Rigatoni alla Norma

I’m happy to report that I actually ate a salad for lunch (not just bread and cheese).

Baby spinach topped with goat cheese, walnuts, cranberries, croutons, balsamic, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

However, the toast I originally planned on was replaced by a delicious slice of leftover pizza from this weekend. (I took a few bites when it was still cold before heating it up)

 

Anyhow, back to the original point of this post. Rigatoni alla Norma!

 

When traveling through Sicily a few years ago with my family we were introduced to a pasta dish called Penne alla Norma. From what I understand, the dish is named for Sicilian composer Vincenzo Bellini who wrote the opera "Norma".

 

It’s not anything too crazy, it’s a very simple dish in fact. Yet at least once a day one of us ordered it when were out. You may have even seen this dish on menus of Italian restaurants here in the US. I don’t see it that often, but if I do, chances are I’m ordering it.

 

Penne alla Norma is basically pasta, sauce, eggplant, and basil or mint. Sometimes when we ate it in Sicily there was mozzarella in it, sometimes there wasn’t.

 

Last night I had a craving for a warm and comforting pasta meal. I was also in the mood specifically for rigatoni. I quickly did a search for rigatoni alla norma recipes and found a real winner on Epicurious. I used this recipe, and followed it pretty closely except for a few modifications.

 

Rigatoni alla Norma (adapted from this recipe)

• 2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup olive oil (I didn’t use a cup, I basically just coated the bottom of the pan as needed)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (I also added 2 large garlic cloves)
• 2 1/2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or use 24 to 26 ounce bottled sauce)
• 1 pound dried rigatoni
• 1 pound cold mozzarella (preferably salted fresh), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• About 1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped

Toss eggplant with 2 teaspoon salt in a colander. Drain 30 minutes. Rinse, then squeeze out excess liquid and pat dry.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Fry eggplant in 3 batches, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. (I did use the 3 batch method, but it took forever and next time I’d probably just cook it all at once in a big enough skillet making sure not to crowd the pan)

Discard all but 2 tablespoons oil from skillet, then sauté onion (and garlic) with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper until golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in sauce and eggplant and simmer 5 minutes (I also added about 1/3-1/2 cup of pasta water to make the mixture a bit looser- the sauce was very thick)

Meanwhile, cook rigatoni in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quart water) until al dente, then drain. Stir together pasta, sauce, most of the basil, and half of mozzarella in pot.  Transfer to a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and basil. Bake until cheese is melted and golden in spots, about 45 minutes. (I baked this for about 20 minutes and it was perfect). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

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Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

For the past few days I’d been craving a baked pasta/casserole type dish. With the cool rainy weather outside I decided today was the day!

 

I’ve never tried a veggie lasagna, so I looked up a bunch of different recipes and ultimately created my own!

 

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash- diced

1/2 medium onion- diced

1 bag baby spinach

8 Dreamfields lasagna sheets (can use whole wheat or regular pasta too!)

1 cup fat free ricotta cheese

1 egg white

1 cup plain 0% greek yogurt

1/4 cup (approx) grated parmesan

6 slices reduced fat provolone cheese

salt, pepper, garlic powder

 

How To:

I first started by dicing and roasting the squash. I made the dice small because I though that would taste better in the lasagna. I baked it with salt, pepper and olive oil on 400 for about 25 minutes.

 

While the squash was cooking, I sautéed the onion and spinach in a nonstick pan with a little olive oil.

I also made the cheese mixture

Ricotta, greek yogurt, 1 egg white, salt, pepper and about 1/8 cup parmesan

Add the spinach to this mixture

Oh and I also cooked the pasta (and rinsed it with cold water once it was done)

Then the assembly began!

Start with some of the cheese mixture

Top with pasta sheets, squash, and more cheese

A layer of provolone (3 pieces)

Repeat and then top with parmesan on top. (I wish I enough cheese for another layer, but I ran out- oops!)

Bake on 375 -20 minutes covered and then 20 minutes uncovered

This was really good! A little bit of work, but worth it. I think the leftovers are going to be amazing!

 

Time to go chill!

 

What is your fav baked pasta or casserole dish?

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Chicken with Mushrooms & Egg Noodles (suggestions for vegetarians and low-carbers too!)

This recipe I can’t take credit for. It’s another one that I got from my mother-in-law.

However, this is the first time I made it. For some reason Joe always cooks when we eat this.

So I wanted to make sure that I represented it well.

Chicken w/Mushrooms and Egg Noodles

Ingredients

3 tbsp. flour

2-3 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup dry sherry

1 -8oz can of tomato sauce

1-8oz can of mushrooms

4-5 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

16 oz. bag of egg noodles

(you can ignore the can of tomato paste. I didn’t use it)

Start by cutting the chicken breasts in half and seasoning with salt and pepper.

After they are seasoned on both sides, dredge them in flour and shake off the excess.

Melt the butter in a pan on medium-high

Add the chicken and let it brown on both sides (about 3-4 min per side)

Once fully browned, add the sherry, garlic, parsley, tomato sauce, and the juice in the mushroom can, but not the mushrooms yet. (warning, this part smells AMAZING and will send anyone in your house into the kitchen to see what’s cookin)

Cover and reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 min.

After 30 minutes, add the mushrooms. This is the time to boil water and cook the egg noodles. When the pasta is done, you can put a tbsp of butter on the noodles if you want. Then serve the chicken and sauce on top.

Prefer a lower carb option?

You can omit the flour on the chicken, and at the end of the cooking time, add a ton of spinach to the pan. Let it wilt down and it will pick up all of the flavors of the chicken. Go ahead and add more mushrooms too!

Don’t eat meat?

You could still adapt this recipe. Instead of starting with the chicken, how about starting with some garlic, parsley and a boatload of fresh mushrooms? You could even dredge the mushrooms in flour to get more thickness in the sauce.

After cooking in the butter for a few min, de-glaze with the sherry and tomato sauce just like the recipe says.

Serve the sauce over egg noodles or whatever pasta you want, and add cannellini beans for protein!

Do you get nervous about making a dish for someone that their MOM used to make?

How have you altered classic recipes to make them fit YOUR nutritional needs?

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Surprise Side Dish

Joe’s been having a tough week. He has a ton on his plate for his MBA classes and a million things to do at work. He’s been getting up at 5:30am and going to bed after midnight.

 

After a presentation he has tonight he will finally be able to relax a little bit.

I wanted to do a little something nice for him, so I decided to surprise him by making one of his favorite side dishes, his mom’s macaroni salad.

 

Now, this isn’t the healthiest recipe ever, but it sure is good! I highly recommend it for barbeques, pot-lucks, and tailgates. I halved the recipe, but you can double this or even triple it with not very much extra effort. Trust me it will make a TON!

 

Lucy’s Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 box of elbow macaroni

3 eggs

1 cup mayo

2 tbsp. yellow mustard

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 cup bell pepper

1 cup celery

1/4 cup red onion

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

 

How To:

First things first get your eggs going and the water boiling for your pasta.

The best way to hard boil eggs is to start them in cold water, let it come to a rolling boil for 2 min or so, and then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 8-10 minutes.

 

Mix the mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar together. It will be a pale yellow color.

Dice all the veggies small and place them in a separate (BIGGER) bowl

Once the pasta is done, run cold water on it and put it in the fridge if it’s not cool. It can’t be hot. (Another tip: I cook the pasta 1 min shy of the directions on the box this way when the pasta absorbs all of the dressing, it won’t be mushy.)

Add the cold pasta to the bowl and top with the dressing.

Peel and dice up the eggs and let them cool as well. See? Perfect Eggs!

Add the eggs, mix everything well and put saran wrap on top. Let it chill for at least an hour. Mix before serving.

I really hope this brings a smile to Joe’s face later!

 

NOW..it’s time to let you in on a secret. I’ve got a surprise for YOU too!

An exciting giveaway will be revealed tonight. Check back later to find out more!!

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The Best Kind of Workout

I knew I wanted to do some exercise today. But I wasn’t sure what I felt like doing. It’s pretty humid here, and a run just wasn’t that appealing.

At about 1pm it dawned on me…I want to watch TV, read magazines, and zone out on the elliptical.

I used to be SO concerned with making sure that all of my cardio "counted". Basically that meant that every trip to the gym needed to include barf-worthy interval workouts or why even go?

Now, don’t get me wrong- I love a hard, heart pounding, sweat dripping workout, but it isn’t the only kind of cardio that "counts"

I think it is just important to get some movement, some blood flowing, some sweat, and just have fun! A  walk outside or a slow 30 min on the elliptical are still GOOD FOR YOU. So don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

Lunch was a no-brainer. There was leftover roasted broccoli from last night in the house, so I had to make my Cheesy Pasta with Roasted Vegetables.

This time I also added in some chickpeas. Because who doesn’t like a little hot carb on carb action?

Speaking of carbs- they are another thing that is good for you, but often demonized in certain diet and fitness circles.

For me, throwing out a lot of those old "rules" has been a huge part in my ability to find more balance in my life.

 

How about you? What fitness/diet rules do you follow or break?

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Cleaning- the 80′s edition

When I clean the house, I like to think of myself in an 80′s movie montage.

I put my hair in a super high bun,

image source

put on some tunes, and run around the house like a maniac cleaning until..boom, it’s done. Like magic.

image source

Lunch came together pretty quickly too. I made my Cheesy Roasted Vegetable Pasta and I also added some of these:

 

Not the prettiest plate of pasta ever, but it was very tasty.

And I totally overcooked the pasta because I was really enjoying my 80′s Google image search.

 

What’s your favorite 80′s movie?

I think mine is Troop Beverly Hills. But who can pick just one?

image source

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Today’s food gets a C-

Since I was spending the day with kids, I decided to pack a lunch today that was perfect for a 6th grader.

A turkey sandwich with lettuce and honey mustard, 1/2 a huuuge honeycrisp, carrot sticks, and some whole grain pretzel sticks.

Oh and my lunch bag is the best. I highly recommend Built NYC lunch bags. And no, this isn’t a promo for them because I got something for free. (but Built if you’re reading….)

Breakfast was also pretty simple.

Some instant banana bread oatmeal w/some pumpkin mixed in, and a banana. I’m not really an oatmeal person, but it sounded good this morning because it was so cold and miserable outside.

Unfortunately, I need to report that the meals above were both utter failures. I ate the oats at 7:30, and I was starving by 9:00. I ate the pretzels at 9:30, devoured the rest of lunch at 11:30 and was starving again by 1pm.

I’m home now, so I need to get something in my belly.

One thing I can tell you is that it won’t be elbow macaroni. I’ve been looking at this stuff all week since I’ve been preparing my presentation for tonight. I’m teaching a lesson called "Pasta Punctuation!"

Too bad I am utterly petrified of spiders. That sentence should really look like this.

Jamie said, "Holy @!#)&*$)!*$)!*$ is that a spider?!?!?"

Is that enough punctuation for ya?

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Easy Mac

After spending the morning and afternoon with a bunch of middle schoolers, I was ready to refuel. I wasn’t sure how the day would pan out, so I didn’t pack an actual lunch. I brought a few snacks, but they just made me want real food even more.

As a result, it took all of my strength to photograph this lunch before I ate it.

I’m the fastest pasta eater in the East. Slurp.

Today’s lunch is super quick fix and it really satisfies. This is a go-to meal for me because I always have the ingredients, and it takes about 10 min or less for a warm and filling meal. (Add extra time if you don’t already have the cooked veggies) Also, keep in mind that this recipe is totally a method and the pasta type, and veggies can totally be swapped.

Cheesy Roasted Vegetable Pasta (Serves 1)

Ingredients:

2 oz. dry pasta (I used dreamfields spaghetti, also you can make more, but I find that the more pasta I make, the more I eat. So I make 1 serving.)

2 wedges light laughing cow cheese

a sprinkle of parmesan

1 cup to 1.5 cups of roasted veggies (I used broccoli today that were roasted with salt, pepper, garlic powder and pam on 400 for 20-25 min)

 

How To:
Boil water and cook the pasta according to box

When it is al dente, pour out most of the water, but leave about 1/8 of a cup of the water in the pot with the pasta still in there

Add the laughing cow wedges and veggies (they don’t have to be warm, they will heat up with the hot pasta)

Stir everything together and add parmesan

 

The result will be a super creamy, rich, and filling meal. It feels like you are eating so much more pasta and cheese then you actually are. And the roasted veggies are flavorful and add a great texture to the dish.

 

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