Posts Tagged ‘pasta’
Pesto Crab Pepper Spaghetti Squash
January 11th, 2013 | 
Author: Now I’ve made it before (Spaghetti Squash in a vegetable mornay sauce) and Mr. Fantabulous, while really miffed that I made a ‘mock’ pasta still inhaled it. Apparently I committed an affront to the Italian heritage. I had Nona’s chasing me with rolling pins and the familigia ready to have a hit put out on me … lol Nah, but I had to promise to never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never + infinity make him this and serve *his* Italian gravy on it. That would be sacrilegious and I could potentially end up swimming with the fishes.
Since I’ve been on this like unreal Pesto kick lately I’ve been incorporating it into a ton of dishes. Here’s one of the latest… It’s super yummy, simple to make and a great way to incorporate vegetables into your meals.
Seriously isn’t it just “pretty”?! It’s all Christmasy-like with the red, green and white. LOL
However you put it on, it just is so visually appealing. If you wanted, you could easily add in shrimp too, to this! Maybe some roasted garlic as well. Mmmm.. that sounds scrumptious!
| Pesto Crab Pepper Spaghetti Squash |
- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- 1/4-1/2 cup Pesto
- , warmed
- 1-2 cups crab meat
- 2 roasted red peppers, roughly cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1 Tbl garlic minced
- 2 Tbl butter
- 4 Tbl olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cracked pepper
- 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes *optional
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Pierce the squash all around and microwave for 14 minutes, depending on your microwave wattage and the size of your squash. About 1/2 way through roll it over and continue cooking.
- In a large skillet, melt butter and 2 Tbl oil at medium high heat.
- Add onion and cook till translucent.
- Add in the peppers & garlic and stir.
- Cook for 2 minutes then add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Add in the crab and combine well, reduce heat to low.
- Cut open squash (watch it’s hot!) and remove seeds.
- Using a fork simply ‘shred’ the squash’s innards and it will look like spaghetti noodles.
- Transfer shreddings to a plate and drizzle the remaning olive oil on top.
- Add your crab pepper mixture then spoon the pesto on top (you can drizzle, dollop or plop it on).
- Add the cheese while the mixture is warm, then serve.
You could easily add shrimp in this, perhaps roasted garlic and drizzle with a bit of lemon juice too to really brighten up the dish.
Posted in Main Dishes, Recipes, Seafood, Vegetable | 
Tags: pasta, Pesto Crab Pepper Spaghetti Squash, seafood squash, shrimp | 
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Lasagna Roll Ups
So for Christmas Mr. Fantabulous initially said he wanted a ham..
… that then turned into a turkey.
… that, thankfully, turned into beef wellington.
… however Mr. Fantabulous then remembered he’s not a big ‘roast’ fan
… which, literally, the DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS turned into Lasagna.
Now lasagna is super simple. Noodles, sauce, cheese. I think the hardest part is handling the hot noodles when you layer it.
HOWEVER… yes, there’s ALWAYS a however in my kitchen. This cannot be any simple lasagna. OH NO.. it has to be at least 10 layers. Okay I’m not sure if you can have ever really taken a count of how many layers you get in a standard 9×13″ pan. You’re lucky at *maybe* 5. Yeah… 5! And he wants at least 10! Well the only pan I have that can hold that is 15″x18″ and when filled literally weighs over 30 pounds. No really… a 30 pound pan of lasagna for 2 people!
But enough about that for now.
When it comes to lasagna and the umpteen layers he requires I’m not a big fan. Don’t get me wrong as my lasagna is amazing and would make even the Italian-est of Grandma’s proud however I am not a big fan of the whole stuff a bajillion layers of noodles with cheese and sauce. To me that’s just too heavy. So after I made his 12-layered lasagna (yes, 12 honkin’ layers) I had about 8 or so leftover cooked lasagna noodles for me. Now I could have gone the route and made a smaller dish size however I wanted simple. I ended up making Lasagna Roll ups. These, to me, are the perfect way to have your lasagna without having all the carbs from the noodles. Plus I think this way you get a better distribution and equalness of cheese and sauce to noodle ratio. So I whipped up a small batch of fill and got to rolling.
For me these are perfect though I did get the how dare you look for straying away from the ‘Italian-way’ from my beloved. I’ve been making these for years for parties and get-togethers. They are perfectly sized and easy to handle. You don’t have to worry about your layers flopping over or the middle layers drying out. Just picture how awesome these would be for the big game or your next poker night!
Now some of you may ask “OMG! TKW are you really giving us your lasagna recipe???“ Sorry folks but no, this isn’t my signature one. That’s coveted and one of my prized recipes. This, however, is one that I created specifically for you all. It’s really, really good though. If you never had my personal one you’d honestly think this is the best lasagna out there. But trust me, when I open my bistro you are going to flip out over my own personal recipe.
| Lasagna Roll Ups |
- 12-16 uncooked lasagna noodles
- 12 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
- 1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded (reserved for end)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese plus an additional 2 Tbl reserved for end
- 1 Tbl parsley Flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups Italian Gravy or Simple Italian Marinara
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.
- Cook the lasagna noodles for 8 minutes (just slightly al dente).
- Set aside to drain.
- While the lasagna is draining, mix the ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, parsley and pepper. Combine well.
- Ladle 1 cup of marinara sauce into the bottom of a ceramic or glass pan. Spread the sauce around. You want about a 1/2-3/4” thick layer.
- Lay out a noodle and spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture on top.
- Add a thin layer of marinara sauce next.
- Starting at the end closest to you, roll the noodle up and place seam side down in the pan.
- Repeat for the other noodles.
- Take the remaining sauce and drizzle over top of the shells.
- Cover with foil and set the pan on a cookie sheet before you put it into the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil.
- Top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Put it back into the oven uncovered for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Garnish with fresh oregano.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes then serve.
Now if you wanted you could easily add in 1 cup of thawed, WELL DRAINED, spinach to the cheese mixture and make Florentine Lasagna Roll Ups.
You could add thinly diced cooked breaded chicken breasts and make Chicken Parmesan Lasagna Roll Ups.
Oh and to all you Italian Grandmothers out there… see! I keep the tradition alive…. 30 pound pans at a time! Andiamo a mangiare!
Posted in Appetizers, Italian & Pasta, Main Dishes, Recipes, Side Dishes |
Tags: appetizers, Game Foods, Italian Food, Lasagna Roll Ups, marinara, party food, pasta |
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Butternut Squash Chicken Pasta Bake
Now we’re talking that kind of ‘dirty’ love where you feel so guilty about it. You want to tell the world but you keep your mouth closed. That kind of sinful food where you want to plate a big dish of it, go sit in the back of your closet, behind the golf clubs, lights off and eat it all by yourself. And to take it one step further.. you’re gonna do it.. lick the plate clean. Yeah, it’s THAT good!
As I’m making this I had already made Mr. Fantabulous dinner. He had a full belly and went about his merry way. Well as I was pulling this out of the oven I hear *”sniff sniff sniiiiiiiiiiiiiifffffffffffffff. Oh honey, what is that? That smells really good! Can I have some???” Now remember what I just said… he already had a full dinner. Literally like 35 minutes ago. I made the raised eyebrow look and said “Um yeah, sure but aren’t you full? You just ate!” “Oh that was just a prequel to dinner. This is the REAL dinner!”. OMG.. I would KILL for that man’s metabolism! So I give him a small plate (yeah I got the evil eye for giving him a ‘small plate’) and waited (actually I think I held my breath waiting for his reaction – I tend to do that a lot actually). He takes a bite, makes a face.. takes another bite and makes another face. He looks up at me with a puzzled look. “This is kinda like your mac ‘n cheese but not. It’s different. This is really, REALLY good honey. Wow, it’s so creamy! What is it?” So I proceed to give him the lowdown of ingredients (to which he just hears me as Charlie Brown’s teacher “Waa, waa, waa, waa, wahhhhhhhhh..”). At this point his eyes glaze over and he just looks up at me, back down at his plate, back up at me, back down at his plate and then gave me the ‘HEY I’M REALLY LOOKING AT YOU AND MY PLATE LADY.. WHAT’S MISSING HERE??? DUH IT’S EMPTY!” Well when I finally told him it had butternut squash in it he was pretty stoked then says out of the blue (as he’s finishing his 2nd plate of his 2nd dinner) “Do I like butternut squash??”
Good lord.. that man is going to drive me batty!
With winter squash at it’s peak now I HIGHLY recommend this! This is a great pot luck dinner OR OR OR if you have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, you can most certainly use that in lieu of chicken!
Now go make you some!
Now if you wanted to be evil and make it truly devlish.. add bacon!
If you wanted you could easily go all veggie but omitting the chicken (and bacon) and maybe adding in some broccoli, cauliflower and cooked Brussels sprouts.
| Butternut Squash Chicken Pasta Bake |
- 1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Tbl olive oil
- 1 lb cavatappi noodles, cooked
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbl flour
- 2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup gruyere
- 1/4 cup fontina
- 1-2 Tsp fresh basil, chopped
- Salt & pepper to taste
- *optional – 4-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Mix the butternut squash in a bowl with the 1 Tbl olive oil, ½ tsp salt and pepper.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Roast for about an hour or until the squash is extremely tender.
- Place in a bowl and mash thoroughly.
- While the squash is cooking, season the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt & pepper on each side.
- Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
- Add in 1 Tbl olive oil.
- Add the chicken and cook 7-8 minutes per side (depending on the thickness) or until a thermometer reads 165F.
- Set the chicken aside on a plate to rest.
- In the same pan the chicken was cooked in, add the butter and shallots.
- Cook on low for a few minutes or until the shallots are translucent.
- Add in the flour whisking for 1-2 minutes. You want the flour to cook and get almost a slight ‘nutty’ smell.
- Add in the milk and squash whisking until thoroughly combined.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- While the squash mixture is cooking slice up the chicken in 1/4” pieces.
- Add in the basil, chicken and half of the cheeses.
- Stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick, add 1/4 more milk.
- Add in the noodles and mix to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a casserole dish.
- Top with the remaining cheeses.
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the top is slightly browned.
- To kick it up a notch, top with crumbled bacon.
Posted in Chicken, Italian & Pasta, Main Dishes, Recipes, Side Dishes, Turkey, Vegetable |
Tags: bake, butternut squash, casserole, chicken, comfort food, pasta, potluck, turkey leftover idea |
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Spicy Shrimp in a white wine marinara sauce
Mr. Fantabulous got hurt pretty bad working out and now we’re waiting to hear if he has to have surgery or not.
Waiting sucks…
Seeing the one you love the mostest in pain sucks…
Knowing you can’t kiss it and make it better or take the pain away sucks the most
*sigh*
The only thing I could do was make him something yummy to at least give his tummy comfort.
Tonight I made him some spicy (yes it’s spicy) shrimp in a white wine marinara sauce over angel hair. It has all of his favorite components – pasta, my Italian gravy and seafood.
Now this definitely is spicy but it’s not so hot that all you get is heat with no flavor. This is really well balanced by the sweetness of the wine and the hotness of the peppers.
My honey was thrilled with this and for a few moments while he was eating, he smiled and seemed to forget about the pain of his injury.
| Spicy Shrimp in a white wine marinara sauce |
- 8 ounces of angel hair pasta
- 1 Tbl garlic, minced
- 1 red or orange pepper, seeded, sliced lengthways and then into 1/2” strips
- 1-2 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes *Can add more or less per your hotness factor
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1 cup
- Marinara Sauce
- 1/2 pound jumbo peeled and deveined tail-on shrimp (about 12-15 pieces)
- Prepare pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a skillet over medium heat add the olive oil.
- Add the peppers and sauté for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add in the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute stirring as to not burn the garlic.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the white wine.
- Return to the heat and stir to mix.
- After 1-2 minutes add in the marinara sauce and stir well to combine.
- By this time the pasta should be done. Drain and allow to rest in the colander while you cook the shrimp.
- Add the shrimp to the sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are opaque.
- Plate the pasta then add the sauce and shrimp on top.
Now if you’ll pardon me, I want to go take care of my baby…
Posted in Italian & Pasta, Recipes, Seafood |
Tags: Angel Hair, italian, marinara, pasta, seafood, shrimp, Spicy, Wine |
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Giving Props and Italian Stuffed Shells
Ya know, I have to give props to Mr. Fantabulous. With my having surgery last week he has been taking unbelievable care of me. Now for those that know me personally, I’ll fill you in on a little secret – I’m a tad stubborn. Okay fine, I’m a lot stubborn when it comes to me being taken care of. Which is ironic considering I’m a Princess *wink* No seriously, I just am not one to let people wait on me or admit that I need help. Well this past week I had to let go and let him help me. I let him baby me and coddle me and just pamper me. Wanna know another secret… I kinda liked it! *SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!* I know.. hard to believe, right! LOL So to my darling husband, thank you baby… I puffy heart you 
Therefore, with my being down and out for a week, Mr. Fantabulous had to fend for himself. Now trust me, even if I was held up for like a year the man would not starve due to the magnitude of food in this house. We’re talking full-blown meals in the freezers (yes multiple) – stuffed cabbage, peppers, sausage & peppers, breads, meats, etc… Not to mention the 25+ quarts of Italian Gravy I must have on hand at all time. And tuna.. cannot forget about tuna. Now wouldn’t you think that with having all that variety in the house you’d be set?! Apparently not… the man I swear lived on yogurt, peanut butter, tuna and protein bars.
Since I was feeling a tad better I decided to venture out to the kitchen and make him a real meal while he was working. As you all know his favorite thing in the world is pasta. The man eats it every day, though apparently not when I have surgery. Knowing this, I knew he had to be going through withdrawal. I was going to make lasagna but then I realized I was out (*mental note – add to shopping list*). Fortunately I spied half a box of stuffed shells. Awesome! I haven’t made him those in eons.
Stuffed shells, like lasagna, are super simple. I honestly think the hardest part out of all of it is boiling the noodles. Yeah I know they make those no-boil noodles but they are gross. They have an odd texture and flavor. What I like about these 2 dishes most is that they feed a large group, or Mr. Fantabulous for a couple of nights, and they are hearty. They are classically elegant but edgy enough that you can add just about anything to them (i.e, zucchini lasagna).
This dish took me about eh… 20 minutes to prep and about 35 minutes to bake. This could easily be done any night during the week or you can make this ahead of time and freeze. Just assemble as usual but do not bake. Simply wrap up in double plastic wrap and foil. See below how to bake frozen…
When Mr. Fantabulous walked in the door from work I could hear that “sniff sniff sniff Mmmmm” sound and I instantly perked up. As he was walking up the stairs he said “Wow, honey, I really miss your cooking! I swear I could smell you cooking like something awesome when I opened up the door! I can’t wait until you’re feeling better.”
As he rounded the corner I stood there with this…
Yeah… I got “Wife Of The Year” award…. again *giggle* Seeing those big gorgeous eyes light up followed by that amazing smile. That’s the best medicine any doctor could prescribe for my recuperation
| Giving Props and Italian Stuffed Shells |
|
- 20-22 Jumbo Stuffed Shells (~1/2 a box)
- 8 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded
- 1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded (reserved for end)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese plus an additional 2 Tbl reserved for end
- 1 Tbl parsley Flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups Italian Gravy or prepared marinara sauce
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Boil shells according to the directions on the package. Set aside to drain.
- While the shells are draining, mix the ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, parsley and pepper. Combine well.
- Ladle 1 1/2 – 2 cups of the Italian Gravy into the bottom of a baking dish. For this I used a 10” round ceramic tart pan (non-removable bottom – don’t want it to leak).
- Spread the sauce around. You want about a 1/2-3/4” thick layer.
- Gently cup a shell in your hand opening the shell up.
- Fill each shell with the cheese mixture. You can add as much as you like depending on your cheese obsession. For this recipe I added about 1 1/2 -2 rounded tablespoons .
- Nestle each stuffed shell side by side into the sauce. You don’t want it jammed in there but you want to ensure each one can stand up without falling over.
- Take the remaining sauce and drizzle over top of the shells.
- Cover with foil and set the pan on a cookie sheet before you put it into the oven. *note – see freezing instructions below
- Bake for 25 minutes then remove the foil.
- Top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Put it back into the oven uncovered for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Garnish with fresh oregano.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes then serve.
*Note: At this point, you could freeze the pan. Double wrap in plastic wrap then foil. To reheat, remove the wrappings and place into a cold oven. Turn the temp to 350 and bake for about 40-45 minutes.
Posted in Italian & Pasta, Recipes |
Tags: dinner, italian, marinara, pasta, ricotta, stuffed shells |
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