Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's double post deals with one of my all-time favorite foods, pasta, and includes Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs and Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo. Enjoy!
PASTA BOLOGNESE
This is from Anne Burrell on the Food Network.
Prep Time: 45 minutes; Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes; Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes; Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Level: Intermediate
You can view this online at https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/pasta-bolognese-recipe-1939315.
Ingredients
1 large onion or 2 small, cut into 1-inch dice
2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch dice
4 cloves garlic
Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan
Kosher salt
3 pounds ground chuck, brisket or round or combination
2 cups tomato paste
3 cups hearty red wine
Water
3 bay leaves
1 bunch thyme, tied in a bundle
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
High quality extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing
Directions
In a food processor, puree onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into a coarse paste. In a large pan over medium heat, coat pan with oil. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat and cook until all the water has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently, about 15 to 20 minutes. Be patient, this is where the big flavors develop.
Add the ground beef and season again generously with salt. BROWN THE BEEF! Brown food tastes good. Don't rush this step. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook until brown about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the red wine. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, another 4 to 5 minutes.
Add water to the pan until the water is about 1 inch above the meat. Toss in the bay leaves and the bundle of thyme and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates you will gradually need to add more, about 2 to 3 cups at a time. Don't be shy about adding water during the cooking process, you can always cook it out. This is a game of reduce and add more water. This is where big rich flavors develop. If you try to add all the water in the beginning you will have boiled meat sauce rather than a rich, thick meaty sauce. Stir and TASTE frequently. Season with salt, if needed (you probably will). Simmer for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
During the last 30 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat to cook the spaghetti. Pasta water should ALWAYS be well salted. Salty as the ocean! TASTE IT! If your pasta water is under seasoned it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your complete dish will always taste under seasoned. When the water is at a rolling boil add the spaghetti and cook for 1 minute less than it calls for on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
While the pasta is cooking remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve.
Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the remaining ragu. Stir or toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Add some of the reserved sauce, if needed, to make it about an even ratio between pasta and sauce. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and cook the pasta and sauce together over a medium heat until the water has reduced. Turn off the heat and give a big sprinkle of Parmigiano and a generous drizzle of the high quality finishing olive oil. Toss or stir vigorously. Divide the pasta and sauce into serving bowls or 1 big pasta bowl. Top with remaining grated Parmigiano. Serve immediately.
CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA
This is from tbsp.com, and begins, “Tex-Mex meets Italian in this awesomely easy weeknight dinner dish.”
Prep: 20 minutes; Total: 40 minutes; Servings: 4
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb. chicken breast, sliced thin
1 packet Old El Paso™ taco seasoning mix chicken
1/4 cup water
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 lb. spaghetti (1/2 of a 16 oz. box)
4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Directions
In a large skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook, stirring regularly, until chicken is cooked through, around 8 minutes.
Add chicken seasoning to the skillet along with 1/4 cup water and stir together. Add sliced bell peppers and onion and cook until they are softened a bit.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package until al dente. When pasta is cooked through, use tongs to move it directly from the cooking water to the chicken fajita skillet. Stir to combine, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Top the skillet with grated cheddar cheese and reduce heat to low until cheese is melted. Serve hot.
CHICKEN & BROCCOLI ALFREDO
This is from FamilyTime, and begins, “In just 30 minutes, you can serve this delectable dish, with a rich, satiny Alfredo sauce that coats chicken, broccoli and pasta.”
Serves: 4 servings (about 1 3/4 cups each); Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1/2 of a 1-pound package linguine
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast half, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request®)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine mixture well in a colander.
Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through, stirring often.
Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture in the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling, stirring occasionally. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.
Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo: Substitute grilled chicken breasts for the skinless, boneless chicken.
Shrimp & Broccoli Alfredo: Substitute 1 pound fresh extra large shrimp, shelled and deveined for the chicken. Cook as directed for the chicken above until the shrimp are cooked through.
Easy Substitution: You can substitute spaghetti or fettuccine for the linguine in this recipe.
Serving Suggestion: Serve wth a mixed green salad topped with orange sections, walnut pieces and raspberry vinaigrette. For dessert serve almond biscotti.
Ingredient Note: We develop our recipes using a 4-to 5-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast half per serving. However, there are a range of sizes available in-store, from the butcher counter to the meat case and the freezer section. Use whichever you prefer- just follow the recipe as written above for the best result. If you're using larger chicken breasts they may require a little longer cooking time.
CREAMY RIGATONI WITH SAUSAGE AND FENNEL
This comes from Stephanie who came up with Girl versus Dough. If you haven’t checked out her site (and subscribed), I definitely recommend checking it out!
This recipe, which Stephanie adapted from the Food Network, begins, “This pasta. This is last-meal kind of pasta. This is the kind of pasta you eat when you don’t just want any old variety of carbs and cheese — you want grown-up, legit, every-bite-is-a-flavor-explosion kind of pasta. This is it.”
Prep Time: 40 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour; Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes; Yields: 6 servings.
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped fresh fennel or celery
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 lb bulk mild Italian sausage
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, crushed or chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 lb rigatoni pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Directions
In large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add fennel and onion and cook, stirring often, 7 to 9 minutes until soft.
Add sausage; cook 7 to 9 minutes, crumbling as you cook, until sausage is cooked through and browned. Add garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in white wine. Bring to boil. Add heavy cream, half-and-half and tomato paste. Return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt to boiling water, then add rigatoni pasta. Cook according to package directions. Drain and add to sauce; stir to coat pasta.
Off heat, stir in 1/4 cup parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Serve topped with remaining parsley and Parmesan cheese.
SLOW COOKER SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Is there anything that says Comfort Food more that Spaghetti and Meatballs? Not in my world! This version, which couldn't be easier, comes from Sarah DiGregorio in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sarah wrote, "Using a mixture of uncased sausage and ground beef is the trick to achieving tender, flavorful meatballs without a lot of work or extra ingredients. These three-inch meatballs are oversize, so they can stay moist and tender after cooking for an extended period. This way, they also fit in the slow cooker in one layer, which helps them cook evenly. Choose any kind of turkey sausage you like best; sweet or hot Italian are both great choices. (Pork will work too, but will make the sauce a little oily.) Fear not, the spaghetti is cooked separately, so you can serve these meatballs over any long noodle for a traditional take, or spoon them over polenta or tuck them into hero rolls."
Yield: 5 to 6 servings; Time: 4 1/2 hours
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020848-slow-cooker-spaghetti-and-meatballs.
Ingredients
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons dry red wine
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (about 1/2 bunch)
4 ounces grated Parmesan (1 to 1 1/4 cups), plus more for serving
1/2 medium onion, coarsely grated (about 1/3 cup)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound bulk fresh sweet or hot Italian turkey sausage
1 pound ground beef (10 to 20 percent fat)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 sprigs fresh basil, plus more for serving
1 pound dried spaghetti, for serving
Preparation
In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, whisk together the tomato paste and red wine. In a bowl, stir together the panko, parsley, Parmesan, grated onion, eggs, milk, garlic, vinegar and red-pepper flakes. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
Add the sausage and ground beef to the panko mixture, and gently mix using your hands just until all the ingredients are uniformly combined. (Don’t overmix, or you’ll end up with tough meatballs.) Form the mixture into 7 (3-inch) gently packed meatballs, and place them in the slow cooker. (They should fit snugly in one layer.) Pour the crushed tomatoes all over the top of the meatballs, then add the basil sprigs to the slow cooker. Cover, and cook on low for 4 hours.
When ready to serve, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions in boiling, salted water and drain. Increase the slow cooker heat to high. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs to a bowl. Discard the basil sprigs from the sauce. If there is more oil on the surface of the sauce than you’d like, use a ladle to skim it off and discard it. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat the pasta evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the meatballs back to the slow cooker and stir gently to combine. Serve the spaghetti and meatballs with more grated Parmesan and torn basil leaves for topping.
TWO-PEA RAVIOLI
This comes from Weight Watchers, and begins, "Convenient frozen cheese ravioli is bulked up with sugar snap and green peas, then tossed with the zest and juice of a lemon for a dish that feels bright and fresh. For the best snap and crunch, choose fresh sugar snap peas—but know that frozen ones will also work well. Thaw them and toss them into the boiling water with the green peas, just long enough to warm them through. Try to serve this dish shortly after tossing everything together; if it sits for a while, the acid in the lemon juice will discolor the peas."
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 20; Serves: 4; Difficultly: Easy; Serving size: 1 1/4 cups
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
12 oz frozen cheese ravioli
8 oz., trimmed (or frozen snap peas) uncooked sugar snap peas
1 cup, thawed froze green peas
1 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ravioli and cook 3 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and cook 2 minutes. Add green peas and cook 1 minute or until ravioli is tender and sugar snap peas are crisp-tender. Drain.
In a large bowl, stir together lemon zest and juice, oil, salt, and pepper. Add ravioli mixture and toss gently to coat.
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