Broccoli and Garbanzo Pasta Bake

Hello there! I'm still trying to get back on the food blog train after several weeks of little inspiration (yes, it does happen). I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things and hope to have some new and exciting things posted up here soon! And today, you get to learn all about baked pasta.

There aren't many things that I love more than a hot baked pasta dish. Perfect for the cool nights we've been having, and even more perfect for lunch leftovers the next day. 

I started by chopping the broccoli into small florets, then running hot water over them from the tap for 30-45 seconds. I did this instead of blanching (cooking in boiling water very quickly) to save a little time. 

Next, I cooked the pasta. Shells were the pasta of choice for this dish, but any pasta varietie would do.

Tomatoes, garbanzos, broccoli, ricotta, pesto, and crush red pepper flakes go into the bowl!

Kitchen scene from afar (with kale in a pan on the stove getting ready to be cooked as a side dish).

Hot pasta gets placed on top of all the other ingredients so that the steam and loosen everything up.

Mix, and divide into one (9'' x 13'') or two (smaller) casserole dishes. Top with grated parmesan.

Bake until heated through and cheese is golden and crispy!

Serve along side something green, or all by itself.

Broccoli and Garbanzo Pasta Bake Recipe:

- 12 ounces (3/4 lb) dry pasta (I used shells for this particular recipe)

- 2 large heads broccoli, cut into small florets

- Two cups (one 14 oz can) garbanzo beans

- 28 ounce can (or two 14 oz cans) petite diced tomatoes

- 1 and 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

- 2 tbsp pesto

- 1 tsp red pepper flakes

- Salt to taste

- Olive oil

- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

- Cook pasta according to package directions (make sure you salt the water for flavor!).

- Place broccoli florets in a strainer and run very hot water from the faucet over the florets for 30-45 seconds or until the florets turn bright green.

- Drain and rinse garbanzo beans and add to a large bowl along with ricotta, tomatoes, pesto, broccoli, and red pepper flakes.

- Once pasta is cooked and drained, pour it on top of all the other ingredients in the large bowl.

- Stir everything together and taste. Add salt as necessary.

- Place into one 9'' x 13'' oiled baking dish, or a couple of smaller dishes.

- Sprinkle grated parmesan on top.

- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through and cheese is golden and crispy.

Green Tortellini Salad

Sorry for the delay in posts, ya'll. This past week was more hectic than normal, and I just didn't have a chance to sit down at my computer to do some writing until now! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend - we've had a beautiful one here in the High Country!

Before I share this recipe, I have to sneak in a few pictures of my adorable niece and sister from while they were hear over Memorial Day Weekend. We had a little photo shoot...

So cute! Ah! Ahem, back to the pasta. Today, I share with you a recipe for green tortellini salad. Pasta salad is one of my favorites, especially in the summer time. You know those hot days when the last thing you want to do is slave over a hot oven or stove for hours? This is the perfect dish for one of those days - the only thing that requires heat is boiling water for the pasta. Then, you can enjoy pasta salad cold from the fridge for days on end without having to add any extra heat to your already hot house.

Now keep in mind, this recipe is very versatile. You could use any kind of beans, and add or substitute any other vegetables to create your own custom version. The basics are simple, and they're all you need to create a delicious salad.

For my additions, I used kidney beans, sun dried tomatoes, olives, green beans, cucumber, artichoke hearts, and celery. Bite size pieces of each!

Once the pasta was cooked (I used tortellini and a cup of shells to add some extra bulk), I tossed it in a big bowl with all the additions and started working on the dressing. First, pesto.

Then, olive oil, a dash of vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Oh, and a little parmesan cheese was added to the mix too.

Served up as a main dish on this particular evening.

Simple, quick, refreshingly summery.

Green Tortellini Salad Recipe:

Makes a LOT of pasta salad.

- One package of refrigerated tortellini (usually found near the dairy section of your grocery store), I used spinach

- 1 cup Pasta, any shape will do.

- 1 can beans, rinsed and drained

- 2-3 sun dried tomatoes

- 1 small can sliced olives

- 4-5 artichoke hearts

- 2 cups fresh green beans

- 2 stalks celery

- 1 cucumber

- 3 tbsp pesto (home made or prepared)

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tsp white vinegar

- Salt/pepper to taste

- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

- Cook both the tortellini and pasta based on package directions. Drain and let cool.

- Wash, trim, and chop the additions into bite sized pieces.

- Toss additions and pasta in a large mixing bowl.

- Add pesto, olive oil, vinegar, salt/pepper, and parmesan cheese.

- Mix everything together, and serve room temperature or cold.

Basil's Fresh Pasta with Marinara and Local Greens

Our good friends Patrick and Laura are opening a new restaurant here in the Boone area - Basil's Fresh Pasta and Deli. We were happy to test out some of Basil's fresh pasta before they opened their doors, so excited that we had it for dinner just as soon as we got home from picking it up! Patrick also gave us some of Basil's homemade marinara sauce to go along with the pasta, yum! Here's what we created with the fresh ingredients that were given to us:

*Disclaimer - Jacob cooked most of this meal, I'm just writing about it.*

The pasta we used came in sheets that are normally going to be sold as lasagna noodles.

We made our own pappardelle using this sheets but cutting the sheets into thick strips.

The greens were grown and given to us by Jacob's parents. Lots of their produce will be featured on this blog throughout the summer months - they have a huge garden! We started out with some home grown green onions, garlic, and olive oil.

Then we added some freshly picked kale. This kale was very young, so it was super tender and didn't have the same look as kale from the grocery store. Salt and pepper were added for taste once the kale cooked down a bit.

The master chef at work.

Since the pasta was fresh (versus dry), it only needed one minute of cooking in boiling water. Jacob ensured the water was well salted and oiled before dropping the pappardelle in.

Once the pasta was tender, the kale was sautéed, and the marinara was hot, they were all piled into a bowl and topped with a layer of freshly grated parmesan. Side note: if you don't have a microplane grater (shown here), you need to get one. They're so versatile and work so well for so many different things. You can find them here.

The pasta was wonderful! Fresh pasta has a wonderful flavor that dried pastas often lack, and the sheets of pasta (that could also be used for lasagna) are so versatile. You can create your own shapes and sizes, which I love.

We thoroughly enjoyed this meal. 

Basil's Fresh Pasta with Marinara and Local Greens Recipe:

Serves 4 as main dish

- 1 lb fresh pappardelle or fettucine 

- 2-3 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 4 cloves garlic, chopped

- 2 green onions, chopped

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- Salt/pepper to taste

- 6 cups roughly chopped kale, rinsed well (sometimes sand likes to linger in kale leaves)

- 2 cups (or one jar) of good marinara sauce (if you can't get homemade, classico is my favorite grocery store brand)

- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

- Bring a large amount of water to a boil (a dutch over would hold the preferred amount of water for 1 lb of pasta).

- Add 2-3 tsp salt and 1 tbsp olive oil to the water.

- Saute the garlic and green onion in the remaining olive oil.

- Once garlic and onions are tender and fragrant, add the kale. 

- Once the kale has cooked down, season with salt and pepper to taste.

- Heat the marinara in a small saucepan on medium/low until hot.

- Once the water is boiling, drop the pasta in and count to 60. The pasta should be done cooking after one minute (if it's fresh pasta). If you are using dried pasta, follow the package directions.

- Layer the pasta, kale, and marinara in a large serving bowl or platter and top with parmesan cheese

- Serve with crusty bread and a simple green salad! 

If you live in the Boone, NC area check out Basil's Fresh Pasta and Deli next week when they open!

Homemade Broccoli Mac and Cheese

Homemade mac and cheese is one of those go-to meals for Jacob and I. It's cheap, quick, and oh-so-good. My Mom used to make big batches of mac and cheese when we were growing up.  It filled all of us kids up and didn't take much time or effort to put together.

A close friend of mine had a family crisis last week, so I threw together a big pan of this goodness and dropped it off. I made a small dish for Jacob and I to share that night.

I had some broccoli in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I decided to add some green to this cheesy dish. While doing so, I came up with a handy trick! Rather than steaming the broccoli in a separate pan, in addition to boiling the pasta and making the cheese sauce, I just left the broccoli in the strainer after I chopped and washed it, then poured the hot pasta that had just finished cooking over top of the broccoli. Voila! Perfectly cooked broccoli and drained pasta!

The cheese sauce was the same basic cheese sauce that I used for baked potatoes with cheesy black bean sauce, minus the black beans. Butter + flour + milk + cheese + salt + pepper.

Mix the sauce up with the cooked macaroni and broccoli, and top with bread crumbs. This could easily be gluten free with some rice or corn pasta.

Toasty, cheesy, creamy perfection.

A nice big salad on the side - mixed greens, tomato, cuke, red onion, almonds, and homemade lemon herb dressing.

A little cabernet sauvignon to round out the meal. More on my wine selection strategy in an upcoming post...

Homemade Broccoli Mac and Cheese Recipe:

Serves 2-4 people (2 as a main dish, 4 as a side)

- 1/2 box pasta (your pasta selection is completely up to you... Any kind will work just fine!)

- 1 large head of broccoli, trimmed into small crowns

- 3 tbsp butter

- 2 tbsp flour

- 1 and 1/4 cups milk (I typically use whole or 2% for this recipe, but skim would be fine too)

- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 1/4 cup bread crumbs

- Salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

- Boil pasta in salted water until al dente (just a little bit "chewy").

- Wash broccoli crowns in a large strainer.

- When the pasta is done, pour it over the broccoli to drain.

- Melt butter in a medium skillet.

- Once butter is melted, sprinkle the flour over top of it and use a whisk to mix it in. Cook on medium for one minute.

- Add the milk, whisking rapidly to avoid lumps from forming.

- Let the milk mixture cook on low/medium for 5 minutes or until it coats the back of a spoon.

- Add the cheese + salt/pepper to taste.

- Pour the pasta and broccoli into a greased oven safe dish.

- Pour the cheese mixture over the pasta and stir to incorporate.

- If the pasta seems too dry, add a splash of milk.

- Top with breadcrumbs.

- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and golden brown on top.