Mediterranean Pasta in Minutes

Over the holidays, I took a semi-cookcation and didn't do much cooking at all. I had made so many cookies, as you know... so I was ready for the break and more than willing to let my momma feed me! OOhhh baby you should have been there for her shrimp and grits too man, WOW.

But back at home I've been messing up my kitchen every day as usual. I became a huge fan of kalamata olives recently, and wanted to use them in a recipe, so I started searching and found the perfect one. This dish has many of my very favorite things: pasta, feta, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, cream, chicken, and oregano! All these things would make my "top 25 favorite foods" list for sure (hey maybe I should write that list...). Plus I'm likely to have most of these things already at home, which is always nice.

I found this recipe on foodtv.com, and it's been up for a few years and has hundreds of reviews and 5 stars. Also a good sign. I rely the reviews for tips, such as to reduce the amount of pasta and/or up the cream to make a nice sauce. I did both and found it to be necessary, as there is no sauce in your bowl because it's all soaked up by the pasta and chicken. These are strong flavors, so if I made this for company I'd probably leave out the chicken and serve it as a warm pasta side dish.

I didn't use the basil, which is yet another very strong flavor, but I think it would be good if you have it on hand. Rather than wasting the olive oil that the sun-dried tomatoes are packed it, I put some of it in at the end and it really made it good. Oh, and the jar of sun-dried tomatoes we got was 7oz, rather than 8 1/2, which of course is just fine (esp because they're not cheap). I also modified the recipe to use a block of feta and chop it into large chunks instead of pre-crumbled feta. I love getting a nice bite of it, but not having a little in every bite, sort of like it's cool to have the whole olives.
Mediterranean Pasta in Minutes
adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, sliced diagonally (omit to use as a side dish)
  
• 1 (8 1/2-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes, julienned (reserve oil)
• 2 tablespoons (at least!) garlic, minced
  
• 3/4 to 1 pound fresh angel hair pasta
• 1/4 cup fresh basil (optional)
  
• 1 (8 1/2-ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, quartered and drained (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted (1/4 pound)
• 6 ounce block feta cheese, diced
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Boil water for pasta in a pasta pot, fitted with a strainer. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken strips until no longer pink -- about 3 minutes each side. Add sun-dried tomatoes and garlic to skillet. Saute for 2 minutes. In the meantime, add the fresh pasta to boiling water, cook until al dente, about 5 minutes.

Now add the basil, artichoke hearts, olives and feta cheese to the skillet. Saute 1 minute then stir in the cream. Strain the pasta and transfer to a large pasta bowl; add the chicken saute to the pasta and toss (or add the pasta to the skillet to combine). Season with oregano, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of the sun-dried tomato oil before serving.

This is just before adding the cream.

Manicotti and Roasted Vegetables, and shortcuts

I had a cooking marathon last night, and one of the dishes I made was manicotti. I split the recipe between two dishes so we had some for dinner tonight and the second half is nestled in the freezer for another day. Later I'll post pics and recipes for the other things I made: a huge pot of soup and a pear and apple crisp. Those recipes make a ton of food, and we shared them with a family with a brand new baby.

On shortcuts: I am not 100% comfortable with taking shortcuts, but I'm trying to get used to it. What I'm talking about is that I want to make everything possible from scratch, and I don't like using a lot of store-bought products. It's not how my momma raised me, and now especially that I have a boy I'm reading labels and thinking Andy doesn't need to eat highfructosemonoglucosisreddye#12andwhoknowswhat!! But, it's life and there's really no avoiding it. Sometimes I struggle with just getting dinner on the table each night of the week because I make such a huge production of cooking, and it's not possible to do that every day. So I need to take help from the store sometimes and rely on shortcuts. I still try to get products that are closest to nature, or at least with less salt and sugar. And I do NOT EVER buy diet or non-fat versions of products that should have fat in them (like cheese - what is in non-fat cheese? I do not want to know!), or have the fat replaced by a huge amount of sugar, or the sugar replaced by some unnatural ingredient.

Wow that was really a rant, sorry! See I have some strong feelings about food! I could go on.......

But about my manicotti shortcut: I didn't make the sauce. It is very simple to make, but compare A) shopping for and heaving around, along with your one-year-old, a heavy bag of cans, produce, herbs, and spices (after looking to see what you already have in the cupboard), getting out the big pot, chopping the onions, etc, etc, etc, until you have sauce, OR B) buying one jar and opening the jar. Whenever I can help it, A does win, but B is pretty hard to resist sometimes when just cooking for the family!

I also took a shortcut, rather a convenience-cut, with the garlic bread - it's frozen. Tons of bad, unpronounceable ingredients, I know, but we didn't give the boy any! OK, finally, the recipes!
Manicotti
based on an America's Test Kitchen recipe (which, of course, does not use jarred sauce!)

3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 cups), divided
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, and chopped fine (optional)
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
16 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 1/2 jars spaghetti sauce

Combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, spinach, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and basil in medium bowl; set aside.

Pour 1 inch boiling water into 13 by 9-inch broiler safe baking dish, then add noodles one at a time. Let noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating noodles with tip of sharp knife to prevent sticking (don't skip this part!). Remove noodles from water and place in single layer on clean kitchen towels; discard water in baking dish and dry baking dish.

Spread bottom of baking dish evenly with 1 1/2 cups sauce. Using soup spoon, spread generous 1/4 cup cheese-spinach mixture evenly onto bottom three-quarters of each noodle (with short side facing you), leaving top quarter of noodle exposed. Roll into tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. Top evenly with remaining sauce, making certain that pasta is completely covered.

Cover manicotti with aluminum foil. Bake until bubbling, about 40 minutes, then remove foil. Remove baking dish, adjust oven rack to uppermost position (about 6 inches from heating element), and heat broiler. Sprinkle manicotti evenly with remaining 1 cup Parmesan. Broil until cheese is spotty brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Cool 15 minutes, then serve.

Roasted Vegetables
This is my all time favorite way to cook most vegetables, and I think they are even more nutritious this way than steaming them because nothing gets lost in the water.

Use (any combo of) broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, squash, zucchini, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, asparagus, or whatever you like!

Crank up the oven to the hottest temp, or turn on the broiler. Toss the vegetables on a sheet pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and throw them in the oven to roast for a few minutes. Especially if they are under the broiler they will burn fast, so don't walk away! Roasting should only take a few minutes, you'll just have to check to see when they're browned on the edges and tender on the inside (poke them with a knife to check). If you want to add spices, herbs, cheese, or garlic, add it close to the end or after cooking because it will burn.

Pasta with Croutons

This is a great recipe because it uses pantry only ingredients. The recipe calls for rigatoni pasta, but any big noodle will do (not a long noodle like spaghetti or linguini though). Today I used Simply Enjoy garlic & basil straccetti. (Yes, I said today, and it is before 10am. I totally had it for breakfast!) I also added some canned artichokes. I, obviously, like this dish anytime, but it's a great lunch or side dish for something like roast pork tenderloin.

Pasta with Croutons
based on a Giada De Laurentiis recipe

1 pound rigatoni, or other large pasta
3 cups flavored croutons (about 5 ounces)
1/4 cup slivered almonds (about 1 ounce), toasted
1 cup julienned roasted red bell peppers
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the croutons and the almonds in a food processor. Pulse until it becomes the texture of bread crumbs. Place this mixture in a large bowl with the roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain, and add it to the bowl with the other ingredients. Toss together and add the olive oil.