EASY One Pot Basil Pasta

If you haven't noticed, I am all about easy when cooking. I would love to be more adventurous but at this particular stage in my life, cooking elaborate meals just isn't an option. I would love to video what cooking dinner in my house looks like for you -maybe I will one day. But it typically involves at least one kid around my feet, another pulling out all pots and pans, dropping cans on the floor - you get the picture.  So when I find something as easy to fix as this one pot pasta, you can rest assured we have it a lot!

This is a vegan meal and one that everyone can love.  No need to even tell everyone it's vegan - just fix it up and serve. They will love it.  The beauty comes from the fact that everything, and I mean everything, gets fixed up in one pot. No need to precook the pasta.

Update: Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup: Freezer Friendly

I forgot to take a picture, but this is definitely worth a mention. I made my 2nd bag a while back of Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup I had stashed in the freezer.  This time I made some adjustments and it turned out better than the first time I made it! At the time of cooking, instead of adding uncooked chicken, I added some shredded precooked chicken I already had on hand in the freezer.  I usually pull off the dark meat from a rotisserie chicken and stash it away in the freezer for another day, such as this one!  I also added a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans.  I cooked this on low for 3 hours. An hour before I wanted to serve it, I broke up sticks (into thirds) of whole wheat linguine pasta - about a fourth of a box.  Cook an additional hour on low. Serve hot. And boy is this a hearty, warm soup for a cold, rainy, miserable, "I don't feel good", or otherwise crummy kinda day ;) And the best part is - all you had to do was pull it out of the freezer and pop it in the crockpot to cook!  I love make ahead meals!!

Mama & Baby Love's Healing Chicken Soup: Freezer Friendly!

We're supposed to get a blizzard tonight.  Yes.  You read that right!  There's just something about the warning of snow that makes me crave soup.  I made this soup from Mama and Baby Love's ecookbook - you can find yours here!  It's the first ecookbook I've ever purchased and I wasn't disappointed.  All of her recipes are freezer friendly and 95% of her recipes are grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free.  Annnnnd it's only $9.99.  Totally worth the splurge in my book!

Try this recipe of hers and you'll be hooked.  Although hers called for making it with a whole chicken, I used some cubed frozen chicken breasts I had on hand.  It was hearty, made the house smell heavenly while cooking all afternoon, and most importantly was scrumptious to eat.  Love. 

Mama and Baby Love that is ;)

Lasagna Roll Ups & Homemade Marinara Sauce

I made these roll ups on January 16th.  Today is January 28th and I'm just now blogging about it.  Can you tell I'm SO ready for February?  New month.  New start.  Do you want to know a secret?  FRIDAY is February 1st!!  This Friday.  Does it amaze you as much as me that this year is flying by already?!?  Let's all do a small celebratory dance... drum roll please... because I've sold THREE orders in my Etsy store.  Y'all.  That is just amazing.  Thank you to everyone who has backed my projects with your support!  As a sign of thanks - I'm doing a giveaway! Check out my Facebook page and comment before 8 pm tonight to be entered in the drawing :)  You just don't know how much I've needed your sweet faces this past month.  You are truly a gift from God!!

Now, let me tell you another secret.  

These beautiful things are in my freezer right now!  Topped with my homemade marinara.  Waiting on February 14th.  8 pm.  Dinner date at home with the DH after Little One is in bed.  I'm so excited!  We won't have to fight the crowds.  Won't have to worry that Little One will decide to be cranky on that one night we want to eat in peace.         I won't have to be flustered and running all around wondering what I'm going to fix.  These are 4 leftovers from my meal we had mid-January.  Frozen.  Ready to go.  All I have to do is add a salad and some garlic bread.  And boom.  Valentine's Dinner - ah-hem - a homemade Valentine's dinner is made!  

I'll be the first to say these do take a little prep time - or maybe it's just me. Those blasted lasagna noodles gave me a little trouble because I didn't have a pot big enough to really cook them.  Maybe you are better at this than I!  Now I know why I usually stick to the Crockpot Lasagna ;)  Buuuut.  This is worth the effort.  Especially to dote on your special ones with.  What else says love like good, homemade food.  Only you and I have to know you pre-made it, froze it, and it only took 35 minutes to reheat on a weeknight! 

Homemade Marinara - Freezer Friendly!

Homemade Marinara Sauce - from this awesome website

Two 28 oz cans, crushed tomatoes (I used whole, peeled tomatoes and mashed them with a fork myself for a chunkier marinara)

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 6 oz can tomato paste (I used about half to have a thinner sauce)

1 Tbsp dried basil (I omitted because I didn't have)

1/2 Tbsp dried oregano

2 medium bay leaves

1 Tbsp brown sugar (I omitted because I didn't want a sweet sauce)

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (I omitted because I just now saw that I needed to add it! Oops ;))

1) Gather ingredients.  Finely chop onion and garlic.

 2) In a large pot, put the olive oil and onions in.   Cook until the onions are soften and slightly brown over medium/ medium high heat.

 3) Add the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients to the dish (you can choose to add in the basil, brown sugar, and vinegar at this time too).  I also actually just read from the original site that I should have added a teaspoon of brown sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.  Oops #2. It was still good as is I thought!  Haha!

 4) At this point I used a fork to mash up the tomatoes a bit.  I think a potato masher is in my future.  I'm constantly wishing I had one.  Don't worry if you can't get all the tomatoes crushed up enough at this time because after they cook, you can break them down more.

 5)  Simmer over medium/low heat for an hour.  Leave a lid ajar to allow the steam to escape but to catch any bubbling bits of tomato.  I didn't have too much problem with this, but maybe it was because I started with whole tomatoes instead of crushed.

After an hour, this is the deliciousness you get.  And it makes your house smell SO good!  The best part is I used a ton for my Lasagna Roll Ups and still had two quart size gallon portions to freeze for later (once it was cooled).

I LOVE cooking once and having LOTS of leftovers!!  Totally worth the work.

Spaghetti for a Crowd! Freezer Friendly :)

My last and final recipe to make one / take one and it sure was a crowd pleaser!!  I hope the sweet family enjoyed it as much as we did last night!  This Spaghetti for a Crowd recipe (the way I make it) would feed 6 adults easily.  I was amazed at how much it made.  You're taking one jar of spaghetti sauce and stretching it in unbelievable ways! Haha!  DH and I both had huge servings, have enough for both of us to have lunch... and we still have a hearty serving left over that I'm going to stick in the freezer for one of those nights that you need dinner ready real quick - you know like 5 minutes ago? ;)  A big huge plus is Little One enjoyed the sauce!  He's not big on the texture of pasta - weird, I know! - but gobbled up the sauce since it is hearty.  It's super easy to throw together!  I love meals like these.  I hope you enjoy it too!  

Macaroni & Cheese with Tomatoes: Freezer Friendly

This week I've been making some recipes to take to another sweet family with a new addition!  There must be something in the water because babies are popping out around here like crazy.  Rest assured, I drink milk!  Haha :)  I stumbled on a great website with some freezer friendly meals and this recipe sure didn't disappoint.  It was creamy, a little sweet from the tomatoes, and crunchy from the breadcrumb topping.  It was very satisfying and would make a great main or side dish.  This recipe is also easily doubled - which I did - and it made FOUR 8 x 8 inch dishes of macaroni and cheese.  My kind of recipe for sure!  I baked one, froze one for me, and froze two to take!  You've gotta give this one a try ;)

Easy Summer Vege Pasta Salad

Helloooooooo. Whew. What a crazy busy couple of weeks!  We were helping prepare and then celebrating Auntie's wedding for the past 2 weeks.  I used some of my recipes and cooked for the fam while there.  But, I am sorry to leave you hanging.  Thank you to the faithful that keep checking.  Here are some new recipes! So, needless to say, with this weather and trying to get back on a schedule this week, I've been making quick and easy, light and refreshing suppers. Doesn't it look all fresh and delicious!? It was!

Cinci's Chili

Are you still out there?  Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  Little One is sick with his first bad cold and it's been slow going around here.  Lots of coughing and sneezing - I'll spare you the details ;)  So needless to say, I haven't been trying a ton of new things lately.  We are all off of our schedules and Little One is trying to give up his afternoon nap to boot.  Hopefully he'll kick the worst of it soon! Three nights ago, yes, it's taken me that long to find some time to post, I made an old trusty stand by - my mother-in-law's Cinci's Chili.  It's a busy season for us! So what exactly is Cinci's chili you ask?  It's a type of chili from Cincinnati "characterized by unusual seasonings such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and chocolate."  Traditionally, in restaurants, you can order it several ways: Bowl: chili in a bowl Two-Way: chili and spaghetti Three-Way: chili, spaghetti, and cheese Four-Way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions Five-Way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans Source: Wikipedia Today, we'll be making it Five-Way!!  You can keep these ingredients on hand for a busy night and it takes a snap to whip it up!  And look how delicious it looks:

Chicken Tetrazzini

On tonight's menu: Freezer friendly cooking #2

Chicken Tetrazzini 

from Martha Stewart online

Coarse salt and ground pepper

6 tablespoons butter

1 lb white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick (you can buy them washed, trimmed, and sliced at the grocery store!)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk (I used 2%)

1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup dry white wine

3 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 lb linguine, broken in half

1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, mead shredded (about 4 cups)

1 package (10 oz) frozen peas, thawed and drained

Orzo with Cranberries, Apples, and Herbs

Redeemed.  Tonight's recipe was much better and actually went along great with the disastrous Recipe 2 Turkey Tenderloin from yesterday.

This was the first time I purchased bulk fresh herbs.  They're sitting in my fridge in glasses of water... it looks like a jungle in there!  

Tonight's recipe is actually called "Israeli Couscous with Apples, Cranberries, and Herbs" from Giada De Laurentiis on foodnetwork.com, but it says you can make it with orzo.  I'm here to testament that yes, it is good with orzo :)

Mac & Cheese 2 ways

Holy Cow! This was the first time I've successfully attempted to make macaroni and cheese other than the Velveeta kind.  And it was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.  Wowzers.

It's from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine November 2011 issue.  It was the first time I had bought and used whole milk and boy was it good.  I'm sorry I don't have great step-by-step pictures, but this was before I started the blog.  It was the first 'real' meal I made under my New Year's Resolution to try one new recipe a week!

I did learn some valuable lessons.

1 - The recipe made A TON.  Good to feed a small army or to have plenty of leftovers.  The article also gave great round 2 recipes for the leftovers.  Yummy!  So, if you're just interested in the mac-n-cheese, halve the recipe.  You'll be thankful you did.

2 - When it says whisk constantly while you're pouring in the milk into your roux slowly, it means it.  I didn't use a good enough pouring container and ended up spilling milk (no tears involved :)) all over the stove.  So, I had to stop whisking and just pour the rest of the milk in quickly.  The first time around the mac-n-cheese sauce was a little grainy, not velvety smooth.  This graininess seemed to resolve itself in the Round 2 recipe later on in the week.

The Round 2 recipe was more delicious than the first.  I was so hesitant to use the mac-n-cheese because it called for ALL of the reserved 4 cups.  What if it was nasty?  I would have just wasted it ALL.  But, thankfully, it wasn't.  DOUBLE WOWZERS.  It was smack-yo-mama good.  My husband and I ate it for 2 meals and licked our plates clean.

Not the healthiest meals, but a good start to cooking nonetheless.  It's always a good ego booster to start by making a new recipe that actually turns out.  I can't tell you how many I've tried along the way that were complete and total failures.  Blergh.

I feel some substituting coming on!  What a great recipe to try out different cheeses and milks. Look for this recipe to make another appearance in the future.  It is a favorite!

Oh, and on Sunday night, DH and I made grilled cheeses with the ends of the shredded cheese from the mac-n-cheese night.  I am notorious for taking off a knuckle or two, so we had a few ends of cheese left and all my knuckles :)  A great way to use up leftover cheese and the sandwiches were delicious dunked into some good old fashioned Campbells Tomato Soup.