Tomato Basil Pasta–What You Do With All Those Tomatoes

If you grow tomatoes in your garden, you know you always end up with some amount at the end of the season. When you’ve canned or frozen most of them, there’s still the last stragglers. Well, this tomato basil pasta is exactly the dish you want to use up what you have. Incidentally, it’s great off-season too.

This recipe also has the benefit of being totally vegan. It’s nice served with a bit of grated Parmesan or Romano but then it’s vegetarian instead of vegan. I love grated cheese with tomatoes and pasta, but I’ll tell you this–you don’t need the cheese.

Totally Vegan

Made as is, this meal is meatless and totally vegan. Don’t let that fool you–you won’t miss the meat here. It’s a good recipe to keep in your arsenal to make when you have vegan or vegetarian friends over for dinner. It’s also great for folks who want to go meatless a day or two each week because the cost of meat is skyrocketing. You don’t have to make this with the last of the home-grown tomatoes. Off season, make it with grape tomatoes you can get at your supermarket.

For the vegetarians in your list, this also works when served with grated cheese. The cheese adds a bit of oomph to the taste but it’s really good without it. I’m a cheese lover but I find it’s great without it.

Pasta

The best pasta shape for this is good old spaghetti. It just makes a nice presentation.

As an aside, if you also have a bumper crop of zucchini, why not make some “zoodles” with that. That way, this will be a very low-carb meal but satisfying nonetheless.

The Recipe

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Tomato Basil Pasta

Use those end-of-season tomatoes

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pasta with tomatoes, using up end-of-season tomatoes

Servings: 2

Calories: 704kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 8 oz spaghetti style pasta uncooked
• 3 cups assorted tomatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• 1/4 cup basil roughly chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add garlic, salt, pepper and sugar; stir well.
• Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes rust and release their juices. Cook until the liquid is slightly reduced. Add the pasta and basil. Toss well. Serve immediately.
• Serve with Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired. It’s still vegetarian with the cheese but no longer vegan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 704kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Sodium: 1182mg | Potassium: 805mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2023IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg

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Asian Beef And Pepper Noodles–Quick Dinner

What dinner can be quicker than a stir fry? The answer to that is not too many.

Anything Asian is likely full of flavor. Most Asian stir fries are also economical because meat is, more than likely, used as a condiment. Stir fries are also a great place to use any leftover fresh veggies and meat. If you’re like me, you probably have bits and pieces of fresh veggies in your crisper. With me it’s usually bell peppers–I’ll have half or a quarter of a pepper. That’s perfect for this Asian beef and pepper noodles. With this, I was lucky enough to have several colors of bell peppers due to a sale.

Noodles

I use the Asian stir fry noodles because I love the chewy texture. They have a satisfying texture that spaghetti does not. But since my mantra is always “use what you have” then if you have good old spaghetti, use it here. Trust me I’ve made it with spaghetti and it’s very good.

If I’m using regular spaghetti, I tend to use the No. 8 because it’s a bit thicker that No. 9. Sometimes No. 8 is called spaghetti where No. 9 is called thin spaghetti.

Leftovers?

You betcha!

This is the perfect dish to use them up. I had some leftover uncooked round steak and pepper halves so I took advantage.

Now, I used beef but if you have some rotisserie chicken left over, then use it here. Also, feel free to change up the veggies either to what you have left in the crisper or to ones you prefer over my choices. The two constants here should be onion and garlic–unless you have allergies to either.

The Recipe

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Asian Beef & Pepper Noodles

Leftovers work great here.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: easy stir fry with leftovers, lo mein stir fry, using lo mein noodles

Servings: 4

Calories: 400kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 each yellow orange & red bell peppers, cut in matchsticks
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 2 cups Napa cabbage shredded
• 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
• 8 oz beef round steak cut in thin strips
• 2 tbs oil
• 8 oz lo mein noodles or spaghetti

Noodle Sauce

• 1/2 cup oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
• 2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook noodles per package directions. Drain and set aside
• Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or wok. Add the beef and cook until browned.
• Add the peppers, onions, cabbage, and garlic in the same pan and stir fry until crisp-tender.
• Add the cooked noodles and sauce and toss until coated and heated through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 1734mg | Potassium: 410mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 178IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg

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Easy Peasy Slow Cooker Alfredo Ravioli Lasagna

This has got to be one of the easiest meals you can make. It’s versatile too because it’s fine to go off the reservation and use other flavors and meats.

I got this idea from a comment on a recipe posting by my friend Mary who runs Sweet Little Bluebird. Her recipe was with standard tomato sauce and cheese ravioli. I’ve made it that way and it’s totally delicious. We both opted for the fresh refrigerated ravioli instead of the frozen kind. I would imagine that you could substitute the frozen kind if you either par- cooked it or let it thaw. If not then this would have to cook longer, perhaps an hour or two, if you left it frozen.

Alfredo Sauce

What makes this slow cooker Alfredo ravioli lasagna so very easy is that it depends on convenience ingredients such as jarred Alfredo sauce. There are many good brands on the market so it’s up to you what you buy. And if you like stuff a bit more saucy, then double the amount called for in the recipe.

However, you may prefer to make your own. There’s many reasons why you should consider doing so. Your own is fresher, tastes better and is more economical. All you’d have to do is follow my simple recipe for quick Alfredo sauce.

Your Own Ravioli?

If you want to get really into totally homemade, you can make your own ravioli.  There’s many contraptions made to do this, but making them without those contraptions is, believe it or not, a lot easier. If you have a pasta roller, it’s super simple. You can follow my guide on ravioli making in the linked post. If you want the classic cheese filling, a simple Google search will lead you to many recipes.

The Recipe

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Slow Cooker Alfredo Ravioli Lasagna

Easy prep

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time4 hours hrs

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: slow cooker ravioli lasagna, slow cooker white lasagna

Servings: 6

Calories: 877kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 24 oz fresh mushroom ravioli
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage meat
• 28 oz Alfredo sauce or your own homemade

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Brown the sausage meat and drain the fat.
• Spray the bottom of a 5 quart (or larger) slow cooker with non-stick spray.
• Layer sauce, ravioli and sausage in the slow cooker beginning and ending with the sauce. There should be at least 2 layers.
• Cook on low for 4 hours.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 877kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 205mg | Sodium: 2141mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 13mg

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Benedictine Pasta Salad–Loaded With Flavor

If you can’t decide whether you want a cucumber salad or a traditional pasta salad, then this Benedictine pasta salad is just what you’re looking for. Since it combines the best parts of both salads, it’s sure to please.

The pasta in this salad is mini farfalle (bowties). I haven’t seen that in any generic or store brand so if you want to use that, you’ll have to go with a major brand. You want smallish pasta here so the regular bowties may be too large. If you can’t get the mini bowties, then I’d recommend medium shells, ditalini  or spirals. You’ll want to stay away from any larger tubular shapes as you don’t want excess water in this because of the cucumbers. Even though you seed them, cucumbers will still give out some water.

Delicious Dressing

This dressing really is a show stopper. It has a wonderful bright clean flavor that would go well with other salads as well.

Now about the mint and the hot sauce–the dressing isn’t hot or even piquant. The hot sauce is there to bring out the flavor; much like a pinch of chili powder heightens then flavor of chocolate. And the mint has the same effect. You don’t really taste it but the dressing would be missing something if it was omitted.

The Add-Ins

In this I used the so-called “seedless” cucumbers. They are often known as “European” or “English” cucumbers. Even though they claim to be seedless, there’s pulp in the center so you have to remove it. Otherwise, so much water will leech out that it will ruin the salad. I didn’t use the more common variety because they’re waxed and I didn’t want to remove the skin so I’d have a pop of color. Another great choice would be Kirby or pickling cucumbers. They’re good and solid and are sold unwaxed–however the skin is a bit on the tough side FYI.

As for the carrots, slice them really thin so they will be nice and tender for the salad. Same goes with the peas.

The Recipe

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Benedictine Pasta Salad

A truly outstanding pasta salad

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cucumber pasta salads, cucumber salad, hearty pasta salads, pasta salads with cucumber

Servings: 8

Calories: 111kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup cucumber seeded and chopped
• 3 tbs chopped onion
• 3 tbs chopped mint
• 1 tbs chopped garlic
• 4 oz cream cheese softened
• 2 tbs mayonnaise
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• Salt & pepper to taste

Salad:

• 8 oz mini farfalle
• 1 1/2 cup carrots sliced
• 1 1/2 cups cucumber seeded and sliced
• 1 cup frozen peas thawed
• 1/2 cup radishes sliced
• 1/2 cup green onion sliced
• 1 tbs dried dill weed or 1/3 cup fresh chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Dressing--place the cucumber, onion, mint and garlic in a food processor pulsing to finely mince. Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon zest & juice and hot sauce and puree. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Chill until ready to use.
• Salad--cook mini farfalle per package directions, adding the carrots and peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking; rinse and drain. Place in a large bowl.
• Add the cucumber, radishes, green onion and dill and toss well. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season with additional salt & pepper if needed. Chill until ready to serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 103mg | Potassium: 245mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 4509IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg

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Versatile Fire Noodles

Fire noodles is one of those dishes that can wear a couple of hats.

It’s a great main dish that you can also serve to any vegetarian guest because it’s really flavorful and filling. It’s also a good choice for a salad if it’s chilled. Now that we’re on the cusp of summer, delicious salads are a thing to be considered. Don’t forget picnics either. These noodles are just great no matter how you serve them.

Making this totally vegan is also an option. Any eggless pasta or rice noodles can be substituted. As far as the honey, that can be left out or a vegan syrup or sugar can fill in.

Why “Fire”

The “fire” comes from the colors of the peppers. There’s no heat in this at all. The chili paste adds no real heat; just a touch of flavor.

Since all bell peppers essentially taste the same, you can use whatever you have or what’s cheapest. If you do splurge and buy the red, orange and yellow, dice or slice what you don’t use and freeze them for later use. That’s what I do but bear in mind that they will be too limp after freezing to add to salads, so reserve those for cooking.

Best Noodles

In these types of recipes–or anything Asian with noodles–I always opt for lo mein noodles.

The reason for this is that it obviously makes Asian-style dishes more authentic. However, these noodles are a bit chewy so it makes the dish more satisfying. Lo mein noodles are available fresh in most big supermarkets, but you can also find the dry ones in the International aisle at the market. I buy them in bulk because I use them a lot.

If you can’t find them in either style, good old spaghetti will do nicely. Regular, #8 is best.

The Recipe

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Fire Noodles

Great meatless main or chilled as a salad

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course, Main/Side, Salad

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: cold noodle salads, fire salad, meatless asian main dishes, salads for picnics

Servings: 4

Calories: 283kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 each of red orange and yellow bell pepper
• 3 green onions sliced
• 8 oz lo mein noodles or spaghetti
• 2 tbs oil
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 tbs sesame seed optional, for garnish

Sauce:

• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp chili paste
• 1 tsp honey

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook noodles as per package directions; drain and set aside.
• Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the garlic and bell peppers. Stir fry until peppers are crisp-tender. Discard garlic.
• Add the cooked noodles and the sauce. Toss to coat.
• May be served hot or chilled.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 283kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 677mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 557IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

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Bucatini Carbonara–Quick And Easy

This delicious pasta dish is so easy to make, it qualifies for a quick mid-week meal. There’s really nothing to it.

If you can fry bacon and boil up some pasta, you have it made. Bucatini carbonara is one of those meals where meat is purely a condiment. And as luck would have it, that meat is everyone’s favorite; bacon. OK if you want to get technical and be a true gourmet, bacon is standing in for pancetta here. However, I don’t know many people who have pancetta on hand but most of us have some bacon kicking around.

About The Pasta

Bucatini is a thick strand with a hole in the center–sort of a very thin elongated elbow. You won’t find this is store-label pasta. You will in premium brands.

If you want to get adventurous, you can make your own pasta. What you see here is my own homemade bucatini. The disk to make this comes with the KitchenAid extruder so I figured why not. I love making my own pasta because the difference in taste though subtle is better in my opinion. If you don’t have a bucatini disk, thick spaghetti will do very nicely and most pasta machines come with a thick spaghetti disk.

My basic formula for an extruded pasta is a mix of semolina, all-purpose flour and water. I will give the recipe in the card below. FYI–when it comes to making pasta, I always weigh the ingredients. Weighing is important for consistent great results. My recipe is European so the weights are in grams. Don’t be put off–all modern kitchen scales weigh in both systems so just choose grams.

About The Eggs

The type of eggs you use here is important.

Since the heat of the just-cooked pasta is what is going to “cook” the egg, it’s important to use organic or pastured eggs. I get my fresh pastured eggs from a neighbor who keeps chickens, so I don’t have to worry about salmonella. If you don’t have that kind of access to eggs, then either get what I mentioned before or so-called pasteurized eggs. Cage-free eggs are OK too.

The Recipe

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Bucatini Carbonara

Quick and easy delicious dinner

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: extruded pasta, extruded pasta dough recipe, pasta carbonara, recipes with bucatini

Servings: 4

Calories: 829kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbs bacon drippings
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 12 oz bucatini cooked per package directions
• 1/2 cup pasta water
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt & pepper to taste

Pasta Dough (if making your own)

• 200 g semolina pasta flour
• 50 g all-purpose flour
• 90 g water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Sauté garlic in the reserved bacon drippings; set aside.
• Drain masta but reserve 1/2 cup of the water. Place the hot pasta in a large bowl. Add the beaten eggs and toss to coat.
• Mix in the reserved pasta water, grated cheese, bacon, garlic with bacon drippings and chopped parsley. Add salt & pepper if required.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

If making your own pasta, my recipe will yield approximately 12 oz

Bacon called for is streaky bacon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 829kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 490mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 555IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 162mg | Iron: 5mg

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Authentic Lo Mein

There’s nothing I like better than a nice hearty lo mein. In fact, it’s my go-to dish when I go to a Cantonese restaurant.

You can duplicate the restaurant or take-out place right at home. This recipe is pretty basic and it’s pretty much the standard for most restaurants. There are slight variations, for instance when I lived in New York City, carrots never formed a part of this dish. At least at my favorite place. Carrots are used in it and it’s still authentic. Since I like carrot, I add it. But you can go beyond the basic if you wish and add veggies you think would go well.

Chinese BBQ Pork

This recipe uses pork, specifically Chinese-style roast/BBQ pork. The recipe for that is included in the card below.

However, if you happen to have any leftover roast pork, that will work just as well and eliminate that step. Likewise, instead of pork, chicken (leftover or breast you cook in the dish) will work too as well as shrimp. Leave out any meat or seafood and it’s vegetarian. This lo mein is quite versatile when you think about it.

And if you make the pork in this recipe, any leftovers can be combined with broccoli and a stir fry sauce to make up some pork and broccoli or Chinese vegetables.

Dark Soy Sauce

The stuff that’s available on your grocery shelf such as a house brand is actually light soy sauce–and that doesn’t mean lower sodium. It’s just a distinction made in Asian condiments.

This recipe calls for that variety plus the dark variety. Dark soy sauce is not as liquidy as the typical kind. It’s a bit thick and slightly sweet. It adds a great depth of flavor.

You may be able to find this in a larger supermarket if you live in a major metropolitan area. Of course it is also available in Chinese and Asian markets. I got my dark soy sauce (affiliate link) from Amazon. It may seem a bit pricy, but it lasts for ages.

The Recipe

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Authentic Cantonese Lo Mein

Just like the restaurant!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Marinate2 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course, Main/Side

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: chinese roat pork, restaurant style lo mein, take-out pork lo mein

Servings: 2

Calories: 1083kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 4 oz Chinese roast pork
• 8 oz Chinese lo mein noodles uncooked
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup sliced bok choy
• 2 tbs julienne carrots
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 3 tbs oil
• 2 scallions sliced for garnish.

Sauce:

• 2 tbs dark soy sauce
• 2 tbs regular soy sauce
• 1 tbs Chinese wine or dry sherry
• 4 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Chinese Roast Pork:

• 2 lbs boneless pork loin

Marinade:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Chinese wine or dry sherry
• 2 tbs hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp red food coloring Optional
• pinch Chinese five-spice powder

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• To make roast pork: mix all marinade ingredients. Poke a few holes in the pork with a fork. Place the pork in a zipper freezer bag and pour in marinade. Squish the bag a bit to coat the roast. Place in the refrigerator and marinate at least 2 hours but overnight is better.
• Spray a small pan with non-stick spray and preheat oven to 375F/190C. Roast meat for 1 hour or until internal temperature is 145F/63C. Let rest for 10 minutes then slice 4 oz/113 g of the roast into strips about 1/4-inch/0.64 cm wide. Set aside.
• To make lo mein: Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Cook Chinese lo mein noodles per package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it just begins to get golden; remove and discard. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to sear. Add the bok choy and carrots; stir fry for 1 minute.
• Add the cooked noodles and the sauce. Toss until the noodles are well coated with sauce. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the cornstarch cooks.
• Garnish with sliced scallions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1083kcal | Carbohydrates: 167g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 6164mg | Potassium: 1000mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 103g | Vitamin A: 4396IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 7mg

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Cool Side Or Cool Meal

We’re all looking for cool stuff to eat since it’s been brutally hot lately. That’s cool meaning temperature but it’s also a cool, meaning awesome, thing to eat too.

Soba noodles are all the rage lately. There’s so many ways to use them. This cold soba noodle pasta salad is just one way to use them. This salad makes a great side for grilled fish or chicken. But this can also stand in for a main course. Even better is it’s vegetarian so if you have guests who no longer eat meat, it’s a perfect choice for a main course.

It’s not vegan because of the honey, but if you can find a good substitute for that, then you have a vegan meal.

Herb Combos

Actually, any choice of herbs is up to you and your individual tastes.

I used an equal amount of basil, parsley and cilantro. I know basil seems a bit unusual for something with Asian notes, but it worked well–at least for me. Staying in the basil family, you can substitute Thai basil for the regular kind. The only reason I didn’t do that was I chose not to grow that variety this year.

Using all cilantro works here too. It’s an herb used a lot in Asian cuisine so you can’t go wrong. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of it because I’m one of those people who finds it tastes soapy–but that’s if there’s too much. A small amount combined with the other herbs is quite nice.

But whatever you choose to use, please use fresh herbs.

Add More Flavor

There’s only a drop of chili paste (sambai oelek) in the dressing. It adds flavor but no heat to speak of. It’s got a wonderful flavor so if you like food with a bit of heat, add as much of that as you like.

Garlic is also a nice addition to the dressing. It’s not necessary to add it, but if you want to introduce the flavor then add one clove, pressed, into the mix.

The Recipe

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Cold Soba Noodle Salad

Nice as a side or a meatless cold meal

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Main/Side, Side Dish, Side Dish/Salad

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: cold noodle salads, using soba noodles, vegetarian pasta salads

Servings: 4 as a side

Calories: 251kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 8 oz Soba noodles uncooked
• 1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbs chopped fresh basil

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tbs lime juice
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbs toasted sesame seed
• 1/4 tsp chili paste sambai oelek

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook noodles according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Place drained noodles in a large bowl and add the herbs.
• Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Add to the noodles and toss to coat.
• Chill for at least 1 hour.

Notes

Nutrition info calculated for side dish serving size.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 1260mg | Potassium: 198mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg

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A Different Pasta Salad

There’s quite a number of different pasta salads. From a humble macaroni salad to the more gourmet pasta salads. I think just calling it “pasta salad” makes it more gourmet and if you get technical, macaroni salad is actually pasta salad. But I digress.

This taco pasta salad is pure genius and I can guarantee you that you’ll be a real hero to the taco lovers in your family when you serve it. So I’d make double the recipe because it’ll disappear quickly.

The Best Cheese To Use

This recipe calls for good old cheddar. It’s easy to come by and as always I suggest shredding your own from the block. Since when you shred it yourself, it has none of the drying and anti-caking agents that are in the packets of the commercially shedded kind. Plus, I think it tastes better. It certainly has a better texture.

But what “flavor” cheddar is best? You’ll get more bang for your buck tastewise if you use an extra-sharp variety. That’s my opinion on the subject because a milder variety would get lost with the strong flavor of the seasoning so you’d be better off with something bold.

Seasonings And Additions

I like the taste of my own homemade taco seasoning. However, an envelope of the store bought will work just fine. If you do make up some of my recipe for the taco seasoning, leave out the cornstarch.

You can beef up (so to speak) this taco pasta salad by adding a pound of browned ground beef, chicken or turkey. That will make it a great cold meal for a hot day. If you do choose to add meat, the taco seasoning can be added to the meat when it’s browning.

The Recipe

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Taco Pasta Salad

If you love tacos...

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Course: Main/Side, Salad

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: mexican salads, summer pasta salads, taco pasta salad

Servings: 6

Calories: 246kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
• 2 tbs homemade taco seasoning or 1 packet store-bought
• 3 cups shredded lettuce
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 tbs jalapeño peppers diced (optional)
• 1/2 cup Catalina salad dressing
• Corn chips

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and rinse in cold water and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle taco seasoning over pasta and toss to coat.
• Add the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onion, green pepper and dressing; toss to coat. Serve with corn/tortilla chips.
• Adding some diced cooked chicken will make this a complete main dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 407mg | Potassium: 392mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1141IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 1mg

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Versatile Orzo

Creamy orzo risotto is one of those recipes that prove how versatile this pasta truly is.

There’s just so many ways to use it. Since you had to buy some if you wanted to make my shrimp and zucchini with orzo, then here’s a way to use up what you bought!

If you haven’t used it, orzo is shaped like rice grains. In fact it’s used lots of times to stand in for rice. Mostly I use it in one-dish meals to add a bit of bulk and extend the meal. It’s texture is unlike rice in as much as it has a very silky texture and as a result, adds a nice textural component to those one-pot meals.

Easily Made Vegan

This orzo risotto uses milk, chicken stock and cheese. You can easily substitute vegetable stock and then it becomes vegetarian for those who include dairy in their diets.

However, it can easily be made vegan with further substitutions. Of course it stands to reason that you’d also use vegetable stock in place of the chicken. You can substitute one of the many plant-based milks for the regular kind. Personally, I think almond milk would be a terrific choice. As for the cheese, I know there’s many now on the market which are plant based. How good they melt, I can’t say. However, they should taste fine, even if they don’t melt. And another option is just to leave them out; the risotto will taste perfectly fine even without them.

Spinach: Fresh Or Frozen

Anyone who has hung around my site for any length of time knows I am a big advocate of fresh.

It’s no different in this recipe when it comes to the spinach. My choice is pre-washed organic baby spinach mainly because it can be used straight from the bag. You can, of course, use frozen. Because frozen is already wilted, just halve the amount of the fresh. Make sure you measure it after you’ve squeezed the water out of it. But I truthfully don’t measure it. I just toss in what looks about right. And don’t feel constrained to using less. If you love spinach, throw in as much as you like and make it the main ingredient–especially if you want more veggie than pasta.

The Recipe

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Creamy Spinach & Orzo Risotto

Serve it as a side or a main dish.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main/Side, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy risotto, orzo side dishes, risotto using orzo, using orzo pasta, vegan risotto

Servings: 6

Calories: 463kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lb dried orzo pasta about 2 1/2 cups
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups packed baby spinach coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat until shimmering.
• Add the onion and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and orzo, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the broth and milk and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed and has formed a creamy sauce, about 10 minutes. (If the orzo isn’t completely cooked once this has happened, you can add another splash or two of broth to the pot and continue to simmer until it has.)
• Stir in the spinach and grated cheeses until the spinach has just wilted and the cheese melts, about 1 minute.
• Taste and and add salt & pepper if necessary

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 463kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 299mg | Potassium: 448mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1177IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 308mg | Iron: 2mg

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