Mediterranean Pasta Bake

Rabbits rabbits, and happy February! We all know how extremely cold it has been lately, and it always seems that February is the coldest month.  It always seems that there is a big snow storm every February, and after the two blizzards we just had, I'm not ready for another!  Winter wouldn't be so bad if I could just spend it all indoors with some hot cocoa by the fireplace, but unfortunately I am not a bear in hibernation. One way to combat the winter cold, is with warm comfort foods. While everyone loves the traditional comfort foods, its fun to change them up. I love cheesy, baked pasta, but I also love Mediterranean flavors.



Inspired by All Recipes.

What you need:



1 lb box of pasta
1 Jalapeno pepper, diced
1 bag of spinach
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
20-30 pitted Kalamata olives, chopped in half
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Olive oil for cooking

What do to:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook pasta according to directions on the box.
While pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
Saute the jalapenos for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes, olives, and spinach, let simmer for 10-15 minutes.



Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse.
Toss the pasta into the tomato mixture until evenly coated, and transfer into a large baking dish.
Top with cheeses and bake for 5 minutes.
Broil for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is brown and bubbly.











This meal was full of gooey, melty cheese and lots of heat! The tomatoes were hot and juicy, the olives were salty and briny, and the feta was nice and creamy. The spinach added a nice veggie flavor. I loved the texture of the olives with the soft pasta. This meal turned out to have a great mix of both Greek and Italian elements, which I loved! Everything was all baked and melted together with a crusty, baked top. This was full of flavor, and full of comfort!

Do you like to put twists on comfort foods? Will you try this pasta bake?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Tomato Basil Pasta

There are some foods that you have been making for so long, you don't even remember the first time you made it. When I first learned to cook I usually just stuck with the basics. I could make anything from a recipe, and I could make pasta.  When I first started to stray from recipe cooking, I remember my dad taught me that you can always add some more of an ingredient, but if you put in too much you can't take it out. Those are the words I still live by when I cook.

When first learning to cook, I found that it was easiest for me to work with Italian flavors. The tomato/basil/garlic combination of flavors was simple but so good. It was easy to work with those flavors and build off from there. Still to this day, when I don't know what flavors to cook with, that is my go to. Today, I am going to share with you a basic pasta dish. What is special about this is not that it is mind-blowingly delicious, or unusual, but that I have been making this pasta for as long as I have been cooking food.




What you need:



1 lb box of pasta
1 cup shredded or fresh mozzarella
1 bunch fresh basil
5 cloves of garlic, diced
4 medium vine tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
Cook pasta according to instructions on the box.
While pasta is cooking dice tomatoes, roughly chop the basil, and dice garlic.



Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, and roast garlic until it just starts to turn golden.
Add tomatoes and basil, and cook until tomatoes are soft and the basil just starts to wilt.



Top with salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm until the pasta is al dente.
Drain the pasta, and stir in olive oil to coat the pasta.
Mix in the tomato basil sauce and cheese.









This dish features the most basic, and classic Italian colors and flavors. Its so simple, but incredibly fresh and delicious. The tomatoes were warm and juicy and the basil was so pungent and fresh. The garlic was the perfect compliment to the flavors and the mozzarella was chewy and melty. Personally, I do prefer fresh mozzarella, however cooking on a budget means you need to sacrifice at times. I find that with few and basic ingredients, that it really allows each element to shine on its own. This pasta tasted like it was straight out of an Italian restaurant.

What is your go to meal to make? Do you enjoy cooking with Italian flavors as much as I do?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Spicy Asian Pasta

I just want to start off by apologizing for my surprise absence.  While the holiday time isn't the biggest deal to me, it does come with lots of extra work at my job, which means long hours.  Working so hard, plus a trip up to see Ben's family, I didn't have much time to blog. While I'm still super busy, I was really happy I finally found the time to sit down and write a blog post.

Even though it's not the best food for you, I just love pasta. Its delicious, filling, and easy to make it into a great vegetarian meal. I am always looking for pasta recipes to add to my collection.  When I don't know what to make with my pasta, I go with the standard garlic and oil sauce, but I was looking for something a little different. I found THIS spicy pasta with broccoli recipe and decided to give it a go.



Adapted from Recipe Treasure.

What you need:



1 lb box of pasta
2 head of broccoli, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of olive oil (some to cook the broccoli, and some to coat the pasta)
1.5 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes

What to do:
Cook pasta according to directions on the box.
While pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic and red pepper flakes.
Once the broccoli is golden, add the broccoli and salt.
Saute until the broccoli is fully cooked and starting to soften.
Drain the pasta, and mix in the broccoli.
Mix in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, serve hot, or chill.











If you like spicy, then this pasta is for you. It is packed with lots of heat!  There was a bit of Asian inspired flavors from the soy sauce, a hint of tang from the vinegar, and lots of tasty garlic flavor. It definitely was unique, but it was really delicious!

What is your favorite pasta meal? Have you ever tried an Asian style pasta?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

As December continues on, we are slowly creeping into the winter. Well maybe not all that slowly as its been snowing here all week! Luckily for me, pumpkin time is still lingering on, and with Thanksgiving just passed and Christmas on the way, canned pumpkin has been on sale. I had been wanted to make a pumpkin mac and cheese for a long time and now was finally the time. Nothing is better in the winter than the classic fall flavors mixed with the ultimate comfort food!



Recipe inspired from Inspired Taste.

What you need:



1 16 ounce box of pasta*
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mustard
1 can of pumpkin
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

What to do:
Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box.
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.
Stir in flour and cook while stirring, about 1 minute.
Remove from heat and stir in milk.
Place back onto heat and bring to a simmer.
Simmer and stir until thickened.
Stir in salt, pepper, clove, cinnamon, mustard and pumpkin puree.
Add cheese then cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.



Drain pasta and add it into cheese sauce and stir until coated.









While this was cooking, it was so incredibly fragrant. Pumpkin spice flavors filled my kitchen, which is amazing any time of year. This pasta had the perfect mix of pumpkin flavors and cheesiness. It had just the slightest hint of sweetness that paired well with the sharp cheddar flavor. It reminded me of a savory pumpkin pie! The sauce was think and creamy, and amazingly comforting. This might have been my favorite mac and cheese!

What are you favorite ways to make the classic seasonal flavors?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

*As you can see the photo of ingredients has a box of bow tie pasta, but in the photos I used rotini. As I was making this I decided to switch pasta shapes.

Pasta with an Avocado "Cream" Sauce

Oh avocados. Such precious little gems.  They are truly a super food, filled with all kinds of good-for-you things. But sadly, they are quite expensive. Once in a while they will go on sale and I always stock up! Since avocados are a rare and special treat, when I get them I usually like to eat them on their own, and really enjoy them for what they are. However, once in a while I like to go a little crazy, and actually turn my avocados into something, and its usually pretty good.

A friend of my friend, Sara, commented that I should try spaghetti squash with this avocado cream sauce recipe. Well, I'm kind of over the spaghetti squash thing, but that doesn't mean I wasn't going to try the recipe out anyway!



What you need:



1 box of pasta
3 ripe avocados
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.5 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoon basil
6 tablespoons olive oil
Black pepper

What do to:
Start by cooking the pasta according to the instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, scoop out the meat of the avocados into a medium bowl.
Add in the garlic, olive oil, lemon, basil, and salt, and mix it all up.



Once the pasta is done, drain it and add in the avocado sauce. Top with black pepper and serve hot.











I just want to start off by telling you that I was thiiiiiis close to ditching the pasta, and eating the sauce right out of the bowl with some tortilla chips, it was SO GOOD! The avocado was so buttery and fresh, with a nice mild taste. Since the lemon and garlic are pretty strong flavors compared to the avocado, the avocado acted more like a cream sauce, without adding any cream. Actually, this sauce is completely vegan! The original recipe calls for a food processor, but I really liked the chunkiness of just mashing it up with a fork. It was nice getting a bite with a big piece of avocado in it! The garlic added a bit of a spicy note when biting into it, and the lemon gave it a nice tang. Overall, this was some incredibly amazing pasta!

What are your favorite ways to eat avocados? Will you be trying this avocado "cream" sauce?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Tomato Soup Mac & Cheese

Its so nice that Fall is here already!
....

Wait...what?  I don't know about your area, but here in Northern Virginia, it really feels like fall out! The weather has been really cool, especially being that its the middle of August and you expect to go outside and it be in the 90s.  Its not hot, there's a nice breeze, and its not raining like in pesky Spring.  All this cool weather has been making me crave fall even more. And fall foods. Like some nice warm comfort foods. So, why deny it any longer, I decided to make the ultimate comfort food: Tomato soup mac and cheese.



Here's what you need:



1 box of pasta
2 cups of cheddar cheese
10 oz ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups of milk
20 oz cans of condensed tomato soup

Here's what to do:
Cook your pasta as you normally would, but for about half the time, until the pasta is less than el dente.
Drain the pasta and mix it with the ricotta.



Stir in the cheddar cheese, tomato soup, and milk and mix it all together.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish, and bake for 30 minutes.







I was hoping that this pasta would be more cheesy, like mac and cheese, but it reminded me more of tomato soup with cheese and pasta, or pasta with a tomato cream sauce. Either way, it was still very tasty, and definitely filled me with that warm, comfort food feeling.

What is your favorite comfort food? Are you going to try this pasta for yourself?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Inspired from A Local Choice.

Healthy Choice Pumpkin Squash Ravioli

I don't know about you, but I am really craving fall. There are so many reasons why its my favorite season.  Crisp weather and crisp leaves. Cold nights and hot pumpkin lattes. Sweaters, and scarves, and boots! And of course Halloween and my birthday! While I love that the summer brings foods filled with coconut, I just can't wait for fall to bring my beloved pumpkin.

As you know, I have really been enjoying cooking in my new kitchen, but that doesn't mean that I am abandoning my love of frozen meals. I love how quick and easy they are, especially for foods that I don't have the skills to make, like pumpkin ravioli. I love pumpkin ravioli. I think it is probably my second favorite food. This Healthy Choice Pumpkin Squash Ravioli was the perfect frozen meal to hit the spot while I am craving fall in the summer.



I saw this box in the freezer section and instantly snatched it up when I saw "pumpkin" on the box. Then I hugged it for a while, which made me incredibly cold, and then I finally noticed the box: 100% natural, 280 calories, and vegetarian! Yep, I knew this was coming home with me.





There wasn't just pumpkin filled raviolis in the box, but squash, apples, and green beans, all in a butter-sage sauce. This filled the kitchen with that perfect fall pumpkin flavor, sweet and full of spice.





Each ravioli was filled with pumpkin spice flavor, and the sauce was buttery and fragrant. I loved the chunky apples and squash, and the green beans gave it a fresh veggie taste. Each forkful was a little, savory, pumpkin pie.

Now after eating this, I really can't wait for fall. Oh, October, hurry up!

Do you love fall as much as I do? What is your favorite seasonal food?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Greek Pasta Salad

Hey everyone, I hope you are all having a great week. After talking over a month off of work to move and get settled in Virginia, I'm finally back.  While it was nice taking so much time off, I was definitely getting bored. Plus, now that I'm living away from home, and buying my own food (oh ya, and paying that pesky rent) I need to make that green (and I don't mean lettuce)!

The weather is getting so hot, and all I have been craving is cold food. Eating a hot bowl of pasta just isn't appealing in this summer heat, but a nice  cool pasta salad, and you have a winner! Plus, pasta salad is a great addition to those many BBQ's I'm sure you are either throwing or attending.  I decided to give my pasta salad a Greek flare.

Adapted from Mele Cotte.

What you need:


1 box of whole wheat pasta
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Feta cheese
Pitted Kalmata olives
Greek dressing

As you can see in the photo, my Greek dressing is in that tupperware under the tomatoes.  I bought a bottle of Greek dressing from the store, and once I got it home, I saw that it had anchovies in it. *Sigh* That's what I get for not checking the ingredients. The dressing I bought is waiting to get returned to the store, and I was left without dressing. Luckily the pasta salad recipe also had a Greek dressing recipe. I threw together what I had in the house and whipped up some dressing.

Adapted from Mele Cotte.

What you need:



1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil

All you have to do is mix it all together and you have dressing! I couldn't get over how much I loved this dressing. Its a great universal vinaigrette. I have tried to make vinaigrettes before, but they never turned out right. I think it was the mustard that really gave it the perfect flavor. I will definitely be using the dressing for everything!

What do to:

Start by cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the box.
Once the pasta is all done, put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to chill.
While the pasta is chilling, chop up the veggies and feta cheese.



Then just mix the veggies, cheese, and dressing into the pasta and you're all done!









This pasta salad was great and easy to make. The olives and feta gave it that authentic Greek flavor, while the cucumber and tomatoes made this a fresh summer salad.  The homemade Greek dressing on the pasta was perfection.

I made a huge bowl of this and I'm still enjoying it. I hope I get invited to a BBQ just so I can make this again!

Are you going to try this Greek pasta salad?

Bye from the Veggie Side!