Bowtie pasta with Sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and navy beans

Recipe found here


[Note: This recipe could be altered in a thousand different ways based on what you've got lying around. Me? I just used what I had on hand, so don't feel beholden to the ingredients list. Experiment, have fun, and don't be afraid of the "I" word!]

3 oz. whole wheat penne (or any non-spaghetti whole wheat pasta)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup canned navy beans, drained
1 link Aidells Portobello Mushroom Chicken/Turkey Sausage, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
Several sprays of Pam

1) In a medium pot, cook the pasta in boiling water for about five minutes.

2) Heat a medium-sized pan coated with cooking spray over a medium flame, until hot. Lay the sausage in the pan in one even layer, and cook until the first side browns, about five minutes. Flip to cook the other side until just brown, several minutes more, and remove to a separate bowl.

3) Pour a small amount of pasta water into the sausage pan, and over lowered heat, scrape the fond (that awesome brown gunky residue) off the bottom with a wooden spoon to form a murky brown liquid that just covers the bottom of the pan.
[Note: I know it looks a little gross, but trust me--the flavor it imparts is worth it. - Rachel]

4) Add the tomatoes and mushrooms to the sausage pan, and simmer until softened and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes.

5) In the pasta pot, replace the water with the vegetable broth. Simmer the pasta in the broth until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. 
[Note: If your veggies are starting to dry out, you can add in some of this broth.] 
[Other note: The whole wheat penne I use tends to be pretty tough, so even a longer submersion still leaves it pretty al dente. Feel free to adjust times according to your texture preferences. - Rachel, again.]

6) Drain the pasta, and add to the tomato/mushroom mixture. Add the beans and sausage, and cook to warm through, about two minutes. Combine and serve.

tasty. cheap. easy

Raspberry Mousse Tres Leches

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (WASC)

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teas. salt

4 egg whites

1 1/3 cups water

2 Tbls. vegetable oil

1 cups (16oz carton) sour cream

1 teaspoon clear vanilla flavor

1 teaspoons almond extract

Instructions

Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees

Raspberry Mousse

Ingredients

3 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 cups raspberries (I use frozen,thawed)

1/2 cup sugar

1 TBL lemon juice

1 TBL unflavored gelatin

Ice Water

Instructions

Chill heavy cream for ten min in the freezer, then put in the fridge. You want it COLD. 

In a small pan, add raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Cook on med low until the sugar dissolves. As it's cooking, press raspberries against the side of the pan to remove the fruit from the seeds; kind of puree. Let it come to a small boil, then remove from the heat. Press the raspberries through a fine sieve into a metal bowl. You want to get as much raspberry puree as possible without the seeds so you'll have a smooth mousse. Put the metal bowl into a bowl (or sink) of ice water; be carefull not to let any water get into your raspberries. Whisk the unflavored gelatin into the raspberries as it cools, until it thickens into a thick sauce. Let it cool down completely in the icewater. 

As the raspberry puree is cooling, whip your heavy cream into soft peaks. Add the confectioners sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold your whipped cream into your raspberry puree. 

2 cups raspberries

Sweetened Condensed milk

Evaporated milk

Cream

Dessert Assembly

Put your first layer of cake down. Drizzle all three types of milk on the cake. And a thin layer of raspberries. Top with a layer of raspberry mousse. Repeat.

Fish Lentils

Sounds gross. I know. But it's actually really good. Even Deco likes it, and that's saying something!

2 cups lentils (one small bag)
7 cups broth (or water with boullion)
2 sticks celery
2 large carrots
Sage, Lemon Pepper, Parsly and Coarse Ground Pepper
2-3 fish filets (any fish would work, but I use tilapia. You could always use chicken or beef too; I'm sure that would taste just as good.)


Add the lentils and broth. Heat to a simmer. Grate celery and carrots; add to lentils. Season to taste. Cut raw fish into chunks and add to soup. Simmer for 30-35 min.

So easy, cheap and tasty! (Healthy too, right?) I love to puree the leftovers into a 'split-pea' texture for another night.

Risotto with Asparagus

So I always see risotto recipes on cooking shows, but wasn't really sure what risotto was all about or if I'd ever even eaten it. Then I stumbled across this recipe and since I LOVE asparagus and was already curious about risotto I thought I'd try it out. It's a tiny bit time-consuming and high maintenance to make this recipe but it was way good. The recipe says it's for 12 servings so cut it in half or quarter it if you don't want to make a ton.

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
7 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (if you don't want to use white wine you can just use more chicken broth)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place asparagus in a large saucepan; add 1/2 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and maintain at a simmer. In a large heavy skillet, cook onion in oil over medium heat until tender. Add rice and stir to coat well; cook 3 minutes longer. Add wine (or 1 cup chicken broth) and cook until absorbed.
3. Stir in 1 cup simmering broth. Cook until broth is almost completely absorbed, stirring frequently, then add another cup of simmering broth. Repeat until only about 1/4 cup of broth remains (discard remaining broth); the process should take about 20 minutes. Rice should be slightly firm in center and look creamy.
4. Add asparagus; heat through. Remove from the heat; add the butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Brownie Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I mentioned in my last post with the orange cookies I did not like chocolate during my pregnancy, so it's a good thing I just found this recipe recently. I probably wouldn't have given it a second look a few months ago. These were delicious. How could you mix brownies and chocolate chip cookies and not turn out awesome? I'm going to print the recipe as I found it, but I added a little more brownie batter than the recipe called for cause I thought I would want them a little more chocolatey. Then the dough seemed a little too wet so I added some flour. Just play with it so the cookies turn out how you like them. I thought mine turned out pretty darn good.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup prepared brownie mix, chilled
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper. (I used my stoneware cookie sheets without a liner or paper, so I'm not sure if they're really necessary with metal pans...)
2. Beat the butter and sugars until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add brownie batter, mixing until well combined.
3. Place flour, salt and soda into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Add to wet ingredients, mixing to combine and then add chocolate chips to combine. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cookies are cooked through. Let cookies cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy with a large glass of milk.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

During about 8/9 of my pregnancy I had a STRONG aversion to chocolate, which was actually kind of awful but it helped me to discover the deliciousness of some other flavors I'd been shunning my whole life. I absolutely loved and craved everything citrus the whole pregnancy so this recipe came in my searches for delicious citrus recipes. These cookies are way good!

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest (for me that was the zest of 2 oranges)
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed juice of an orange (add more or less depending how orangey you want cookies)
2 cups white chocolate/vanilla Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest, juice and chips. If dough seems really wet make a couple of test cookies. If they come out flat add 1/4-1/2 cup flour.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8 - 10 minutes. Do not overcook! Cookies should be a little plump. Cool slightly before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.