Pesto Tortellini with Vegetables

I wasn't sure if
I should post this dinner
but I want to
keep it real
we have been
fighting colds for
a few weeks.
last week I was
feeling run down

Pesto Tortellini with Vegetables

I used the pesto
we bought from Costco
I used a package of
chicken tortellini

I cut up a ton
of fresh vegetables
to make up for
the packaged foods
or my attempt to
make it better

cooked up some
onions and garlic


added yummy peppers
mushrooms
zucchini
carrots
grape tomatoes
and cooked until
crisp tender


drained the tortellini
added the pesto


toss in the
colorful vegetables
an easy dinner;
a flavourful dinner
is served


I served this up
with a salad
everyone enjoyed


I try to keep it real
and not overdue dinner
on the days
I'm feeling sick

This Dinner is ALWAYS a Winner

Spaghetti
everyone in my house
loves it
I use sauce in a jar
and add a ton of veggies
ground beef
I add it to the sauce
raw
I like it better this way
the meat is not tough
I always
always
add cinnamon
to the sauce
it add a great flavour
always I use
whole wheat noodles

I served up dinner
with salad
pineapple from neufelds
and some fantastic
cheesy/hot pepper bread
also from neufelds


my little man
he insists
he must have long noodles
he wants to twirl them
like mommy

Creamy Pasta with Lemon Pepper Chicken

This recipe was on
my menu plan for two weeks
and I finally got to it
I found this recipe
over at Michelle's Recipe Box

Creamy Pasta with Lemon Pepper Chicken
I used 3 large chicken breasts
with salt and pepper
and I baked them in the oven
until they were done
sliced/chopped them up

salt and pepper
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
4 cloves of garlic minced
the zest of one lemon
the juice of one lemon
spaghetti to feed my family
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
I didn't have parsley
so we went without that

Boil the water for the pasta
add the pasta when it's boiling

heat the oil in a pan
add the minced garlic
and the lemon juice
cook until the juice
cooks down then
add the cooked chicken
cook on low
until ready to add
to the pasta


then add the lemon zest


to the ricotta cheese
and the Parmesan cheese


before you drain the pasta
reserve 2 cups of the liquid
to the drained pasta
add the cheese and lemon zest
mix together with 1/2 cup
of the reserved liquid
add the chicken
add more water as needed


I found spaghetti
was very hard to mix
and get the cheese mixture
all combined nice
serve with a salad


My family
they really enjoyed
this entire meal
it was very good



here is a little update
on our Lily kitty
she's slowly growing
but not catching up to
our huge Tonka cat

Autumn Mac and Cheese

Autumn Mac and Cheese
YUM
I was going to make
the Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili
I had it all ready to go
then I thought I should
re read the instructions
to discover it was for
the crock pot
and this was at 2 pm
I didn't want dinner at 10pm
so I changed my plan to
Autumn Mac and Cheese

Butternut squash
scallion
yellow squash
zucchini
gala apple
nutmeg
pasta

You'll notice
I didn't do the brussel sprouts
that are called for in the
original recipe
it's my belief
brussel sprouts
are a form of
silent torture
my parents inflicted
on my sisters and I
to get back at us
for all the time we
talked back or fought
or just to put us in our place
they always found our hiding places
the plants
behind the turtle tank

sorry for the rant
now back to the actual recipe
I choose to roast
all the veggies
they are so yummy that way

if you have never
worked with a butternut squash
they are tough to peel
but just use your potato peeler
and take your time

the seeds are in the
bottom 'bulb' part
cut that off
cut it in half
and scoop the seeds out
if you're ambitious
you can roast them
if you're like me
you'll toss them

while I was chopping
I had the pasta boiling
normally you boil for 8 min
to have it el dente
because this pasta will
be cooked twice
I boiled it for 6 minutes

now the roux
butter and flour
the classic roux
the purpose
to thicken your sauce
without a chance of lumps

be sure to cook
your roux well
this will ensure
that it does not
taste like flour
a roux is the base
to almost all
cheese or white sauces
don't let it scare you

next come the milk
and the cheese
be sure you don't
cook this to boiling
it will scorch the milk
and give it an odd taste

I added the
roasted vegetables
to the cooked pasta

then I added
the yummy looking
cheese sauce

I didn't have the
Panako crumbs
so I used
croutons
ground them up

I mixed it all up
topped it with
ground croutons
french fried onions
and some Parmesan cheese

baked it up
man this was
smelling so good

this dish
took a little bit
of work to put it
all together
but it was really
very good
the apple gave it
a nice sweet flavor
however
I found there was
not a lot of the cheese sauce
when all was said and done
give it a try

Tempt my tummy Tuesday

Cacio e Pepe (Pasta with Black Pepper)

Cacio e Pepe (Pasta with Black Pepper)
I made this pasta dish
on Monday
and let me just say
it was very yummy
the original recipe
is on the Tasty Kitchen site
I really like that site

Ingredients
•½ pounds Spaghetti Noodles (I used whole wheat)
•1 Tablespoon Butter
•½ cups Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese, Divided Use
•1 teaspoon Salt
•2 teaspoons Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, Divided Use

I boiled the pasta
then used a 1/2 cup
of the pasta liquid
with the butter
and brought that
to a boil


then added the cooked pasta
about 1/2 the cheese
1/2 the pepper
and folded this all together


transferred to a serving dish
topped with the remaining cheese
and pepper


this was served up
with a salad
and roast chicken
it was super yummy
loved by all
and EASY
this will be made again
next time however
I'll use parmesan cheese
only because I always
have it on hand



my menu plans
are uninspired lately
next week
I'll try
to make it more exciting
fingers crossed
we'll see

Baked Spaghetti

Tonight
left overs redone
I took my spaghetti from Monday night
added a ton of cut squash
some beet greens
some cottage cheese
some sour cream
I didn't end up using the peppers
in the end


throw the leftover spaghetti
and all the cut veggies
into a large bowl
mix


than add the cottage cheese
and about 1/2 the tub of the sour cream
mix again


spray the dish you are going to use
this made enough for me to freeze
an extra meal
that is a fantastic bonus
I always write the date and
cooking instructions on any meal I freeze
you just never know who is going to reheat it


I threw my meal in the oven
at 350 until it bubbled
and the cheese browned
serve it up for some goodness in your belly



my rockstar husband enjoyed the meal
he is wearing his sunglasses at dinner
because he had some followup lasik done
after his contact lens implants 3 months ago
he's in some pain
but not to much to finish dinner


and my kidlets
seem to have found my cellphone
I wonder who they were calling
the girly had a lot to say
to whom ever it was she was talking to