Three Pepper Pasta with Crispy Pepperoni

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil 
• 3oz. pepperoni (half of a 6oz. package) 
• 2 cloves garlic 
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper 
• ½ cup mild banana pepper rings 
• 24oz. pasta sauce 
• ½ tsp dried basil 
• ½ tsp dried oregano 
• ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 lb. thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta 

Instructions

1. Thinly slice the green and red bell peppers. Remove about ½ cup of the banana peppers from the brine. Set the peppers aside until ready to use.
2. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the pasta. Break the long pasta in half and then add it to the boiling water. Cook until al dente, then drain in a colander.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepperoni and sauté the slices until they become crispy on the edges (about 5 minutes). Remove the crispy pepperoni to a plate covered with paper towel to drain.
4. Mince the garlic and add it to the oil in the skillet. Sauté for about one minute or just until the garlic is soft and fragrant, but not brown. Add the sliced peppers and continue to sauté for 5-7 minutes more, or until the peppers have just begun to soften.
5. Add the pasta sauce, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes to the skillet with the peppers. Stir to combine and allow the sauce to heat through.
6. Return the drained pasta to the large pot, then add the pasta sauce and peppers. Stir until everything is evenly combined and coated in sauce. Add the crispy pepperoni and stir to combine again. Serve warm.

Notes

Breaking the pasta in half before cooking makes it easier to stir the larger pieces of pepper into the pasta once combined.

Step by Step Photos

Slice one green bell pepper and one red bell pepper so they’re ready to go when you need them. Take about half of the banana peppers (about 1/2 cup packed) out of the brine. Set the peppers aside until you’re ready to add them to the skillet later.

Begin heating a large pot of water to cook the pasta. Once boiling, break the pasta in half, then add it to the water. Boil the pasta until it is tender, then drain in a colander. This can be in progress as you prepare the sauce. 

For this recipe I used half of this 6oz. bag of traditional pepperoni. Leftovers can be frozen, or saved in the fridge for a pizza later in the week… or sandwich… or snacking. I’m sure they’ll get eaten! You can use turkey pepperoni, but I wouldn’t skip the pepperoni all together because they add quite a bit of flavor.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to a large skillet. Heat the skillet over a medium flame, then add the pepperoni. Fry the pepperoni until the edges get a little crispy. The fat and seasoning from the pepperoni ends up flavoring the olive oil and adding a lot of flavor to the rest of the pasta dish. Plus, the crispy pepperoni is kind of like bacon and just… YUM.

Once they’re a little crispy, drain the pepperoni on a paper towel covered plate. The most difficult part of this recipe is trying not to eat these crispy pepperonis. 

Mince two cloves of garlic and add them to the oil in the skillet (Notice the oil is sort of orange? That’s the flavor from the pepperoni). Sauté the garlic for a minute or so to soften it up, but don’t let it brown.

Add the peppers to the skillet and continue to sauté until they are slightly softened (5-7 minutes).

Add one 24oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce. I always doctor up my store bought pasta sauce, so I also added 1/2 tsp each of dried basil and oregano, plus a pinch of red pepper flakes. I got this sauce on sale for $1 and it was a “no sugar added” sauce, so it definitely needed some doctoring! Stir and heat the sauce and peppers through.

If your skillet is big enough, you can add the drained pasta straight to the skillet with the sauce. Otherwise, return the cooked and drained pasta to the pot it cooked in, then add the sauce to that. Stir until everything is combined and covered in sauce.

Finally, add the crispy pepperoni to the pasta and stir to combine. It’s okay if they crumble a bit like bacon.

And there you have it!

Source from: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/06/three-pepper-pasta-with-crispy-pepperoni/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BudgetBytes+%28Budget+Bytes%29

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Fast and easy pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce.

Serves: 4

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INGREDIENTS

·      2 tablespoons olive oil

·      1 large onion, roughly chopped

·      2 cloves garlic, chopped

·      20 small mushrooms, sliced

·      ½ teaspoon salt

·      ⅔ cup heavy cream

·      8 oz pasta

·      ½ cup goat cheese, crumbled

·      ½ cup milk

·      ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

·      2 tablespoon parsley, chopped

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INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Heat olive oil on high heat and saute chopped onion and garlic over medium high heat.

2.  Add in sliced mushrooms when the onion is golden, stir.

3.  Sprinkle salt and cook it over medium high heat until almost all the juice is gone. Leave about 2 tablespoons of juice in the skillet.

4.  Pour heavy cream, stir well and cook for about 5 minutes over low heat. Set aside.

5.  Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Drain.

6.  Put the skillet back on the stove over medium high heat.

7.  Transfer pasta into the skillet with the creamy mushroom sauce.

8.  Add crumbled goat cheese (The cheese I use is not a melting one, so you can feel the crumbled pieces in your pasta. You can use parmesan or mozarella to add more creaminess if you like) and milk. Mix well and cook about 5-10 minutes over low heat until the sauce coats all the pasta.

9.  Sprinkle black pepper and mix.

10.    Toss in parsley and serve warm.

Source from: http://www.giverecipe.com/creamy-mushroom-pasta.html

CREAMY CAPRESE PASTA

Creamy pasta loaded with tomato and cheese flavors. No cream is used in the recipe. Milk and cheese give the creaminess to the pasta. 

Serves: 6 

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Ingredients

·      1 lb pipe rigate pasta

·      1 teaspoon salt

·      2 tablespoons olive oil

·      ½ tablespoon butter

·      1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

·      1 tablespoon tomato paste

·      ¼ cup milk

·      3 ounces mini mozzarella balls

·      A few fresh basil leaves

·      A few fresh mint leaves

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Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to the package in a pot of salted water. When it’s completely cooked, drain leaving a little water in the pot.
2.  Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté halved grape tomatoes and tomato paste in it.
3. Pour milk in it and stir.
4. Transfer the pasta into the pan with that little juice and stir.
5. Add in mozzarella balls and butter and cover the pan. Let them melt in the pan for about 2 minutes. Finally toss in the basil leaves and stir to combine them all well.
6. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve hot or warm.

Source from: http://www.giverecipe.com/creamy-caprese-pasta.html

Baked Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

Ingredients for oven roasted baby red potatoes: 

• 3 lbs baby red potatoes, unpeeled
• ½ cup buttermilk ranch or yogurt ranch dressing
• Garlic salt, to taste
• 1 to 1½ cups finely shredded Mexican cheese blend

How to make oven roasted potatoes:1. Cut potatoes into 1″ to 1 1/2″ pieces. Fill a 5 Qt pot half full with salted warm water (about 7 cups water and 1 tsp salt). Add potatoes and bring to a boil then cook at a low boil for 8-12 min depending on size of potatoes (they should be nearly done and should be fairly easy to pierce with a fork) Drain well.



2. Drizzle 1/2 cup ranch dressing directly into the pot with drained potatoes and gently toss – just enough to coat evenly.



3. Transfer potatoes into greased casserole dish. Sprinkle potatoes with garlic salt to taste. Bake uncovered at 400˚F for 20-25 minutes. Remove casserole from oven and set oven to broil.



4. Sprinkle the top with 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, return to oven and broil for 2-3 min or until cheese is melted. It’s perfectly ok to add more garlic salt at the end if you under-seasoned it the first time (speaking from experience).







Source from: http://natashaskitchen.com/2015/03/11/baked-cheesy-ranch-potatoes/

Crepes

Ingredients

• ½ all-purpose flour 
• ½ cup whole wheat flour 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• 2 large eggs 
• ¾ cup milk 
• ½ cup water 
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted 
• 1 tsp (or less) vegetable oil for cooking 

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and water until smooth. Add the flour mixture and melted butter to the whisked milk and eggs, then whisk again until no lumps remain.
2. Cover the batter and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to two days.
3. When you're ready to make the crepes, lightly oil an 8" to 10" non-stick skillet. Pre-heat the skillet over medium flame. When the skillet is fully heated, scoop about ⅓ cup of the batter into the center of the skillet. Immediately lift the skillet and tilt it in a circular motion to allow the batter to run in a circular pattern and fill the bottom of the skillet. This is a quick motion and the batter should run and spread readily to a very thin layer on the surface of the skillet. If the batter is too thick to easily run and spread, whisk in a couple tablespoons of water and try again. If the skillet is too hot and the batter solidifies too fast, try lowering the heat a bit.
4. Once the batter has spread over the surface of the skillet, return the skillet to the burner and cook until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. Remove the cooked crepe to a plate and start on the next one. Continue until all the batter has been used (6 to 8 8" crepes).

Notes

The crepes should be very thin and floppy. The batter should be the consistency of thick cream. If it's too thick to spread easily on the skillet, add a little water and try again. The first crepe or two are usually "test crepes" and will let you know if you need to adjust the heat under your skillet or the consistency of your batter.

Step by Step Photos

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir until evenly combined. I decided to make my crepes with half whole wheat flour for a little more texture, fiber, and flavor, but you can use all all-purpose flour if you prefer.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together 2 large eggs, 3/4 cup milk, and 1/2 cup water until smooth.

Add the bowl of dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, along with 3 Tbsp melted butter.

Whisk all the ingredients together until the mixture is smooth, there are no lumps, and it’s about as thick as heavy whipping cream. Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes and up to two days. You can make the batter the night before so the crepes are ready to go in the skillet when you wake! Woot! (I’ve heard that you can just put all the ingredients into a blender and once and pulse until smooth, but I haven’t tried that. I hate cleaning blenders. Ha.)

When you’re ready to make the crepes, add a touch of oil to an 8-10 inch non-stick skillet. This is one of the few recipes that I really suggest using non-stick. Preheat the skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the center of the skillet. Pick the skillet up and quickly tilt it around in a circular motion to make the batter run out to the edges of the pan. It should form a super thin layer over the entire surface of the skillet. If the batter is too thick to run easily when the skillet is tilted, whisk in a couple tablespoons of water and try again. The first crepe or two usually help you get a feel for the batter and the heat under the skillet. You may need to adjust either one. It’s a little like riding a bike, so don’t stress it. My first crepe looked like an amoeba!

After you’ve successfully spread the batter over the surface of the skillet, return it to the heat and let it cook until golden brown on the bottom. Flip the crepe and cook on the second side until golden brown. I promise this is quick and easy, but it may take a crepe or two to get the hang of. :)

As you cook the crepes, remove them to a clean plate until all the batter is used. You can cover the plate with foil to keep them warm. If you want to freeze your crepes, let them cool completely and then transfer them to a gallon sized freezer bag (laying flat). To thaw, just transfer them to the refrigerator or let them stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Source from: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/05/homemade-crepes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BudgetBytes+%28Budget+Bytes%29

Curry Puff Recipe

Recipe makes 14 pieces

Ingredients: 

For the filling:
2 medium potatoes or about 250g 
3 Tbsp oil 1 sprig curry leaves 
2cm or 20g ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
1 medium onion or 100g, finely chopped 
2 Tbsp (meat) curry powder 
2 Tbsp water, to be mixed with curry powder to form a paste 
150g minced beef 
¾ tsp salt 
½ tsp sugar 

For the pastry:
250g plain flour 
½ tsp salt 
60g butter or margarine 
125ml water 

Other ingredients:
Oil, for deep-frying 

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes, about ½cm each. Heat the oil in a shallow pan or wok over medium heat. Add the curry leaves, ginger, garlic and onion, frying till the garlic and ginger start to brown. 

2. Mix the curry powder and water to form a paste. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant and well-cooked. Add the beef and stir-fry till crumbly before adding potatoes. Add ½ cup water and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add salt and sugar to taste. Take the pan off the heat and transfer filling onto a plate and cool completely. 

3. Meanwhile, make the pastry. Stir the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl and add butter or margarine. Mix with your fingertips until well-distributed. Sprinkle in water and stir until the mixture comes together to form a firm dough. Knead lightly for 1 to 2 minutes, then set aside for 10 minutes to rest the dough. 

4. Pinch off balls of dough (about 2cm in diameter) and roll into balls. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into thin circles, each about 7 to 8cm in diameter. Place a tablespoon of cooled filling in the centre of each dough circle and fold over to enclose (in a semi-circle). Pinch dough around the edges and seal by fluting or pressing with the tines of a fork. Fry in hot oil until golden brown and drain well in wire basket. Serve hot.