Tag: pasta

Eggplant Parmesan

Tired of turkey yet?

One day I am going to do a cookbook for Costco…LOL. This time we bought a bag of 10 little eggplants there but it was my intent to either grill them or make eggplant Parmesan. I chose the latter. This is a perfect dish for your vegan friends as long as they still do cheeses.

Pinterest to the rescue again. Thanks to Like Mother Like Daughter for this recipe with some changes.

Eggplant Parmesan (LMLDFood@gmail.com)
Ingredients
• 1-2 large eggplant or 5 small ones
• 2-3 eggs, whipped
• ½ cup Italian bread crumbs
• ⅛ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ TBS oregano
• ½ TBS basil
• 3-4 cups tomato sauce (or 1 can of chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup salsa)
• 4-8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used all Parmesan)
• 8-16 oz. cooked pasta noodles optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Peel eggplant skin off. Cut into slices, about ½ inch thick.
3. Dip eggplant slices into egg and then breadcrumbs. Cover evenly.
4. Place on a sprayed baking sheet in one layer.
5. Cook for 8-10 minutes and then flip. Cook 8-10 minutes on second side.
6. Pour about half of your sauce into a baking pan.
7. Lay eggplant in sauce. Top with cheese. Cover with additional sauce. (Do 2 layers of egg plant if necessary)
8. Cover with foil and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
9. Remove foil and cook for another 5 minutes.
10. Serve eggplant on top of prepared pasta.
11. Top with additional Parmesan or mozzarella cheese if desired.

We were thinking if you skipped the pasta, you could easily serve this with some nice pork chops for your carnivore friends!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! PROSPERO ANO NUEVO!

 

 

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Best Bolognese Sauce

My apologies for the late posting but I was waiting to make this for company last night!

This would be great if you are planning a buffet for Christmas Eve or New Years Eve, It says it makes 4 to 6 servings, but it would stretch further if there were other foods available. I would serve the warm spaghetti in a chafing dish, with a small crock pot of hot sauce and grated Parmesan beside it. Maybe a small amount of red pepper flakes! To make it go further you could cut back on some of the meat…

The Best Bolognese Sauce
Yield: 9 cups of sauce or 4-6 servings
*If you don’t have a food mill to crush the tomatoes, use a blender or immersion blender. Make sure to leave as much texture and chunks of tomato as possible, do not liquefy.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/4 pounds ground beef
1 1/4 pounds ground pork
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces pancetta or bacon, sliced
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup (3 oz) tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup milk
2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes, passed through a food mill*
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen string
1 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
1 pound fresh pasta, such as fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle, cooked until al dente and drained
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving
Directions
In a large, heavy, deep lidded Dutch oven or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, ground pork, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the pancetta/bacon and cook until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the milk, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and cheese rind and stir until combined. Add in the meats and season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer then partially cover and reduce to medium-low. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

You can also transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook for 3 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves, thyme, and cheese rind. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with pasta and grated cheese.

Swedish Meatballs with Pasta

I was looking for something quick for dinner and I came across our giant bag of meatballs from…you guesses it…Costco. What to do? I didn’t want a tomato sauce for a change and I didn’t want to make a sauce from scratch. I wondered about that can of Campbell s mushroom soup? The result of my search was this quick recipe (ONLY if you use frozen meatballs…LOL)

Swedish Meatballs with Pasta

The Meatballs… (oh, just go buy some!)

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

The Sauce

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Mushroom Soup (regular or golden)

2/3 cup (1/2 soup can) water

2/3 cup (1/2 soup can) milk

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 green onion, chopped (about 2 tablespoons) or 2 teaspoons dried chives

1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic

Pasta of your choice! IF you insist…

Thoroughly mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, onion powder, dash Worcestershire and egg in a large bowl and shape the mixture into small meatballs. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until they’re well browned. (OR nuke the frozen meatballs a few minutes) Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup, water, milk, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire, green onion, garlic and artificial sweetener in a medium bowl. Add the soup mixture to the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the soup mixture thickens.

Pour over pasta…

Pasta e Fagioli

This recipe is very similar to the one offered in a very popular Italian restaurant which shall remain unnamed. Note that the recipe has been amended to make 9 quarts. What the heck, make it as shown and freeze it for those snowy days ahead…LOL

Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 6 oz. onion, chopped
• 7 oz. carrots, slivered
• 7 oz. celery, diced
• 24 oz. tomatoes: canned, diced
• 1 cup Red kidney beans (I used canned)
• 1 cup white kidney beans (canned)
• 44 oz. beef stock
• 1 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
• 24 oz. spaghetti sauce
• 4 oz. dry pasta shell macaroni
Preparation

Sauté beef in oil in large pot until beef starts to brown.
Add onions, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add beans to the pot. Add beef stock, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce and noodles.
Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes. Makes 4 quarts of soup.
Notes
Original recipe was doubled to make 9 quarts!! This is a great recipe. Leftovers can be frozen in Ziploc bags for later use.

One Dish Pasta with Roasted Red Peppers, Sun-Dried Tomato and Brie

Pasta with Roasted Red Peppers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, & Brie

Searching for a pasta dish to use up the rest of my roasted peppers…I came across this one which turned out to be a one pot dinner! Eureka. I hate dishes…LOL. The original concept for the one pot pasta came from Martha Stewart. The recipe I adapted was from www.thekitchn.com With supervision this would be a good recipe for young cooks!

As always, my changes or substitutions are in red.

Serves 2 as large entree, or 4 as first course

12 ounces linguine, broken in half

1 cup packed basil leaves I used arugula…
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted red peppers buy a jar if you are in a hurry
1/2 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes mine turned out to be a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto
3-4 large garlic cloves, pressed
4 1/2 cups water or less

1 small can of green peas
2 tablespoons oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes (or regular olive oil)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Pinch red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 ounces brie cheese, rind removed and torn into pieces I substituted cubes of feta
Grated Parmesan, for serving
Good quality olive oil, for serving

  • Combine linguine, basil, roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic in a 3-quart straight-sided skillet. Add the water, olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes, and a generous amount of black pepper and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat. Using tongs, stir and turn the pasta frequently to prevent sticking. Cook until al dente, approximately 9 to 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. (If there is still a little bit of cooking water pour some, but not all, into a separate bowl.)
    Add the brie and toss with tongs until creamy and melted. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. The sauce will naturally thicken up after a couple of minutes. Serve with grated Parmesan and a swirl of good olive oil. (If the pasta does seem to need liquid, add back a few splashes of reserved cooking liquid.)

NOTE: You can use almost any vegetables you like…

Sweet Amish Macaroni Salad

Considering that my spouse is NOT a big pasta fan, I was surprised when he wanted to try this summer salad! It turned out to be awesome with this particular dressing. Great for the long weekend coming up in Canada.

Sweet Amish Macaroni Salad

Serves 12 to 15 (you can half it if you are not feeding 15…LOL)

Ingredients:

1 lb. macaroni (we used the little ‘tulip cups’ in multiple colours)

4 hard boiled eggs chopped

1 small onion finely diced

3 celery stalks finely chopped

1 small bell pepper, preferably red for colour, chopped

1 can of artichoke hearts quartered* (add a few hours before serving so they don’t get soggy)

black olives to your liking

Dressing:

2 cups mayonnaise (do NOT use Miracle Whip)

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 cup yellow mustard

2 Tablespoons dill pickle relish

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon salt

paprika for garnish

Cook the macaroni according to package directions and let cool. Add the other ingredients to the salad. Toss with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the dressing. You can save the rest to be served at the table.

Chill overnight for best flavor. Will keep for two days in the refrigerator if not all eaten.

Egg Ribbon and Parmesan Soup

Was looking for something easy and quick to make for supper last night and came across this on Bon Appetit….it was very simple and uses just a few ingredients. My additions are indicated in red….

Egg Ribbon and Parmesan Soup (Bon Appetit September 2004)

Robyn Fuoco of Mainly Café and Bakery, Philadelphia, PA, writes: “Although I don’t have any formal culinary training, I’ve spent my entire career working as a chef. You could say the restaurant business just runs in the family. My grandfather had his own restaurant, my husband is a chef, and I’m co-owner of the Mainly Café and Bakery, where I also happen to be the pastry chef. After I’ve spent all day baking—and tasting—sweets, it’s good to go home and make “real food” to eat. Because I’m busy, I like dinnertime to be organized. My secret is keeping the pantry well stocked with basics like olive oil, kosher salt, and a variety of pastas and beans.”

4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 6 cups low-salt chicken broth (or half chicken and half vegetable)
  • 3/4 cup tiny pasta (such as acini di pepe or orzo) (I used Barilla fideos…very small noodles for chicken soup)
  • Chopped fresh Italian parsley or basil
  • When I do this again, I will add slivers of carrot. If ya gotta have it, add cooked chicken…

Preparation

  • Whisk eggs and 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese in small bowl to blend. Bring chicken broth to simmer in large pot. Add pasta. Cover and simmer until pasta is tender, about 6 minutes. Gradually add egg mixture to soup, stirring constantly until egg ribbons form, about 1 minute. Simmer 1 minute longer. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve, passing remaining cheese separately.