So, do you see how the Cheez-It Scrabble crackers spell out Happy Chanukah and Chag Sameach on my macaroni and cheese casserole? Please notice because absolutely nobody else did. They just dove in and devoured it. (more…)
Archive for the ‘pasta’ Category
Chanukah Mac & Cheese
December 14, 2009Eating Up My Pantry: Curried Coconut Noodles and Tofu Stir-Fry
March 3, 2009
Have you heard about the eGullet challenge to skip your weekly grocery shopping and just live off the bounty already in your pantry/freezer/fridge? I’m so there!
Part of the challenge involves posting your meals under this week-long experiment. So far, I have finished off the pizza dough in the fridge, made veggie tacos, and prepared curried coconut noodles (Curried Noodles with Cashews in Coconut Sauce from Simple Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin, pp.245-6). Tonight, I turned leftover curried coconut noodles into another meal by combining them with a tofu stir-fry. (more…)
Lower Carb Mac & Cheese
February 16, 2009
My husband is very focused on comfort food these days. He brought me a magazine with a cover shot of Mac & Cheese. “Comfort Food Tonight: Your Favorite Recipes Made Faster (and Healthier),” the cover of Real Simple promised. “Could you please make this?” he asked.
Spinach Ziti Casserole
January 8, 2009
I made another recipe from The Six O’Clock Scramble: Spinach Noodle and Cheese Bake. Except I changed it around a lot.
The recipe calls for 10 ounces of frozen spinach, but I used a 1 lb. bag. The spinach is supposed to be mixed in with all the other ingredients: white sauce, diced tomatoes, ziti, and Parmesan cheese. But my son got agitated at the idea of spinach being mixed into his noodles, so I just layered the spinach on the bottom of the casserole pan. Instead of Parmesan, I used shredded mozzarella. I changed some other things, too.
My son picked out the noodles and tomatoes and left behind the creamy sauce and spinach. My husband exclaimed, “Tuscan! Mmmmm. Peccadillo Romano!” Then he ate two portions. Pointing at his plate, he said, “This recipe is going straight to the blog. That way I can read about it and find out what I have been eating.”
Spinach Ziti Bake
8 ounces ziti
1 lb spinach defrosted
1/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat, and it was fine)
2 Tbl. oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups milk
4 ounces shredded mozzarella
14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes
Boil pasta until al dente. Drain.
Defrost spinach and drain well. Layer the spinach on the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan and season with salt and pepper.
Saute onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add milk to the flour mixture and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens.
Combine the ziti, sauce, diced tomatoes, most of the shredded cheese (set aside some for topping casserole). Pour the pasta mixture over the spinach in the casserole dish and sprinkle over the reserved cheese.
Bake the casserole in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted and golden and the pasta is heated through, about 30 minutes.
The pasta was nice, but I don’t like having to mess up two pots plus a casserole dish for a simple dinner.
Aviva has a blog that looks interesting. Recipes there that look interesting: Spiced Chicken with Maple Butter Glaze, Middle Eastern Green Salad with Mint, and Mediterranean Quinoa Salad.
Making Pasta with Kids
November 13, 2008The LA Times’ Amy Scattergood has written an article about making pasta with kids. “Pasta-making is a bit like a kid’s project anyway,” she writes. “Mix flour and eggs together into something that resembles Play-Doh. Then roll it out, cut it into funny shapes, boil it and eat it under a spoonful of sauce.”
She made it sound so easy.
Hah.
I told my 3 12/ year old we would make noodles. It would be a project. Like when we made split pea soup or oatmeal cookies. “Great!” He said.
His eyes opened wide when I showed him the play-Doh like mass of pasta dough and the pasta machine. He excitedly cranked the handle and watched the dough extrude.
But something was amiss. The dough was coming out somewhat shredded looking, a little lacy, with lots of holes. So we kept folding the dough and putting it through. The little guy was wearing down and cranking more slowly as we put the dough through again and again to smooth it out.
Daddy came to help. “Are you having fun with the project?” He asked. “Daddy,” my son said wearily, “this isn’t a project, this is REAL.”
Finally, I divided up the dough and put through smaller pieces. Success! [note: the recipe, I realize now, says to divide it in four pieces before rolling it out. I missed that crucial instruction, unfortunately. Well, now we know what happens if you don’t divide it up!] We made the dough thinner and thinner (by now, Daddy was cranking). Then we put it through the fettuccine cutter. That was exciting.
The pasta was delicious, but, I’m sorry Amy, that was hard work! Though it would have been easier if I had followed the directions better. Oh well. Next time.
Pragmatic Attic 