3 thoughts on the Pasta with Squash and Pesto...

Okay, three things have occurred to me.

1) The leftovers are reeeally good cold. Like, take it for a picnic in the park good!

2) The recipe said that it made 4 servings. YEAH RIGHT. 3 days later (and 3 meals later) I still have enough to feed me for 4 or 5 days. So this is one of those good make on the weekends and eat during the week meals.

3) I think that next time I make this, I'm going to add some artichoke hearts. I think it would go really well with the pesto, and probably with the squash... That, or do half squash and half artichoke. Yum.

That is all.

Penne with Butternut Squash and Sage Pesto

So, Alex's mom gave me this cookbook way back in the day, and it made me wonder "is she trying to tell me something?" But then I looked through the cookbook and decided that no, probably not, its just full of interesting and supposedly healthy recipes. The one thing that creeps me out is that it puts all of the meat in quotations (like Ovenfried "Chicken" and Cornbread, or "Meatloaf" and Gravy). Since they substitute weird things like Seitan (WHAT?!) and vegan cream, I'm going to avoid those.

Adapted From Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

Ingredients:
1 box of Penne Wheat Pasta
1.5 lbs (or so) of Butternut Squash, sliced and cut up into 1-1.5 inch slices
5 tsp sea salt
Ground black pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Sage pesto
sliced toasted almonds for garnish (optional)

For the pesto:
1/4 cup whole almonds
1 1/2 cup fresh sage
3/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
3 oz light cream cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

First off, make the pesto first. I actually doubled the pesto recipe because I like leftovers, and my box of pasta was bigger than the recipe called for.

1. In a food processor, combine the almonds and garlic and pulse to roughly chop. Add the sage and parsley (and seriously, don't forget to wash your herbs) and pulse to chop. Add the cream cheese, salt, and pepper and process into a paste.


2. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil, processing until the oil is fully combined. Use immediately or transfer to a small container, cover with a thin layer of olive oil, and store in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.


3. After your pesto is made, get your water boiling and start the pasta. Add about 1 1/2 tsp of the sea salt to the water beforehand. While your pasta is cooking, make the squash!

4. Heat the olive oil in a 10-12 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 or 5 minutes.


Note: I found these pre cut-up squash pieces, and I was SO happy! Let me tell you, I have had some epic battles with peeling squash.

5. Stir in the shallots, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash and shallots are tender, for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.


6. When the pasta is done, drain it. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water in case your pesto mixture is kind of dry. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in the pesto. Add in the squash mixture, and add some of the pasta water if you feel like it (I didn't). Serve!

Here we go again

Okay, now that I'm back from my spring break of sitting on my butt, eating wings, and drinking beer, we are going to return to the original goal of this blog... teaching Maddie how to cook HEALTHY food. Yeah, I'm thinking "oh yeah!" too. Anyway, new (very healthy) meal to come tomorrow. Until then, say goodbye to the things I made before spring break...




And hello to things that won't clog our arteries.

Pretzels!

Because it is exam time, I have slacked off and entered the world of frozen pizzas, delivery chinese food, and diner fare. We did have an amazing experience last night though- dinner at my professor's house with 4 different kinds of appetizers (like duck confit on toasted baguette with a bing cherry jam and a platter of cheese that made my heart smile), an awesome entree that included what appeared to be sauteed brussel sprouts (btw, YUM) and a fancy pants lemon dessert accompanied by biscotti and a variety of chocolates. The wine was amazing and the company was great, and in between worrying about damaging the crystal or knocking the server's hands, I enjoyed the amazing meal without an ounce of work. Something to strive for, I guess...

ANYWAY- digression and obsession with past meals aside, I made these pretzels a week or two ago, and forgot to share! The recipe comes from my friend Emily, a fellow chef who is much more adventurous than I am. Every time she makes these, they are gone in half a second (seriously, before you can blink). She gave me some tips, which I am passing along as well. Also, surprisingly enough, this is a really healthy recipe- great for snacking and guilt free!

Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels
Adapted from "Steph Chows"

Ingredients:
1 tsp active dry yeast (this is less than a packet of yeast, so if you don't have a jar of yeast like I do, check the packet information)
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 cup bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp splenda blend (2 Tbs white sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp baking soda
1 cup hot water (as hot as your tap can get)
Sea salt or whatever other toppings you want
1 tbsp canola oil (I didn't have canola oil, so I used olive oil instead. It turned out well, but I think canola oil is the healthiest in the oil family)

1. Dissolve yeast into water with a pinch of sugar, let stand 10 minutes until the mixture is creamy colored. Mix the yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt and canola oil, and knead until combined (this will take only a few minutes, not even 5).

Emily's tip: the dough will be a little dry this way, so you can dissolve the yeast in a little more than 1/3 cup of water, and you can let the oil overflow the tbs measurement a little.

2. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, about 1 hour (my apartment is cold, so it took a little longer than this. I left it for a couple of hours while I did some studying, which worked out fine! You still won't have a ton of dough, so don't be scared if it doesn't look that big).

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough has risen, pinch off a handful and roll it out into a long strand. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough, about 6 times. Once all the strands are rolled out, pick up the first one and stretch it out again (the gluten will have relaxed and it should stretch further now). Twist it into a pretzel shape and place it on a baking sheet lined with cooking spray. Repeat with the rest of the strands.

4. Dissolve baking soda into hot water and stir until dissolved. Quickly dip each rolled pretzel into the mixture and place it back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle all the pretzels with sea salt, to your preference. Bake for about 8 minutes, until pretzels have browned. (You can try baking them for 8 minutes and then dropping the temperature to 350 for an additional 4-5 minutes for better browning).

5. Emily's tip: to make them even more delicious but less healthy, brush them with melted butter once they've come out of the oven! I did this, and I didn't regret it for a second.


Serve with this honey mustard sauce, and it. is. AWESOME.

Honey Mustard Sauce:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper (this is obviously optional- I skipped it and didn't find it lacking at all!). The sauce can be held in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Note: for storage purposes, bread can be a little funny. DO NOT refrigerate these, and DO NOT store them in an air tight container. They'll get moist and gross and you don't want that. I wrapped them in foil and left them on the counter, and it was fine. If you are worried about Sparky getting into them though... eat them in one sitting.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is so good, perfect on a cold night (the spice always makes me feel warmer), and it makes a ton of food so you'll be eating for a few days. It is obviously best served with Naan bread and Basmati rice, but if you don't have/can't find naan you can just serve it with white italian bread (its cheating but its still good to dip in the sauce). And, as always, pre-chop all your vegetables!

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken breasts
Kosher Salt
Ground Coriander
Cumin
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I usually just get one of the small individual serving size cups)
2 tbs butter
1 large onion finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 piece (approx. 2 inches) fresh ginger finely chopped
3 tbs Garam Masala Spice (I found this spice at Whole Foods- you can make your own spices if you can't find it, but try hard!)
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tbs sugar
1 1/2 c heavy cream
2 cups basmati rice (plus 1 tbs turmeric and 1 cup frozen green peas, optional)
Optional: a handful of fresh cilantro, 2-3 chili peppers (I use serrano, and slice them into small pieces)

Note: This time around, I used a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes because that is what I had in my cupboard. It turns out, I actually prefer crushed tomatoes because of the way the consistency turned out.

Homemade Garam Masala Spice (make your own!)
1 tbs ground coriander
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs ground black pepper
1 tbs ground cayenne pepper
1 tbs ground fennel seeds
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tbs ground cardamom
1 tbs ground nutmeg
1 TSP ground cloves

OR


Basmati Rice: You can make your basmati rice by the package directions, but here is how I do it.

1. First, soak the rice in cold water for 30 minutes before preparing the rice. Drain the rice through a strainer to rinse the starch away. For every cup of uncooked rice, add 6 cups of water into a large pot.

2. Bring the water to a boil, add in the rice and 1 tbs turmeric. Let it boil for approx. 8 minutes, then drain through the strainer.


3. Add the green peas immediately, stir them through, and it is ready!


Chicken Masala:

1. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with kosher salt, cumin and coriander. Coat both sides with plain yogurt. Place chicken breasts on a cooling rack placed over a foil-lined baking sheet. This gives the yogurt a place a to drip, and helps the chicken cook thoroughly. Broil until the chicken is cooked through, and starting to brown (I can't remember how long... maybe 15-20 minutes). Remember to turn the chicken so both sides can brown.


Note: my chicken never blackens (I don't know why), but keep an eye out to see if yours does.


2. In a large skillet, melt 2 tbs of butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and stir occasionally until they start to brown. Add garlic, ginger, and 1 tbs salt. Stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the pan.


3. Add 3 tbs of Garam Masala sauce, stirring to keep from sticking. At this point, add the peppers if you are using them. Add the can of tomatoes, 1 tbs sugar, stir, and let simmer for approx. 5 minutes.





4. After the sauce has had a chance to simmer, add the 1 1/2 cups heavy cream. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. If you don't think the sauce is spicy enough, add a little bit of cayenne pepper (I can't emphasize enough- a LITTLE BIT of pepper. I accidentally put in like... a tsp of pepper and almost burned my tongue off). Chop the browned chicken breasts into small pieces, and add to the sauce. If you are using cilantro, toss in a handful.





5. Serve over your rice, and enjoy!