Creamy Pesto

Sorry that I have not been posting very often.  Life has been rather chaotic and I have not been cooking much.  To further hinder my blogging efforts, blogger has changed a great deal lately and I am trying to get a hang of it all.  

This recipe starts with a base of Pesto, my last post, and it is based on packaged sauce that my husband loves.  

The Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups low sodium or homemade broth

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 recipe myveggietable.com pesto

The Tools

medium size sauce pan

whisk

The Cooking

Melt the butter in a medium size sauce pan

Add the floor and whisk constantly until the flour completely mixes with the butter

Slowly add in the broth , stirring constantly (I only stop to get the photo).  

Now, slowly add the cream, again stirring constantly.  Do not allow the mixture of boil.

Add the pesto and stir to incorporate.  

Serve over pasta or as a dip.  Enjoy!

Serving size is 1/4 cup of sauce. Calories do not include pasta

Calories: 229

Protein: 2 grams

Fat: 22 grams

Sodium: 67mg

Fiber:  1 gram

Potassium: 24 mg

Pesto

Pesto is an amazing, quick and easy sauce to make.  You can use it in dips, on pasta or as an addition to soups.  I make my pesto in a food processor and typically freeze what I did not use.  Typically pesto is made with pine nuts, but last year I had a bad case of pine mouth, and now I DO NOT eat pine nuts.  Eating is to important to me to risk having an awful taste in my mouth. I toasted the walnuts in the microwave. 

The Ingredients

2 cups basil leaves

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

The Tools

a food processor

The Making

 Place the basil, walnuts, cheese, and garlic in the food processor

While the processor run, pour the oil in the top until the sauce is formed.  

If you are using the pesto over pasta you may want to reserve some of the pasta water to loosen up the pesto. 

 Recipe source: my brain (insert evil laughter here)

Nutritional information is per serving,  and there are 8, 2-tablespoon servings in this recipe.

Calories: 107

Protein: 3 grams

Fat: 11 grams

Sodium: 75 mgs

Fiber: 0

Potassium: 0

Mushroom Pasta with wilted Arugula, Goat Cheese, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This recipe is from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, which the November 2001 issue of Cooking Light listed as one of the Top 9 General Cookbooks for the last 25 years. This recipe called for cremini mushrooms, but the Veggie dad (who does the bulk of our shopping) was unable to find them in our store so we substituted with baby bella mushrooms.  I also decreased the amount of oil in the recipe and increased the amount of pasta water.  This recipe has you saute the mushrooms on high heat.  Every fiber of my being said: NO, but I did it and it worked out well.  According to the notes for the recipes cooking the mushrooms on high heat prevents the mushrooms from stewing and later making the pasta sauce soggy. Just keep moving them in the pan so that they don't burn. 

1 pound spaghetti

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds baby bella or cremini mushrooms

freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 cups tightly packed baby arugula, washed

3/4 pound soft goat cheese, at room temperature

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the spaghetti and cook until al dente; about 10 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, warm 1 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.Add half the mushrooms, season with pepper and cook, stirring often for about 3 minutes.  Add half of the garlic and cook until fragrant, and the mushrooms have softened, an additional 2 minutes.  Transfer the mushrooms and garlic to bowl and keep them warm.  Repeat the process with the remaining mushrooms, garlic and another 1 tablespoon of oil. 
3. When the spaghetti is cooked, reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.  Return the pasta to the pot and add the sauteed mushrooms, arugula, goat cheese, 1/4 cup olive oil, and enough pasta water to achieve the desired consistency with the sauce.  Toss the pasta gently until the cheese is melted and the arugula is wilted.  Serve warm and enjoy.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

This recipe is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  It is a perfect summer time recipe for those evenings when it is too hot to turn on the oven.  You let the food processor do most of the work for you.  Sure you have to turn on the stove, but not for too long.  Put this over any pasta you desire or use it as a topping or dip.

3 cloves garlic

1 (8.5-ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and patted dry

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup walnuts toasted

1. Toast the walnut in a oven or low heat or pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds on medium heat until they are toasted. 
2. Process the garlic, tomatoes, oil, Parmesan cheese, and walnuts in a food processor until smooth. 
3. When tossing with the pasta, add some of the pasta water as needed to achieve the desired consistency. 



Creamy Gorgonzola Mushroom Sauce

I created this sauce to serve with some homemade Gnocchi (which will post tomorrow).  The first time I ever tried Gnocchi it was served with a creamy Gorgonzola and mushroom sauce.  This sauce is not exactly the same, but I think I came pretty close.  Gorgonzola cheese is naturally very salty so I did not need to add any addition salt to this recipe and when I made my Gnocchi I also left out any salt. 

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound sliced portobello mushrooms
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 cup half and half
6 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

1. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet, and add the mushrooms.  Saute the mushrooms until they are nicely browned.  Remove them from the pan and set aside. 
2. Add the butter to the skillet and allow it to melt over a low heat.  Add to the butter the flour and using a whisk combine the flour and melted butter cooking until a paste or roux is formed.  Slowly add the water to this roux, stirring constantly.  Once the water is completely added and incorporated, begin to slowly add the half and half.  Again you must stir constantly to prevent the sauce from separating.  You should now have a nice white sauce.  To this you should not begin add the Gorgonzola cheese and little at time.  Stirring until each bit of cheese is melted into the sauce. 
3. Once all the cheese has been added to sauce, return the mushrooms to the sauce so that they will warm back up.  Do not at any point allow the sauce to boil, so keep the heat very low. 

Vegan Ragu Sauce

This recipe is basically my Vegetarian Bolognese sauce without the milk.  This meat free version uses both brown mushrooms and soy crumbles to replace the meat one would normally find in a ragu.  Please note that not all soy crumbles are marked at vegan so in order for yours to be truely vegan you need to purchase a vegan product or leave it out all together and double the amount of mushrooms.

1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lbs brown mushrooms, grated in the food processor
1 package soy crumbles
1-14 oz cans tomato sauce
1-14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large stock pot on medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook until the moisture is released. Add the soy crumbles and cook until browned. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cook slowly for 1 hour.
2. Serve warm over spaghetti.

Smokey Stove top Macaroni and Cheese

Those smokey cheese garlic biscuits put me a in smokey cheese kind of mood, so I made a stove top macaroni and cheese using the same smokey cheese blend.  I used a blend that I purchased at Trader Joe's because I am lazy, but you can purchase any smoked cheese for this recipe. 

8 ounces macaroni

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

2 dashes liquid smoke

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

12 ounces Trader Joe's shredded smokey cheese blend

1. Prepare the macaroni according to package instructions and set aside
2. Meanwhile, mix together half the evaporate milk, liquid smoke, salt and pepper. 
3. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.  Set the pot over low heat, and stir in the butter until melted. 
4. Stir in the liquid smoke/evaporated milk mixture and half the cheese.  Continue to cook over low heat, gradually stirring in the remaining evaporated mix and cheese, until the mixture is hot and creamy. 



Tomato, Olive and Caper Sauce

I made this sauce for a cannelloni recipe which will appear later on the blog and I loved the sauce so much I decided to feature it separately.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (salt free)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (4-ounce) can sliced black olives
8 large pimento stuff green olives, sliced
2 tablespoons capers

1. Warm the oil in a large sauce pan.  Add the onion and cook until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, olives, and capers.  Bring to a boil slowly, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. 
2. Toss with you pasta of choice and enjoy

I do not have the calories for this recipe yet, as I did not serve is separately here at home.  I will run it through myfitnesspall and add it soon.  ~Amy

Lighter Penne Ala Vodka

Several of my recipes are featured on today's Family Bites sponsored by Hidden Valley on Foodbuzz. Click here to go check it out.

I love Vodka Sauce, but I wanted to make a lighter version, this was the result. When I saw how both my children wolfed this pasta down, I quickly decided to start putting vodka in everything.

1 recipe of my Marinara Sauce or 3 cups of you favorite marinara sauce
2 ounces vodka
1/4 cups fat free half and half
1 pound of penne pasta, cooked al dente(reserve a cup of the pasta water)

1. Bring the marinara sauce to a easy boil and add the vodka. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Add the half and half and stir until completely blended.
3. Toss with the sauce with the pasta, using the reserved water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
4. Serve immediately and top with grate parmesan cheese if desired.

The calories are for the sauce only as you may desire to serve this sauce with another type of pasta.
1/2 cup of sauce 81 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber

Linguine with Smoked Gouda and Sherry Sauce

This recipe is from the Grit Cookbook. I was pretty sure that I had made this one before, but I cannot find it on the blog. The original recipe calls for a vegetarian sausage link, but I left it out. Likewise I used Sherry in the place of white wine because I forgot to buy white wine! This is a plain sherry and not a cooking sherry. Never buy or use cooking sherry, it contains salt and is just awful. I have to warn you that the calories on this recipe are sky high. I made substitutions were I could, but the cheese here is a dozy calorie wise. You will want to first exercise portion control and then just plain exercise! Enjoy!

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium sized shallot, diced
2 cups trimmed and sliced brown mushrooms
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup sherry

2 cups 1% milk
2 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
16 ounces linguine, freshly cooked

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the shallot. Saute until the shallot is slightly translucent. Add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are well done. Add the flour, salt and pepper, stirring constantly until the flour is absorbed. Slowly add the sherry, stirring constantly and bringing to a gentle boil. Allow to boil stirring often for about 5 minutes. Gradually stir in the milk and cream stirring constantly and adjusting the heat to bring the mixture to a very low simmer. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, but make sure the mixture does not come to a boil.
2. Gradually add the Gouda and cheddar cheese a little at a time, stirring between each addition until fully melted. Cook over a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes, again DO NOT allow it to come to a boil. Add the prepared linguine and serve warm.

Serves 6 1-cup servings of the combined sauce and pasta. 715 calories (see I told you) 34 grams of fat (start running now, 6 miles ought to do it) 4 grams of fiber

Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce

This recipe is made from a variation on my lighter oven roasted tomatoes. I mean for this sauce to be very pesto like. So, I also used raw garlic, and toasted walnuts. It is served here over fettuccine, but would go well with any number of pastas.

2-3 pounds of ripe tomatoes, any kind will do

1 tablespoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil cooking spray

1 large clove of garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup walnut, toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 275° and line a baking sheet with heavy duty foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray.
2. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, and slice them lengthwise. If you are using any larger tomatoes, cut them into quarters. Place them on the baking sheet cut side up. Sprinkle them with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Spray they with a coating of the olive oil cooking spray. Bake them for 1 hour, check them and bake them for an addition 1 hour check them half way through to ensure they are not burned.
3. Place the roasted tomatoes into a blender, add the garlic clove, the olive oil and the walnut. Puree until a paste is formed. With the pour opening off the blender, slowly add some reserved pasta water until the desired consistency is achieved.
4. Serve over pasta of your choice.

Serves 6 (these calories are for the sauce only). 90 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber