White Wine Alfredo Sauce

My husband could probably eat fettuccine Alfredo every day of his life and I've experimented with various combinations over the years.  Most were tasty, some were so-so, but this one has emerged as the clear favorite:

4 TBSP butter

4 TBSP all-purpose flour

1c. heavy cream

1c. chicken flavored broth (Better Than Boullion makes a great veg version)

1c. Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2c. Parmesan and Romano cheese, shredded

3 TBSP Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4c. white wine 

salt and pepper, to taste

1.  In a medium-size sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.

2.  Add flour.  Cook and stir with a whisk until well blended. (2-3 min.)

3.  Add cream and broth.  Stir to blend.

4.  Add remaining ingredients and continue stirring over low heat until cheeses are melted and sauce is a smooth consistency.


*If the sauce starts to get too thick, just thin it back out with a splash of wine or broth.

5.  Toss with pasta and serve warm.

Some people swear by Chardonnay for Alfredo sauces but I used a Sauvignon Blanc for this one 

and thought it was fabulous - Cheers!

Caprese Pasta

I don't know what it is lately, but I have been craving the simple and delicious flavor combination like crazy!  Sandwiches, salads, pizza... it was only a matter of time before pasta went into the mix.  Good thing I love caprese-anything because I now have quite a bit of fresh mozzarella in the fridge, thanks to a recent Buy 1 Get 1 sale at Whole Foods.

This was a super easy dinner that I threw together in no time last night.

1/2lb. farfalle pasta, cooked and drained

3TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP yellow onion, diced

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves 

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2c vegetable stock

1c cherry tomatoes, quartered

1c fresh mozzarella, cubed

1c fresh spinach, rough chopped

salt and pepper, to taste
basil for garnish

1.  In a medium pot, cook pasta according to package directions; drain in a colander and set aside.

2.  In in same pot, over medium high, heat olive oil and add diced onions.  Cook approximately 1 minute before adding the garlic and thyme.  Cook and stir another 1-2 minutes, until mixture is softened and fragrant.

3.  Pour in the vegetable stock and continue cooking until liquid is reduced almost half.

4.  Add the pasta to the pot.  Then, gently stir in the spinach, tomatoes, and mozzarella; allow to heat through approximately 1-2 minutes.

5.  Season to taste, garnish with basil, and serve hot.

Toddler-Approved Pasta Dinner

Do you buy canned raviolis and o's for your little one?  If so, stop it right now!  It's way too easy (and cheap) to make your own!  My two-year old loved this today and even the 20-year old gave it a thumbs up.

Notes:

* As usual, I subbed non-dairy products for the milk and butter
* I use white sugar but think this would be just as tasty with Splenda or maybe agave (haven't tried them yet).
* Pasta I used was the dried mini raviolis from Trader Joe's.  Next time, I'll use fresh though.

15oz. can tomato sauce

2 TBSP milk

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 TBSP butter

3 TBSP nutritional yeast

2 TBSP sugar

2c small-medium size pasta

1.  Cook the pasta according to package instructions.  Drain and set aside.

2.  In a medium saucepan, over medium high heat, melt the butter.

3.  Add remaining ingredients and heat through, stirring frequently.

4.  Top pasta with sauce and serve.

Zucchini Pasta Olio

I had been seeing recipes everywhere that featured zucchini as a substitute for pasta so I finally decided to break in my new vegetable spiral gadget last night.  If you don't have one of these tools in your kitchen, stop what you're doing right now and go get one.  Seriously, it was so easy and fun to use!

I didn't have high hopes that just because the zucchini now looked like pasta, it would be an acceptable replacement, but it was perfect!  I'm glad for starting with something simple but my husband and I were talking over dinner and agreed it would be good to try zucchini-as-noodles in other dishes as well.  Surprisingly, we really didn't miss the pasta.

All you do is run the zucchini through the spiral slicer:
(I used 2 large zucchinis for this recipe.)

                    

Next, prepare the sauce:

1/8c olive oil

1/8c butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4c Parmesan cheese

1.  In a small pan, heat the oil and butter until butter is melted.

2.  Add the garlic and sauté 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper; set aside.


Finally, cook the zucchini:

1.  In a large skillet, heat 1-2 tsp. olive oil.  Add the zucchini and toss to coat.

2.  Pour in 1/4c water (vegetable stock might also be good here) and allow to simmer until al dente, approximately 5 minutes.

3.  Drain, if necessary, and add your sauce.  Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

                      

Yummy low-carb dinner!

Tuscan Bean Pasta

This is one of those recipes that started out as one thing and morphed into something else in the process.  This was originally going to be a salad, of sorts and you could still serve it that way (just drain the tomatoes really well, or use fresh).  I didn't do that though.  Instead, I kept it saucy and served over Pasta e Olio.

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 TBSP olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4c ricotta salata cheese

1/4c Italian parsley, chopped

1.  In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the beans, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
 

2.  Cook and stir until bubbly and heated through.

3.  Remove from heat and top with the cheese and parsley. 

Very nice dinner outside on the deck!



Spinach and Orzo Salad

 I like to serve this with grilled white fish:

8oz. uncooked orzo pasta

5oz. pkg. baby spinach leaves, chopped

1/2c Feta cheese, crumbled

1/4c pine nuts

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/8 tsp. white pepper

1/4c olive oil

1/4c balsamic vinegar

1.  In a medium size pot, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2.  Add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water.

3.  Transfer to a large bowl and stir in spinach, feta, pine nuts, basil and white pepper.

4.  Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

5.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.               

I usually serve this cold but my husband heated up leftovers the

 other day and thought it was pretty good warm, too.

Beef Stroganoff Over Buttered Noodles

You know the beef stroganoff alot of us grew up with?  The noodles with a big gloppy mess of sour cream sauce.  Hard to tell exactly what was in there.  Anyone else have this experience?  Maybe it was just me.

Anyway, this is so not like that!!  This beef stroganoff is seriously awesome!!  And it hardly has any sour cream in it at all (couple of tablespoons, that's it).  The Dijon mustard is the secret ingredient that just takes it over the top for me.  Takes awhile to make but it is so worth it!

This is a Tyler Florence recipe I got here.  He says to let everything simmer partially covered but I ended up keeping the lid on and I'm glad I did as I think the sauce would have cooked away otherwise.  Follow the instructions on keeping it over a very low flame though.  I think this was the trick that resulted in the amazingly fork tender beef. 

My husband devoured this and requested I double the sauce next time, keeping the beef amount the same.  He likes the idea of having extra to sop up with his bread.  Good idea.

Served with a side of sweet peas and French bread.



Garlic Parmesan Orzo

We love orzo and this ridiculously easy recipe is one of our favorites:

2c orzo pasta

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2c butter, cubed

1/2c Parmesan cheese

1/4c mil, grated

2TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.  Cook orzo according to package directions; drain.

2.  In a large skillet, saute garlic in butter until tender.

3.  Add the orzo, Parmesan cheese milk, parsley salt and pepper.

Cook and stir until heated through.

This paired really well with our salmon dinner.



Amazingly Good Alfredo Sauce

This is my new favorite Alfredo sauce:

 

4 TBSP butter

4 TBSP all-purpose flour

1c. heavy cream

1c. chicken broth

1c. Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2c. Parmesan and Romano cheese, shredded

3 TBSP Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4c. white wine

salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a medium-size sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.

2. Add flour. Cook and stir with a whisk until well blended. (2-3 min.)

3. Add cream and broth. Stir to blend.

4. Add remaining ingredients and continue stirring over low heat until cheeses are melted and sauce is a smooth consistency.

*If the sauce starts to get too thick, just thin it back out with a splash of wine or broth.

5. Toss with pasta and serve warm.



Served this last night with Roasted Romas and sauteed zucchini.

Old Bay Chicken and Shrimp Pasta

We have one kid who absolutely loves shrimp and would probably eat it every day of his life if I had it readily available all the time.  Then, we have another kid who says he hates seafood of any kind (never mind the fact that he practically inhales my sushi made with smoked salmon and crab - somehow

that's different in his mind).

So, the shrimp lover has been pestering me daily requesting I serve shrimp in the very near future.  Tonight is his lucky night.  Tonight, we are having shrimp but, in the interest of keeping complaints to a
minimum, we are also having chicken.  :)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1/2-inch strips

4 teaspoons OLD BAY® Seasoning, divided
1 TBSP butter
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 c. heavy cream
8 oz. penne pasta, cooked and drained
3 green onions, sliced
Parmesan cheese, taste
red pepper flakes, to taste

1.  Coat chicken with 2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning.
Melt butter in large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
Add chicken; cook 3 minutes per side, or until done.

2.  Coat shrimp with Old Bay Seasoning, to taste.
 Remove chicken from skillet; add shrimp.
Cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink
and add chicken back to skillet.

3.  Mix remaining Old Bay with cream.
Add cream mixture, cooked pasta and green onion to skillet.
Bring to a boil. Lower heat; simmer 5 minutes or until sauce thickens
and pasta is heated through.

4.  Top with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes
and serve immediately.

We love this seasoning!
(I forgot to get a photo of the food before we starting eating!) 

Pasta e Olio

This is an easy, satisfying, budget-friendy meal
that my family loves! I especially like this dish for those
times when the pantry is getting bare, I don't feel like going to the store.

The ingredients are things I keep in stock pretty much all the time:

1 pound spaghetti
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2c. grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.In a large pot with boiling salted water cook spaghetti
pasta until al dente. Drain.

2.Meanwhile, in a large skillet over low heat saute garlic,
parsley, and red pepper flakes with olive oil.  Cook until garlic turns
golden in color, about 10 minutes.

3.Toss pasta with garlic mixture and butter.
 
4. Top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

  You could even jazz this up further by adding fresh
tomatoes, spinach, mushooms, etc.