Spring Pasta

I love to buy whatever produce is in season and find the best ways to use it all up. I have actually been surprised by the quality of produce I've been able to find here in Colorado. This pasta was the result of a fridge full of fresh spring vegetables. You can substitute almost and veggies you like. And if you leave out the chicken you can even make this vegetarian. I love this fast, fresh, healthy, weeknight meal.

Spring Pasta
about 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb. whole wheat pasta

-Put a big pot of salted water onto boil. And cook pasta according to package directions. While water is boiling and pasta is cooking, start the sauce.
-Cut chicken in bite-sized pieces and saute in the olive oil until no longer pink in the middle. Season with salt and pepper while the chicken is cooking.
-About half-way through cooking the chicken, add the onion and cook until translucent.
-Add the garlic when the onions are almost done.
-Add the zucchini and cook until tender.
-At this point you can add whatever other vegetables you want. I added half a jar of chopped artichoke hearts that were in my fridge waiting to be eaten and a few chopped sundried tomatoes as well.
-Add the tomatoes, and cook just until a little soft.
-Drain the pasta and add the chicken and veggie mixture to the hot pasta.
-Toss together with a generous amount of parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper.
-If the pasta seems too dry you can add a little more olive oil.

Saute the chicken, onion, and garlic,

Add in the zucchini,

Then add the tomatoes and other veggies,

Toss with the pasta and Parmesan cheese,

And serve!

Steamed Artichokes

I LOVE artichokes. If I can find them in the grocery store for a dollar or less, I get them every time. My favorite way to eat them is steamed with a little lemon juice and mayo or melted butter. Yummm!

Steamed Artichokes
artichokes (best in late spring and early summer)
lemon juice (fresh is best, but I often use bottled)
something to dip them in (I like mayo, my husband likes melted butter)

-It can be a little tricky to pick the right artichoke. Look for one that feels heavy for its size and has tightly packed leaves.
-Using a sharp knife cut off the stem end of the artichoke and using the point of the knife make an X in the bottom.
-Then use the knife to cut off the top of the artichoke to make it flat. I sometimes cut off as much as 2 inches of the top. The part you eat is mainly at the bottom, so don't worry about cutting off too much.
-Rinse the artichokes under the faucet. Be sure to rinse the top really good so water gets between the leaves. This will not only help get rid of any dirt, but will help with the steaming as well.
-Place the artichokes, top down, in a glass casserole dish and lightly cover. I like to use my round Pyrex dish that came with a glass lid. I can fit 3-4 artichokes in it. The lid usually won't close tightly, but that's ok. You actually want some of the steam to be able to vent out.
-Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes per artichoke. The water from rinsing will steam them and the X in the stem helps some of the steam escape.
-You know they are done when you can easily pierce the stem with a fork.
-Carefully turn them right side up and squeeze lemon juice on top.
-To eat, pull off one leaf at a time and dip the base of the leaf in mayo or melted butter and scrape off the meat with your teeth.
*Note the outer-most leaves may be too tough to eat. Just pull them off and discard.
-Once you get to the middle where the leaves are flimsy and have little meat, you can either discard the rest (but that would be a shame) or cut off the top and the choke (the hairy stuff) to expose the artichoke heart. Mmm!

My artichokes all prepped and ready to be cooked.

One of the tasty leaves after the meat is scraped off. It may seem like a lot of work for a little bit of meat, but all those leaves add up fast. And it is so worth it!

Roasted Beets

I love beets! If you think you don't like beets, I would recommend trying this method of preparing them. If you still don't like them, then so be it! I love the sweet flavor, the intense color, and the wealth of nutrients beets provide. Until recently, I had a difficult time finding a way to prepare them that I really loved. But, thanks to the Taste of Home cook book I got for Christmas, I found the perfect way to enjoy them!

Roasted Beets
beets
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat your oven to 400. Cut off the stems of your beets and the very end of the roots if they are long and stringy. Wash them. Wrap each beet individually in foil. Place in the hot oven for 45-60 minutes, until you can skewer them easily all the way through with a fork or toothpick. Open the foil and let them cool for 5-10 minutes until they you are able to handle them but they are still warm. Using a paper towel, scrub the peels off. The texture of the paper towel should easily take the peel off and expose that rich red color that beets are known for. Slice or chop the beets into large chunks. Toss lightly in olive oil (about 2 Tbs. for 1 lb. of beets) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
A variation that I would recommend is to toss them in your favorite vinaigrette, instead of the olive oil. The contrast of the sweet beets and the tangy vinaigrette is fantastic!

Wrap them up

Cook them up

Peel, chop, and toss them up

Eat them up!

Artichoke Spinach Pizza

This is a yummy pizza that is far from ordinary. I love the flavor combination of spinach and artichoke hearts. I found this one on twopeasandapot.blogspot.com . These girls have some seriously awesome recipes! Next time you want a gourmet pizza, this is the one you want! And if you use skim milk and skim milk cheese, it is relatively low-fat! (I think it would also be yummy with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, or roasted red peppers on top...mmm!)

Spinach Artichoke Pizza
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1½ cup milk (any fat content)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ ounce (¼ cup) parmesan plus 1 ounce (½ cup)
7 ounces fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped (I think frozen, thawed and well-drained would work as well)
1 pizza dough recipe  (my favorite can be found here with my BBQ pizza recipe, remember this dough recipe makes 2 pizzas)
6 ounces (1½ cup) shredded mozzarella (skim works great)
1 (14-ounce) can artichokes, drained, rinsed and dried, quartered

1. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 525ºC.
2. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the flour; continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and ¼ cup (½ ounce) of the parmesan.
3. (skip this if you use frozen spinach) Meanwhile, add the spinach (if the spinach isn’t damp from being washed, also add a couple tablespoons of water) to a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until the spinach just wilts, about 1 minute. Remove the spinach from the pan and place it in a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze the spinach as dry as possible, then add it to the béchamel from step 1.
4. Flatten the dough, then pick it up and gently stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, just piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots.
5. Dust a pizza peel (or the back of a large baking sheet) generously with cornmeal and transfer the round of dough to the peel. Rearrange the dough to something reasonably circular; stab it several times with a fork. Spread the spinach mixture over the dough, then top with the mozzarella, artichokes, and the remaining Parmesan.
6. Transfer the pizza to the hot baking stone, and bake for about 6-10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is spotty brown. Let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

 The sauce is the trickiest part of this pizza, but it's not hard. This is what it should look like.

This is your delectable pizza with sun-dried tomatoes on half.

Vegetables

Whenever I hear someone say "I don't like (fill in your favorite vegetable)" I can't help but think, "Maybe you just haven't had that vegetable prepared in a way that you like it." Now I admit, there are some things that some people just don't like to eat. However, don't rule out an entire category of vegetable simply because you had it once and you didn't like it. That said, here is my favorite way to cook many different vegetables. I have done this with carrots, potatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and I'm sure many others that I can't think of right now. This isn't the best picture, but I like it because it shows the carmelization and color and color means flavor!

Roasted Vegetables
prepare vegetables (clean, peel, chop, etc.)
toss in olive oil
season with salt and pepper...when I'm in a really crazy mood I use garlic salt and lemon pepper
Roast on a cookie sheet at 375 for about 20 minutes or until tender

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

 This recipe came via a recommendation from my cousin Monica. She and her friends have a food blog thequeensofthekitchen.blogspot.com that this comes from. The original recipe is Ina Garten's, so of course it's gonna be good! My mom suggested roasting the squash first. So we had this as a side dish, then a couple days later it was soup! I'll give you Ina's original recipe, followed by my adjustments below.

Winter Squash Soup- Ina Garten (Straight from the cookbook-Barefoot in Paris)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small or one large)

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks

3 cups Homemade chicken stock or canned broth

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup half and half

Creme fraiche, grated Gruyere, or croutons for serving (optional)

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed stockpot, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the pumpkin puree, butternut squash, chicken stock, salt and pepper. cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until the butternut squash is very tender. Process the mixture through the medium blade of a food mill. Return to the pot, add the half-and-half, and heat slowly. If the soup needs more flavor, add another teaspoon of salt. Serve hot with garnishes, if desired.

My adjustments (I'm sure the original recipe is amazing as is, but these are more for simplicity's sake.)
-I used whole milk because who has half and half on hand? Not I. But thanks to my husband and child we always have whole milk.
-I topped with sour cream and croutons again because who has Gruyere and creme fraiche? I'm sure it would be extra yummy with bacon bits. Mmmmmm!

-I blended it in my blender.  This can be a little tricky with the hot liquid. Be sure to only fill the blender about halfway and be sure to leave a way for the steam to escape. (I left the lid off but covered it with a towel to avoid spills.) I'm sure an immersion blender would be very handy in this instance as well.
-As mentioned above I roasted the squash first and served it as a side dish. This accomplished a few things:
1. I was able to use the squash for 2 meals 2. I cut the recipe in half and had just enough for the two of us plus some leftovers instead of TONS of leftovers. 3. I was able to cut down the time I cooked the soup because the squash was already tender when I added it.
To roast the squash simply peel, chop, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Bake at 375 until tender and slightly carmelized.

 Thank you Queens of the kitchen and of course, Ina!

Fresh from the Garden Pasta

This is a recipe I created while improvising with all the yummy stuff coming out of the garden. While you can of course use stuff from the grocery store, garden fresh is always best! This one is simple, easy, affordable, healthy, and delicious. That makes it a perfect recipe folks!
*As a side note, you can easily make this one vegetarian by omitting the chicken.

Fresh from the Garden Pasta
(Since this was an improvisation, I didn't measure, but I'll do my best to estimate!)
1 lb. chicken
4-5 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 medium zucchini or 2-3 small (the small ones taste better)
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 lb. whole grain pasta (I used spaghettini. I think penne would work well with this too.)
Parmesan cheese

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, dice the onion, mince the garlic and saute all of it in olive oil until chicken is almost done. Add salt and pepper along the way. Add a little more olive oil and tomatoes. Let cook until tomatoes break down some. Add zucchini and cook until zucchini is done. Toss with cooked pasta. Serve with lots of Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper on top.