Tag Archives: pasta

Penne with Vodka Sauce & Vegetables

August 8, 2012
Shannon
0 comments
food, pasta, peas, spinach, tomatoes, vegetarian, zucchini

I’ve noticed a pattern in the food I’ve been eating lately – vegetarian and with zucchini. For someone who didn’t touch zucchini as a kid and grew up eating deer meat and rabbit, this is an interesting revelation. Trust me when I tell you, I prefer my diet much more now. Although I wish I didn’t eat so many carbs, I’m happy that I don’t eat nearly as much as I did when I was a vegetarian and ate pasta constantly. As in every single night. Because things have changed, I look forward to a hearty pasta dish, especially one made with vodka sauce. Penne with Vodka Sauce and Vegetables is a lightened up version of regular pasta in vodka sauce which is hearty enough that you won’t even notice the fact that there is no meat in sight.

Whole-wheat penne is mixed with zucchini, peas, onion and spinach and tossed in a tomato sauce made with vodka and half-and-half. The sauce is creamy and light, given subtle touch of heat from red pepper flake. Add Canadian bacon for an additional flavor boost as per the recipe if you prefer. This recipe makes a ton, making it perfect for a family, guests or tons of leftovers. This will be my lunch and dinner for days but that’s ok. I’m used to eating a lot of pasta.

The ingredients:

Cook penne according to package directions, approximately 11 minutes. Add zucchini and peas during last 3 minutes and stir in spinach. Drain and place back into the pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; add vodka and cook 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and red pepper flake. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Stir half-and-half and half of the parmesan cheese into the sauce.

Toss sauce with pasta and let stand for 10 minutes.

Spoon into serving bowl and top with remaining cheese.

Additions: None

Omissions:

Canadian bacon

Substitutions:

Whole-wheat penne

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Family Circle Magazine

Broken Lasagna with Zucchini-Tomato Sauce

July 2, 2012
Shannon
3 comments
food, pasta, tomatoes, vegetarian, zucchini

Happy July (my birthmonth)! If you live in the United States, most likely you spent this past weekend in some serious HEAT! It’s days like these that all I want to do is stay inside in the air-conditioning or find the nearest pool. Unfortunately, I had no access to a pool so that meant sitting indoors, listening to my A/C struggle to get cooler than 81°. The sunny, warm weather and impending holiday had me craving cook-out food and since the majority of my friends were out of town this past weekend, I took it upon myself to make pasta, baked beans, turkey burgers and milkshakes, all of which I plan to share with you this week in honor of the 4th of July. The first dish I made was Broken Lasagna with Zucchini-Tomato Sauce. To be honest, I made this to eat as a side, like pasta salad, but I’m pretty sure that it’s supposed to be dinner in itself. Whatever! That’s what’s great about making your own food – you can eat it however and whenever you want, right?

Freshly zucchini is grated and squeezed dry before being cooked with grape tomatoes and lemon zest. The whole mixture is tossed with broken pieces of lasagna noodles, parmesan cheese and chives. The tomatoes pop with sweetness, the zucchini provides a light summery freshness and the bright hint of lemon rounds out the whole dish. If you have any other pasta on hand, use it in place of the lasagna since the zucchini and tomatoes are really the stars of this dish. The recipe calls for cherry tomatoes but my grocery store was out so I used grape tomatoes which made a perfect substitute. Eat this hot or cold, alone or alongside your favorite burger and remember, no matter how hot it is outside, it’s summertime. So enjoy it!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a smoky baked beans dish!

The ingredients:

Grate the zucchini and drain in a colander with salt for 10 minutes. Remove from the colander and gently squeeze out any remaining moisture with a paper towel or clean towel.

While zucchini is sitting, break lasagna into piece and cook in boiling water according for 12 minutes. Be sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta.

Cook tomatoes in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until blistered and slightly softened, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini and lemon zest and cook, lightly crushing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the zucchini-tomato mixture to a large bowl and add the pasta and parmesan cheese and toss.

Stir in half of the chives and half of the reserved cooking water, adding more to loosen, if needed.

Season with salt and pepper and top with more cheese and remaining chives.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Grape tomatoes

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Food Network Magazine

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.