Roasted Red Pepper Pasta.

It's me again, with yet another pasta recipe! I know, I keep trying the same old schtick again and again. I swear my Easter recipe is NOT a pasta recipe. I'm so grateful that my wonderful blog starter of a sister introduced me to The Pioneer Woman. She lives the life I only dream of. I would like to think I could survive on a ranch but I probably wouldn't. But how I love to dream about it. I got this pasta recipe from her.

As you saw with Norah's post, we got an abundance of red peppers from the food co-op. I do like to eat red peppers just plain but I had far too many to do that. And viola, this recipe appeared. I enjoyed it but personally I wanted a smoother sauce. I think I'd put the onion into the food processor, after cooking them, with the red peppers and pine nuts.

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
3 red bell peppers

2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
Flat leaf parsley, finely minced
Fresh Parmesan, shaved or grated
1/2 to 1 pound pasta: orecchiette, penne, fusilli, etc.

Roast red peppers, then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Set aside.

Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet. Set aside.

Puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt. Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, then stir together.

Lemon Cream Pasta with Broccoli

I realize my sister is indeed back from Disneyland, but she is ever so graciously still going to allow me to post! It makes me happy, especially when I ran across a recipe that I made and adapted and needed to share. Original recipe is actually called Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken and I found it here. I was inspired to take up the challenge of making this dish a little healthier by the comment posted by Kameron and because I love to read Cook's Country and their stories about adaptions of a recipe. I am unsure how much healthier my version is, but I do still have another option to try out next time I make this dish, which I will because it was very delicious.




I thought the best way to accomplish a low fat option would be by making a rue and using it to thicken skim milk. Then I realized it was probably going to taste bland. So I threw in a rine of parmesan cheese and pressed a garlic clove into it. I felt the sauce wasn't going to be enough, because I like a lot of sauce, especially a cream sauce. So I added about 1/3 cup of cream, thinking this could add some flavor. Then I tasted it and thought, "good thing I have extra cream to revert to the original recipe". But I decided to march ahead with at least attempting to make it. So I added salt, pepper and garlic powder. Tasted it again. I added more pepper, some McCormick's salt free garlic and herb seasoning and grated some parmesan cheese into it. Now I felt the sauce had some flavor and was pasta ready, but don't forget to remove the rine of parmesan before pouring on top of your pasta. Of course, seeing as how I added butter(for the rue) and the parmesan cheese, I'm not sure how much healthier/less fattening this sauce was compared to the original cream.

I only made half of the original recipe, as there is only 2 of us in my house. But I was worried that since I used a different kind of pasta, orricchiette(because I LOVE the pockets for the sauce to get caught in) that my pasta would need more liquid to absorb, so I used two cans of chicken broth plus 1/2 cup of water. Which by the time the pasta was cooked I actually had extra liquid in my pot still. So I strained and reserved the liquid, approximately 3/4 cup worth. And since it had been simmering for 20 minutes, it had reduced to a wonderfully creamy chicken-lemony stock. Below is a picture of the liquid.

I assume the liquid thickened/creamed because of the starch from the pasta and because the reduction. But I am by no means a food scientist. Which got me thinking that you could probably make the recipe and plan on extra liquid from the start, cook the pasta to your liking, reserve the leftover stock and add in cream to make a sauce for it. I think this method would still preserve the creamy flavor but make it healthier because less cream, butter and cheese is used.

So here is the recipe I made tonight:


PASTA
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of chicken broth
1/2 cup water[or you may try additional chicken broth]
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
8 ounces orricchiette pasta(roughly 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups cooked broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces


SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt free garlic & herb seasoning
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese



DIRECTIONS - PASTA
In a large pot, put chicken broth, garlic powder, pepper, lemon juice and pasta. Bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most liquid is absorbed, roughly 20 minutes for my orrichiette pasta. Strain. Pour pasta back into pot. Stir broccoli into cooked pasta.


DIRECTIONS - SAUCE
In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour. Slowly whisk in skim milk. Add cream, salt, pepper, pressed garlic, salt free garlic & herb seasoning and lemon zest. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese. Pour over pasta.

Homemade Noodles

My husband bought me a pasta maker for Christmas. I decided I wanted my own maker because the cost of my favorite noodles have been going up in cost. I don't know how I ever was able to eat the store bought noodles because the homemade ones taste so much better. And for an added bonus its not very pricey or hard to make your own noodles. I paid 35 cents for the big batch of noodles I made for this dish. I've also been successful at replacing 1/3 of the white flour with whole wheat flour.

I am going to post a basic recipe that you can use for all types of noodles. For noodles like the one in my picture you can make the noodles without needing a pasta machine. Basically you roll out the dough to the thickness you desired and then roll up. Then cut to the thickness you desire.

4 eggs
3 cups of flour
water if needed
Put the flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Break the 4 eggs into the well and blend slowly with a fork. Combine the eggs and flour until well blended. If the mixture is too wet, gradually mix in a small amount of flour. If the dough is too dry, gradually work in a little water.

Spread a little flour very lightly on your tabletop. Place dough mixture on tabletop and knead firmly until it is of a consistent color and texture. Form dough into a mound shape and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough rest for at least 10-15 minutes. This allows the ingredients to further blend together.


To cook:
Always use plenty of boiling water so that the pasta can move around. One half pound of noodles will require at least two quarts of water. One pound will need six. Figure one teaspoon of salt for each quart of water. Always let the water come to a full, rolling boil before adding the pasta, or it will not cook up al dente.
The length of time required to cook the pasta will depend on the size, weight, and particular ingredients for the noodles. Homemade noodles take very little time to cook and should be tested after 3-4 minutes. It is better for the pasta to be cooked slightly under than over. Once cooked, drain the pasta, but never rinse it. For the best pasta dish, drain, add sauce and serve it quickly.

Salisbury Steak with Gemelli

Salisbury Steak with Gemelli

1 egg

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

Hot cooked gemelli or spiral pasta

In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, pepper, and garlic. Crumble beefo over mixture and mix well. Shape into four patties.

In a large skillet, cook patties in oil over medium hgih heat 5-7minutes on each side or until meat is no longer. Remove and keep warm.

Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of drippings. Saute mushrooms in drippings until tender. Stir in flour until blended . Gradually stir in the broth, ketchup and worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Return patties to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Serve with gemelli.