Vegetarian Pasta Carbonara

I know this may sound a little weird, since bacon is one of the main ingredients in pasta carbonara. But I was making it for Ace last week to use up some pancetta I had in my refrigerator, so I decided to try to make a vegetarian version for myself using veggie bacon. It was awesome! I was pleasantly surprised to find that the veggie bacon added enough of a salty, smoky flavor that it really tasted similar to traditional carbonara. I also added onions, which I don't believe are traditional in this recipe, but added a nice extra layer of flavor. This is still a pretty unhealthy meal, but taking out all the bacon fat has to help, right?




Olive Oil - 3 turns around the pan
Butter - a generous pat, maybe a tablespoon
Spaghetti - 1 pound, cooked to al dente
Yellow or White Onion - 1/4, diced
Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves, chopped
Veggie Bacon - 6 strips, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used MorningStar brand)
Parmesan Cheese - Grated, a handful
Parsley - chopped, a small handful
Eggs - 2, beaten
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt and Pepper


Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, saute 2 to 3 minutes more. Add veggie bacon, saute until cooked through, about 5 more minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add pasta, toss to coat with bacon, onions, garlic, and oil. Add eggs, toss until pasta is coated, being careful not to let eggs scramble. Add cheese, red pepper, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss and serve. Serves 4.


Note - Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that leftovers don't reheat well. The eggs make them kind of chewy. You'll be better off just stuffing yourself the night you make it and eating it all.

Valentine's Day Pancakes

Pancakes are one of the easiest breakfasts you can make (besides cereal and milk, I guess), but for some reason the people you make them for seem to appreciate them like you've slaved over them all morning. This morning, I tried to be cute for Valentine's Day, so I added white chocolate and strawberries. It was like dessert for breakfast, and the bf loved it!

One Batch Prepared Pancake Mix*

White Chocolate Chips - 1 cup

Dried Cranberries - 1 cup

Strawberries - large, about four; two quartered and two cut into fans**

Butter, Maple Syrup, Cocoa Powder

Preheat a griddle or skillet to medium high heat (about 375 degrees, if using a griddle). Add chocolate chips and cranberries to pancake batter. Melt a little butter or lightly spray oil onto the griddle or skillet to make sure the pancakes won't stick. Using a 1/4 cup measure, pour pancake batter onto griddle or skillet; this should make small - medium sized pancakes. Once pancakes begin to make bubbles that don't close and edges look dry (probably 5 min at most), flip with a spatula. Allow to cook for one minute more. Arrange on plate with strawberries, serve with butter and maple syrup and cocoa powder for dusting.

*I've tried making pancakes from scratch several times, and unfortunately they never seem to turn out quite as tasty as when I make them with pancake mix. If you're better than I am at making pancake batter, by all means, make them from scratch! If not, there are a lot of good pancake mixes out there (you don't have to use Bisquick!). Whole Foods sells a store-brand whole wheat pancake mix that's cheap and tastes great.

**To make strawberry fans - cut two large strawberries into thin sections lengthwise, leaving the sections connected at the top near the leaves. Spread the sections gently into a fan, being careful that they don't come apart.

Veggie "Chicken" Noodle Soup

Here's another of my recent soup creations. This one mimics chicken soup surprisingly well. The first time I made it, I added the noodles uncooked and they kind of came apart in the soup and made it really thick (more of a stew than a soup). I didn't really mind the consistency, but if you're looking for something more like traditional chicken soup, add the noodles cooked to al dente a few minutes before you're ready to serve.

Extra Firm Tofu* - One 14 oz package, cut into approx 1 inch cubes

Olive Oil - Three turns around the pan

Yellow Onion - One, diced

Celery - Three to four ribs, chopped

Carrots - Three to four, peeled and sliced

Garlic - Two to three cloves, finely chopped

Vegetable Broth - Three containers (96 oz)

Poultry Seasoning - Two tsp (use fresh if you can find it, if not, dried is okay)

Egg Noodles - One 16 oz pkg, cooked to al dente

Salt and Pepper - to taste (I needed to add a decent amount of salt to make it taste right to me)

*Coat tofu with soy sauce, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook two to three minutes more. Turn heat to medium low and add broth. Add poulty seasoning. Simmer at least thirty minutes. Add tofu and noodles, season with salt and pepper. Serves at least six.

*Note - leftovers may need to be reconstituted with 1-2 cups water or broth.

Baked Ziti

I confess that this baked ziti recipe is pretty far from being healthy**...but it's really good! This is one of those dishes that come out looking impressive with minimal work. It's great to make for a crowd because it's cheap and easy to make a lot of, plus everyone will love it. Who doesn't love cheesy pasta, after all?

Pasta - 1 lb, any shortcut variety, cooked to al dente

Crushed Tomatoes - One 28 oz can

Olive Oil

Onion - white or yellow, 1/2 chopped

Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves, chopped

Basil - fresh, handful julienned (cut into small strips)

Ricotta Cheese - One 16 oz container

Egg - 1*

Mozzarella Cheese - 1 cup, shredded

Dried Oregano - 1 tbsp

Crushed Red Pepper - 1 tsp

Garlic Powder - 1 tsp

Salt and Pepper - to taste

*I know it sounds a little wierd to add an egg, but you'll find that it will bind the dish together nicely. Without the egg, it can be a little messy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cover the bottom of a medium saucepan with olive oil (set to medium low heat). Add onion, saute until tender. Add garlic, then tomatoes and basil. Simmer for a few minutes to combine flavors. Add ricotta cheese, stir until combined. Season with oregano, red pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Empty pasta into a large casserole (or any oven safe dish). Add sauce and egg. Stir to combine. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 25 min, or until it begins to bubble and cheese melts and browns slightly. Serves 4 - 6. I like to serve/eat this ziti with a tossed salad, garlic bread, and whatever red wine I have in the house.

**To keep this from being absolutely horrible for me, I use whole wheat pasta and low fat cheese. I think that it still tastes rich enough that I don't mind the switch.

Nachos

Nachos are one of Ace's favorite football foods. He asked me to make them tonight to eat while we were drinking beer and watching Virginia Tech play Georgia Tech. Unfortunately, the Hokies lost to the Yellow Jackets 28 - 23, but at least the nachos were good.

Black Beans - 1 15 oz can, drained

Yellow Onion - 1/4 of a medium onion, chopped

Garlic - 1 clove, chopped

Olive Oil - 3 turns around the pan

Cumin - 1/4 tsp

Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt and Pepper - to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat in saute pan. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add beans and garlic. Saute for approximately 10 minutes, until liquid from beans is evaporated and mixture begins to thicken (mash beans a bit with a wooden spoon as you are cooking them). Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and keep warm.

Avocado - 1, chopped

Lime Juice - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Place in medium bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside.

Preheat broiler to high.

Tortilla Chips - 1/2 bag

Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup, grated

Salsa - 3-4 big spoonfuls

Pickled Jalapenos

Black Olives

Sour Cream - 3 big spoonfuls

Cover a cookie sheet with tortilla chips. Top chips with bean mixture, jalapenos, olives, salsa, and cheese. Broil until cheese is melted. Top with guacamole and sour cream. Serves 4+. If you're classy, scoop the nachos off of the cookie sheet with a spatula and place them on a platter to serve. If you're like me, make your man eat them off the cookie sheet.

Note: Be careful not to burn the chips under the broiler. I'm horrible about this, and usually burn everything that I attempt to broil. As you can see in the picture above, I completely burned the nachos tonight - I actually set off the fire alarm. Peek at the chips every minute or so to be sure not to repeat my mistake. They should only stay under the broiler for a few minutes, tops.

Mushroom Risotto

I love to make risottos, because it makes me feel like such a chef. They're actually not very difficult. They can be a bit time consuming, but basically, if you can stand in the kitchen and stir rice around in a pan, you can make risotto.

Mushrooms - 2 packages (I used cremini and shitake), cleaned, stemmed, and chopped

Olive Oil - 3 turns around the pan

Garlic - 2 large cloves, chopped

Arborio Rice* - 1 cup

White Wine - 2 cups of whatever you have in the fridge

Hot Water - 2 cups

Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup, grated

Fresh Thyme - 2 to 3 sprigs, leaved removed from stems

Black Truffle Oil** - 1 to 2 tsp (optional)

Salt and Pepper - to taste

*You can almost always find arborio rice in your grocery store in the aisle with all the other rice. I've never tried to make risotto with any other kind of rice, but my understanding is that you need the starch from the arborio rice to give the risotto its texture. The starch will release as you're stirring and give the risotto a wonderful creamy texture.

**I recently found a small bottle of truffle oil in the aisle with the olive oil at Wegman's. It was a little expensive, but worth the investment. If you've never tasted a truffle before, you haven't lived! Adding truffle oil to your recipes will add a strong, rich, almost buttery flavor that I bet you'll love.

Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add rice and garlic and saute until rice is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add more oil if necessary to keep rice from sticking. Add 1 cup of wine. Simmer, stirring constantly, until wine is absorbed. Repeat with second cup of wine, and then water, one cup at a time. Add thyme, cheese, and truffle oil, if using. Taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes more to combine flavors and melt cheese. Serves 4.

I served this risotto with a side salad of arugula tossed in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Five Ingredient Dinner – Baby Broccolini and Butternut Squash with Quinoa

3 cloves garlic
½ red onion
½ lb baby broccolini
½ cup quinoa
1 handful cubed, frozen butternut squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)


First, I chopped garlic and cut red onion into chunks. I put a pot of water on the stove to boil (high heat) while I washed and trimmed the ends off the broccolini. When the water came to a boil, I salted it and dropped in the broccolini. I let the broccolini cook for 5 minutes, drained, and placed in a bowl of ice water to cool off quickly.


In the same pot I just drained (and rinsed out), I added a cup of water to bring back to a boil. Once it came to a boil, I added ½ cup of quinoa. I put the lid back on and reduced to simmer, letting the quinoa cook 10-12 minutes until all liquid was absorbed.


While quinoa cooked, I put olive oil in a sautee pan and added chopped onions and garlic. These cooked 4-5 minutes until softened, then I added cooked, cooled broccolini and defrosted, cubed butternut squash (to defrost the squash, I just microwaved for a minute). Make sure to dry excess water off broccolini or the oil might splatter. I stirred all the vegetables together, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
















To put it together, I topped the cooked quinoa with the veggie mixture.
(Serves one hungry girl - if you have a more petite appetite, you might have leftovers)

Quick Lunch - Spinach Wrap

To make this wrap, I sliced about half of a white onion and sautéed it with two cloves of chopped garlic over medium heat and seasoned with salt and pepper. Once the onions began to soften, I added fresh baby spinach. I kept adding spinach as it wilted until I had enough to fill a tortilla (about 3 big handfuls). I also added crushed red pepper flakes at this point. Last, I put all the cooked vegetables in a tortilla (I used whole wheat) and topped with parmesan cheese. Delicious and super easy.