Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus

I just saw this recipe in the new Everyday Food cookbook Fresh Flavor Fast. I love goat cheese and asparagus, so I knew I would have to make this dish. It was a perfect spring dish that came together quickly.

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus
from Fresh Flavor Fast from Everyday Food

2 bunches asparagus (2 pounds), tough ends removed
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper
12 oz cavatappi or other short pasta
5 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled
2 to 3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, for garnish (omitted)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (added)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place asparagus on large baking sheet.
Dot with 2 tbsp butter and season with salt and pepper.
Roast until tender, tossing occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and cut into 2 inch pieces.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions.
Reserve 1 & 1/2 cups of pasta water, drain pasta, and return to pot.
In a bowl, combine goat cheese, remaining 3 tbsp butter, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 cup pasta water.
Season with salt and pepper, and whisk until smooth.
Add goat cheese mixture and asparagus to pot, toss with pasta to combine.
Add pasta water to create a thin sauce to coat pasta.
Serve in shallow bowls and garnish with chives.

Chinese Chicken and Cabbage Salad

Here is another great light flavorful salad from Weight Watchers.

Chinese Chicken and Cabbage Salad
Weight Watchers

3 (5 ounce) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 star anise
5 whole black peppercorns
1 quarter-size slice fresh ginger
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 medium head (about 1 pound) Napa cabbage, very thinly sliced
1/3 onion, very thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

Combine the chicken, broth, water, star anise, peppercorns, and ginger slice in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the chicken is nearly cooked through-about 7 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand, covered for 7 more minutes.
Drain the chicken, reserving the liquid for another use.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized strips.
Meanwhile, whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, jalapeno pepper, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and minced ginger in a large bowl.
Add cabbage, onion, and bell pepper and toss.
Add the chicken and toss again.
Serve immediately, or cover and chill for up to 2 hours ahead.

Per serving (2 cups)=3 points

CSA Week 4

Here are the fruits and vegetables that we received this week from our CSA.

-Scarlett Nantes and/or Red Core Chantanney Carrots

-Scarlett Queen Red Stem Turnips

-Genovese Basil

-Orion Fennel

-Yellow Haricot Vert

-Jalapeno, Islander (round), and Sheepnose Pimento (long) Peppers

-Summer Squash (Patty Pan, Magda, Zephar, Crooked Neck)

Also not pictured
-apricots
-baking apples

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas

This was my recipe for our cooking group the Summer Weekend Wizards. My mother-in-law gave us lots of fresh vegetables from her garden, and I knew this was a perfect recipe to use them.

The recipe comes from Cooking Light. You can view the recipe here:
Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Second CSA Pick Up

This is out second pick up from our CSA this summer. This was the first of the fruit share. Here is what we received this week:

-Tatsoi

-Hakurei Turnips

-Evergreen Hardy Scallions

-French Breakfast Radishes

-English Peas (In Shell) (not pictured)

We also received 3 quarts of strawberries. These are some of the best strawberries that I have ever had. They are so juicy!!!

First CSA Vegetable Pick Up

Today we picked up our first CSA share from Wayward Seed Farm. We have chosen to get a vegetable and a fruit share. Here is what came in our first harvest:

-Shunkyo Radishes

-Hakurei Turnips

-Braising Mix

-Arugula

-Evergreen Hardy Scallions

-Kentucky Colonel Mint

-Crispino Lettuce

When we picked up the vegetable we received a few recipes to use the vegetables, and nice tote to carry everything in.

Fennel-Pepper Spaghetti

This recipe was my pick for our cooking group. It is a quick meatless meal that can be vegetarian if you use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. The fennel in the dish made me think of sausage. The dish tasted like sausage, peppers, and onions.

Fennel-Pepper Spaghetti
from the Rachael Ray Show
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/fennel-pepper-spaghetti/

• Salt
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 red onion, quartered then sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, quartered lengthwise, seeded and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, quartered lengthwise, seeded and sliced
• 1 cubanelle pepper, quartered lengthwise, seeded and sliced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 28-ounce can crushed or whole tomatoes, such as San Marzano
• Ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Yields: 4 servings

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Preparation

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil the pasta. When the water reaches a boil, add some salt and drop in the pasta. Cook to al dente according to package directions and drain. Return pasta to the pot it was cooked in and reserve.

While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 4 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 1/4 cup. Add garlic and fennel seeds to the pan while you cut the rest of the vegetables. Add in the onion, peppers and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook until the veggies are tender, 6-7 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes to the pan (if using whole tomatoes, break them up using a wooden spoon or potato masher). Bring the sauce up to a bubble, season with salt and pepper and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the basil and parsley.

Toss the butter and cheese with the cooked pasta, then add the tomato sauce and toss well to combine.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I have been seeing brussel sprout recipes lately, and was curious what they tasted like. I had always heard stories of how terrible they tasted. These were delicious!! This recipe comes from A cookie a day http://briannalee.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/shallot-and-balsamic-roasted-brussel-sprouts/
I added 4 slices of turkey bacon after removing the brussel sprouts from the pan.

Shallot and Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

16 oz brussel sprouts
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
2 shallots, chopped
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (used dried)
4 slices turkey bacon

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine brussel sprouts, onion, garlic, shallots and 3 tbsp olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper and spread out on a greased cookie sheet.
Roast 25-30 minutes until tender.
Combined balsamic vinegar and fresh rosemary in a small bowl, when brussel sprouts are done roasting pour vinegar over brussel sprouts.
Serve immediately.

Green Beans with Shallots

It's fresh green bean time. They are so fast to prepare, and taste delicious. Here is one of my quick recipes.

Green Beans with Shallots

1/2 lb fresh green beans
1 shallot
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Trim ends of green beans.
Saute shallot in oil for about 2 minutes.
Boil beans for about 5 minutes.
Drain beans and place in skillet.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Combine.

Grilled Asparagus

This was a very quick and great way to make asparagus. It tasted great.

Grilled Asparagus
1 lb asparagus
extra virgin olive oil
salt
lemon pepper
grated Pecorino Romano cheese for garnish

Wash and dry asparagus. Snap off woody stems. Grill on medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the asparagus every minute or so. Remove from grill and drizzle with olive oil, salt, lemon pepper, and cheese.

Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

I wanted to use up some grilled vegetables, and thought adding them to couscous would be a good idea. It just turned out dry and boring. I tried adding balsamic vinaigrette, but it didn't help much. Any ideas??? Thanks!


Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

1 medium vidalia onion
1 red bell pepper
1 zucchini
2 summer squash
1 box plain couscous
olive oil
salt, pepper
balsamic vinaigrette

Preheat grill to medium high. Wash all vegetables, and cut into large pieces so they don't fall through the grill. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill for about 4 minutes per side. Meanwhile cook couscous according to package directions (boil water, remove from heat, add couscous, cover and let set for 5 minutes). When couscous is done, combine with diced grilled vegetables. I then added some more olive oil, and the balsamic vinaigrette to liven it up, but it was still blah.

Pork Chops with Raspberry Mustard Sauce, Roasted Broccoli & Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Sorry about the shadow on the picture!
This meal helped me get through a rough night after work. I was exhausted and I had the rest of the weekend to work and be on call. I was ready to get take out but my husband was really craving the pork chops I had in the fridge. It turned out as a great blessing. Cooking the meal made me forget for a little while about work, and just relax and cook and eat a great tasting meal!! I got the idea for this sauce from one of Rachael Ray's talk shows. It was one of the bottom of the jar recipes. I added the shallots and beer to get all of the great pork bits from the pan. I stole some of the beer from the bottle my husband was drinking!! The pork chops were wonderful. I served it with my easy garlic smashed potatoes, and our favorite way to have broccoli which is roasted.

Pork Chops with Raspberry Mustard Sauce
4 boneless pork chops
1 shallot
2 tablespoons Smithwich's beer
2 tsp raspberry jelly
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

I pan seared the pork chops on medium heat for about 4 minutes per side. Removed the chops from the pan and added 1 diced shallot and the beer. Cook the shallots for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile mix jelly, mustard, vinegar, and salt/pepper to small plastic container and shake until well mixed. Add mixture back to the pan. Drizzle mixture over pork chops and serve.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
5 medium size red skin potatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup milk
handful of shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Wash and cut potatoes into about 2 inches chunks and add to cold water. Add garlic with potatoes and boil for 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and add milk until the consistency desired. Mix in cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.


Roasted Broccoli
broccoli (florets and stems)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Wash broccoli, removed any leaves and cut 1 inch off broccoli and discard. Cut the remainder of florets and stems into 2 inches pieces. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.