Pumpkin Alfredo

I had roasted buttercup squash in the fridge so this came together fast for a quick lunch.  Even Mike, who doesnt always like my squash creations, really liked it.

Pumpkin Alfredo

8–12 ounces egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 sage leaves, optional but they are so good here
1 cup pumpkin puree (from a can is ok)
up to 2 1/2 cups milk, heavy cream, non-dairy milks are ok here
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt, to taste

Cook the noodles, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid in case you want to thin out your sauce.

Heat the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic; saute until soft and fragrant. Add the pumpkin and milk. Warm the sauce. Add the cheese and stir to combine.  Taste for salt levels

Toss the pasta in the sauce and thin as needed using the reserved cooking liquid. Top with additional Parm and season to taste. Serve immediately.

Homemade Egg Noodles from Julia

Fresh pasta is just the most amazing way to honor our garlic harvest this year.  We made garlic butter to serve with the pasta but also fresh pesto (and of course, some roasted zucchini).  

You can half this recipe if you prefer.  This makes a large batch, possibly over a pound.  It probably took 45 minutes for just the pasta machine portion of the recipe (with 2 people working together) but it's a fun project to do together.

I'm unsure of the origins of this recipe as it comes to us from Julia, Delilah's super sweet girlfriend.

Homemade Egg Noodles

Makes maybe over a pound

2 cups flour

2 cups semolina flour

2 tsp salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons water

6 eggs

Mix ingredients in order, mixing after each ingredient (including after each individual egg).  Mix until it forms a dough.  Knead (see note below).  Cover and rest for 15 minutes.  Cut dough into roughly 8 sections. 

Using your pasta machine, roll dough out to level 5 (starting at 1 and working your way up).  Dust with semolina and hang (we used our chairs).  Dust with semolina if needed then switch to the fettuccine setting (or spaghetti) and run the sheets through (cutting them first if they are very long).  Place on a tray dusted with semolina and dust them on top.

Boil water, add salt, cook in boiled water for 2 mins.  Toss with butter.

Note:

The recipe calls for kneading by hand, using a little extra flour if it's sticky.  If you choose to use the stand mixer for kneading, then add an 1/8 cup of AP flour.

Stuffed Shells

 We LOVED these stuffed shells.  We used a jar of homemade sauce from the freezer so the effort was really quite minimal.

Stuffed Shells

serves probably 4-6

3 cups of sauce (homemade or store bought)

2 cups ricotta or chevre

2 1/2 cups of grated mozz (divided)

2 cups of parmesan (divided)

2 egg yolks

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed or grated

12 ounces jumbo shells (or medium sized if you cant find jumbo)

Heat the oven to 375. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the shells.  Cook them till they are almost done but not quite (they will continue to cook in the oven).

Meanwhile, make the filling.  In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta with 1 1/2 cups of the mozz, 1 cup of the parm, the egg yolks, garlic, and a little salt and pepper.  Stir.

Spread half the sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling into each shell and place them in the pan.  Cover the shells with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 mins.  Remove the foil and bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, another 15 to 20 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. 

Grandma's Broccoli and Garlic Penne

This recipe is from my mom and it's so simple and so awesome. It's a 15 minute meal, served with salad. Use the best ingredients you can find, since there are so few of them, each one really shines.

Grandma's Broccoli and Garlic Penne

1 lb penne

2 heads broccoli / 1 pound broccoli, chopped

2-3 glugs of olive oil

10 large cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 stick butter, or less

½ cup grated parm, plus more for serving.

Have your broccoli and garlic cut and prepped first.

Boil water and add the penne and salt.

Heat your largest skillet on medium.

Pour the oil in a large skillet and add the garlic slices until they just start to brown

Add the broccoli to the skillet and cook until tender but firm, adding pats of butter as you go plus some salt. You'll need about 2 tablespoons of butter for the pasta.

Add the butter and penne to the broccoli and serve.

Summer pasta salad

We made this pasta salad for a picnic dinner before a baseball game (along with quiche) and we havent stopped making it since.  We LOVE it.  It's super versatile, easy, and kid-friendly.  Enjoy your summer!

Summer pasta salad
serves 6 as a side dish, maybe

1 pound pasta. pick a fun shape, cooked and cooled.
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
little dried oregano, or try it with fresh
kosher salt and black pepper
a few handfuls of basil, the more the better

add-ins, we like a lot of veggies with our pasta but go with what works for you:
tomatoes, cukes, and peppers
kalamatas, capers, and artichokes (our current favorite)
feta
mozz


Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in the bottom of a big serving bowl. Add the add-ins, mix, then add the pasta.  Season with salt and black pepper to taste.  SOOO good!

Charlie's Peanut Pasta (aka Cold Sesame Chicken/Tofu with Pasta)

A little friend of ours just LOVES peanut pasta, so I make it for Charlie whenever he's here (and it doesnt seem to matter if it's lunch, dinner, or snack).  He's a pretty awesome kid and I love kids that eat what I like to cook.

The kids like it best with chunked up cukes and chicken plus a ton of sesame seeds.  I love it with tofu.  It works fine without anything for a quick and easy side dish.  It's great for a picnic too, since it can be served room temp and it wont spoil like many mayo based pasta salads.

Charlie's Peanut Pasta (aka Cold Sesame Chicken/Tofu with Pasta)

(serves 6-8, great for leftovers)

source unknown

1 lb spaghetti, cooked (whole wheat works great here)

In food processor, mix together:

6 cloves of garlic (or less if you're serving picky little guys)

2T red wine vinegar (cider vinegar works here too)

2T brown sugar (or a splash of maple syrup)

3/4 cup peanut butter (I use natural, unsweetened)

1/2 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup sesame oil

5-6T hot chili oil (I skip this most times)

Mix sauce with pasta.  Serve room temp or cold with options below.

Add in any optional ingredients, JUST before serving:

4 chicken  breasts, cooked, shredded/diced

1 package tofu, fried/baked

Broccoli, diced and cooked

Cucumber, diced

Scallions

Sesame seeds

Baked Mac and Cheese

This is serious comfort food.  With a whole pound of cheddar, it's probably best eaten with the largest spinach salad ever.  I've tried it with other cheeses, like Cabot's Herb Cheddar, but it really is best with the sharpest cheddar you can find.  I use 3 year Cabot Cheddar.

You can check out Smitten's recipe here or use my ever so slightly modified one below.

Easiest Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and  The New York Times, 1/4/06

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
1 cup ricotta cheese (not low fat, this works with cottage cheese too, we use our homemade chevre lately and it's great)
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked.

Heat oven to 375°F and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan (it works fine in a 9 by 13 pan too and with all the oils from the cheese, sometimes I forget to grease the pan and it's fine).
Grate cheese in food processor.  It's a lot of cheese!  Dump into really large bowl; you'll mix everything in here.
Use the same food processor to purée ricotta/cottage cheese, a little of the milk, and mustard together.  Add the rest of the milk, then puree again.  Pour into the large bowl over the cheese.  Add in uncooked pasta and mix.  Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.
Uncover pan, stir gently.  Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Mongolian-ish Stir Fry

This is so simple and so good.  We mostly make it with tofu but I really want to make it with chicken and shrimp, since the kids still arent thrilled about tofu.

update: We made it with chicken and shrimp tonight and everyone was happy!

Eliza's Mongolian-ish Stir-fry
Serves 4 adults

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed*
2 teaspoons oil for frying
carrots, cut into matchsticks
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (I've made it without it, but it's so good with it)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
splash of maple syrup
green beans, defrosted and cut into bite size pieces
1 scallion chopped (I didnt have, it's a garnish)
fresh lime juice (I always forget it)

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the tofu and carrots to the hot skillet and cook until browned on all sides.
While the tofu is cooking, combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame vinegar, and maple. Mix well.
When tofu has browned, add the sauce and green beans, stir until sauce thickens.
Serve with brown rice, rice (our favorite!) or soba noodles, and garnish with green onion and a squeeze of lime.

*After trying many different techniques, I finally found one that works best for pressing tofu.  I wrap it whole in 3 paper towels (I'm going to try a dish towel next!) and place it on a cookie cooling rack under a cast iron pan for hours.  I like to start pressing it over lunch for dinner.  After it's pressed, I cube it.