One Pot Pasta

This was dinner tonight, blog-worthy because it cooks in just one pot in under half an hour. Tasty and filling, the one-pot reduction makes the sauce beautifully creamy and the stock gives it a nice depth of flavour - a definite winner. It's also a spin on a family classic, which doesn't hurt ;)

1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 baby capsicum, diced
1/2 head garlic, crushed
200-250g mushrooms, sliced
olive oil
1 can nutmeat, diced OR g mince
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 500g bottle tomato pasta sauce
2.5c stock (I used vegetable)
oregano
basil
garlic salt
400g pasta (I used farfelle/bows)
splash of chili oil (to taste)

Saute the onion, capsicum, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil until soft. Add the nutmeat/mince and fry until browned. Add crushed tomatoes and pasta sauce; stir to combine. Add stock, season to taste with oregano, basil and garlic salt. Bring to the boil. Add pasta and simmer until cooked (10-15 mins). Stir more frequently as sauce reduces to avoid sticking. Add a splash of chili oil to taste.

Serve with green peas and parmesan. YUM.

Quick and Easy Vegetable Lasagna

Serves 8ish

2 cloves garlic, crushed.
1 good sized zucchini (courgette)
8-10 small cup mushrooms (2-3 inches across), rinsed
1 large carrot
1/2 butternut pumpkin (butternut squash)
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 block feta
1/3c tomato sauce
grated cheese, to top
lasagna sheets

Preheat oven to 210C. Peel and dice butternut and microwave on high for ten minutes. Fry garlic until golden. Dice the zucchini and mushrooms. Add to pan and saute until nearly cooked through. Grate in the carrot. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, and heat through.

In a baking dish, spread half the tomato mixture. Put over a layer of lasagna sheets. Cover with butternut; mash down slightly if necessary. Crumble feta over top. Place another layer of lasagna sheets, and top with the remaining tomato mixture. Top with grated cheese and bake for about 20-30 minutes until pasta is cooked.

Let sit for five mins before slicing in order to prevent it from falling apart so much when serving :)

Basil- Tomato Salad

SUMMER FAVORITES!

At the height of summer, when both fresh tomatoes and home-grown basil are in season, I tend to get a little wild with my favorite flavor pairing. Tomato and basil compliment each other to perfection, and they come in enough colorful varieties to please everyone.

To celebrate, I'm posting a few of my favorite tomato-basil recipes....



Basil-Tomato Salad

* 2 large, ripe, firm tomatoes (a variety meant for chopping)
* 1 cup fresh basil leaves (about 15 large leaves - I like to combine the lemon basil and purple)
* 1 green onion or 1/4 of a small sweet onion chopped
* 5 small fronds of parsley
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Chop (or tear) the first four ingredients and toss gently.

Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over salad. Toss again.

Eat!


Alternate Ending: This simple salad can be combined with bite size cuts of mozzarella cheese, spooned over garlic toast for a bruschetta, or used to garnish steak hot or cold. It will last at least one day in the fridge.

Tomato-Basil Chicken

Baked Chicken with Tomato and Basil
- enough chicken for everyone eating (2-3 breasts for my clan of 4)
- fresh basil (about 8 large leaves)
- 1/4 onion diced or 6 pearl onions halved
- 2 medium tomatoes sliced or a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes (And by now you understand why James can't copy any of my recipes. I'm an intuitive cook, not a scholar. I eyeball amounts and fiddle with recipes to no end. Really, it tastes good!)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbspn olive oil
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or water


Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Celsius
- Dice onion, cut tomato, shred basil, and crush garlic (I like a big rubber mallet for this. Lay the garlic somewhere solid, smash with the mallet, and remove peel. All done! It takes all of ten seconds and the kids are always happy to help with the smashing.)
- Put chicken in glass casserole dish or whatever you use for baking things like this
- Drop in the remaining ingredients
- Drizzle olive oil over everything
- Add some salt and pepper to the chicken if you like and then the chicken broth
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and tuck tightly (you want to catch the steam)
- Bake for 45-60 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is cut
- Remove chicken from pan and place in broiler on high for 3-5 minutes until it turns brown and crisp
- Eat... there will be some yummy pan juices that you can either use to make rice in or sop up with some fresh bread



This is the pre-oven dish. By the time it was cooked I was too hungry for pictures. It looked delicious and tasted better. :0) You'll just have to take my word on this.

Standing Time: Less than 10 minutes
Total Cook Time: 75 minutes max
Can you make it ahead? Probably, I've never tried but I don't see any reason you couldn't toss this together and refrigerate overnight as long as it's covered. I don't think this is a good candidate for freezing.