Baked Lentil Ziti

I'm always on the look-out for recipes that take a well-loved dish with meat, and turn it into a meatless version. I'm also a huge lover of beans. Even when meat-free dishes don't call for beans, I'm usually adding them in anyways. So I was really excited when I saw this recipe that took one of my favorite family dishes, baked ziti, and not only omitted the ground meat, but also added in lentils. It's been a very long time since I've had baked ziti but that's all about to change with this recipe. I thought it was delicious and I will definitely be holding onto this recipe for later.

This is a super easy dish to make. I feel like I say that all the time but I am a lover of easy recipes. You can cook the lentils and pasta ahead of time and set them in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the dish. You could even make the whole thing, put it in the casserole dish and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat, and then just pop it into the oven. Either way, it's as easy as cooking pasta and lentils, mixing everything together in the casserole dish, and baking it until it's bubbly. I loved the taste of this and definitely used a little bit more sauce than the recipe called for but that's because I don't like dry pasta.

 There are a couple things I want to point out that I did differently from the recipe. I used gluten-free pasta. I've tried using gluten-free pastas in the past for various dishes and have found that they don't always hold up, especially when it's a one-pot recipe where the pasta cooks in the liquid with everything else. However, the pasta worked great in this dish, but I did under-cook it by about 2 minutes, so it still had some bite to it before I added it into the casserole dish to bake. So, if you plan to use gluten-free pasta just be sure to under-cook it a bit so that it holds it's shape and doesn't turn to mush while the casserole bakes. I also didn't put the cheese on the casserole for the initial baking process. Mainly because the casserole came right up to the top and if I put foil on it, the cheese would have stuck... and I didn't feel like rummaging around my cabinet looking for toothpicks. So, I put the foil on the casserole without the cheese for the first half of baking and then when it was time to crank the heat and remove the foil, I put the cheese on and baked it until it was bubbly.  Like I said before, I really enjoyed this dish and it will be a winter staple in our house from here on out.

recipe adapted from Cookie and Kate

Lentils:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic,  minced
• 1¼ cups regular brown lentils, picked over for debris and rinsed
• 3 cups water

Pasta and everything else

• 12 ounces ziti, rigatoni or penne pasta
• 2 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (omit if sensitive to spice)
• 24 ounces spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese

1. To cook the lentils: In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is turning translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the lentils and water, and stir to combine.
2. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer until the lentils are tender and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. Drain the mixture well in a fine-mesh sieve and return the lentils to their pot. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the pasta just until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. (if using gluten-free pasta under-cook the pasta. It will continue to cook in the oven)
4. Add the lentils to the pasta. Add ½ cup of the cheese, reserving the rest for later. Season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using).
5. Pour 1 cup of the marinara sauce into a 13x9-inch baking dish. Spread the sauce around with a spatula so the base of the baker is evenly coated. Pour the lentil and pasta mixture into the baker and spread it so it’s evenly distributed. Using a spoon, dollop cottage or ricotta cheese in big spoonfuls over the pasta, then just lightly swirl the mixture a bit so the cottage cheese is still concentrated in those areas.
6. Drizzle the rest of the sauce evenly over the dish (adding extra sauce if you’d like) and gently spread it over the pasta. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella evenly over the dish. Cover the baker tightly with aluminum foil—don’t let it touch the cheese—or stick a few wooden toothpicks down the center and place a generously sized piece of parchment paper, folded in the middle to make a “tent” over the baker.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the covering, increase the heat to 450, and continue baking until the cheese on top is golden and spotty, 3 to 9 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Gnocchi, white bean, and sun-dried tomato skillet

Sorry for the lull in posts. We recently moved and I was a little busy packing up the house and moving. I still tried to make new dishes throughout the process so that I would have something to share when we got settled into our new place. This is a recipe that I found online. It's easy, quick to make, and doesn't take much prep work.

I love gnocchi. I used to make my own a lot but, well, when you're in the process of moving, the last thing you have time and energy for is making things from scratch. This recipe is pretty much the easiest recipe I've ever done. I used a can of beans, Julienne sun-dried tomatoes, and even used packaged frozen spinach. The only thing I really did was slice mushrooms and then cook everything. I will admit that I did forget a lot of ingredients when making this though. I blame the move. You will see in the pictures that they are not all the same. I was picking at the dinner as it was cooking (I found out that sauteed gnocchi with a little salt and pepper is DELICIOUS!) and I think, to me, it tasted great, and then I plated it. It wasn't until a few bites in that I realized it was missing the beans. Then I saw the package of sundried tomatoes sitting on the counter and quickly added those too. So, I suppose if you don't have everything on hand and still want to make this, you can. I think as long as you have the gnocchi, you will be good.  ;)

Aside from forgetting to add all the ingredients to the dish on the first go, this was a no-brainer. There's no fancy cooking involved and it was hearty and delicious, which was exactly what we needed after a day of extreme packing. The only downside to this dish is that it's not that great warmed up the next day. I mean, when you first make it, the gnocchi is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. However, once it's sat in the refrigerator, it looses that crispiness. So, it wasn't that it tasted bad the next day, it just didn't have the same texture it did when it was fresh. I still enjoyed the leftovers but missed the crispiness of the gnocchi.

recipe adapted from Sweet Peas and Saffron


18 oz packaged gnocchi
1-2 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper
¼-1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
4 cups loosely packed spinach [I used 1 (10 oz) packed of frozen spinach, thawed]
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
 Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. 
2. Add the gnocchi and separate them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes, or until golden and slightly crispy. 
3.  Remove from pan. 
4. Add the mushrooms, and cook for 3 or so minutes until soft (add additional olive oil if needed). Return the gnocchi to the pan and add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and white beans. Stir until spinach is wilted and everything is heated through. 
5. Add additional salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. 
6. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Four Cheese Drunken Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta Bake

This is one of my new favorite dishes. Not only because it's delicious but you just mix everything together, lay it in a casserole dish, and bake it. That's it! It's got so much flavor and depth to it that you would think you spent more time in the kitchen. It's perfect for the weeknights where you get home late and just don't want to cook anything. It's great for those times when you are having guests over and don't want to spend all your time in the kitchen cooking. It's great when you're just being lazy. I just love this recipe.

I did make a couple of changes from the original recipe. I was unable to find burrata cheese. So, I bought fresh mozzarella and sliced that up instead. Don't get the pre-grated or dry mozzarella cheese. Trust me on this. You will want that wet round ball of cheesy goodness for this. It just melts and tastes so much better than the dry stuff. I was also unable to find fontina and asiago cheese. Let's just say my grocery store doesn't know how to order stock... it's always out of things. Anyways, since I couldn't find those, I did end up buying a bag of mixed pre-grated cheese that had the blend of cheeses I needed. Then I just added in a touch more of fresh parmesan. In the end, the dish was still amazing and is definitely something that I will be making on a regular basis.

 

recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest

 

• 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained but reserved
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 pound rigatoni pasta
• 8 ounces fontina cheese, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups asiago cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese*, grated
• 8 ounces burrata cheese
• fresh basil or parsley, chopped for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add the whole can of san marzan tomatoes, crushing the whole tomatoes with your hand. Add the tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes + about 2 tablespoons of the oil left in the jar, thawed spinach, garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, wine and 1 1/2 cups water. Give everything a good stir to combine and then add the dry pasta, fontina cheese, asiago cheese and parmesan cheese, toss everything to evenly coat. Push down gently on the pasta to get most of it under sauce.
3. Tightly cover the baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes. Uncover and break the burrata cheese over top of the pasta. Bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and garnish with parsley and or basil. Cut and serve.

*be sure the parmasen cheese doesn't have animal rennet in it 

20 Minute One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

I know I'm not alone when I say that a lot of the recipes I try come from Pinterest. Sure, I still crack open my cookbooks now and then to try something new, but Pinterest is so convenient. Plus, I find a lot of great food blogs that way. I've no idea how I stumbled upon this gem but this is a pasta dish that is here to stay. I'm seriously making this for dinner, again, after I finish typing this post.

I've made this dish twice now. However, the first time I made this, I looked at the water to pasta ratio and thought, "There is no way this is going to turn out. I'm going to end up with soup". Do not be fooled like I was. Do not, I repeat DO NOT drain out some of the water... like I did. Trust me in this. I did just that and wound up with bone dry pasta that I ended up adding sink water to in order to eat. It's kinda like that science experiment you did in elementary school with the baking soda and vinegar. You know the one. You look at the two components and think, "There's no way this is going to... HOLY COW! IT'S A VOLCANO!" Yeah, that's how I felt the second time around when I actually followed the directions. I started with what looked like the beginnings of spaghetti soup and wound up with a mouth watering alfredo that took one pot, about twenty minutes, and little time on my part in the kitchen to make.

adapted from Damn Delicious

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced and quartered
• 2/3 c. peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 sprigs thyme
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan
• 1/4 c. heavy cream

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, garlic, thyme and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and heavy cream.
3. Serve immediately.

*UPDATE*
I've tried making this with quinoa spaghetti and it did not turn out at all. The pasta clumped into slimy clump and it didn't soak up as much water as normal pasta would.

Smoky Butternut Squash Pasta with Kale

I'm definitely not used to the gloomy weather we've been having. With the days getting shorter and the clouds all gray, I've been craving comfort food. I saw this recipe and thought that it would be a tasty fall pasta dish. However, what I got was my new replacement for macaroni and cheese. The Mr. loves homemade macaroni and cheese but with my milk allergy, I've been trying to limit the dairy I consume. So, eating a bowl of cheese isn't the smartest thing for me to do. However, I can eat this without the guilt or allergy side effects. and still feel like I'm splurging on a not-so-healthy dish. I cannot believe how amazing it is. The Mr. and I polished the entire thing in one sitting. Don't judge.

When I went shopping for the ingredients I was unsuccessful in finding raw cashews at my usual grocery store. Then later that week I popped into another local store to get a specific brand of salsa for the Mr. and they had raw cashews. I had forgotten how much I needed and walked out with about a cup and half of raw cashews not realizing I only needed a quarter of a cup. Whoops. However, I looked it up online and you can store raw cashews in an airtight bag/container for up to one year in a cool and dark place. So if you have to purchase them in a large quantity, have no fear, they will last a while. I also cheated on the recipe a little bit. I really didn't want to have to clean and roast a squash. So I went over to the freezer isle of my grocery store and bought a 12 oz bag of frozen butternut squash*. When I was ready to make the sauce I put the whole bag in a microwave safe bowl and heated it up, then followed the remaining directions for the recipe. I also used gluten-free pasta. I saw it at the store and decided to give it a try. It tastes just like normal pasta and held up really well. So if you are looking for a gluten-free dish, use gluten-free pasta. Oh and one other thing, you don't have to use yeast in the recipe but it really adds to the dish. The yeast not only adds flavor but it also thickens the sauce into more of a creamy consistency.

Recipe adapted from Oh She Glows

• 1/4 c. raw cashews, soaked 
• 1 (3.5-4 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced (need 2 c. cooked squash for the recipe. *See notes above for a quicker option) 
• 3/4 c. water 
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 2 Tbs nutritional yeast (optional, but highly recommended) 
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice 
• 1/2 tsp onion powder 
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 
• 1/4 tsp chili powder 
• 1 tsp fine grain sea salt, or to taste 
• 1/8 tsp liquid smoke 
• hot sauce, to taste 
• 1 lb mini shell or macaroni pasta (use gluten-free, if desired) 
• 5 c. chopped kale

1. Add cashews in a small bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight or for at least 3-4 hours, until soft and plump. Drain and rinse before use. 
2. *If roasting your own squash* Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. See note about prepping squash below. Spread out chopped squash on sheet and drizzle with oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for 30-40 minutes, flipping once half way through baking, until squash is fork tender. Let cool for at least 5 minutes. 
3. Add the soaked and drained cashews, water, garlic, nutritional yeast (if using), lemon juice, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, and 2 cups of cooked squash into a high speed blender. Blend on high until smooth. Now add the salt, liquid smoke, and hot sauce to taste and blend again. 
4. Cook pasta according to package directions. 
5. Meanwhile, saute kale in a pan until wilted.
6. Add the drained pasta back into the pot. Pour in the sauce and kale; stir to combine. Cook over medium until heated throughout and serve immediately.

Torellini in Basil-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Now that Spring is upon us it is starting to get rather toasty here in the desert. We've already hit the 90's (f) and that is considered comfortable. Well, not so much for me, I'm still just a girl from New York and I have a feeling that no matter how long I live here I will never get used to the insane heat. Luckily it hasn't been staying in the 90's and it seems to keep dropping back down into the 70's-80's. However, that hasn't kept me from making easy recipes that don't require a lot of time standing over a hot stove in the kitchen. This tortellini salad come from Better Crocker and it is good not only warm but cold as well.



This is really a simple dish to make. You cook the tortellini, chop up your veggies, mix the vinaigrette and then toss it all together. The only advice I can give you... don't chop your broccoli too large... like I did. HaHa I also found that I needed a little more vinaigrette since the tortellini seemed to have soaked it all up. You would definitely want more (maybe double) when making a cold salad. I would toss half in right when the tortellini is cooked and then reserve the other half before serving it.

• 1 package (9 oz) refrigerated tricolor cheese-filled tortellini
• 1/4 c. balsamic or cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP. chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 2 TBSP. olive or vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, sliced (1/2 cup)
• 2 c. broccoli florets
• 2 medium green onions, sliced (2 tablespoons)

1. Cook and drain tortellini as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain.
2. In large bowl, mix vinegar, basil, oil, paprika, salt and garlic with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in carrot, broccoli, onions and tortellini until coated.

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Healthified Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Ever have one of those days where you wait until the very last minute to figure out what to make for dinner? I do it all the time and usually end up eating hamburgers or leftovers for dinner. Except last week I was lucky enough to have everything on hand for this recipe from Betty Crocker. Well... almost everything at least.

Potato Dumplings w/ Cabbage & Apples

I don't know about you but I love perogies. I loved them as a kid and still do. Usually I eat them pan fried but when I saw this recipe in Good House Keeping Family Vegetarian Cooking cookbook, I decided to give this new twist a try.

Pasta w/ Edamame & Basil "Cream" Sauce

Alas, it is time that I return the cookbook back to the library. I didn't get to try out as many recipes as I wanted to but the few that I did try I really liked. This one I was surprised that it caught my eye, only because it has tofu in it. If the tofu part scares you away, don't let it! I myself am not a huge tofu fan. The only time I have ever eaten it and liked it is when it is in my miso soup, other than that, count me out. For some strange reason this recipe was screaming at me when I saw it. It just so happened that I had everything on hand as well. Don't ask why I had tofu in the pantry, I think I found it on sale... sales always seem to get me. Anyways, I was a little worried when I made this dish because of the tofu but if I had not made it myself I would have thought it was an alfredo sauce. Now not the typical thick and heavy alfredo sauces that you can buy in the store but a lighter version.

Three-Alarm Spaghetti & Pinto Bean Chili

I love to read books. I go to the library so often that I wouldn't be surprised if one day I walk in there and the librarian says "Hey Kristin, we got your books in the other day, let me grab them for ya." Usually I get your average run of the mill reading book but one day I thought "I wonder if they have cooking books too?" So I went to the library's website online and started searching their cooking section. What do you know, they have a ton of cookbooks at the library. The cookbook I chose was Betty Crocker Easy Everyday Vegetarian. I have tried a handful of recipes already and only one of them wasn't to the Mr. and my liking. This one was the first one we tried and I instantly knew that this book and I were going to be inseparable for the remaining 3 weeks that I have it checked out. If you are looking for a recipe that not only pleases the vegetarians but the meat eaters too, then this is the recipe to try. You don't even realize that there is no meat in there.

Creamy Beef and Noodle Casserole

One of the good and bad things about the military is moving. It is good because about once every few years you downsize and get rid of all the junk that you have accumulated over the years. It's bad because when a friend moves, you are usually the one taking all of that stuff. Usually when we move I invite my friends over to go through and take any food and cleaning products that I cannot take on the move with me and that is usually what everyone does around here. So this past weekend when the Mr. and I went out help one of our good friends get their stuff into storage for a deployment, I was not surprised to find myself leaving their place with more stuff in the vehicle than what I showed up with. Not that I am complaining because I wound up saving a trip to the commissary that weekend. Not only did I walk away with food but I was also given recipe magazines as well. So the next day when I was home, I looked through the magazines and found this recipe in Kraft Foods Holiday 2010 Food & Family magazine.

Szechuan Noodles With Spicy Beef Sauce

This is probably one of my favorite pasta dishes. I came across this recipe over at Sherry's blog. I thought it would be something tasty and different but I had no idea just how delicious this was going to be. This is one of those dishes where you could literally eat the whole thing by yourself and still want more.

Beef Stroganoff

When I usually have beef stroganoff it usually comes from the frozen section of the grocery store. I don't know why but I never thought to make it at home. Now, I don't know if I can ever go back to that frozen stuff again. This was super easy to make with barely any fuss in the kitchen and a very minimal clean up afterward. the meat comes out to be very tender and it holds all of the flavors of the sauce from cooking all day. The Worcestershire sauce and sour cream adds a slight tanginess to it but it is balanced out with the cream cheese. I found that if you cube the cream cheese before adding it to the slow cooker it will help it melt faster and there will be less of a chance of there being pockets of cream cheese in your sauce. If by chance you cannot find golden mushroom soup, cream of mushroom will work just as well.

Chicken Yakisoba

Most people think of sushi when they think of Japanese food however I tend to think outside the box when I think of going to a Japanese restaurant. Not that I don't think of sushi but the one dish I am always interested in is the yakisoba. When my husband was deployed to Okinawa for 6 months he was like any deployed marine out there, depressed and lonely and... yeah right, what am I saying? He was having a blast! He went snorkeling, to the aquarium he even went to this lady's house who sold yakisoba through her kitchen window. I remember him telling me about it and I just thought that was one of the neatest things. He loved the food there and when he came back home I got to work trying different yakisoba recipes. Now this is a little bit sweeter than traditional yakisoba but I love it. I am hoping to one day go to Okinawa and experience all that he had. I really am a little jealous... okay okay, very jealous.

SOP

I am sure you are wondering about the name and what exactly this is. Well it is supposed to be SOS but I was down to my last loaf of bread and didn't want to use it all in one sitting. So I looked around in my pantry and found pasta and since they resemble pebbles I renamed it.

Easy Peasy Chicken Dinner & Review

The name says it all. It is easy, it has peas and it is a chicken dinner. HaHa. Now what makes it easy and quick is the fact that I used Tyson grilled & ready cooked chicken breasts. The chicken is already fully cooked and even has a glaze on it which adds extra flavor. It definitely made my job in the kitchen a little easier not having to play the "is it done?" game.

Cheese Ravioli with Garlic Clam Sauce

When I made this we had 2 weeks to eat as much food left over in this house as we could before we moved. Which is where this beautiful little concoction came from. I literally just threw stuff into a pot and prayed that it didn't taste disgusting. I was a little weary at first because it wasn't looking overly appetizing but once I dug in, I was hooked. Think shrimp scampi but with clams.

• 2 lbs. cheese ravioli
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 can clams
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Cook ravioli according to package.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic, clams, clam juice, bay leaf and thyme and let simmer until the ravioli is cooked.
3. Drain ravioli and pour the clam sauce over the ravioli. Serve hot.
   

Tortellini with Swiss Chard and White Beans

I am always trying to find new vegetarian recipes to try. My husband and I are both meat eaters so I am not trying to totally cut out meat from our lives but it is nice to eat a healthier alternative every once in a while. When I saw Kaylie over at Cafe Groenhout make this recipe except with gnocchi I knew I had to give it a try. I could not get my hands on gnocchi so I made it with tortellini instead. I have yet to try the recipe with gnocchi but if it is anything like the tortellini version I made, I am in! Just looking down at the chard and beans on my plate and I felt healthier.

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 lb tortellini
  
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 C water
• 6 C chopped chard leaves (about 1 small bunch), or spinach
• (1) - 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, Italian-style
• (1) - 15 oz. can white beans, rinsed
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 C shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese, grated/shredded
  

1. Cook tortellini according to package.
   
2. In a large skillet add 1 tsp oil and onion to the pan to cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer.
4. Stir in the tortellini and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan.
5. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

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Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

I have been wanting to try this sauce for over a month now. I saw the recipe over at Debbie's site, Debbie Does Dinner Healthy & Low Calorie and my mouth started to water. Now I am not one to use half and half or heavy cream, those are usually deal breakers for me but this one I was willing to make an exception.

The commissary did not have fat free half and half which I was extremely disappointed in. So if you have that available use that, if not then you will have to use the full fat version like me. I loved the fact that I roasted my own peppers (my first time) and made the sauce from start to finish. It would have been more impressive if I made my own raviolis but I tried that once and that was a disaster. Plus I was making this before one of my cake classes so I needed something quick and non messy. You can roast the peppers a head of time and just refrigerate them until you are ready. After that the sauce takes no time at all. I used mushroom ravioli, in case you are curious but whatever you like works. (I know I say that a lot)

• 1 lb ravioli
  
• 2 large red bell peppers
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 c. fat free half and half
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 2 Tbsp. butter/margarine
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat broiler. Grill peppers under the broiler until the skin turned black and the flesh is soft. Place the peppers in a plastic bag and set aside to cool for 45 minutes. Once cooled remove the skin and seeds from the peppers and cut into strips.
2. Cook ravioli according to package.
   
3. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat add the oil, garlic, basil and bell peppers and cook for 10 minutes. Place mixture in a blender or use your emulsion blender and blend until creamy. Return the sauce back to the pan and add cheese and half and half, cook until the cheese has melted over low heat. Do not let it boil make sure to keep the heat low. Add the butter and stir until melted and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes and then serve over ravioli.

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Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo

I made this a few weeks ago when my parents were in town visiting. I wanted to make something slightly different from their everyday meal but close enough that it wouldn't scare them away. I saw the recipe on Cafe Groenhout's blog and knew that this was the perfect recipe to try. It is practically chicken and rice which is a huge staple in their house but it isn't just your plain old baked chicken with rice. I also made the craisin-walnut salad to go along with this dish. I planned on taking pictures but it was gone before I knew it.

I had to change it up some since I couldn't find sun dried tomatoes that were not packed in oil. If you have the same problem as me, just buy the oil packed and put your sun dried tomatoes between paper towels to help soak up some of the oil. I also didn't have fresh marjoram on hand but I had the dried stuff. So I used 2 teaspoons of dried marjoram for the sauce. The next time that I make this I will make double the sauce, it didn't seem like quite enough to me but my husband and mother liked it as is.

• 8 oz. orzo
• 1 C water
• 1/2 C chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), divided
• 1 plum tomato, diced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 3 tsp chopped fresh marjoram, divided
• 1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
• 2 tsp plus 1 tbsp EVOO, divided
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 C finely shredded Romano cheese, divided

1. Cook orzo in a large saucepan of boiling water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
2. Meanwhile, place water, 1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes, plum tomato, garlic, 2 tsp marjoram, vinegar and 2 tsp oil in a blender. Blend until just a few chunks remain.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent burning, until golden outside and no longer pink in the middle, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; tent with foil to keep warm.
4. Set aside 1/2 C of the tomato mix. Pour the rest into the pan and bring to a boil. Add the remaining 1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes to the pan along with the orzo and 6 tbsp cheese. Cook, stirring, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide among 4 plates.
5. Slice the chicken. Top each portion of pasta with sliced chicken, 2 tbsp of the reserved tomato mix and a sprinkling of the remaining cheese and marjoram.

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