Tag Archives: pasta

Creamy Red Pepper Pasta

29 May

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-2

We rented our place last week so I’m finally able to cook again! These short weeks really throw me off. I work best when I have a regular schedule. Normally I go to the grocery store on Monday morning, but we were gone for the holiday so I had to go today. Really strange for me. On top of everything, Michael is going to San Francisco on Friday which threw me off even further. So now I’m off my schedule, Michael’s leaving and I have to start packing up our house. Yay for me!

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-3

This recipe was born from a state of complete disarray. As I said, I’m kind of a mess and needed something delicious and easy. Honestly, this couldn’t be any easier.

Ingredients:
Serves 2
2 red peppers, roasted, seeded and peeled
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb whole wheat pasta
3 tbsp fresh basil, julienned
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the peppers on a baking sheet and roast until well charred. Remove from the peppers from the oven and cover with a large pot. Allow the peppers to steam for 10 minutes. Seed and peel the peppers.
    2. Cook the pasta according to package.
    3. Add the peppers, mascarpone cheese, both garlic cloves and 1 tbsp olive oil to a blender. Mix until well combined.
    4. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the asparagus and saute until tender. Remove from heat.
    5. When the pasta is just about cooked, add the sauce to the pan with the asparagus and warm over medium heat. Add the drained pasta and toss until well combined. Add the basil and toss.
    6. Top with parmesan cheese and some fresh basil.

As always, enjoy!

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-1

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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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Provencal Soup

3 Apr

Provencal-Soup-2

With Michael away for the next week, I finally get to eat all of my favorite meals that he hates! Our biggest dispute is over soup. I love soup but Michael doesn’t feel that soup is a real meal. But he’s away so I get to eat all the soup I want!

Ina Garten’s Provencal Vegetable Soup is one of my absolute favorites. I could eat it everyday and never get sick of it. I don’t make any major modifications to the recipe, except that I make extra Pistou and use whole wheat noodles instead of semolina. I find the potato/noodle combination particularly filling so I reduce the amount of noodles.

You can find the recipe on Food Network

Apple-Maple-Salad

This delicious salad accompanied my yummy soup. I was at my sister’s house and she had this amazing salad dressing by Salad Girl in Crisp Apple Maple. You can find it at Whole Foods in the refrigerated area of the produce section. I highly recommend trying it!

Provencal-Soup

As always, enjoy!

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Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter Sauce

29 Mar

Tagliarelle-with-Truffle-Butter

Trust me, you want to eat this. This is the easiest dish that I have ever made and it will blow your mind. We had this for our Valentine’s Day dinner and we both inhaled it. I found the truffle butter at Whole Foods but only in a 4 oz. container. Since I had no other use for the extra ounce, I decided to use the whole container. Other than that, I didn’t change a thing about this recipe. It’s absolutely perfect!

You can find the recipe here Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter

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Tempeh Marsala

22 Mar

Tempeh-Marsala-Side

Here is another household favorite, especially for Michael. He could eat this everyday of the week and be a very happy camper. Whenever I’m making the grocery list and ask him if he has any requests for the week, it’s always the same answer, Marsala.

This recipe was inspired by the recipe from 100 Days of Real Food. I altered the recipe long before we stopped eating meat because I didn’t feel like there was enough flavor. You can always substitute cubed chicken for the tempeh.

Tempeh-Marsala-Top

Ingredients:
Inspired by Chicken Marsala Pasta
1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked according to the package
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 block tempeh, cubed and seasoned according to package
1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra
11/2 cup marsala wine
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
salt and pepper

For the Asparagus:
Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350o.
  2. Spread the asparagus out in baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Lightly toss the asparagus to coat well.
  3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the asparagus is soft enough to pierce with a knife.

For the Marsala:
Directions:

  1. Cook the pasta according to the package
  2. Cut the tempeh into strips and lightly drizzle with olive oil. On a plate, combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder and italian seasoning.
  3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Toss the oiled tempeh in the bread crumb mixture and add to the pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
  4. Remove the tempeh from the pan, reduce the heat to low and add the marsala. Bring the heat back up to medium and slowly add the cream.
  5. Add the tempeh back into the sauce, reduce to low to keep warm.
  6. Toss the pasta with the sauce, plate with the asparagus on top.

As always, enjoy!

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