Carbonara Pasta Bake

Time. I wish I had more. My alarm goes off at 6am every morning every working day and I try to be in bed by 10pm to get a full 8 hours of sleep. From the second I wake up to right before I go to bed, I am moving. Both physically and in my head. We just have so much going on right now. We keep thinking now that we are in our new house, it is only a matter of time before things slow down, but the house is still taking up a lot of our time a month later. I feel the only way I can get everything in that I want to in a day is if I sleep less, which I am not willing to do yet. Sleep is important to health and I feel I should take it when I can because when we have little ones, I know sleep will be a thing of the past. I am starting to feel like I am laying on a couch in an office somewhere - thank you for my free therapy session!

With the amount of stress and fast paced life we are leading right now, I still enjoy cooking very much. My husband has asked if I need to give this blog up for a while? Am I putting too much pressure on myself? I just don’t want to do that. In fact, someday I hope to be able to do this more, definitely not less. Cooking is a bit of therapy for me. I also continue to want to learn about the best food and health choices we can make and love that I can share what I learn with people via this blog and the blog facebook page.

So, our new routine: Sundays usually consist of drinking coffee and cooking all day. Making a new flavored creamer for my coffee for the week. Making a morning snack of some sort for the week - granola bars, energy bites, granola, etc. Making a dish for you all to read about on the following Friday. My husband usually hangs out in the kitchen with me, watching some TV and doing things around the house.

Last Sunday I had the intention of playing around and making a breakfast pasta. Instead of just eating pasta as most do (just boiled and mixed with various ingredients), I decided to make a baked pasta dish. I love the way pasta gets brown and crispy on the top when baked in the oven. Enjoy my take on pasta carbonara for breakfast, brunch, lunch or an easy dinner!

Carbonara Pasta Bake
Servings, 4

Ingredients:
Shells pasta (100% Whole Wheat preferred), 8 oz or approximately 2 cups dried
Eggs, 4-6 (I did 4, but might try 6 next time to make it a little more ‘eggy’)
Asparagus, cut into 1-2 inch pieces totaling 1 ½ cups
Bacon, 4-6 slices depending on the size
Medium onion, ½ chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves chopped
Shredded parmesan cheese, ¼-½ c
Milk, splash
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil pasta two minutes less than cooking instructions on package.

Better Bonus Tip:  If pasta gets done before rest of ingredients are ready, add a little oil and stir to coat to help prevent pasta from getting sticky.

Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until done. Remove and chop into pieces.

Chop onion and garlic. 

Chop asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces, discarding rough ends.

Better Bonus Tip: Bend asparagus toward the bottom of the stalk and it will break naturally where it gets tough. Line up the rest of the stalks and use a knife to remove the ends, making even sized pieces.

Add asparagus and onion to the pan the bacon was cooking in, not removing the grease. Cook for 3-4 minutes and then add garlic and cook for one more minute, stirring to make sure not to burn. 

While veggies are cooking, mix the eggs, a splash of milk, salt and pepper in a bowl and beat.

Better Bonus Tip: Try adding a splash of hot sauce for some extra flavor and heat.

Add asparagus, onion and garlic to pasta and stir to mix. 

Add pasta and veggies to a greased baking pan. (I used a 8 x 8 2 qt pan). Pour eggs on top. Sprinkle with bacon and cheese. 

Cook for 20 minutes. 

Better Bonus Tip:  If you need a really quick meal, this could be eaten not as a baked dish. Cook pasta for entire time on package. Scramble eggs and mix all together. 

Hope you are finding this Holiday Season to be stress free or at least able to find things you enjoy to help you relieve stress! See you in December!

~Ashley

Baked Parmesan Chive Potato Cakes

I hope everyone is enjoying time with their family and friends as this holiday season has officially begun.  Did anyone make it out to do Black Friday shopping? I do not like to shop on a normal day, so Black Friday shopping is my worst nightmare. We did however have some interest in a new TV for our house. My husband got up early this morning to go out and get it after researching them all last week. Guess what, he let me sleep in - boy am I thankful for him! Sadly, it didn't work out. He got there right when they opened and they were already sold out :(. Oh well, we couldn't have done anything different.

So what are we making today? Well, I love leftovers and I bet a lot of you have tons of Thanksgiving leftovers! There are a ton of people out there that would rather throw their leftovers away, then eat it again. Which are you? Would you consider using leftovers to make another dish? How about using mashed potatoes - a Thanksgiving standard?  We actually rarely have mashed potatoes left around the house after our Thanksgiving meal, because my brother loves them so much. If you do, I have a really easy and tasty idea for you to turn those creamy mashed potatoes and into delicious crispy potatoes cakes.

I don’t know about you, but I ate A. LOT. yesterday. With that in mind, I tried to make these cakes a bit healthier. Instead of frying in oil, my cakes are baked to brown perfection. Give my Baked Parmesan Chive Potato Cakes a try (that is a mouthful).

Better Bonus Tips: My tips for baking and still getting that crispy brown edge are three things. First, brush with oil. Second, flip over half way. Third and final, end by broiling for a couple of minutes.

Baked Parmesan Chive Potato Cakes
Servings, 4-6 (makes 12 mini cakes, 2-3 per person)

Ingredients:
Mashed potatoes, 2 cups
Garlic, 2 cloves chopped (if you have garlic in your mashed potatoes, you can skip it now)
Chives, chopped ¼ cup
Grated parmesan cheese, ¼ cup
Italian bread crumbs, approximately 1 cup
Egg, 2
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix mashed potatoes, garlic, chives, cheese and salt and pepper in a bowl. 

Form into small patties, flattening a bit.

Crack eggs in a bowl and beat. Pour bread crumbs into a second bowl. Dip each individual potato cake into the egg, then bread crumbs. 

Lay on baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Brush each cake with oil. 

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip and brush second side with oil. Bake for 8 more minutes and then turn broiler on high for 2 minutes. 

Enjoy this tasty remake and your weekend!  See you next week.

Better Bonus Tip: Here is one more tasty idea you could use with your leftover mashed potatoes. And here is one for leftover turkey.

~Ashley

Stuffins

Can you believe next week is Thanksgiving? I know I can’t! One of my daily goals is to live in the present and enjoy each day for what it is worth. Some days are easier than others, but it is so important to me because no day is guaranteed to anyone and I hate the feeling that my life is passing me by. With that said, I can’t seem to get enough time in the day. Who can really? I have a busy cooking week coming up - celebration at work, life long friends in town coming over and then of course Thanksgiving - two dinners! You ask what I am cooking? Well, funny story, I have no idea. As soon as I post this blog, I will be sitting down and planning my meals. I hate that I am doing it so late, but moving into this house has taken most of our spare time. Have you thought about what you are making? Last year, I made these stuffins (stuffing muffins) for my family's Thanksgiving and I think everyone enjoyed them. I made them again this past weekend, so I could photograph the steps for you. If you are planning your meal as late in the game as I am, consider adding these stuffins to the line up.

Stuffins
Servings: approximately  16-20 stuffins

Ingredients:
1 lb ground sausage, any variety
1 small demi loaf of bread, any variety (french, sourdough)
Onion, small chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves
1.5 tsp sage
1.5 tsp thyme
1 tsp celery seed
Chicken stock, 2 cups
Egg, one
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop bread into small cubes and spread out on a greased pan. It should be about 3 cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly brown and dried out.

Better Bonus Tip: This is great to do with any bread that is about to go bad - make homemade croutons! 

While bread is in the oven, cook sausage on stovetop until cooked through. Remove sausage and set aside in a large bowl. Add onion to the sausage pan for a few minutes until almost translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic for 1-2 more minutes, but don’t let garlic burn, as it will become bitter.  Remove onion and garlic and add to sausage.

Once bread is done, also add that to the sausage mixture. Next, add the sage, thyme and celery seed, mixing well.

Better Bonus Tip: Feel free to add actual celery instead of celery seed, I just prefer the seasoning.

Add chicken stock to the bowl, mix well and let sit for 10 minutes or so until the stock is mostly soaked up. Lastly, add beaten egg to mixture.

Add mixture to muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes. Once done cooking, let the stuffins rest in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving holiday and don’t forget to celebrate what you are grateful for!


~Ashley

Lemon Linguine with Arugula, Bacon and Seared Scallops

I am excited to get back in the kitchen cooking recipes for you all, although I will say I am tripping over myself a lot. Trying to remember where I put a certain utensil when I unpacked, leaves me going back and forth from drawer to drawer, often tripping over my own feet. I am however, loving my upgraded kitchen! Hopefully, lots of great recipes will be born in it.

Today’s recipe has a lot of things that might scare you - arugula, leek, scallops, but please don’t be intimidated. Keep reading.

Have you even heard of leeks? A leek is basically a large green onion. I will talk to you a bit more about leeks down below.  If you can’t find leek at your store, you could really use any mild onion.

Arugula. Do you like arugula? Arugula is just a type of green that has what some call, a peppery taste. It does have a unique flavor, but don’t think straight black pepper and lettuce. Arugula is one of my favorite greens and I love it cold or warm. Arugula is becoming more popular, but if you can’t find it at your store, you can use spinach.

Scallops - my favorite!! When I first developed this recipe, I actually used shrimp because we always have that on hand. You always hear me say fresh is the best, but we like to have proteins, including seafood, on hand all the time, so I buy the already deveined and easy peel frozen shrimp by the bagful. Great for quick meals. This time around, instead of shrimp, I decided to use scallops because I love them so much! I would say nine out of ten times if scallops are on the menu, I am ordering them. I don’t on the other hand cook with them much. To me, they are a special occasion type of meal. Why not have a special occasion type meal at home? This meal is quick cooking, so give it a try, even if your special occasion is during the week - Lemon Linguine with Arugula, Bacon and Seared Scallops.

Lemon Linguine with Arugula, Bacon and Seared Scallops
Servings, 4

Ingredients:
Linguine, 8 ounces dried (whole wheat if you can find it)
Sea scallops, 2-4 per person depending on size
Arugula, couple handfuls
Leek, 1
Garlic, 2 cloves
Lemon,1
Extra virgin olive oil, 3 T
Crushed red pepper, ¼ - ½ tsp (depending on the level of heat you like)
Bacon, 2-4 slices depending on size
Shredded parmesan, approximately ¼ c
 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice and soak leek. 

Better Bonus Tip: Leeks need to be cleaned well to get the sand and dirt out. When you cook with leeks, you can use all the way to the medium green color. I like to cut the tip off and then the dark green stalk. Next, cut down the middle and then slice into half moons pieces. Before using, you will need to soak in water, breaking up the pieces with your hands. DO NOT skip this step!

Add bacon slices to an elevated baking sheet (baking/roasting pan with edges and a cooling rack resting on top). Add the little foil pouch with chopped leek and garlic to oven with the bacon. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until crispy.  When done cooking, chop the bacon into pieces.  Set leek and garlic to the side.

Better Bonus Tip:  This is my favorite way to cook bacon, but if you prefer microwave or stove top, do that. (You could also cook your leek and garlic on the stove top). I like this method because your bacon isn’t sitting in the fat and if you line your pan with foil, you have easy clean up.

Cook pasta according to directions.  Make sure you remember to salt the water.

Make dressing by mixing zest of a lemon, juice of half of the lemon, 3 T extra virgin olive oil, crushed red pepper and pinch of salt. Set aside. 

Wash and pat dry scallops (they need to be really dry). If you see a little flap on the side of the scallop, you will need to remove it. The flap is the abductor muscle. Sometimes prior to purchase they are removed, but just make sure you check.

Season with salt and pepper. Add cooking oil spray to a skillet over high heat. Do not add scallops until pan is very hot and almost smoky. Cook scallops for two minutes. DO NOT, I repeat do not move scallops in pan or you will not end up with that nice brown crispy edge. Cook another minute to two on the other side,  making sure not to overcook. The side should still be slightly translucent.

To serve, add leek, garlic and raw arugula to pasta and toss to coat with dressing. Place seared scallops on top. Add few sprinkles of shredded parmesan, and crumbled bacon. Use the other half of your lemon for one last squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Better Bonus Tip: For a more budget friendly meal, you can absolutely substitute shrimp just as I did the first time I made this, instead of the scallops.

Hope you enjoy!

On a side note, sadly my blogging is not ready for it to get darker earlier. You can see the quality of the pictures decreases as the meal progress. The darn sun was going down and you know I only like natural pictures without a flash. Hopefully you all are adjusting better than I!

See you next week.

~Ashley