Spaghetti & Chickpeas

My dad loves chickpeas. Really. He eats them on salads, by themselves and even sauteed with green beans. They're one of his favorite foods. So naturally, any recipe that features chickpeas gets an automatic turn at the dinner table. This one was no exception. I never would have considered mixing spaghetti and chickpeas together, but Smitten Kitchen did, and we loved it. I liked the idea of the chickpeas adding some extra protein to a pasta dinner without adding the extra calories of meatballs.


Ingredients:
15 ounces canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained or about 2 cups, freshly cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup chicken stock
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pancetta, diced (a little shy of 2 ounces)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Pinch chile flakes
1 14-ounce can tomatoes, chopped
10 to 15 basil leaves
Salt to taste
1 pound spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Get Cookin'

Set 1/3 cup of chickpeas aside. In a blender or food processor, combine remaining chickpeas with chicken stock and pulse a few times until chickpeas are chopped.

Place a large pot over medium heat and add EVOO and diced pancetta. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly browned. Add onions, garlic, and chile flakes; cook until onions and garlic are translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add chickpea mixture, tomatoes, and basil, and simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. While sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti, and cook until al dente. Reserve one cup of pasta water and drain the rest.

Toss pasta with chickpea sauce, reserved chickpeas and half of the reserved pasta water until evenly coated and heated through, about one minute. If sauce still feels too thick add reserved pasta water as needed. Season again, as needed, and serve with grated Parmesan to pass.

Mac & Cheese

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Both of mine were delicious. We first ate with Jesse's family and then came to my parents house for round two. Both meals were so different (mashed potatoes & green bean casserole at his house, homemade noodles and desserts from scratch at mine), we were utterly stuffed when we were finally finished.

 Awesome montage of mac & cheese box mixes from here

Continuing my comfort foods made healthy theme, I made macaroni and cheese, one of my absolute favorite meals ever, a bit healthier this time (from Right at Home). I was nervous about the broccoli in this dish, but it was surprisingly good and didn't take away from my mac & cheese! Homemade macaroni and cheese is so much better than the Blue Box--honestly, if you've never made if from scratch, do it! It's worth it.

Ingredients:
8 ounces multigrain elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)
4 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup skim milk
1 cup fat-free half-and-half
2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
2 cups broccoli, chopped into small pieces
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs (my family makes bread crumbs from scratch)




Get Cookin'

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a 9-by-12-inch baking dish

Cook the macaroni and drain.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the seasoned flour whisk constantly until the mixture is thick and smooth, about 2 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisking constantly, gradually add the milk and half-and-half until the mixture is smooth. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick and smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the cheese, half a cup at a time, stirring thoroughly each time until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat. Add the cooked macaroni, stir to combine.

Layer the bottom of a baking dish with the broccoli and tomatoes. Spoon the macaroni and cheese over the vegetables. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the top is crisped and lightly browned.

Orzo Salad With Zucchini and Feta

My father eats more zucchini than the average person. It's his favorite veggie. He's kind of picky about some other veggies, so we are always trying to find new spins on zucchini. This sounds delish. Thanks, Real Simple!

photo:http://tinyurl.com/22ojmw5

Ingredients: 

• 8 ounces orzo (1⁄2 box)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds small zucchini (3 to 4), cut into thin half-moons
• 8 ounces Feta, crumbled (2 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Get Cookin'

1. Cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain and run under cold water to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, red pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the zucchini and let marinate, tossing occasionally, for 20 minutes.
3. Add the orzo, Feta, and dill to the zucchini mixture and toss to combine.

Pasta Sauce from scratch

I haven't gotten to cook very much lately becasue school is taking over! I've been living off canned beans and sandwiches. Blah!

I was planning on making this last week, but I slept in the day I was going to, and that's kind of how the whole week turned out. Good news: I got to make this yesterday! Yay!And, I loved knowing exactly what was in my pasta sauce.

I got the idea from my favorite blog, thanks!



Ingredients:

--handful of sundried tomatos, chopped
--1/2 onion, chopped
--2T garlic
--2T capers, drained
--1T basil (or Italian seasoning)
--1/2 cup frozen peas

Start Cookin':

Put everything except peas in the crockpot and cook on low for about 4 or 5 hours. About 30 minutes before you want to eat, add the peas and cook the pasta.

Serve over pasta.
I used the leftovers on top of a veggie burger for my lunch the next day. It was great on that as well.