Pasta Mash Up

Pasta, Vegetarian

I opened the fridge and realized I only had eggs, cheese, fruit, and beer. I could survive if it was just me, but alas, I have to feed my family 😉 I went to the store to get some staples for a few days this week.

Decided to make this pasta mash up. Took two easy quick pastas and added fresh ingredients plus a pre-made sauce. Never feel bad for using what is already created in the grocery store for you. While I love cooking, that doesn’t mean I have to cook everything homemade all the time!

Picked up these plus one small onion.

Chopped up the onion and rough chopped the mushrooms. Cooked them down in two tablespoons of both oil and butter, about 10 minutes. 4 tablespoons of fat. You could even add bacon fat and add bacon to this, but that is not the direction I went. You can play with any recipe once you see how to work the ingredients. Then add the spinach to wilt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the veggies were cooking, I added the pasta to a boiling pot of salted water. Then added the sauce to the veggies; combined and heated. Added the pasta to the sauced veggies plus a tablespoon of Parmesan and mixed well. Once plated, topped with more Parmesan.

Cavatappi and Meatball Bake with Mozzarella Bruschetta

Appetizers and snacks, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pasta

So I am on a roll in the kitchen cooking up a storm and loving it! I think I just needed a break for a bit to realize how much I missed it.

Tonight I did not have carpool duty, so I decided early on to make a pasta bake for dinner. I wasn’t sure what meat I was going to use, but I knew it couldn’t be “fake meat” because my husband does not care of it. When I got to the grocery store, I saw that meatballs were on sale, so I decided to make a meatball pasta dish. I settled on Cavatappi, which is the pasta shaped like corkscrews.

It was super easy to throw together. I cooked the pasta 2 minutes less than the package said, while I cooked the frozen meatballs in the jarred sauce. Then I added the pasta to the sauce and meatballs.

I covered the entire dish with mozzarella cheese and baked until the cheese melted and had some pretty brown bubbly spots, about 30 minutes.

A huge pan of pasta means leftovers!!!

I also made these delicious Mozzarella Bruchetta…

I grated a clove of garlic in a heaping tablespoon of butter to make garlic butter. Then I sliced an Italian loaf of bread in medium sized pieces and slathered on the butter and topped with a slice of fresh mozzarella. I put that in the oven on the second rack halfway through the pasta baking. It about 10 minutes to melt the cheese and toast the bread. Keep an eye on them. You don’t want to smoke out your kitchen!

I chopped up 2 tomatoes, some fresh basil, and mixed it with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of balsamic glaze with a bit of salt and pepper. Topped the cheese toast with the tomato mixture and topped with more balsamic drizzle and basil. I honestly ate 4 pieces and really wasn’t hungry for the pasta, even though I still had a few bites. I could eat this everyday forever and ever…

Tofu Veggie Noodle Stir Fry

Asian, vegan, Vegetarian

I made this super easy vegan meal tonight! Dump and Stir Fry 😉

Cooked stir fry veggies that came with their own sauce (from Sprouts in the veggie section) with 1 block of pressed tofu chopped in cubes. I added a couple of teaspoons of sesame oil and teriyaki sauce to coat everything. I cooked a pack of Chinese noodles according to the package (like 2 minutes) and added to the pan. Always stir to combine. I topped with a few random peanuts I had in the pantry. CRUNCH!

This probably should serve 4, but it will serve 3. My dinner tonight and 2 other meals this week for me 😉 The fam had pork tenderloin that they loved.

Chipotle Who?

Chicken

Posting two days in a row! It is a blogging MIRACLE 😉

Made this scrumptious meal for my hubby to take to work. I only wish I remembered to buy tofu.

Started with this line up. Marinated 2 chicken thighs in the lemon garlic marinade. Swoon! What an amazing smell. The char on that chicken was perfection!

After I cooked the chicken, I cooked the black beans in the same pan. When you build those juices from the meat cooking, you can’t waste it. I added some red pepper flakes to the beans, because my hubby likes it spicy! All the while, I cooked the rice. I followed the directions on the bag, but added 1 extra tablespoon of butter.

At the end, I built the bowls. Rice on the bottom, add the chicken, black beans, and some roasted red peppers chopped up on top. Don’t forget to add a couple of wedges of lime on top! Yum!

Beer Battered Flounder

Seafood

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend! We did not really have much going on this weekend, so we got to sleep in and spend time with family and friends. It was lovely!

Tonight I made this delicious beer battered flounder recipe. I have made a few versions of this before, but here is the one I did tonight. The batter was light and crispy, and I found myself wishing I had just fried the rest of the batter to munch on 😉

I started with this super hoppy pale ale.

I love Jekyll Brewing! Yeah for Georgia breweries!

I added this beer to the following dry ingredients to make my batter…

1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, salt and white pepper – because I was feeling fancy, and Katie can spot black pepper and refuse to eat anything I make 😉 Then I rested the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes (at least 10 minutes is fine)

I put about 2 cups of vegetable oil in my shallow dutch oven and brought it up to 375. You can use a candy thermometer or test a bit of batter in the oil. If it bubbles, it is ready.

I fried the fish about 3-4 minutes on each side. Just slide your spatula gently under the fish. If it does not come up easily, it is not ready. I only cooked 2 pieces at a time. DO NOT CROWD THE PAN!

When they were finished, I put them on a plate lined with paper towels and hit them with a touch more salt. I served with fries and broccoli. I also made a quick tarter sauce with 1 cup mayo, a couple of tablespoons of pickle relish, and salt and pepper to taste. It was crunchy and flaky, just like fried fish should be!