Broccoli, Ham and Alfredo Pasta

Broccoli, Ham and Alfredo Pasta (With Sneaky Cauliflower)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small head cauliflwer, cored and chopped (about 3 cups)

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

4 medium shallots, roughly chopped (or sub about 1/2-3/4 cup diced onion)

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

4 cups skim milk

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I did just under that, between 1/8-1/4)

6 ounces Pecorino cheese, grated (about 2 cups- could sub fresh grated Parmesan) I just did a Cheese Mix with Parmesan in it.

1/2 pound medium multigrain pasta shells or bowties

1/4 pound sliced smoked ham, chopped (about 1 cups)

1 medium bunch broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets (3-5 cups)

optional: 1/2 cup toasted whole-wheat panko (Japanese bread crumbs) for serving.

Instructions

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add cauliflower, garlic, shallots, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until softened but not brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with flour; stir to coat well.

Gradually stir in milk; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; gently simmer until cauliflower is very soft, about 15 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Transfer all to a blender, and puree with nutmeg and half the pecorino until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook pasta until slightly tender but not fully cooked, about 5 minutes.  (Note:  If you like your broccoli pretty tender, add it to boiling pasta water for a couple of minutes before draining)  Drain well; return to pot.  Add ham, broccoli, and cauliflower sauce; toss to combine.  Transfer to an ovenproof 3 1/2 quart baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining pecorino, and bake until bubbling in center, about 30 minutes.  Heat broiler, and broil until golden brown on top, 1-2 minutes.  Divide among dishes, top with breadcrumbs (if using), and serve immediately.

From OUR BEST BITES

Thai Peanut Noodles

Thai Peanut Noodles- Our Best Bites

Ingredients: 

1/2 c. chicken broth

3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot) (we did 1 tsp)

1 1/2 Tbsp. honey

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles ( I used Linguine)

Chopped green onions

Chopped cilantro

2 limes, cut into quarters

Chopped peanuts

Directions:

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

*If desired, you can add meat to this dish by stir-frying shrimp or very thinly-sliced chicken (partially freeze it first) in some olive oil with a couple cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, some green onions, soy sauce, and a small squirt or two of Sriracha chili sauce.

Josh and I bought some "cheaper" shrimp to go with it.. and it was amazing. We just sauteed some up in olive oil and butter. Seriously. Our new favorite meal. Oh and I only did 1 tsp of the hot chili sauce. Next time I think we might add a little water to the sauce to make it not as thick.(Josh wanted it thinner.) But really, I LOVE this recipe. 

I added this picture from their website so you could see the hot sauce bottle they used. I found it by the chinese noodles you would use in Hawaiin Haystacks or the Soy Sauce. It took me forever to find it. So I figured I would try to give a little tip and help out if you want to go find it:)

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/thai-peanut-noodles/

Louisiana Chicken Pasta

http://obreinfamily.hubpages.com/hub/Cheesecake-Factory-Louisiana-Chicken-Pasta-Recipe#

Ingredients:

Chicken:

5 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

Olive oil

1 1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1 cup milk

4 T flour

Cajun Sauce:

3 T butter

1 small red bell pepper chopped

1 small yellow bell pepper chopped

1 small red onion chopped

3 T minced garlic

1/2 t crushed red pepper

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1 T Cajun seasoning salt

1 1/4 pint heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken broth

4 T fresh Basil minced

1 Package bow tie pasta

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup mushrooms sliced

Directions

1) Wash and drain your chicken breasts. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Place your chicken on top of the plastic wrap. Layer a piece of plastic on top of the chicken breast. Use you mallet and pound your chicken pieces one by one to 1/4 inch thick. Place aside.

2) In a large skillet on medium heat melt your 3 T butter. Add your yellow; and red pepper;onion; mushrooms and saute till crisp and tender.

3) Add your minced garlic, red pepper, cayenne pepper, and Cajun seasoning salt. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

4) Add whipping cream, and 1 cup of chicken stock. You want to simmer this until sauce reheats and thickens slightly about 5 minutes.

5) Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and minced basil to sauce stirring well. Reduce heat to low and simmer as the sauce thickens.

6) Mix your breadcrumbs, flour, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese together and place in a bowl.

7) In another bowl place your milk.

8) Dip your chicken in breadcrumbs mixture and then in the milk, and then one more time in the breadcrumb mixture.

9) Place olive oil in a frying pan to where it is a 1/2 of an inch thick.

10) Heat the olive oil in the pan till it gets hot and pan fry your dipped chicken breast one by one in the pan on medium heat until golden and crisp. Add more olive oil if needed.

11) Place the cooked chicken on a plate and stick in the oven to keep warm while you are making the pasta.

12) Cook bow tie pasta in a large pot of boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite.

13) To serve place pasta on a plate. Top with the cream sauce and then the cooked chicken. Add a little more sauce on top of the chicken and you are done.

**It has a spicy kick to it, but it was still really good. This has been Josh's favorite recipe we have done so far i think. lol. It does take a while to make though. I am wondering if it will be quicker once you do it more. 

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/02/spinach-lasagna-rolls.html

Ingredients: 

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Pollyo)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh pepper
• 32 oz tomato sauce
• 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

**For the Cheese, I used what Parmesan Cheese I had left in the fridge and just bought a bag of a mix cheeses like Parmesan, Moz, and all sorts of other cheeses and called it good. And it was good. lol. So really you can do what ever cheeses you want:)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Rollcarefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

recipe taken from Chef in Training

Talk about a DELICIOUS pasta dish. We absolutely loved this recipe. Will definitely be added to our dinner rotation! 

Ingredients:

• 10-12 oz. penne or ziti pasta *I used rigatoni, leftover from our Italian Pasta Beef Bake night.
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder more or less to taste
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt more or less to taste
• 1 1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese separated
• 2 chicken breasts cooked and cut into strips *Somehow I forgot about cooking chicken, so used some frozen grilled strips I had in the freezer - we ended up just pulling the chicken out in the end - will definitely cook my own chicken next time! 
• 3/4 cup bacon cooked and chopped *I used already cooked bacon (also from refrigerated section at the store) - a real time saver! 
• 3/4 cup diced ham *Who knew that you could buy alread cooked and diced ham in the refrigerated section?! Brilliant! 
• bread crumbs *I used Italian seasoned bread crumbs, yum!

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to its package's directions. Drain. I always add a little olive oil after I drain it and stir in around so the pasta noodles don't stick together or the pot.
2. Heat cream cheese on stove over medium low heat until melted. Stir in heavy cream. Stir until completely combined. Add onion powder and garlic salt until it tastes how you would like it to. Stir 1 cup of cheese until smooth consistency.
3. In a 9x13, layer noodles, chicken, bacon and ham. Pour sauce over top. Sprinkle top with 1/2 cup cheese and bread crumbs.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until heated through.

Spaghetti and Homemade Meatballs

Serious craving for spaghetti and meatballs today - however, no frozen meatballs on hand, no desire to venture out to the store! It was then I realized I had some ground sirloin just sitting in my fridge waiting to be made into meatballs!  After some quick searches online, I settled on a recipe and went with it. Super easy, super fast, super amazingly delicious. No more frozen meatballs for this girl!

Basic Ingredients:

• spaghetti noodles (no homemade noodles until I get that cool thing-a-ma-jiggy that attaches to my KitchenAid)
• spaghetti sauce (I have made my own, but jars are far too convenient, cheap, and good)

Meatballs:

• 1 1/4 ground beef (I had ground sirloin, 80/20)
• 1/2 c Italian style bread crumbs 
• a few teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (I just shook the bottle until I felt satisfied)
• salt/pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder (original recipe called for minced garlic, I was too lazy)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put large pot of water on to boil.
• Mix bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, egg, and cheese in a medium sized bowl.
• Add meat, then salt and pepper to taste (well, maybe not taste but smell? feel?). Mix well (use your hands!)
• Roll meat mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a nonstick cookie sheet (or lightly grease your cookie sheet with EVOO). Place in oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until ever so slightly pink in the center.
• When water comes to a boil, add salt and noodles. Boil until al dente (7-10 minutes, I put my noodles in just as I put the meatballs in the oven). Drain noodles.
• In a large skillet, warm up spaghetti sauce on medium heat. I added my meatballs when they were only slightly pink in the middle to let them finish cooking in the sauce. (5 minutes)
• Serve with extra grated cheese, a yummy green salad, and garlic bread.

Slightly adapted from: the Food Network