Hot Caprese Pasta

Yes, I know the title is hypocrisy. Caprese is supposed to be cold. But I wanted a hot dinner. And so I give you, HOT Caprese Pasta, inspired by a COLD Caprese Pasta found over at Framed.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 medium sized tomatoes, diced
6 or 7 small balls of fresh mozzarella, diced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
1 lb. egg noodle pasta
5 or 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Combine everything but pasta and basil leaves in medium bowl. Mix to coat well. Set aside.

Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salt water until al dente, about 5 or 6 minutes. Time will vary depending on the type of pasta you use, so just watch it carefully.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium to high heat, add tomato mixture to skillet and saute down until kind of thick. The cheeses melted and created a thick tomato sauce that reminded Andy of "bruschetta".

When pasta is done, drain and add to tomato sauce. Stir in basil leaves.

Plate while it's hot and enjoy!

This was incredibly easy, and definitely tasty. It really is versatile. It could just as well be eaten as a cold pasta, as it was intended. Enjoy!

The Mother Loaf

Alright, so I've got to vent and so vent I shall. I hate Physics. I know my very existence is based on physics, but I hate it. I think it's pointless to know how one gets from point A to point B and how fast it takes me to get there. I don't care how heavy something is if it's on an incline. And I really hate right triangles right now. With that being said, I want to personally thank Physics and the fact that it almost completely ruined my Sunday evening. The only savior was some good comfort food... in the form of a loaf of meat. I give you - the Motherloaf. I know, stupid name... but oh was it delicious...


Ingredients:
Adapted from Bon Appetit Oct 2009 Issue -"Turkey Meatloaf w/ Mushrooms & Herbs"

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups bread crustless bread squares (I used half french baquette and half wheat sandwich bread)
1 cup chicken broth
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup shallots, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tablespoon thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
steak seasoning mix (you can make your own, or store brand, mine is equal parts red pepper flakes, season salt, and chili powder)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb. ground turkey breast
1 lb. ground chuck beef

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

Toss bread squares in chicken broth and let soak for about 10 minutes.

Add in everything else but the meat. Mix up real good.

Add in the meat and blend well. Mold into pan and bake for about an hour and 25 minutes. Let rest for about 15 minutes.

Slice and serve.

Now seriously, how easy is that! I love meatloaf. And this is no exception. I made a quick and easy gravy also by mixing some of the pan juices with some beef stock and reducing down. Add a little cornstarch and the mixture should thicken a bit if you like it that way! Enjoy!

Twice Baked Loaded Sweet Potatoes

I'm telling you, these past couple of weeks, with flu season and all, have made for some quite hellish days at work. I'm so stressed out from the pharmacy that after coming home from a late shift, I don't want to spend hours preparing a great meal. I can settle for a quick, mediocre one. And this was just the case the other night with these potatoes I found over at Mango & Tomato...

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes
2 medium sized chorizo pork sausages
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
6-8 fresh mozzarella balls
salt and pepper to taste

This is pretty much a no brainer recipe: just cook potatoes, fry filling, and bam, but I'll go into the details just in case...

Preheat oven to 475 degrees and bake potatoes for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. Mine were pretty hefty, so it took all of about 45 minutes to get them good and done.

While you're waiting for the potatoes, remove the chorizo from it's casing and fry in a skillet until browned. Then add your garbanzo beans and mix well. The chorizo gives the filling a pretty decent heat, but I found that I had to add a little bit of salt and pepper just to add a little more flavor.


When potatoes are finished, allow them to cool for about 10-15 minutes. Make a slit in the middle of each one and carefully remove the filling and add it to the sausage/garbanzo mixture.

Shred some fresh mozzarella into the mixture, as much as you'd like, and mix well. Then add the mixture into the potato skins. Top with bits of mozzarella (I did this in layers by putting some cheese on the bottom of the potato skins, then add some filling, then more cheese in the middle, and more filling, and then top with cheese, but I like mucho cheesy things so you don't have to do this). Bake the potatoes for about 5 minutes, until cheese is nice and melted and dig in!


This didn't take considerably long to make, especially since I made Andy start baking the potatoes a little before I left work so they would be done by the time I got home! Smart eh? Overall, it was okay... would have been great as a side dish of loaded mashed sweet potatoes, but it was quick, easy, and relieved a little bit of my stress so I can't complain! Enjoy!