for about 8 minutes on med. heat. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Cook together for about 3-5 minutes. Add all your sliced veggies. Add your herbs. Cook between 30 minutes- an hour. Add the spinach at the end. Take off the heat and cool for a bit. If you are in a time crunch, you can use your favorite jarred pasta sauce.

Take a well oiled corningware type of pan. Put a little sauce on the bottom and a layer of veggies. Layer some ricotta and mozzarella then a layer of pasta. Continue laying until you have the last layer of cheese on the top- about 3 layers or so.

Cover with aluminum foil. Cook for 45 minutes. Take off the foil and turn the oven to broil. Cook until cheese is browned.

Can’t wait to eat this for my lunch next week!

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