Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

If you are ever sick of spaghetti sauce and want something fresh, this recipe would definitely be one to make. It's easy and only takes about 10 minutes to cook, too!


Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

once again, I apologize for the picture quality. My camera isn't the best, but trust me when I say it's something worth making.

2 large ripe, firm tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
1 Tb fresh chopped basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
½ tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
Shredded Parmesan cheese
6-8 oz angel hair pasta
optional: sliced grilled chicken.

Mix together the diced tomatoes, chopped basil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Let “marinate” on counter for 30 minutes. Cook the pasta al dente. Cook tomato mixture on a frying pan (with no oil) for about 5 minutes for all the ingredients to absorb together (if you also top it with chicken, add it in to cook with all the ingredients). Drain pasta and toss with the tomato mixture. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan. Mmmmmm

Baked Chicken Fajitas

 I loved this recipe from http://beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com/search/label/mexican. I adjusted the recipe a little as well, and these were very tasty and healthy. I wasn't sure how the spinach would turn out as one of the ingredients, but it was actually really good!

 

Baked Chicken Fajitas

 

 

 

 

2 large chicken breasts

1/2 cup chicken broth

5 or 6 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped or torn into smallish pieces

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp coarse salt (or about 3/4 tsp regular salt)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 small can diced chilis

Another 1/4 cup chicken broth

About 2 cups grated mozzarella or monterey jack cheese

10 8" soft taco sized flour tortillas (I'd also like to try this with my homemade tortillas, which are about 6")

Olive oil

Put chicken breasts and first 1/2 cup broth in a medium saucepan; fill with enough extra water to cover the chicken by about 2 inches. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Shred or dice the chicken pieces.

 

Add spices, bell pepper, onion, and chilis to the chicken. Cook for about 5-10 minutes or until heated through and peppers reach desired tenderness. This  helps all the flavors absorb together. Place in a bowl, allow to cool for a few mintutes.

Once chicken is cooked, preheat oven to 450. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Cut tortillas in half if they are large, or keep them in their round shape if they are small or medium-sized. Once ingredients are a little cooler, add grated cheese and spinach, then mix to combine. Spoon a bit of the filling onto each tortilla half and top with cheese; roll them up starting from the flat side and tuck them together, roll-side down, on the cookie sheet. Brush tops with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then use tongs to turn flautas over and cook for 10 more minutes on the other side (or until the exposed sides are a dark golden-brown). Serve hot, with salsa if desired.

 

 

Completely Homemade Apple Pie

A few weeks ago I tried making an apple pie for the first time. Let me tell you, I was a little nervous because I have heard bad stories about how pie crusts turn out. I found recipe on the lovely blog: beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com 
and decided to give it a try! It was so divine! I made a few adjustments and side notes to go along with it.

Completely Homemade Apple Pie

9-inch Pastry Crust:
(This recipe only makes one crust, so in order to do a lattice-top pie it must be doubled. I actually find it easier to just make it twice, since the dough is VERY flaky and so not really easy to divide into two balls without overworking the dough.)

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water (I keep adding a tablespoon at a time until it reaches a slightly-sticky texture, so I would say I used about 6 or 7 tablespoons.)

Combine flour and salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle ice water, 1 T at a time, evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball; cover and chill until ready to use (at least 30 minutes). Roll pastry to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. (I find that I have to have my surface more than "lightly floured" or else the dough sticks to the table and breaks when I try to remove it. If the dough is sticking to the table despite the flour, use a flat spatula to gently scrape it off the table. Usually this works just fine.) Fold in quarters, place in pie plate, and unfold. Trim excess pastry along edges. For lattice top: roll out second ball of pastry as directed; cut into one-inch strips. Weave in lattice over filled pie. Separate 1 egg yolk and beat slightly; brush over lattice with pastry brush. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Apple filling:
4-5 cups chopped apples, as long as it fills the pie pan but doesn't overflow too much. You will need enough room to fold the pie crust on top. (Also, the very orignial recipe also says to peel the apples, but I didn't and they turned out just fine). I loved using gala and the yellow-green golden sweet apples.
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 T butter or margarine

Combine apple and lemon juice in large bowl. Combine next 4 ingredients. Spoon over apple mixture, tossing gently. Spoon filling evenly into pastry shell, and dot with butter. (Alternatively - if you are making the pie in stages, you can mix up the crust and the filling and put each of them in the fridge for a few hours. This marinates the apples and makes a nice sugary sauce... if you do that, leave out the butter.) Cover pie with lattice top. Cover edges of pastry with aluminum foil. Note: place a cookie sheet on the rack below whenever you bake something with fruit in it. I forgot to do so and the oven was a mess afterwards! Bake at 450 for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake 50 more minutes. Dish up and enjoy! I guaruntee that you will love it!

Tortelini pasta and spinach salad

 Tortellini Pasta and Spinach Salad

Here is a very simple, basic recipe that I recommend.  Sorry it took me a while to post and you may consider it more of a summer dish, but I promise that there will be several delicious fall recipes coming up soon! Yes, I created this recipe, but trust me that it's worth trying. All you need:

1 package of spinach and cheese tortellini pasta. (I used the Barilla brand, which may be harder to find, but I bought it at Target.)

1 package of fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1/4-1/2 bottle of Italian dressing

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package (the brand I used took 10 minutes). Drain, and let cool.

Mix pasta with dressing, cheese, and spinach, then voila! You've got yourself a tasty pasta. Keep in mind that proportions with the ingredients can be changed according to your taste. I personally like less dressing but some people may enjoy more. This serves about 5-6 medium-sized salads

Baked Tilapia

I came up with this tilapia recipe, but please note that I usually just toss ingredients on it, so the recipe is adjustable to your desire since the measurements may not be completely accurate. It's very easy and delicious.

Baked Tilapia

For about 2-3 fillets:

1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 C parmesean cheese
1/4 C bread crumbs (you can use normal or herb-seasoned panko. I love to combine the two!)
1/2 tsp parsley

 
I use frozen tilapia fillets while making this. To defrost them, place each fillet in a bowl of lukewarm water--just enough to cover them. For me this usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Once they are defrosted, line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place fillets on top. Divide each ingredient in half. Spread butter on top and then sprinkle with lemon juice. Lightly add remaining spices (except parsley), parmesean cheese, and breadcrumbs. Flip each fillet over and repeat with remaining half of ingredients. Garnish with parsley then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Grilled Peanut Butter Honey and Nutella Sandwich

So here is a guilty pleasure college meal. I don't have it that much, but hey, I have a strong addiction for the peanut butter/honey/Nutella combo. I usually have it as toast every morning, but this is a way to "switch it up."

Once I heard of a pb&j grilled sandwich, which I did try once, but this is so much better. All you do is spread on the pb with a teeny bit of honey along with a little Nutella and make it into a sandwich. There's no need to spread butter on the outside of the sandwich before placing it on the panini maker or frying pan, but every now and then I'll spread on a teeny bit (about 1/4 tsp).

But honestly, if you want a quick tasty sandwich, this sandwich-with-a-creamy-warm-feeling's taste is guaranteed to satisfy.

Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancakes.

Here is a tasty, filling recipe that can do well for breakfast, a snack, or whenever. They are delicious and moist and definitely something to try. If you really want to, I'm sure you can replace the strawberries with another preferred fruit, however, I thought the strawberries were great. I topped them with a tiny bit of fruit syrup, strawberries, and whipped cream. If you want to, the original recipe called for chocolate syrup on top, but I'm not a fan of chocolate syrup and wasn't sure if it would be the best combination for breakfast.

 Recipe from : http://thegreatballoonadventure.blogspot.com/2012/07/mo-pancakes-mo-problems.html

 

Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancakes

 

 

 

-2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (you could try substituting with another flour--I used normal wheat flour which worked out just fine)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 & 1/2 heaping tsp sugar

1 pinch salt

3/4 C almond milk (or other milk of choice)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 TBSP + 1 tsp greek yogurt (i used honey flavored)

2/3 cup chopped strawberries