dinner for one

One of the few perks of having an prolonged-MIA hubs is not having to cook meals. My dinners usually consist of yogurt and grapes. Or tortillas and turkey. Or chips and clam dip. And lots of chocolate for dessert. But last night I was in the mood for some substance. I took inventory of the possibilities and made this. Perfect for one. Turned out delicious, if I do say so myself. Just adjust the ingredients for the desired serving.

Portobello Asparagus Pasta

Penne pasta
mini portobello mushrooms, sliced
asparagus tips
garlic
heavy whipping cream
basil
oregano

Boil the pasta and asparagus tips together, remove asparagus after about five min (don't want them to get too soggy).
In a saucepan, saute garlic and mushrooms in butter and olive oil. Add a splash of whipping cream.
Shake in some basil and oregano. Add asparagus. Simmer on low for a few minutes.

Drain pasta, add to sauce. Toss, salt and serve.

(Didn't have any, but a bit of parmesan on top would be delightful).

Adapted PW Three Cheese Stuffed Shells with Meaty Tomato Sauce

This is definitely a recent Staples favorite. I "accidentally" adapted the recipe since I thought I had certain ingredients on hand when I had none. However, it turned out oh-so-yummy and will continue with my adaptions.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces, weight Jumbo Pasta Shells {I used double the shells and ended up with maybe 1/4 of the shells left}
• 30 ounces, weight Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese {I used cottage cheese and neither of us really care for ricotta}
• 8 ounces, weight Parmesan Cheese, Grated, Divided
• ½ cups Grated Romano Cheese {I used a combo Parmesan/Romano that comes pre-grated in a tub}
• 1 whole Egg
• 12 leaves Basil, Chiffonade {couldn't find fresh basil so I used dried}
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley {doubled, maybe tripled this}
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ½ whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ pounds Italian Sausage
• ½ cups Red Wine {okay, Kody totally made fun of me because all we had was red wine VINEGAR so I used it. It was SOOO good}
• 1 whole 28 Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 whole 15-ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes {I thought I had both of these tomatoes on hand but nope, so I improvised and found this super tomato-ey salsa on our shelf. It was perfect and actually didn't end up tasting so tomato-ey (which neither of us like)}
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta shells for half the cooking time; make sure not to overcook. Drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add Italian sausage and brown, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Pour in red wine and let it cook for a minute or two.

Pour in cans of crushed tomatoes and stir. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check for seasonings; can add crushed red peppers if you like a little heat.

In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, half the Parmesan, Romano, egg, salt and pepper, basil, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Stir until combined.

To assemble, coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Fill each half-cooked shell with the cheese mixture. Place face down on the sauce. Repeat with shells until cheese mixture is gone. Top shells with remaining sauce. Sprinkle on extra Parmesan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with crusty French bread.

Yum! Yum! Yum! We will definitely be eating this one again and again.

Chicken/Turkey and pasta with peanut sauce

6 ounces fettuccine or linguine                 
2 cups fresh pea pods                                                       
1 cup turkey or chicken strips                                              
1 cup pineapple chunks                                                      
1 red pepper sliced                                                         
1/4 cup chicken broth                                                       
2 T creamy peanut butter                                                  
1 T soy sauce                                                             
1 T lime or lemon juice                                                   
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper                                                 
1 clove of garlic minced                                                    


Pre cook turkey or chicken any way you want. I just boiled mine.                                                                           Cook pasta according to package directions.                                                                                                            Place pea pods, chicken and red pepper in a large colander.  Pour hot cooking liquid from pasta over pea pods etc, in colander, drain.               
Return pasta mixture to hot pan.  Add pineapple.                                                                                                       For sauce, in a small saucepan stir chicken broth into peanut butter.                                                                             Heat and stir with a whisk until peanut butter melts.  Stir in soy sauce, lime juice, red pepper, and garlic; heat through. Add sauce to pasta mixture.  Gently stir to coat pasta with sauce.                                                    




Kody got this recipe from a co-worker. It was oh-so-delicious! I quadrupled the sauce because I used a little more pasta then what it called for. However, go easy on the crushed red pepper flakes as it adds a lot of spicy hot. I made the mistake of adding too much. Also, we didn't add the pineapple because neither of us really like 'warmed pineapple'. 

yummy simple tomato sauce

Apparently this recipe is all the rage on several foodie blogs. So I had to try it. It did not disappoint. If you are looking for a zesty marinara sauce this is not it, but if you want a simple, delicate, delicious tomato sauce...this is it!

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)*
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

I did use the San Marzano tomatoes that were suggested in the recipe just to try them but they were expensive...4 bucks at my grocery store...I think next time I'll just use a can of Hunts and see if it makes that big of a difference. Even Quinn liked this and he does not take kindly to change when it comes to his spaghetti.

GARLIC CHICKEN FARFALLE

I made this for Lacy and Dave when I went down a few weeks ago. I hadn't ever made it before but I have to say I found it to be really delicious. I found it one day whilst blog surfing, I wish I could remember where so I could give them credit. One note on the bacon. If you cook it on a cookie cooling rack it drains off most of the grease.

16 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt (I do a spoonful of crushed garlic)
1 Tbsp. pepper*
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumpled**
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

*Seems like a lot of pepper, but it has a wonderful flavor when everything mixes together. If you're apprehensive, do less pepper. You can always add more.

**We like to cook our bacon in the oven (400 degrees, convection). Way less messy. And it's crispy every time. Time varies, so you just have to watch it. I think it's usually around 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumple (I totally wear disposable gloves for this part - surprise, surprise).

[ directions ]

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart). Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Fried Pasta

My very first convert in the mission introduced me and my companion (the former Sister Harrison) to this divine dish. She cooked it for us one afternoon before our appointment. Mmm...I then introduced it to all of my companions and Sister Harrison did the same. Needless to say, it quickly made it's fame known around the mish. All sisters were chowing down on this delight. It's super quick and easy!

Bring a pot of water to a boil, water should taste salty. Cook your pasta (however much you want. I usually use 12-16oz.) While the pasta is being prepared...
Chop several cloves of garlic (depending on your garlic taste--I use about 4 cloves)
Slice several (about 5-7) sundried tomatoes. (You can use the kind that come in the jar with oil--not my favorite, or you can use the packaged kind--which I recommend)
 Sautee garlic and tomatoes in LOTS of olive oil (extra virgin). Be sure to not let them get brown, you just want them soft.

When the pasta is done, drain it and throw it into the same saucepan as the garlic and tomatoes. Cook until slightly crunchy.

Then add dried Basil, a thick layer on top, then mix.

Use a good slice of cream cheese or goats cheese in the pasta...Stir and let it coat the pasta.


And finally, grate some cheese (of your choice--I prefer mozzarella) on top and Viola! Prepare your taste buds!! Mmmm...