Monthly Archives: January 2009
Pasta with Roasted Root Vegetables
| January 30, 2009 | Posted by LK under Reviews, Uncategorized |
This recipe had me scared for a little bit while it was cooking. There were SO MANY vegetables. The fennel smelled really strong. And I was worried that the whole dish was going to feel really dense and carb-y. I should have trusted my instincts though, because the vegetables cooked down lot and got very soft- they almost turned into a chunky sauce- and the fennel mellowed a lot as it cooked. You couldn’t pick it out at all. The entire dish comes together perfectly, is a beautiful color, full of vitamins, filling and cheap to make. I think we have a winner!
I discovered a new pasta when making this- DeBoles Organic Whole Wheat with Jerusalem Artichoke Flour. Its kind of pricey, but its sold by the half pound which makes it not too bad. OMG is it good. It seemed less harsh than other whole wheat pastas and it actually came out al dente instead of hard and grainy. i highly recommend it.
If you hate beets you’ll definitely want to leave them out, since they have a distinct flavor even when combined with everything else. I would try subbing turnip and baby spinach for the beets and beet greens if you want to you that route. But if you like beets even a little, I would stick with the original because its really, really good.
I can’t tell you ho many servings this makes because I haven’t finished it all yet. It makes a ton though- We had it for dinner and I had it twice for lunch (maybe a slightly smaller serving), and I’d guess I have enough for another 4 lunches.
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 bulb fennel, cut into small pieces
- 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into rounds
- 1 yam, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 3 beets, peeled and cut into cubes (1/2 inch), greens chopped and reserved
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 small palm full fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 c. vegetable stock
- 1/2 pound whole wheat rigatoni
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
- sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
Pasta with Meatballs and Fresh Mozzarella
| January 18, 2009 | Posted by LK under Uncategorized |
A few weeks ago we were cleaning out the office and I found an old stack of Everyday Food magazines. A recipe similar to this (I changed it up quite a bit) was on the cover of an iddue from a few years ago and it just looked so good that I knew i had to make it. I’m glad I did- it was really good and came together super fast (everything was done by the time the pasta was ready). It also makes a really good sized portion. This is also a recipe that tastes better the next day- after it sat in the fridge overnight, the sauce thickened a bit and we both agreed that while we loved it the first night lunch the next day was even better.
On a side note, I found out while making this that those prepackaged things of ground turkey breast aren’t a pound. They’re almost a pound and a quarter! I ave to remember to check labels more often…
On a scale of 1-10, I would give these an 10 in ease of preparation, an 8 in terms of taste, an 8 in terms of calorie-satisfaction ratio, and a 9 in terms of reheat-ability. Overall, I give it an 8.
- 3/4 pound ground turkey
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 T Parmesan cheese
- 1 palm full parsley
- 2 T butter
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- crushed red peppers to taste
- 8 ounces orecchiete pasta
- 6 oz spinach, torn into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 pint fresh mozzarella balls, cut into about 20 pieces
1. Put pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients (through parsley). Mix well, and form into about 24 meatballs.
3. Heat 1 T butter in a large skillet. When melted, add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides (about 5 minutes). Add 1 cup of water and let simmer about 10 minutes.
4. Add pasta to boiling water. Add tomatoes to pan with meatballs. let tomatoes cook the entire time the pasta cooks, mashing them down with a spoon every so often to much them into a little more of a sauce.Add red peppers to taste.
5. Drain pasta. Return to pot. Add remaining 1 T butter to meatball pan. When melted, add meatballs and sauce to pasta. Add mozzarella and spinach, and toss until spinach wilts.
6. Enjoy!
Hot Tamale Train!
| January 16, 2009 | Posted by LK under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, Light, Mexican and Southwestern, Special Occasions, Weekend Meals |
I love tamales. But while they’re usually awesome, I have had some that are just so-so. That, combined with the horror stories that I had always heard about making them made me think they were best left for dinners out, but I’ve always toyed with the idea of making them. I even tried a deconstructed tamale, which I posted about here before. Anyway, this past weekend I decided to give in and attempt them. You know what? They really weren’t difficult to make! They take time, so it’s definitely not something you can do after work on a weeknight, but a lazy Sunday afternoon? No problem! With the exception of actually rolling them, there’s actually very little “active” cooking time. Also, the recipe make tons and they reheat well, so one afternoon and you’ll be good on tamales for a while! (freeze whatever you don’t eat the first night. To reheat, wrap in a wet paper towel and microwave for 1:30-2:00.)
On a scale of 1-10, I would give these an 8 in ease of preparation, a 10 in terms of taste, a 10 in terms of calorie-satisfaction ratio, and an 8 in terms of reheat-ability.
Tip: I made the dough while the pork was roasting. Also, I served with a prepared mole sauce. Yum!
Chili-Cherry Pork Tamales
(recipe courtesy of Cooking Light, surprise surprise….)
Dough
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 chiles
- 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
- 3 3/4 cups masa (I found this near the goya stuff at the store)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup chilled crisco
1. Combine broth, chilis, and corn in food processor. Process until smooth.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Cut in crisco until it looks crumbly/mealy. Add broth mixture and combine (hand work well!) until ti forms a soft dough. Cover and refridgerate until ready.
Filling
- 24 dried corn husks
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup dried tart cherries
- 1 chile, stemmed
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin
1. Combine broth, chili, and cheeries in a microwave safe dish. Heat for about 2 minute, until the cherries plump up. Transfer to food processor. Add next 6 ingredients (through gralic) and process until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup. Slather the rest all over the pork. Let pork marinate for at least 60 minutes.
2. Place pork on broiler pan and cook at 450 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit 20 minutes. Shred. Toss with reserved marinade.
3. Fill a bowl with warm water and start soaking the corn husks (weigh them down with a can if you need to).
4. Working one husk at a time, shape 3 tablespoons dough in center of husk. press with your knuckles to spread it out to cover the top half or so of the husk. Spoon a Tablespoon of pork down one side of husk. Roll the husk so that the dough encapsulates the pork (roll the husk the long way) then fold the empty park of the husk under (fold the short way). Place on broiler pan. (I had to stack my tamales in two layers to get the to fit on the pan- it was fine).
5. Fill bottom of pan with 2 cups of hot water (this will help them steam). Cover with damp kitchen towel (use an old one as it will discolor). Bake at 450 for about an hour.
6. Enjoy!
Quick Tip: Acorn Squash Risotto
| January 2, 2009 | Posted by LK under Risotto |
One of my favorite new tricks is to add acorn squash to my risottos. It adds vitamins as well as bulk without adding a lot of calories. It also makes the risotto really creamy. Don’t worry if you’re not a huge fan of squash- you really can’t even taste it!
To do this, cut your squash into large chunks and roast at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until it is fork tender. Puree the meat in a food processor. Prepare your risotto as usual, but add the pureed squash at the very end. Yum! I’ve been using one medium sized squash for every four to six servings of risotto.
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