Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts (Pasta)

We found this recipe quite delicious.  It is the roasting of the walnuts and broccoli that make this so flavorful.  I got the original recipe here. I don't believe I changed anything except I sprinkled the Parmesan and baked for a few minutes.

• 12 ounces orecchiette or some other short pasta (3 cups)
• 1 bunch broccoli (1 1/2 pounds), cut into small florets
• 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¾ cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.
3. Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the broccoli, walnuts, oil, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
4. Roast, tossing once, until the broccoli is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
5. Toss the pasta with the broccoli mixture, butter, and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. (Add more water if the pasta seems dry.)
6. Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

Chicken Broccoli Braid

We had this last week. Not the best. It was very edible and could possibly be good, but I didn't like it enough to waste my time on it again. Of course I didn't use refrigerated rolls, I used my own crescent dough. While my dough is better than what you can buy, it cooks up differently so maybe it was not the best dough for this (but maybe it was; I don't know). According to other reviewers comments I cooked the broccoli a little before. That was a good idea, but I didn't cook it quite enough so it was still crunchy. I also wouldn't waste my nuts in it. I did shape it like a wreath so I didn't have any doughy centers. That was very good idea. We all thought it looked fantastic---until we ate it! Caleb even said, 'Mom, are you going to take a picture of this for your blog?' No, because that requires extra effort and delays the time when the young ones will quiet down from finally getting something to eat! So you will just have to use your imagination!

Sausage and Pasta, Monday Night

Last night we had this:

(I got this recipe during my two week free membership at America's Test Kitchen--it has served me well!)

Creamy Skillet Penne with Sausage and Broccoli
1 lb. hot sausage
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
8 oz. penne pasta (about 2 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. broccoli florets
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP basil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet, breaking into pieces until no longer pink. Remove from pan onto a paper towel-lined plate.

Cook onion and bell pepper in sausage fat until softened (if there is a lot, I remove some). Add penne and cook, stirring often, until pasta is lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broths and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer stirring occasionally until pasta begins to soften. (8-10 mins.)

Arrange broccoli on top of pasta and continue to cook, covered until broccoli is bright green and tender and pasta is al dente. (about 8 minutes) Remove from heat and add cheese, basil and vinegar. (Yum!)

Everyone loves this (a rare thing at my house. . . ).

FHE treat: Casco 2nds

Monday Night Dinner

Tonight for dinner we had spaghetti, broccoli, pickled cucumbers and garlic bread. Here are the specs:

Spaghetti

This is not outstanding spaghetti sauce, but it's easy and in my opinion better than from a jar.

Brown 1 lb. hamburger with 1 chopped onion. Drain then rinse off fat. Add 1/2 packet spaghetti sauce mix, 1 can tomato sauce, 1-2 cans water depending on your preference (you can thicken later if desired) 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and pepper to taste.

Broccoli with Cashews (This was OUTSTANDING! All of my cooked veggie dislikers loved this!!)

1 1/2 lb. fresh broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

1-2 TBSP butter (The recipe calls for 1/3 cup, I cut back just a little, but it would still be flavorful with much less)

1 TBSP brown sugar

3 TBSP soy sauce

2 tsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup chopped salted cashews

Cook broccoli, boil for 7 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Drain. Put butter on broccoli, stir until melted. Add remaining ingredients, stir until well coated. Serve immediately.

The first time I made it, I think I forgot the vinegar. The 2nd time, I put the vinegar and didn't like it nearly as much. The third time, I put half the vinegar. I definitely prefer it with half or no vinegar. You can judge that for yourself.

Pickled Cucumbers (not an exact science; tweak as desired)

1 part white vinegar

1 part water

1/2 part sugar

1 garlic clove

pepper

sliced onion (optional)

Add sliced cucumbers and marinate in fridge for a few hours.

Garlic Bread

1/4 cup butter softened

1/2-1 tsp garlic

1 TBSP parsley flakes

Spread on 1/2 loaf of bread. Broil until toasted.

This is my standard white bread--it makes excellent sandwiches, toast, garlic bread, croutons, French toast and yummy to eat just plain.

Homemade White Bread

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup oil (or less--oil gives it a soft texture, sometimes I want a firmer texture and use quite a bit less)

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 TBSP sugar

3 cups bread flour

1 TBSP yeast

Put in bread machine. Enjoy in a few hours!

Salads

I had to have a pasta salad to the school by 10:30 this morning for a teacher appreciation luncheon. It only had to feed 10 people and the amount I made would have probably fed 80! Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I had way too much so I saved the rest for our dinner. On my menu list this week I had a broccoli & cauliflower salad with French Bread so I decided that we would just have a night of salads.

My best salad tip: Cut pieces small. That way you can have a variety of flavors on one fork.

Pasta Salad

Bow Tie Pasta

Cut up vegetables as desired:

red pepper

green pepper

red onion

tomato

olives

cucumbers

(my favorites are red peppers, olives and red onion so I add extra of those)

Pour Balsamic Vinegar dressing over it and stir.

Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

4 cups chopped broccoli

4 cups chopped cauliflower

1/2 red onion coarsely chopped

1 cup Craisins

1 pkg. sunflower seeds

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 sugar

1/4 vinegar

Combine ingredients for dressing. Whisk together. Pour over other ingredients. Stir until well coated.