Greek Pasta With Tomatoes & White Beans

2 14.5oz cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 19oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
10oz fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8oz penne pasta
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1) Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
2) Meanwhie, combine tomatoes and beans in a large non-stick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
3) Add spinach to the sauce; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly.
4) Serve sauce over pasta, and sprinkle with feta.

Review: Super yummy! I love feta and tomatoes, beans and pasta are always a good match!

Pasta With Squash & Asparagus

3 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms, chanterelle mushrooms, or other fresh mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 Tbs olive oil
2/3 cup vegetable broth
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 tsp salt
8oz dried bow tie pasta
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
8oz asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1) In a large skillet, cook and stir mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary in hot oil over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in broth, whipping cream, and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 4 minutes or until sauce is the consistency of light cream and is reduced to 1 1/2 cups; set aside.
2) Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions, except add squash during the last 7 minutes of cooking. Add asparagus during last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain. Return pasta mixture to pot. Add mushroom mixture and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat.

Review: This was super yummy. I used a bag of frozen mixed mushrooms and bought the butternut squash frozen and already diced. This step made my life much easier (and cheaper!). This recipe is a keeper, which is funny, because I previously decided I didn't like butternut squash after trying a different recipe.

Mexican Fiesta Salad

2 cups dried penne pasta
1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup light dairy sour cream
1/3 cup mild or medium chunky salsa
1 Tbs snipped fresh cilantro
1 Tbs lime juice
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 medium plum tomatoes, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 oz)

1) Cook pasta according to package directions, adding corn the last 5 minutes of cooking; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again.
2) Meanwhile, for dressing, in a small bowl stir together the sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and lime juice. Set aside
3) In a large bowl combine the pasta mixture, black beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and cheddar cheese. Pour the dressing over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat.
4) Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Review: I used a whole box of penne and doubled the dressing ingredients. Well, I made a massive amount of food! It's yummy, filling and tastes incredibly fattening, although it can't be too bad. And, since it can be served cold, I bet it'll be great tomorrow for leftovers!

Capellini With Tomatoes, Arugula & Kalamata Olives

16oz dried capellini
1 1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes
1 28oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup finely chopped kalamata olives
4 cups prewashed baby arugula leaves

1) Put several quarts of hot water in a stockpot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the capellini and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain well and set aside if the sauce is not yet done.
2) Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or saute pan. Add the garlic and chili flakes and saute for a minute, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes and salt, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer about 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce is somewhat reduced. Stir in the olives, then the arugula.
3) Add the pasta to the sauce in the saute pan, toss to combine, and cook 1 minute.

Review: Mmmmmmm, yummy. I wasn't too sure about this, as arugula tends to be pretty bitter. But it blends well in the sauce, which has just a hint of olive and spice to it. Very yummy, and it makes a massive amount of food. That only means I get to savor this dish for a few days!!

Green Beans, Ginger & Mushroom Saute

1 pkg soba noodles
1 lb fresh green beans
2 tsp dark sesame oil
1 Tbs dry sherry
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 lb sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup raw, unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds

1) Prepare soba noodles according to package directions.
2) Trim off the stem ends of the beans, remove the strings if necessary, and cut them at a slant into 1-inch pieces. Steam them over 2 inches of boiling water for 6-8 minutes, until just fork-tender.
3) Meanwhile, combine the oil, sherry and ginger in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat and stir in the sour cream.
4) Drain the beans and place them in a warmed serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds and serve.

Review: Oh, this was sooo yummy. I’ve grown to be such a fan of sesame oil and of fresh green beans. This would also be yummy without the sour cream. But, it’s just sooooo yummy.

Made again on 12/16/2010, but I doubled the soba noodles.  It had been so long since I'd used them, and the package seemed so small, that I thought I surely needed two packages to make enough food to have leftovers.  It did make enough, but I had about 8 servings.  That was WAY too much!!  Learn from my lesson and just stick with one package, it really expands!

Winter Squash Risotto

2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp dried ground sage
2 cups Arborio rice
4 cups hot vegetable broth
1 12oz pkg frozen cooked winter squash, defrosted
1 Tbs butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley

1) Heat oil in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, cook until translucent.
2) Add the rice and sage, stir to coat with oil. Ladle one cup of hot broth into the rice, bring rice to a bubbling simmer.
3) Cook, stirring often until the broth is absorbed by the rice, adding more broth as needed.
4) After cooking 10 minutes, add the squash along with one cup of broth. Continue to cook, adding additional broth as needed, until rice is creamy but a little firm.
5) Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the butter, Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Review: I hate making risotto. It takes soooo long, with the add broth and stir step done like 10 times. This recipe was supposed to be an easy way of making risotto. Lies. It’s still constant adding of broth and stirring. This particular recipe is not all that flavorful, though I just may not like the taste of winter squash. Maybe if I used fresh sage, which the original recipe requests, it would have more flavor. Who knows, I’m not interested enough to make this again.

Asian Noodles With Edamame

Dressing
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs rice vinegar
2 Tbs toasted sesame oil
2 Tbs water

Noodles
1 8.8oz pkg. udon noodles, preferably brown rice
1 1/2 cups frozen, shelled edamame
2 cups grated carrots
1 small bunch watercress (6 oz), coarsely chopped
2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds

To make Dressing: Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and 2 Tbs water in bowl. Set aside.
To make Noodles: Bring large pot of water to boil. Add noodles, and cook 5 minutes less than minimum recommended cooking time on package. Add edamame and carrots, and continue cooking until noodles are tender. (If noodles cook in 5 minutes, add all ingredients at once.) Drain. Return mixture to pot. Stir in watercress, sesame seeds and dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Review: I can’t say enough about how yummy this is. I used regular sesame oil and didn’t toast my sesame seeds. I could only find brown rice and wheat udon noodles, but they were yummy. It was such a good blend of flavors and it was soooooo easy to make. Quick dinner, exotic, and filling. My favorite combo of characteristics!!

Dill Garden Vegetable & Pasta Toss

16oz linguine
2 medium summer squash, sliced 1/4 inch
2 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped fresh dill weed
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1) Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain.
2) Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet bring 1/2 inch water to a full boil (2 to 3 minutes). Add summer squash and zucchini. Cover; cook over medium-high heat until vegetables are crisply tender (3 to 4 minutes). Drain.
3) Return vegetables to skillet. Stir in butter, dill weed, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
4) Add linguine; toss lightly to coat. Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Review: I tweaked this recipe, after finding the dill was super yummy with the vegetables. I loved it and ate two bowls. mmmmmmm