Spinach Queso Dip

I got this idea for a twist on queso dip from my mom, and it's ridiculously tasty and easy. I've made it for a couple of parties recently, and it's gone over well both times. It calls for a grand total of three ingredients- Velveeta cheese, Rotel tomatoes, and frozen spinach. Basically, just heat and stir!

Once everything is melted and combined, serve with tortilla chips and enjoy! I like the think the inclusion of spinach means that there's a touch of nutrition in there too! 

Pasta Al Pomodoro

It's been an insane few weeks, but I finally had time to get back in the kitchen and make a real dinner tonight. I was getting really sick of takeout and boxed dinners! I read this article about whipping up great pasta in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, and I felt like I had to try it- pasta is one of my ultimate comfort foods.  Here's a shocker- pasta is even more delicious with some good cheese and a pat of butter mixed in the sauce. Who'd have thought? Though I'll probably try this technique again, I decided to start with a nice simple pasta al pomodoro.

The recipe was pretty simple- olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil, red pepper flakes... oh yeah, and cheese and butter. Since I was being fancy and cooking a recipe from Bon Appetit, I decided to go all out and spring for some fresh basil. It's expensive, but man, it's tasty. The pasta turned out quite well, and I have to admit, I learned some things from the article. The butter certainly helps, but adding a good amount of pasta water also added a nice creaminess to the pasta. About half an hour after starting, I had a delicious pasta dinner!

Vegetarian Chili

Even though it was actually pretty nice out today, I still felt compelled to make some vegetarian chili after work today. I've made it once before, and I didn't really think that I liked chili that much until I tried this one. I mostly remained loyal to the recipe, although I added in a red pepper, which adds an extra hint of sweetness. Even though the recipe says it serves 6, it makes a huge batch. Very generous servings!

I served my chili with some shredded cheese on top and some garlic bread (a little strange, I know, but it works). It's also really good with a few crushed tortilla chips. Overall, it's a deliciously healthy vegetarian take on chili.

Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa

Chris and I are meeting up with some people for snacks and board games tonight, and in addition to my all time favorite appetizer, I'm also bringing some Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa. Alas, I got this recipe from the newest issue of Everyday Food, so it has not yet been posted online. However, it's so simple, you probably don't even need the recipe if you'd like to try it. It calls for black beans, pineapple (I used fresh, because it's ultra-delicious, but I imagine that canned would be alright too), red onion, jalapeno, lime juice, and cilantro (since I'm one of those people who really hates cilantro, I substituted parsley).

All you need to do is chop things up pretty finely, drain and rinse the beans, squeeze in some lime, and mix! I made this last night, and it seems like the flavors have been combining over time, so it's definitely fine to make in advance. I just love the flavor combination- the creaminess from the beans, the sweetness from the pineapple, the heat from the jalapeno, the bite from the onion, and the tang from the lime. It just tastes fresh like spring to me!

Oven Fries

I LOVE french fries, and while I get them out once in awhile, at home I only make oven fries. When I saw this recipe for oven fries in Everyday Food, I knew I had to give it a try. Part of the recipe involves soaking the potatoes in water for awhile, which I've never done before when making oven fries. I was curious, so I went online to see if I could find out what soaking is supposed to do. I did find an article saying that it's supposed to reduce carcinogens, and I've also heard that it reduces starch and makes fries crispier. Anyone know why some recipes call for soaking? 

Anyway, my first batch turned out pretty well, though I cut them too thin. On subsequent attempts, I cut thicker fries, and they turned out much better- creamy potato-ness on the inside, while crisp and spicy on the outside. This recipe was simple but good!

Vegetable Pad Thai

Chris and I whipped up a simple Vegetable Pad Thai the other night, and while it didn't measure up to the best restaurant pad thai I've ever had, it definitely satisfied the craving. Part of what I love about this recipe is that it's so simple- it contains mostly ingredients that I always have on hand, like lime juice and soy sauce. I also throw in a little sriracha sauce for heat and some extra veggies to bulk it up. The only thing a little exotic is the rice noodles (which I highly recommend picking up at the Asian market, not the grocery store- much cheaper).

We served the pad thai on Chris' classy lighthouse plates, topped with chopped peanuts, green onion, and a squeeze of lime. A tasty vegetarian dinner!

Bean and Cheese Burritos

I've been looking for more reasonably balanced vegetarian recipes, and so I decided to try these Bean and Cheese Burritos from Everyday Food. They sounded pretty easy, and I had a lot of the ingredients on hand. I did end up modifying it slightly- I had some leftover tomato sauce, so I added that to the rice for the filling. If you have extra tomato sauce on hand, it's a nice thing to throw in for more flavor.

Once the rice is cooked, all that's basically left is assembly of the burrito. This is the hard part for me- while I do understand how it's supposed to be folded, I almost always put in too much filling and have it all fall apart on me. I guess that's okay though- it tastes good when eaten with a fork too! In fact, with the leftovers I kind of gave up and just made a burrito bowl. While this recipe took a little longer than I thought, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of food that it made. It's supposed to be 4 servings, but I still had tons of leftover rice that's been thrown in the freezer for another day.

Macaroni and Cheese

When I'm in the mood for ultimate comfort food, I reach for my mom's recipe for macaroni and cheese. It's incredibly simple, but it hits the spot for me every time. While I've never met a mac and cheese that I didn't like, I prefer baked and with plenty of sharp cheddar cheese. 

For this mac and cheese, you'll first need to partially cook about 8 ounces of macaroni and then let it cool. While the macaroni is cooling, melt a tablespoon or two of butter in the microwave. While I forgot to picture it below, an egg is a crucial ingredient- at this point, beat an egg into the melted butter. After this, you need around 2 cups of milk. This isn't exact, but you need enough to make a custard for the mac and cheese. At this point, I season the liquid mixture with some salt and fresh black pepper. I also like to add in a pretty good dash of cayenne pepper, but that's totally optional. Once the pasta has cooled off a bit, mix it with the liquid mixture and add some shredded cheese. For 8 ounces of pasta, I use an 8 ounce bag of cheese. Next, put the whole thing in a covered casserole dish and bake. I'd strongly recommend putting the dish on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven, since this has a tendency to bubble over and make a bit of a mess. 

After about 45 minutes, I like to take the lid off of the casserole dish and bake for about another 15 minutes so that the top gets a little crunchy. Bake the macaroni and cheese until the liquid mixture has set- generally an hour does it. After that, dig in and enjoy!

Marinara Sauce

One of my favorite Saturday projects is whipping up a nice big batch of pasta sauce. I love my mom's recipe for this, and it's very easy to adapt it and make a meat version. It's very simple, but I'm hooked on the stuff now, and jarred sauce just won't do anymore. It tastes so much fresher!

I started the sauce by sauteing an onion in some olive oil. Once the onion has softened, I add some minced garlic and give it a minute or two to incorporate. After that, I add around half a cup of red wine and let it reduce for a few minutes. The red wine is one of the key ingredients that makes this sauce for me.  Once the wine has been going for about 5 minutes, I add some canned tomatoes- my favorite blend is one big can of crushed tomatoes, 2 cans of tomato sauce, and a can of diced tomatoes. It really just depends on what you have in your cupboard and the sauce texture that you prefer. My blend is on the smoother side. At this point, I usually add some crumbled ground beef, but you could easily leave that out for a vegetarian version. I also add a little sugar, some red pepper flakes, and some italian seasoning.  At this point, the sauce doesn't taste too incorporated, but just give it at least an hour, and it'll be delicious. It makes a huge batch, but it also freezes really well- while it's a bit of a process to make, I end up with enough sauce for about 8-10 meals in my freezer. 

Meatless Taco Pizza

I love pizza of all types, and though I'd have to say really good deep dish is my favorite, making it at home is probably second. I'm rather particular about crust, so when I'm feeling up to it, I usually just make my own pizza dough using a few basic ingredients and my food processor. The secret to really good, crispy homemade crust is cranking up the oven with a pizza stone in it (or if you don't have one of those, like me, just use an upside down baking sheet). Pre-made crust or pizza crust mixes work too, it just depends on what you like and how much effort you feel like expending. 

For this pizza, I decided to forgo traditional pizza sauce, and instead used a combination of refried beans, taco sauce, and taco seasoning as the base. After a layer of cheese, I added some tomatoes before baking so they'd get a little roasted. Once the pizza was done, I added some lettuce, green onions, and of course, taco chips. For me, it's just not taco pizza without taco chips.

Pasta e Fagioli

Tonight for dinner I made Pasta e Fagioli from the December 2010 issue of Everyday Food. It was a perfect hearty, vegetarian winter meal- just some veggies, beans, pasta, broth, oregano, and the secret ingredient- a parmesan rind. If you have one, I really do recommend adding the parmesan rind- it adds so much flavor.

The soup only took about 45 minutes, and it made a huge batch. Since I didn't want to eat it every day for a week, I decided to freeze about half of it. The key to freezing this soup is doing it before you add the pasta, since the pasta becomes nasty upon freezing and reheating. The portion I froze will make a nice, quick weeknight meal sometime later- all I'll have to do is add a handful of pasta and heat it until it's cooked, and I'll have this: