Simple Feasts

Pine nuts are the traditional nut for pesto but are crazy expensive and can be hard to find. A $2 bag of shelled sunflower seeds worked just fine. I have tried this recipe with almonds in the pesto but found the almond flavor overwhelming, but if you like almonds a lot it could be a good substitute. 

Pesto: 

2/3 c. basil fresh and firmly packed

1/8  c. sunflower seeds, shelled

1/4 c. olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 c. grated Romano or Parmesan (use whichever you like better or a mix of both) 

Pasta:

4 servings of your favorite pasta type

1 c. green beans (or any vegetable)

1/2 tsp powdered garlic

1 tsp dried basil

1 TBSP olive oil.

1. Mix all pesto ingredients in a food processor, set aside.

2. Cook pasta about 3/4 of the amount of time it tells you to on the box.

3. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add dry spices and vegetables, cook until vegetables are almost done.

4. Add pasta and pesto mix to skillet. Cook until pasta and vegetables are finished cooking, stirring constantly. Serve immediately, serves 4. 

Creamy Chicken and Pasta

(Adapted from a chicken paprikash, actually, which I also need to make one day and put up here. Makes a much more forgiving cream sauce than using heavy cream.)

1 large chicken breast

1 c. frozen vegetables, any kind  

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP Italian seasoning

2 TBSP basil

2 tsp garlic 

2 tsp salt 

black pepper to taste

1/2 c. sour cream

2 c. pasta, any kind

1/8 c. retained pasta water

1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain, set aside. Retain 1/8 c. of the water from making the pasta.

2. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over med. heat. Add chicken and 1/2 of all the spices. Cook chicken 4 min. 

3. Add frozen vegetables, cook mixture 4 more min. or until chicken is completely cooked.

4. Add pasta, sour cream, retained pasta water, and the other 1/2 of the spices. Stir constantly for 2 min. until everything is well mixed and heated through.

Serves 4. 

cdnfoodie:

Quite the mouthful of a name there. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes and thought it sounded simple but interesting, so I set off to the grocery store to find the ingredients. That was a bit of an adventure. Finding the capers was a challenge since I didn’t really have any idea what they looked like (green round things that look kind of like olives maybe?) nor what section they should be in. After wandering up and down 3 aisles, scanning every can and bottle (and discovering my grocery store has some really unusual things like canned cactus…I’m tempted to find a use for that just for kicks), I finally spotted the elusive small bottle of capers. The rest was easy.

Read More

cdnfoodie:

Quite the mouthful of a name there. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes and thought it sounded simple but interesting, so I set off to the grocery store to find the ingredients. That was a bit of an adventure. Finding the capers was a challenge since I didn’t really have any idea what they looked like (green round things that look kind of like olives maybe?) nor what section they should be in. After wandering up and down 3 aisles, scanning every can and bottle (and discovering my grocery store has some really unusual things like canned cactus…I’m tempted to find a use for that just for kicks), I finally spotted the elusive small bottle of capers. The rest was easy.

Read More

damndelicious:

Thanks to the invention of the food processor, pesto making has become such a simple task, transforming a ten minute dinner into something amazing. The intriguing combination of basil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, jalapenos, and olive oil tossed in penne pasta created a unique…

(Source: damndelicious)

pipsqueakcooks:

Spaghetti Bolognese

Sauce is yummy with Pasta Shells too!

I love an authentic bolognese sauce.

Unfortunately, there’s a slight problem. I don’t have an Italian taste buds and prefer my sauce to be a little bit mild and spicy. So here’s my version of Spaghetti Bolognese.

Ingredients

…

casserolesandcleavage:

Green Bean, Grape and Penne Toss

Time for a salad..fresh beans from the garden…delicious and easy..summer’s best!

• 1 cup pecans
• 8 bacon slices, cooked crisp and cooled
• 1 lb green beans, washed and trimmed.
• 1 8 oz package penne (or pasta of choice), cooked al dente and cooled
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup red onions
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups seedless grapes, cut in half
• 1/3 cup diced red onion

Toast pecans on a baking sheet in a preheated 350 oven..about 5 minutes.

Boil green beans until crisp and just cooked, about 5 minutes. Plunge in cold water to stop cooking process.

Whisk mayo, red wine vinegar, and salt together in large bowl.

Add beans, pasta, pecans, onion and grapes. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Chill for at least 3 hours. Add bacon just before serving. Toss and enjoy!

damndelicious:

Sometimes during the weekends, I really like to invest my time and make complicated, time-consuming recipes. But I’ve noticed that the simplest recipes get the most recognition. Take this simple pasta dish as an example. It consists of just 6 ingredients and the only cooking that really…

(Source: damndelicious)

Steak and Pasta with Gorgonzola

(The pic is from before adding the cheese. These are instructions for medium steak; adjust times if you like your steak rarer or more well done.)

1 lb sirloin steak, sliced into bite sized pieces

4 c. dry whole wheat pasta

2 c. fresh vegetables, any, cut into bite size pieces (my favorites are bell peppers or green beans)

1 TBSP rosemary

1 TBSP dried garlic or 3 fresh cloves

1 TBSP oregano

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt 

1/4 c. dry red wine

1 TBSP olive oil

4 oz. gorgonzola, crumbled into small pieces

1. Cook pasta according to directions, set aside. Retain 1/4 c. water from cooking.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sirloin, half of the wine and half of all the dry spices. Cook until rare, about 4 min. Stir occasionally.

3. Add vegetables, the rest of the wine and the retained pasta water. Cook about 5 min. Stir occasionally.

4. Add pasta and the remainder of the dry spices. Cook 2 min stirring constantly to completely mix ingredients.

5. Place on plates and sprinkle gorgonzola on top.

This is probably a bit simple for a recipe but:

Easy Ravioli Dinner

20 frozen ravioli

1 c. frozen vegetables, any

1 TBSP olive oil

1/4 c. broth, chicken or vegetable

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

1 TBSP dried basil or 6 fresh leaves (fresh is much tastier)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c. of your favorite Italian cheese, shredded

1. Partially thaw ravioli on a microwave plate, about 1 min.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet.

3. Add ravioli, vegetables, broth, spices. Cook until vegetables are hot and ravioli are tender, about 5 min.

4. Serve with cheese sprinkled on top. About 3 servings.