Better Homes and Gardens Garden Veggie Linguine with Cilantro Pesto

Growing up my mother made a lot of pesto. I loved the Sunday nights when she made pesto, the house would smell wonderful and there would be enough frozen cubes of pesto to last through several meals. When I left home I stopped making pesto and didn't start making it again until after I was married. I have made a variety of different basil pesto recipes, but few pestos using other ingredients. The May issue of Better Homes and Gardens had a recipe for garden veggie linguine with cilantro pesto, which looked out of the rut of my usual basil pesto recipes.

This recipe uses a decent amount of fresh veggies. I was unable to find baby zucchini, so I followed the recipe suggestion of a small regular zucchini. This recipe goes together very quickly. Almost the entire prep time is waiting for the pasta to cook, with the veggies taking only minutes to prepare. I found the dish to take far less than the 30 minutes suggested. I followed the recipe as stated. I did use whole wheat spaghetti because it was the variety I had on hand in my pantry. My one suggestion is to make sure that the pasta water is adequately salted, especially since the vegetables are cooked in the same water.

My two sons actually picked the veggies out of this dish. They were unsure of the green pasta, but loved the veggies. My husband and I appreciated that it was a change of pace of the usual basil pesto recipes. The dish goes together very quickly and is a great way to incorporate fresh veggies.

For the recipe go to Better Homes and Gardens Garden Veggie LInguine with Cilantro Pesto .

Martha Stewart Living Campanelle with Zucchini, Ham, Yogurt, and Scallions

 Mondays in our house tend to be hectic. Between finishing up the laundry and cleaning from the weekend (and normal weekday chaos), my dinner prep time becomes minimal at best. I try to have at least one recipe planned a week that takes less than twenty minutes, from prep to table. This also allows me time to have my four-year-old help me and learn cooking and math skills, (it is a great learning experience). Recently Martha Stewart Living magazine had a recipe for campanelle with zucchini, ham, yogurt and scallions that promised a total of 20 minutes cooking time and looked perfect for a busy weeknight meal.

With only 7 ingredients and twenty minutes from prep to table, this recipe is extremely easy. I actually had a hard time finding fresh mint, because apparently my local grocery store chain is having problems with its supplier. I was able to find the herb after going at another store, but it confirmed that I need to start growing my own herbs. Since the recipe only called for 4 ounce of ham, I used packaged lunch meat (which was almost gone before I had time to make the recipe thanks to my two growing sons). The only other changes I made were to the slicing of the zucchini. The recipe calls for slicing the vegetable on the bias (45 degree angle), my knives haven't been sharpened recently and I could not get a thin enough slice, so I sliced in order to make my slices thin enough.

This recipe goes together very easily and requires few ingredients. I like that it uses yogurt in the sauce, which is healthy and easily available. The mint gives a nice fresh flavor and the zucchini is a great way to get more veggies into my recipes. Overall a great, quick meal.

For the recipe go to Martha Stewart Living Campanelle with Zucchini, Ham, Yogurt, and Scallions.

Martha Stewart Living No-Bake Lasagna with Ricotta and Tomatoes

At least one day a week I run very low on time for preparing dinner. I try to plan at least one recipe in my meal plan that takes less than twenty minutes prep to plate. A family favorite, especially for my two boys, is any dish that involves pasta. The same quick pasta dishes can get redundant after many uses, so I am always looking for new recipe ideas. A recent issue of Martha Stewart Living had a recipe for no-bake lasagna with ricotta and tomatoes that looked quick and delicious.

This is one of the easiest pasta dishes I have made in a long time. The only real ingredient prep is the slicing of the garlic and tomatoes that takes at most five minutes. All the ingredients used in this recipe are simple. I was unable to find yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, so I used three cups of red grape tomatoes. That is the only substitution that I made to the original recipe. The one suggestion I do have is to make sure that the pasta water is adequetely salted, so the final dish doesn't taste undersalted.

This dish was a huge hit with both of my sons, they ate their entire servings. I like that it is very easy to prep and cook and tastes even better the next day after sitting in the fridge overnight. This will be a recipe I will definitely keep bookmarked for a quick evening meal when time is a priority.

For the recipe go to No-Bake Lasagna with Ricotta and Tomatoes.

Family Fun Pork-Rib Ragu

With two kids under 5, I am always looking for quick, easy meals to get on the dinner table. Slow cooker recipes are a popular cooking method for me because I can put the ingredients in the crock pot in the morning and forget about it until dinner time. However, I tend to get stuck in a rut with the slow cooker, making the same beef recipes time and again. Recently, the April issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Pork-Rib Ragu that looked like a great alternative to my normal slow cooker repertoire.

As with most slow cooker dishes, this recipe is very easy to prep and prepare. One recommendation that I have that the recipe does not suggest is to brown the pork ribs before placing in the slow cooker, it helps the meat to retain its juices and flavor. The ingredients were readily available, with the exception of the pork ribs. The only baby back ribs available in my area were far more than the 4 lbs required and very expensive. Spareribs were additionally unavailable so I purchased country ribs. I followed the recipe suggestion and served the dish over egg noodles. 

The taste of this dish was excellent. However, as with most pork slow cooker recipes that leave the bone-in, I was left with small pieces of pork bone in the finished product. While, this would be a minor problem for an adult, for a child it is a choking hazard. In the future for this recipe I would use a pork butt roast, which would have the same great pork flavor without the bone fragments. I will say that the flavor of this dish was great and would be something that my family would enjoy in the future made with the pork roast substitution. This is definitely a dish I would try again with the above mentioned modifications. 

For the recipe go to Family Fun Pork-Rib Ragu.

Taste of Home Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna

Often, after a week of using new recipes, I want good, old-fashion comfort food. However, finding new spins on classic favorites can prove problematic (especially when it comes to lasagna). I have tried many recipes that have failed to live up to expectations or were complete failures. I was intrigued when I saw a recipe for Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna in the April/May issue of Taste of Home magazine.

All the ingredients in this recipe are easy to find, there were even bulk and pre-packaged baby portobello mushrooms in my local grocery store. The prep is relatively time consuming, with multiples components needed to construct the lasagna. I had to make a large modification to the recipe due to the fact that I ran out of 2% milk, I had to substitute non-fat. Since non-fat milk is much lower in fat than 2% I had to add additional flour and butter in order for the sauce to thicken to the desired consistency. Additionally, I was unable to find no-cook lasagna noodles, so I cooked my noodles on the stove-top and then followed the recipe accordingly.

My four year old liked this recipe, my two year old was indifferent. My husband liked this recipe and it heated up well for his lunch the next day. The one thing that this recipe lacked was an adequate amount of salt---salting on top was not enough---it needs additional salt added to the inside due to the mushrooms. I would make this recipe again and try with 2% milk and plenty of seasoning.

For the recipe go to Taste of Home Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna.

Note: My husband added some J&D's Bacon Salt to his and found it tasty.