Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta al Forno

I've really been on a pasta kick as of late. I always use the Barilla Plus Wheat Pasta. It is a Best Life recommendation by the Bob Green, Oprah's trainer so it must be good! This recipe comes from Annie's Eats, my favorite food blog, and is another variation of the typical weekday spaghetti dish. But I swear this one tastes like a restaurant meal. It is so fresh tasting from the plum tomatoes instead of the typical jarred spaghetti sauce. And I love the cubes of melted mozzarella cheese instead of the regular layer of melted shredded cheese. I serve this with a salad and Focaccia bread for a yummy, easy weekday dinner (and it makes enough for leftovers!).

Note: I pureed the tomatoes because Patrick doesn't like chunks of tomatoes. It was great this way, but I also think it would be equally delicious with the "chunks".

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-14 oz. cans diced Italian plum tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
S&P
1 lb. pasta (tubes)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed
2/3 c. Parmesan

Directions:
Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook over medium high heat, 1 min. Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, 15 min. Add S&P. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Toss pasta with sauce. Place half of pasta in an oiled 9×13” dish. Cover with half Parmesan and half mozzarella. Top with remaining pasta, then Parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes

Kristin

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie comes from another one of my favorite cookbooks Family Dinners. It's one of those cookbooks that I can read over & over again. It has great crowd pleaser recipes and they are generally healthful - perhaps you are trying to do the New Year, New You program like my family. It's a great variation on the weekly spaghetti dinner & served with a green salad & crusty bread it's a perfect meal.

The sauce on this pie is a little tangier than the usual jarred spaghetti sauce. I love it because it tastes fresh & a little peppier than Prego. I also love how the egg & Parmesan cheese mixed with the spaghetti gives it structure so it is really like a "crust". Patrick & Will love the layer of ricotta cheese.

My favorite thing about this recipe is that everyone likes it. In my family that means everyone is eating the same food at the same time. Will uses his fork and every once in a while says, "Mmmm", Patrick gets up himself to get 2nds and then 3rds, Audrey eats virtually anything but seems to really enjoy this pie, and Mommy smiles to herself that everyone if simultaneously happy & hopes it will last a long while...at least until dessert.

6 oz whole wheat spaghetti, cooked & drained

2T butter

1/3 c Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c onion, chopped

1/4 c green pepper, chopped

s & p

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

1 can (6oz) tomato paste

1T sugar

2t Italian seasoning

1/2t garlic salt

1 c ricotta cheese

1/2 c grated mozzarella cheese



Heat oven to 350F. Return cooked & drained spaghetti to cooking pot. Put butter on hot spaghetti. Add Parmesan cheese & eggs. Mix well. transfer to 10" pie plate. In a large skillet, cook onion & green pepper. Lightly season with s & p. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, Italian seasoning, & garlic salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Spread ricotta on spaghetti crust. Put tomato mixture over ricotta cheese. Bake uncovered 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese on top. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Kristin

Black Bean & Salsa Soup

I love this soup. It is such a find! I discovered this recipe on my favorite food blog Annie's Eats. I have made it 3 times in 2 weeks. I first made it for dinner & Patrick & I loved it. It is SO simple but really delicious & filling. I made another batch & had it for a few lunches. When I ran out, I was so sad that I made another batch. I love black beans & this soup has great black bean flavor with spice from the salsa. I top it with low fat cheese, fat free sour cream and cilantro for a lower calorie meal & I watch Patrick dip delicious taco chips in his for added crunch. Mmmm...

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1.5 cups vegetable broth

1 cup salsa

1 t cumin

sour cream, cilantro, cheese for garnish

Combine beans, broth, salsa &cumin in a food processor. Blend until fairly smooth. Heat soup in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Ladle soup in bowls and garnish as desired.

Kristin

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

There are good times to try out a new recipe & there are bad times to try out a new recipe. Having over dinner guests, cooking for your in-laws, or your husband's boss are all examples of bad times to try out a new recipe. Another bad time is the night before your baby's first birthday party when I needed to make her cake, Pilgrim hat cookies, a hair bow & sew sequins on her tutu. That's probably the kind of night to order pizza, but no, I decided to try something new. So last night was the true test of whether this Tortilla & Black Bean Pie could be labeled as a "go to" recipe. The kind of recipe that is yummy, easy to cook, easy to serve, easy to clean up, & can be made while doing a number of other things simultaneously (like making a hair bow). Ding, ding! We have a winner! Tortilla & Black Bean Pie is definitely our newest "go to" recipe. It was delicious, so simple to make that I didn't mess it up while doing a number of other things, it's actually such a good recipe that I didn't really change anything, it popped right out of the spring form pan & cut into slices perfectly, & only required the use of one skillet & one pan (which went straight into my sink filled with a number of dirty dishes from making Audrey's birthday cake). I almost couldn't believe how well this pie turned on it's first try or that it was so yummy that I won't change a single thing about it the next time I make it.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie
Ingredients:
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas - I used 8 & doubled the tortillas for each layer
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground cumin
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 (15-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz. beer, or 1 ½ cups water - please, you know I used water!
1 (10-oz.) package frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
8 oz. shredded Mexican cheese
sour cream and salsa, for serving

cilantro

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5-7 minutes.

Add beans and beer (or water) to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Fit a trimmed tortilla in the bottom of the springform pan; layer with ¼ of the beans and sprinkle evenly with some of the cheese. Repeat three times, using all of the remaining cheese on the top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes. Unmold pie; garnish with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges and serve with sour cream and salsa.

*Note: I use the uncooked tortilla dough from Costco & cook them on both sides before layering into the springform pan.

Kristin

Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

Pumpkin - Check! Cream Cheese - Check! You know this one is going to be good. I know these are usually ingredients in a dessert, but this time it's a main dish pasta! A little off the norm, but the PERFECT Fall dinner recipe. When I told Patrick we were having this for dinner he asked, "Have you made that before? It sounds...weird." Weird - Maybe. Delicious - Yes! And boy did my family love it. It's a pumpkin version of Fettuccine Alfredo. Try it - You'll like too!

See Audrey loves Pumpkin Pasta!

1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 (16 oz) pkg pasta, cooked

In a large saucepan, combine Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, butter & milk. Cook over low heat, stirring until cheese is melted. Add pumpkin, cayenne pepper, nutmeg & cinnamon; mix well. Heat throug; do not boil. Add pasta, tossing lightly. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

Kristin

Macaroni & Cheese

Perfect. Fabulous. Delicious. This is my MOST requested recipe. So easy, yet so good! It has changed the lives of many. You'll never make the one in the blue box AGAIN!

I don't know where this recipe originated from, but my everyone in my family has been making it for years. The first time I had it was as a kid at our family's Christmas Eve party (my Aunt Barbara made it!) & I remember asking my mom to get me seconds...and then thirds! The recipe is just for the cheese sauce to be poured over pasta or potatoes (I like both!).

Tips: When you add the flour & milk, first add the flour, then stir, then gradually add the milk while stirring so that the sauce is smooth (you don't want lumpy mac & cheese!). And although the recipe doesn't specify, measure out 2 cups of DRY elbow macaroni to make the right amount for a good cheese sauce/pasta ratio. I never vary from the original recipes except to sometimes top it with Italian bread crumbs over the cheese (as I did in this picture). Enjoy.

Even though I have made this MANY times, we were so excited to eat it that I started serving it up before I remembered to take a picture!

Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheese (Reserve 1/2 cup for top)

Melt butter in microwave. Stir flour and milk into butter. Microwave 3 minutes and stir well. Cook 4 minutes more. Add cheese and stir well to melt cheese. Pour over cooked macaroni or cooked potatoes. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Kristin