Healthy Pasta Recipe! Whole Wheat Penne with Spinach & Parmesan Cheese

"A healthy attitude is contagious, but don't wait to catch it from others...be a carrier."

Tom Stoppard

In today's ever changing world, sometimes it feels like we never know if we are coming or going.  Constantly thinking of our next meal, meeting or manicure.  Rather than get bogged down, I find it's best to slow down and find ways to keep a healthy attitude about it all.  Eating right, being active, smelling the roses...these are all things each of us can do to feel our best and set great examples for others to do so too.  I think these types of conscious efforts encourage oneself to get in the now and be more conscious about everyday choices we seem to sometimes breeze over, like hitting a drive thru or local sandwich shop over trying to come up with an effective meal plan on that day you didn't defrost anything.  In fact, I believe setting time aside to do these things are like adding fuel to your inner fire...giving you the energy you need to be a better Employee, Spouse, Parent, or Friend.

For me it comes down to simplicity, so rather than look at certain tasks I used to find daunting, I found ways to enjoy them.  For instance, waking up an extra hour early to really enjoy that first cup of coffee in the sun before work...flipping through magazines and folding pages down for potential future projects I'm interested in giving the girl scout try, and not setting a time limit on myself on when to do them...or cooking meals on Sunday for my husband and I to eat throughout the week.  Allowing myself these enjoyments I find gives me the energy on a hap hazardous week night to whip up a wonderful meal I can still be proud of serving my family.   How does one do this???

Well it's simple, I choose to day dream and enjoy cooking like a ballerina while in the midst of dance...

So when the day has made me feel weary, I just drift off and many times while I stir a big pot filled with boiling pasta or spaghetti sauce, I recall my lovely Nonni and the dainty way she used to hold her spoon as she would cook.  I can still remember the way I longingly admired her and the anticipation I felt for the meal to be 'finito' so we could eat!  My brother and I loved sneaking into the kitchen to steal corners of crusty bread and dip it into the boiling hot marinara that had been bubbling away on the stove all day.  These are the images I think about while I'm throwing together my meal.  

Now being the Italian girl that I am...I always have room for Rigatoni, but as the days of white flour overloading have come and gone...as have my twenties...I always try to find ways to indulge my pasta addiction without the guilt.  Adding vegetables, fiber and flavor are the best ways I find to give my body a head start in digesting these delicious Italian indulgences.  This pasta dish I am going to share with you is absolutely delicious, super simple, 7 ingredients and from start to finish took me less than 15 minutes to create.  Perfect Pasta in a Pinch!  ENJOY!

Whole Wheat Penne with Spinach & Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Lb Whole Wheat Penne

1 TBS Olive Oil

2 Cups Baby Spinach

1 Clove of Garlic

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Salt to taste

Pasta Water

Start by boiling your whole wheat penne to al dente.  Before draining reserve a cup of pasta water, you will not necessarily need all of it, but always take a bit more just in case I say.  

After you have drained you penne set it aside in the colander while you make your quick sauce.  I use the same Pasta pot, and begin to heat up the olive oil on medium heat.  When the oil is ready, crush a clove of garlic with the back of your knife and add it to the oil.  Let the garlic clove mingle with the oil & sizzle a bit for about a minute.

At this point add the chili flakes and penne into the pot, and stir well to finish cooking your penne in the hot oil. After about a minute add a 1/4 -1/2 cup pasta water to help create a sauce, continue to cook for another minute until the pasta is done and everything is well combined.  Turn off the heat when the pasta is done and well coated with the sauce.  Add in the Cheese, Baby Spinach and any other seasonings you may like and mix very well.  If the pasta seems dry-add more pasta water, if it's too watery-continue to cook it down a bit longer.  Do note that your sauce will thicken upon standing as well.  And that's it!  Serve with a salad and you're good to go any day of the week!  Feel free to share any links to other healthy & quick week night recipes you love to make throughout the week in the comments section below.

  

Breakfast Sandwich Bliss

As I get older I seem to have an internal clock that refuses to let me sleep past dawn...this year 4:59 seems to be the repetitive alarm that goes off.  This morning when I woke up, rather than snuggle in with my husband for an extra hour or 2, I decided to wander into the kitchen to do what I love to do most on these mornings I am up far earlier than I need to be...COOK!

Since it's Lent, my husband and I do not eat meat on Fridays.  He isn't the most adventurous breakfast eater, so to ensure that he gets a healthy breakfast in him I like to make him his new favorite find...Egg White Sandwiches.  Today I threw together what we had in the fridge....

Organic Roma Tomatoes

Farm Fresh Egg Whites

Boar's Head Horseradish Cheddar 

Cholula Hot Sauce

Seedy Rye 

Here's a picture!  What are your favorite ingredients to have in a breakfast sandwich?

Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes will make you want to melt.

This year for Christmas I made the most delicious braised short ribs, and what better to sit beneath my savory delicious red wine braised beef than a sea of creamy mashed potatoes?  The addition of Mascarpone Cheese was a last minute idea I am so glad we splurged for.  These potatoes are practically perfect and a divine side dish for just about anything, do try them!

Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes


8 large russet potatoes peeled & chopped into larger chunks
1 large container of Mascarpone cheese
1 cup half & half
1/2 cup milk
2 sticks of unsalted butter
salt & pepper to taste

Fill a large pot with the chopped potatoes, cold water and a good amount of sea salt.  Bring to a boil & cook the potatoes until they are fork tender.  In a separate pot warm the milk as well as the half & half and 1 stick of butter.

When the potatoes are done drain well and put back into the pot with the warm milk & butter mixture.  Smash with a potato masher to get the potatoes going and add in a bit of salt & pepper after tasting a potato for seasoning.  Add in the mascarpone cheese and using a hand mixer blend together on low slowly adding the last stick of butter a few Tbs at a time until everything is mixed well & creamy, do not over mix.

Keep warm in a double boiler until ready to serve & add a bit more milk if they seem thick and need a bit more moisture.  These potatoes are absolutely delicious, but please feel free to share a link to your favorite mashed potato recipe!

Comforting & Classic Christmas Feast with Burgundy Braised Short Ribs

This year for Christmas I wanted to make something that was special, comforting and new to our family dinner table.  As we pondered the many Holiday dishes, a great one came to mind!  Braised Short Ribs in a sea of red wine kissed sauce was the perfect dish...it offered ease of operation with a low & slow cooking time, which resulted in a much less stressful kitchen for Christmas.  And really, what's more indulgent than short ribs...it was a truly fabulous meal and made for even better leftovers.  

These Burgundy Braised Short Ribs go so well with the Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes I'll be posting later today...until then, savor this dish! Happy Holidays & Best Wishes for the New Year!

Burgundy Braised Short Ribs 

1 Bottle of Burgundy

5 Lbs boneless short ribs

2 large yellow onions

6 large carrots

6 ribs celery

10 cloves of garlic

1 small can tomato paste

2 large cans peeled plum San Marzano tomatoes

2 cups beef broth

3 bay leaves

5 stems rosemary

5 stems thyme

salt & pepper

olive oil

butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor puree half your carrots, onions, celery and garlic until fine.  Chop the rest of your vegetables into large chunks on the bias and leave the rest of your garlic cloves whole.  

Season your short ribs with salt & pepper and heat up a large saute pan.  Melt a few tablespoons of butter & olive oil, then begin browning your short ribs on all sides.  Once they are nice and brown, remove the short ribs and set aside.  

Add a little more olive oil to your pan and begin sauteing your pureed vegetable mixture while lovingly scraping the brown bits left from your short ribs.  Be sure to season with salt & pepper as you go.  After 3-5 minutes add the larger chopped vegetables & garlic cloves to the pan and saute for another 2-3 minutes.  If the pan seems a bit dry, you can always add more butter or olive oil.    

After your vegetables have all mingled taste one and check the seasoning.  Next add in the tomato paste and saute until the color begins to darken, about 2-3 minutes on Medium - Medium High heat.  You're just cooking out the acidic tomato flavor & allowing the sugars in the paste to caramelize a bit, the tomato paste is going to thicken your sauce.  Next turn up the heat & de-glaze the pan with the bottle of burgundy adding it slowly.

While the wine cooks down and simmers a bit, tear your tomatoes up into large rustic pieces, or you can course chop them in a food processor.  Once they're bite size, toss with their juice into the pot along with the rest of the herbs, bay leaves, and anything else you'd like to add at this point to your short ribs sauce.  

In a large roasting pan or dutch oven, nestle your short ribs & pour the hot red wine & vegetable sauce over the ribs.  Cover with aluminum foil and toss in your oven for at least 3-4 hours until the meat is tender & pulls apart nicely.  Stir every 30-45 minutes, turn your ribs half way through and uncover for the last hour so the sauce browns & thickens.  So delicious and pretty hard to screw up once you get the hang of it, enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Buttercream and a goal.

"Make a list of important things to do today. At the top of your list, put "eat chocolate." Now, you'll get at least one thing done today." - Gina Hayes

In an effort to out do myself this Holiday Season...I went on a mission directly to the baking aisle last Sunday and grabbed anything & everything I could possibly need to create any Christmas treat my little heart desired.  Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Bars, Nuts, Sugars, Sprinkles, Syrups, Oils, Butters....and of course cream.  After endless baking options were imagined, I arrived at my goal....the final destination...these cupcakes.  

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream & Bittersweet Chocolate Drizzle

Chocolate Cupcakes

2 C flour

1 C cocoa powder

2 sticks of butter

2 eggs

1 C brown sugar

2/3 C sugar

1/2 C milk

1/2 C heavy cream

1/2 C Greek yogurt

2 Tbs vanilla

2 Tbs rum

2 Tbs instant espresso

2 tsp baking soda

   1/2 tsp salt            

This recipe will make approximately 24 standard cupcakes.  Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees, line your pans with cupcake cups, and as a little trick ->> I like to spray my muffin cups with nonstick coating to ensure the cupcakes slip right out. (Just use a misto with a flavorless oil like canola, or pick up a baking non stick spray...some even have flour in the mix!)                          

Sift together your dry ingredients: Flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso, baking soda, salt.  Set aside & begin making the rest of your batter.

Start the wet  part of your mixture by creaming room temperature butter, brown sugar & white sugar on high speed for 3-5 minutes until the mixture comes together & looks fluffy.  Lower your speed and incorporate the eggs one at a time until combined, then in this order slowly add one at a time your vanilla, rum, Greek yogurt, milk and cream...allow for a few seconds in between additions, this will keep your batter light & airy.

Slowly fold your dry ingredients into the wet batter in several small batches.  Stir as little as possible & only mix until the batter is just blended.  Your cupcake batter should be thick, airy and not look like it's well mixed...as long as the flour is incorporated, don't worry about it...the less you mix it, the better the cupcake! 

Distribute evenly filling the muffin cups 2/3 of the way and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.  Test them around 18 minutes with a toothpick to ensure you do not overbake them.  While they cool you can start on your icing.  Allow them to cool completely before icing them or the frosting won't stand up tall like these pictures!!                                                                   

Peanut Butter Buttercream

3 C confectioners sugar

2 1/2 C creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 sticks of butter

3/4 C heavy cream

2 tsp rum

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

Chocolate Drizzle

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 Tbs canola oil

For the buttercream start with room temperature butter and blend it with the peanut butter and powdered sugar.  Then mix in the vanilla, rum and salt and cream until you have a thick frosting.  If frosting seems a little runny just set it in the fridge for a few minutes and let it firm up, this will make it easier to pipe onto the cupcakes.  

Wait until the cupcakes are cool & the frosting is made to prepare the chocolate sauce.  Set up a double boiler and melt the chocolate.  Once it's is melted, add in the oil and stir well.  Once it's shiny & ready, set frost your cupcakes.  

I pipe my frosting onto the cupcakes using a disposable plastic freezer bag.  Just fill the bag with frosting, push it all to one end and slice a bottom corner of the bag about 1/2 inch up.  Pipe a big swirl and pull upwards.  Once all your cupcakes have big beautiful mounds of frosting, put them on a baking sheet close together & drizzle with the chocolate sauce.  

You can keep them in the fridge until you're ready to serve them, this will keep the peanut butter icing from getting to soft.  Just be sure to take them out about an hour before eating...they taste best at room temperature!

You can eat them with a fork...but I prefer to dive right in! Happy Holidays everyone, hope you try this recipe out, they're worth every calorie!

Simple Pan Seared Tilapia with Mediterranean Style

In a quest to find a new and delicious way to enjoy tilapia...this recipe came together in moments & proved to be a great dish I recommend you try!  As a big fan of anything with flavors from the Mediterranean, especially when I'm having fish, this dish came from a fridge full of dill, tomatoes, lemons & capers that were calling my name...hope you enjoy!

Mediterranean Tilapia

2 large tilapia fillets (or 4 small ones)

1 C tomates

1 lemon (zest & juice)

2 cloves sliced garlic

2 Tbs chopped dill

2 Tbs capers & their juice

1/4 C water

4 Tbs butter

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Coat your fish in olive oil, lemon zest, salt & pepper.
In a hot pan melt 2 Tbs of butter and sear your tilapia with the sliced garlic cloves.  Cook for 2 minutes per side or until fish is a light brown color.

Next add the tomatoes, capers & their juice, dill, the rest of the butter, and water.  Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered on Medium Low heat for at least 3-5 minutes so flavors absorb & fish cooks through.  Once your fish is flaking on the edges it's usually done!  Taste your pan juice & be sure the seasoning is right...if it's too salty, add more water...too bland, add more caper juice or salt & pepper...you know what you like.

I served this with char grilled asparagus & zested lemon, as well as my nutty rice pilaf!  Such a wonderful dinner & it was all ready in less than 30 minutes!

Rustic Italian Brunch at it's best...

La cucina piccola fal la casa grande. -Italian proverb

Translation: A small kitchen makes the house big.

Rustic Italian Cooking has a true comfort that comes from taking simple ingredients, scraps, leftovers...and turning them into something grand that warms your belly & your soul from the moment you yearn to mutter the well known sound of, "Mmmmm."  This plate pictured here in particular showcases a brunch selection I would place in the category ->> Favorite Dishes.  

I make this in many combinations, but the basic flavors always stay the same: Basted Eggs, Crispy Potato of some sort, Spicy Tomato Sauce, Leafy Green or Vegetable, delicious cheese...I think I've covered all the bases.  I finally decided to take it down & share the recipe, although it's fairly simple & adjustable in many ways.  Leftover Mashed Potatoes make for an amazing addition to this decadent & delightful brunch idea that will certainly put a smile on your face.

Eggs, Crispy Potato Cake, Spicy Tomato Sauce & Wilted Spinach

1/2 Stick Unsalted Butter

Olive Oil

5 Eggs

2 Cups leftover Mashed Potatoes

1/4 C Flour

Panko Breadcrumbs

Few Scallions

1 Cup Marinara Sauce

Chili Flakes

2 Cups Baby Spinach

Grated Parmigiana 

Salt & Pepper 

Start by preparing your potato cakes.  Crack & beat 1 egg and mix into your mashed potatoes.  Add salt & pepper to taste, chopped scallions, and lightly fold in flour in until just combined.  Form cakes, should make 4 or more depending on how large you make them.  Coat each cake lightly with panko breadcrumbs. On a large griddle or in a non stick pan, melt 2 Tbs butter & a bit of olive oil on Med High heat and cook potato caked until crispy and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Use a paper towel to drain excess oil when they're done, sprinkle with parmigiana cheese and keep in a warm toaster oven while you finish the dish.

Heat up your marinara sauce & add a few chili flakes to make it spicy if you like.  In the same large pan melt the rest of your butter on Medium Heat, crack your eggs, season with salt & pepper.  Just slowly baste your eggs, covering in between bastes so the white steams & cooks through, but the yolk stays runny.  I throw my spinach right in the same pan with the eggs to wilt & warm through.  

Serve all together, top with grated parmigiana, and then slide your fork right through that yolk, you deserve it. Ciao for now...I think I need a second egg.