Tallarene

This blog has become the "I'm pregnant and hungry so feed me something good and quick" blog. Which is fine because maybe it'll bring some fast and easy recipes to others like me. Tallarene is something I had growing up and I love it. My Mom has since stopped making it but silly her doesn't know what she is missing. So thanks for passing it on Mom, you should really start making it again!

8 oz. whole wheat noodles
1 lb. lean ground turkey or beef
1 shallot, diced
1 can corn
1 can of string beans
1 can tomato soup
1 cup of water
Salt to taste

Brown the meat and onion together in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Drain. Add in the remaining ingredients and cook over a low heat, covered, for 15 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Yes, that's it!

Chicken and Avocado Quesadillas

These are very simple to make but the flavors go so good together. Plus it's a quick weeknight meal and easy for just a couple.

2 chicken breasts, about 3-4 oz. each, chopped small
1 avocado, sliced thinly
4-5 oz. shredded mexican cheese
4 tortillas

Cook the chicken on the stove top. I used a garlic tex/mex spice mix to flavor it. Top a tortilla with 1/2 the chicken, 1/2 the avocado and half the cheese. Place the other tortilla on top and cook either on your stovetop until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese has melted or if you have a Quesadilla maker, it will do it for you. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Spicy Vodka Shrimp

I thought of making this for dinner tonight while lying in bed this morning. It sounded so good and I knew I had everything I needed and it would be easy. It was. We had my brother over for dinner and this served us three with leftovers. Definitely one to try.

I do have to add that using uncooked, unpeeled shrimp is much better in my opinion than the precooked ones. They come out way less tough and chewy.

18 frozen, unpeeled, uncooked shrimp
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp butter
3 cups of vodka sauce
2-3 TBSP red pepper flakes
8-10 oz whole wheat spaghetti

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl of very cold water with some salt for about 30 minutes or until they have defrosted. Remove and peel the shrimp. I also cut the tails off to make them easier to eat. Pour about 1 TBSP of olive oil into a pan and cook the shrimp until pink, 2-3 minutes on each side. Add in the butter and garlic into the pan and saute about 1 minute. Stir in the vodka sauce and red pepper flakes and heat through. Serve over the pasta.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

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It's my turn with these. They've been floating around the What's Cooking board and blogs I visit so I figured it was time to try them. They were great. The recipe I got was from Elly Says Opa but I did change it a bit to suit what I had in the house. Today was about 95 degrees so I grilled them on my indoor George Foreman grill and it was a success. Definitely an easy grilling dinner.

Burgers

1 lb. ground chicken breast
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp chopped garlic

2 TBSP pasta sauce per burger
Shredded mozzarella or sliced mozz or provolone (4 slices)

Mix together the burger ingredients. From into 4 patties and set aside to let the flavors meld. I let mine sit in the fridge for about 5 hours.

Grill on each side about 7 minutes. Top with the cheese and melt. Top with the sauce and enjoy!

Blueberry Pancakes

This morning my stepdaughter Emma and I made some homemade blueberry pancakes. I am normally a pancake-from-a-box person but I wanted to make the effort to be more natural and have some fun with Emma so I found this recipe on the Cooking Light web site and it was perfect. It made 6 large pancakes for us. They were juicy and filling and we paired it with some scrambled eggs just to balance out breakfast a little. I did make one change, using fat free organic blueberry yogurt instead of plain and that just made it even sweeter. I also mixed the blueberries right in, instead of topping the pancakes with them on the griddle.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup vanilla fat-free blueberry yogurt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh blueberries

Combine the dry ingredients (first 7) in a large bowl and stir well with a whisk. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except the blueberries, and mix well together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and combine with a spatula until there is no loose flour. Add in the blueberries and mix well.

Heat a griddle and cook until the pancakes are dry on the inside. There's nothing worse than a raw pancake! Sorry for the picture, I forgot to take one until right before we were going to eat!

Zucchini Pancakes

I've made these before and for dinner a few nights ago I had the urge to have them again. This time I added a little more flour and they turned out perfectly. Not soggy at all!

1 zucchini, grated
3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated, making sure there is no loose flour in the bottom. Form into patties and cook in a pan on each side, about 7 minutes.

Turkey Spinach Meatballs

I wanted meatballs but I also knew I needed veggies in my dinner. Enter the most wonderful creation--frozen chopped spinach. For $1 this is a true bargain. Not only in quantity but time-saving. Imagine chopping all that spinach... no thanks!

1- 10 oz. package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of all it's excess water
1 package (1.25 lbs) of ground turkey
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
Fresh basil (as much as you desire, I used a little less than 1/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 325. Combine all the ingredients well in a large ball. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Grab about 2 TBSP full and roll the mixture in your hands to form a ball and place on the cookie sheet. You should get about 18-20 meatballs out of this. Cook for 25 minutes in the oven. Remove and serve with your favorite sauce... in this case, vodka sauce! And of course serve with whole wheat pasta.

Spinach Meatballs and Vodka Sauce

The neverending pasta parade. Maybe I should rename my blog. But whatever, I don't care, it's all delicious! I was in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs today but because I can't just throw a jar of sauce on frozen meatballs and pasta, I had to make my own. And it was worth it.

Vodka Sauce

1/4 cup butter
2 shallots, diced
1 cup vodka
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
1 pint of light cream

Melt the butter and saute the shallots until soft. Add in the vodka and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add in both cans of crushed tomatoes and simmer for another 30 minutes. Finally, stir in the cream and simmer for 30 minutes. You can add in garlic, crushed red pepper... whatever your heart desires, to give this sauce an extra kick but it's perfectly good on it's own.

See the previous post for the turkey and spinach meatballs that went with this.