Review: Tomato and Asparagus "Carbonara"

Yesterday I posted a recipe for Tomato and Asparagus "Carbonara".  You can find a link to the recipe in my previous post.

I started by doubling the recipe since I had a large box of penne.  I created the egg and cheese mixture first to make sure it had time to come to room temperature before I mixed it in with the hot pasta.  I also wasn't aware that Beth had pulled up our basil out of the garden for the season so I used a little dry Italian Seasoning instead.  I increased the time for sauteing the vegetables as well to make sure the asparagus was cooked.

Recipe was pretty easy to follow and delicious.  The tomatoes were ridiculously hot and I warned the kids about burning their mouths but they still complained, even after they had cooled.  Like most things, it was better with a little extra salt but the recipe called for seasoning to taste so its up to you.  If you can boil pasta, crack an egg, and saute some vegetables, this is an easy to complete recipe that is hearty and fresh.  Give it a try.

Eat Well!
Otto

Dinner Tonight, Review Tomorrow: Tomato and Asparagus "Carbonara"

Follow the link to see the recipe for the Tomato and Asparagus "Carbonara" that I am going to make for the fam tonight.  Carbonara is in quotation marks since there will be no fatty pork product like bacon or pancetta in this recipe, just egg.  I'm going to double the recipe since I have a big box of Barilla Plus brand penne, which is a good source of protein for non-meaters.

http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2012/09/tomato-and-asparagus-carbonara.html



I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

Eat well!
Otto

US Meat Consumption is Falling

October is National Vegetarian Awareness Month and it seems like I am coming across more and more useful articles about avoiding meat.  I guess I am not the only one going veg:

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=4916&catId=1

And if you need some more incentive to try and be meat free this month, check this out.

http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/

You can pledge to be meat free and  you will be entered to win some cash.  If you enter and get selected, you own me half.

Eat well!
Otto

Crab Seasoned Egg and Artichoke Salad

Just a little something to break the monotony of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers in a salad for those looking to salad outside the box. My kids love this, mostly because they are fascinated with hard boiled eggs.  We had this tonight with some lentil soup and leftover cornbread.

I will let you decide what kind of ratios you like best on your veg in a salad but I'll put down what I used tonight.

8 oz greens
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 orange pepper, seeded and chopped
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup Parmesan, Asiago,  Romano cheese blend

Egg topping:
4 hard boiled eggs - chopped
1 can cannellini beans - drained and rinsed
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts - drained and chopped
1 tbsp Old Bay crab seasoning
Put all the ingredients for egg topping in a bowl and mix before adding to the salad

We used a white balsamic and honey dressing from Kroger that was super delicious.  We have had it before with balsamic vinaigrette which is also very good.  I got this from a Muscle and Fitness magazine recipe and substituted the beans for crab.  Give it a try if you want to break out of the salad rut.

Eat well!
Otto

Sweet Potato Fettuccine Review

Yesterday I posted a recipe for sweet potato fettuccine that I wanted to make for dinner.  Since you can get the recipe in my last post, I decided to let you know how it went down, highlight style.

1.  Peeled the potatoes and then sliced them up on my mandoline.  Easy.
2.  Had to cut the slices into uniform strips (about 1/4 in) so they would cook evenly.  Keeping them uniform was VERY HARD!
3.  Followed the recipe but added some sweet onions to the pan to saute a few minutes before I added the potato strips.
4.  Added some blue cheese to the gremolata.    Didn't have a lot, maybe 2 tablespoons.  Figured it would compliment the sweetness of the potatoes with some creamy, tangy, savoriness.
5.  After Will gave me a what the hell is this look and Ali complained about the toasted pecans, we ate it.  Pretty good but needed more salt.  The extra salt gave it a better balance of salt/sweet.
6.  I decided that, like many vegetarian recipes, it would be better off as a side dish. 
7.  Then I decided that it was way too much work to be a side dish.

If you like sweet potatoes, this is good.  The kids actually ate a fair amount but I did threaten no dessert when Ali complained about the nuts (she doesn't like the crunchy texture).  It had good, bright, fresh flavor and was filling.  Lots of fiber and plenty of vitamins.  Not sure it was worth the effort but you never know until you try.  Tonight is vegetarian chili!

Eat well!
Otto

Sweet Potato Fettuccine

 Got a few seconds before the kids start their homework but I wanted to let you know what we are having for dinner.  Gonna try this recipe for Sweet Potato Fettuccine and see how it turns out.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-fettuccine-50400000123963/

 

Hopefully I will have time to review it tomorrow and let you know if its as good as it sounds.  I'm thinking about adding some blue cheese crumbles to the finished product for a little extra goodness.

Eat well!
Otto

Skillet Pot Pie

Last night, I made a veggie pot pie in my cast iron skillet.  I took inspiration from a recipe from Southern Living that made one of the best apple pies ever, you can find a similar apple pie recipe here.  It was fast, delicious, and could easily be adapted for meat eaters by adding some chicken or turkey chunks.

Here is the recipe:

2 frozen pie crusts, thawed
3 tbsp olive oil, divided (2 for sauteing veggies, 1 for under pie crust)
2 onions, chopped
1 shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt
pepper
10 3/4 oz can Cream of Onion soup (choose any cream soup you like, mushroom or potato would be good)
1/4 cup milk
2 29 oz cans Veg-All, drained (substitute fresh veggies of your choice and saute them on your own if you desire)
15 oz can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  Warm 2 tbsp oil in cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Saute onions and shallots until translucent and tender.  Add garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and saute about 2 minutes more.
3.  Add soup and milk directly into skillet with onion mixture. Stir to combine.
4.  Add Veg-All and beans to skillet and heat through.  Add more salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat.
5.  Remove pot pie filling from skillet into a large bowl.  Wipe down skillet with a wet paper towel to remove any residue from the filling.  Caution: skillet will still be hot.  Do not rinse under water.
6.  Coat bottom of clean skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Place one of the thawed crusts in the bottom of the hot skillet.
7.  Add filling back into skillet on top of crust.  Cover filling with remaining pie crust.  Use fingers to spread crust out to edges of skillet to cover all of the filling.  Use a knife to cut holes in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
8.  Place in oven for 35-40 minutes or until crust begins to brown.
9.  Remove from oven and allow to coll for 10 minutes before serving.

I had a little garlic butter spread in the fridge so I melted some and brushed it on top when I pulled it out of the oven.  Not necessary but it gave the top crust a little extra flavor.

Eat well!
Otto