Roasted Vegetable Minestrone

{Meatless Monday}

This was so delicious...but because it contains no less than 8 different vegetables, it didn't go over too well with most of my children.  Oh well...that's nothing new! ; )

This is another recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  I always love the recipes I make off of her site!

Here's what you need:

• 2 whole Zucchini, Halved, Cut Into Strips, Then Cubed
• 2 whole Summer Squash, Halved, Cut Into Strips, Then Cubed
• 8 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Stems Removed And Quartered
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• 2 Tablespoons (additional) Olive Oil
• 2 whole Carrots, Washed And Sliced (not Peeled)
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 stalks Celery, Sliced (leaves Included)
• 8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 cans Cannelini Beans, Rinsed
• 1 cup (heaping) Cut Green Beans, Fresh Or Frozen
• 1-½ cup Medium Or Small Pasta Shells, Uncooked
• 1 can (14.5) Diced Tomatoes With Juice
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• ¼ teaspoons Turmeric (optional)
• Parmesan Cheese, Shaved

 Preheat oven to 500.

Mix cubed zucchini, squash, and mushrooms in a bowl with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.  Pour onto cookie sheet and roast in the hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until browned.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery and stir to cook for 3 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.
Add cannelini beans and green beans.
 Cook on low for five minutes. Add pasta and cook for an additional five minutes. Add canned tomatoes, stir, and cook for an additional five minutes on low heat. Check for seasonings, adding salt, pepper, and turmeric.
Add roasted vegetables at the very end. Stir and allow to simmer and heat for a few minutes before serving.

Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

This made a TON, so I think you could cut down on the amounts and still have plenty to serve your family!

Italian Bread with Herb Dip Recipe

 Here's the recipe for the Italian Bread.  It really is a quick bread...takes about an hour from start to finish and we LOVE this bread!  I posted this recipe on a very early post, but I thought I would post it individually.

Italian Bread with Herbs

1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
1 cup very warm water
2 T. oil
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups flour (I always use half white/half wheat)

Mix yeast and sugar into water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Mix in oil, salt, and flour (one cup at a time) until soft dough forms. Knead lightly until smooth. Cover in bowl and let rise 20 minutes. Shape dough into round loaves (each batch makes 2 loaves...I always double or triple the recipe) and cut three small lines in the top of each loaf.




Cover with towel and let rise 20-25 minutes. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes.





Cut into thick slices and serve with this:





Here's how you make it!

Italian Herb Mix
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 T. dried oregano
1 T. dried rosemary
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients together with the back of a spoon. The minced garlic helps it clump together a little. Put 1-2 tsp. of mix on small plate and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with warm bread....it is heavenly! My kids eat so much of this stuff...they all love it.

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

{Meatless Monday}

This is a recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  It was delicious!

If you want to see all her beautiful photos...head on over to her site!  : )

Here's the recipe:

• 3 whole Red Bell Peppers
• 2 Tablespoons Pine Nuts (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• Flat Leaf Parsley, Finely Minced
• Fresh Parmesan, Shaved Or Grated
• ½ pounds (to 1 Pound) Pasta: Orecchiette, Penne, Fusilli, Etc.

Roast red peppers, and then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Set aside.
Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet. Set aside.
Puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt.
Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, and then stir together.
Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.

 I served it with these corkscrew noodles...they were very good.  Serve with bread...this would work great!  We made Italian bread...I thought I had put the recipe on my blog, but apparently I haven't.  It is a very quick bread that turns out perfect every time...I'll post that recipe soon!
Enjoy!!

Mediterranean Macaroni and Cheese

{Meatless Monday}

This is definitely a keeper!!  It was absolutely delicious and very simple to throw together.  It was in the oven in under 15 minutes!

Here's what you need:
The original recipe called for just 8 oz pasta and baked in an 8 inch pan.  I essentially doubled most everything...so here is what I did:

16 ounces elbow macaroni (I used large elbow)
1/2 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup flour (I used wheat, as always)
4 cups whole milk ( I used some half&half and some 1%)
4 oz feta cheese
1/2 cup pepper jack (the recipe called for 8 oz feta, but I used both kinds of cheese)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (it said drained, but I just poured in the whole can)
1 cup chopped olives (I used 1/2 black and 1/2 green...it was SO yummy)
1 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and Pepper


Preheat oven to 400.  Cook pasta 2 minutes less than instructions.  Drain and return to pot.

Combine in bowl: tomatoes, olives, and oregano.  Set aside.

While the pasta cooks,  melt butter in medium saucepan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.  Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.   Whisk in milk and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium and whisk until the sauce thickens, 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the 1/2 the feta and all the pepper jack.  Stir in tomato mixture.  Pour over pasta (I did this in my huge bowl...it made a very full 9X13...Love leftovers!!).

Pour pasta into buttered 9X13 and top with 1/2 feta (I used about 2 ounces on top).  Bake until bubbly and lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. 

I never got a picture once it was cooked.  It was one of the craziest nights for our family schedule...I really needed a couple clones of myself to be everywhere I was supposed to be!!  We each ate whenever we could...I actually ate on the way to pick up some kids from choir practice.  It was too bad I couldn't sit down and enjoy it, because it was delicious!


If you wanted to make a smaller amount of pasta, just make a smaller batch of white sauce...that's pretty much what I doubled.

I really liked having all the tomato sauce in there...it was very creamy and flavorful.  My very favorite tomatoes EVER are the Western Family Petite Diced Garlic and Olive Oil.

They make everything taste better.  I use them in ALL my tomato recipes and I love their size and flavor!

Spinach and Feta Pasta

I got this recipe off of Our Best Bites.  They have so many yummy recipes...way too many to ever try all of them that look delicious!

Here's what you need:
8 oz. Penne pasta
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes ( I used one small store-bought can with some of my home canned)
3 c. fresh spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 fresh mushrooms, chopped
4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook pasta and drain.  Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a skillet.  Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms and cook until tender.   Add spinach and cook until wilted.  Add tomatoes, heat through, and then add drained pasta and crumbled feta.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Heat through and serve; you can crumble a little feta on top if you want! 

I threw this together pretty quickly, so I only got a picture at then end:

I liked it...but my little kids did not.  I just LOVE feta cheese!!  Too bad for them, because we have a lot leftover, so they will be seeing it on their plates again! ; (  Our noodles were falling apart a little.  That might be that I had to leave my 12 year old in charge of deciding when they were done or it might be that they are out of our food storage.  Next time I use them, I'll have to make sure they are cooked right and see if they still break up.