Pasta Night! | Pasta Primavera

Oh man, does the Pioneer Woman's Pasta Primavera look tasty. I just don't have the time to chop all those veggies on a weeknight, though.

But I really, really want Pasta Primavera. And her recipe looks so dang good. Oh. My.

Well... only solution I can see to this is to make my own, much quicker, weeknight-adapted version.

Since primavera is really simple to begin with - veggies, cream, cheese, wham - the only real way to cut down time is in the veggies. So, I used two boxes of frozen Green Giant mix veggies. While I'm certain the Pioneer Woman's painstaking version is incroyable, but for my purposes, this was just dandy.

Of course, I added fresh mushrooms and chicken to mine - have to make it boyfriend-friendly, after all.

Pasta Primavera
Yield | 3-4 servings

Prep Time | 15 minutes
Cook Time | 30 minutes
______________________________________________________________________

Ingredients:

12-14 oz frozen vegetable mix (I used 2 boxes of Green Giant Antioxidant Blend)
1 package fettuccine, cooked al dente
2 tablespoons EVOO
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
2 tablespoons oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus some to top
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parsley for topping

Optional:
Chicken, shrimp, fresh veggies, tofu, etc...

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and saute until onions are translucent. Add white wine to deglaze. Simmer until reduced by half.

If you're using frozen veggies, like me, cook, but only roughly 2/3rds of the time indicated on the box - you want them to still be crunchy, like al dente, but for vegetables. Add veggies and oregano and red pepper to onion and garlic mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

Slowly add cream and parmesan cheese until melted and mixed. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Sauce should be similar to an alfredo sauce, but thinner.

Toss linguine in sauce until lightly coated and top with remaining parmesan and parsley. Serve.

Quick and easy - plenty of veggies and great for a weeknight meal. Add your favorite meat/protein and enjoy.

Pasta Night! | Baked Manicotti

We try to do pasta at least once a week. The boyfriend says it's one of the things I do best.

While I'm not sure about that, I do love everything cheese-filled and sauce-slathered... not to mention garlic bread.

Originally, I wanted lasagna. It's funny, how tastes change - as a child, I hated lasagna. It was in the same category as brussel sprouts (though cover just about anything in cheese and I'll eat it) and cauliflower. Just. Not. Happening.

Now, however, I can't quite get enough. In the fall and winter I have a crockpot lasagna made with cottage cheese we swear by.

However, despite my lasagna craving, my shopportunist nature won out... big pasta sale, and lasagna was not one of them. Manicotti was, though. Never tried to stuff my own manicotti, but what the hey, sounds absolutely tasty.

So cheesy. So delicious. So worth every bite. Thank you, Anny of AllRecipes, for guiding me through this. And, the great thing about this recipe is you can either use a jarred sauce and shorten it (boil, stuff, sauce, and bake) or make your own, so I've included a recipe for a basic marinara sauce, as well. I love making my own - it's easy, and I use red wine, so there's plenty of, uhmm, tasting.

Round up some garlic bread and enjoy!


Baked Manicotti
Yield | 4 servings

Prep Time | 15 minutes
Cook Time | 30 minutes
______________________________________________________________________

Ingredients:

1 package manicotti
1 pint low fat ricotta cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese (I used a 6-cheese Italian blend)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for topping
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
2 cups spaghetti sauce (jar, or use the basic marinara recipe below!)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring water to boil and add pasta. Salt (or add olive oil) to keep pasta from sticking. Cook until nearly al dente - they tear easily so don't cook through, the sauces in the oven will soften them.

In a large mixing bowl, add cheeses, eggs, garlic, and oregano. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well. Spoon a little sauce into the bottom of an 11 x 17 baking dish.

If you have piping tools, that's fantastic, but if not, spoon cheese mix into a Ziploc bag. Cut the corner and pipe into the noodle shell. Place filled pasta in dish and top with marinara sauce and remaining parmesan cheese.

So much easier.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Marinara Sauce
Yield | 4 servings

Prep Time | 5-7 minutes
Cook Time | 30 minutes
______________________________________________________________________

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons EVOO
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/3 cup red wine (or 1/4 cup red wine vinegar)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. Add oregano and crushed red pepper. Stir and add red wine (or red wine vinegar - use less if using vinegar) to deglaze the pan.

Add canned tomatoes and salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Of course, with my love for capers, this was the perfect time to sneak them in, so feel free to add a tablespoon of the salty, delicious morsels!

So yum!

Coming soon... Quick and Easy Cajun Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Pasta Salad with a Balsamic Dressing, Jerk Marinaded Chicken Drumsticks, and so much more!

On the Grill | Blackened Tilapia with Fettuccine & Grilled Summer Veggies

Finally.

Sadly, the weather wasn't that spectacular for grilling. It's been 80+ degrees all week... until tonight. I still couldn't resist, though.

So, we grilled. Blackened tilapia and a ton of yummy veggies, all served with fettuccine. Thank you, How Sweet It Is, for the inspiration for this (found here).

Grilling, in my family, is basically an art form. A male-dominated art performed by my father and grandfather. Of course, when I moved in with the boyfriend, I happily relinquished the Grill Master privileges.

But who could resist the call of fresh vegetables? I certainly couldn't. 

The first summer we had the grill was great - frequent breaks from nightly meals. It was barely March when I was granted grilling rights. Still, the boyfriend is (for now) the Grill Master, but after a lengthy tutorial, I was granted access.

With very strict regulation, of course.

Let the fun begin.

Blackened Tilapia with Fettuccine & Grilled Summer Veggies
Yield | 3-4 servings

Prep Time | 10 minutes
Cook Time | 40 minutes

______________________________________________________________________

Ingredients:

4 tilapia fillets

1 package fettuccine pasta

2 ears of corn

2 zucchinis, quartered

1/2 red onion, quartered

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped

2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into thick slices

1/3 cup EVOO

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

Blackening seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese

Preheat your grill, on high. Prep your veggies. How Sweet It Is had suggested leaving seeds and all in the tomatoes - did it, and it was incredible, almost like a light tomato sauce when all put together at the end. So I definitely suggest just chunking your tomatoes (and the other vegetables). Lightly spray with cooking oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill your corn in or out of the husk - I, like the original recipe, removed the husk from mine and wrapped my ears in aluminum foil after brushing with olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. 

Brush the tilapia with olive oil and coat with blackening seasoning, salt, and pepper. I used Cajun seasoning instead - again, totally obsessed. Can't resist any urge to break into it. 

The corn takes a bit longer than the rest at about 30, so throw it on a few minutes before the zucchini, with the tilapia, tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms last (they only take about 10 minutes). Cook your pasta while the veggies grill.

Cut veggies into bit-size pieces (tomato will be really smooshy, this is good!). Combine remaining olive oil with red pepper, salt and pepper, garlic, and oregano in a small dish. Coat fettuccine. Add vegetables, toss.

Sprinkle with parmesan. Voila! Boyfriend cleaned his plate. I'm pretty sure no one could resist this grilled tastiness, though...

Next time: Buffalo Chicken Bites... another stop on the quest to find freezable snackable bits featuring hot buffalo bleu cheesey-goodness.