Farfelle with Tomato Goat Cheese Cream Sauce

I know I haven't blogged in eons. I haven't really cooked in eons. With Eve being gone this summer and my working and going to school for literal 14 hour days the past month, I haven't had time for much in the kitchen.

I dusted off my apron today and rocked it. I actually made this dish earlier in the summer and I loved it. I thought Eve might just possibly eat a few nibbles since it has peas and she loves peas (weird, huh?). CRH won't eat it because it has goat cheese. It's hard to please them both at the same time these days in the culinary world, but CRH closed tonight so he wasn't home.

I made dinner and placed it in front of her with some grapes while we watched Diary of A Wimpy Kid (loved that movie btw). She ate every single bite. I mean happy plate club. I was ecstatic! It's officially kid approved, well my kid approved. Eve has her mama's love of all things cheese. She and I love cheeses, but if your kid isn't a fan of goat cheese you can make a substitute listed in the recipe below. Enjoy!


Farfalle with Tomato-Goat Cheese Cream Sauce
From Vegetarian Times

Mild goat cheese lends a sophisticated tang to this creamy, orange-hued sauce. Tossed with tiny green peas, toasted pine nuts, and festive bow ties (it&39;s fabulous with fettuccine and gnocchi too), the resulting dish is wonderfully easy and original. If you&39;re not a fan of goat cheese, try the recipe with Boursin or low-fat cream cheese. You can also add a grating of Parmesan cheese before serving, if desired.

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente, adding peas during last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain in colander, and set aside. Quickly return empty pot to same burner (with heat off). Wait a few seconds until pot looks dry, then add pine nuts. Cook over medium heat 1 minute, or until fragrant and lightly toasted. Transfer nuts to plate.
2. Add oil to pot, and sauté garlic over medium heat 15 seconds, or until just beginning to brown. Stir in soup, half-and-half, and wine, if using; bring to a brisk simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer gently 3 minutes, or until mixture is slightly reduced and begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. Add cheese, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, or until cheese is completely melted into sauce, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Stir pasta, peas, and nuts into sauce in pot; toss well, and serve.
Member Rating:

Ingredient list
Serves 6
12 oz. farfalle pasta
1 cup frozen petite peas
2 Tbs. pine nuts
1/2 Tbs. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
11/4 cups prepared creamy tomato soup
1/4 cup nonfat or regular half-and-half
1 Tbs. dry white wine, optional
3 oz. creamy mild goat cheese (6 Tbs.)

Nutritional Information
Per 1-cup serving:
Calories 341
Protein 11g
Total Fat 7g
Saturated Fat 3g
Carbs 57g
Cholesterol 7mg
Sodium 283mg
Fiber 3g
Sugar 4g

PS I skipped the pine nuts step in an effort to increase the kid appeal.

Black Bean Cocoa Quinoa

Oh how I've been lazy the last few weeks with cooking and such. Eve comes home next week and I've been working my ass off at practicum, school, and work. We have a huge assessment at work next week. I'm trying to make up as many hours as quickly as possible for my practicum, so cooking has taken a side line.

I did stumble on a new website (well, new to me) the other day and I fell in love. The site is called Daily Garnish and the recipe that I made was Black Bean Cocoa Quinoa. It was definitely a new and interesting flavor. I took it to a class potluck and it was a hit. Several people asked for the recipe, so here's the link if you're interested!
http://www.dailygarnish.com/recipes?recipe_id=6000057

It was pretty easy to make, although this was my first attempt at quinoa so I suspect it took me longer than it should have.

Chik'n Enchiladas

I have had a craving for chicken enchiladas lately, but since I quit eating chicken I had a slight problem. Fortunately for me, Morning Star Farms has a faux chik'n that is tasty stuff. I made the recipe listed below stolen from The Lazy Vegetarian. CRH wasn't in love. When I asked him what I could have done differently to make him like it, his reply was "Use meat". He doesn't seem to love recipes where I sub faux meat for actual meat.
I liked it and I fed the neighbor and he liked it, so I'm giving it a "B+". I added more cheese on top while it cooked and accidentally mixed the tomatoes into the mix instead of on top. I also used flour tortillas instead of corn. (We prefer flour.) Otherwise, I followed the recipe. :)

16 corn tortillas, 5" - I prefer the "extra thin" variety
1/2 cup finely diced onion
2 cups Mexican 4 cheese blend 2% shredded cheese (8 oz package)
1 small can, 4 oz, diced green chilies (or jalapenos)
1 package Morningstar Farms chik'n strips, cooked in a tiny amount of oil in a non stick pan, then chopped/shredded into small pieces
1 package (10 oz box or 12 oz bag) frozen chopped spinach: thawed, drained, and extra water squeezed out
10 oz can red enchilada sauce
14.5 oz can diced (or petite diced) no-salt-added tomatoes, quick drained (ok to leave some liquid)

Lightly oil the bottom of a 13"x9" pan or casserole dish. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine diced onions, cheese, green chilies, cooked and cut up chik'n strips, and thawed and drained spinach. Combine well.

Using a damp folded paper towel, heat the tortillas in microwave in groups of 4 for 20 - 30 sec.

Fill the tortillas generously with the filling, rolling and placing seam side down in dish.

Use same bowl to mix together enchilada sauce and diced tomatoes. Pour on top of filled tortillas, making sure that no tortilla spots are left completely dry.

Cover with foil and bake 15 min, then remove foil and bake another 10 - 15 min.

Shrimp and Feta Pizza

I have been super busy this week and totally uninspired to cook. I also haven’t been home before 8:30pm since Monday night. Thursday night, I managed to get home at a reasonable hour and after collapsing on the couch and talking to an old friend on FB chat about feta recipes…I was inspired again (and hungry!).

I whipped up a shrimp and feta pizza for dinner. I googled this to make sure that such a thing did exist and would be yummy goodness and the multitude of results that popped up assured me that it would be. I chopped up some garlic and sautéed it with the shrimp. Then I cheated and used Pilsbury thin crust pizza dough and loaded that onto the dough, along with fresh rosemary, sliced black olives, feta, and an Italian cheese blend from Kraft and oh…my…word. It was delicious!!!

Here’s a pic of it going into the oven…


And on my plate…YUM.

Reader Opinion

I went to my newly beloved Costco tonight and bought a giant tub of strawberries...giant tub. Even if my little strawberry loving kid was home, I don't know that we would eat all of these before they go bad. I've found some good recipes to use them in and then I stumbled onto this. It's a recipe for a strawberry salsa. The recipe calls for this to be served over grilled chicken, which we quit eating. Do you all think this would be yummy over a type of seafood?? I would love to make it, but I'm still learning in the ways of food pairing. Thoughts??

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/3 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Homemade Meals All Day

I was supposed to start my practicum site today, but due to paperwork complications I don't start until next Tuesday. This left me with a free day and I decided to make all of my meals at home today.

Breakfast was a yummy, calorie trimmed version of the lox bagel. I make mine on a bagel thin with smoked salmon, capers, onions, and Weight Watchers Cream Cheese...oooooh so yummy and less calories than the regular way. Other than the decrease in breading, I can't taste a single difference.

Lunch was a crab cake sandwich made with these fantastic Costco crab cakes. CRH and I have been making crab cake items individually all week. They are sooooo good. He made a mayo for his the other night that I copied for mine today and it was fabulous. Eve wanted me to call her in the midst of eating it, so I couldn't quite savor it the way I wanted to, but I missed my baby and much preferred talking to her...really.



Dinner was Crispy Black Bean Tacos! I opted to make these when CRH wasn't home b/c he's not a fan of Feta cheese. Actually, he's branched out a lot on cheeses in the past decade, but he's not going near Feta. I bought a giant thing of it at Costco the other day, so I better find some other recipes for it soon. Here's the recipe for tonight's tasty treat. I made 2 of these for myself, so I cut the recipe in half as this makes 4. Total calories was only 500 for both! I subbed regular onion for the green onion b/c I am not a fan of the green onion.

Ingredients

1(15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1/2-1 teaspoon ground cumin
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 -1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1/3 cup parsley
4 corn tortillas (white or yellow ) or 4 wheat flour tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
bottled chipotle hot sauce or hot sauce
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:
Prep Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
1. Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 3 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside.



I think I need to work on my artistry in the form of food pictures. Clearly, it's not my forte. :)

Veggie Goodness and Some Not

I've been slack in cooking lately because CRH has been working a lot and without Eve home, it's just me. I'm not big on cooking for just me unless I know it's something I'll love as leftovers. I have a few things on the menu, but whatever...just haven't been in the cooking mood.



Today was no different and I stopped by one of my favorite island delis (Kalapawai Cafe & Deli in Kailua) on the way home from work for a take out dinner. I bought this yummy goodness, which was Eggplant Parmesan, grilled veggies, and roasted Brussels sprouts. I've wanted to try Brussels sprouts for the longest and I have to say that I'm officially over the urge. It was not love. I ate one of them, but I couldn't manage to get through the second one. To the deli's credit, I microwaved this plate to warm it so I think it toughened them up. I loved the rest of my meal. Their food is awesome, but I won't order the Brussels sprouts again. Blech...