Pasta Rustico

This is a super simple, quick dinner that my family loves so it's great for a busy night.  I used my homemade marinara but a jar would be fine too.

I usually make this meat-free on a night when I've had a busy day and forgot to thaw meat, but italian sausage or sliced chicken would be great in this too.







Pasta Rustico

1 lb short-cut pasta (I used brown rice ziti)
3-4 c. marinara (I used 4)
1/2 c. fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 bunches OR one bag spinach, coarsley chopped
3/4-1 c. ricotta cheese

Boil pasta according to package directions.  While the pasta is cooking steam the spinach in the microwave until just wilted, 1-2 minutes.  Drain the pasta, and pour the marinara sauce into the hot pot and warm the sauce.  Stir together marinara, pasta, spinach, parmesan cheese, and ricotta cheese.  Serve immediately.

Marinara Sauce

I've mentioned "Use marinara sauce.  I made my own." many, many times.  Then once my friend asked me about the homemade marinara and I realized I should tell you how I do it.  The only problem is as previously mentioned, I don't measure very often so it gets complicated.  So in this recipe keep in mind that you keep tasting and adjusting the seasoning amounts to your liking.

Sometimes I get the "italian pack" that's offered through Bountiful Baskets and in that case I will use all of the fresh herbs in my sauce.  If I don't have fresh herbs I use italian seasoning which is much less expensive and easier to keep on hand so whatever you like.  The real trick to the sauce is cooking the vegetables in plenty of olive oil (just enough to cover) and then adding the tomato sauce and tomatoes and cooking it for a really long time.  I vary the vegetables in the sauce a lot based on what I have--zuchinni, mushrooms, and shredded eggplant are good in it too.

Here is what I did with the last giant batch of sauce. Make it your own and keep it in your freezer all the time...

Marinara Sauce

3 green bell peppers, chopped
3 onions, chopped
15 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
3/4 c. olive oil (or so)
107 oz can tomato puree or tomato sauce from a Warehouse store (or just a whole bunch of tomato sauce)
4 28oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2-3 Tb sugar
1 Tb crushed red pepper (or more)
1/4 c. italian seasoning (to start with)
black pepper to taste

Pour some of the olive oil in the bottom of a giant pot (or divide everything between two pots) and heat over medium heat.  Add in the peppers and onions (plus any other vegetables you want) and saute until they start to soften.  Add the rest of the olive oil, make sure there's just enough olive oil to cover the vegetables, but not to make them float in it.  Add in the garlic and cook another minute.  Slowly pour in some of the tomato puree or sauce and combine it well with the vegetable/olive oil mixture. You'll have to stir a awhile to get the oil to mix in completely.  Add in the rest of the sauce and all of the other ingredients and combine well.  Cook over low heat for at least an hour, but preferably a few hours, stirring, tasting, and adjusting the seasoning often.  I usually end up adding in extra italian seasoning and sometimes even some granulated garlic.

Let the sauce cool and portion into freezer bags or containers and keep on hand.  I'll defrost it and cook some sausage, ground beef, or meatballs and pasta and it's a super-fast dinner.

http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcrackedupkitchen.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fmarinara-sauce.html&media=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-6ECmXT-ylTo%2FUIQ2sEuKuwI%2FAAAAAAAAAKM%2FeU445x3lAXk%2Fs1600%2FP1010729.JPG&description=Big%20Batch%20Marinara%20Sauce

Egg & Potato Breakfast Bake

I posted this recipe last Easter and I made it again and it turned out even better AND the picture was better so ....here we are again.

I think any combination of 1 1/2lbs of breakfast meat would work great--chorizo, sausage, ham, bacon, turkey bacon--whatever you like.

Breakfast Bake

1.5 lbs breakfast meat--I used 3/4 lb bacon and 3/4 lb turkey sausage links sliced

4-6 russet potatoes OR 1 lb bag frozen hashbrowns or diced potatoes

seasoning salt and granulated garlic

1/2 onion, minced

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

8 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 c. milk

1/2 tsp seasoning salt or sea salt and black pepper

If you're using whole potatoes, cook them until just fork-tender but not cooked all the way through.  Chop the potatoes and spread them on the bottom of a 9x13 pan and sprinkle with seasoned salt and granulated garlic.  If you're using frozen...put 'em in the pan. Top with onions, then meat (in my case crisply cooked crumbled bacon and sliced sausage).  Sprinkle on the shredded cheese.  In a separate bowl mix together eggs, salt, pepper and milk.  Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and meat and bake at 350 one hour.  If you're making this ahead of time don't pour the eggs over until the last minute.

Au Gratin Potatoes

My step-dad requested au gratin potatoes as a side with our Easter ham so I obliged.  I found this recipe here (of course) and made only a couple small changes.  They were divine.  Mind you these are not for the calorie counter--I think I gained one whole pound just eating these potatoes at lunch yesterday.  So off to the gym I went this morning.  No regrets.

*Note, Fry's currently has a 5 lb bag of potatoes for $.88 so hop on over there and get some and make these to go with your leftover easter ham or roast or whatever you have.

Au Gratin Potatoes

3 lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed

1/2 onion, chopped

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

3 c. heavy cream

1 c. milk

4 Tb flour

2 tsp salt

lots of fresh black pepper

2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350.  Slice the potatoes and quarter the slices.  In a bowl mix together garlic, cream, mlik, flour, salt and pepper.  Spray a 9x13'' pan with cooking spray and layer half the potatoes, half the onions, half the cream mixture, half the cheese.  Repeat.  Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray so the cheese doesn't stick and cover the baking pan with it.  Bake for 40 minutes, remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Kung Pao Chicken

This meal was very good and if you go to the Cooking Light page you can see their version is much prettier! I left out the peanuts because I like nuts, but not in my food and I didn't think my kids would go for it either. But if you like nuts...go for it!




Kung Pao Chicken

1 Tb sesame oil
1 Tb vegetable oil
1 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound chicken thighs, cut in 1-inch pieces
3/4 c. water
3 Tb soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 c. snow peas
2 Tb. chopped dry roasted peanuts

prepared rice

Before you begin cooking, in a small bowl combine 3/4 c. water, soy sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar, ginger, and crushed red pepper stirring with a wisk until sugar is dissolved. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high.  Add onion to the pan; saute 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds.  Add chicken, saute 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.  Add water mixture to the pan and bring to a boil.  Add the bell pepper and snow peas, cook until vegetables are crisp=tender and the sauce thickens.  Sprinkle with nuts (optional.)  Serve over rice.

1/4 of this recipe is 275 calories, 13.8 g fat, 2.2 g fiber NOT including rice.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Well 10 days ago I said I would post this recipe "tomorrow." ...it never happened.  I'm having trouble getting everything done in a day so here we are!

I found this recipe in Cooking Light  Magazine and made it with a few changes...it's really good!   I do have to admit that it's "involved". This recipe takes more time than what I typically spend on a meal, but it is loaded with vegetables and it's really good.

I try to chop all the veggies, cook the chicken, and make the salsa ahead of time.  That  makes everything go faster at dinner time.  You do not need to make your own salsa.  I think a jar would be just fine and save lots of time.

Mexican Chicken Casserole
2 c. chunky tomato salsa (I use this recipe)
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. corn kernels
1 c. diced zucchini, summer or mexican squash
1 c. chopped bell pepper or poblano
2 c. chopped or shredded cooked chicken
1 c. black beans
3 garlic cloves,  minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 10 oz can green enchilada sauce
1 4 oz can chopped green chiles
12 corn tortillas
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. crumbled feta cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat the pan with cooking spray and saute onion, corn, squash and bell pepper.  Saute until tender.  Add chicken, black beans, garlic, seasonings, enchilada sauce and chiles and cook until heated through.  Remove pan from heat.  To assemble casserole, spread 1/2 c. salsa in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.  Arrange half of the tortilas over the salsa.  Spoon half the chicken mixture over the tortillas.  Top with 3/4 c. salsa and 1/2 c. of each cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

1/8th of this is 331 calories, 12 g. fat and 5 g fiber.

Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa

I made a new salsa and it's really good if I do say so myself.  I was making this casserole and the recipe was so involved and time consuming and I ended up making this salsa as a result to save time.  It's my new favorite.  I'll post my version of the casserole tomorrow!

I used a couple poblano peppers (they are dark green peppers about the same size of bell peppers) in the salsa but you could just skip those and add a 7 oz can of chopped green chiles instead.




Fire Roasted Tomato Sasa

3 14.5 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
2 poblano peppers cut into big chunks
6-10 garlic cloves, peeled
3 jalapenos halved, ribs & seeds removed (I reserved the ribs and seeds from one of the jalapenos because we like spicy)
1 onion cut into big chunks
3/4-1 c. cilantro
juice of a lime
salt to taste

Turn on the broiler to 500.  Place the peppers, garlic cloves, jalapenos and onion on a baking sheet and spray them with cooking spray.  Roast about 20 minutes, shaking the pan after 10 minutes.  You want the garlic to be browned and the other vegetables may have some black spots but not be completely charred.  Remove the veggies from the oven and let cool a few minutes.  In a food processer or blender combine cans of tomatoes, roasted vegetables, lime juice, salt and cilantro.  Pulse until chopped and combined.  Enjoy!!

Herbed Potato Salad

I happened to have a 3 pound bag of Yukon Gold potatoes and wanted to make a potato salad so I went to my second favorite recipe site and found this recipe.  It is a hit.  I love it because it's different and it comes together really quickly with few ingredients.  I've caught Rob standing in front of the fridge eating this out of a tupperware a couple times.  He likes it.

The second time I made this I had red potatoes on hand and they worked well and I microwaved the potatoes, which is super classy, but it worked out well and didn't dirty a pot. 

This salad would be good warm or room temperature or even cold if you want to make it a day ahead of time.  We had it with burgers the first time I made it and flank steak and grilled asparagus yesterday I think it would go well with any summer meal.


Herbed Potato Salad

3 lbs Yukon Gold OR red potatoes
1 c. white wine
3 Tb white wine vinegar or white vinegar
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb honey dijon or dijon mustard
3/4 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
3/4 tsp pepper
2 (or 5) garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. chives or green onions, chopped
1/4 c. parsley, chopped

Scrub the potatoes and boil them until just fork tender.  Drain and let cool a few minutes.  While the potatoes are cooking, bring the wine to a boil in a small saucepan and let it cook until it it reduced by half.  Once the wine is reduced mix together the wine, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic and set aside.  Slice the potatoes in thin slices and toss together the potatoes, dressing mixture, chives and parsley. 

Speedy Spinach Lasagna

My cousin is an English/Grammar genious and told me that you're only supposed to use one space after a period!! What?? So sorry that I've been failing you in my writing.  Then again, I just used a double exclamation point/question mark combo which I'm pretty sure isn't grammatically correct either so probably the double spacing is the least of my worries.  I digress. Onto the food!

My mom has been making this recipe a long time.  It is so easy, fast, and doesn't take any expensive ingredients.  You can really throw it together in 10 minutes plus baking time. It also happens to be low calorie/low fat so I'm always up for that.  Rob's been out of town a couple weeks so I made this on Sunday and have eaten it all week, needless to say I made my kids a quesadilla tonight because they're over it! I forgot to take a picture, but I think you all know what lasagna looks like. Just imagine this lasagna with no meat (unless you add some) and the cheese filling with a green tint...and then you've got the picture!

Rob is not exactly a fan of the meat-free meal so sometimes I throw in some turkey sausage or chicken. Do as you wish.  I had homemade marinara sauce in the freezer but jarred sauce works great.  It's hard to mess this recipe up.

Speedy Spinach Lasagna

4 c marinara (more or less depending on your preference)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
2-4 Tb parsley
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 Tb sour cream
16 oz cottage cheese
1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
8-10 lasagna noodles, broken in half (oven ready noodles OR regular noodles both work.  This also works with brown rice lasagna noodles)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Make the cheese sauce by combining eggs, salt, spinach, parsley, parmesan cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese in the food processer and pulsing until combined.  If you don't have a food processer just chop the parsley and stir everything together, that's how my mom makes it and it's great.  I just like it smooth.  Pour a little sauce on the bottom of a 9x13'' pan.  Layer half the broken noodles, half the cheese sauce, half the mozzarella cheese, half the sauce.  Repeat. Cover with foil and bake for 60-90 minutes.  You'll know it's done when it's heated through, bubbly and a fork goes into the noodles easily.  Let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

1/8th of this recipe is 281 calories.

Cheater's General Tso Chicken

I saw an old friend this weekend and she said she was loving this blog but had noticed my blog-slacking.  It's true.  Life has been crazy around here which has adversely affected my blog updating. The upside to that is that I have still been cooking which means that I have a notebook full of recipes to post. This one's for you Brianne!

This may come as a shock, but I'm a sucker for a deal. So when the Sun-Bird Asian mixes were on sale aaaaand I had a coupon I had to get some.  I'm so happy I did.  This stuff is so good and I threw it together really fast and my son's comments (again) were, "Wow Mom, I love Pei Wei."  I love this because it's so quick it works well for an evening when we have something going on.

Cheater's General Tso Chicken

cooked rice
1 lb chicken thighs, chunked
1/4 c. flour
2 Tb vegetable oil
2 c. fresh broccoli, chopped
1 packet SunBird General Tso mix
2 Tb soy sauce
1/4 c. sugar (I used a bit less)
pinch of crushed red pepper (optional, we like spice)
1/2 c. water

While the rice is cooking chunk the chicken and toss it and the flour in a ziploc bag to coat.

In a bowl combine the seasoning mix, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and water.  Whisk the sauce ingredients well and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the chicken and saute until brown tossing in the broccoli for the last minute of cooking.  Lower heat to medium and pour in the sauce.  Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until thickened.  (If the sauce thickens too quickly pour in a little extra water.) Serve over steamed white or brown rice.