CEiMB - Tortellini-Spinach Soup - One Sentence Post

This week it was Bri's turn to pick the recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly and she did a great job:

this soups tastes deliciously spicy (I used chili flakes instead of red pepper flakes) and is perfect for the wintery weather we've been having here as it's been snowing and we've been having temperatures around -8 degrees Celsius during the day. I may have overfilled the soup just a bit as I had a bit more veggies at hand than the recipe indicated.

The recipe can be found here at Bri's blog Yoshimi Vs. Motherhood, don't forget to check out what my fellow Ellie-istas think of the Tortellini-Spinach Soup!

CEiMB - Spaghetti Frittata with Salad Presto - My pick!!!

This weeks it's my turn to pick the recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly and I chose Spaghetti Frittata with Salad Presto. It seemed like the perfect recipe to use up leftover pasta and marinara sauce, for the marinara sauce I used the recipe from The Food You Crave (page 153, see below).

Now, let me start by saying that I got to learn to read recipes better before picking them: in this recipe the eggs are partially cooked in a pan and then put under a broiler. I don't have a broiler or an oven-safe pan!!!!!! So I decided to bake the frittata in my oven: : I prepared the veggies and spaghetti as written in the recipe, I then put the veggies and spaghetti in a 9x13" ovendish, added the beaten eggs and topped it with grated Parmesan. I then baked it for 45 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.

I really liked this when I ate it hot for dinner, paired with the Salad Presto and some store-bought Garlic Bread. But I also loved it the next day at work, when I had a cold piece for lunch served with some Mustard Soup. My mom really liked it too! Go here to check out what my fellow Ellie-istas thought of the Spaghetti Frittata with Salad Presto!!

Spaghetti Frittata

So Easy - Ellie Krieger, page 100

5 large eggs

5 large egg whites

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, sliced thinly into half moons (I used a red onion)

5 cups baby spinach leaves

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), reconstituted in boiling water for 10 minutes, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cooked whole-wheat spaghetti (4 ounces dry spaghetti) tossed with 1/2 cup marinara sauce (I included the recipe I used below)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 recipe Salad Presto (recipe follows)

In a medium bowl, separate 5 of the egg whites, discarding the yolks. Add the remaining 5 whole eggs to the bowl with the whites and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Heat the oil in large oven-proof, nonstick skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onionis softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes,garlic, salt and pepper and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Add the pasta to the pan and stir to combine. Pour the eggs evenly over the pasta and vegetables. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until eggs are set on the edges but not in the middle. (Or prepare the veggies and spaghetti as written in the recipe, then put the veggies and spaghetti in a 9x13" ovendish, add the beaten eggs and top it with grated Parmesan. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees)

Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle the top of the frittata with cheese and place under the broiler. Cooke until the top is set and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or the eggs will become tough. Cut into 6 wedges and serve.

Salad Presto

So Easy - Ellie Krieger, page 101

1 5-ounce bag mixed greens (5 cups lightly packed)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

pinch of dried basil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put the greens in a medium salad bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar. Drizzle the dressing over the greens and sprinkle dried basil on top. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Easy Tomato Sauce

The Food You Crave - Ellie Krieger, page 153

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
  1 medium onion, finely chopped
  2 cloves garlic, minced
  2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained, tomatoes chopped
  3 tablespoons tomato paste
  1 teaspoon dried oregano
  1 bay leaf
  Salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add thegarlic and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Taste & Create XXII: Penne in a Creamy Pesto Sauce with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes & Chicken

For this months Taste & Create I was paired with the lovely Poornima of Tasty Treats.
With lots of yummy dishes to choose from I picked another great pastadish: Penne in a Creamy Pesto Sauce with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes and Chicken. I made this when I had a friend over for dinner and we absolutely loved it: this is easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious!!

Go check out what else was made for this months Taste & Create here!!

Taste & Create XVIII - Mirch Masala - Asparagus Spaghetti

This month I decided to join another interesting cookgroup: Taste & Create.
I had seen this event over at Grumpy's Honeybunch and instantely fell in love with the idea of Taste & Create: it’s whole purpose is to create a community of bloggers who test each others’ recipes and share links. Every month you send an email to let Nicole from For the Love of Food know that you'd like to participate that month, she makes pairs and then you select one (or more) recipes to recreate from the persons blog that you're paired with.

This month I'm paired with Superchef of Mirch Masala. Superchef is a very talented cook that has a lot of Indian recipes on her blog. My intention was to go ahead and try to recreate one of the lovely Indian dishes, but time flied this month and before I knew it it was time to post. As I was in a hurry today I made this easy-to-prepare pastadish.

I really enjoyed it, it was put together very quickly and very tasty. It gave me a chance to use my leftover spinach from the CEiMB-recipe. I absolutely loved it: the way the egg-parmesan mixture coats the pasta that makes an ordinary sauce completely absolete. Go here to check out Superchefs pasta. To see what the other creators made, visit Taste & Create.

Asparagus and Spinach Spaghetti with Garlic,
Basil and Parmesan Cheese

250 grams Spaghetti

300 grams Spinach

4 cloves garlic, minced

8-10 stalks of Asparagus, cut into 1 inch length

1 egg, beaten well
1/2 cup, grated Parmesan + more for garnish

a few basil leaves, chopped finely

a handful of sweet cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tbp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta as per package instructions, drain and keep aside.
In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the asparagus, spinach and garlic.
Add the spaghetti to it and toss well.

Meanwhile, mix the egg and the grated parmesan in a bowl and keep aside.
Remove the sauté pan from the heat and then add in the egg-parm mix to it.

DO NOT add this mix while the pasta is on the stove as this will only scramble the eggs.
This way, the eggs cook enough in the heat of the pasta and forms
a nice smooth sauce with the parmesan.

Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Toss in the cherry tomatoes and serve with the basil leaves and
more grated parmesan as garnish.

Pasta Salad with Gorgonzola and Pesto

I had a real early start this morning: I was wide awake at 5 am. After some useless attempts to get more sleep I got up at 5.30 and was on my way to work at 6. Surprisingly I wasn't even the first to arrive at work around 7 am: there were already 10 cars in the garage!

Spring has finally arrived: today it was 23 degrees Celsius here in Holland, not the best day to be spent in the office.... So when I came home from a long day at work and the sun was still shining outside, the last thing I wanted to do was spent another hour in the kitchen. Here's what I came up with: a lovely pasta salad with gorgonzola and pesto.

To celebrate the arrival of spring I have decided to change the deadline for my giveaway: you still can enter untill Thursday April 16, which is also Secretary Day here in Holland. If you would like to enter, everything is explained here. Tomorrow we're supposed to have another wonderful day with 22 degrees Celsius. Lucky for me I made lots of salad, so guess what I'll be having for dinner tomorrow......

Pasta Salad with Gorgonzola and Pesto (2 servings, 7.5 WW Points per serving)

200 grams penne (uncooked)
60 grams gorgonzola, diced
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cucumber, diced

1 shallot, finely diced

1 tbsp pesto

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta untill al dente. Cool the pasta a bit under running cold water. Put all the ingredients into a bowl, add salt an pepper to taste and mix well. Enjoy!

Today I also wanted to share this with you.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lata1T8cwUY

This is one of my favourite songs at the moment. The song is called 'Sweet Goodbyes' and it's by Krezip. This is actually the last song on the last album from Krezip, this album is on my wishlist. Krezip have been performing for the past 12 years and have unfortunately decided to quit. My friend Ingrid (a huge fan of Krezip) and I were lucky enough to be able to get some tickets for a concert last December, it was amazing.

WW: Spaghetti with Broccoli-Cheesesauce

As promised, here's the pasta dish I served with yesterdays Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing:

Spaghetti with Broccoli-Cheesesauce (serves 1)

1 onion (I used a red onion)

1 pepper (I used half a red pepper and half a yellow pepper)

1 tsp olive oil

150 ml vegetable stock

60 gram boursin cuisine light (similar to Philadelphia cream cheese with herbs & garlic)

salt, pepper and currypowder to taste

150 grams whole weat pasta

150 grams boiled broccoli rosets

10 grams grated Parmezan

Dice the onion and pepper and cook them in the olive oil. Add the vegetable stock. Stir in the boursine cuisine light and add salt, pepper and currypowder to taste. Stir in the boiled pasta and broccoli. Sprinkle with the parmezan.

7 WW Points per serving. Enjoy!!

Pasta with Wodka-Cream Sauce

A month ago I saw this very interesting recipe over at The Dogs Eat The Crumbs, it was Penne with Vodka Cream Sauce. It looked so delicious, so I had to try it!

I made it together with a friend a while ago, we used a four-cheese ravioli and absolutely loved it. We paired it with a nice salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, goat cheese and mustard-honey dressing. Yum!!

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients
1/2 pound uncooked pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Preparation
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add vodka; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by about half. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes.

Place tomato mixture in a blender. (I catually skipped this part: I like it when you can still see the ingredients in the sauce) Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Process until smooth. Return tomato mixture to pan; stir in cream. Cook 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked pasta, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and basil. Serve immediately.

WW: Ovendish with Brussel Sprouts and Pasta

Here's another great Weight Watchers recipe! I love pasta and using my oven to bake,
so when I get a chance to combine the two I'm superhappy!!
This recipe is really nice, I love the combination!!



Ovendish with Brussel Sprouts and Pasta
1 kilo brussel sprouts
160 grams pasta, uncooked (I used penne)
1500 ml vegetable stock (or 6 spoons of powdered stock in 1,5 liter water)
2 onions (I used red onions)
2 tsp sunflower oil
450 grams tomato, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp rosemary
120 grams cheese (40+), sliced into thin strips


Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.

Cook the brussel sprouts and pasta at the same time in de stock untill ready (about 10 minutes). Drain, catch the stock in a bowl. Put the brussel sprouts and pasta in a ovendish.

Slice the onions. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onionrings for a short untill tender. Add the diced tomatoes and 300 ml of the stock. Add the rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over the brussel sprouts and pasta in the ovendisch. Divide the strips of cheese over the dish and pop into the middle of the oven. Cook for about 25 to 30 minutes. Enjoy!!

4 portions: 5,5 Points per portion

CEiMB #8: Macaroni and Four Cheeses

This week it was up to MrsBethorama of Supplicious to pick the recipe for CEiMB. She choose Macaroni and Four Cheeses. The recipe can be found here.

Since I never had real Macaroni and Cheese, except from Krafts' one time, I didn't quite know what to expect. Since I live in Holland and thus didn't have all the right cheeses at hand I had to make some cheese-changes, I used Farmer Cheddar instead of extra-sharp cheddar and Manchego instead of Monterey Jack (The local cheeseshop-owner adviced me on the cheeses).

I halved the recipe and decided to make it Wednesday since my friend would come over and have dinner with me before we went to Ladies Night at the cinema (we saw The Women). Although I did like the Mac & 4 Cheeses, I did find it a bit bland. Next time I will use either a bit more cayennepepper or a stronger cheese like gorgonzola. But I will be making this again: to me it''s one of those comforting, wintery dishes!

Check out what the other Ellie-cookers thought of this dish here.

Penne with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushrooms

Seeing all the recipes and pictures at Foodgawker, Recipemuncher and Tastespotting of beautiful looking dishes with butternut squash, an unknown vegetable to me, made me want to try and make something tasty with just that: Butternut Squash (I will refer to Butternut Squash as BS for the rest of this post, do not confuse it with Bullshit ;) ), or Kalebas as they are called here in Holland.

At Foodnetwork I found the recipe for Farfalle al Rocco, courtesy of Assagio Italian Restaurant, Portland, OR and knew this was the one, it had lots of items

Boy, did I have a hard time trying to get hold of a butternut squash.... But when I have an idea stuck in my head, I will stick with it. So I visited 3 different supermarket: no BS, I went to the Natuurwinkel (Nature Shop, that's where all the nature freaks with their grey wollen socks buy outlandish and uberhealthy things like pumpkin and so on): no BS. My last attempt was the turkish supermarket, because I knew they have a great variety of exotic foods. At last: Succes was mine: lots of BS!!

1 small butternut squash

1 pound good quality dried farfalle, preferably Italian (I used Penne, since that's what I had)

1/4 cup pure olive oil

1 pound mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 bunch spinach, cleaned, stems removed and chopped into 2-inch squares

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated fine (I used Pecorino Romano, since it was on sale)

Sea salt

Black pepper, freshly ground

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the butternut squash on a baking sheet for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until you can easily slide a knife into the upper part of the squash. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Cut off the ends of the squash and pare away the skin. Cut the squash in half, removing the seeds. Dice the remaining flesh. Allow to cool completely.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions. In a saute pan large enough to accommodate all of the pasta, over medium-high heat, add the oil, mushrooms, butternut squash and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for several minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften. You may need to add more oil, as the mushrooms may absorb the liquid. Add the garlic and mix to combine until garlic begins to brown and the sides of the butternut squash become brown as well.

If the pasta is not finished yet, remove the saute pan from the heat and wait until the pasta is done. When the pasta is done, return the pan to high heat, quickly add the spinach and deglaze with the white wine, which will help wilt the spinach lightly. Season with salt and black pepper. Quickly drain the pasta, add it to the pan and toss to combine the ingredients, mixing in most of the grated parmesan while you are tossing. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with more grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Serve at once!

I don't get the American portion sizes..... This recipe is supposed to be 4 servings. Since that is way too much for me I halved the recipeand should have had 2 servings, right?? WRONG, I got 3 servings!!! O well, I won't complain since I loved this dish!

Just one question for you: I still have 2 cups of roasted and diced Butternut Squash leftover, what would you suggest I do with them?

Ravioli with home-made sweet tomatosauce

Very easy recipe to try with your pasta, I had it at a friends house a long time ago and thought I would be able to recreate it. Because I didn't have a lot of vegetables in my fridge I went for a very simple version yesterday, but you can add more vegetables or meat to the sauce if you prefer it that way! I had this sauce with fresh pasta from the supermarket: ravioli rossi filled with cheese and basil.



125 grams mushrooms

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tbsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 can (400 grams) diced tomatos

1,5 can (100 grams in total) tomato puree

250 grams ravioli rossi

1/2 cup grated cheddar



Cut the mushrooms in quarters and brown them in a pan over medium heat with the onion and garlic. Mix in basil, brown sugar, salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Let this cook very slowly ond low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.



Cook the pasta for 4 minutes (check the label on your pasta, because this was fresh pasta it would take less time to cook than dried pasta) and drain.



Serve half of the pasta with half of the sauce, top it with some grated cheddar



This receipe will feed 2 people.