Tuna Noodle Casserole-ish

I say -ish because this isn't your mother's tuna noodle casserole... or at least, it's not MY mother's tuna noodle casserole. ;)

I've mentioned before that I grew up with a stay-at-home mother who had dinner on the table for the family every night like clockwork. Being a single income family, we tended to eat a lot of budget friendly meals of what I refer to as All American Classics. Tuna noodle casserole was one of those dishes that made a regular appearance and I have to admit that I still like it, although my version is very different from my mother's recipe. To be fair, she followed a pretty standard recipe which included canned tuna, canned cream-of-mushroom soup, milk, peas, and egg noodles. Mine? A wee bit different... more like a homemade mac & cheese with tuna and veggies; much more flavorful, and a whole hell of a lot healthier. Making a roux will thicken the sauce and you can get away with using only a small amount of milk (dairy or non-dairy, dealer's choice) because of the creamy cheeses used. Cooking the pasta directly in the sauce (using a mixture of broth and water to give it room to groove) releases starch which further thickens the sauce. The addition of the veggies is just good nutrition... not to mention pretty tasty.

Tuna Noodle Casserole-ish

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. butter

1 lg. shallot, diced

2 cups steamed cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 Tbs. AP flour

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried dill

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

salt & pepper, to taste

2 Tbs. milk (I used plain soy milk cause that's what I have in the fridge)

1 cup broth (chicken or veggie works well and I usually have an open carton in the fridge)

1 cup water

4 oz. dried pasta (I used medium whole wheat shells)

4 Tbs. neufchatel (that's the lighter version of cream cheese)

1/4 cup ricotta cheese (I used the part-skim kind cause that's what I have in the fridge)

1 (5-ounce) can of tuna packed in water

2 oz. extra sharp white cheddar cheese, finely grated (because I used such a small amount of cheese, I wanted to use a strongly flavored one)

2 cups steamed broccoli florets, roughly chopped

2/3 cup steamed edamame, shelled, roughly chopped

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking dish by spraying with cooking spray and set aside. And yes, I used my old-school Corelle baking dish that I've had for 20+ years. ;)

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the shallot and cauliflower in butter until slightly soft, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and spices, stirring to coat, and continue cooking for another minute to cook out the raw flour taste before adding the liquids and dried pasta. Raise heat slightly to bring the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the neufchatel, ricotta, and tuna (with the water it's packed in). Continue to simmer until the pasta has absorbed 75% of the liquid, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar, edamame, and broccoli. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with panko bread crumbs. Spritz the top with more cooking spray (of course, you could use melted butter or olive oil but I wanted to keep this on the healthier side of things) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the remainder of the liquid has been mostly absorbed and casserole is set. Great straight from the oven, and even better as leftovers.

Enjoy!

Spicy Potatoes, Cauliflower & Chick Peas

Spicy Potatoes, Cauliflower & Chick Peas

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower, diced into bite-sized pieces

3-5 red potatoes, diced

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. curry powder (I'm lazy and buy a commercial blend rather than make my own)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. lemon pepper

red pepper flakes, to taste (I only used a pinch)

salt & pepper, to taste

1 (15.5 ounce) can of chick peas, drained and rinsed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower and potatoes in the olive oil and all spices, stirring to coat well. Dump everything out onto a baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle on some additional olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes, until the vegs start to soften and turn golden brown. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, stir the cauliflower and potatoes to promote even browning, and add the chick peas to the baking sheet before returning it to the oven for another 8-10 minutes, or until the chick peas are golden brown but not yet crispy.

Enjoy!

Spinach & Herb Smashed Topatoes

spinach & herb smashed topatoes...

Sometimes, a girl's just gotta go with a big ol' bowl of comfort food for dinner and for me, that's mashed potatoes. Yes, it's a stereotype: girl of Irish descent loves potatoes. Can you blame me? But these aren't the mashed potatoes of my childhood, made with starchy russet potatoes and lots of milk and butter. Nope. Mine are made with the less starchy, waxier red potato, are much chunkier (thus "smashed" instead of "mashed") and they're not just potatoes (thus "topatoes"- a term that entered my vocabulary back in my college days). With a friend sharing dinner and football tonight, one of us had the vegetarian version, while the other bowl was topped with diced turkey bacon. It's like a hug for the soul... or your stomach. You know what I mean.

Spinach & Herb Smashed Topatoes

... with turkey bacon

Ingredients:
2 large red potatoes, skins on, diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 cup of cauliflower, chopped
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 ounces of spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 Tbs. goat cheese (cream cheese would work well here)
1 Tbs. sour cream (I usually have the fat-free stuff in my fridge)
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped (fresh is best, but dried would work)
1 Tbs. basil, chopped (fresh really is best here)
1 tsp. dill (fresh or dried, whatever you have on hand)
1 Tbs. chives, chopped (I usually just snip my chives with kitchen shears 'cause it's easier than using a knife)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large pot over high heat, cover the potatoes, parsnip, and cauliflower with water, add 1 Tbs. salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook the vegs until fork tender, about 13-15 minutes. (Stating the Obvious: The smaller everything is diced, the quicker it will cook.) Drain the vegs, and return everything to the hot pot (now over low heat) before adding the olive oil and spinach, covering with a lid to allow the spinach to wilt and heat through. When the spinach has wilted, lightly mash the vegs with a fork (NOT a potato masher), leaving things relatively chunky. Stir in the goat cheese (or cream cheese) and sour cream, then finish with the herbs and salt & pepper. To keep things vegetarian, stop here and serve the smashed topatoes as is. If, however, you want to take that extra step, top the smashed topatoes with some crispy bacon; in this case, I used a slice of turkey bacon, diced and crisped in the toaster oven.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash, Two Ways

When all of the autumn squashes made their annual appearance at the grocery store a few weeks ago, I did a happy dance and stocked up on not only the fresh gourds, but also frozen butternut squash and canned pumpkin. I posted this recipe for butternut squash soup back in the day, and I still like to make it but my palate has definitely evolved over the last few years and I've made some major adjustments accordingly.

Indian Inspired Vegetarian Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 lg butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 sm head of cauliflower, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder (no fresh in my house, remember? induces migraines)
1 tsp. cumin (so I may have put more in than just 1 tsp... I really like cumin!)
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
6 cups of vegetable stock (vegetarian, remember? so no chicken stock this time)
1 cup of red potato, diced in bite-size pieces
1 (15 ounce) can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spread the butternut squash and cauliflower on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Roast at 425 degrees for 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is softened and slightly caramelized around the edges and the cauliflower starts to brown.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, saute the onions in olive oil until slightly softened. Stir in the roasted butternut squash, cauliflower, and all spices. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the spices become very fragrant. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil before adding the potatoes. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Add in the chick peas and apple cider vinegar and let the soup simmer gently for another 5-7 minutes while you reach for the immersion blender. Buzz the soup until it reaches your desired texture and consistency; I like to still have some discernible vegs floating in the now creamy soup base. Finish with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream for that extra bit of creaminess and tang.

Enjoy!

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So, originally I made this second dish for a Welcome-to-Fall feast at work the other night. The ER doc and all the techs made food to share, and my contribution was this baked pasta inspired by the soup I had made the previous week. Since I had some soup leftover in the freezer, I thought about buzzing it until it was completely smooth and tossing it with pasta before baking the whole thing. But. The more I thought about it, the more tweaks I made to the recipe in my head before deciding to start from scratch. I actually made 2 versions of this dish for work, a vegetarian one AND a vegan one so that all of the techs I work with could enjoy it.

Veg(etari)an Butternut Squash Pasta Bake

individual size casserole

Ingredients:
1 lg butternut squash, peeled and diced (I cheated and used a bag of pre-diced, straight from the freezer)
1 medium onion, diced (I happened to have some Vidalia onion in the freezer, already diced)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
4 oz. goat cheese (although I suppose cream cheese would work) *omit for vegan recipe*
1/2 cup milk (I use soy or almond milk... hello? lactose intolerant here) *non-dairy milk for vegan recipe*
1 pound of pasta (any short-cut pasta will do: penne, rigatoni, ziti)
1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup bread crumbs (soft or Panko, dealer's choice)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Over medium-low heat, saute the onions, butternut squash, and all spices in olive oil until soft and the squash practically falls apart. Stir in the milk and goat cheese (omit the cheese and use non-dairy milk to keep it vegan), cover, and turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, in a separate pot of heavily salted boiling water, cook the pasta just shy of al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid before draining the pasta and tossing it with the butternut squash mixture. Add in the pasta water to loosen the sauce and dump everything into a casserole dish. Top with the chopped walnuts and/or bread crumbs along with another sprinkle of whatever herbs float your boat and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

This dish was such a hit that there were no leftovers for me to take home so I ended up making the single-size mini casserole for my dinner tonight. I added in some leftover diced chicken breast (I only eat vegetarian about 75% of the time) and the scaled down recipe was just as tasty as the original.