Pad Thai-ish Noodles

We have these with our Thai lettuce wraps and it makes a great combo.

Brown rice noodles

Chicken

Green onions

Snow peas (opt)

Peanuts, crushed

Cilantro (opt)

Peanut sauce: estimated, adjust to preference

1/3 c Peanut butter

3 T Rice vinegar

1 t Soy sauce

1T Sweet chili sauce

1. Cook noodles

2. Make sauce

3. Cook chicken and cover in sauce.

4. Put chicken/sauce over the noodles

5. Add snow peas, cilantro, green onions. And top with crushed nuts.

One Pot Wonder: Pasta

This is a great and versatile way to cook pasta dishes all in one move, mostly. It is a variation of the way I make my kale and sausage pasta without pre-prepared sauce. Basically throw everything into a pot and cook it all until the liquid evaporates, thereby preserving some of the nutrients from the vegetables you cooked in it. It's also great if you don't have tomato or alfredo sauce and don't just want to add plain oil.
(You can google "one pot wonder" and get other variations.)

12 oz pasta noodles (spaghetti, linguine, etc.)
5-6 c liquid (broth; optional to sub 1 cup of tomato juice, etc)
2 T extra virgin olive oil

--dry seasonings or big vegetables----------

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes (include juice if desired....see above)
1 medium sweet onion, cut in 1/4 inch julienne strips (use an onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Italian Seasoning

---extra options----

• fresh herbs: 1 bunch (about 10 to 12 leaves) basil, diced (or fresh herbs)
• light vegetables: 2 handfuls spinach or kale, sliced thinly
• cheese: parmesan, feta, romano, etc.

1. Place main ingredients in pot: pasta, broth, and oil.

2. Add dry seasonings and big vegetables:  tomatoes, onion (I like to sautee as the first ingredient), garlic, etc. 

3. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated except half-inch or so, so their is a minimal amount of "sauce."

4. Remove from heat and add extra ingredients: including fresh herbs and greens (spinach). And season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with cheese, or stir it in to make the "sauce" creamier (do not add while liquid is bubbling!).

Serves 4 to 6 as an entree

-the other option is to cook the noodles regularly and then drain most the liquid, but reserve a little bit, and then add the cheese to make it a light cheesy sauce.

----VARIATIONS --endless!

• sausage, kale and parmesan
• tomatoes, basil or Italian seasonings, olives and parmesan
• bottled artichoke hearts with juice, Chicken, mushrooms and feta, lemon pepper
• bacon, peas, parmesan

Sausage n' Kale Fettuccine

This is a super simple easy way to make and eat pasta with boosted nutrition from the kale--if you're looking for a recipe to try out kale on.

3 T olive oil

1 lb ground sausage

1/2 lb kale, stems removed and leaves chopped

1/2 lb fettuccine

2/3 c chicken broth

1/2 c Parmesan or Feta Cheese

1 c mushrooms, chopped (opt.)

  

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook sausage, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanch kale in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, 5 minutes.

Remove kale with a large sieve and set aside, but keep the water in the pot--to preserve nutrients fro kale.

Return cooking water in pot to a boil, then cook pasta in boiling water, uncovered, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander.

While pasta cooks, add kale to sausage in skillet and sauté, stirring frequently, until just tender, about 5 minutes. (add mushrooms to sautee too, if desired)

Add broth, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then add pasta and 1/2 cup reserved cooking water to skillet, tossing until combined.

Stir in cheese and thin with additional cooking water if desired.

**I love eating this with the mushrooms, but some may not like mushrooms. This is a simple dish, but you could add milk with chicken buillon at the end, instead of the chicken broth, if you want more of a creamy feel. Or even cerate a white sauce on the side and then add that in....it'd be great that way too, but it's so simple if you need a quick nutritional pasta dish that's more than just noodles and cream sauce. 

*originally from epicurious.com

Slow Cooker Lasagna

 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes (so there's not too much liquid)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T dried oregano
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 15-ounce containers fresh ricotta or cottage cheese
2 c. grated mozzarella (8 ounces)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
16 lasagna noodles (about 3/4 of a 1-pound box)
5 oz baby spinach (about 6 cups packed)

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, red pepper and black pepper (12 turns on pepper mill).

In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella and the Parmesan.
In the bottom of a 5 to 6-quart slow cooker, spread a thin layer of the sauce.
Top with 4 of the noodles (breaking to fit as necessary.)
Spread 1 1/2 cups of the sauce over the noodles and layer with 2 cups of the spinach and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture.
Repeat twice more with the noodles, sauce, spinach and cheese mixture.
Top with the remaining 4 noodles, sauce and 1 cup mozzarella.
Cook on low, covered, until the noodles are cooked (about 3 1/2 hours). (If there is too much liquid, just lift the lid off a little, so some steam/liquid can escape)

*from http://www.doitdelicious.com/

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

This is a more healthy alternative to regular Spaghetti with Meatballs but is DELICIOUS!

Whole Grain or Whole Wheat Spaghetti (10-12 oz.)
Feta Cheese, crumbled


Meatballs:
1-1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 c. quick oats, blended to a coarse flour
1 t. worchestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. parsley
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. thyme
1/4 t. pepper
2 T oil

Sauce:
2 T. butter
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 can mushrooms
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 T. fresh cilantro
1 t. parsley
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. basil
1/4 t. thyme
salt & pepper to taste

First, combine all the meatball ingredients with your hands till well combined, then form into small balls.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med. high heat.  Place all the meatballs in the hot oil and cook for about 5 minutes.  Flip them over and cook for another 5 minutes or until there is no pink left.  Remove them from the saucepan and set aside. 

Next, melt the butter in the same but now empty saucepan and saute the onion, garlic, and bell pepper together until softened.  Add the mushrooms, diced tomatoes and seasonings and cook for about 20 minutes or so.  Add the turkey meatballs, and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve the meatballs and sauce over the spaghetti and don't forget to crumble the Feta Cheese on top (Serves 6-8 people).

Käsespätzle: German Cheese Noodles

*pronounced kay-zuh (cheese) schpet-zluh (noodle)

4 eggs
2 c. flour (I do 1/2 wheat)
½ t. ground nutmeg
½ c. milk
1 t. salt
4 c. chicken broth
1 T butter
½ onion, chopped
1½ c. emmenthaler cheese, grated (or swiss, Jarlsberg or gouda--our fav.)few slices of pepperoni (opt.)

1. Prepare the batter in a bowl, with flour, milk, eggs, salt and ground nutmeg.
2. Boil a large pot of chicken broth. Form the spaetzle, using a special spaetzle maker, or I just use a rubber spatula with holes to push the batter through, or a large-holed colander, etc. into the boiling water. Cook the spaetzle in boiling water for a few minutes. When they float to the top, you can take them out (they can sit in there for a few minutes though. I do 1/4 of the wet batter at a time, then spoon those out and start the next 1/4); drain it in a colander or on paper towels.
3. Sauté half an onion in butter, then add the noodles. Within a few minutes, or at the same time, add the cheese and stir the mixture until the spaetzle begins to brown. (This is when we add little pieces of pepperoni for extra awesome flavor, but that's just us, not traditional.)
4. Serve immediately, sprinkled with salt and pepper. Any type of Swiss cheese can be used instead of emmenthaler cheese.

**For those who really love cheese, the dish can be sprinkled with additional cheese and broiled briefly. This is typically served with a breaded meat or something, but we just throw in a little meat. It might not be the most amazing meal, but it's definitely fun to try...the noodle are cute and an interesting way of making noodles.

Pasta Lugano

4 c. noodles, cooked (bowtie or penne)
1 c. Italian sausage, cooked
1 c. ham, diced (opt.)
1 c. mozzarella, cubed
2 peppers, chopped (colorful are best)
2 T. fresh basil, finely chopped
1-2 Tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
2-3 T Balsamic vinegar

Mix all together well and let sit for at least 20 minutes (to blend flavors)