Last week when I made the Pesto Tortellini Soup I had on my menu, I ended up with 7 ounces minus 1/4 cup of pesto left over. The next night we had Easy Peasy Bean Tacos, which resulted in a half a container of leftover grape tomatoes. The next night (are you liking this painful play-by-play?) I swung by the store on the way home from a playdate and saw a $2 package of fresh fettuccine that inspired me. I grabbed a half pint of cream, a package of sliced mushrooms and went home to throw dinner together as quickly as possible.

The result was a simple and fast recipe that was molto delicioso. The best part? My girls ate ALL of their dinner and then some. And I have another meatless recipe to add to the arsenal.

Buon appetito!

Creamy Pesto Fettuccine with Mushrooms & Tomatoes

 

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Quick, easy, and super yummy!

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dishes, Pasta

Ingredients

• 9 oz. fresh fettuccine (or whatever past you have on hand)
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• Couple handfuls of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced or smashed through a garlic press
• ½ pint cream
• Prepared pesto (I used 7 ounces MINUS ¼ cup since the pesto was leftover from the soup recipe, but I think a 7-ounce package will work just fine”¦no need to subtract out that ¼ cup”¦although you could make the Pesto Tortellini Soup the same week to coordinate!)
• 2 handfuls fresh grated parmesan cheese, plus some for garnish
• ½ to 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• Olive oil for sautéing

Instructions

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and drizzle with a bit of butter or olive oil to prevent sticking.
2. While waiting for water to boil for the pasta, start working on the other stuff. Sauté the mushrooms in a tablespoon or two of olive oil until softened. Add garlic and tomatoes and sauté a few minutes more. Add cream, pesto sauce and salt; simmer to reduce until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted.
3. Pour sauce over pasta and serve, sprinkled with fresh grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil if you have it.
4. A few things I think would be good to add, but I haven’t actually tried yet: a shallot sautéed with the mushrooms, spinach, or white beans.

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These stuffed peppers are worth stuffing…into your face, your mouth, your belly. You will stuff yourself silly. I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you for weeks and the stars have finally aligned.

My friend Julia served these to us a month or two ago…I think that night I might have eaten 3 peppers, but who’s counting? I’m telling you, they are DEEE-LISH.

Without further ado (I think I might say that too much on here…whatever)…the recipe!

Stuffed Peppers Worth Stuffing...

 

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Author: My friend Julia Axtell, with my notes and alterations

Ingredients

• 6-7 bell peppers of various colors, 1¾ to 2 pounds (I went ALL RED. They're the best in my book.)
• 2-4 Tablespoons olive oil (I was out of olive oil - quel horreur! but canola oil worked like a charm)
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound sweet or hot italian sausage, casings removed
• 3 cups cooked rice (Julia used basic white rice and it was fabulous. I used a rice blend of Texmati, brown and wild rice and it was soooo yummy.)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
• ½ cup water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut tops from peppers and remove seeds and ribs. If your peppers don't want to stand up nicely, cut off part of the bottom as well to level the base of the pepper. Try not to cut through to the inside, but if you do it's not the end of the world. Brush outside of peppers with olive oil.
3. In a medium frying pan, heat remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 2-4 minutes, or until softened. Crumble sausage meat into pan and cook, stirring to break up lumps, until it begins to lose its pinkness, 5-7 minutes. Drain the fat (use a slotted spoon or pat with papertowels).
4. Slightly beat egg in a large-ish mixing bowl. Add rice, parsley, cheese, salt, pepper and sausage/onion mixture. Mix well.
5. Stuff the bell peppers with rice filling, mounding top slightly. Place peppers in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Mix tomato sauce with water and pour into dish around peppers. Bake 45 minutes.

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This giveaway is now closed. Winners will be announced on Thursday, 3/18. Keep reading this post, though – the book and the recipe are great!

The first recipe I made from my new cookbook was a success! The whole family loved this pasta with peas and ricotta last night. Looks yummy, doesn’t it? It was fast and only used one pan, which makes the recipe even better in my book!

Want to make it yourself? Well, I’ll share the recipe with you at the end of this post…but first you need to enter today’s giveaway! TWO lucky readers will each win a copy of Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast. Big thanks to Everyday Food for a very fab cookbook giveaway!

Please add a comment to this post by Midnight PT, Wednesday March 17 to enter! Two random winners will be announced March 18. To enter, share your favorite Everyday Food recipe with us (links welcome!) in the comments section…or just comment about anything! (One entry per person and the prize needs to be shipped to a U.S. address.)

Good luck with the giveaway! Time for the recipe!

(>> Find out more…)

My little sister just returned from spending two months in India. Last night she and her friend Kristen cooked us a vegetarian Indian dish called Gobi Matar Sabzi. It was awesome. I can’t wait to try cooking it myself when I get home and maybe even trying some other Indian recipes. By the way, for you parents out there…both of my girls gobbled this dish up!

Featured Recipe: Gobi Matar Sabzi

 

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Original recipe from my veggie world – Anne and Kristen changed it up

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish

Ingredients

• 1 big onion ground to a fine paste
• 1 big tomato pureed
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or minced fresh garlic, 1-2 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon green chili paste
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
• 1 cup cleaned cauliflower florets
• salt to taste (between 1 tsp and 1 TBSP)
• pinch of turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
• 3 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 tablespoon oil
• chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil (mediumish heat). Add onion paste and fry till cooked or until raw smell disappears. Add ginger, garlic (if using fresh), green chili paste and saute for one minute. Add tomato puree and cook till paste is thick. Add powdered spices and salt. Stir then add vegetables. Cover and simmer over medium heat until cauliflower is tender. Add chopped fresh cilantro prior to serving.
2. Serve with basmati rice, with fresh cilantro added to the rice just prior to serving.

Notes

Jane note: this dish would be good with more kick, as well – I liked it mild, but I want to experiment with making it spicier some time

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One thing that has been so fabulous about having this blog is “meeting” all of YOU! I love the sense of community and the many friends that I’ve picked up along the way, friends I’ve never actually met in person.

Lucky for me I had the chance to meet three of my dear blogging friends last week!  Marie from Make and Takes, Allison from Petit Elefant and Lindsey from Cafe Johnsonia. I knew they’d be amazing women, but they exceeded my expectations. If you haven’t been to these ladies’ blogs, go check them out here and here and here. You’ll love them.

Lindsey was gracious enough to host our get-together at her home, complete with all of our kids in tow.  Which was a lot of kids, by the way.  Lindsey is a fantastic cook (hence her food blog) and made some delicious Sausage Potato Soup (with secret ingredients!!) and homemade Wheat Bread.  It was HEAVEN. In the spirit of recipe sharing, Lindsey shared her soup recipe with me, which you can get below! (Update: I have modified the recipe over the years, adjusting the amounts of ingredients as well as building out the directions in more detail.)

Thank you Lindsey, Marie and Allison for a perfectly lovely afternoon!

Sausage Potato Soup

 

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From Lindsey Johnson (I have modified the recipe a bit over the years from what Lindsey originally sent over, so this is my version below)

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 pound bulk pork Italian sausage
• ¼ onion, chopped
• 7 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1½ tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Add a swig of oil to a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Cook onions for a few minutes then add the sausage and cook until no longer pink. Let the sausage stay in larger chunks rather than totally breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain off excess fat.
2. While the sausage and onions are cooking, bring chicken stock to a boil in a large pot. Add potatoes, reduce heat to medium-high and simmer until potatoes are just turning tender.
3. Add the cooked sausage and onions to soup. Add the cream and butter. Stir until butter is melted. Add the vanilla and balsamic vinegar right before serving. Sprinkle pepper over the top, taste and add more salt and/or pepper as needed.

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Today’s recipe comes from reader, Kate. It was on her menu a few weeks ago and I stole it shamelessly. Nate and I really enjoyed this dish, and it is super easy to prepare. Plus, it’s so pretty!

Featured Recipe: Caramelized Onion & Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

 

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From Robin to the Rescue by Robin Miller, via TWFD reader Kate

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Pasta

Ingredients

• 12 oz spinach fettuccine (Kate note: I always use regular fettuccine or whole wheat spaghetti with great success)
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 1 cup sliced roasted red peppers (Jane note: I just bought a jar of these at the store)
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup vegetable broth (Kate note: I usually use chicken b/c i have an open container in my fridge)
• salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta and drain. While pasta is cooking, heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sugar and cook, stirring a couple of times until the onions are golden brown and carmelized, about 10 minutes (Jane note – took longer for me). Stir in the red peppers and vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth and pasta and simmer for 2 minutes to heat through. Season with salt and pepper and serve. The sauce will thicken up a bit upon sitting for a minute or two.

Notes

Kate note: I am only making this for 2.5 of us so I usually make half the pasta, but a full recipe fo the sauce. It’s so good and we like it really saucy! Enjoy!

Jane note: I had a 9 oz package of spinach fettuccine”¦and I thought it was too much pasta for the sauce, so go with Kate’s tip of just doing 6 oz of pasta (half the recipe), but the full recipe of sauce. Also, I’m going to throw some chicken in here next time – I think that would taste good. Great dish!

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First off, my apologies to all the vegetarians out there…this is a very MEATY post. 🙂 The first time I had ribs, my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Mark made them for the 4th of July and I was SOLD. And, as I mentioned recently, all I want to eat lately is ribs from Phil’s BBQ (here in San Diego).

Nate and I took a hand at grilling our first ribs this weekend (pictured). They were yummy yummy and cost about half as if we’d gone out. So, here’s how Barbara and Mark taught us how to do it – it’s easy, although cleaning the roasting pan – not so fun.

Featured Recipe: RIBS & Great BBQ Sauce

 

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Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Beef

Instructions

1. Cook ribs in big roasting pan at 250 degrees for about 5 hours. Place ribs on a rack in the pan and keep some water in the bottom of the pan while cooking. You can roast the day before and refrigerate until you’re ready to grill.
2. Cook ribs on grill, low heat setting, for about 30 minutes or until they’re hot. While they’re cooking, keep slathering with BBQ sauce and turning every few minutes.
3. “What BBQ sauce should I use?” you may be wondering. Barb’s favorite by far is Head Country BBQ sauce, and we have to agree. It is seriously yummy, and you can order it online easy as pie!

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Since posting this recipe I here, I have since written a post about it with more detailed directions. Click here for the updated post and recipe!