Beef Stoganoff

My last post about the steak was fun. I've really missed posting food. It stinks that the weather keeps so many people away from town, but it does give me time to catch up here. So hello!

This is actually a leftovers recipe. That steak was fun, but I made a couple too many. So, I had to do something fun with the leftovers. And this sure was fun!

It's not a traditional stroganoff, but with the sour cream sauce, it's the closest thing. I enjoyed it anyway.

Beef Stroganoff

1 cup precooked beef strips
1 lb pappardelle pasta
2 cups mixed mushrooms, shitake, portobello, button
1/3 cup beef or vegetable broth
black pepper
1 tsp cumin
8 oz sour cream
1/4 cup cream or milk
2 tbsp Garlic Olive Oil
Himalayan Pink Salt
1 tsp Espresso Balsamic

Toss the mushrooms with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and cumin. Saute in a very large pan over medium low heat until they are reduced by at least half. Increase the heat to medium high and add the beef strips, Balsamic, black pepper to taste and the broth.

Cook the pasta to al dente, rinse and drain. Slowly pour into the pan with the beef and mushrooms.

Stir in the sour cream adding the cream if it is too thick.

Walnut Oil Pesto Pasta

I made this chunky pesto last week with our very new Roasted Walnut Oil. It's a light flavored oil with a great mouth feel. Somehow both rich and delicate. I know pine nuts are classic for pesto, but if I'm using walnut oil, I just have to use walnuts instead.

Walnut Oil Pesto Pasta

Pesto
3 cups packed baby spinach
1/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup Roasted Walnut Oil
1/4 cup onion pate
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Pasta
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
     or 5-6 plum tomatoes, diced
1 lb small shell shaped pasta, cooked, rinsed and cooled

Add the walnuts and spinach to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times. Next, put in the onion pate and the cheese and pulse. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

Add the oil in a slow stream while the food processor is running. Stop to scrape the sides often.

Stir the fresh pesto with the cooked pasta and toss with the tomatoes. Enjoy.

Gnocchi with Bacon and Green Beans

Gnocchi with Bacon and Green Beans

1 lb gnocchi
1/2 lb green beans, french cut
3 tbsp Bacon Olive Oil
4 strips precooked, crumbled bacon
1/4 cup slivered almonds
pinch of sea salt

Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil to medium heat in a large saute pan. Add in the green beans and cook, stirring often for a couple minutes. Add in the gnocchi and gently fold everything over to combine. Spread in a single layer and let simmer for 2-3 minutes before stirring. Flip and repeat. Stir in the crumbled bacon bits and the almonds. Garnish with some Smoked Sea Salt, or maybe the Vermont Maple.

Serve warm.

Porcini Pasta with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts

Okay, the alliteration has just been making me giggle for about 10 minutes now. If your food can't make you happy, what good is it?

This is the first time I'm using the new Porcini Olive Oil, it's not up online yet, you have to come in and try it! I may have over did it on the mushrooms, but what can I say, I like them.

Porcini Pasta with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts

1 lb linguine pasta
1 pkg dried porcini mushrooms
1 strip Prosciutto per portion (4-6 pieces)
Pine Nuts
6 tbsp Porcini Olive Oil
1 jar Mushroom Pate
1/2 pint sliced mushrooms
pinch of Toasted Onion Sea Salt

Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in about a half cup of room temperature water for at least 10 minutes. I like to break them in small pieces before soaking them, but you can chop them after too.

Cook the linguine in well salted water until it is al dente. Rinse and set aside in a large bowl.

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a very large saute pan to a medium high and add the fresh sliced mushrooms. Saute 5-10 minutes or until they are nice and soft. Add in the mushroom pate and the rest of the olive oil. Stir until the pate is smooth and then add in the dried mushrooms and their liquid.

Let simmer until warmed through then add the pasta and toss to coat.

Plate and top with a pinch of sea salt, a sprinkle of pine nuts and a torn piece of prosciutto.

Tomato Pesto Cream Pasta

Sorry I've been gone so long. It's been a busy week.

This was a quick whip up. I love our tomato pesto by itself, but I like to stretch it out so I can enjoy it longer.

Tomato Pesto Cream Pasta

2 tbsp Sundried Tomato Parmesan and Garlic Olive Oil

1/4 cup Trapanese Pesto (sundried tomato pesto)

1 lb angel hair pasta, cooked and drained

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a very large saute pan over medium heat whisk everything but the pasta together and let cook for a couple minutes. Add the pasta in and toss to coat.

Keep stirring over a low heat until everything is warmed through. Serve.

Cheesy Pasta with Mushrooms

I needed a quick meal the other night. This was great and provided enough leftovers for the whole week!

Cheesy Pasta with Mushrooms

1/2 lb curly pasta
2 pints mushrooms, sliced
1 bag, 16oz shredded cheddar
1/4 cup milk
2-4 tbsp sour cream
4 diced plum tomatoes, or 2 medium regular tomatoes
4 tbsp Garlic Olive Oil
good pinch Himalayan Pink Salt

Pour the olive oil and the mushrooms into a saute pan and heat over medium heat. Sprinkle with a bit of the salt. Cook slowly about 10 minutes, stirring often. The mushrooms should be reduced by at least half. Set aside.

Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and put back in the pan over low heat. Stir in the mushrooms and the milk. Slowly add in the shredded cheese. Add in two tablespoons of the sour cream and stir. If you like the consistency, leave it be, if you want it thinner, add in the extra 2 tbsps of sour cream.

Cheesy Hearts with Vegetables

I wanted to use our cute little heart pastas for something this week. They aren't the heart-healthiest, but that's okay. The vegetables are!

Cheesy Hearts with Vegetables

1 pkg hearts pasta
3 tbsp Blood Orange Olive Oil
1/2 cup shredded or cubed cheese, your favorite (Pepper Jack here!)
1/2 cup milk or cream
1 1/2 cup regular red pasta sauce
3 cups mixed vegetables
pinch of salt

If you are using fresh vegetables, heat your pan to medium heat and slice them thinly. Toss them in the pan with one tbsp of the olive oil and the pinch of salt. Depending on the vegetables you choose, depends on how long this part takes. You want them to be cooked, but crisp. I used a frozen bag mix of corn, carrots and asparagus. It was very quick.

If you are using frozen, you will need to make sure you have cooked off all the additional water that you don't need. Add one more tablespoon of the Blood Orange Oil. If you would like it a little spicy, toss the Chipotle Olive Oil in instead.

Cook your pasta to just al dente. Drain, rinse and toss with 1 tbsp of the olive oil.

Toss the vegetables with the red pasta sauce and add in the milk or cream. Stir in the shredded or cubed cheese and cover. Let simmer about five minutes. Stir to make sure everything is melted. If not, cover and let cook until it does.

Stir it all together in a big bowl and enjoy your dinner!

Lemon Shrimp Tagliatelle

I really love lemons. Lemon-filled donuts are my favorites, lemon meringue, lemonade, limoncello.... Our Lemon Pasta is like the icing on the lemon poppy seed cake of my food life. So making lemon shrimp with Lemon Pasta is just the best thing I can think of. Unless it's lemon chicken with Lemon Pasta.

Lemon Pasta with Shrimp

6-7 capers
10-12 large cooked shrimp, thaw if frozen
4 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
pinch of smoked paprika
Lemon Pasta for 2-4 people
Lemon wedges for serving

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Rinse well and toss with a little olive oil. Set aside somewhere, but keep it warm.

In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil up to medium-high. Add the capers and shrimp. I remove the tails, but you don't have to. Sprinkle a little salt and paprika on them. If you want them to have a crispier edge, don't stir them at all and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. If you like them more tender, stir them occasionally and only let them go for 2-3 minutes each side.

In the last minute, add the parsley so it crisps and a little dusting of pepper.

Add the shrimp to the cooked pasta. Make sure you drain all the olive oil from the pan, it is now your sauce!

Serve with lemon wedges if needed.

Gnocchi with Sweet Corn and Arugula

Gnocchi are a strange pasta. Fluffy and kinda cute. I found some nice sweet corn at the farmers market this past weekend and thought this would be fun. Feel free to use frozen corn if that's what you have.

Gnocchi with Sweet Corn and Arugula

1 pkg gnocchi

1 small bunch arugula

2 ears of cooked corn or 1 cup kernels

1 bunch green onions

2 tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil

a few sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

Heat the Rosemary Olive Oil in a large saute pan to medium heat. De-kernel your corn if you have to and toss it into the pan. Stir around and let cook for a minute. 

Slice through the arugula a couple times with a sharp knife and add it to the pan with the corn. Stir it around until it wilts down. 1-2 minutes.

Add in the green onions, sour cream and heavy cream. Stir to combine and cover. Let everything come up to temperature.

While you are making the sauce, cook the gnocchi according to the package directions. Drain and rinse them, but keep them warm.

When the gnocchi are done, add them to the pan with the sauce with the rosemary leaves.

Serve warm.

Pumpkin Alfredo

I know that this isn't breakfast, but it is related to my recent pumpkin waffles. I had a half can of pumpkin left over and I needed to use it up. So, what to do with a half can of pumpkin? I thought about making pumpkin-cider donuts, but I am saving that for my husband's birthday. And if I make it now, I have to come up with something else for him. So I looked around the fridge and noticed some sour cream. So there we have it, Alfredo!

Pumpkin Alfredo

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spices
1 pint mushrooms
1/4 cup White Wine Jelly
2 tbsp Salonika Olive Oil
1 pkg pasta, any kind
Himalayan Pink Salt
Black Pepper

Heat the olive oil to medium in a high sided saute pan. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of the salt. Stir to coat with the olive oil and cover. Let them cook for about 6-7 minutes.

While the mushrooms are reducing themselves, cook your pasta in lightly salted water. When it is done, rinse in cold water and set aside in a large bowl.

After the mushrooms have reduced well, add the wine jelly and the spices and the pepper. Stir around and then stir in the sour and heavy creams.

Let that simmer for 1-3 minutes. Now stir in the pumpkin, making sure that everything is well combined.

If you have a large enough pan, pour the pasta into it and toss. If you don't, let it cook for another minute to fully heat the pumpkin too and then pour the sauce over the pasta.

*If you don't have wine jelly, substitute with regular wine and add 2-4 minutes to the cooking time to simmer off the alcohol.

Garlic Chicken Pasta

We have all kinds of great pasta at the store. I love all the neat shapes. One of my husband's favorites are these large twists. They hold sauce well and and really nice and fork-able.I needed a quick dinner last night so I threw all this together in a pan. I think I'll make it again sometime!

Garlic Chicken Pasta

1 pk chicken breasts, chopped

1/2 sweet onion, diced

2-4 strips bacon

1 pkg large twist pasta

4 tbsp Garlic Olive Oil, divided

Cook the pasta according to package directions and rinse. Toss with 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large bowl and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large saute pan until crispy, set aside on paper towels to drain. In the same pan, add the diced onion and saute on medium high heat, stirring occasionally until they start to brown, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the chicken and the rest of the olive oil if you need it. Cook for about 3 minutes on high heat, stirring constantly so that the chicken gets browned on all sides and lightly caramelized. Reduce the heat to medium, crumble the bacon and add it to the pan. Cover and cook until the chicken is done, another 5-10 minutes.

Toss together the pasta and chicken and serve.

After today, it is Better Breakfast Month! A month long celebration of all things breakfast!

Zippy Pasta Salad

I was been intending to make this salad for awhile now. Finally got to it. Whoo! And it is soooo good. Very sad I waited this long.

Think I'm making this for the next BBQ.

Zippy Pasta Salad

1 lb tri color rotini

1/4 - 1/3 lb sliced pepperoni

1/4 - 1/3 lb sliced salami

1/3 - 1/2 lb pepperjack cheese

2 tbsp White Kiwi Balsamic

2 tbsp Sundried-Tomato Parm and Garlic Olive Oil

--Extra 1 tbsp Olive Oil

Cook the rotini. Run cold water over it and put in the fridge to cool completely. 

Dice the meats and cheese and toss with 1 tbsp of the olive oil. I do this to try and break up the meat slices. You could also get them unsliced and make cubes. 

Toss the meats with the chilled noodles and the remainder of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.

Mushroom Teriyaki with Balsamic Vinegar

I am so so so excited. I love our Toasted Sesame Oil! I love Asian foods, so it's perfect for so many things I like to cook. And sesame is a very hard flavor to get in an olive oil, I know, we've tried.

Mushroom Teriyaki with Balsamic

1/2 pkg of fettuccine noodles

2 tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 pint sliced mushrooms

1 tbsp Traditional Balsamic

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil with Garlic and Ginger

Salt

Cook the fettuccine a minute less than al dente. Set it aside.

Heat the Sesame Oil in a large saute pan to medium high heat. Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt. Saute for 5 minutes or so. The onions should be soft and starting to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the noodles to the pan and the teriyaki sauce and Balsamic. Toss everything to coat. Cover and let cook for another 2-4 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!

Scallop and Tomato Pasta

This easy dish was created by my father because my mother wanted a light seafood dish. I got a little bite, it was great!

Scallop and Tomato Pasta

1 pk linguine noodles

1 small package of scallops, fresh or thawed

1 pint cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp Greek Olive Oil

Cook the linguine until it is al dente and set aside.

Warm the olive oil in a saute pan to medium high heat and saute the scallops until they are almost done, about 1 minute. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the pan. Saute for another minute. Add the linguine and toss. Cover and let cook for one more minute. 

Red Pepper Bruschetta Pasta

Today's post was supposed to be a marinaded chicken skewers. But I did not get to go to the grocery store so there was no marinade. So I am sharing what I had for lunch yesterday instead. Marinaded chicken breasts soon.

Microwave Pasta Meal- Redo

1 pkg Microwave pasta meal

3-4 mini meatballs

Red Pepper Bruschetta*

1 tsp Italian Herb Olive Oil

Microwave your pasta according to the directions, but save the sauce for another time. Stir the pasta. Toss on the mini meatballs and the Bruschetta and pop it back in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Drizzle with the Italian Herb Olive oil.

I had some crackers on hand, but it's probably better with bread!

*Bruschetta available in store or by phone only. Sorry!

Totally NOT Vodka Sauce

Now this is the only think I've cooked this month. It fills the need, but PB&J does not count as cooking.

I've just been too tired to cook. Sleepy cooks burn things. And forget to buy ingredients. Which is great for this recipe, because I had everything I needed somewhere in my cabinet. (or the store here...)

So I needed something that would be fast, tasty, and above all, something that would produce enough leftovers that I wouldn't go hungry at work again today.

This pasta came together so fast. And it ended up looking like vodka sauce. But vodka sauce only wishes it is this good!

Totally NOT Vodka Sauce (even if it's pink)

8oz fettuccine
1 can peas
1 cup milk
3/4 cup jalapeno cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Piquillo Pepper Tapenade*
4 tbsp Spanish Olive Oil
Black Pepper
1 tbsp crushed garlic
pinch of powdered ginger

Cook the pasta. Drain and put back in the pan.

Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan and add the garlic and the ginger. Stir around, about a minute. Add the cheese shreds. If you can't find Jalapeno Cheddar, feel free to use regular. But then sub in the Jalapeno Olive Oil for the Padilla.

Stir the cheese around until it starts to melt. Add the milk to keep it from burning and increase the heat to medium high. Stir it occasionally, scraping the sides. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in the Piquillo Pepper Tapenade (* available in our store) and the black pepper.

Stir into the noodles.

This sauce really ends up pink. Really. Egg noodles suck sauce right in, those pale bits are where the sauce didn't stick!

Eat Your Veggies Sauce

I bought some zucchini and a can of asparagus last week for a couple recipes I never made. So I pulled out a bunch of veggies that I had on hand and realized that everything was green.

I sauteed everything up and tasted it, and hey, this would taste great on pasta! Where's my blender!

I love this dish. So springtime. And even if it's not Monday, it's good to eat one meat-less day a week right? Or more than one day. So tasty!

Eat Your Veggies Sauce

1 can pigeon peas

1 large zucchini, rough chopped

1 onion, sliced thinly

1 can asparagus, drained

2 tbsp Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

1 lb pappardelle pasta

Saute the onion with the olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies and continue to cook until the peas are nice and soft, about 7-9 minutes.

I let this cool for about 10 minutes before putting it in my blender. I used the interval to cook my pasta and drain it. If your blender has a steam vent, make sure it is open. If you have a Vita-mix  I'm jealous; and you probably don't have to worry about any of this. 

Blend the sauce until it is smooth. Add a little extra Olive Oil if it isn't thin enough, but you should be okay.

Serve over the pasta.

Truffled Mac & Cheese

This was another snappy meal.

My husband loves all kinds of mac and cheese. He picked up a little tub of it from Wawa on his way home last night. To make it extra special, I poured a tablespoon of White Truffle Garlic Olive Oil in it and stirred it up. It really took it up a notch.

He was very annoyed that I stole some of it to take pictures.

I did give it back.

Fettuccini with Butternut Squash and Sage

Squash is one of my favorite vegetables. I love that you can turn it into almost anything, savory or sweet. This is a savory squash dish. So, so, savory. You can use any kind of hard, crumbly cheese you want with this. It is good with parmesean, but I love the extra nutty taste of asiago combined with the squash and sage. Yum!

Fettuccini with Butternut Squash and Sage

1 pkg fetuccine
20 fresh sage leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 tbsp vegetable stock
5 tbsp grated asiago cheese
4 tbsp Blood Orange Olive Oil
2 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tbsp crushed walnuts
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the squash in the blood orange oil. Until slightly soft. Set aside.

Cook the pasta. Drain, but reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid.

Heat the oil to medium low. De-stem the sage and add it to the oil. Stirring occasionally, cook about 6 minutes. Edges should be curled.

Remove the leaves to paper towels. Add the stock and the garlic. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta, squash, walnuts and cheese. Toss to coat. If it's too dry, add a the reserved pasta water one tbsp at a time.

Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fried sage.

Penne with Sardine and Fennel Sauce

I've made some easy recipes, but this has got to be one of the easiest.

The only thing that would have made it easier is if we sold precooked pasta too!

Penne with Sardine and Fennel Sauce

Penne Pasta, cooked

Sardine and Fennel Pasta Sauce

Wild Porcini Sea Salt

Cook the pasta. Drain and place back in the pan. Toss some of the pasta sauce in with it and cook on low heat for about 2 minutes so the sauce has time to get hot. 

Pour into bowls and serve with Porcini Sea Salt sprinkled on top.