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Category Archives: Pasta
Dinner Tonight: Cream of Mushroom Soup with Elbows
Sean’s at a work outing tonight which means I’m on my own. I don’t have any problems cooking for myself, but when I thought about what I really wanted, it was clear: cream of mushroom soup with elbows, please.
While technically this dish is “cooking” — it’s not more than boiling some pasta and heating up that classic can of Campbell’s soup. You might think, “Really, Kerry? You can do better than that!” Sometimes, you just have to go with a classic. And, this dish…is a classic.
It’s classic dad food. It was one of the several dishes (including chili dogs and kielbasa) he’d throw together on nights when my mother wasn’t home. These dad classics were all foods she did not like, so when she was out, they were in.
To me, there’s something so comforting in a big bowl of cream of mushroom soup with elbows (bow ties are also acceptable.) It’s warm, creamy, and when topped with a hefty sprinkle of black pepper, nicely spicy. And it reminds me of being a kid.
Cream of Mushroom Soup with Elbows
Makes 1 very large bowl, but probably reasonable to split into 2 if you want to share
Thanks, Dad!
1 10 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 10 oz. can water
3 oz. elbow pasta (or bow ties), boiled and drained
Black pepper, to taste (I like lots!)
In a medium pot, stir together the soup and a can of water. Whisk together until combined. Bring to a boil. Toss with pasta. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Ladle into a bowl. Be happy.
Posted in Comfort Food, Cuisine, Main Dish, Pasta, Quick & Easy, Recipe, Side Dish, Soup, Starch, Vegetarian
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Dinner Tonight: Asian Chicken Salad
What a great weekend. On Friday, I decided to bake some cupcakes — my friends on Facebook helped me choose between lime and coconut or lemon with raspberry icing. Lime and coconut won the Facebook vote. I was leaning that way anyway because I’m getting excited for our trip to St. Martin in March where I expect to drink lots and lots of limey, coconut-y rum drinks! I spent the rest of the night watching Pretty in Pink and Project Runway. Love lazy Fridays!
This is my dessert tonight!
On Saturday, we went to a belated holiday party where we took part in a Yankee swap — I lucked up and ended up with a great scarf from Ecolissa. Sean got the new hot game among our friends, Quelf. It’s a pretty silly party game. He broke it out at the party. I sat out and still had a great time just watching. It was HILARIOUS!
Today, we met up with Ana & Jesse for dim sum. They just got back from Brazil where they got engaged! It was great to see them for some congratulatory dumplings. It was Jesse’s first time going to dim sum. I hope he liked it so we can do it more often.
We spent the rest of the weekend working on a project that we’ve been wanting to accomplish for a long time. We are creating a media library using an external media storage drive. Turns out it takes a long time to rip CDs into MP3s — after many hours, we’re still probably not even near half way done. But, it’s a good project to continue through the winter. I’m excited to finally have easy access to all of our music — and to be able to box up our CDs and move them to the basement so they aren’t taking up space.
Before we headed to the party on Saturday, I wanted to fill up on something that was filling and healthy. Like everyone else in the universe, I’m trying to eat healthier after the holidays. I didn’t want to get to the party and eat a bunch of junk. We had half a head of cabbage in the fridge, so I used that as inspiration to make this salad. It’s super fresh, flavorful, and filling. The salad base gets an extra punch from the cilantro and green onions mixed in.
This recipe makes a ton, so we had these for dinner last night and tonight. Plus we have leftover salad mix which we’ll use later in the week for something else (stay tuned!)
Asian Chicken Salad
Makes 6 HUGE Salads
GIANT, delicious salad.
Salad
1/2 medium head of cabbage, thinly shredded
1 head romaine lettuce, thinly shredded
2 large carrots, cut julienne
5 green onions/scallions, chopped
1 medium bunch of cilantro, remove the bottom couple of inches of the stem and then roughly chop the bunch
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached, cooled, and shredded
1 14oz. package of fettuccine style rice noodles, cooked and cooled (found these at Whole Foods — you could really use any noodles you like.)
3/4 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
Toss all of these ingredients together. If you are going to split this up over multiple meals, hold out the almonds and use them to garnish before each meal.
Dressing
6 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. soy sauce
3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. granulated garlic/garlic powder
1 tsp. sesame oil
Whisk all of these ingredients in a bowl. Or put all of them in a plastic container with a tight fitting lid and shake, shake, shake until everything is well combined (this makes for easy storage for leftovers!)
Dinner Tonight: Tomato & Squash Pasta with Sauteed Shrimp
I am in love with this unseasonably warm weather. I am not into winter sports and I’m very clumsy which makes icy sidewalks my nemesis all winter.
Sean and I have been taking advantage by taking lots and lots of walks instead of going to the gym which is fantastic this time of year when the gym gets super crowded.
Tonight we took the 2 mile loop around the neighborhood with Barley and it was so warm I had to stuff my gloves and hat in my pocket! I wonder if I could bribe Mother Nature with some cupcakes to keep this weather coming.
Barley is confused why we are stopping to take a picture.
After our walk, I whipped up this pasta. If you know me at all, you know I’m my own worst critic — so you know that this pasta is delicious when I tell you that after three bites I started to get sad knowing my bowl would be empty soon!
Tomato & Squash Pasta with Sauteed Shrimp
All that's left in this bowl now are my tears...
Salt
Pepper
1/2 lb. medium-to-large shrimp, cleaned and shells removed
2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 large red pepper, diced medium
2 small summer squashes, diced medium
6 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced medium
1/2 lb. dried spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained
Parmesan Cheese, to taste
Heat 1 tsp. of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and pepper. Once the oil gets hot, saute the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until the shrimp get pink and just cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.
Add the rest of the olive oil and the butter to the saute pan. Heat over medium-high heat until the butter is almost melted. Add the garlic. Cook for about 2-minutes stirring to make sure that the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the red pepper, summer squash, red pepper flakes, and basil. Cook for 2-4 minutes until the squash and red pepper start to cook through stirring to distribute the heat. Add the tomatoes.
Cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. The tomatoes will start to break down creating a bit of a sauce and the summer squash will be cooked through. Toss in the spaghetti and stir to combine (I find stirring with tongs helps distribute all of the vegetables into the spaghetti.)
Serve in large bowls and top with the sauteed shrimp. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to taste.
Posted in Cuisine, Italian, Main Dish, Pasta, Peppers, Quick & Easy, Recipe, Squash, Starch, Vegetables
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Parmesan Pasta with Peas
Sean and I were driving home from Albany the other night and we were hungry. Of course, I had to make a pit stop at the one rest area on the Mass Pike that only had McDonalds. So, instead, we got some Chex Mix to tide us over. By the time we got home, there was only time to throw together something quick and this did it. It was super easy to make with basic pantry items — and it was super delicious. Just what we needed after a long drive.
Sidebar: I love frozen peas. As a kid I always hated peas — I grew up with canned peas and I hated the mushy mouthfeel. Imagine my surprise when I tried fresh peas for the first time as an adult. They were so delicious. I find that frozen peas taste closer to fresh peas than canned peas. They are easy to always keep on hand, cheap, and good to toss into everything from rice to soup to pasta. An easy, peasy way of getting some veggies, too.
Parmesan Pasta with Peas
Serves 2
6 oz. pasta of your choice*
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. shallots, finely chopped
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big pinch of salt and the dried pasta. When the pasta is about 1-minute from al dente, toss in the peas. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the shallots and cook 2 minutes or until soft. Toss in the cooked pasta and peas. Add parmesan cheese, parsley, and pine nuts. Stir to combine. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
* I used a combination of angel hair and pasta shaped like little snails because that’s what I had. Anything tubular or shell shaped works particularly well with this because it gives the peas a place to settle so you get peas with every bite. However, in a pinch, any pasta will work.
Posted in Comfort Food, Cuisine, Healthy, Main Dish, Pasta, Peas, Recipe, Side Dish, Starch, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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