Recipe Review from 9/19/2016

The Husband harvested our squash this past week.  While Sept 15 is traditionally when we get our first frost, this has been a beautifully warm fall so far.  Not wanting to risk an "oops" night, and because Andy-dog insisted on hunting for mice in the squash bed, squash were harvested.   We have a few.  30 to be exact.  I'll be giving some away...  

The Meal Plan (kinda sorta...)
Sun (L)  leftover fajitas   (S)  One Pot Pasta
Mon (yoga/bkgrp)  leftover pasta
Tues pasta
Wed leftover pasta
Thurs -leftover brats
Fri - leftover brats
Sat - up to the Husband

Lunches - leftovers and sandwiches

One-Pot Cheesy Pasta  (Ckng Lght Sept 2016)  gluten free option**
This is ready in about 20-30 mintues, including prep.  Once food starts going into the pan, there isn't a heck of a lot of time to finish cleaning up or to set the table.

A couple of small additions/substitutions:  I added 8oz of cremini mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced (needed to use up the package); I used Italian sausage instead of beef; I used 5 oz chopped Swiss chard (stems removed) in place of the spinach.    

I also don't understand why they have the cook preheat the broiler nearly 20 minutes out from use, when all you are doing is melting cheese.  What a waste of electricity or gas.  Preheat near the end of the pasta cooking - it'll be plenty hot and it's more energy efficient.

End result?  This was darn tasty!  This made more than four servings with the addition of the mushrooms.   If you served this with a salad and warm crusty bread, you could *probably* serve six.  Recommended!

photo from cookinglight.com

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

8 ounces 90% lean ground beef  (I used Italian sausage)

8 oz thickly slice cremini mushrooms 

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/4 cups unsalted chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups unsalted crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce

8 ounces uncooked whole-grain penne pasta**

5 ounces fresh baby spinach (I used chopped Swiss Chard)

4 ounces preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup) (I grate my own )

 

1. Preheat broiler to high. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. [Add mushroom, cook 4 minutes or until starting to brown] Add beef and oregano; cook 3 minutes, stirring to crumble.

2. Add stock, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and pasta; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 to 13 minutes or until pasta is done. Stir in spinach.  Now preheat broiler to high - I used low and it worked just fine.

3. Sprinkle cheese over pasta mixture. Place pan in oven; broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.


Kale Pesto Pasta with Shrimp  (Ckgn Lght, Sept 2016)  gluten free option
This took closer to 30 - 40 minutes to make than the 20 minutes the magazine touted.  This is probably due to a) the availability and cost feasibility of peeled/deveined frozen shrimp in your area - I'm not paying $20/lb for the above, so I had to peel before use.  I also did not use baby kale as I have a garden full of Swiss Chard and kale, so I had to wash, de-stem and chop that before it went into the food processor.

So, yeah, a bit putzier using what I have available or on hand, but it still comes together fairly quickly. 

I have mixed thoughts on this dish:  2/3 cup pasta water is WAY too much liquid for the pesto sauce.  Aim for 1/4-1/2 cup.  The Swiss chard was a bit vegetal tasting, even though the leaves I used were younger.  I don't know if a person gets this same taste with kale.  You could also even sub spinach - I know that's very mild tasting.  But, for a weeknight dish, this hit the spot.  Some crusty bread along side to mop up sauce would be a good addition. 

photo from cooking light.com

8 ounces uncooked whole-grain penne pasta

12 ounces medium peeled and deveined frozen shrimp, thawed

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

4 ounces baby kale

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated and divided (about 1/3 cup)

1/4 cup olive oil 

 

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add shrimp to pan during last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2/3 cup 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Place pasta mixture in a bowl.

2. Place almonds, rind, kale, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add reserved 2/3 cup  1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid, salt, red pepper, black pepper, and 3 tablespoons cheese; pulse until smooth. With food processor running, pour oil through food chute in a slow, steady stream, processing until smooth.

3. Add kale mixture to pasta mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese