The Husband’s Pasta Dish

 

Husband-Tested  in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes 2 generous servings

The hubster’s cooking repertoire consists of his steel cut oats breakfast, his lunchtime peanut butter sandwich, popcorn, Instant Pot cashew yogurt and blueberry snack and this pasta dish.  When I’m too tired to cook or I’ve had a unusually busy day, he’ll make this for our dinner. It’s quite tasty and full of healthful ingredients.  If I wasn’t around, he’d eat all of the above every single day.  I like more variety in my diet (Ha!) He’s very proud of his pasta dish and so he should be. This is how he makes it…

Ingredients: (per serving)

Whole wheat pasta

Kosher salt or sea salt for the pasta water

½ cup Rao’s Marinara Sauce or Arrabiata Sauce or your favorite spaghetti sauce

1-2 Tablespoons Trader Joe’s Kale Pesto or your favorite pesto

1-2 canned sardines (This would add not only protein and Omega 3, but also calcium, however, it is totally optional and would not be vegan.)

½ cup Edamame (frozen is fine, no need to thaw)

1 cup Kale or spinach (fresh or frozen, no need to thaw) 

¼ of a Bell Pepper (any color but green)

1 cup Broccoli (fresh or frozen, no need to thaw)

1 cup of any other favorite vegetables you may have: mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, carrots, green beans, peas, asparagus, zucchini, sugar snap peas, yellow squash, are all good options, just mix and match, pick and choose one or two  

1 Tablespoon Vegan Parmesan Cheese, grated (optional)

Instructions:  

1. Fill a large pot with water.  Bring to a boil. 

2. Put a large sieve in the sink for draining the pasta.

3. While the water is heating up, prepare the vegetables you plan to include in your meal and have them ready near the pot of water.  (Chop the bell peppers, cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces, slice mushrooms, cut Brussels sprouts into quarters, chop the carrots, cut the green beans into bite-sized pieces, cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces, slice the zucchini and/or yellow squash, cut sugar snap peas into bite-sized pieces)

4. When the water comes to a boil, add some salt.  Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.  

5. Set a timer for 3 minutes before the pasta should be done.

6. When the time beeps, add the vegetables to the pasta pot.

7. During the 3 minutes that the vegetables and pasta are cooking, add about ½ cup of sauce in a bowl for each serving. 

8. Add about 2 Tablespoons to the sauce.

9. If using sardines, add them to the sauce/pesto mixture and use a fork to mash the sardines really well.  

10. When the 3-minute timer beeps, carefully take the pot to the sink and pour the pasta and vegetables into the sieve to drain.  

11. Using tongs, grab some of the pasta and vegetables and put them in the bowl(s) with the sauce, pesto and sardines, if using.

12. Toss until the pasta and vegetables are coated with the sauce/pesto.  

13. Sprinkle over some grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Pasta-Meatball Minestrone

Here's a bowl of Pasta-Meatball Minestrone served along with Seasoned Flatbread.

Recipe from Soups, Stews & Oven Lovin’ Breads (Pillsbury)

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

About 7 ½ cups

I was thumbing through some old recipes I had collected and came across this one that I remember being delish.  My husband and I rarely eat red meat anymore, so I decided to make this soup again, but with some adjustments to suit our more healthful diet. The recipe below is in its original state, but be sure to read the notes at the end of the recipe to see how I make this soup much more nutritious and still very satisfying.

½ lb. lean ground beef

½ lb. sweet Italian sausage

2 Tablespoons Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

1 Tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 large egg

¼ cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 thinly sliced carrot

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

4 cups beef broth or Homemade BeefStock

1 (16 oz.) can (2 cups) tomatoes, undrained, cut up

1 cup uncooked rotini (spiral macaroni) or whole-wheat macaroni

1 small zucchini, sliced

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, bread crumbs, 1 Tablespoon Parmesan, salt, pepper, and egg.  Mix well.  Form into ¾-inch meatballs.  (I used a small ice cream scoop to form the balls.) Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a 4-6-quart Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook the meatballs along with the onion and garlic until the meatballs are browned, turning frequently.  Drain.  Add the remaining ingredients except the zucchini and Parmesan cheese.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer another 10 minutes.  Add the zucchini.  Cook, covered, about 5 minutes or so until the zucchini is bright green and crisp-tender and the pasta is of the desired doneness.  Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Nutritional Information per 1½ cup serving: 260 calories; 17 g protein; 16 g carbohydrates; 14 g fat; 100 mg cholesterol; (Using only half of the meatballs in the soup, freezing the rest for later, and replacing those with chickpeas will reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol.); 975 mg sodium (If you use Homemade Beef Stock and low-salt tomatoes, you can control (lessen) the amount of sodium in this soup by quite a bit.); 550 mg potassium

Notes:

·       Save some time and mess by doubling or tripling the meatball recipe and then freezing the meatballs. Then when you wish to make this soup, just thaw the meatballs and proceed with the recipe.

·       When draining the meatballs, I place a couple of layers of paper towels in a colander.  Then, I put the browned meatballs in the colander. After a few minutes, I use fresh paper towels to pat the meatballs well to get rid of as much fat as possible before proceeding with the recipe (or freezing the meatballs.)

·       Using whole-wheat pasta and Homemade Beef Stock will make this soup just a bit more healthful.  Also, using fewer meatballs per recipe and adding more veggies (like green beans, kale, or spinach) and/or even some beans like chickpeas or pinto beans (rinse and drain before using) will add fiber and nutrients.  This will also make the soup more economical.

·       Using whole-grain bread crumbs would make this soup healthier too.  No need to buy bread crumbs already in a box or package.  Just process a couple of slices of whole-grain bread in a food processor.  Add a bit of dried oregano and basil and you’ve got Italian breadcrumbs.  Store extra in the freezer if making in advance.  Thaw before using.

Pasta with Peppers, Squash, and Tomatoes

Recipe from Everyday Food

Serves 4

Husband-Tested in Marimar’s Kitchen

(Alice’s Daughter-in-Law)

Our daughter-in-law made this for the family while we were vacationing in Mexico.  It was so good, we scraped the bowl clean!  This dish is easy and quick enough to make on a weeknight.  Serve it with a crisp green salad.

Kosher salt

¼ pound whole-wheat rigatoni (or other pasta) 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed

1 bell pepper (not green) cut into ¼-inch strips

1 small yellow squash or zucchini, cut into ¼-inch rounds

2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved (red or yellow)

Red pepper flakes

Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, for serving

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to package instructions.  Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage and cook, breaking apart with a slotted spoon until cooked through, about 6 minutes.  With the slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a bowl.

Add 1 Tablespoon oil and bell pepper to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until browned in spots.  Add the squash and ¾ of the tomatoes, cook 1 minute.  Add ¼ cup pasta water and cook until the tomatoes soften, 4 minutes.  Return the sausage to the pan and add the remaining tomatoes.  Season with red pepper flakes, to taste.  Cook until the sausage is warmed through and the juices thicken slightly, about 2 minutes.  Toss with the pasta, and if necessary, add remaining pasta water to create a light sauce that coats the pasta.  Serve with Pecorino Romano cheese.

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Tuna and Caper Sauce

Serves 4

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

For a simple dinner that’s tasty an easy to put together with just a few ingredients, this tasty dish is the ticket. 

12 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

10 oz. tuna packed in olive oil (from 1 to 2 tins)

3 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons capers, drained

Pinch of red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1½ cups pasta water (divided) (This is the water from the pot after the pasta has cooked.)

¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted water until al dente.* When the pasta is done, dip a 2-cup heat-proof glass measuring cup into the pot to capture 1½ cups of the pasta water before draining the pasta.  Set the pasta water aside.  Drain the pasta.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the tuna with its oil and garlic and cook, stirring a few times, until the garlic is golden in spots.  (Do not allow the garlic to burn.) Stir in the capers and pepper flakes and cook, 30 seconds.  Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water; bring to a simmer.  Add the cooked pasta and simmer, tossing a few times, until the liquid is reduced to a sauce that coats the pasta.

Remove the pan from heat and toss in the lemon zest and lemon juice, the olive oil, and the parsley; season with pepper.  Add more pasta water, a few Tablespoons at a time, until the pasta is evenly coated. 

Serve, sprinkled with more pepper flakes.

*Al dente means “to the tooth,” and with pasta, it means cook the pasta until it is just cooked, but still a bit firm and not mushy or soft.

Be sure to measure and prep the ingredients before the 

pasta cooks because this dish comes together quickly.