Tag Archives: onions

Creamy Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

9 Apr

Roasted-Red-Pepper-Asparagus-Pasta-Plate

I think I love this pasta so much because it has fresh mozzarella. I could eat this amazing cheese all day and never get sick of it. In order to prevent gorging myself on cheese, I don’t make this dish very often. Typically when I make this pasta I use Pacific Creamy Tomato Soup but this time I tried making my own version. It turned out really well but it’s not worth the hassle. Just use the pre-made soup.

Roasted-Red-Pepper-Asparagus-Pasta-Side

Just a warning, this makes a lot of sauce. But you can freeze the leftovers.

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut in half
4-6 roasted red peppers, cut into strips (you can use jarred roasted red peppers)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup fresh mozzarella, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 box Pacific Creamy Tomato Soup
1/2 cup fresh basil, julienned
1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked according to package
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta according to package.
  2. In a saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until clear.
  3. Add the asparagus and cook until easily pierced with a knife. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  4. Add the soup and red peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the peas. Simmer until the sauce is hot.
  5. Combine the sauce with the pasta. Mix in the diced mozzarella and basil. Season with salt and pepper.

As always, enjoy!

Roasted-Red-Pepper-Asparagus-Pasta-Top

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Spinach, Mushroom and Onion Calzones

15 Mar

Calzone

I think of calzones as portable little pizzas. Minus the sauce of course, which is probably why I enjoy them so much. You see, I’m not a huge fan of tomato sauce. I did serve these with sauce from a jar on the side but Michael didn’t even use it. He said they were perfectly delicious without the sauce.

For the Dough
Ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
11/2 cup warm water (approx. 105o)

Directions:

  1. Combine the flour and yeast into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook and stir
  2. Continue mixing as you slowly add the water and salt. Mix until the dough forms a ball on the hook.
  3. Transfer the dough into a bowl greased with olive oil and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place (I put mine in the oven with the light turned on) for 1 hour.
  4. Uncover the dough and punch it down. Lightly flour a countertop and lightly knead the dough into a ball. Roll the dough into a log and divide in half for larger calzones or quarters if you want small ones.

Calzone-Vegetable-Mixture

For the Filling:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups uncooked spinach
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400o
  2. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until they are clear, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and spinach and cook until the spinach is bright green, about 3 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and stir into the vegetable mixture. Remove from heat and cool.
  4. Mix the ricotta and mozzarella in a large bowl. Add the cooled vegetable mixture to the cheeses and mix well.
  5. Roll the divided dough into circles and fill half the dough with the filling, leaving about a 1/2 inch between the filling and the end of the dough.
  6. Fold the unfilled half of the dough over to cover the filling and press and fold the edges together.
  7. Transfer the calzones to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Calzones-Uncooked

As always, enjoy!

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