Roasted Winter Vegetable Pasta

One of those last minute, what am i going to put on the table? meals. This veggie pasta dish was absolutely delightful and i can't wait to make it again!! The combination of garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan with sweet potato and brussel sprouts served over pasta created a combination of rich and light flavors. It was something I could enjoy eating and at the same time not feel guilty about it.

A couple of weeks ago Alex was feeling poorly and we decided to shut ourselves in and spend the day watching Lord Of The Rings 1, 2 and 3, Followed by a slew of chick flicks. Somewhere in between watching Frodo save middle earth and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fall in love over email, i had to figure something out for dinner.

After raiding my pantry, this meal is what i came up with. It took all of 40 minutes and was a great ending to a wonderful day!

Roasted Winter Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients:
1 Large Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces.
1/2 Lb Cleaned and halved Brussel Sprouts
1 Tbs Olive Oil
3 Tbs Butter
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced, divided.
1 Lb Spaghetti
1/2 C. Pine nuts, toasted
Salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash, peel and chop vegetables.
Spread out the veggies onto a rimmed cookie sheet or shallow baking dish. Drizzle olive oil, add 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 2 Tbs. of butter. Roast in oven for 25 minutes; stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in pan over medium heat (no butter needed) for about 5 min. Watch carefully as they burn easy.
Boil water and cook pasta according to package. Drain pasta then place back in pot. Mix in the remaining 1 Tbs of butter and 1 clove of minced garlic.
Once Vegetables are nicely roasted remove from oven, mix in the pine nuts, season with salt and serve over pasta with a sprinkling of Parmesan, or not, whichever you prefer and Enjoy!!
  

Chicken Noodle Soup witth Kale

The hubby and I have been sick for the past two weeks. First Alex, then me.. Sort of.

 I've been riding the fence between sick and healthy. Not quite sick but just off!

C'est La Vie.

So it was off to the kitchen with me to make some chicken noodle soup. I found a basic recipe on one of my faves, Brown Eyed Baker and made some additions to add a few more vitamins! Some kale which is high in vitamin C, calcium, and potassium; Garlic which has selenium to help detox the liver, zinc, which is supposed to help reduce the duration of a cold and (of course) more vitamin C. I then added some diced green onion for color and purely because Alex asked for it. 

The soup turned out tasty if a little under seasoned. I think this will be my go to recipe for a warm comforting meal when I'm under the weather! It's the perfect combination of two of my new favorites...Kale and Soup! It lasts for about 3 days for 2 people and freezes well.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Kale:
Recipe Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker 

2-3 Leaves of Kale, Chopped or approx. 1 1/2 C. pre-chopped kale
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 Large Carrot, Sliced to about 1/4 in. thick
1 Stalk of Celery, Sliced a 1/4 inch thick
12 C. or 3 Quarts of Chicken Stock
3 Chicken breasts Grilled and shredded or cut up into small pieces
2 C. of Fusilli pasta
1/4 C. Minced fresh Parsley
3 Green Onions, thinly sliced
Garlic Powder, Salt and Black Pepper

Directions:
Heat a Soup pot or large stock pot. Add the onion, carrots, kale, celery and minced garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes.
Season vegetables lightly with salt and pepper then add in chicken stock and chicken meat.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let it continue simmering for 10 to 12 minutes.
Stir in the Fusilli pasta, and let cook for 10-12 minutes until Al Dente.
Stir in the parsley and green onion.
Taste and then season with salt and pepper if needed.

Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes so the flavors can meld. Serve and Enjoy!!

Herb Roasted Chicken

There's always those days when you just can't seem to accomplish what you set out to do, or things that you would like to do that you just never get around to. There are a few recipes, meals, etc.. on my list that fit into that category. Roast chicken, is one of those recipes I have wanted to try for a while, but just kept putting it on the back burner. I have wanted to attempt roasting a chicken for a while now, at least since Alex and i got married, maybe longer; And I'm happy to say I've finally accomplished it.

One of the things that i was told to put on my wedding registry list, and personally thought was a must have (just in case i ever host a holiday dinner and needed to make a turkey) was a roasting pan. But when it came time to use it i chickened out; no pun intended. I decided to go with a recipe that used a cast iron skillet and I'm glad i did. It was easy and the chicken came out tender and juicy. A basic and semi-healthy recipe, this roast chicken makes for a great family meal.

Herb Roasted Chicken
Adapted from Never Enough Time

Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken (approx. 4 Lbs)
1 Lemon, Quartered
1/2 Large white onion, quartered 
2 Tbs Fresh Herbs- Thyme and rosemary or any combination you like
1/4 C. Butter

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Clean chicken and remove giblets. Pat dry thoroughly.
Salt and pepper chicken on the inside and out. Cut up Lemon and onion.
Stuff the chicken with herbs, lemon and onion. Truss (tie up legs and wings with baking twine) if you like.
Place chicken in large cast iron skillet and put stick of butter on top of chicken.
Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and baste with butter from bottom of skillet. Turn onto side.
Cook for another 15 minutes, baste and flip to other side.
Cook for 15 minutes. Baste and flip to breast side down.
Cook for another 15 minutes, baste and flip back to breast side up. Continue cooking until the chicken's juices run clear; Approximately 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Carve up and serve with potatoes, salad and whatever else fits your fancy.

Enjoy!!

Quesabeanas

These easy and delicious quesadilla's filled to the brim or as we call them "quesabeana's" are sure to be a new favorite week night meal. It's hard to even qualify this as a recipe since all the ingredients are ever changing and often times whatever is on hand, but to make it easy, we'll go ahead and say that it is.