Macaroni and Cheese

I got this recipe from The Kitchn.  It's so good! I've tried homemade mac & cheese recipes before and this one is the best.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (450 g) pasta, any shape
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2-3 cups shredded cheese (I used 2 cups cheddar plus some cream cheese) 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard
• Optional extras (cook before adding): Ham, bacon, onions, peas, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower

What you do:

1. Bring a large amount of water to a boil. Add a handful of salt and the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, begin heating 1 cup of milk over medium heat. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and the flour until there are no lumps. Whisk this into the heating milk and continue whisking gently until the milk thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.
3. Turn the heat to low and add the 2 cups of the cheese, salt, and mustard. Using a wooden spoon, stir until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy. Taste and add more cheese or adjust the seasonings as desired.
4. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, any extras, and half of the cheese sauce. Continue adding cheese sauce until the pasta is as coated as you like it. Serve immediately while still warm.

Variation: You can also bake this into a casserole. Heat the oven to 350°. Pour the macaroni and cheese into a baking dish, cover with a lid or foil, and bake for a half an hour. Remove the covering, sprinkle with breadcrumbs if desired, and bake uncovered for another 15 - 20 minutes, until the top is golden and the interior is bubbly.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This version is better than my cajun chicken pasta.  It's really yummy! I modified it a bit, but here is where I got the recipe: http://anediblesymphony.blogspot.com/2010/05/boston-and-rees-cajun-chicken-pasta.html

Ingredients:
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 lb spaghetti pasta
3+ tsp Cajun Spice seasoning (I just kept adding and tasting as I went along)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 red capsicum, sliced
1 brown onion, sliced
3 tsp minced garlic
4 small tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 T cornstarch mixed with a bit of warm water
1 tsp cayenne pepper / chili powder
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Chopped parsley for garnish

What you do:
1. Sprinkle 2 tsp of the cajun spice mix over the chicken pieces, then toss to coat. Heat 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of the oil in a pan and brown the chicken over high heat. Remove from the pan and set aside.  You can also start cooking your pasta now too. 

2. Add the remaining oil and butter into the same pan, then sauté the capsicums, onion, and garlic with more cajun seasoning, along with some salt. Do this over high heat because you want the veggies to really caramelize and start to get dark (flavor!).

3. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 secs. Pour in the chicken stock and wine now, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the sticky bits incorporated into the sauce. Cook for 5-10 mins.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in the cream. Keep whisking the saucing, and sprinkling in the spices per your taste. A dash more salt, lots of black pepper, and some chili powder too. 

5. Add the chicken back, and continue to stir the sauce until the whole thing reaches a consistency you like - I just wait for the sauce to be able to coat the back of my wooden spoon.  I added in the corn starch mixture to thicken everything up.  

6. Cook your pasta per the instructions on the box. Drain it and add it directly into the pan with the sauce. Turn off the heat, then toss the pasta, coating it completely with that awesome sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Lasagna!

Yum, this recipe is way better than my other lasagna recipe! Here it is: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-lasagna.html

Some tips/reminders:

• The order of layers is sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, sauce, noodles, sauce, mozz & parmesan
• You can make this dish with or without beef and it will still be good
• It's best to soak the noodles first in warm water and use good mozzarella cheese cut in chunks (rather than shredded). 
• bake covered for 30 min and uncovered for 30 min in 190 C oven
• cheese mixture is:
• 2 egg, beaten
  2 lbs (1 kg) ricotta cheese
  8 oz (225 g) mozzarella cheese, cubed
  2/3 cup freshly grated Reggiano-Parmigiano
  1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Mushroom, spinach, & asparagus pasta

YUM! Very very creamy, but chock full of healthy veggies!  A great, filling vegetarian dish!
(recipe from Sunset Magazine)

Ingredients: 

• whole-wheat pasta
• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1  pound  sliced mushrooms
•  170 g cream cheese
• 1/2  cup  milk
• 8  cups  lightly packed spinach
• 1/2 lb. asparagus, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh chives
• 1/2  cup  grated Parmesan cheese

1. Boil 2 qts. water in a large pot and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.
2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add garlic and mushrooms, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and milk and heat until boiling, stirring often. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then pour over pasta. Sprinkle with chives and serve with parmesan on the side.

Creamy Salmon Spaghetti

I don't know why I never posted this before.  It's just so good!  I actually invented this recipe myself when I was pregnant.

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat spaghetti noodles (use enough for 4+ portions)
• 500 g heavy cream
• 3 portions of salmon
• 150 g spinach leaves
• ~1 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese

What you do: 

1. Preheat the oven to about 390 degrees F (200 C) and get the pasta water started.
2. Grate black pepper over the salmon and bake in a glass dish until done.  It usually doesn't take very long (maybe 15 minutes).  Cut one in half to check if you are unsure.  Don't overcook!  When pasta water is boiling, add spaghetti and cook until done.
3. While the salmon and pasta are cooking, get the sauce started: stir the grated parmesan cheese in with the heavy cream in a small pot.  Keep adding parmesan cheese to taste and stir until thoroughly melted and warm.  
4. Wilt the spinach leaves in a frying pan with some butter, salt, and pepper.   Chop up the salmon into bite size bits. 
5. Stir together spaghetti, cream sauce, salmon, spinach, and some black pepper.  
6. Serve with steamed asparagus and enjoy! 

Baked Chicken Penne Pasta

This was such a good dish, very sim­ple & yet every bite packed a full punch.  The best part is the crispiness on top!


Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
1 Table­spoon of Olive Oil
2 Zuc­chinis
1 Onion
3 Cloves of Gar­lic, crushed
4 Toma­toes
1 Tbs of dried basil
1/2 tsp of oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rose­mary
Penne Pasta
mozarella cheese

What you do:

1. Start brown­ing your chicken in the cast iron skil­let with olive oil.  As your chicken cooks, dice zuc­chini into small cubes and chop onions.
2. Once your chicken is cooked, shred it right in the skillet.
3. Now add in all your your veg­eta­bles except the toma­toes. Let all the other veg­eta­bles come together & soften for about 5 minutes.
4. THEN add your toma­toes includ­ing all the juice from the toma­toes. Mix every­thing together & then add in your all the sea­son­ing ingre­di­ents. Let every­thing sim­mer together for about 10 minutes.
5. While these items are com­ing together boil your pasta. Once your pasta is down boil­ing, drain it & pour it right into the skil­let.  Mix every­thing together.
6. Top with 1 cup of moz­zarella cheese or fresh moz­zarella slices & slide it under the broiler until the cheese browns. Brown the cheese as much as you like. It is much tastier the crispier it is!

recipe from here

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This recipe was pretty good. I didn't use enough cajun seasoning, so next time it will be even better!! This recipe feeds about 4 people.

Ingredients:

• Bowtie pasta
  

For the chicken:

• 1-2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Salt and pepper
• Cajun seasoning

For the sauce:

• butter & olive oil
• 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 green capsicum (bell pepper), seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped
• freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 T water
  

What you do:

1. To cook the chicken, heat a small amount of butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and a generous sprinkle of Cajun seasoning. Add to the skillet and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, return the skillet to medium heat and heat the butter and olive oil until the butter has melted.
   
4. Add the capsicums and onion to the pan. Mix in the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes.
   
5. Add the half-and-half and heavy cream to the pan and bring to a simmer.
   
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water, and add to the skillet once the cream mixture has started to bubble. Allow to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
7. When the sauce has thickened, add the cooked pasta and chicken pieces to the pan. Stir well to combine and cook at medium-low heat just until the chicken is warmed through.
8. Adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning if necessary to suit your tastes.
   
9. Serve immediately and top with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired.

I got the recipe and picture from browsing tastespotting.

Lasagna: simple, yet amazing!

This is a family recipe. I have tried to modify it in the past by adding spinach and/or other veggies, but nothing is as good as the original. Since veggies are good for you (you should be eating 5 servings per day!), please serve them on the side! This recipe easily feeds 3, possibly even 4 people. We have 2 small baking dishes, so I always make a gluten-free one with meat for Mark and a whole-wheat one without meat for me. The picture is of Mark's meat one.

Ingredients:

• Lasagna sheets (preferably organic whole wheat, or use gluten-free if you have Coeliac like Mark)
• ~ 400 g (14 oz) shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (please, no dried crap!)
  
• 500 g (~18 oz) Ricotta cheese (yes, you need this much for such a little lasagna!)
• Marinara sauce (you can use meat sauce if you must)
  

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F) and cook the pasta sheets if they aren't instant.
2. In a small (8 x 8 inches), square glass baking dish (if you want to use the large one, you need to double the recipe), spoon sauce in the bottom of the pan (to prevent the noodles from sticking)
3. Lay down one layer of noodles (if you are using the instant kind, be aware that these noodles will grow during the baking!)
4. Layer in this order: ricotta (a thick layer of this is best), mozzarella, parmesan cheeses
   
5. Spoon marinara sauce over the cheeses
6. Lay lasagna noodles on top of the marinara sauce
7. Spoon more marinara over the noodles and repeat until done (sauce, noodles, sauce, cheeses, sauce, noodles, sauce, cheeses, ....)
8. End with the cheese layer
9. Bake in hot oven for 40 mins or until bubbly (I like to cover with foil first and half way through remove the foil)

*note: you can freeze either before baking or after

Creamy Semi-Dried Tomato and Mushroom Pasta

This is one of my favourites! It's quick and easy, plus it's very good the next day for lunch! This recipe yields about 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts cut into strips (optional)
• ~ a heaping 1/2 cup of semi-dried tomatoes (like sun-dried tomatoes, but a bit softer)
• 3/4 of a jar of your favourite organic tomato sauce
• ~3/4 or 1 cup of heavy/thickened cream
• ~ 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• Organic whole-wheat penne pasta
  

What you do:

Cook the chicken any way you like. I think grilled would be best, but if you don't have a grill, then saute the chicken in a pan with butter and olive oil. Set aside.
Meanwhile...

1. Start the pasta water boiling.
   
2. Chop up the semi-dried tomatoes (or put in food processor) and saute in pan (same pan chicken was in).
3. Once the tomatoes are going, add sliced mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are soft
4. Add tomato sauce and cream (the sauce should be pink in colour).
   
5. By now the pasta water should be boiling. Add the pasta to the water.
6. Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer until pasta is ready
   
7. Drain the pasta and mix the sauce and pasta together really well so that the pasta is coated with the sauce.
8. Serve into bowls and top with a lot of freshly grated parmesan (none of that dried crap!)
9. Enjoy with some crusty bread!!