Pasta

Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli and Ham

Yes, I made a dish with ham. Before you fall over, true to form, I used turkey ham. I was at my local Whole Foods one day, spotted it and ended up bringing it home with me for some unknown reason. I make dishes using ground turkey, turkey bacon and turkey sausage but turkey ham? I don’t crave ham or really miss eating it but I ate it often as a kid. My mom would make ham and usually serve it with peas and either macaroni and cheese or some kind of cheesy noodle. I admit that when I was younger, ham was one of my favorite dinners. In fact, at Thanksgiving, we had both turkey and ham and I never ate the turkey. My how things have changed.

Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli and Ham seemed like a perfect way to use up the turkey ham. The ham is mixed with pasta, chopped broccoli and a creamy cheese sauce made tangy by the addition of dijon mustard. Use any cheese you might have lingering in your refrigerator if you don’t want to use Velveeta. With simple seasonings of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, this is a flavorful, jazzed up version mac-and-cheese that packs up well for workday lunches.

The ingredients:

Cook pasta according to package directions and add the broccoli when 5 minutes are left. Drain.

While the pasta cooks, spoon flour into a medium saucepan and gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese, dijon mustard, salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Combine pasta mixture, cheese sauce, and ham and serve.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

  • Whole-wheat rotini
  • Reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Orzo Salad with Corn, Tomatoes, and Basil

What is it about pasta salad that makes it such a good go-to dish to make when attending a warm weather get-together?  A few weekends ago, my friend had a few people over to swim at her pool and like the great hostess that she is, she had plenty of food and snacks waiting for guests upon arrival.  When I walked into her kitchen, I saw the biggest bowl of homemade pasta salad and turned to look at the friend I arrived with who was carrying her own container of homemade pasta salad.  We both just shrugged because, really, can you ever have too much pasta salad?  Ironically, earlier that morning, I had every intention on making Orzo Salad with Corn, Tomatoes, and Basil to take to the party but decided I didn’t have enough time.  Probably a good thing.

Even though pasta can sometimes be heavy, there is something about a cold, light pasta salad when it’s warm out that hits the spot.  This colorful pasta salad is made with orzo (rice-shaped pasta) and fresh ingredients of corn, tomatoes, and basil.  The whole mixture is livened up with a refreshing and simple vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, and red wine vinegar.  I took a short-cut and used thawed frozen corn in place of fresh and didn’t really notice a difference.  I think canned would work here too.  Next time you think about making a pasta salad for a summer event, consider making this.  Just call first dibs on whose bringing the pasta salad.

The ingredients:

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.  While the pasta cooks, combine lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic in a small bowl.  Set aside. 

Drain pasta and place in a large bowl.  Pour half of the dressing over orzo and toss.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  

Once pasta is at room temperature, add the remaining dressing, corn, tomato, and basil to pasta and toss to coat.  Let pasta salad stand for 30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Additions:  None

Omissions: 

  • Red onion

Substitutions:  None

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

Spinach-Feta Stuffed Shells

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I can’t stop eating spinach. Maybe my body is needing iron, who knows. I’ve had this recipe for Spinach-Feta Stuffed Shells for quite a while and this seemed like a perfect time to make them. These aren’t quite your traditional stuffed shells because they have cottage cheese and feta instead of ricotta cheese. Using cottage cheese in place of ricotta is nothing new to me because my mom never used ricotta in recipes like this but always used cottage cheese instead. It provides a different texture to these shells which works well with the spinach.

These aren’t overly cheesy which is one thing about them that I like. The tomato-basil feta adds a little bite and the parsley adds a happy freshness but the spinach is the real star of this show. If you are willing to branch out and try something a little different than your normal shells, give these a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Also consider Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed Shells.

The ingredients:

Cook the shells according to package directions and let cool. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, feta cheese, parsley, salt, nutmeg, spinach, and garlic.

Pour marinara into a cold large skillet and add the basil.

Spoon the cottage cheese-spinach mixture into cooled shells and set each shell into the marinara sauce.

Move skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Bring the sauce to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, allowing the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve shells with crumbles of feta and fresh parsley.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

  • Fat-free tomato-basil feta cheese

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

1 … 4 5 6 … 8
Blog at WordPress.com.