Sesame Peanut Noodles

This is a super quick and easy recipe that I make as a side dish or as a simple lunch. It's delicious both hot and cold, and I usually have all the ingredients in my fridge and pantry. I like to make this when I get home late from work, have some warm for a late dinner, then refrigerate the rest and eat it cold for lunch the next day.


The Ingredients:

1/3 – ½ lb linguine (I used whole wheat. Any long noodle you have on hand will be fine)
3 Tbsp Peanut Butter
zest of ½ lime
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp chili garlic sauce (I found this on the international aisle of my grocery store. If you don’t have it, or can’t find it, substitute 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes)
1 carrot, sliced into matchstick sized pieces
3 Tbsp starchy pasta water
1 tsp sesame oil
juice of 1 lime
2 scallions, sliced on the bias

The Directions:

1. Follow package directions to cook pasta.
2. Once you drop the pasta into the boiling water, combine peanut butter, lime zest, soy sauce, brown sugar and chili garlic sauce in small saucepan.
3. About 3 minutes before pasta is finished cooking, heat saucepan with peanut butter mixture over low heat, to combine. The mixture will thicken up and become clumpy.
4. About 2 minutes before pasta is done, add sliced carrots to the cooking water. Then add the 3 Tbsp of pasta water to the peanut mixture to thin out to a saucy consistency. The mixture should be thick, but smooth and easy to stir. Take sauce off the heat, add sesame oil and lime juice, and stir well to combine.
5. When pasta is done, drain well, and combine with sauce. Top with scallions.

I usually add snow peas, cut on the bias, if I can find them. I couldn't find them on my way home today, so left them out. When I had a microwave, I would make the sauce right in the serving bowl in the microwave - just cook the peanut butter on high 1-2 minutes, until it's loose and stirs easily, then add all the other ingredients (omitting the pasta water) and stir it all together. Add the pasta water when you add the pasta, as needed. But now that I don't have a microwave, I find the stovetop method is still pretty quick! The peanut sauce is also a great marinade for chicken breasts - let the chicken sit in the sauce for an hour or so, then grill or bake.

"Spinach and Artichoke Dip" Pasta

This is the combination of two of my favorite foods. I am a sucker for artichoke dip in all forms, and could eat pasta 365 days a year if not for a nagging fear that I would be 365 pounds if I did. I originally came up with this recipe when going through my pantry and fridge trying to come up with something new for dinner - the first edition had frozen artichoke hearts (which I couldn't find at the grocery store today), didn't have any fresh spinach, and was topped with fresh mozzarella. It was more an artichoke dip mac and cheese. Today I didn't have mozzarella, and tried to make it more healthy with the addition of spinach. I think the mozzarella would make this even better, but it was pretty perfect as is.

The Ingredients:


-1 14 oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained (or 1 bag frozen artichoke hearts, thawed)
-1 5 oz package baby spinach
-1 15 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese
-1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
-2 large garlic cloves
-½ cup grated parmigiano reggiano
-1 pinch crushed red pepper flake
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-1 box spinach penne
-handful of breadcrumbs

The Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Prepare pasta according to directions. Drain just shy of al dente.
3. While pasta is cooking, combine artichokes, garlic, spinach, red pepper flakes, and 1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano in bowl of food processor. Pulse to combine. Thin out to saucy consistency with stock. Season to taste with salt and papper
4. Combine artichoke mixture with drained penne. Transfer pasta mixture to gratin dish. Top with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and more parmigiano reggiano. Bake at 375°F until cheese melts and top gets bubbly and brown, about 15 minutes.

I feel like using ricotta makes this healthier than a traditional artichoke dip - it's a lot of veggies, less cheese, and no mayo (which is what I usually use in artichoke dip). This would be great with whole wheat pasta, too, if you wanted to make it even healthier. It's so good! I had 2 helpings, and am already looking forward to leftovers tomorrow. Minus the pasta, you could just heat up the artichoke mixture for a good dip, too.

Favorite Weekend Dinner: Lasagna!

Lasagna is one of Boyfriend's favorite dinners. I love that it's relatively easy, and that it gives us plenty of leftovers for the week. I usually make extra sauce, so I can freeze it for another meal.



Today, I used:



-Extra Virgin Olive Oil – as needed
-1 tbsp butter (optional)
-1 ½ - 2 lbs sausages, casings removed (I used a combo of Sweet Italian chicken sausage and Spicy Italian chicken sausage from Whole Foods, but any combo of sausages will be yummy!)
-1 large or 2 small onions, small dice
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 26 oz boxes tomatoes (I love the Pomi tomatoes in a box - the ingredients list is just tomatoes, no salt, citric acid or other preservatives. But any boxed or canned tomatoes will be fine.)
-salt and pepper, to taste
-1 15 oz tub of part-skim ricotta cheese
-Splash of milk
-1 ball fresh mozzarella (You could certainly use grated mozzarella, but I think the ball of fresh mozzarella makes a big difference in flavor and texture.)
-8 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles (or however many you need to cover your baking dish. I used a whole wheat variety, which I find really tasty.)
-parmigiano reggiano cheese, to taste (I get the imported kind at a local Italian market, and have them grate it. It keeps for weeks, and the flavor is so strong that a little goes a long way.)
-minced fresh herbs (optional)
-Wine (optional)

The Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. On stovetop, heat dutch oven, stock pot, or large saucepan over medium heat. Lightly coat bottom of pan with olive oil, and melt 1 tbsp unsalted butter, if desired. (I think the butter makes the sauce more rich and flavorful, but it will be great without, too) Add sausages and break apart with back of wooden spoon. Brown sausages, stirring frequently.
2. When sausages are almost fully cooked, add diced onions. Saute for 1-2 minutes, then add minced garlic. Stir to combine.
3. At this point, if you have wine (either white or red, but a good wine you would drink) deglaze the pan with about ¼ cup. Cook until wine is gone. (The wine isn't necessary, but will add another layer of flavor, so if you have some on hand, throw it in, But don't worry about buying wine just for this.)
4. Add tomatoes, and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10-15 minutes. Taste and season again as needed. (I added 3 large pinches of salt total, and no pepper, but do what tastes good to you.)
5. While sauce is simmering, pour ricotta into small bowl. Add splash of milk and stir until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (If you have fresh herbs, stir in a few tbsp of minced herbs to the ricotta. Parsley, basil, chives, oregano would all be good in this. I had parsley, so I added a bit, but it's just as good if you don't have the herbs.) Slice mozzarella as thinly as possible.
6. When sauce has simmered, place baking dish on foil-lined baking sheet. Spoon small layer of sauce on bottom of pan. Place 2 noodle sheets side by side on sauce (or however many it takes to cover the bottom of the dish). Spoon 1/3 of ricotta mixture on noodles. Cover with more sauce. Place ¼ of mozzarella on sauce. Repeat layering noodles, cheeses and sauce 2 more times, rotating direction of noodles with each layer. Top with 1 final layer of noodles, cover completely with sauce, then a layer of mozzarella, then top with grated parmigiano reggiano.
7. Cover baking dish with foil and cook at 400°F for 45 minutes. Uncover, and broil until cheese is brown and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Cut and serve!


It was delicious! I used 3 sweet sausages and 2 spicy, and there was a perfect balance of heat. It was gooey and cheesey, and the whole wheat noodles have a great texture. We both had seconds, and I have enough left over for 2 weekday lunches! And I have 2 quart bags of sauce left to freeze for other meals. The photos didn't come out as well as I hoped, but I'll work on that next weekend.