Easy Easy Risotto with Marinara

This is a dish I found in the Pasta & Co. Encore cookbook. What got my attention was the directions indicating to rinse the risotto before cooking. Hmmmm...that seems really incongruent to the usual risotto method, so I was instantly intrigued. I figured I would give it a go, to see what the difference is in method; and if successful, have another vegetarian risotto recipe up my sleeve. I am a little skeptical, but we will see...I will let you know how it goes!

Easy Easy Risotto with Marinara
From: Pasta & Co. Encore cookbook

Ingredients:
2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 cups minced onion
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and put through a press
29 oz. of chicken broth or homemade stock (equals 2 x 14 1/2 oz. cans of broth, if not using homemade stock)
1 cup of marinara sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Rinse the rice under cold running water and drain well (this violates a cardinal rule of good risotto making). In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute onions and rice until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add chicken broth/stock, marinara sauce, salt, pepper, nutmeg, & bay leaves. Stir and cover tightly with lid or foil. Reduce heat to low and cook very slowly, without stirring, for about 30 minutes or until rice is tender. This dish is meant to be a bit sticky. Fold in Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot or at room temperature.



The Result:
This was just okay. It was good, but nothing truly special. It tasted like risotto mixed with marinara sauce...eh. I will say that the no-stir method was kinda nice, however I have had (and made) better risotto recipes. I garnished our risotto with a chunk of heirloom tomato (which we had sliced up for a quick side dish, as well). Let's just say that the tomatoes were the highlight of the meal. Overall, this was merely mediocre, and not a recipe that I would be in a hurry to make again.

Vegetarian Frittata with Mushrooms

I know I have posted this recipe a few times in the past, but never with my amended version of added mushrooms. Also, I don't think I have a photo of the final dish; so I think an update would be nice. This is our favorite go-to frittata recipe. Yummy, healthy, and easy to put together!

Vegetarian Frittata
Adapted From: Pasta & Co. Encore cookbook

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch crescents
1 (6 OR 8 oz.)package of sliced fresh mushrooms (either crimini or button work well)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, cut into a chiffonade
1 bell pepper, preferably red, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch die (I use jarred roasted red pepper, dried thoroughly with paper towels)
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
8 grinds cracked black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Generously butter a 9 or 10 inch pie plate. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Add onions and saute until browned.Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add the spinach and cook just until wilted. Stir in the roasted pepper and remove from heat. Spoon the vegetables into the buttered pie plate, distributing evenly. Let cool.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a large bowl just until yolks and whites are blended. Add salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese. Mix thoroughly.

When vegetable mixture has cooled, pour egg mixture over it, again making sure that the ingredients are evenly distributed.

(PREPARE AHEAD NOTE: If needed, dish can now be set aside, covered, and refrigerated, for up to 8 hours before baking.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 450. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the frittata are golden brown and the center is set but still slightly creamy. Do not over bake. Remove frittata to a rack and let cool approximately 15 minutes. Carefully loosen frittata from the pan with a metal spatula. Slide out and continue to cool on rack. To serve either hot or at room temperature, slide frittata onto a flat surface and cut into wedges.

Jen's Notes:
You could easily substitute Egg Beaters or a combo of yolks and whites to cut down on calories and fat in this dish. Even with normal eggs, it is still a pretty healthy meal. We usually just serve this frittata along with a simple loaf of bread and butter.





The Result:
Great, as usual!!! This really is a family favorite!!!

Vegetarian Frittata

The boy and I have a busy day planned. In lieu of thawing out a protein item, I decided to pull out my favorite frittata recipe instead. This is one of our favorite vegetarian meals, but it is something that I don't make often enough. I tend to have a lot of recipes like that...ones that we love, but don't make a whole lot. I think it is because I try so many new things; sometimes old favorites get put on the back burner. Well, I am dusting off this dish tonight for our dinner, and I hope I remember it with more regularity going forward.

Originally, this dish comes to me from my friend Claire who found it in a Pasta and Co. cookbook. It is a dish that is in regular rotation at their house, too. Typically, I serve this meal with a side salad and some bread. So, so good.

Vegetarian Frittata

I am really looking forward to dinner tonight!

White Bean, Carrot, and Roasted Garlic Soup

Okay, so I did end up changing my whole blog template. I found a bunch of cute backgrounds, so I may be switching it up from time to time...now that I know there are adorable choices out there! Moving on...

This recipe has been marked to try for about 4 weeks now. I kept pushing it back, since I kept forgetting to soak my dried white beans. Well, I looked at the package last night and realized that the dried white beans expired on 12/04/08! Yikes!!! I need to use those beans! I don't think it will make much difference that they are a little past their expiration date, but I don't want to hang on to them for much longer either. Even though I wanted to use the beans today, I still forgot to soak them. It suddenly occurred to me at about 11:30pm last night. I actually got up from bed and put the beans on to soak. I checked them this morning and they are finally usable. Whew!
This is my first vegetarian offering for this week, and I am excited to try it out. Here is a tangent: I did a short calculation last night and realized that by supplementing three vegetarian meals per week, I am conservatively saving about $6 per week in food costs. I calculated the cost of protein items (i.e. meat) vs. the cost of vegetarian ingredients, and estimated it was about a $2 per meal savings. That means over a whole year I will save an extra $312 per year. I will be rich! Okay...not really...but I thought that that was an interesting way to save money.

This recipe is the from Pasta & Co. Encore cookbook. I really like that there are a bunch of healthy choices in this cookbook that still sound tasty. The only downside so far is that I can't find the recipe online, so I need to type the whole thing out. Ugh. I hate typing full recipes...cutting and pasting is much, much easier. I did adapt the recipe to suit my needs, but it is pretty much the same...just rewritten a little. Oh well, I will let you know how it turns out.

White Bean, Carrot, and Roasted Garlic Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of dried white beans
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
2 to 4 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves pressed or minced garlic
2 1/4 cups of peeled, chopped carrots
2 average-sized heads of roasted garlic
3 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock (use more if needed)
1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce
water to cover carrots

Directions:
Soak and cook beans with rosemary according to package directions. Add salt when beans are almost tender (toward end of cooking; NOT during the beginning). Continue cooking until very tender. Drain beans and reserve. Roast garlic and set aside (See Jen's Notes).

Place olive oil and onions in a separate pot, over medium-low heat. Cover to sweat and become golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add 2 cloves of pressed/minced garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes (do not burn). Add carrots and just enough water to cover. Cover with lid and boil just until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. While carrots are cooking squeeze roasted garlic out and reserve separately.

Take the carrot mixture and their cooking liquid, half of the cooked beans, and the roasted garlic meat, and place in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree Until smooth. Return to the pot.
ALTERNATE METHOD: Add half the beans and garlic meat to the the carrot pot and puree smooth by using an immersion blender.

Stir in stock,other half of beans, salt and pepper to taste, and Tabasco to taste. If the soup is too thick, add additional stock or water and adjust seasoning if needed.

Jen's Notes:
To roast garlic:
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2) Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.
3) Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.
4) Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.



The Result:
This was good...but it was missing something. I think acid, because it was almost too creamy in flavor. The texture of the soup itself was satisfying (i.e. not overly creamy), but the flavor was very one-note. I am not even sure how to accurately describe it. The flavor kinda coated the tongue with creaminess??? It just needs to be more savory. I guess that is a good analogy. I garnished it with Parmesan, but that really did not help much either. Then, I added a little champagne vinegar to see if that would do the trick. It helped some, but it wasn't exactly what was needed. Overall, this is a good, filling soup...I just need to play around with the flavors. Maybe cayenne pepper, instead of Tabasco and some white wine right before the carrots are added. I am not sure. I have some leftover, so I will play around with it tomorrow for lunch. If it does not improve tomorrow, I don't think I will make this soup again.

Pasta & Co. Tomato Cheddar Soup

We still are not feeling all that great. I threw together this easy soup last night for dinner. Here is the link...that is about all the typing I am in the mood for today.

Pasta & Co. Tomato Cheddar Soup

Ugh.

Pasta & Co. Tomato Cheddar Soup

I have had my eye on this recipe for awhile, but I have been hesitant to make it. I typically do not care for tomato soup. Then again, I have never tried to make my own version of tomato soup. All of my tomato soup experiences come from the red and white can, served along side of a grilled cheese sandwich. Being a somewhat rational person, I decided I cannot let my view of canned soup influence how I feel about soup that you make yourself, from scratch. Even though this recipe does use canned whole tomatoes and their juices, I figured it would not resemble the canned tomato soup of my youth. Since I had all the ingredients on hand, I gave it a try.

Oh man...I am glad I did, because this is a total keeper. It was so good! Really good! Good-good!!! Not only good, but EASY! Totally 'piece-of-cake' easy. The whole thing took me 20 minutes from start to finish. I am talking super-cinchy easy. Another bonus was that it was totally cheap to make, too. The whole dish was put together with stuff I always have in my pantry or fridge. Seriously, the only thing I had to do is get a loaf of French bread to go with it (and that was an optional choice).
The only small issue is that it is not very filling, but that could be a good thing. This would be a great soup to make during summertime, because it is not too heavy. If you are looking for a light and delicious dinner this is the soup for you. Also, it is even easy enough to whip up for lunch. Either way, I think this soup MUST be served with bread (preferably crusty, yummy French bread). I don't think it would have been half as satisfying if we did not have the bread to mop up the yummy liquid. Seriously, you need bread.

This recipe could easily be adjusted to be vegetarian by using vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock (that is why I tagged it vegetarian). I am telling you...it is really, really, really good.

Overall, this was an awesome light dinner. I think I will definitely put it in rotation. I am very happy that I tried it!

Pasta & Co. Tomato Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onions, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced (optional)
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, with juice
1 1/4 cups of chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian version)
1 1/4 cups of water
1/2 cup of sour cream
8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large 3 quart sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomatoes and their juices, stock, and water. Bring to a simmer then remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Add one-half of the sour cream. Whisk until well-blended, then add the remaining sour cream. Whisk until sour cream is combined. Stir in pepper and cheese to blend. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Gently reheat to serve (makes 6 cups).

Jen's Notes:
I did make a couple of minor changes to the recipe; I amended the directions/ingredients to accommodate the differences.

First, I added some garlic. I love the flavor a little garlic lends to this dish. Then, I used whole canned tomatoes, and just chopped them myself in the can with a pair of kitchen scissors. To do this, you literally just snip the tomatoes in the can with your shears. It is really easy, and you get nice (albeit a little uneven) tomato chunks. If you want this to stay super-simple, just use the already diced tomatoes...there is really not a flavor difference. It just depends on how chunky you like your tomatoes.

The recipe notes indicate that this soup freezes really well. It is perfectly okay to make a big batch and freeze some of it.

The Big Blue

I had some leftover Gorgonzola that needs to be used badly. The husband h-a-t-e-s blue cheese of any kind, so I am the only one in the house that will eat it. I found this easy recipe for blue cheese salad dressing from my Pasta & Co By Request cookbook. It is pretty thick so it can also double as a dip (think spicy chicken wings/legs or crudites). This dressing will keep for a month, so it seems that it is the perfect vehicle for my Gorgonzola issue. We have a ton of salad ingredients, and I made sure to buy the husband some Ranch dressing for his salad to avoid any potential pouting. All in all, this is a great solution to my blue cheese problem.

The Big Blue

Ingredients:
1 cup of quality mayo (Best Foods is recommended)
1 cup of sour cream
6 ounces of blue cheese, crumbled (I used Gorgonzola)
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Store in an air tight container, and use as needed. Salad dressing will keep for at least one month.

Pasta & Co. Black Bean Lasagna

I am still a little defeated from last night's dinner debacle. I was debating if I should try this new recipe tonight, or save it for another time...due to my loss of confidence. Then, I was inspired by the Olympics. An Olympic athlete would persevere....and so will I! I may not be able to pole vault or dive or swim or play beach volleyball or do gymnastics or platform dive or run or throw a disk thingy or jump hurdles or....(okay, we would be here all day if I listed all the events that I would suck at)....BUT I CAN COOK! I MUST COOK! I think I can...I think I can...

Okay, enough tomfoolery. I photocopied this recipe from my friend Claire's Pasta & Co. Encore cookbook. It looks really tasty and I cannot wait to try it. I love all the flavors included in the ingredients, but I am dying to find out how the whole thing comes together. This is a long recipe, so prepare yourself...

Pasta & Co. Black Bean Lasagna
Serves 6 to 8

Rice mixture:
1 can (15 ounces) black beans
2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
Heaping ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup frozen corn, thawed, rinsed and drained but not cooked
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable stock
1/3 cup seeded and diced Anaheim peppers
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, well drained
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Bean sauce:
¾ cup vegetable stock, divided
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1-½ teaspoons dry sherry
½ teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

To assemble:
2 2/3 cups marinara sauce
6 sheets fresh lasagna (or enough cooked dried lasagna noodles to make three layers in a 9-by-13-inch pan)
1 cup nonfat quark or ricotta cheese
2 2/3 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup freshly made bread crumbs

Directions:
1. To prepare the rice mixture: Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Measure 2/3 cup of the beans for the rice mixture and reserve. Save the remaining beans and liquid for the bean sauce.

2. Cook the rice according to package directions until tender. In a dry skillet, roast the cumin and coriander, taking care not to burn them. Mix hot spices with cooked rice, stir in salt and pepper, and let cool. Stir in corn, vegetable stock, Anaheim peppers, chilies, cilantro and reserved 2/3 cup black beans. Set aside.

3. For the bean sauce: Place 2 tablespoons of the vegetable stock in a saucepan. Add onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, pepper, sherry and sherry vinegar. Simmer 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and the remaining black beans and their liquid and cook for another 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4. Place bean mixture in the work bowl of a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Process until almost smooth, leaving some pieces of bean intact. Add the remaining vegetable stock and cilantro. Reserve.

5. To assemble: Spread 2/3 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of a shallow 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover with one layer of uncooked fresh lasagna (or cooked dried) noodles. Spoon on half (about 2 cups) of the rice mixture and ¾ cup of the bean sauce. Top with ½ cup of the quark or ricotta and 1-¼ cups of the mozzarella. Cover with another layer of lasagna noodles and 1 cup marinara sauce. Follow with the same amounts of rice, black bean sauce and cheese as before. Top with the last layer of noodles and press lightly with fingertips to distribute ingredients evenly in the layers. Top with the last cup of marinara sauce, the remaining mozzarella and bread crumbs.

6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake lasagna for 35 minutes, or until sauce bubbles around the edge and top is nicely browned. If top browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil during last 10 minutes of cooking. If baking lasagna straight from the freezer, add about 20 minutes to cooking time. Once out of the oven, let lasagna set up for approximately 15 to 20 minutes before cutting. (This is critical for ease of serving.)

From "Pasta & Co. Encore" by Marcella Rosene.