Recipe of the Week- Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

This week's recipe comes to you from one of my fellow bloggers, whom I just adore. Miranda at My Camo Colored Life also writes a food blog titled Jolts and Jollies. I snagged this recipe from her blog and made it recently. J & I love all things pesto and this was a unique take on the traditional recipe. After you're done here, be sure to check out her blogs!

Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
Source: Jolts and Jollies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I always add a little more sea salt and pepper!)
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 pounds red bell peppers (about 4 large), roasted and peeled

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides of processor bowl occasionally.
2. Pour over pasta and enjoy! 

We had ours over penne and it was perfect. Instead of mixing the sauce with the pasta, we just dished out a portion onto our plates. I was then able to freeze the rest of the sauce for later! 

Sorry I dont have any photos of the completed project. I was too busy eating and then getting it in the freezer! Check out Maranda's blog though. She has great step by step instructions on how to roast the peppers and assemble the sauce.

I had to include this photo. Our German kitchen is very, very small, so cooking can be adventurous at times,
finding a place for everything. I had the stove on for the pasta and the food processor on the counter.
We have to use a transformer with it since it is 110V. J placed both of these heavy things up there for
me. I was busy, so I didnt get to them right away. Then we smelled something burning. YIKES!
The food processor cord had fallen on the hot pasta burner and it MELTED!
Thankfully it still worked but it sure doesnt look good. =( 

Recipe of the Week

Not my image

I found this week's recipe through Pinterest, my new favorite go-to place for recipes. It lead me to another new favorite site called Food Gawker.
I. am. addicted.
I have been making recipes from these sites for the past couple of weeks and my husband couldnt be happier. He remarked the other night that he was so impressed with all of the new meals we've been having. That totally made my day. This week's recipe was my favorite, though I changed it up just a bit. We ate it up so quickly that I forgot to take a picture! This is a pretty versatile recipe and I really like that it's a cream based sauce, but isnt too heavy. We get stuck in the olive oil/pesto/marinara rut, so it was nice to try a cream sauce.

Cajun Chicken Pasta
Adapted from: Blogchef.net via Food Gawker

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips (I actually used shrimp instead)
4 oz. linguini cooked al dente (I used about 6 oz.)
2 tsp. cajun seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's)
2 T. butter (I used EVOO)
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 c. heaving whipping cream (I only used one small container- maybe a cup total)
2 T. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried basil (I used a couple of tsps. of fresh basil, chopped)
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c/ shredded parmesan cheese 


1. Place chicken (or shrimp) and cajun seasoning in bowl. Tosse to coat evenly. 
2. In lg skillet over medium heat, melt butter (or heat EVOO). Add protein and saute until fully cooked. Remove from skillet and keep warm. 
3. Reduce heat to low. Add green onion, cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Cook until heated through. 
4. Pour over hot, cooked linguini, add in protein, toss and top with parmesan cheese. 
5. Enjoy! 

Recipe of the Week

Today's recipe is one of the best things I've made recently. It's deceptively simple, but packed full

of flavor, plus it's healthy. I served it with artichokes and crusty bread with an olive oil based

dipping blend. J & I loved it! I even ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Pasta with Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce

Courtesy of (adapted from): Cooking Light via My Recipes

Ingredients

1/2 pkg. linguini noodles

2 T. olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

5 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 c. fresh basil leaves, torn

Shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting the salt and fat. Drain; place in large bowl.

2. While pasta cooks, heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until it begins to brown. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. 

3. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Add tomato mixture to pasta. Toss well. Top with cheese. 

4. Enjoy! 

**Next time I might add capers, olives and/or artichoke hearts. I love that it's easily adaptable!

Mmm, pasta with fresh sauce.

Delicious meal!
(Again, ignore the crappy quality of the iPhone picture. )

Recipe of the Week

It's back!!!

Now that I'm not nauseated every minute of the day, I actually have an interest in food and cooking again! I know my poor, sweet husband is happy about this! I dont have any of my own pictures to go with this, but I did find one on the Betty Crocker website.

This casserole is so YUMMY!!!! It's easily adaptable too, which I love in any recipe. I added chicken to J's and he loved it, but kept mine vegetarian. (Im still not loving a lot of meat products right now.) You could add any protein you wanted and it would still taste great. I also love that it's the easiest casserole Ive ever made! Whenever a friend or squadron member has a baby, Ill definitely be making this casserole for them. I also told J that after Baby Olive is born, we'll be eating this a lot since its so quick and easy!

Tortellini Minestrone Casserole
Courtesy of: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

1 (9oz.) pkg. frozen cheese tortellini
1 (12 oz.) bag frozen mixed veggies
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano, undrained
1 (15 oz.) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. shredded parm cheese (I use more!)

1. Heat over to 375º. In ungreased casserole dish, mix all ingredients except cheese. Cover with foil.

2. Bake 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven). Uncover, stir well and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden brown. (I cooked mine a little longer than the photo below. The cheese was more of a crisp topping and it was great!)

3. Enjoy!

See, easy isnt it? And delicious too!