Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Main Courses

  • Baked Penne with Broccoli — Wonderful for a Quick Set of Meals

    So I decided to finally make use some leftover shredded cheese and marinara sauce in my fridge to make a few meals for this week in one sitting.   The result:  A flavorful baked penne dish with lots of broccoli and garlic.

    Baked_penne_with_broccoli

    Here is the recipe I threw together:

    • One 8 x 8 inch square casserole pan
    • 4 servings of multi-grain penne (you can use any pasta like ziti, penne, rigati, etc. for this type of dish)
    • 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Italian blend cheese
    • 1 14 oz. jar of standard pasta sauce (I think I used Prego’s "original")
    • 1 medium head of fresh broccoli, chopped
    • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
    • Generous splash of olive oil (maybe 2 tablespoons)
    • Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Directions:

    1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
    2. Boil pasta until al dente
    3. Steam the broccoli until it is partially cooked
    4. Combine the drained, cooked pasta with the pasta sauce, steamed broccoli, garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.
    5. Spread mixture into casserole dish, and sprinkle cheese on top.
    6. Cover with foil, and bake in oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

    These proportions created about 4 meals, so this recipe is a great way to not only make a quick meal, but also create additional lunches or dinners for the rest of the week.

    Baked_penne_with_broccoli_close_up

  • Tortilla Pie — Perhaps the Best Thing…Ever

    When I first start learning how to cook in Nov./Dec. 2005, one of the first recipes I tried was this fabulous tortilla pie recipe from Allrecipes.com

    Tortilla_pie

    You can get the recipe here:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Seven-Layer-Tortilla-Pie/Detail.aspx.   I’ve made a lot of changes to the recipe, many inspired by other Allrecipes.com enthusiasts, and I really recommend you use them:

    • Instead of the two cans of pinto beans, substitute ONE can of refried beans.
    • I generally put in 3-4 cloves of garlic to punch up the taste, instead of the 2 called for by the recipe.
    • I also double (at least) the amount of salsa I throw in.
    • The recipe is REALLY bland without some spice, and I would recommend throwing in 2-3 medium jalepenos, minced.  If you want more spice, swap out some of the regular sauce and put in some spicier salsa as well.  Mix the jalepenos in the black bean mixture.
    • You should also put into the oven the tortillas for a few minutes before making the pie itself.  If you don’t get the tortillas a little dried out before you put the pie together, the pie will be too soggy and not as fun to eat.  So, just throw the tortillas directly onto the oven rack for maybe 1-2 minutes to firm up a bit.
    • Even though I use a springform pan now instead of a standard pie pan, you still can’t get more than 5 layers of pie so readjust your proportions so that you use up all of your ingredients in the fewer number of layers.  Trust me, the pie is still delicious with 5 instead of 7 layers.  If you are using a standard pie pan, I would recommend even going down to 3-4 layers because it might be too hard to manage 5 layers of goodness in a regular pie pan.
    • Also be sure to put some vegetable spray on that pan so it doesn’t stick.
    • The last time I made this, I also chopped up 3-4 green onions and added them to the black bean mixture.  If you’re a fan of the onion, I would highly recommend doing this.
    • Another last tip is to make sure you do bake it for the 40 minutes that it recommends.  The goal is not just to melt the cheese, but also to get the inside fully warmed as well.  Trust me, it’s much better when it’s hot rather than just a little warm.  This also goes for when you warm up the leftovers — I would defer to over-warming, rather than under-warming in the microwave.

    Enjoy!

    Tortilla_pie_slice

  • Simple Basil Pesto Sauce without Nuts

    So this is a modification of the Basil Cream Pasta Sauce that I got from AllRecipes.com (http://madhuknitsandcooks.typepad.com/madhu_knits_and_cooks/2006/09/absolutely_fant.html) to take out the cream and just make it more like a pesto.  This takes maybe 15 max to prepare, so it’s a great way to get away from the canned pasta sauces.

    Basil_pasta_sauce

    What I did for about 3 servings of the sauce was take:

    1 cup of fresh basil leaves

    2 large cloves of garlic, minced

    Maybe 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil (no idea really, I just eye-balled it while pouring directly from the bottle into the food processor)

    Approx. 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese (again, just eye-balled it so not entirely sure)

    salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

    So throw the basil leaves and garlic into the food processor, mix for maybe 10-20 seconds, and then start pouring in the olive oil.  You’re going to want to make sure that the resulting mixture is a little too olive-oily because you’re going to need to make sure there is enough to soak up the parmesan while still making it a "sauce" as opposed to a "spread" of sorts.  Then throw in the parm, continue processing until you have the consistency you want and then mix in the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

    When you throw over pasta, I would recommend adding the sauce after you put the pasta in whatever serving dish you will use.  You can put it directly in the pot where you cooked the pasta after you’ve drained the water out, but the heat of the pot may melt the cheese in the pot a bit so that it’s a bit harder to clean the pot later.  Of course though, putting the sauce on hot pasta is great precisely because of that little melting of the cheese when it hits the pasta.

  • Quinoa Tabbouleh — Suprisiningly Tasty, Filling, and Super-Healthy!

    So as the multiple categories for this post indicate, this dish can be consumed as an appetizer, snack or main course.  Quinoa, according to the box I purchased, is a super-grain that was widely consumed in the Incan empire.  According to Wikipedia, "Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete foodstuff" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa).  So why not make this fantastic dish AND give the gift of "a balanced set of essential amino acids" to those who are lucky enough to eat it?

    Quinoa_tabbouleh

    I got this recipe from the Vegetarian Times, and thankfully you can find it online:  http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/recipe_details.cfm?recipe_id=9866. 

    The variations to the recipe that I made:  I doubled the recipe, used a little extra garlic, and I used 1/2 the recommended fresh lemon juice.  The reason I used only half the lemon juice is that I accidently spilled the juice from one of the lemons I juiced, and I only had one lemon more so I could only get a little over 1/4 cup of fresh juice.  BUT I am happy that that was the case, because I think any more lemon juice would have made it a little too lemony. 

    I also made the quinoa in a rice cooker, which I thought was a great time-saver while I was the chopping the parsley, etc.

    The next time I made it, I think I will also increase the amount of chopped parsley to the recipe to make it a little more "tabbouleh"-like, but I think that is just up to you and what you want to use the recipe for.  If you use it for a main dish, I would recommend increasing the amount of parsley, but if you use it as part of a Middle Eastern platter or the like, you probably don’t need to increase the amount of parsley because there will already be a lot of flavors in the dish. 

    I would really recommend trying it with the Roasted Red Pepper and Bean Dip (http://madhuknitsandcooks.typepad.com/madhu_knits_and_cooks/2006/09/roasted_red_pep.html ) because the combination of the warm quinoa tabbouleh and the cool dip make it not only a fun heat contrast, but the flavors go really well together as well.

    One final tip — make sure you fluff that quinoa once it is done cooking!  It really makes a big difference.

    Quinoa_tabbouleh_top_view

  • Absolutely FANTASTIC Basil Pasta Sauce

    Another delicious and really easy recipe from Allrecipes.com – please check it out at http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/az/73456.asp.  I decided to make this because I had some leftover light cream from the chocolate chip scones that I made, and I didn’t want to make scones again.  I highly, highly recommend that you try making this one night.

    Basil_cream_pasta

    I added some crushed red pepper near the end of the sauce preparation, and I highly suggest you do so as well if you like a little bit of spice in your food.  I put the sauce over some multi-grain linguini, and I had to really restrain myself from eating all 3-4 servings that I made.  I will be making this again, though I am thinking about taking the cream out of recipe and just adding more olive oil to make it a bit stronger of a flavor, healthier, and a bit more simple.

  • Zucchini Grinders — Via AllRecipes.com

    I made these Zucchini Grinders last week using a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com — please check it out at http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/az/73456.asp

    Zucchini_grinder

    I quartered this recipe (to make just one serving), and added some crushed red pepper to the mixture and it was pretty delicious.  The only thing I would recommend against is using an actual loaf of Italian or French bread, as opposed to rolls, because you’ll have way too much bread and not enough zucchini tastiness!

  • Mom’s Indian Broccoli Recipe

    I loved this dish growing up — I was one of the few children I knew who always asked for broccoli for dinner!  I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I.

    Broccoli_in_pan

    For 2 large servings, or 3-4 small servings

    2-3 cups of broccoli (I generally use around 16oz of frozen broccoli florets)– if frozen, only partially steam before adding to pan

    2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

    1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

    2 garlic cloves — coursely chopped into large chunks

    1/2 yellow onion — chopped

    3 dried red chilis, break them in half as you add them to pan (you can get at an Indian grocery store)

    1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (not ground cumin)

    1 teaspoon of uridahl / white dahl (you can get at an Indian grocery store)

    3/4 – 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

    Heat oil in a cooking pan (medium heat) and throw in mustard seeds and dried red chilis

    Once the mustard seeds start popping, add the cumin and uridahl and cook for a minute or two

    Add the garlic and let cook for a minute, but make sure the heat isn't too high that the garlic burns

    Add the chopped onion, and saute mixture for 1-2 minutes, until the onion cooks to where it is no longer raw

    Add partially steamed broccoli, and saute dish for 5-10 minutes, until cooked to your taste.  While sauteing,  add salt to taste *NOTE* Be liberal with adding the salt, it is the key ingredient to make all the flavors come out in the dish.

    If you are using fresh broccoli, you can cover the pan if you want to help the broccoli to cook.

    If you want to the dish to be spicier, you can add hot curry masala powder at the end.  You can find this at Indian grocery stores.  I like adding more onion and garlic, but that's because I like stronger flavors.  Let me know if you make any adjustments that you particularly like. 

    Serve with rice or any Indian breads.

  • Kitty Aunty’s Vegetable Biryani Recipe

    Here is the simple Vegetable Biryani recipe that Kitty Aunty taught me to use.  Enjoy!

    Vegetable_biryani_1

    For 4-5 large servings

    Ingredients:

    1 medium onion, chopped

    ½ teaspoon Shan Biryani Masala (packaged, can find at Indian stores)

    ½ teaspoon housemade masala

          6 cloves

          2 sticks cinnamon

          2 Indian bay leaves (can use regular bay leaves, but Indian is better)

    2 inch ginger stick, skin cut off, cut in large pieces

    ½ bulb garlic

    5 green chilies, finely chopped

    ½ cup yogurt

    1 teaspoon lemon juice

    Approx. 2 – 3 cups of day-old, separated rice (or just drier rice that can separate)

    1/8 teaspoon Ajino mote (Chinese – can omit if you choose)

    2 teaspoons cooking oil (Kitty Aunty used unfiltered corn oil)

    1 cup fresh or frozen cut mixed vegetables (if frozen, can defrost then cook in dish still when cold, they will cook in pan)

    ½ teaspoon saffron

    1-2 teaspoons salt

    If you do polished presentation:

    ¼ medium onion, thinly sliced

    Corn or vegetable oil

    Few drops yellow food coloring

    Chopped cilantro for garnish

    Directions:

    To make house-made masala:

          -Dry heat in a pan the cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves

          -After it becomes fragrant, remove from heat

          -Grind the spices in a coffee bean grinder

    To make biryani mix:

          -Heat oil in a large saucepan (medium heat)

          -Add Shan Biryani Masala, onion, and sauté

    -Add a little water after it simmers for a bit to make sure it doesn’t get too dry.  Onion should become soften, so cover the pan.

    -Blend ginger, green chilies, and garlic in a food processor, until very finely chopped.

    -Add garlic, ginger, and green chilies to the pan, sauté and let simmer

    -Add homemade masala

    -Let simmer, with some light stirring, and add water if too dry.  Be liberal with adding water, it will simmer away.

    -Let flavors settle in together

    -Add yogurt, lemon juice, vegetables, saffron, salt, and ajino mote, stir and let flavors get into each other

    Quick Finish:

          -Add rice and stir fry together

    More Polished Presentation:

          -Get serving/casserole dish, put vegetable mix at bottom of pan

          -Add layer of rice

          -Add layer of French fried onions (thin slices of onion cooked in vegetable/corn oil until

          crisp)

          -Then repeat layers

    -Final step:  Add a few drops of yellow food coloring to make some of rice turn yellow, and then throw chopped cilantro on top

  • Kitty Aunty’s Mutter Paneer Recipe

    Here is the recipe for the Mutter Paneer (Indian dish with cheese, tomat0-based sauce and peas) that I learned from Kitty Aunty on August 17, 2006.

    Ingredients:

    1 teaspoon ground cardamom

    Vegetable cooking oil (Kitty Aunty used unrefined corn oil)

    2-3 teaspoons homemade Garlic/Ginger paste

          -1 inch ginger

          -2 green chilies

          -1/4 bunch chopped cilantro

          -1 clove garlic

          -blend in food processotr

    ½ teaspoon dry fenugreek

    1 medium onion chopped

    1 ½ medium tomatoes, chopped and microwaved for 2-3 minutes (or use capped Pacific organic tomatoes)

    1 teaspoon paprika

    ½ – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper for spice (add extra cayenne pepper or green chili for more spice)

    ½ – 1 teaspoon roasted ground cumin (dry roast the cumin, then blend in a coffee grinder, you can keep in a jar for long periods of time), you can lessen amount if you don’t like or omit entirely

    1 teaspoon roasted ground coriander, lessen if you don’t like

    1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

    2 tablespoons sour cream

    1 teaspoon salt

    ½ teaspoon homemade masala

    ½ block of store-bought paneer (or use fresh paneer, recipe found below)

    ½ – 1 cup fresh or frozen peas

    Directions:

    -Heat oil in saucepan (medium heat, depending on quality of pan)

    -Add ground cardamom

    -Add garlic/ginger paste, let simmer for a few minutes

    -Add dried fenugreek and chopped onion

    -Let simmer 5-10 minutes, or until the onions don’t smell raw

    -Cut the tomatoes, and then put in microwave for 2-3 minutes

    -Add paprika, cayenne, cumin, and coriander

    -Add water if the ingredients are sticking to the pan

    -Add cilantro

    -Add chopped tomatoes, and lower the heat a bit

    -Let simmer so flavors blend (few minutes)

    -Then put in a food processor/chopper, until consistency is like gravy

    -Put back in pan, and add salt to taste

    -Add 2 tablespoons of sour cream.  Turn up heat and stir vigorously until mixture bubbles

    -Keep stirring after bubbling and add homemade masala

    -Then add peas, stir and cover, lower heat to medium/low.

    -Stir periodically and add water if looks dry.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.

    -Uncover and stir until smells cooked. 

    -Stir in paneer, cover and let simmer for 3-4 minutes for flavor to set in paneer.

    Mutter_paneer_complete