Baked Pesto Pasta

My friend had a pesto pasta dish at a restaurant that she swore was almost the best pasta she had ever eaten.  Pesto, creamy sauce, chicken, and pancetta.  Pancetta isn't really my favorite thing and I find that it is very expensive in my area, but the rest I could do easily enough.

Makes 4-6 servings

3 cups penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
3 oz spinach, chopped
6 oz cooked chicken, chopped
Dash salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup Pesto
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook penne in salted water according to package directions, undercooking by a couple of minutes.  Drain pasta and pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a small skillet, saute garlic in olive oil.  Add spinach and saute until wilted.  Stir in dash salt and 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt. Remove from heat.
3. Mix sauteed garlic and spinach with pasta.  Add pesto and chicken; stir well.  Set aside.
4. Whisk flour with milk.  In a medium saucepan, heat sauce over medium heat while stirring constantly.  Cook sauce until bubbly and thick.  Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt.  Stir until cheese is melted.
4. Pour sauce over evenly over pasta; do NOT mix.  Top sauce with mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake pasta in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until top is golden brown.  Serve hot.

Crepes aves Garniture de Viande

The translation of that was courtesy of Google Translator, so let me know if it's wrong.  Somehow it Crepes with Meat Filling just sounded better in French.  Either way, it's Bastille Day so it seemed like a good night to learn how to make crepes.  For the crepes, I used the recipe I found from Julia Child (the book I used is here: Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home).  Feel free to use whatever recipe you like or buy the prepackaged.  This recipe makes two kinds of fillings to give you a little variety. 

Serves 4

12-15 crepes
4 oz package smoked salmon, shredded
6 oz cooked chicken breast, diced
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
5 oz spinach, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

1. Place salmon in one bowl and chicken in another. Set aside
2. In small skillet, saute garlic and spinach until tender.  Divide between the two bowls of meats. Set aside.
3. Mix flour and milk together with a fork.  Pour into medium saucepan and place over medium heat.  Stirring constantly, cook milk and flour until it starts to boil.  Boil for 3-5 minute or until smooth and thick.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and whisk until melted.  Divide sauce evenly between meat bowls.  Stir each filling well and season as needed with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
4. Heat crepes, if needed.  Place a spoonful of chicken or salmon filling in a line down the center of the crepe.  Fold each crepe side up over the filling.  Serve immediately.

Penne with Creamy Tomato Sauce

I am one of those people that is very food-suggestible.  Most food commercials are probably made for people like me because the second I see something like macaroni and cheese, all I can think about for dinner options until I break down and make it is "man, macaroni and cheese sounds really good."  I happened to catch a show on the Cooking Channel last night that showed someone making penne in a tomato sauce.  Tonight, I made this for dinner.  It was everything I hoped it would be.

Serves: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 spring onion, chopped (or about 2 tablespoons regular onion)
1 cup chopped spinach
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 14oz cans petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon red wine
2 cups penne
4 oz cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat kind)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. In heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion. Saute until tender, 1-2 minutes.  Stir in spinach and oregano until wilted.  Pour tomatoes over sauteed mixture and stir well.  Stir in bay leaf, sugar, and wine.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 1 hour or until tomatoes start to break down and any liquids are absorbed.
2. Once sauce has been simmering for 30 minutes, begin preparing pasta.  Prepare according to package directions and drain well.  Set aside.
3. Turn heat off below tomato sauce.  Stir cream cheese and Parmesan cheese into tomato sauce, mixing until smooth and melted.  Add penne to creamy tomato sauce and toss until evenly coated.

Week 3 Box

The amounts in this week's box were of a more-manageable size, which I appreciate. It has been extremely hot and humid here, so I would think the summer vegetables are growing early and the late-spring ones are probably dying early.  It also means that this week's box contained a lot of herbs.  Using those will be a special challenge.

• Spinach (smaller quantity)
• Snap peas
• Lettuce
• Collard greens
• Sage
• Dill
• Thyme
• Oregano

Faux Alfredo with Spinach

I'm not entirely certain when the idea came to me that sour cream might be able to double for actual cream in alfredo recipes.  It was probably some night when Husband or I really wanted alfredo, I didn't want to go to the grocery store, and I realized that I had sour cream in the fridge.  Either way, it's a fall back that I have made a number of times in many different manners.  Don't be fooled, it isn't as creamy and rich as real alfredo made with heavy cream.  But it does give a nice creamy finish to whole-wheat pasta and tempers strong vegetables well.

Serves 2-4
2 cups small whole-wheat pasta (I used rotini)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
2 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 10 oz bag spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

1. In medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Cook whole-wheat pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. In same saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Saute spring onion and garlic scapes until soft.  Add spinach and cook until dry, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

3. Toss pasta in saucepan with spinach-onion-garlic mixture.  Top with sour cream and Parmesan cheese.  Stir until pasta and spinach is evenly coated.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.

Week 2 Box

Second CSA box of the year has arrived!  Our CSA is delivered on Fridays, so some weeks it might take me a bit to actually post what is in the box.  The contents of the boxes follow a slow evolution, so many of these items will be repeats from last week.

• Spinach (bigger leaves this week, really only good for cooking)
• Spinach (smaller leaves, courtesy of my mom's garden, for salads)
• Turnips
• Garlic scapes
• Collard greens
• Snap peas
• Snow peas
• Mint
• Cilantro

Chicken Spinach Lasagna

I actually made up this recipe a few weeks ago, but it seemed like a good way to use up excess spinach.  Husband is not a huge fan of cooked spinach, but he likes it if I cover the taste with garlic so this has become a common practice in my house.  My absolute favorite thing about this recipe, other than the fact that it is tasty, satisfying, and relatively easy, is that it tastes a lot less healthy than it is.  Sneaky healthy food is always a winner, in my book.


Serves 4-6

12 lasagna noodles
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 oz spinach, chopped
10 garlic scapes, chopped
1 container ricotta (I use the part-skim)
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese (the amount is based on preference)
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. Saute chicken breasts, seasoned lightly with some salt, pepper, and garlic salt.  I like to give them a nice sear in the pan and then cover them until they are cooked through.  Set aside on a cutting board to cool.
3. Using the drippings from the chicken, saute garlic scapes and spinach until the garlic scapes are tender and the spinach is dry.  While these are sauteing, you can cube the cooked chicken.  Cool slightly and transfer to a heat-proof bowl.  Stir in ricotta and 1/2 cup Parmesan.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Stir flour into milk until smooth.  In a saucepan, stir four and milk mixture constantly over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce simmers.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until thick and smooth.  Stir in remaining Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
5. Grease a 9x13-inch-pan.  Pour 1/2 cup sauce into bottom of pan.  Top with three lasagna noodles (enough to make a layer).  Spread 1/3 of the spinach-ricotta mixture on top of noodles, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the chicken.  Place on desired amount of mozzarella cheese.  Create another layer of noodles, ricotta-spinach mixture, and chicken.  Pour 1/2 of the remaining sauce over this layer.  Top sauce with another layer of noodles, remaining ricotta spinach mixture, chicken, and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.  Place remaining noodles on top of this third layer and top those noodles with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
6. Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 35 minutes.

Week 1 Box

Box this week contained:

• Spinach
• Mixed field greens
• Collard greens (which for me is a blanket term that includes kale, just so you know)
• Rhubarb
• Garlic scapes (this might not be the real name, but it's what my CSA calls it when they cut the tops off garlic cloves; they are green shoots that look like scallions but taste like garlic)
• Turnips
• Butter lettuce
• Spring onions
• Snap peas