Penne with Roasted Asparagus in Balsamic Butter Sauce

About a month ago I finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined pinterest.  And, of course, now I am obsessed.  There are so many fun things to check out!  It’s facilitated my fashion challenge for myself to start wearing scarves (40+ ways to wear a scarf!  I knew of about 3 before this!), given me ideas for new diy accessories, and allowed me to check out LOADS of new recipes!

This was my first attempt at actually making one of the dishes I’d pinned.  My roommate and I love asparagus, and I’m a huge fan of balsamic vinegar, so this recipe seemed perfect for us.  It sounds fancy and quite a few people gave me a very impressed look when I told them what I was going to make.  The amount of real work involved in making this dish, however, is minimal.  All told, this dish took me about 20 minutes to prepare.  It would be perfect for a light springtime or summer supper with friends.  I’ve made a few adjustments based on my own personal tastes, but the recipe in its original form is from the very classy foodandwine.com.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 lb asparagus

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, minced

12 oz penne

1/2 c plus 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp brown sugar

6 tbsp butter, cut into pieces

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus, discard, and cut the remaining spears into 1-inch pieces.  Arrange asparagus on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, simmer vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to about 3 tbsp, basically a bit less than half.  Stir in brown sugar, butter, and more pepper.  Remove from heat.

4. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce, asparagus, Parmesan, and 1 tsp salt. Serve with additional Parmesan.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

My lovely ex-roommate Jess came down and visited me this weekend.  We drove an hour to the lake and got our Hunger Games on having an awesome adventure.  Blazing our own trail around the lake, scaling (or attempting to scale) ridges, jumping over and wading through creeks, walking across a flooded road.  It was awesome.

Needless to say though, by the time we got home we were pretty hungry.  I’ve been meaning to try my hand at Cajun pasta for a while now, so we decided to make that.  Oh man, did this turn out delicious.  Seriously reminded me of Cajun chicken pastas I’ve ordered at restaurants.  Yum.  Jess really isn’t much of a spice person (she lied to her Cajun ex-boyfriend about liking his gumbo), but even she thought this pasta was delicious.  Adjust the spicy-ness for your own personal tastes, but this has a pretty decent kick to it as is.

Ingredients (serves 4):

8oz spaghetti (or linguine, or whatever long pasta you have)

2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 green pepper, sliced into strips

1/2 red pepper, sliced into strips

1/2 onion, sliced

4 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups half and half, divided

1 tbsp corn starch

1/4 tsp dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, place chicken, paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and pepper in a bowl and toss to coat.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in olive oil until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5-7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, onion, and mushrooms; cook for 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in 1 c half and half. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper.

4. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/2 c half and half.  Slowly stir mixture into sauce and heat through.

5. In a large bowl, toss pasta with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Lemony Artichoke and Sundried Tomato Pasta

Somehow I got roped into coaching the girls track team at my school.  I say somehow, because I have never run track in my life and know absolutely nothing about it.  In fact, before this year, I’d never even voluntarily run in my life.  But here I am, Coach Pearce.  Well, at least it gives me street cred with the kids.

We had a meet this last Friday, and the captain of the boy’s team (the one who conned me into doing this…) and I had to meet up so we could register the kids for their events.  We were going to go out, but then I realized that that was silly, the restaurant probably didn’t even have wi-fi, so we would have had to come back here anyway.  Instead, I (rather last minute) decided to have him come over to my place, and I made this pasta.  Most of the ingredients are things I always have on hand in my kitchen, so it was really easy to throw this recipe together after a quick walk up to the store for some artichoke hearts.  I made this with chicken, because I’ve found it’s usually safer to make dishes with meat when boys are involved, but I think it would be delicious as a vegetarian dish without the chicken as well.

Ingredients (serve 4):

6 oz spaghetti (or other long pasta)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 c flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 chicken breasts, chunked

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 c chicken broth

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried basil

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

6 oz sun-dried tomatoes

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 c water

Direction:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Combine the flour and salt on a plate, then gently press the chicken breast chunks into the flour mixture to coat. Arrange the chicken in the skillet and cook until browned.  Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaf, and basil.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes and continue simmering for about 10 minutes.

3. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the chicken, and continue cooking until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Mushroom and Spinach Penne

Sometimes the best dinners come about when you’re just scrounging up random things you have left in your fridge.  This is especially true with pasta.  You can make pasta with anything in it, the random bits of vegetables leftover from previous dishes are perfect to add to a pasta dish.  That’s what I did yesterday when I made this.

I’d been itching to make pasta ever since I got back from spring break (it was fabulous by the way) with the colander my sister bought me.

It would seem she was scandalized last fall when she visited me and found out I was draining pasta with a plate over the top of my pots.  But really, buying a colander seemed so unnecessary…besides, I was absolutely incapable of remembering that I needed one every time I went to the store.  I finally got around to making pasta last night, and decided to throw in all the little bits of veggies I needed to use up.  You can, of course, take the idea of this recipe and use any vegetables you have lying around in your fridge.  In fact, I encourage it!  Green peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, all would be an awesome addition or substitute in this pasta if you’ve got them on hand.  A can of diced tomatoes (which I usually have…gotta go to the store) would be delicious too.  Play around with it and do what’s convenient for you.

Ingredients (serves 4):

12 oz penne pasta

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 red pepper, diced

2 cups mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

5 oz spinach (frozen or fresh will work, whatever you’ve got)

1/3 c white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, saute garlic and onions in olive oil over medium heat until onions become translucent.  Add red pepper and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper.  Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.  Add spinach, wine, and lemon juice.  Simmer for 5 minutes until spinach is wilted (fresh) or heated through (frozen).

3. Place cooked pasta in a bowl and combine with vegetable mixture and cheese.  Toss and serve with additional cheese.

Spinach and White Bean Pasta

I love quick pasta recipes.  Especially quick pasta recipes that are essentially: chop a couple things, open a couple cans, boil water.  How much easier can it get, right?  I wouldn’t have had time to make dinner yesterday, what with track practice after school and Tuesday night trivia at 8, if it wasn’t for this recipe.  Simply and tasty, perfect for a weeknight dinner when you’re crunched for time but don’t want to pick up take out or eat pre-prepared food.

Ingredients (serves 4):

8 oz pasta (I used penne, but only because it’s my fav and what I had on hand)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 (14.5 oz) can Italian diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can white beans (like Cannellini or Great Northern), drained and rinsed

1/4 cup white wine

5 cups spinach, chopped

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Saute garlic and mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, beans, and white wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add spinach and continue to simmer until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Spoon bean and spinach mixture over pasta and top with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Roasted-Red Pepper Tortellini Soup

When I initially saw the original incarnation of this recipe in one of my allrecipes emails, I was a bit skeptical.  Not that it didn’t sound delicious, I’m a big fan of roasted red peppers, and who doesn’t like tortellini?  But I don’t think I’ve ever had red peppers as a soup.  Plus, the picture looked really dark red, almost like a borscht.  Now, I actually had borscht when I was in Poland.  It’s pretty good, but does not look appetizing at all.  The reviews for the recipe were great though, so I decided to take a risk and put it on the menu for this week.  Wow, Am I glad I did!  The red peppers were really sweet and my food processor made the soup itself sooo creamy and delicious (and easy, god I love my food processor)!  And tortellini is always a win.  Katie was a big fan too, I think she’s half tempted to write my mom a thank you card for getting me this food processor, it has really added to our culinary adventures!

Ingredients (serves 3):

1 (16 oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth (sub veggie broth to make this vegetarian)

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

salt and pepper to taste

1 (9 oz) package cheese tortellini

2 tbsp heavy cream

 

Directions:

1.  Add red peppers and garlic to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

2. Add red pepper mixture, chicken broth, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper to a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Add tortellini and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes until pasta is al dente.  Add heavy cream and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Parmesan Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

I was planning on making this (hopefully) delicious Latin Chicken with sweet potatoes and black beans in my slow cooker today.  But…I used the rest of the rice yesterday making curry.  Alas, it’ll have to wait until we get a chance to go to the store.  Sooo, instead, today was basically a random-stuff-in-the-fridge pasta.  The best kind of pasta?  Perhaps.  Definitely always an adventure.  I decided to go with a cream sauce made with the rest of the heavy cream, a half bottle of sun-dried tomatoes, random leftover asparagus and green onions that definitely needed to be eaten like now.  It turned out quite delicious, actually.  Very rich and creamy, definitely not the most diet friendly pasta…whatever I went on a run before I made dinner, so that makes it ok, right?  If you’re not at all concerned about the calorie count, add a few slices of crumbled bacon…that would REALLY make this fabulous.

The only adjustment I’d make, was that the asparagus was really superfluous.  The creaminess of the sauce and the strong flavor of the sun-dried tomatoes really over-powered them.  Oh well, they had to be eaten anyway.  Instead, I’d suggest adding sliced mushrooms.  If I’d had any in the fridge, I definitely would have used those as well, I’m going to put them in the recipe here, because I’d definitely including them the next time I make this recipe.  You could easily make this pasta vegetarian by omitting the chicken.  The flavors are great and the dish as a whole would be just fine without it.

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 tbsp olive oil

1 chicken breast, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 small onion, diced

1/2 c mushrooms, sliced

1 c heavy cream

1/4 c white wine

1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1 cube chicken bouillon

1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes

4 green onions, sliced

1/4 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz pasta

Directions:

1. Saute chicken in olive oil over medium heat.  After 2-3 minutes, add garlic, onions and mushrooms and saute until onions become translucent.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions

3. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream, wine, cheese, b0uillon, sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.  Adjust spices to taste.

Chicken Milano

This pasta dish is a fantastic change from the usual tomato-based pasta sauces you usually see.  Sun-dried tomatoes and chicken make for a great combination; the cream and chicken broth makes the sauce thick and decadent (though a bit fattening of course, swap for half and half if you’re calorie conscious).  I highly encourage making this dish for company, it takes a bit over half an hour, so it’s quick, but the taste will definitely impress your guests and make them think you spent a lot more time in the kitchen than you really did.  Serve with garlic bread and a green salad and you’ve got a perfect meal!

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes

1 c chicken broth

1 c heavy cream (or half and half; makes for a slightly thinner sauce, but much less calories)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp basil

8 oz pasta of your choice

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter; add garlic and onions and cook for about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and chicken broth, increase to medium heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.  Add cream and bring to a boil; simmer over medium heat until the sauce thickens.

3. Meanwhile, Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and saute in oil over medium heat.  When fully cooked, stir chicken and basil into cream sauce.  Serve sauce on top of sauce.

Pasta with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce

We bought vodka about a month and a half ago for a little Halloween get-together we had…and it’s still sitting on our counter.  I really don’t like vodka very much when it comes to drinks, and it would seem neither do my roommates.  Now attempting to use it in recipes is certainly not going to get rid of the rest of that handle very quickly, but it’s certainly worth an attempt.  And if you’re concerned about the vodka in the recipe, don’t be.  I won’t say it cooks off entirely, I don’t think it really simmers with the vodka added for long enough to do that, but there’s so little in there the alcohol itself won’t really make a difference.

The only adjustment I would make to this recipe next time (and would recommend to you) is changing the pasta.  I used thin spaghetti, because that’s what I had in the cabinet, but I’m thinking some sort of shaped pasta (or at least something thicker) would be better for this sauce.  Whatever, it’s delicious either way.

Ingredients (makes about 8 servings):

1 lb pasta

1 link kielbasa, sliced (use sweet Italian sausage if you can get it, but Wal-Mart of course didn’t have any when I was there)

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup half and half

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp vodka

 Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. In large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat.  Add the sausage and cook until brown. Add garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring until garlic is golden brown.

3. Add tomatoes and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, combine half and half and cornstarch and mix well.  Add cream mixture and vodka to sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add pasta, toss for 1 minute.

 

Spinach and Feta Pasta

Quick pasta recipes are a must.  I think everyone should have a few quick and easy pasta recipes in their cooking arsenal.  That way, on those days when you just don’t have much time or don’t feel like putting forth too much effort, you can still have a delicious dinner that didn’t come from a box or a drive-thru.  Quick pasta dishes are also great because you can use whatever random bits of vegetable (or even meat) you have left over from previous meals to make them.  This Greek-inspired pasta is perfect for that.  You’ve got half an onion and some random tomatoes leftover from yesterday?  Perfect!  No mushrooms?  That’s ok, use that half a jar of artichoke hearts you’ve had sitting in the fridge for two weeks.  No extra trips to the store necessary.

Ingredients (serves 4)

8oz pasta (I used spaghetti this time because it’s what I had, but in the past I’ve used penne or similar shaped pasta and I think that tends to work a bit better in a dish like this)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 a small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 cups chopped tomatoes (thanks Ms. Adam’s for the cherry tomatoes!)

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 cups spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of crushed red pepper

splash of white wine (maybe 2 tbsp?)

8 oz feta cheese, crumbled

 

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and garlic and cook until golden brown.  Mix in tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach.  Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and wine.  Cook until tomatoes are heated through and spinach is wilted, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in pasta and feta before serving.