Urban Suburban Mommy

Tag Archives: pasta

Presto –– it’s Pesto!

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes, Domestic Goodness .

Want a add a twist to the flavour in your Kitchen?

How about one that is simple and easy to make?

Oh, and one that is enjoyed by all?

PESTO!

This wonderful flavour is such a simple add to any plain pasta, chicken, zoodle, panini, or other food that needs a burst of flavour – and an easy add for an instantly delicious meal.

Look no further, we’re going to explore pesto!

Pesto is simply made with basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and garlic.

That’s it.

It’s amazing how these 5 simple ingredients combined can be so flavourful. Variations – why yes, of course. We love this article from the Food Network that shows you 50 different ways to make Pesto – 50 Different Pesto Recipes

No matter which combination you choose (my favourite is basic pesto) the format is the same.

What you need:

– 2 cups Fresh basil (loosely packed – include the thin stems as well)
– 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
– 1/3 cup Pine nuts (optional: toast them for more flavour)
– 1/3 cup Olive oil
– 1 Garlic clove, minced
– Salt to taste (optional)

What you do:

Using a food processor (manual or automatic) add pine nuts first. Process to small bits. Add basil, and continue to process until both are tiny bits.

Add olive oil, garlic, and finally Parmesan Cheese (salt too if you want). Mix/blend together well, and serve. It’s as easy as that!

 

 

Our favourite is to serve it over shrimp sautéed in butter and garlic. You can serve this over pasta or zoodles (Noodles made from zucchini in a spiralizer or Julienne Peeler). You can also make a double batch and add to your favourite sandwich/panini the next day.

Made extra? It freezes well. A great trick is to freeze it in an ice cube tray so that you can grab as little or as much as you want.

Have a great week!


Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

 

Southwestern Meal Salad

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes, Domestic Goodness .

Its Spring, time to channel your Inner “Elaine Benes” from Seinfeld, and create your own “Big Salad”. This salad has so many variations, but today we are going Southwest with our version.

Some of you may say that a salad is not filling enough, but I stay tuned as I give you a tip on how to overcome that!

What you need:

Salad:

– 1 head of iceburg lettuce (Romaine can also work here too)
– 1 can of black beans
– 1 can of corn
– 3 chicken breasts cooked and diced (I love to grill mine on my indoor grill pan!)
– 2 tomatoes diced
– 1 cucumber, diced
– 1 orange pepper, diced
– 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
– 1 avocado, diced (Optional)
– Torillia chips (Optional)
– 2 cups penne pasta, prepared (Optional)

Dressing:

– 1 cup ranch dressing
– 2 tbsps southwest seasoning

TIP:  Pasta, you question?  Why pasta?  I’ve started added pasta (or other grains) to many of my meal salads to ensure that the meals feels like a meal!  If you ever want to close that kitchen at night, and avoid those “Can I have a snack?” questions 10 min after feeding them a prepared meal, you need to add the pasta.

First of all, kids LOVE pasta, so you’ll get them eating the salad with less complaints, and Second, it will fill them up more.

What you do:

With salads, presentation is everything. Follow this order for a picture perfect salad!

1. In a Large Pasta Serving Bowl or Large Salad Bowl add the ingredients in this order.

  • Lettuce
  • Penne (optional)
  • Black beans
  • Corn
  • Chicken
  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Cheddar
  • Avocado (optional)
  • Dressing
  • Tortilla Chips.

AMP IT UP:  If you have the indoor grill all up and ready for the chicken, why not grill up some of the lettuce for a unique and delicious variation to your salad. This works best with romaine lettuce.

Pre-heat the grill to medium-high heat. Slice the tip and root of the lettuce. Spray lettuce (or drizzle) with olive oil spritzer. Place on grill, turning every minute or so. You want the lettuce to turn brown.

Remove from grill and tear up for the salad.  Continue on to Step 2!

2. For the dressing, mix the ranch with the seasoning, and pour over salad.

This is a super-simple recipe that can be manipulated to use whatever’s on hand that day. I do this mainly with Caesar Salads and Southwest Salads. It’s a big hit in our home, so I’m sharing it with yours!

For More information on the Products or Other Tools for your Kitchen, contact: Danielle@daniellereid.ca

Independent Consultant for the Pampered Chef & Master Meal Planner


Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

daniellereid.ca

One-pot baked pasta

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes, Domestic Goodness .

Whenever I ask what I should make for dinner, the answer is always PASTA!!! This pasta is a go-to in our house, a favourite for those busy nights. Its well received by kids and adults – there’s just something comforting with Spaghetti.

And what’s better than a good meal that’s quick and simple to prepare?

Easy clean up!!

If you could prepare a delicious pasta meal and only clean up one pan with a total prep time of approximately 30 minutes, would that make your night?

Sure it would!

Does having the right tools in your kitchen aid in making your meals quicker and easier?

Sure does!

Pull out your oven-safe and stove-top safe Dutch Oven.  If you don’t have one, you can check out my favourite one here   It’s called a RockCrok and it is a ceramic coated stone (all natural) – a must-have tool for your kitchen.  I use this item at least 3 to 4 times per week.

Let’s “ROCK” this Pasta.

What you need:

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 large cooking onion
  • 1 1/2 cups mushrooms (optional)
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 cans of San Marzano tomatoes (diced tomatoes will work too)
  • 1/2 can of tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 package spaghetti pasta (not prepared)
  • Parmesan cheese and parsley for garnish
  • 1 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded (optional)

See the Video of this recipe:

What you do:

  1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat Dutch Oven at med-high on stove top. Add oil.
  2. Add onions and mushrooms and stir until onions are cooked (translucent) 3-5 min.
  3. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more
  4. Add tomatoes, paste, oregano, and bay leaf.  Stir.  If needed blend here.
  5. Add water and pasta and bring to a boil.
  6. Ensure Pasta is submerged in sauce/water. Put the lid on.
  7. Place in the oven for 25 minutes with the lid on.
  8. Add Mozzarella cheese to top, broil for 5 minutes with lid removed.
  9. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve with Parmesan and parsley along with your Favourite Salad.

Add-on:  Meatballs or Ground Beef make Excellent add-ins here!  Go with what you have and make it your own!

What is your family’s favourite meal?  Please share with me in the comments below!

For More information on the Products or Other Tools for your Kitchen, contact: Danielle@daniellereid.ca

Independent Consultant for the Pampered Chef & Master Meal Planner


Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

daniellereid.ca

 

Baked Tuna Pasta (fast and healthy)

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes .

To all my fellow busy families out there.. my posts are directed to you.  As we must stick together to make good decisions for us and our families while trying to meet every deadline we’ve previously committed to meeting.  Are we over-committed? Yes we are!  but there is a certain sense of accomplishment that comes from meeting all of those crazy deadlines.  We all realize that at some point things will have to change, but that’s for another day!!  Today we are going to ROCK what we have, WITH what we have.  So let’s Rock this… Baked Tuna Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes.  One Pot, One Mess, One clean-up.

 

What You Need:

375 g (approx 3 cups) of uncooked Pasta (Rigatoni or Fusili)

3 Cups of Chicken Broth

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Sun Dried Tomatoes packed in oil, Drained and sliced

1/2 med onion, diced

2 Garlic Cloves, Pressed

3 tbsp Olive Oil

2 Cans of Tuna (packed in water), drained

1 lemon, wedged

1/2 chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste.

What You Do:

Directions.  * This recipe uses both the stovetop and the Oven.

  1.  Set oven to 350° F.  Add Oil to Stovetop safe 4-qt Dutch Oven or an Oven Safe 4-qt pc of Cookware on Med-High Heat.
  2. Saute Garlic and Onions until Translucent.
  3. Add Tuna, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, 1/2 of the Parmesan Cheese, Broth, Pasta, salt and pepper
  4. Bring the Broth to a boil on stovetop.
  5. Place in the Oven for 25 Min (or until Pasta is cooked through)  * use this time to change you clothes or help with homework!!
  6. Remove from Oven, Spoon in to bowl, adding Parley, remaining Parmesan Cheese and a Lemon Wedge as garnish.

This Recipe is SO SIMPLE and SO GOOD.  It’s a amazing what happens when you combine some simple ingredients with a Flavor Booster such as Sun Dried Tomatoes… Even the kids LOVE it!!

Rock ON.

Danielle Reid

Meal Planning, Meals in Minutes and Independant Consultant for the Pampered Chef

www.facebook.com/daniellespamperedkitchen

Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

WEBSITE: www.pamperedchef.biz/daniellereid

Garlic shrimp pasta with hearts of palm

Posted on by Posted in Delicious Dishes .
shrimp and heart of palm pasta

shrimp and heart of palm pastaI literally made up this dish tonight because I didn’t feel like cooking and really didn’t have time to cook. I even cut a few corners because I did had some leftover spaghetti in the fridge, so this even qualifies as a great leftover meal. But, of course, you can boil your pasta and give it a go. The dish turned out pretty tasty. It may just be added into the rotation.

What you need:

-Pasta – whatever type you choose – I used spaghetti (cooked)
-A bag of frozen cooked shrimp (freezer section of the grocery store – usually about 30-40 pieces)
-Can of hearts of palm
-Tomato sauce
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-2-3 tablespoons garlic, chopped (I stock the readymade kind)
-3-4 tablespoons margarine or butter
-Salt & pepper to taste
-Italian seasoning

What you do:

shrimp and heart of palm pastaTake your cooked pasta out of the fridge (or make a fresh batch). Portion is up to you, I based this dish for about 2 people but I had leftovers.
Open your bag of frozen shrimp and place into a bowl of lukewarm water.
Chop up your hearts of palm (quantity is up to you).
Take a saucepan, heat to medium, pour in olive oil and spoon in garlic.
Let the garlic cook for about a minute or so.
Drain the shrimp. Add to the saucepan.
Spoon in the margarine.
Add your salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Cover with a lid and let cook for about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat.

To serve:

Plate your pasta.
Spoon some shrimp and liquid onto your pasta.
Add hearts of palm.
Add a couple tablespoons of tomato sauce.
Toss and enjoy.

This dish took me 10 minutes to make. Enjoy!