pasta – T.A. Henry

A couple of weeks back I made this recipe, lasagna stuffed chicken. So good. I had planned to make that again but when I opened the chicken it smelled…odd. Off. Like I might seriously regret cooking it. So I threw it out. Now what to make? Hubs will be home in 45 minutes, I have no defrosted meat and I need to make something to feed us all. Hence….

Italian Layer Pie

Rummaging in the freezer and cupboards I came up with a few things. A bag of gluten free chicken strips and a can of eggplant, onions, and tomatoes. Oh look, I have half a bag of quinoa pasta left. I can do this.

Cook your chicken strips first, so 425 for 20 minutes on the gf ones I had.

Boil the pasta. Drain the pasta.

Assemble in a pie dish or other casserole container:

Pasta on the bottom.

Then the can of eggplant, onions, and tomatoes.

Take the 1 cup ricotta, handful of mozzarella, and handful of parm you already mixed to put in the original chicken breast, and put that on top.

Next the chicken strips.

Then some marinara.

Top with more moz and parm.

Slide into the 425 oven for 10-15 minutes, til the cheese is brown and the whole dish is warmed through. You can use broil for a minute to get a good browning if you need it.

I bet this would be super tasty with meatballs. I just didn’t have any in my freezer. LOL

IMG_20171003_185008

It’s officially Spring according to the calendar. We topped fifty degrees. I shaved my legs and broke out my spring skirts. Ahhh, spring. Just two weeks ago I was complaining I was soooo cold, this winter had been so harsh, why did I go to Europe in the dead of winter instead of somewhere warm? But now all is forgotten, because the sun shown on my pale as snow legs yesterday. smiles

I don’t know where I got the original recipe for this. It’s scribbled on a half sheet of note paper in my binder of recipes scribbled on bits of this and that.

Spring Pasta

This is a very forgiving recipe. Double it, half it. Change the amount of each veg, that’s all good. It will change the taste a bit but still be tasty.

Start oven preheating to 400. Get out a large glass baking dish, I use a 9X18. I suppose it doesn’t have to be glass as long as it is non reactive and large enough to hold everything without letting the sauce run everywhere.

Chop the woody ends off one pound asparagus. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Toss into the dish.

Cut the bright white and dark green portions off 2 medium leeks. Slice into half moons. Rinse well. Allow to drain.

Cut three handfuls of grape tomatoes in half. I like mixed heirloom ones. Add to the dish.

Toss in 2 handfuls of golden raisins.

Add those drained leeks. IMG_20170329_161659

Crumble up 1 pound of chicken Italian sausage, sweet or hot, your call. You can also use pork sausage if that floats your boat.

Mix 1/4 c olive oil, 1/2 c good balsamic, a tsp of minced garlic in a bowl until all incorporated. Pour over the veg. Stir everything around. Pop it in the oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

Stir when the timer goes off, put it back in, and start your water for your pasta. You can use whatever pasta you like. I used edamame pasta on this one. And a low amount as I try to minimize carbs. Zoodles would also work but this dish will be a bit soupy as zoodles don’t absorb IMG_20170329_183254 sauce.

By the time your pasta is done, 15-20 minutes later, your veg are done as well. Drain the pasta and add to the veg pan. Mix all together. Serve with parm.

Tag: pasta

Sunday Sup: Another Delicious Mistake

Sunday Sup: It’s finally Spring Pasta