Baked Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Pasta with Bacon

What do you get when you combine pasta with bacon + goat cheese + pumpkin?  Perfect winter comfort food at it's best!  This dish was so good and best of all, it was a cinch to make. 

*Recipe adapted from the September / October issue of Taste of Home Magazine

Ingredients:

- 1 lb. pasta (I used cavatappi)

- 4 Tbsp. butter

- 1 Tbsp. olive oil

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 shallots, minced

- 2 cups heavy whipping cream

- 1 cup milk (I used skim)

- 4 oz. crumbled goat cheese

- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin

- 1/2 tsp. ground pepper

- 2 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped

Toppings:

- 12 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled

- 2 oz. crumbled goat cheese

- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package instructions.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and shallots and cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes.  Add the next six ingredients.  Reduce heat to low.  Cook, stirring constantly, until reduced, 6-8 minutes.  Add sage and remove from heat.

3.  Drain pasta and stir into sauce until combioned.  Transfer mixture to a baking dish.  Top with bacon, goat cheese, and Parmesan.  Bake, covered, for 15 minutes.  Remove cover and bake for 5 minutes more or until cheeses are melted.

Enjoy!

  

I really liked this one - It's been added to the regular pasta rotation list!

Spaghetti with Lemon & Olive Oil

Lemon in pasta always reminds me of my visits to the Island of Capri and the Amalfi Coast in Italy, where lemons are as big as grapefruit and lemon is the most popular flavor in everything (Hello, limoncello).

{Beautiful Capri}

What I loved about this pasta is the simplicity of it - It's so quick and easy to make and only requires a few ingredients.

(Recipe from Smitten Kitchen; find original here)

Ingredients:

- 1 pound linguine or spaghetti 

- 3 lemons

- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for garnish

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish

- Black pepper & salt to taste

- large handful of fresh basil, shredded

Directions:

1.  Cook pasta in large pot until cooked al dente.

2.  While pasta is cooking, zest lemons until you have about a tablespoon.  Next, juice lemons (I put mine in the microwave for about 30 seconds before juicing to get more juice).  You should have around 1/3 to 1/2 cup of juice.

3.  Drain pasta and reserve 1-1/2 cups pasta water.  Keep pasta in colander and in the pot you used to cook pasta, boil olive oil, cream, zest, and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water for two minutes over high heat.  Return pasta to pot and stir until coated.  Add the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of lemon juice.  Toss, and toss, and toss until cheese is melted and juice incorporated.  Add more pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time if your pasta is too dry.  Taste pasta and add more lemon juice if desired.  Stir in basil (reserving some for garnish).  Season with salt & pepper.

4.  Serve immediately.  Garnish with a splash of olive oil, remaining Parmesan, and basil.  Enjoy!

Summer Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad

Did you all have a good summer?  I can't believe it's over and we are nearing the start of fall!  Why does summer always go by so quickly?

I've really been loving all of the sweet corn this year.  I made this easy corn salad for a picnic on the beach and it was delicious.  We ate it as a side with tortilla chips, but it would make a great main meal if you added grilled chicken breast or shrimp.

Recipe adapted from Live Eat Learn.

Dressing Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of plain Green yogurt
- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin

Salad Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups fresh corn (approx 3-4 ears of corn)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup canned mild green chilies
- 1/4 cup packed chopped cilantro
- Avocado, cubed
- 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese

Directions:
1.  Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.
2.  Heat oil and garlic over medium heat.  Add corn and cook about 10-15 minutes or until corn is tender and slightly browned.  You could also use frozen corn for this - thaw and cook until slightly browned and slightly charred.  Toss in lime juice and salt.
3.  In a large bowl, combine beans, pepper, onion, chilies, cilantro, and corn.
4.  To serve, top with avocado and cheese.  Drizzle desired amount of dressing over top (you may have some leftover).  Garnish with sliced limes and additional cilantro, if desired.  Enjoy!

One Pot Thai Pasta Bowl

If you like Thai - you will love this dish!  And, it couldn't be simpler.  It's a one pot meal - place all the ingredients together in one pot, cook for 10 minutes, and enjoy.  It's doesn't get much easier than that!  I made this on a Friday night after a long week at work, and it was perfect.

(Recipe adapted from this one at Your Cup of Cake)

One Pot Thai Pasta Bowl

- 12 oz. pasta (spaghetti or linguine; uncooked)

- 4 cups vegetable stock or broth

- 1/2 cup water

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 2" section of ginger root; cut into 1/2" long pieces

- 1 large carrot, sliced into 2" long slices

- 1 red bell pepper; sliced into 2" long slices

- 6 green onions; sliced lengthwise and into 2" long pieces

- 1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts, plus additional for garnish

- 2 tablespoons peanut butter (creamy)

- 1 tablespoon soy sauce

- 1 tablespoon red curry paste (I found this in a tiny jar in the Asian section of my grocery store)

- Juice of 1 lime

- Lime wedges, for garnish

- Fresh cilantro, for garnish

1.  Add all ingredients (except for lime juice, lime wedges, and cilantro) to a medium size stock pot.  Place on stove and bring to a boil over medium / high heat.  Reduce heat to medium / low, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  If all of liquid is not yet absorbed, cover and let sit, about 5 minutes.  Remove ginger pieces and discard.  Stir in lime juice.

2.  Dish out pasta and top with chopped peanuts, lime wedges, and chopped cilantro for garnish.  Enjoy!

I really loved this dish - I'm putting it on my regular meal rotation list.

Weekend Kitchen: Fresh Tomato Pie

I'm calling this the Summer of the Tomato.  My nine tomato plants are going strong and have produced an amazing amount of fruit the last month or so.  I've been planning my meals around the tomatoes!  Not that I'm complaining.  This tomato pie was easy, delicious, and a fantastic way to use up 2.5 lbs of tomatoes!

Does anyone know what variety this heirloom is?  It was labeled as 'Green Zebra' when I bought the little plant.  Clearly, it's not!  It's delicious and I'd love to know what it is so I can plant it again next year.

(Recipe adapted from one by Southern Boy Dishes

Fresh Tomato Pie

- 2.5 pounds of tomatoes (use any combination you'd like!)

- 3/4 cup chopped sweet onion

- 1-3/4 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

- 1/2 cup Parmesan, grated

- 3/4 mayonnaise

- 1/4 cup basil, chiffonade; packed tightly; plus additional for garnish

- 1 teaspoon dried thyme

- salt & pepper

- 1 egg, lightly beaten

- 1 recipe pie crust (I used my old standby from Smitten Kitchen)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare pie crust and place in refrigerator until ready to use.  You can do this the day before, if you'd like.

2.  Cut the tomatoes into 1/4 thick slices.  Place in a single layer on paper towels to remove excess moisture while you prepare the mayo mixture.

3.  In a small bowl, combine cheeses, mayo, basil, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and egg.

4.  Remove pie dough from the refrigerator, and roll out to a round shape to fit in your pie plate.  Place dough in pie plate.

5.  Evenly spread onions on top of pie dough.  Top onion with 1/3 of the mayo mixture. Layer half of tomatoes on top of the mayo mixture.  Repeat with another layer of the mayo mixture and tomatoes, reserving enough tomatoes for the top layer.  Spread out remainder of mayo mixture.  Lay out  last layer of tomatoes on top, overlapping slightly.

6.  Bake in oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until crust is slightly browned and tomatoes are bubbling.  You may want to place your pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet for baking so that the juices don't run down into the oven.

7.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.  Top with additional basil, if desired, before serving.

Darn, this was good.  Summer in a pie.

On another note, can you believe it's September?  I'm in denial, I think.  Luckily, we are in for a week of hot, summer temps, so I won't complain too much!

How to Freeze Tomatoes - The Easy Way!

I planted 9 tomato plants this year in my new raised beds, and boy, they are all going crazy! (I post lots of pictures from my garden on Instagram, if you'd like to see, click here)   Last week it seemed as though all the full size tomatoes were ready for picking...all at once.  I was going out of town for a few days and knew I wouldn't be able to use the tomatoes up before I left, so I decided to freeze them for use later in the year.  It was quick and easy, and I know I will be happy to have these in the freezer this winter.

 How to Freeze Tomatoes:

1.  Fill a large pot of with water and heat to a boil.  Depending on how many tomatoes you have, you may find it best to start two pots.

2.  Use a paring knife to slice a "x" in the bottom of each tomato, then, core each tomato.

3.  When water is boiling, drop in tomatoes.  6-8 tomatoes at once is good, depending on their size.  Boil tomatoes for 3-7 minutes.  You will know when they are done by looking at the skin - if the skin has stared to peel and is shriveled, they are ready to remove from the water.  Remove and place in bowls.  Depending on how many tomatoes you have, you may need to repeat this process.

4.  Tomatoes will be very hot, so let them cool until you can handle them.  Using your hands, pull the skin away from the tomato; discard skin.  Use a knife to roughly chop up the tomatoes.  You may find it easiest to chop the tomatoes right in the bowl - that way, you won't lose any of the juices.  Using a ladle, place tomatoes and juices in quart size freezer bags.  Carefully remove as much air as you can before sealing the bags.  Place in freezer and start thinking of ways to use these this winter!

One night's harvest in the garden resulted in 4 quart bags of tomatoes!  I seem to make recipes calling for canned tomatoes quite often, so I know these will come in handy this winter. 

I'm off to pick more tomatoes from the garden!

One Pot Pasta with Basil & Cherry Tomatoes

 

These days, I'm pretty much surviving on tomatoes and basil.  Seriously.  My garden is bursting with both and it's fantastic.  I had a bunch of cherry tomatoes to use and was excited to come across this recipe - a delicious way to use a good 3 cups of them! 

 

One Pot Pasta with Basil & Cherry Tomatoes

- 3 to 3-1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes

- 1 medium onion, sliced thin

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- large handful of basil leaves, torn or cut into small pieces

- 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

- 12 oz. of pasta

- 4-1/4 cups water

- fresh Parmesan cheese, grated, for topping

 

Add all ingredients to a large stock pot.  Heat on stove until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes or until pasta tastes done, tossing often with tongs.  Even if all of the water is not absorbed, remove from heat, cover and let additional liquid absorb.  Dish out and top with Parmesan.  Enjoy!

 

{ Original recipe is from Martha Stewart - I found it here at Barefeet in the Kitchen }

 

 

This pasta is surprisingly creamy for not having any type of cream in it.  The tomatoes cook down and create a delicious sauce and flavor.  And really, does it get much easier than one pot?