main courses | KarmaFree Cooking

Archive | main courses RSS feed for this section

Artichoke and Spinach Casserole

I’ve been cooking a lot at the Yoga Center I attend. Last week, I helped my friend Rosani fix dinner for about 25 people. Sometimes when we do these menus, we buy what’s on sale and use our creativity to develop dishes we have not tried before… this Artichoke and Spinach Casserole is one of them. Luckily, most of the time, the inventions turn out fine… we think this one did… I’ll let you be the judge.

Please bear with me and my adjustments on the quantities… I did a huge tray as the photo shows.

ARTICHOKE AND SPINACH CASSEROLE

2 jars of marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed (because Rosani asked me to) and quartered

1 10oz. pack of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out a bit

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 jar of chopped tomatoes or 1/2 carton of POMI chopped tomatoes

2 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion for a few minutes and later on add the garlic.
Add the spinach to the onions and garlic. Saute together to give some flavor to the spinach. Salt and pepper to taste.
In a casserole dish, place the rinsed and quartered artichoke hearts, mix together the spinach mixture.
Add in the chopped tomatoes.
Mix in one cup of the Parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of casserole.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and a nice crust has developed on top.

It looks like this before putting it in the oven.

Tags: artichokes, spinach, tomato

Comments 8 Comments
Categories main courses, side dishes

Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes

14 Dec

This is one of my go-to recipes when I am hungry NOW!!! It’s super easy to make. I learned this recipe from an old Martha Stewart show where she cooked this with Oprah. That probably was about 10 years ago.

I like to make this pasta with spinach fettuccine, but you can use your favorite pasta. Noodles are nice because it’s a chunky sauce olive-oil based sauce and it coats them well, but any kind will do. This works as a main dish or as an accompaniment to others. I served this together with my Eggplant Parmesan dish.

PASTA WITH MARINATED TOMATOES

1/2 pound of spinach fettuccine, or any other pasta you prefer
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Let marinate while you make the pasta. Stir a few times so the flavors meld and the fresh tomatoes break up a bit.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt liberally. Cook pasta according to package directions, al dente.
Drain the pasta and return to the pot.
Mix in the marinated tomatoes mixture in the hot pot. The warmth of the pasta and the pot will warm-up the sauce.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

A few additional notes:

I never peel the tomatoes, but you can if you prefer it. I just wash them really well using Fit.
I’ve done this with regular tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes. The results will always be delicious. And if tomatoes are not in season, use jarred chopped tomatoes (Viter is a great brand because they have no additives or preservatives). If using whole canned or jarred tomatoes, just don’t add the juice they come in… Just take the tomatoes and chop them finely.
Make sure the sun-dried tomatoes do not contain sulfites… Sulfites are harmful to your health and a proved carcinogen.

This sauce is really versatile… later on, I’ll show you additional recipes in which yo can use the same marinated tomatoes in other applications.

Tags: garlic, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato

Comments 2 Comments
Categories main courses, side dishes

Stuffed Bell Peppers

3 Dec

This has become one of my signature dishes. I saw a recipe in a vegetarian cooking book and, because I never follow a recipe to a “T”, over time I developed my very own version. My sister, who is not vegetarian, called me from Indiana to ask me for the recipe once. That’s the impression it made on her.

This recipe works with any color of bell peppers – green, red, yellow or orange. They all taste great. Buy the ones cheaper at the supermarket that day. I cut the pepper in half, so each pepper yields 2 servings. But I guess your servings will depend on the amount of hunger and how voracious are your guests.

This recipe makes great use of leftover rice. It’s hard for me to give you exact measurements for ingredients, because I always make this recipe out of leftovers… and the last few times, I have done it for 30 people – so the recent amounts are not applicable for a home dinner. So bear with me on this one… I’ll try to give you my best estimates.

STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

3 bell peppers, washed well, cut in half lengthwise from top to bottom

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 small carrots, shredded

2 tomatoes, diced or 8 oz. chopped tomatoes in glass jar (Viter or Pomi brands work well)

1 cup of cooked whole grain rice

1/3 cup slivered almonds

4 oz cream cheese

2 oz goat cheese

2 tablespoons scallions or green onions

1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley

3/4 cup shredded cheese – cheddar or Italian cheese blend

Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash peppers and cut them from top to bottom, so each pepper half has a bit of pepper stem, which looks nice as presentation. Clean out all the seeds and white ribs inside with a pairing knife.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a saute pan over medium heat, heat a small amount of oil and saute onions for a few minutes, add garlic, add carrots. Saute until softened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add tomatoes. If adding fresh, saute until the tomatoes exude most of their liquid. This will provide moisture to the mixture.
Add rice to mixture. Remove from heat.
Add almonds and cream and goat cheeses. Add scallions and parsley.
Fill the pepper halves with the rice mixture. Top with shredded cheese.
Bake in oven for 30-45 minutes, until peppers are cooked and cheese on top is golden brown.
Remove from oven and rest for 10-15 minutes.

If you rather prepare this recipe without cheese, it tastes great just the same. You could also use rice cream cheese and rice or soy shredded cheese for the topping. This way you will not feel as if you’re depriving yourself of anything.

You can definitely include in the rice mixture any vegetable of your choice. Just like this is a recipe for leftover rice, it’s also great for leftover vegetables and cheese. I once made this with a leftover cheese dip from a party.

This is just the starting point. Let me know what other version you can come up with. OK?

Tags: bell pepper, cheese, rice

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories main courses

Cheese Rice Burritos with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

17 Nov

This is a recipe I have been meaning to make for a loooooong time. It is an adaptation of two different recipes from the Food Network. I had never had tomatillos before, but I always wondered how they tasted. I was so surprised at the amount of flavor this salsa gives to this dish.

Before you say anything else… I know I need some help with the plating and the pictures – for them to have more appetite appeal… so for this one, forgive me and just use them as an educational guide for how the dish is prepared and assembled. OK? The flavors are there, I promise to practice my picture-taking techniques.

Cheese Rice Burritos with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

6 whole-wheat flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups julienned or shredded zucchini

1 medium diced onion

1 minced clove of garlic

1 cup cooked whole-grain rice

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup sour cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

olive oil

1 tomato, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded lettuce

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa – recipe follows

Warm tortillas over a warm skillet
While tortillas are warming, heat a pot with some olive oil. Add zucchini and onion and sautee until tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in rice, cheese, and cook for 1 few minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Fill in warm tortillas with rice mixture. Spoon a few table spoons of the Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. Top with lettuce and tomato. Roll up the burrito and serve with additional salsa and sour cream.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

1 pound tomatillos, husked

1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered

4 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

Pre-heat oven to 400degrees F.
On a baking tray, place tomatillos, onion and garlic. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes.
Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices from the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the lemon juice and pulse the mixture until well combined, but still chunky.

As you can notice, I do not like spicy foods. But you can add as much spice to this recipe as you’d like. Add jalapenos to the tomatillo salsa and even mix in some chile sauce to the rice mixture… go crazy if you’d like.

I would also accompany this recipe with a nice chunky guacamole… recipe follows.

Buen Provecho!!!!

Tags: cheese, rice, tomatillo, tortillas, zucchini

Comments 1 Comment
Categories main courses

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

17 Nov

In the next few posts, I will share with you the Thanksgiving Menu I have chosen for this year.

For the main course, I will prepare a Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese. This mac and cheese packs a lot of nutritional punch and color from the butternut squash in the cheese sauce. You can substitute the squash for regular pumpkin. I works just the same.

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Steamed pumpkin or butternut squash – about 1 pound
1 pound whole-wheat elbow macaroni or other tubular pasta
2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
4 ounces Blend of melting cheeses – Mozzarella, Asiago, Fontina, etc.
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Steam the butternut squash or pumpkin in a pot with just an inch of water. Season with salt. When it is cooked, puree in a food procesor.
Bring a large pot to a boil for the pasta.
Meanwhile, start building the cheese sauce. In a pot under medium heat, mix together the milk, blend and melt the cheeses, mix the mustard, and pureed butternut squash. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure the pot is big enough to accomodate the sauce and the pasta when it’s cooked.
Add the macaroni to boling water seasoned with salt and cook until tender but firm.
Drain cooked pasta and transfer to the pot with the cheese sauce. Mix well together.
Transfer to a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and some of the leftover Melting Cheese blend all over the top.
Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned. Everything is already cooked, you’re just heating everything together and browining the cheese on top.

This recipe is delicious. The mustard gives it a different and grown-up taste. You can also roast the butternut squash, which gives it a more robust flavor.