Need A Use For Leftover Pasta? Try Baked Ziti

Baked Rigatoni

I think I might be becoming semi-obsessive with my tomato plants and their well being. This all started with my oldest insistent that we plant heirlooms this year. I agreed, it would be fun. Fun, hmmm. It has been fun, it also can drive a person crazy. See I tend to lean towards slightly overboard with most projects. I like things to be perfect and right. My son was at my in-laws for the last two weeks so I was excited that his tomatoes would be almost ripe by the time he got back. Then we had a nasty streak of hot and humid weather. I watered the tomatoes like I always do, but one of the plants just wasn't happy. After reading information online, a call to an extension agent and many conversations with friends that grow tomatoes I'm happy to say that his tomatoes are beautiful once again. As for me I think the tomatoes are becoming like another pet, a lot of work with an occasional reward. I hope it will be worth it the end, tomatoes and summer just seem to go hand in hand. This week to welcome my oldest back home I made comfort food. I tried a new recipe for Baked Ziti from the Food Network.

This recipe has 7 ingredients in the ziti and 9 ingredients in the sauce. It takes 50 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 6 to 8 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First I used leftover frozen rigatoni pasta that I had made previously. I allowed it to defrost and then followed the rest of the recipe. Instead of Italian sausage I used ground roast chuck that I ground myself. I substituted the exact same amounts as in the original recipe. Since ground beef can be more watery than Italian sausage I allowed the sauce to cook down longer until it was nice and thick. After I put the baked ziti together in a casserole dish I allowed it to sit in the fridge for 4 hours to allow the flavors to soak into the pasta.

I served this recipe when my in-laws were over for dinner. Since I couldn't try the recipe myself I relied on everyone else to voice their opinions. My youngest son fell in love with this dish and told me it was his favorite pasta dish. The opinions expressed by my in-laws were similar. Overall, it was a nice way to use leftover pasta and a recipe I would make again. 

For the recipe go to Baked Ziti.

Gluten Free Artichoke and Tomato Pasta Recipe

Gluten Free Artichoke and Tomato Pasta

Today was flea market day. I have been looking for a new dresser for our bedroom and I refuse to buy anything new unless I have to. Growing up my mother loved garage sales, but there were few (if any) flea markets. When I moved to West Virginia I discovered quickly there is a whole culture of flea marketing. I felt like a fish our of water at the first few that I went, but now that I have lived here almost 11 years I have grown to love them. The same people often go every weekend; there is food, great treasures and they are the best place to find anything you need for your house. After some bargaining I was able to find two great dressers which I am going to restore and they will look great in our house. I love projects and they help to keep my sanity while staying home with my two boys. Since I have been busy with various house projects I made sure that the meals that I prepared last week were quick and easy. One of the recipes that I tried was for Artichoke and Tomato Pasta from the May 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used gluten free ziti. Second it is finally vidalia onion season so I used one for my sweet onion. I purchased a 14 ounce can of artichokes so I used the whole can instead of the 6 ounces suggested by the recipe. Finally after I added the tomato mixture to the pasta I allowed it to cook for an additional 5 minutes.

My family normally is not big fans of gluten free pasta. However, they all loved this recipe. It worked very well to being made gluten free and the use of additional artichokes worked deliciously. I found that I didn't have to add much salt to the tomato mixture since there was already salt in the artichokes.

For the recipe go to Artichoke and Tomato Pasta Recipe.

Recipe for Burgers with Mozzarella and Spinach-Arugula Pesto

Burgers with Mozzarella and Spinach-Arugula Pesto and Homemade Buns

The weather was beautiful here today. It finally feels like spring with 80 degree weather and the ability to wear shorts without freezing. The smell of BBQ has been all over my neighborhood as well. I absolutely love the smell of BBQ. There are few smells better than walking outside and smelling someone smoking ribs on a big charcoal side smoker. The weather and the rise of grilling inspired me to make burgers this week. There is something about warm weather and burgers that go hand in hand. My husband bought a huge charcoal grill about 5 years ago. However, this year it needs the rust to be sanded from sitting in our basement and my motivation has been lacking. Therefore I settled for making burgers on my indoor grill this week. Today I tried a new recipe for Burgers with Mozzarella and Spinach-Arugula Pesto from Bon Appetit.

Gluten Free Burgers with Mozzarella and Spinach-Arugula Pesto

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First I did two versions, one with homemade hamburger buns and the other with gluten free buns. I had one pound of beef that I had ground with chuck a few months back. I combined the ground beef with 3/4 pound of ground lamb. Since I was short on time I did not wilt the spinach. I often make pesto with spinach and never wilt it, I just puree it in the food processor in batches. For the burgers I ended up with a total of 8 burgers. I like to keep my burgers on the small side, especially since they were blended with ground lamb which can be rich.

For this recipe I used heirloom tomatoes. I love heirloom tomatoes, they are great with burgers. Make sure to salt the pesto and the tomatoes. The salt really helps to bring out the flavor of the tomato and the pesto. Blending the lamb and beef gave the burgers great flavor and my family really enjoyed these burgers. There was also enough pesto leftover to use on turkey burgers later in the week.

For the recipe go to Burgers with Mozzarella and Spinach-Arugula Pesto.

Gluten Free Asparagus Pesto

Gluten Free Asparagus Pesto

Pork is king in my household. As I've discussed before the males in my house are huge pork fans. Especially bacon, lots and lots of bacon. Growing-up I was a little different. I was a vegetarian beginning freshman year of high-school. Luckily my parents were very supportive and I lived in the Pacific NW so there were numerous places to purchase great vegetarian food. I stayed a vegetarian until I moved to West Virginia. Between graduate school and anemia I decided that adding meat back in would be a  good idea. Then I met my husband who thought vegetables were a garnish for meat. Over the years I have slowly reformed him into eating meat as an ingredient and we eat one to two vegetarian dinners a week. This week we tried a new recipe for Asparagus Pesto from the April 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes, all of which is active and makes enough for a pound of pasta. I did make a few changes. Since I eat gluten free I substituted gluten free ziti for spaghetti. I found that the pesto need a significant amount of salt for the flavor not to be bland, don't be afraid to add salt.

The basil flavor in this recipe comes through more than the asparagus. This recipe would be great for someone that wasn't a fan of asparagus, but still wanted the health benefits. Crumbled bacon would be a great addition to this dish as a topping. Overall, a great way to add spring flavor and even my youngest son loved it.

For the recipe go to Asparagus Pesto.

Delicious Rigatoni with Calabrese Style Pork Ragu

 My family loves pasta. So much so that I prepare it approximately once a week for dinner. When I was growing up my mom always made a lot of pasta since it was inexpensive to make and could feed our entire family. She was great with inventing recipes from just spaghetti and the ingredients in our cupboards. I wish that I had inherited half of her recipe invention talents. While I don't invent recipes the same way that my mother did, I do like taking recipes and making them my own. Since I eat gluten free I am always taking regular pasta recipes and re-inventing them to my needs. This week I tried a new recipe for Rigatoni with Calabrese Style Pork Ragu from the February 2013 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 5 hours of total time, 60 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. Since I eat gluten free I used brown rice flour ziti. I have never seen rigatoni gluten free in my area, so I always use what I have access to. Since I was serving this recipe to my kids I used mild Italian sausage, instead of spicy sausage. I would have used spicy sausage if it was just for my husband and I. I rarely buy ground meat from the grocery store. For this recipe I had leftover pork shoulder which I ground up and used. When I went to make this recipe it turned out that I had forgotten to buy fresh parsley so I had to substitute dried parsley instead. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Even though this recipe states that it makes only 6 servings, I had a ton of leftovers. There was enough for two additional meals. I did let my sauce thicken longer than the recipe. I had to add a slight amount of water during the four hour cooking time. However, at the end of the cooking time it was still a little thinner than I liked so I turned up the heat a little and let it cook without a lid until it had fully thickened. I also did not add additional cooking water after adding the pasta since it wasn't necessary. My family really loved this recipe. I would suggest adding a larger amount of crushed red pepper if you use mild sausage and make sure to adequately salt, it will need it.

For the recipe go to Rigatoni with Spicy Calabrese Style Pork Ragu.

Easy Baked Ziti with Pumpkin, Spinach and Chicken Sausage

I absolutely love pumpkin. There is something so comforting and relaxing about baking and cooking with winter squash, especially pumpkin. While I make pumpkin dishes year round I make a large number of pumpkin recipes during the fall and winter. The cooler months seem to just cry out for pumpkin. Everyone always thinks of pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie, but I love savory dishes that utilize the squash. As I have stated before my family loves pasta. Growing up my mother made pasta multiple times a week and it has been an ingredient that I have loved ever since. My two boys are huge pasta eaters and will eat spaghetti tossed with olive oil as a snack. Combining pasta and pumpkin is something I love to do. A couple of weeks back I tried a new recipe for Baked Ziti with Pumpkin and Sausage from Libby's Pumpkin.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. Since I eat gluten free I used gluten free penne and gluten free all-purpose flour. I am not a huge fan of reduced fat mozzarella and always buy fresh mozzarella so I used full fat fresh mozzarella instead of the shredded suggest by the recipe. I prefer fresh mozzarella, the taste is superior to shredded. I found that it was hard to have enough pasta to spread across the pan when layering. Don't worry though once it is baked it works fine. I actually added the mozzarella cheese at the beginning of the cooking time and then the Parmesan cheese the last five minutes. I preferred this method since it allowed the fresh mozzarella to fully melt.

If you like your pasta with a kick I would suggest adding more cayenne. I only added a pinch as suggested and I felt that it needed a little more flavor. I would add 1/8 of a teaspoon of cayenne or 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper if you like spicy foods. My husband was pleased that the recipe made the gluten free pasta not noticeable. He eats gluten free at dinner with me, but gluten free pasta he often finds lack luster. This dish was nice since it masked the taste of the gluten free pasta and the flavor from the pumpkin came out nicely.

For the recipe go to Baked Ziti with Pumpkin and Sausage.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Shallots and Parmesan

Growing-up the holidays were always a big deal. My mother was the oldest of 12 kids and family members were always in and out of our house. The holidays put everything into over-drive. My mother would cook and clean for weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her lists actually had sub-lists; I'm not kidding, the big lists had baby lists. The holidays were also the time that I really learned to cook. With so many dishes coming in and out of the kitchen I quickly learned to tell if something needed more spice by tasting not following a recipe exactly. There were also certain recipes that were always made every year. When I moved to West Virginia I followed on these traditions with my kids. I change up my menu every year, but there are a few dishes which are staples. One of my husband favorite holiday recipe is for Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, here is the recipe:

1 1/2 lb Brussels Sprouts, trimmed
4 bacon slices
1 braeburn apple, peeled and diced
2 tb minced shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Cut Brussels sprouts in half, and cut into shreds. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon and drain. Reserve 3 tablespoons of bacon fat in skillet. Crumble bacon. Saute apples, shallots, and garlic in hot drippings over medium-high 3 minutes. Stir in wine and next 3 ingredients, stirring to loosen from bottom of skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts, saute 8-10 minutes or until sprouts are crisp tender. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon. 

I make this recipe every Thanksgiving and even my father-in-law who hates Brussels sprouts loves it. Since I love Brussels sprouts so much I could eat them any way imaginable, but this is my favorite recipe, it really is delicious. Enjoy!

Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta

My oldest son has become quite infatuated with gardening. It all started when the first flowers started appearing at stores in our area and he got the idea into his head that mommy needed to actually plant something this year. Now I always have the best intentions with my gardening, I have a garden bed and great pots for my porch. The first three years after I had my oldest son I always had a great garden and my flowers were always beautiful. Then I had my second son and all my gardening seemed to fly out the window. I grew up with a mother who seemed to be able to grow anything she touched. We had the most beautiful lilac trees that people would ask permission to pick from every year and her tomatoes were always juicy, big and delicious. I have somewhat inherited this green thumb. When I actually get around to planting my garden for the year, it always looks fabulous. Emphasis here is on actually planting the garden. So this year, I actually went out and bought soil, plants and with the help of my three and six-year-old I planted a very nice garden and flower pots are spilling over my porch. They do look very nice and my oldest son is so proud of himself. So much so that today when we drove to the farmer's market in Charleston my son came home with more flowers that he had personally picked out for the porch. In addition to all the gardening supplies we additionally brought home a great bunch of new vegetables, dried beans and spices that I am never able to find in my city. I love shopping at farmer's markets and my two kids have grown to love them also. Cauliflower is one of my kids favorite vegetables to buy and cook from the farmer's market and grocery store, so I was eager to try the recipe for Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta in the March issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and I made no ingredient modifications. I allowed my cauliflower to cook much longer than the four minutes suggested by the recipe in order to be sufficiently browned. Additionally, I allowed the pasta to cook with the dill mixture for approximately 5 minutes in order for the pasta water to fully absorb and the flavors to be enhanced. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I try to keep my reviews as realistic as possible and this recipe I am sad to say did not live up to expectations. The flavor was bland and the whole wheat pasta when combined with the parsley was way too gritty. So here are my suggestions to save this dish. First and foremost use regular pasta instead of whole wheat. The whole wheat pasta, while better for you does not work with the cauliflower and dill in this recipe. The combination of textures is way too gritty. Second, I would suggest roasting the entire head of cauliflower in the oven at approximately 400 degrees until well browned (about 20-30 minutes). Then chop the roasted cauliflower instead of grating and pan frying like the recipe. Finally, I would eliminate the parsley completely and add capers for flavor. I would also increase the amount of cheese to a 1/4 of a cup and double the amount of golden raisins. I think with these changes this recipe can be significantly better and has the potential to be a great dish.

For the recipe go to Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta.

Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus

It was very hot here this weekend. Almost 95 degrees with high humidity; all I can say is yuck. Thanks to all the very warm weather like it does every summer my kitchen has started its fast decent into a sauna. I try to minimize the amount of time I run my oven during the middle of the day and instead rely on my stove and crockpot to do the majority of my cooking. Additionally, I try to lighten up my menu. I use less heavy sauces and thick stews and more seafood and fresh vegetables. I learned this from my mom who insisted that the foods that you eat have a direct correlation to how hot you feel. I also vividly remember being given hot coffee when the weather was sweltering to cool me down. At the time I thought it was somewhat crazy, but I realized this weekend when I was drinking my hot coffee in the middle of the day, my mother seems to be ingrained in even the little slightly strange things that we now do alike. One of the other things that my mom and I had in common was our love of shrimp. Shrimp is one of my favorite things to prepare in the summer and I was drawn to a recipe in a recent issue of Eating Well magazine for Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus, which looked light and perfect for the hot summer months ahead.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. As I always do with seafood I had to go to the nicer grocery store in town to purchase non-farm raised shrimp. This to me is a deal breaker. I went to school with people who worked in the fisheries dept and the studies that they worked on with mercury levels and farm raised fish and seafood are disturbing. I have two young boys that don't need to be exposed to high mercury levels. Since the major super store in my area does not agree with my ideas I always have to go to the nicer suburban chain grocery store to buy seafood. I always seem to take forever to prep shrimp, so my prep time was longer than the recipe suggested. A pound of shrimp normally takes me approximately 15-20 minutes to peel and de-vein. I have been very pleased that I am now able to buy shallots by the pound. Previously 3 ounces cost 1.99 and now a whole pound is only 3.99, that is a substantial price difference. So I am very happy for this new bulk option. As I always do I made my own chicken stock, I don't salt my stock in order that I can control the amount of sodium in my family's diet. I was very happy to find great locally grown asparagus, I prefer to buy local as much as possible. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Both my husband and I were surprised that the gnocchi was the real winner in this recipe. Most of the time in shrimp dishes the shrimp is always the star. However, in this dish the shrimp was a little lacking in flavor, but the gnocchi was delicious. I think that the shrimp would have been better if it was seasoned more before going in with the other ingredients or even marinated before cooking. The asparagus was delicious and honestly this dish would be just as good (and a lot cheaper) if you left out the shrimp and made it vegetarian. My kids loved the recipe, so it was very family friendly.

For the recipe go to Skillet Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus.

Spinach-Herb Pesto

This is the time of the year that there never seems to be enough time. Between end of the year school madness, t-ball, birthdays, holidays etc. I always seem to be behind. I would love to say that I have hours everyday to prepare complex great tasting meals, but the reality is that I don't. There are nights that I can spare a couple of hours to prepare dinner, those are the nights that my three-year-old actually decides to take his afternoon nap. I love those naps when they happen, I am able to get so many things done! However, the majority of the time my youngest refuses to nap and my days are hectic at best. So to the rescue comes my trusted menu plan. Each week I have at least two very easy recipes that takes less than a half an hour to make start to finish. One such recipe from the March issue of Southern Living magazine is for Spinach-Herb Pesto and takes a total of 15 minutes and is full of fresh vegetables.

This recipe 10 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes, all of which is active and makes 3/4 of a cup of pesto. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. There is no need to overly chop the herbs and veggies before placing them in the food processor, the machine does a great job on its own. I would recommend using a food scale and measuring 2 ounces for the cheese, 2 ounces was a lot more than a 1/2 cup according to my measuring cups. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Pesto is one of my favorite dishes and this recipe turned out very well. The lemon flavor compliments the herbs and spinach nicely and the overall taste was delicious Both of my children ate their servings happily and had no idea that they were eating spinach instead of regular pasta. An easy way to add more spinach and herbs to your dinner table.

For the recipe go to Spinach-Herb Pesto.

Pasta alle Erbe

My husband absolutely loves mustard greens. If I served them everyday he would eat them happily. Before we met I had never even eaten greens much less knew how to cook them. Having grown up in Seattle I have always been great with fish and seafood dishes, but greens were an absolutely foreign idea to me. The first time I had greens was at a restaurant and they were braised. Absolutely delicious and amazing! After eating them that first time I scoured the internet for ways to cook them myself at home. My husband was no help since he had eaten a lot of greens, but had no idea how to cook them himself and my mother-in-law never served them. For the first couple of years I made traditional greens with a smoked ham hock or braised in olive oil and they were great. However, eventually I became bored with the same ways of preparing them over and over again. So I have branched out and tried new recipes and methods of cooking. One of my favorite preparation methods is to use greens in pasta, so I was enthusiastic when a recent issue of Eating Well magazine had a recipe for Pasta alle Erbe that utilized large amounts of mustard greens.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 8 servings.  I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. Since the recipe gives a variety of choices for the greens used I choice to use mustard greens, since they are very popular in my household. Instead of whole-wheat fettuccine I chose to use regular fettuccine. Recently, I have been serving a large amount of whole-wheat pasta and my family has become a little burnt out, so I chose to take a break from it for a week. My sauce was pretty watery at the end of the cooking time suggested by the recipe so I allowed the sauce and greens to cook a little longer until all the liquid was absorbed once it was added to the pasta. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With only costing $1.50 a serving and full of vitamins this recipe is perfect. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. The taste of the greens complimented the sweetness of the tomato sauce giving the finished dish a unique flavor. Make sure to wash the greens very well or your pasta will be gritty (because of the sand). Overall, a delicious recipe full of flavor and a great way to eat more greens.

For the recipe go to Pasta alle Erbe.

All You Parmesan Chicken with Bow Ties

In the last six months I have been making an effort to increase the amount of chicken and fish in my family's diet. This might seem like an easy task for most families and it would be except for one major fact, the males in my family love bacon. Not just bacon, but pretty much any type of pork. If my husband was left to feed himself 90 percent of the time he would be eating some form of red meat. This is the exact opposite of me. I grew up in Seattle and we rarely ate red meat in my house. My mother was a great cook and cooked a variety of vegetarian dishes. So much so that I was a vegetarian starting when I was 15 until I was 23. In my mid twenties I slowly added meat back into my diet, but was still mostly chicken and fish. Then in graduate school I met my husband. We were opposites in regards to food. His idea of a great lunch involved pizza or fried fish. Those were and are two of the foods that the grease literally makes me sick to my stomach. Somehow we managed to stay together and now after being married for almost 10 years I have slowly began to change his eating habits. We rarely eat out and when we do it's a treat, not a regular occurrence. Most important of all my husband has transitioned to red meat approximately once a week, which is huge progress I promise. Since chicken breasts have never been one of my husband's favorite foods, I am always looking for new recipes and I was interested when the March issue of All You magazine had a recipe for Parmesan Chicken with Bow Ties.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 10 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of cook time and makes 6 servings. All the ingredients in this recipe are basic and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. I chose to use frozen broccoli instead of fresh. The price is much cheaper and it's easier to stick frozen broccoli in the microwave than deal with cutting and prepping fresh broccoli while my two boys scream for dinner. I chose to use a full pound of pasta, instead of the 12 ounces suggested by the recipe. Finally, I bought skinless-boneless chicken breast, instead of the skin-on bone-in used in the recipe. Honestly, I made this the day after Easter when my in-laws were in town and after a long day I wanted to save as much time as possible. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

At a cost of only 91 cents per serving this recipe is very inexpensive. Plus it takes less than twenty minutes to prepare and has 38 grams of protein. My in-laws loved this recipe and asked for seconds. My kids picked out the chicken and ignored the rest of the dish. If you are looking for a flavor-punch this recipe isn't for you. However, if you are looking for a simple pasta dish that can literally be made in minutes this recipe is perfect. Kids that aren't receptive to spiciness or too many flavor combinations would eat this dish happily (or in-laws that have the same tastes). Overall, an easy pasta recipe that's full of protein and takes minutes to prepare.

For the recipe go to Parmesan Chicken with Bow Ties.

Woman's Day Pork Ragu

I have been making a large amount of crockpot recipes recently. Lately I seem to never have enough time to get everything done in a day and my crockpot is invaluable. I love being able to put ingredients together in the morning and by evening have a delicious meal. I always thought that when my oldest started school that I would have all this extra time to spend doing all the things that I never seemed to have time for with two at home. Unfortunately, I never realized that between homework, tennis, t-ball and everything else that I now seem to have less time rather than more. It's weeknights when I am running around trying to get thousands of things done that I find my crockpot to be a great time-saver. The November issue of Woman's Day Magazine had a recipe for Pork Ragu, which looked very easy with only twenty minutes of prep and filling with 51 grams of protein.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes a total of 8 hours and twenty minutes of prep and cooking, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store with the exception of pappardelle noodles. Since I was unable to find the noodles I substituted wide egg noodles. I found my prep, including cooking the pasta noodles took slightly longer than the 20 minutes suggested by the recipe. As always I cooked the recipe on low in my slowcooker. I chose to leave off the parsley on the top of the dish, my two boys are currently on an anti-parsley kick. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

With 51 grams of protein and only 14 grams of fat per serving this dish is very filling and lower in fat than many slower cooker recipes. I liked that it is served over noodles and my substitution of egg noodles worked perfectly. This recipe made a significant amount of meat, much greater than the four servings suggested. I used the leftovers for another meal, which I cooked the liquid from the meat as a substitute for water in rice. The leftovers actually turned out even better than the original dish.

For the recipe go to Pork Ragu.

Saveur Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love spaghetti and meatballs. There are few foods as comforting as a huge plate of homemade spaghetti and sauce. I have nothing against jarred pasta sauce, but it can't hold a candle to day long simmered homemade. Especially in the summer when tomatoes are fresh homemade sauce is delicious from the first to the last bite. Growing up my mother was the queen of doctoring up store bought sauces. She would add onion, basil, and oregano and serve it as homemade. In every other way my mother was a fabulous cook, but pasta sauce was never her strong suit. Luckily I was able to learn to create great tasting pasta sauce from friends and family that I still use as base for my homemade sauce to this day. Always up to trying new things, I was interested when a recent issue of Saveur Magazine had a recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs combining three types of meat.

This recipe has 19 ingredients. It takes approximately an hour and half to prep and cook and makes 8 servings. I made a few modifications to the recipe. First off I always grind my own meat, which I did with the pork and beef in this recipe. I would have loved to have ground my own veal, but my local stores only carry it pre-ground. Second I was unable to find provolone that wasn't sliced, so I actually had to shred my cheese using cheese slices, luckily it worked pretty well. The biggest changes I made the recipe were the size of the meatballs and the cooking time. To make 6 oz meatballs seemed extreme to me, especially when feeding two kids, so I made my meatballs substantially smaller. I also found that the liquid evaporated from my sauce very quickly, so make sure to watch the sauce so it doesn't get too dry.

The meatballs are the best part of this recipe. They were moist and had a great flavor. The sauce was a little too sweet, it would almost be better on a hoggie with the sauce and banana peppers. However. the meatballs are well worth the recipe and my family loved them. I would suggest adding an additional can of tomatoes to cut down on the sweetness and possibly crushed red pepper. Overall, a kid friendly recipe that still appeals to adults.

Womans Day Sweet and Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I have a definite soft spot in my heart for sweet potatoes. Regular potatoes are okay, I like cooking with them, but sweet potatoes are delicious. Growing up we only had sweet potatoes once a year and they were usually covered with marshmallows. It wasn't until I was an adult that I started experimenting with using sweet potatoes in stews and recipes. Now I normally eat them about twice a month. My two boys have fallen in love with sweet potatoes fries, but every recipe I have tried has been soggy and lacking in flavor. The November issue of Woman's Day Magazine had a recipe for Sweet and Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes that combined the flavors of cinnamon, cayenne, brown sugar and Parmesan cheese and looked delicious.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes a total time of 1 hour and 15 minutes, 15 minutes of which is active, and makes 8 servings. All the ingredients are basic and I already had in my pantry cupboard or were readily available at my local grocery store. Tossing the sweet potatoes in a bowl with the ingredients made for nicely coated and even potatoes. I ended up only using one very large baking sheet since my disco era oven can only barely fit one pan. Make sure to stir the sweet potatoes to prevent burning, I stirred mine multiple times during the 60 minute cooking time. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I loved how this recipe turned out crispy and delicious. Many sweet potato recipes I have tried in the past have ended up soggy or lacking a distinguishable flavor. I was impressed with how nicely coated and crisp these sweet potatoes were. My two boys loved this recipe and ate over half the dish by themselves. The recipe states that it makes 8 servings, but I found that this was a very large recipe. It could easily be cut in half for a family of four. Overall, a great sweet potato recipe that is full of flavor.

For the recipe go to Sweet and Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

Saveur Pesto Focaccia

Bread is a popular stable in my house. Most weeks I make at least two loaves, sometimes more. Every couple of weeks I try to change up my normal bread routine and try something different such as scones or biscuits. A particular household favorite is focaccia. It takes longer than most breads to prepare and bake, but the end result is well worth the effort. Recently, Saveur magazine had a recipe for Pesto Focaccia using cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives, two foods my family loves.

This recipe has 8 ingredients for the pesto and 12 for the focaccia. It makes 12-14 servings and takes approximately 4 and a half hours to prepare and bake. There are a number of ingredients in this recipe, but I only had problems finding one, durum wheat flour. I looked at every store I could think of in my area to no avail, so I chose to leave it out. Instead of the durum wheat flour I used an additional cup of all-purpose flour, making 5 and a half cups of total flour. I noticed that the top of the focaccia cooked very quickly and I had to tent the top after approximately 10 minutes to prevent burning. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Over the last five years I have made a number of focaccia recipes, about one every month. I was intrigued by this recipe since it used mashed potatoes and lager beer in the focaccia dough, a combination I hadn't tried in previous recipes. The combination of the kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes worked well together and went great with the sun dried tomato pesto. Overall, a recipe well worth the time involved and filling enough for a main dish or side.

For the recipe go to Pesto Focaccia.

Better Homes and Gardens Stuffed Pasta

My favorite memories growing up often revolved around food. Not just any food, but pasta. I have absolutely loved pasta as far back as I can remember and whenever I was allowed to pick a restaurant as a kid I would pick the Italian place that had the best ravioli (still the best to this day). As an adult my love of pasta has only increased and I tend to make a pasta recipe about once every week or two. The rest of my family shares my love of pasta and pasta dishes tend to be household favorites. Recently, the September issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Stuffed Pasta which looked easy and claimed to be a complete meal all by itself.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It serves 8 people and takes approximately 50 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of baking time. My recipe took an additional 15 minutes to grind my own beef. I actually had to make a few substitutions due to the lack of availability of certain ingredients. I was unable to find dried jumbo pasta shells, so I used regular pasta shells. Since I had to substitute the pasta, I obviously had to make some significant changes to the recipe. Instead of stuffing pasta I made a casserole by layering the sauce, cheese and meat mixture, and pasta.I increased the cooking time by about 10 minutes and tented the pan the last 20 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Since I had to make major changes to the recipe, I'm not sure what the original recipe would taste like. The modified casserole that I did make turned out well. Make sure to adequately salt at all steps, or the dish will be undersalted. Other than the lack of salt, this was a very easy and popular recipe with my family, especially my two boys. A straightforward and easy pasta recipe that makes enough for multiple meals.


For the recipe go to Stuffed Shells.

Better Homes and Gardens Sweet Potato Fries

If given the option, the three men in my house would eat french fries multiple times a week. While, I do love french fries every once in while, the grease doesn't agree with me on a regular basis. In an effort to make healthier alternatives to the greasy fast food fries that my household loves, I have been experimenting with various baked fries recipes, in the hopes of finding something my family will eat. The August issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Sweet Potato Fries, which looked like a delicious and healthier version to traditional french fries.

This recipe has 11 ingredients and takes approximately 45 minutes to prep and bake. The ingredients are all basic, with the majority already in my pantry cupboard. Due to a lack of oven space from preparing multiple dishes, I baked the fries in my toaster oven. I did not make the ketchup recipe provided in the magazine, but instead used the new Simply Heinz ketchup that my husband has been wanting to try, since it contains no high fructose corn syrup. Make sure to make very narrow fries, a few of mine were a little too thick and didn't cook to a crisp.

My two sons were big fans of this recipe. The fries were sweet and the cheese gave a nice crisp crust. I do wish that I had made the homemade ketchup recipe, I think if I make this recipe again I will make the ketchup as an accompaniment. These sweet potato fries don't taste like traditional french fries, but they are delicious and much healthier than the fried version.

For the recipe go to Better Homes and Gardens Sweet Potato Fries.

Martha Stewart Living Pesto

Growing up my mother made a lot of pesto. I remember watching her put the ingredients in the food processor and loving the smell of the fresh basil and pine nuts. Over the years I have tried just about every pesto recipe I can find, from the basic to the unusual. However, I have always come back to the basic pesto recipe, which I love for its clean taste and simplicity. Recently, an issue of Martha Stewart Living had a recipe for Pesto, which like all pesto recipes looked simple and delicious.

Making pesto literally takes about five minutes. This recipe has 6 ingredients and all the work is done in the food processor. The recipe that I used is slightly different than the web version, my version only makes about 3/4 of a cup of pesto and uses two cups of fresh basil. I freeze my pesto in ice cube trays and then pop out a cube when I run out of time to make dinner and stir it together with pasta.

Homemade pesto is a delicious, quick way to get dinner on the table. It's also a great way to use extra fresh basil from your garden and works well frozen in ice cube trays for later use. Pesto is always a hit with my family and is a stable in my household, especially during the summer months. This is a great recipe for people that don't cook frequently and want to make more meals from scratch, it goes together quickly and can be used on meat, pizza or pasta.

For the recipe go to Martha Stewart Pesto Recipe.