BLT Pasta

I have meltdowns every so often.  It happens when I am overtired, overly busy and stressed.  I am not sure why I choose to make a new recipe when I am already having those kinds of obstacles, but the first time I made this recipe - I made it much more complicated than I should have because I skimmed the recipe and didn't actually read it before making this dish.  I almost always read recipes all the way through, but of course being overwhelmed with life made me skip that step and caused further issues.  I had a total meltdown in the while cooking when I realized I skipped a step/ingredient.  In the end it still turned out tasty, but it caused more headaches then I needed.  Master always loves walking into the kitchen with a hysterical crying slave (that was sarcasm).  Anyway, I am seriously happy I tried this recipe again after the meltdown because I really love the flavor of this dish. It is so pretty to look at as well as eat. We have had it several time and every time we have it, I am amazed by the flavor.

6 strips bacon, diced
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup leeks, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
9 oz dry spaghetti noodles
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Garlic Croutons  - made mine but store bought would work

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Saute the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook until crisp, then set aside on paper towel.   Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings, and drain off remaining oil.

Caramelize the tomatoes and sugar in the bacon drippings in large and deep skillet or sauce pan, over medium heat.  Cook until tomatoes begin to soften and brown, approximately 3 minutes.  Add the leeks and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until leeks soften.

Deglaze with wine and allow sauce to simmer until the wine is nearly evaporated and sauce is thick.  Add the broth, vinegar, and pepper flakes.  Simmer until reduced by 1/3, approximately 5 minutes.

Add the spinach, and bacon to the sauce, then add the cooked pasta.  Toss lightly until pasta is well coated with sauce and tomato mixture is incorporated.  Season with salt as needed.  Top each serving with garlic croutons.

Makes 4 servings.

NOTES:
* Although I think deglazing always makes flavor more deep sometimes I skip deglazing steps and really in this case I think the caramelizing adds the depth of flavor to the tomatoes.  So if you don't want to deglaze - you could up the chicken broth just a bit and skip the deglazing step.  Need to up the broth, because if you skip the wine step you still need a little more liquid for sauce in the recipe.

* I am leaving 2 cups of spinach in the recipe, but I will say the last few times I have made this I have upped the spinach to 3 cups and like having more green in it.  Really doesn't change flavor - just getting more green in the diet.

* If you don't have leeks, green onions work in a pinch too.

Slow Cooker Meatball Soup

I didn't add any extra seasonings to this soup and it had amazing flavor. The tomatoes with the basil, garlic and oregano plus my homemade meatballs have Italian seasonings - those were giving it all the seasoning it needed. This was easy and quick to put together and tasted really good.

1 bag (16 oz) frozen cooked Italian meatballs, thawed or cooked homemade meatballs
2 cups beef broth
1 3/4 cup water
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (19 oz) cannellini beans or great northern, drained
1 cup frozen carrots
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup cooked pasta - made just before serving
Shredded Parmesan cheese - garnish

In 4 quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except pasta and cheese. Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 to 7 hours. The carrots and green beans can become mushy in a slow cooker so add after 4 hours or 4 1/2 hours instead. Add pasta just before serving.

Garnish individual servings with Parmesan cheese.

Crock-pot Meat Sauce

1 pound ground Italian sausage or ground beef/turkey
2  -  14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
1  - 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1  -  6 ounce can tomato paste
1 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper chopped (approximately 1 cup - it is fine if you go over that)
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
dash ground red pepper or red pepper flakes (optional)

Preparation:

In a large skillet, cook meat over medium heat until no longer pink.

Add meat crockpot, along with all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8 to 10 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

Serves 8 to 10. Sauce can be frozen.

March Question Month: 30 Minute Meals

Jan asked, "I would like to know what is your go to dishes that you can make in 30 minutes for dinner? I have a full-time job, kids, serving Master and I just need some quick go to dinners."


I don't have kids but it seems lately I have so much is on my plate that those quick meals are my mainstay. I would say half of my go-to quick dinners are  prepped-ahead and half is just pulling from the pantry right in he moment.

Prep and Make Ahead

I have been trying to do some more make ahead meals so that I can take them from the freezer the night before so they are thaw and ready to pop in the oven for dinner.  No prep often allows me the luxury of 30 to 40 mins baking.  I usually do cooking for 2 to 3 meals on one day for the make-ahead type meals.  Or try to make a double batch of something so we can eat one and freeze the other.

When I come home from shopping, I also like to try to prep a little so that helps me save time in the long run. Such as if I get big family size package of hamburger - 3 to 5 lbs then I brown some of it right away to use in a casserole or tacos (I often brown burger in the microwave), or bake meatballs, or make hamburger patties. Freeze them so I can pull it out and use without much prep.  Sometimes even defrosting in the microwave to use in minutes.  Boneless skinless chicken breasts are another thing I prep at times - I put what I would need for a meal in ziplock and cover it with a marinade and then freeze. I take them out the night before I plan on using and let them marinade while defrosting. I also bake or grill up a few, chop and add to a labeled ziplock so I can use for chicken tacos , on baked potatoes, in soup, or added to a pasta.

I am going to also share that I have a cheat that makes no matter what I make - look like a real meal.  I can serve a salad or soup from a can but because I often make homemade bread with it - it looks like a nicer meal even though it was quick and easy. I use Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  It is making up a big batch of dough and then using just some of the dough to make a loaf of bread.  It does usually take more then 5 minutes as it doesn't add in the rise time. But it still is fairly quick with little work.

I also use my crockpot a lot so that things can be added in the morning and done for dinner.  I know a lot of time crockpot produces a liquid but I always make sure I add some to begin with too - just so it won't be dry by the end of the day.

Quick and Easy Dinner on the spot

When I need a meal that is going to be quick and easy, I use the microwave and grill.

Such as I want roasted potatoes but normally that would take 40 minutes to an hour to roast in the oven. I chop the potatoes and place in a bowl with some water and microwave so that I am boiling them. I then drain the water, toss with some olive oil and seasonings to add to the oven.

Or I boil sliced potatoes in the microwave to use in a frittata. I do layers of potatoes, veggies and sometimes bacon or ham. I mix up some eggs and pour it over top and bake it.

I microwave baked potatoes too - to help speed up baking time.  I wash them, pierce several times with a fork, wrap in a paper towel and  microwave for 4 to 7 minutes - depending on size of potatoes. After I have microwaved then I bake them for just a bit. I coat them with some olive oil and sea salt, wrap in tinfoil and bake for 15 to 20 mins in the oven.

I steam most veggies in the microwave.  I use frozen veggies often - easy to keep in the freezer and use for meals.

My easiest meals:
* Grilled chicken breasts, baked potatoes, steamed veggies.  Frozen chicken breasts can be thawed in the microwave in minutes.  While thawing those, I prep my potatoes.  After they are thawed, I might marinade for 10 mins while my potatoes or in the microwave. I get the grill warming up.  Then after the potatoes are in the oven, I put the chicken breasts on the grill and add veggies to steam in the microwave.

* Really meat, potato and veggie is my go to easiest meal - I grill burgers, steak,  porkchops or chicken breasts and add a potato and veggies and we have a meal.

* Burritos, nachos or tacos - I either use some ground beef or turkey already browned and ready to go in the freezer or I brown some in a pan or in the microwave.  I drain the meat after browned and then add a can of tomatoes with chili (such as Rotel), heat a can of refried beans up, get cheese and sour cream out and any other fixings .

* Pasta -

• Spaghetti and Meatballs - I usually bake up meatballs ahead of time so I can pull from the freezer to use.  But even making meatballs and baking them in the moment doesn't take too long.  Boil pasta, add meatballs and toss it all with sauce - heat through. If you want some veggies do a side of steamed veggies or add a side salad. 
• Pasta, chicken and pesto - Chicken even if it is not cooked ahead - grill it, chop it up and mix with cooked pasta and then toss it all with pesto. Heat it all through in minutes on the stovetop.   Add in some steamed veggies in with it or as a side.  
• Pasta, white beans, seasoned diced tomatoes - Cook the pasta, drain and then tossed with a can of white beans that are drained and rinsed, a can of seasoned diced tomatoes (such as the Italian or basil and garlic) - heat through and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. It has good flavor and is quick. Add in some steamed veggies in with it or as a side.  
• Italian sausages, pasta and sauce  - I microwave Italian sausage to get them cooked through and then toss on the grill for a few minutes or pan fry so the outside browned,  keep whole or slice them and toss with some pasta and sauce or just a can of diced tomatoes. Add in some steamed veggies in with it or as a side.  

* Salads - making a big thing of salad up and using it for lunches and as a side dish for dinner but I also do them for dinner as the main entree. I add some grilled chicken to salad and serve with some bread - it is dinner.

* Variations of Grilled Cheese - I do grilled cheese with sloppy joe mixture, taco mixture, sliced turkey breast from the deli, apples or pears,  or sauteed veggies - adding in any cheese I have on hand - basically taking what I have available in my fridge and making it into a grilled cheese.  On the same note - sloppy joes or taco joes - ground meat on a burger with any topping you desire.

* Breakfast for dinner - eggs, sausage and toast, scrambled eggs with veggies and/or ham, or pancakes and sausage. I add some fruit and that is dinner. We like breakfast for dinner.

*  I do a variation of Martha Stewart's Cheesy Hash Brown Bake. Instead of making chili - I just take 2 cans of chili beans. Those are the kind of beans that have chili sauce in them so they are seasoned and ready to add to chili.  I add browned ground beef to it and mix up so incorporated well pour into a 9 x 13 pan. I don't do the individual pans. I sprinkle cheese on top of the chili mixture and then add the hash browns. I have used frozen hash browns before and they just don't brown up as well but still are cooked and taste good with the chili that is cheesy and bubbling underneath.

* Sloppy Joe Skillet -  Empty contents of one box of cornbread stuffing in a bowl and add 1 2/3 cups hot water. Mix until just moistened and set aside. Brown 1 lb. ground beef, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups veggies (such as chopped mixed bell peppers, sliced mushroom and chopped onions)  and when they are getting soft and the onions translucent.  Add a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a small can of tomato paste, 3/4 cup water, 1 can of  diced tomatoes (don't drain add the liquid in the skillet too) - simmer for about 5 mins until mixture is well incorporated and thick. Then add the stuffing on the top of the mixture and simmer for 3 more minutes covered.  Serve.  I serve with a side salad or steamed broccoli or cauliflower.  This a variation of Kraft's Sloppy Joe Skillet.

I am stopping there but those are on my list of go-to quick dinners. I need them when are so busy with work and I also a chronic illness that makes it at times impossible for me to think about what am I going to make for dinner so going to this list of things - is the best option for me.

Pasta Salad

We went on a picnic a few weeks ago at one of the many beautiful waterfalls here in Colorado. And I didn't want to just pack the usual sandwiches so I suggested pasta salad and that sounded like a good idea to everyone. I wanted to make something that I had all the ingredients on hand so this is what I came up with it. It is easy and good for summer dinner. Serve with some crusty bread.

I would say this serves about 6. This would be easy to double to make for a crowd also.


Ingredients
8 oz. uncooked pasta (I used small shells)
1 cup cooked cubed boneless chicken breast (I used 1 large breast)
3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup carrot - shredded or julienned (either work and taste good)
1 1/2 cups Ranch dressing*

Directions
Cook the pasta until done to desired tenderness and drain well. Cool completely. Toss with chicken, cheese, peas, carrots and dressing. Chill for an hour before serving.

*Ingredient Tips
* Start with 1 cup of Ranch dressing and then taste and keep going until you are happy with the consistency and taste. Also if you let it set over night sometimes the dressing can soak in so might need to add more the next day if you have left overs. I wouldn't make this salad the day before - unless just prepping all the ingredients and then tossing together an hour or 2 before serving.

* I used frozen peas and just ran a little water over the peas to thaw them.

* Left over chicken would be good for this - I used left over grilled chicken.

Meatball Soup

"Beautiful soup, so rich and green.

Waiting in a hot tureen!

Who for such dainties would not stoop?

Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!"

~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

We had this soup a couple weeks ago. And from the first bite Master was raving how good it tasted. And I didn't add any extra seasonings. The tomatoes with the basil, garlic and oregano plus my homemade meatballs have Italian seasonings in it were the only seasoning for the soup. And they both created the most flavorful soup.


1 bag (16 oz) frozen cooked Italian meatballs, thawed or homemade meatballs
2 cups beef broth
1 3/4 cup water
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (19 oz) cannellini beans, drained
1 cup frozen carrots
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup cooked pasta - before serving
Shredded Parmesan cheese - garnish

In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except pasta and cheese. Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 to 7 hours. The carrots and green beans can become mushy in a slow cooker so add after 4 hours or 4 1/2 hours instead. Add pasta just before serving.

Garnish individual servings with Parmesan cheese.

Linguine with Peppery Beef Strips

I have a few of those recipe cards that you get in the mail. They send them in hopes that you will agree to a monthly subscription of them. I will at times save some of them. This recipe is one I saved and made this week.



Ingredients
1 lb lean beef steak
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp coarsely ground pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch*
8 oz linguine
1 cup julienned carrots

Directions
Slice steak into 1 4-inch-thick slices. Mix oregano, basil, pepper, olive oil, garlic and green onions in a shallow dish. Add steak; toss to coat. Heat water for pasta. Dissolve cornstarch in broth. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Remove steak. Stir broth mixture into skillet. Boil, stirring continually, for about 1 minute. Return steak to skillet. Add carrots; cook for 5 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet; toss with steak and vegetables. Serve immediately. Servings: 6

* The recipe card left off cornstarch on the ingredients list but not in the directions so I just did a guess on the amount. And it seemed to work good.

NOTES:
- I was out of green onions so I just used some finely grated onion
- I used Top Round Steak - thinly cut
- Added some left over red and orange bell peppers maybe 1/2 of one all together
- Added some red pepper flakes to give it some heat

We liked it and it is something that we would like to have again but I think I would add a little more broth and cornstarch. It soaked in to the pasta quickly. But otherwise it was good. It was a nice change of flavors from traditional stir fry.

Crock Pot Pasta Sauce

Some time ago I came across a recipe for making pasta sauce in the crock pot. I then promptly lost the link because I'm organized like that. With yesterday being such a cold, blustery day, and with a kitchen stocked with the ingredients that I could remember being in the dish, I decided to give it a go.



First, I sauteed some chopped onion, carrots and celery in a small amount of olive oil until soft. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, dumped in a can of tomato paste and let that all cook together for awhile.



I used about 6 oz. of red wine and deglazed the pan. Then I let that all simmer together until it was thick and bubbly and smelled amazing.



While that was simmering, I put 3 cans of diced tomatoes and 2 cans of stewed tomatoes (all normal sized cans) into the crock pot. I dumped in the wine-veggie mixture, added two bay leaves and a healthy sprinkle of italian seasoning.



I stirred it all up, set the crock on low and left it to cook, about 6 hours or so.

The house smelled divine. My tummy growled all day long.

Because the sauce was all chunky with big pieces of stewed tomato and carrots, and because none of us particularly like chunky sauce, I used my hand held blender, stuck it right in the crock and blended it all up, removing the bay leaves first, of course.



I'm sure that is an optional step if you like chunky sauce, but it sure seemed to open up and smooth out the flavors. I poured in a bag of frozen meatballs (which I would have preferred to make myself but didn't have the ingredients on hand) just because My Man is a caveman-esque meat-eater.

I served it over whole grain rotini pasta, with a side of veggies and a slice of buttered french bread.



Though it filled my 6 quart crock about 3/4 of the way, I had just enough left to make Master's lunch today and that was it. It was a hit with everybody.

The wine gave it a very distinctly sharp flavor. Though it was really good, next time, I think I might try deglazing with broth and see if the flavor is a little more subtle. I'm also going to leave out the meatballs, or have them on the side. I thought they added too much grease cooking them in the sauce.

I can't tell you exactly what it cost to make the sauce because I had most everything in the kitchen already. But I'm pretty sure that for 5 to 6 quarts of pasta sauce, this was much cheaper than buying that amount pre-made. Plus, it tasted so much better than anything I've ever gotten in a jar.

Someday I'll work up to using whole, fresh tomatoes plucked straight from my garden. But I'm still just a baby in the kitchen. ;)

Stuffed Pasta Shells

I had lots of spinach so was wondering what to do with it. And so one meal I made with it was stuffed pasta shells.

1 lb fresh spinach cooked, drained and squeezed or a 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups ricotta - I used low-fat skim-milk ricotta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 pound mozzarella, finely chopped or shredded
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried, crumbled
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper to taste

3 to 4 cups tomato sauce or marina sauce - I made a homemade tomato sauce and then added browned ground spicy Italian sausage to it. I covered the bottom of pan with just tomato sauce first though before adding meat.
1 box cooked jumbo pasta shells (about 32 to 36 shells)


If using frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze to get as much water out as you can. If using fresh, cook, covered, for 2-3 minutes in 1/4 cup boiling water; drain and squeeze to get as much water out as you can.

Transfer spinach to large bowl. Add ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, basil and garlic to bowl. Season mixture with salt and pepper; blend.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spoon 1/2 cup tomato sauce evenly over bottom of 9"x13" baking dish. Fill each pasta shell with spinach mixture. Place shells - filling side up in pan. Spoon remaining sauce over shells. I usually sprinkle with some more Parmesan cheese but forgot this time. Cover loosely with foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve.

You can also freeze this after you spoon remaining sauce over shells. It freezes for up to 4 months. And you can take straight from the freezer to the oven just cooking it for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Top photo ready to serve and second photo shells in pan before spooning remaining sauce over them. This recipe makes so is good for a big family or to freeze for later.

I found this youtube video so you can see the process a bit better. But her recipe is slightly different then mine.