Easy Pasta E Fagioli

by penji1

Easy Pasta E Fagioli

Do you ever get tired of eating the same old thing day after day for lunch?  That was me yesterday so I whipped up this homemade soup.  It’s a Pillsbury recipe and was easy and yummy!

1 medium onion, chopped (or 1/2 cup frozen onion)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

2 (14 oz each) cans chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 cup (4 oz) uncooked pasta of your choice

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Add all ingredients except cheese to pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until pasta is done.  Sprinkle with cheese to serve.

Strawberry Shortcakes

by penji1

Strawberry Shortcakes

Spent some of the day Saturday making treats for a church activity that night, I made these from the Food Network and also made a chocolate version which you can find here.  Both are pretty easy to make, I changed up the Food Network recipe a bit so you can check the link for the original version.  Both were a hit and gone at the end of the night.

shortcakes:

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg, slightly beaten

Turbinado sugar

filling:

4 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

2 – 3 tablespoons sugar

homemade whipped cream, recipe here

1  Preheat oven to 400.  Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.

2  For shortcakes, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl.  Add butter and, using pastry cutter or two forks, work into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3  Whisk together buttermilk and egg in small bowl.  Add to flour mixture and mix just until dough comes together.  Scoop 1/4 cup portions onto baking sheet.  Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar liberally.  Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

4  For filling, combine sliced strawberries and sugar in large bowl and let stand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is syrupy, about 15 minutes.  (Can also let sit in fridge until ready to use.)  Prepare homemade whipped cream as per instructions.

5  To assemble, split shortcakes.  Place bottom half on plate, top with berries and cream then finish with top of shortcake.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

by penji1

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This right here is my new favorite pasta recipe!  IT.  WAS.  SO.  DELICIOUS!  Seriously!  It was the finishing dish for our Mario Kart party and it was perfect.  The recipe comes from the Food Network and while I wouldn’t say it was easy to make, it wasn’t hard either, the eggs in the sauce sort of made me nervous but ended up not being a problem and turned out great!

1 pound dry spaghetti

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips

4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 eggs

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1  Prepare sauce while pasta is cooking to ensure that spaghetti will be hot and ready when sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding to egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw egg in the sauce.

2  Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

3  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in deep skillet over medium heat.  Add pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered.  Toss garlic into fat and saute for less than a minute to soften.

4  Add hot, drained spaghetti to pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat strands in bacon fat.  Beat eggs and cheese together in a bowl.  Remove pan from heat and pour egg/cheese mixture into pasta, whisking quickly until eggs thicken, but do not scramble.  (I had my son in law Jaren help me stir the egg/cheese into the spaghetti, I think it helped to  have both of us stirring and getting it mixed in quickly.)  I served the pasta with fresh basil over the top.

Margherita Pizza

by penji1

Margherita Pizza

More food from our Mario Kart party, I decided since Mario and Luigi are obviously Italian that an Italian dinner went along nicely with the party theme.  I love Margherita pizza so decided to give it a try on my own.  It was so good, so good that I should have made two!

1 batch pizza dough of your choice (I bought a bag of pre-made dough at WinCo that you can find in their deli section, in between the cheese and lunch meats)

1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil

1 bag (2 cups) shredded Mozzarella cheese

4 – 6 Roma tomatoes, sliced

several basil leaves, cut into strips

1/2 – 1 cup Parmesan cheese

1  Dust pizza pan with a thin layer of flour or cornmeal then roll dough out over flour/cornmeal into large round and brush generously with olive oil.

2  Spread Mozzarella cheese evenly over dough.  Cover cheese with sliced tomatoes then scatter basil strips over tomatoes.  Sprinkle Parmesan over top of all.

3  Bake at 400 for about 20 – 25 minutes, until browned and center is set and not doughy.

Mario Kart Mushroom Pops

by penji1

Mario Kart Mushroom Pops So my family is just a little bit obsessed with the game Mario Kart and on Thursday some new tracks were released for the game and there was much excitement around here and then it was decided that there was to be a Mario Kart party on Friday so they could play all the new tracks so I decided to play along since that meant that I got to play with the food!  I found the idea for these adorable pops on line at a blog called “Cute as a Fox” which were perfect for the party.  They were pretty easy to make and the brownie bites dipped in chocolate were so yummy!

20 – 25 brownie bites, homemade or store bought, your choice

1 bag Wilton red candy melts

assorted sprinkles as desired, such as small white pearls, small star shapes, large stars

20 – 25 large marshmallows

black edible food marker

20 – 25 popsicle sticks

1  The brownie bites are easy to make if you want to go the  homemade route.  All you need is 1 box of brownie mix plus ingredients listed to make brownies.  Preheat oven to 325, prepare batter according to package directions,  generously spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray with flour, scoop about 1 teaspoon of batter into each muffin cup, bake for about 14 minutes,  let sit in pan after removing from oven for 10 minutes then carefully remove from pan and let cool completely.  Or go to the store and buy a package of brownie bites!

2    Melt candy melts according to package directions.  Dip each brownie bite into melted candy melts and set on wax paper.   Immediately after dipping each brownie bite, decorate with desired sprinkles while candy melts are still soft so that sprinkles will adhere.  Let set completely before assembling.

3  Carefully draw eyes on each marshmallow with edible food marker.  Don’t press too hard on the marshmallow or you’ll end up with a sticky mess.

4  To assemble pops, take one large marshmallow and dip end slightly in candy melts then stick a dipped brownie bite on top of marshmallow, slide popsicle stick up through marshmallow and just slightly into brownie bite.

Skillet Pasta and Sausage

by penji1

Skillet Pasta and Sausage

Dinner last night, it was quick, easy and tasty, my three favorite things also a 30 minute meal and a 1 pot meal, two more of my favorite things.  It’s a Betty Crocker recipe.

1 tablespoon olive oil

14 – 16 oz fully cooked smoked sausage, sliced

1/2 cup diced onion

1 (12 oz) package frozen garden vegetable medley

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

8 oz pasta

salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1  Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add sausage and onion and cook until browned and softened, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Add in vegetables, broth and milk then stir in pasta.

2  Cover and cook until pasta is al dente, about 15 minutes.  Stir and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Black Magic Cake

by penji1

Black Magic Cake

Courtney and Jaren come over a lot for Sunday dinner and Cort always wants chocolate cake for dessert so yesterday I just made this cake without even asking her what she wanted since I knew the answer already.  The recipe comes from “allrecipes” and is delicious!

1 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong brewed coffee

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray two 9″ round cake pans or one 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray with flour.

2  In mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3  Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.  Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.  (Batter will be thin.)  Pour into prepared pan(s).

4  Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

5  Frost as desired.  I made my favorite buttercream icing then melted about 2 cups of milk chocolate candy melts and added that into the frosting and beat on medium for about 2 minutes until well combined and it was delicious just like the cake!

Baked Pasta with Ham and Broccoli

by penji1

Baked Pasta with Ham and Broccoli

Made this for dinner the same night I made the Ham/Broccoli/Egg Bake and I think this one was the favorite.  It’s from My Recipes.  It wasn’t hard to make but it took a little time to put together.  It was really good, sort of like a mac n cheese on steroids.

8 ounces pasta

2 cups chopped broccoli

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup panko or other coarse bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour

3 cups low fat milk, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan

4 ounces diced ham

1  Preheat oven to 375.  Grease a 9 x 13″ casserole dish.  Bring pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions.  During the last 3 – 4 minutes of cooking time, add the broccoli.  Drain, rinse and drain again then pour into casserole dish.

2  In saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Remove 1 tablespoon from pan and mix into bread crumbs in a small bowl.  Add flour to melted butter and whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in milk, add paprika and season with salt and pepper.  Stir until sauce begins to boil, about 8 minutes then remove from heat.

3  Stir in 1 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese and all of the Parmesan until smooth then stir in ham.

4  Stir sauce into pasta and broccoli.  Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.  Bake until top browns and sauce bubbles, about 30 minutes.

Three Ingredient Lemon Loaf

by penji1

Three Ingredient Lemon Loaf This recipe seemed to good to be true so I had to give it a try.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either, it just wasn’t lemony enough but I think with a little tweaking it could be great.  It’s a Betty Crocker recipe and I’ll try it again at some point with some alterations.

1 box white cake mix (I realized after it was to late that I should have used a lemon cake mix)

1 (5.3 oz) container Yoplait Greek 2% lemon meringue yogurt (I accidentally bought the whipped kind instead of the regular kind so that’s probably one reason it wasn’t as lemony as it might have been)

1 cup water 1 tablespoon coarse sugar next time I’ll also add the juice and rind of 1 lemon

1  Heat oven to 350.  Spray loaf pan with cooking spray with flour.

2  Beat cake mix, yogurt and water on low for 1 minute then on medium for 2 minutes.  Pour batter into pan.  (The batter is thick so smooth top before next step.)  Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

3  Bake 40 – 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on rack 10 – 15 minutes before removing to cool completely.

Broccoli, Ham and Mozzarella Egg Bake

by penji1

Broccoli, Ham and Mozzarella Egg Bake

Dinner last night, recipe from a blog called “Kalyn’s Kitchen”, it was easy and yummy and helped to use up some of that leftover Easter ham from the freezer!  We had it for dinner but it would make a tasty breakfast too.

4 – 6 cups small broccoli florets

1 – 2 cups diced ham (1/2 – 1 pound)

1 cup low fat shredded Mozzarella

1/3 cup sliced green onion

8 – 10 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1  Heat oven to 375.  Spray 9 x 13″ dish with cooking spray.

2  Bring pot of salted water to a boil and cook broccoli about 2 minutes then drain well.

3  Layer broccoli, ham, Mozzarella and green onions in dish.  Season with salt and pepper and pour beaten eggs over top.  Press down to ensure egg is covering all ingredients.  (It might not appear to be enough eggs but it is!)

4  Bake 35 – 40 minutes or until center is set and top is starting to brown.