A Life, Lived

Macaroni Salad

We all need a good classic macaroni salad in our back pocket. One that we can always bring to backyard BBQs and potlucks. Even better if it is one you can also make up to 2 days in advance.

But most importantly, we need it to be creamy. We need it to have tons of veggies. And we need plenty of extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Keyword being plenty.

So that’s what we have here. We have the four very important elements right in this classic macaroni salad (make-ahead, creamy, veggie-loaded, and abundance of cheese).

It’s quick, simple and delicious!

Enjoy.

Macaroni Salad

2 cups elbow macaroni
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 large eggs
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 celery ribs, diced
3/4 cup diced extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Stir in peas during the last 1 minute of cooking time; drain well and rinse with cold water.

Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Cover eggs with a tight-fitting lid and remove from heat; set aside for 8-10 minutes. Drain well and let cool before peeling and dicing.

In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, parsley, vinegar and Dijon. Stir in pasta, peas, eggs, bell pepper, onion, celery and cheese; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

over; place into the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Serve cold

Chicken Manicotti

Manicotti isn't an Italian pasta shape - it is one of those American Italian inventions. The closest you'd find in Italy would be cannelloni. I like the way the frills of manicotti collect sauce so I prefer it to the simple pasta tubes of cannelloni. In a pinch you could just as easily make this recipe with cannelloni noodles.

Oddly, manicotti became impossible to buy in grocery stores during the pandemic. presumably an issue of limiting what can come across the border. I bought two boxes of manicotti noodles on my one trip across the border when the border was open and no testing was required for day trips. Last week I decided to cook them up.

Normally manicotti noodles are stuffed with a ricotta/spinach/cheeses or a beef/tomato sauce filling. I wanted to shake things up a bit so I searched for a chicken manicotti recipe. This was one of the ones that came up.

I followed the recipe as written. One extra hint - dump the filling in a ZipLoc bag and cut off one of the corners. Use this as a pastry bag to fill your manicotti. You'll save a lot of time and mess.

Enjoy!

Chicken Manicotti

14 pieces Manicotti, cooked according to package
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup shredded chicken
2 eggs
2 tsp oregano
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp italian seasoning
4-5 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl combined shredded chicken, Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir until well combined.

Stuff each Manicotti with ¼ cup chicken mixture and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Continue rolling manicotti until all filled and in the pan.

Add crushed tomatoes to a saucepan over low heat. Add Italian seasoning, grated Parmesan cheese and stir until heated and simmering.

Pour crushed tomato sauce over Manicotti and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

 

Creamy Linguine with Peas, Ham, and Sage

With everyone having been damaged or sick over the Christmas period I've been playing catch up with some of our traditional meals. The other day I baked a ham - something we might enjoy on Boxing Day or New year's Day during a normal Christmas.  Having enjoyed a ham dinner I was left determining a plan to use up the leftovers.

This delicious pasta dish helped with some. Pasta, ham, peas in a rich cream sauce . . . what is not to love?

If you're of those folks who resolves to lose weight after the calendar flips to January then this is not a dish for you. 2 cups whipping cream. . . 1.5 cups cheese . . . pasta . . . Nope, dieters move on. Don't even try to figure out a low fat or low carb version of this dish because you'll likely be disappointed. Bookmark this for when your resolution goes belly up (see what I did there?) and cooking returns to a happy normal.

When I made this I had to cobble things together a bit at the end. It turns out that what I thought was fresh linguine in the freezer was not. I didn't feel like racing out to buy some so I used the gianormous fusilli that I had purchased in Trader Joes during my one happy trip across the border before Omnicrom washed over us and things closed up again.

I think this may have been a better pasta choice because the ridges in the past caught all of that delicious sauce. MMM

The recipe called fro adding pasta water to thin the sauce. make sure to grab some with a measuring cup BEFORE you drain the pasta. In the end I thought the sauce was a perfect consistency so I never needed to add it. If the sauce is thick add a small amount and stir until you think it is a proper consistency. You want it think enough so that it sticks to the pasta with its luscious, rich, cheesy goodness.

All in all, this was a quick and easy weeknight meal.

Creamy Linguine with Peas, Ham, and Sage

12 oz. fresh linguine (or fettuccine)
1-1/2 cups shelled fresh peas or frozen peas, thawed
2 cups heavy cream
1 heaping Tbs. chopped fresh sage (or 1 scant tsp. crumbled dried sage leaves)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. ham, cut into bite-size pieces
1-1/2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, more for serving

Cook the linguine in boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente, adding the peas about 2 minutes before the pasta is done. Reserve 1/2 cup of the water and drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet, simmer the cream, sage, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add the drained pasta and peas, ham, and Parmigiano; toss to combine and heat through. Add some of the cooking water to loosen the pasta, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve topped with more Parmigiano.

Italian Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing

This is a great salad to bring out for a crowd in the summer. It comes together relatively quickly, tastes amazing, and well, feeds a crowd! I made this for dinner on Friday and we've been eating the leftovers for four days now.

Most of the pasta salads that I have tried have a mayonnaise based dressing making them somewhat iffy for a summer dish - especially if you want to bring it to an outdoor gathering. This would be a perfect salad to bring to the next BBQ you're invited to - now that people are finally inviting one another to BBQs and stuff.

This is one of those forgiving recipes. I had two types of olives in the refrigerator so I threw both in. You could add some sun dried tomatoes. I'm regretting not adding some diced zucchini (since the garden plot is giving me lots of them!). You get the picture.

You might want to consider doubling the dressing. It really tastes great and there are plenty of other uses I can think of for it.

Enjoy!

Italian Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp sugar
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp each dried basil and oregano
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) (optional)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

300g spiral pasta, or other pasta of choice (I used large shells)
180g/6oz thick sliced salami, cut into 2.5cm/1" batons (I use spicy salami)
200g baby bocconcini, halved
1 red pepper, cut into 3cm/2.2cm strips (note - this salad would be good with roasted red pepper as well)
250g whole olives
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup (tightly packed) fresh basil leaves

Place Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.

Cook pasta according to packet directions minus 1 minute. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop it cooking further. Shake excess water off well then transfer into large bowl.

Place remaining Pasta Salad ingredients in the bowl. Drizzle over Dressing and toss. Serve at room temperature.

Spicy Peanut Noodles

We served this as a side dish the other night when I made sriracha lime chicken skewers. I was craving a psuedo Thai dish and this popped into my feed.

These noodles are great for those nights when you’re craving extra saucy, slightly spicy peanut noodles, but don’t want to leave your house…or wait for take out. The noodles are tossed with a spicy, sweet, and salty peanut sauce, carrots, cilantro, and green onions. Serve with Sriracha sauce for those who want an additional kick.

This is one of those nice recipes that lets you play around with it. I had some red pepper so I sliced it thinly and tossed it in with the carrots. Other veggies would work as well.

If you wanted to 'bulk' these up a bit you could add some shredded, cooked chicken or some shrimp although they are just fine without.

This recipe makes a lot. The noodles tend to 'suck' up the sauce in the refrigerator. You can loosen the sauce up by adding a bit of hot water.

The sauce is quite thick so make sure you reserve the pasta water as the recipe suggests because you'll need to thin it down.

Enjoy!

Spicy Peanut Noodles

1 pound spaghetti or rice noodles (we used rice noodles)
¼ cup pasta cooking water
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
⅓ cup peanut oil or other vegetable oil
1 tablespoon crushed red peppers
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons honey
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce like sriracha or chili paste
⅔ cup smooth or crunchy regular peanut butter
1 medium carrot grated
3 sliced green onions plus more for garnish
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
½ cup dry roasted peanuts chopped (68g or 2 1/2oz)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water to thin the peanut sauce, if needed.

Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Transfer the cooked noodles to a large bowl or back into the cooking pot. Toss with the sesame oil, set aside.

Toast the sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently. Watch carefully to ensure they don’t burn. Set aside to add to the finished dish.

In the now empty skillet combine the vegetable or peanut oil and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook gently over low to medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t allow the mixture to get too hot as the peppers will burn and may be bitter.

Remove from the heat and add the grated ginger and minced garlic. Carefully stir to combine. Next add the salt, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and hot sauce. Stir until blended. Finally add the peanut butter and stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

Add the carrots, half the green onions and half the peanuts to the cooked noodles and toss to combine. Pour the peanut sauce over the cold noodles and toss to coat. Add a splash of pasta water as needed to adjust consistency. Transfer noodles to a serving bowl or individual plates and garnish with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts and toasted sesame seeds.

Creamy Sausage Rigatoni Pasta

I confess that I almost didn't make this recipe - the food blogger entitled it 'Date Me' Creamy Sausage Rigatoni Pasta and told a tale of how she used this particular recipe to ensnare her future husband. Normally crap like that has me running for the hills. . . particularly the 'way to a man's heart is through his stomach' gendered nonsense.

With super human resolve (and a desire to use up some of the 30 packages of sausage I found when I did a freezer clean) I pulled it together and persevered. I am glad that I did because this is a great pasta (even with the 'Date Me' crap removed). This rich and creamy tomato cream and sausage sauce is tossed with rigatoni and topped with a flurry of freshly grated parmesan cheese. The result is delicious.

The sauce makes a LOT. In fact, we tossed the pasta in sauce and had enough left in the pot to freeze two containers for future use. Can't complain about that.

Enjoy!

Creamy Sausage Rigatoni Pasta

2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 large Onion (diced)
4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 1/2 lbs. Italian Sausage (may use 1 lb. if you want less sausage)
(2) 28-ounce cans Whole or Crushed Tomatoes
1/4 cup Fresh Basil, chopped (or 1 Tablespoon dried basil)
1/4 cup Fresh Oregano, chopped (or 1 Tablespoon dried oregano)
1 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes <
2 teaspoons Salt 1 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
1 1/2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 lb. Rigatoni Pasta

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add oil. Add onions and cook for 7-8 minutes until softened. Add garlic cloves and sausage. Cook for 7-8 minutes more until sausage begins to brown.

Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add a generous amount of salt to the water to infuse the pasta with flavor. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions.

Add tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes, blend in a blender until smooth. Add fresh basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Let it come to a boil and reduce.

Stir in heavy cream and 1 cup of parmesan cheese, reserving 1/2 cup for garnish. Reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. If you want it to be less "saucy" let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes longer.

Taste for seasonings. Serve with remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

One Pot Ham and Cheese Casserole

There is so much to love about this One Pot Ham and Cheese Pasta recipe. It is a perfect way to use up that leftover holiday ham that we always seem to have lurking in the freezer. It is also a quick and easy recipe that’s loaded with pasta, cheese, and will be loved by kids and adults alike!

See, lots to love.

Please tell me I’m not alone in loving holiday leftovers more than the actual dinner. I suspect this has a lot to do with all of the work that goes into the original dinner leaving one too knackered to actually enjoy it.

However, I do have a few rules for holiday leftover recipes:

1. Has to be quick and easy.
2. Can’t make a mess.
3. Must be DELICIOUS!

Enter this one pot ham and cheese pasta! It’s super quick and easy, made in one pot for easy cleanup, and it’s SO GOOD!

I was a bit skeptical of this recipe and know Italians would cringe at the thought of cooking the pasta in the same water as everything else. i was also concerned that there would be no flavour what with all of the said water and all. I should have just put my worries aside and got on with it.

The results were every bit as good as the recipe promised. The only thing I didn't like was it was too cheesy. Now before you think 'Jerry has lost the plot here . . . there is no such thing as too cheesy.' I think the problem was i misread the amount of cheese required and used double the cheese called for. It was also a fine aged Jarlesberg that i had languishing in the fridge so the flavour overpowered a bit.

I'm a rebel and refused to use the bow-tie pasta that the recipe called for - I have 12 bags of pasta in the pantry and none of it is bow-tie and I refused to buy more until I make a dint in the existing stockpile.

I also had a bag of baby spinach that I added to the recipe for no reason other than i wanted to use it up before it went slimy. I added it near the end and the heat from the dish cooked it nicely.

Enjoy!

One Pot Ham and Cheese Casserole

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound cooked ham diced
(16 oz) box bow tie pasta
4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup white wine or 1/2 cup water, but wine adds more flavor
4 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
1 (8 oz) block swiss cheese shredded
1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Melt butter over medium heat in a large stockpot.

Once melted, add in onion, salt and pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until tender.

Add in ham, pasta, garlic, mustard, wine (if using), water, and additional salt

Bring to a simmer and simmer for 9-13 minutes, stirring regularly, until pasta is al dente

Remove from heat and stir in swiss and parmesan.

Taste and re-season, if necessary, and enjoy

Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato, and Feta

This one-pot dish is inspired by a classic Greek appetizer - shrimp saganaki. This version adds orzo pasta and grape tomatoes to make it a complete meal.

Blistering the cherry tomatoes is a great way to bring out their natural flavours . . . particularly if you live in Canada as I do and good tomatoes are a fleeting thing.

The flavours combine together well with the sweet shrimp and blistered tomatoes playing well with the briny Feta.

I think that I added more pepper flakes than mentioned in the recipe because we like the heat. I suspect I may regret this when we enjoy the leftovers this evening (I made this dish originally on Monday) as the heat grows over time. LOL

Another change would be to stir in some spinach or other green to add some contrasting texture and hide some vitamins from your non veggie eating family. :-)

We enjoyed this with some crusty bread and a salad.

Enjoy!

Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato, and Feta

3 large garlic cloves, grated or minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and patted dry
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup orzo
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
½ cup crumbled feta
½ cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and fine stems

In a mixing bowl, combine half the garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the shrimp, coating it well.

In a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to blister, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon oregano and ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the orzo, stirring until lightly toasted, about 1 minute, then add the crushed tomatoes and 1 cup water. Season with salt, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up anything stuck on the bottom.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until just shy of al dente, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Add the marinated shrimp on top, cover and cook until they are cooked through and the orzo is al dente, 4 to 6 minutes more.

Remove from the heat, divide among plates and finish with black pepper, feta and parsley. Serve with more red-pepper flakes, if desired.

 

Baked Feta Pasta

I must have been hidden under a rock because I was unaware of this sensation until recently. This recipe was first shared online by a user from Finland and took the world by storm. So much so that at its height the feta section of the grocery store dairy aisle in many countries was empty. Sure enough, when I went looking for feta this was my experience. in fact, it was three weeks before I was able to find some and even then it was low-quality feta.

This is simple and tasty - likely the reason for its popularity.

The setup on this one is simple, and the resulting flavors could not be more vibrant. Simply toss a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes into a baking dish then drizzle in olive oil and add some freshly cracked black pepper. Give it all a good mix, spread out the tomatoes and then let the star of the show make its debut: a whole entire block of feta cheese. Now add a splash of wine (because everything is better with wine)

After a quick bake in the oven, the cheese is softened and the cherry tomatoes are roasted, and their juices join forces with the wine to make one heck of a flavorful sauce.

Mix it all together, stir in your pasta of choice and get your garnish on with plenty of fresh basil. This is truly a one-dish dinner winner with endless customization.

Because my feta was a lower quality it didn't melt completely leaving globules of cheese that might offend some. It tastes fine but might not be as pretty as some. Apparently if you use a higher quality sheep milk feta this is avoided.

We loved it and will definitely be making it again . . . and again . . .

Baked Feta Pasta

2 cups cherry tomatoes
3 Tablespoons< olive oil, divided
1/2 cup white wine
1 (8-oz.) block feta cheese
12 oz. uncooked pasta of choice
Fresh basil, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a 13x9-inch baking dish, stir together the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Push the tomatoes to the sides of the dish then place the block of feta cheese in the center. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on top of the feta.

Drizzle the white wine all around the feta then bake until the cheese has softened and the tomatoes are roasted, about 30 minutes.

While the feta is baking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 10 t0 12 minutes. Drain the pasta and set it aside.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and using a large spoon, mash the feta and stir it together with the tomatoes. Drain the pasta then add it to the baking dish, stirring well to combine.

Garnish the pasta with the basil and serve.

Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese

After spending a couple of hours putting up Christmas lights yesterday I was searching for something to make for lunch. I was craving Macaroni and Cheese but most of the instant pot recipes feature cream cheese - an ingredient we didn't have. I searched for a recipe without cream cheese and came upon this one with whipping cream - something we did have!

15 minutes later we were sitting down to a delicious lunch.

I followed the recipe as printed with a couple of exceptions - I used chicken broth because I had one open in the refrigerator, I added about half a teaspoon of dry mustard to build up the flavour complexity, and I added some chopped ham.

One piece of advice - use white pepper if you have it. I used fresh ground pepper and I must have had it set on a coarse grind because there were unsightly black bits in the finished dish.

Boo

Other than that - good lunch, quick!

Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese

• • 2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni noodles
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
  • 2 cups grated freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese (see notes)
  • 1/3 cup milk (whole or 2%)
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

Add the uncooked macaroni, vegetable broth, water, butter, garlic powder, pepper, and salt to the Instant Pot. 

Place the lid on the pot and set to sealing. Cook on manual function for 4 minutes. 

Do a quick release

Stir in heavy cream, milk, and cheese, and stir until creamy and thick