Pasta With Walnut Pesto

1 box pasta
1 1/2 cups walnuts
2 cups packed parsley
6 small sage leaves
2 garlic cloves
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 yellow squash, halved and sliced
1 zucchini, halved and sliced

1) In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook 1 box of pasta. Drain and set aside.
2) Meanwhile, saute zucchini and squash in oil or butter, until tender. Set aside.
3) To make pesto, puree walnuts, parsley, sage, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and Parmesan in a food processor until smooth.
4) Toss pasta, squash, zucchini and pesto in a large bowl. Top with additional Parmesan and parsley, if desired.

Review: The original recipe didn't include the veggies. It just didn't sound like enough food to me, so I added some. This was OK, but didn't wow me. Mike's decided he doesn't like any pesto that's made with a green other than basil. Bummer.

Roasted Vegetables With Quick Harissa Marinade

1/4 cup harissa
5 Tbs olive oil, divided
3 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 zucchini squash, quartered and chopped
1 yellow squash, quartered and chopped
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk together harissa, 3 Tbs oil and cilantro in large bowl. Add vegetables; toss to coat evenly.
2) Arrange vegetables on baking sheet, brush with remaining 2 Tbs oil and harissa mixture. Roast 25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, turning once. Serve over couscous, rice or bulgur.

Review: This was amazing good. Once again, I made the harissa using garlic-chile sauce and adding coriander and cumin. I loved this so much, that I couldn't wait to have it again for lunch the next day!

Creamy Penne

1 box penne
1 cup frozen peas
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
1 cup onion & chive cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1) Cook pasta in salted water for 10 minutes. Add peas and asparagus, and cook for 5 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Drain in colander.
2) Heat cream cheese and milk over medium low heat, just until bubbly. Add to pasta mixture in large bowl and toss to coat. Toss with Parmesan cheese and plenty of black pepper.

Review: I didn't read the directions very well and added the Parmesan to the sauce. It worked just fine, just made the sauce a bit thicker. Surprisingly, this sauce didn't have a strong flavor. I'd suggest maybe tossing in some parsley.

Wild Rice & Butternut Squash Medley

2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs dried minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 16-oz pkg cooked wild rice, or 3 cups cooked wild rice
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1) Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until translucent. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute more, or until fragrant.
2) Stir in wild rice, squash, beans, mustard, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and 11/2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil.
3) Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Review: Whoo - wild rice is pricey. I couldn't find precooked wild rice (silly Idaho), so I bought wild rice from the bulk food section ($10.99 a pound) and cooked it. Fortunately, this dish was yummy and made up for the cost. Oh, and I doubled the amount of squash, because it's yummy and Costco only sells 2 lbs at a time. Shucks.

Butternut Squash & Mushroom Lasagna

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 pound cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 5 1/2 cups)
1 14-ounce can vegetable broth
4 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
4 tablespoons sliced fresh sage, divided
3 15-ounce containers whole-milk ricotta cheese
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
4 large eggs
Olive oil
1 9-ounce package no-boil lasagna noodles

1) Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to high; add mushrooms and cook until tender, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mushroom mixture to bowl; set aside.
2) Add squash, broth, 3 tablespoons thyme, and 3 tablespoons sage to same skillet. Cover and simmer over medium heat until squash is just tender, about 6 minutes. Uncover and cook until squash is very soft but still retains shape, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3) Mix ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, and remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon sage in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper; mix in eggs.
4) Brush 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with oil. Spread 1 cup ricotta mixture over bottom. Arrange 3 noodles on top. Spread 13/4 cups ricotta mixture over noodles. Arrange 1 1/3 cups squash mixture over. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mushrooms and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with 3 noodles, then 1 3/4 cups ricotta mixture, half of remaining squash, 1/2 cup mushrooms, and remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat with noodles, 1 3/4 cups ricotta mixture, remaining squash, and remaining mushrooms. Top with 3 noodles. Spread remaining ricotta mixture over; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Cover with oiled foil.
5) Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake lasagna, covered, 35 minutes. Uncover; bake until heated through, about 25 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. (The lasagna can be assembled one day ahead and refrigerated.)

Review: I am in love with Costco's prediced butternut squash. It made this so easy. Mike and I also got a "lasagna pan," which is deeper and wider than our casserole dishes. We seem to have gotten it just in time, as this FILLED it. I swear it weighed 10 lbs. But, this was really yummy and incredibly cheesy. Mmmmm

Mike's Taco Salad

1 Tbs dried minced onion
1 tsp ground chipotle
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cans lentils
20 oz baby spinach
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
2 cups shredded cheddar
salsa to taste

1) Mash lentils in a bowl, adding the minced onions, chipotle, paprika, garlic salt and cumin, mixing well. Cook over medium-high heat until thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes.
2) Layer salad ingredients as you please - spinach on bottom and salsa on top.

Review: Mike got to be named for this, as he designed the "taco seasoning." I wanted tacos/taco salad for dinner (Mike ate his in a wrap), and had recently seen a recipe using lentils for the meat. However, the recipe called for taco seasoning and we didn't buy any. I don't like traditional taco seasoning anyway, because it's typically really salty. Mike custom designed a taco seasoning for me and it turned out so well that it deserved a blog entry. :) Mmmm

Spaghetti With Sweet Potatoes & Ricotta

12 oz spaghetti
2 Tbs olive oil
2 small sweet potatoes (about 1 lb), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
2 shallots, sliced
1 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup ricotta

1) Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
2) Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the shallots and rosemary and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
3) Toss the pasta with the potato mixture, Parmesan and the reserved cooking water. Dollop with the ricotta before serving.

Review: Oh - yum. This could have been too sweet, with the sweet potatoes and shallots, but the cheeses balance the sweet really well. Of course, I added extra ricotta, so I'm not wasting the rest of the package. I really recommend this one, though, it was really yummy.