Spinach, Ricotta and Chicken Lasagna

It's once again time for Taste and Create and this month my partner is Dragon Musings. She has a lot of lovely recipes for cupcakes and desserts which would have been great to make but I am on a sugar overload (is that even possible?) this month and decided to go the savory route this time. First I thought of making a pizza as she has some fantastic recipes but then I saw this lasagna recipe and got a sudden craving for it. I had not made lasagna in a long time and the last time I made it, it was a bit of a flop. So, armed with this recipe I assembled all my ingredients and got ready to make it. It was very easy and straightforward and the only change I made was to add cooked minced chicken (Latif will never touch anything vegetarian!) with some spices to the pasta sauce (home made)and simmer it for some time. This was the first time that I ever cooked with Ricotta cheese and the spinach - cheese mixture was lovely and creamy.  Overall it was very delicious and I will surely use this recipe again.

Click here for the recipe.

Happy Eating!!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Before making this recipe, I had only ever eaten frozen meatballs (eeks) and always wanted to try making them at home but shied away thinking that it was a difficult process. Well how wrong was I!! I saw this recipe  on The Pioneer Woman and decided to use it only adding a few more spices and changing the sauce a little bit. The meatballs on their own are so good I couldn’t resist eating one fresh out of the pot (yum!). I loved this dinner so much I have already made it twice and this is surely going on my regular menu.

Recipe Source - Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients - Makes Sauce for approx. 200 Gms Dry Uncooked Spaghetti - Serves 2 - 3

For The Meatballs
500 Gms Ground Beef
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup Fine Bread Crumbs
1 Large Egg
1/2 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
1/8 Cup Flat-leaf Parsley (Finely Chopped)
Salt To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Ground Cumin (Zeera Powder)
1/2 Tsp Red Chili Powder
Splash Of Milk
1/4 Cup Olive Oil

For The Sauce
2 Cups (Finely Chopped) Onion
3 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
1 (200 Gms) Can of Tomato Sauce
Salt To Taste
1 Tsp Sugar
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/8 Cup Flat-leaf Parsley (Finely Chopped)
Sprinkling Of Dried Basil (Optional)

Make The Meatballs

Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl. Mix well with hands and roll into 24 balls (the size of a small lemon) and place on a cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs (8 at a time), turning to brown (no need to cook completely as it will cook in the sauce). Remove and drain on a paper towel and repeat. Keep aside.

Make The Sauce

In the same pot, add the onions and garlic and cook for 10 - 15 minutes on low heat until the onions are slightly golden brown in colour. This is to bring out the sweetness in them. Pour in the tomato sauce. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and parsley. Stir to combine, cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add meatballs to pot and stir gently. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring very gently a couple of times during the simmer. Serve over spaghetti sprinkled with additional parmesan and dried Basil.

Happy Eating!!

Baked Chicken Pasta in Tomato Sauce

 Oh my God! I am in love! Again? Uh, yes again!! This pasta dish is amazing. Well Latif has gone to India for a few days (miss you honey!) and my brother has come over to stay with me. We both have very similar taste in food and love a lot of the same things. So as soon as Latif was out of the house I asked my brother if he wanted to eat pasta!! Hahaha (Sorry honey!) When he said yes, I quickly logged onto Annie's Eats (She has a lot of amazing pasta recipes) and searched for something to make with the ingredients I had on hand. I saw her baked ziti and then made this recipe which is loosely adapted from hers. I used the same tomato sauce recipe which I used in the Enchiladas(again from Annie's Eats). This pasta is creamy, a little spicy and oh so delicious. It is very easy to make and can feed a lot of people. I ate mine with a green salad (yes I eat salad now, I am a good girl!) and loved it!

Recipe Source - Adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients - Serves 3 - 4

2 1/2 Cups Dry Uncooked Small Cut Pasta (I Used Fusilli)
100 Gms Cream Cheese (Softened)
1 Large Egg
1/4 Tsp Cornflour

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (Or Whole Milk)

1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded)

For The Sauce

1 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Onion (Chopped)

2 Jalapenos (Seeded And Chopped Fine)
3 Medium Cloves Garlic (Chopped)
2 Tbsp Red Chili Powder
2 Tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 (15 oz.) Can Tomato Sauce
1 Cup Water
1 Tomato, Seeded And Chopped

1 Tsp Dried Oregano

2 Tbsp Dried Basil

500 Gms Chicken Breast (Boneless and Skinless - Cubed)

1 Cup Diced Mixed Vegetables (Carrot, Beans, Broccoli etc)

Salt To Taste

Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Boil the Pasta

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until the pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave in colander.

Make the Sauce

While the pasta is boiling, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeno and  saute till the onions are soft. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and sugar, and cook just until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Mix in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and vegetables. Cook till done. Remove from heat and stir in the basil.

Mix and Assemble

Preheat the oven to 180 Degree C (350 Degree F). In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese and egg. Stir well with a fork.  Keep aside.

Pour the heavy cream in the same pot which was used to boil the pasta. Place on medium heat and add in the cornstarch. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cream cheese and egg mixture, 3/4 of the sauce and 1/4 cup mozzarella. Add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce.

Bake

Transfer the pasta to a small baking dish. Spread the remaining sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella, cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the pan and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with a little basil and serve.

Happy Eating!!

Chicken Spaghetti With Mushroom Sauce

Latif and I stand divided on the pasta issue. While I love it, he is not a very big fan (I can’t say he hates it coz he will eat what I make). So I rarely go to make it (as I have mentioned earlier), but this weekend I wanted to use up the spaghetti I had in my pantry and decided to make something with chicken. Usually I just add a few veggies, cut up the cooked chicken, mix and serve. So this time I decided to try a new recipe and went over to The Pioneer woman where there a whole lot of spaghetti recipes. First I wanted to try the Chicken Parmigiana, but knowing that latif is not a big fan of tomato based sauces I went over to the other recipes. And this one just blew me away. Who knew you can use mushroom soup as a base for your sauce! (At least I did'nt!!) Although I had to indianize (is that a word??) the recipe to make it more Latif friendly, the basic idea was the same, and it was a fab idea! I didn’t have canned soup so I made some with the dry mix I had at home. I combined two recipes from there and got this fantastic one which I will definitely make again. I made the chicken using the Chicken Scallopine recipe and with just salt and pepper it was very flavorful.

Recipe Source - Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

200 gms Uncooked Spaghetti
Water
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Olive Oil

For the Sauce
4 Cups Cream of Mushroom soup* (E.g. Knorr, Maggi etc)
1/4 Cup Grated Carrot
1/4 Cup Chopped Capsicum
1/4 Cup Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
1/4 Cup Chopped Onion
1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Oil

For the Chicken
2 (500 Gms) Chicken Breasts (Boneless and Skinless)
Salt To Taste
1 Tsp Black Pepper Powder
Flour For Dredging
2 Tbsp Butter

* - you can used canned cream of mushroom available in the supermarket. I had a dry powder mix at home so I just made it (just boil it with 1 liter water) and used it.

Place the chicken breast in a Ziploc bag (or any transparent food bag) and flatten them using a rolling pin or mallet. The breast should be flattened to 1/8 inch thickness and should be uniform throughout to ensure that it cooks evenly. Rub them with salt and pepper and keep aside. (I cut the breasts into 4 inch squares for easier handling)

Boil water in a big pot with salt and olive oil. When ready add the spaghetti and cook till done. Drain and keep aside.

Place the flour in a plate and dredge the chicken breasts to coat both sides with flour. Heat the butter in a pot and fry on one side for two minutes and flip. Fry the other side for three minutes till the chicken is golden brown and cooked. It won’t take long since the breasts are quite flat. Remove from pot and keep aside.

In the same pot, heat the remaining oil and sauté the onions, capsicums, mushrooms and carrots. Keep them a little on the crunchy side. Add the peppers and prepared soup. Taste and adjust salt as the soup will have its own seasonings. Add the grated cheese and mix well to combine.

To serve, place the spaghetti on a plate and top with a generous amount of the sauce. Mix well. Place the chicken breast on top and enjoy!

Happy Eating!!

Baked Pasta

I don’t know what to call this dish so I'll just call it Baked Pasta, OK? Right, so now that that is clear let me tell you that I absolutely LOVE pasta (Why is it that everything fattening in the world is my best friend?). Anyways, I am a big fan of pasta and unfortunately Latif is not. So, I never make it at home coz I cannot go through all the effort for one person. But last night I was not in the mood to cook any roti or rice so thought of making pasta. This is one of my favorite versions wherein I mix vegetables, some chicken and the pasta with a nice white sauce, top it with some cheese and bake it. Usually I just eyeball the sauce ingredient quantities and make up something but this time I thought of following a recipe. I found this post on Annies Eats where Annie had done a comparison of five different types of Mac and Cheese (phew!!). The Pioneer Woman’s recipe was the winner and after making this sauce I know why. I used the quantities mentioned in the recipe and also added the egg and some mustard. Next time I will use more mustard as the flavor was not very strong this time. But I didn’t add any cheese to it coz I didn’t have any cheddar on hand. It was very yummy, creamy and I loved it. The cheese to be used with this is basically cheddar but I used mozzarella. Whatever cheese you use it is going to taste great!! (its cheese after all right?)

P.S - this picture does not have the bread crumb topping as it is the second batch. I was very hungry to wait and take pics of the first one :)

Recipe Source - Adapted from Annies Eats and The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

4 Cups Uncooked Pasta (any cut pasta, I used Penne)

Sauce:

4 Tbsp Butter

1/4 Cup All-purpose Flour

2 1/2 Cups Milk

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Mustard or 1/2 Tsp Dry Mustard

Salt

Seasonings: (Use all or what you prefer)

Pepper

Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Hot Sauce

Topping:

Mozzarella Cheese/ Cheddar Cheese

1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs

2 Tbsp Butter

Mix Ins:

Mixed Vegetables*

Chicken**

Preheat the oven to 165 degrees C. Cook the pasta according to package directions until slightly firm. Drain and set aside (we want the pasta to be a little undercooked as we are going to bake it).

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook the mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Pour in the milk and the mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook the mixture for five minutes until very thick keeping the heat low at all times.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Take 1/4 cup of the warm sauce and slowly pour it into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the egg. Whisk until smooth. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth. Add in salt and other seasonings. Taste and adjust seasonings according to personal preference.

Add the drained cooked pasta to the pot and mix well. Then add whatever mix ins you like with the pasta (I used shredded chicken and mixed vegetables that I had cooked sometime back and was in my freezer).

Take a baking dish (big enough for all the pasta) and butter it lightly. Put the pasta in this dish and top with the cheese. In the same pot in which the sauce was cooked (empty by now) melt the butter for the topping and add the bread crumbs. Mix it well and spread this on top of the cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for additional 5 minutes or till the top is golden brown.

I like to eat the pasta with a dollop of mayonnaise and ketchup mixed together. Yum!! How do you eat yours?

* - I used mixed frozen vegetables. Boiled, drained and tossed with salt and pepper.

** - Take two medium chicken breasts (boneless and skinless), apply ginger garlic paste, salt and pepper and keep for an hour. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Chop one onion and sauté in a pan with a little oil. Add the chicken and cook till done.

When cooled, mix the vegetables to the chicken and run once in a choppper to get smaller pieces.