Pasta with Basil & Pine Nuts

This is so simple its crazy!!  But this is also a big favorite of my hubby… and he's sick today so I made it for him for lunch.


Ingredients:
  Medium Shell Pasta
  Basil (I used fresh, dried works ok)
  Olive Oil
  Pine Nuts
  Grated Parmesan (I like to grate mine fresh)
  Salt
  Pepper


I'm not going to give quantities… its just way too flexible for that… if you need hints just look at the pictures… :)


Boil some water (I like to put a bit of salt & olive oil in the water, but they are optional)…


Add pasta to boiling water & cook until al dente…


Drain pasta, add in basil (I had fresh chopped up fine) and pine nuts, drizzle with olive oil, stir…

This will give you an idea of how much basil & pine nuts
to put in with the pasta shells.

Add a little grated parmesan, stir again…


Season to taste with salt & pepper, serve...


Put a little more parmesan on top if you like…

Yum!!

We will sometimes have this for lunch, for a side dish with dinner, or just for a lighter dinner...


Enjoy!!

Thatch or Shepherd's Pie

Tonight hubby Jeff has a sore throat & is feeling sick… its also a bit cool here today… so I decided it was time to make up some comfort food…


I have a recipe that I came up with a while back, and it seems like every time I make it I do it differently… hence the non-specific name :)


What I made tonight used ground beef, and was relatively spicy… it can be done with any ground meat (chicken, lamb… or even small bits of non-ground meat)… it can be done with a variety of different mashed vegetable toppings… and it can be done with different spices - especially in the topping… here's what I did tonight…


Topping Ingredients:
  1 3/4 pounds of mash-able vegetables (potato, parsnip, heavy squash, etc…)
  1 Tbl wholegrain mustard
  1 Tbl prepared horseradish (straight, not creamy)
  1 Tbl butter
  1/4 cup skim milk

Tonight I took a Butternut Squash & cooked it in a pot with a steaming basket… I could have chopped up the squash & boiled it and mashed it, but for squash the steaming seemed like an easier method (and required almost no mashing)…

To the cooked vegetables add the wholegrain mustard, prepared horseradish, butter, and milk.  Mash & mix until smooth.  Set aside until filling is complete.

This is the mashed topping mixture...

Filling Ingredients:
  Spray Olive Oil
  1 large portobello mushroom cap, chopped coarsely
  1/4 medium onion, chopped coarsely (more onion will be listed later)
  1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped coarsely
  1/2 clove garlic, crushed
  1 tsp sea salt
  1/4 tsp whole peppercorns
  3/4 tsp dried whole rosemary
  3/4 tsp dried sage leaves
  1/2 pound lean ground meat (beef, chicken, lamb)
  1 tsp Sausage Spice (see recipe) - optional, but adds great flavor
  1 cup diced carrots
  2 ribs celery, sliced thin
  1 medium onion, diced
  2/3 cup water
  1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Beef
  2 Tbl cornstarch


Spray a non-stick pan with olive oil (tonight I used a non-stick dutch oven).  Place in the pan the mushroom, bell pepper, and 1/4 onion that's been coarsely chopped.

Grind the salt, pepper, rosemary & sage then mix in the crushed garlic.

I like a mortar & pestle for grinding dry spices.

Cook the mushroom, bell, and onion until the onions are soft & translucent.  Add the ground spice mixture and cook another minute to incorporate the spices and allow them to warm.

Remove the vegetables from heat & allow them to cool enough to be handled.  Once cool transfer them to a food processor.

Grind the vegetable mixture to the consistency of ground meat.

Put the vegetable mixture back into the pan, add in the ground meat and sausage spice.

Cook until the meat is cooked through, breaking it up as you go.  Once the meat is cooked add in the carrots, celery, and diced onion.  Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; during that time mix together water, bouillon, and cornstarch - a fork works well for stirring in the cornstarch.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan & bring to a boil (it will thicken quickly - you want a thick consistency).

Set the oven to 400F.  At this point you can transfer the filling to a casserole dish, but tonight I just decided to leave it in my dutch oven (its oven safe).  Spread the topping evenly over the filling, all the way to the edges of the dish/pan.

Once the oven is pre-heated bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.  A gravy will form during cooking, and may bubble through the topping.

Allow to cool 5-10 minutes, then serve…

My "pie" is a bit shallow due to the pan I used…
it can be shallow or deep, I could have made a double
recipe in this particular pan...

Makes 4 meal-sized servings…

Yum!!!

Trying something new...

Yes, I'm finally back to some of my experimental cooking now that I'm back home & settling back in after our trip… so I decided to try a new method of making bread…

I had been reading about a different sort of bread making method on another site, and decided to try to apply the method to my Sourdough…

Finished Loaf...

The results are a bit mixed… I love the simplicity of the method, I love the airiness of the inside of the loaf, but the crust got a bit scorched & was way to crunchy/chewy, and I really want something that can double as a sandwich loaf… This is not a critique of someone else's method, its just the method didn't quite work for my particular dough (different from the type called for in the method) & for my particular desires...

Love the airiness!!

This definitely warrants a bit more experimenting on my part… it tastes fabulous… when I come up with a method I really like I'll post again...

Way too long between posts...

I know, I know, its been way too long between posts…

I was off on a mission trip to Ukraine, and its taking a while to get caught back up with life…

While on my trip I experienced some strange & wonderful foods, and gained 5 pounds (no, its not just water weight)… here are pictures of some of the things we ate - I may be working on reproducing light versions of these at a later date…

We had simple meals & fancy meals… some were strange & unexpected, all were yummy!

Enjoy a look at the foods of Ukraine!!  (Just don't gain any weight looking…)

Salad plate, with Hard Boiled Eggs w/Caviar, Smoked Fish...

Noodle Soup with Meatballs (pork or chicken??)

Meat patties (chicken?) & a rice dish...

Dessert: Ice Cream on top of a rolled pastry, with Strawberries & Mint

Meat patties (pork? tuna? much debate here), fried fish served cold,
one of many tasty Slaws we had while in Ukraine...

Meat & Potato stew...

Blintz filled with a Ricotta type cheese, sweetened & with Raisins,
drizzled with honey, topped with thinly sliced cooked Apple.

This was like a chocolate coated cream puff filled with
a fluffy Nutella type filling.

Ceremonial Bread, a sweet egg bread… very soft...

Fresh vegetable & slaw salad plate.

Borsht

Salo… tasted much like garlic-butter, actually lard based.

Soft rolls with garlic sauce.

Sweet kraut-like dish with a stuffed meat thing… was yummy!!

This was a Dessert… not super sweet, eggy, with noodles, poppy seeds
cherries, etc...

Two slaws… served at breakfast...

Won Ton-ish savory soup… served at breakfast...

Cucumbers & Tomatoes...

Nice Breads...

Crab & Vegetable & Egg salad for eating with the bread...

Almost an American breakfast, toast, eggs, meat...

Another Borsht...

Tomatoes with cheese & fresh herbs...

Breaded Chicken...

More bread, more Borsht, Cucumbers with fresh herbs...

Cake...

Bread with Meat, Tomato, fresh herbs..

Meatballs & Potatoes...

Another Slaw...

Salad of cucumber, tomato, feta-like cheese, olives, etc...

Chicken topped with cheese & onion, rice with vegetables...

Fresh bread warmed on a grill...

Another Ceremonial Bread… this one was even sweeter & was
served with Dessert.

Dessert: vanilla Ice Cream bar, fresh fruit, both with a little
chocolate syrup...

Appetizer: creamy mushrooms in flaky pastry...

Chicken stuffed with vegetables with a creamy sauce (asparagus?)…
roasted vegetables & potatoes...

Chocolate / Cherry torte...