Pasta in Creamy Wine Sauce

This is another one of those pasta recipes that I improvised and somehow it turned out great!! Try it out!

You'll need:
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 onion, coarsely sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely sliced
1/8 cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced black olives
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (plus a little more for topping)
1/4 cup dry white wine (like Chardonnay)
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/3 pound pasta - I used medium shells.
*Serves 2 - Feel free to double or triple the proportions. :)

Sauté onion, pepper, and pine nuts in olive oil in a medium pan for about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Chop up and add some olives, and sauté for another 5 minutes or so.

Drizzle on more olive oil as necessary.

When the veggies are tender and cooked the way you want them, set the pan aside (off the heat) while you make the sauce. I like to buy these mini bottles of Chardonnary because they're great for cooking. Just use what you want and store the rest in the fridge!

 Start melting 2 Tbsp. butter on medium-low heat.

Whisk in wine and half-and-half.

Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes as the butter melts and alcohol evaporates out, stirring occasionally.

Add your cooked pasta to the veggie mixture.

Pour on sauce, and toss. Top with more parmesan, obviously.

Enjoy!

Nutella Rice Krispy Treats

That's right... two Nutella recipes in a row! Can you handle it?!

You'll need:

1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) butter

1 pkg. (10.5 oz) mini marshmallows

1 jar (13 oz) Nutella

1 pkg. (9 oz) Rice Krispies cereal

Melt butter on medium-low heat in a large saucepan.

Add marshmallows and fold together.

When marshmallows and butter are melted together, remove from heat and fold in Nutella!

Stir until all melted together.

Fold in cereal.

Once combined, press the mixture into a 9x13 glass dish that has been sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.

Cool and cut into squares.

Eat up!!

Nutella Croissants

Recently I wandered over to the "Stats" tab on my blog and took a look at which posts have the most hits. The two most popular are the Nutella Swirl Cupcakes and Oatmeal Nutella & Walnut Cookies.  I guess my readers - whoever they are - really like Nutella. And I'm here to make you happy. So I have a few Nutella recipes that I've been playing around with - here's the first. Could not be easier!

You'll need:
1 can "Big & Flaky" Pillsbury crescent dough (12 oz.)
8 Tbsp. Nutella
Powdered sugar for sprinkling

One day I will experiment with making my own croissant dough. But not today. Not when Pillsbury makes a can version that's SO easy and delicious.

Just unroll the dough and place a dollop of Nutella on the wider end of the triangle of dough.

Roll up the triangle, and gently press together the dough on the sides where the Nutella is peeking out. This will keep it from seeping out while baking.

 Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

 Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Mmmm... I might have eaten three of these for breakfast - don't judge.

Fettucini Lasagna

When I made this I was craving lasagna (which happens way too often) but didn't want to mess with the hassle of building and baking. This is a great weeknight meal - it's quick and works well as leftovers throughout the week.

You'll need:
1 lb. pasta (I used fettucini, but I may try shells next time - use what you want!)
3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/4 sweet onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
3-4 mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Bertoli Marinara with Burgundy Wine.)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
8 oz. package mozzarella, grated
1/3 cup parmesan, grated (I actually used some Pamigiano Reggiano that I had in my fridge.)
1/2 cup sour cream

Prepare onion and garlic (and pepper and mushrooms if using), and add to 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat.

Sautee for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Then push the veggies to the side of the pan to make room for the ground beef, and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. I'm kind of picky about raw meat and don't like it touching other food until it's cooked. I'm sure it really doesn't matter in the end, but that's just personal preference. If I was less lazy, I would use a different pan, but this will work.

Add the ground beef,  chopping as it browns.

Almost there...

Once it has just browned, turn your heat down to medium-low. Mix everything together, and add turmeric. I know it's a random spice to throw in, but that's what my mom always does... so that's what I do.

Add spaghetti sauce.

Add Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Let it simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, tasting along the way and adjusting spices if necessary.

While that's simmering, cook your fettucini according to the package directions, and prepare your sour cream and cheeses.

Drain pasta when al dente, and fold into sauce.

Add sour cream and cheeses and stir gently. Don't be afraid of the sour cream - you can't taste it at all, but it really holds everything together.

Taste just like lasagna in half the time! Enjoy!

Grilled Pear & Turkey Pesto Sandwich

This was so good!!

You'll need:

2 piece of bread

Turkey, deli-sliced

Goat cheese

1 tsp. pesto

Pear, thinly sliced pieces

Grill your sliced pears, 1-2 minutes on each side - I just used a panini press. (First coat it with olive oil spray so the pears will get a nice flavor... and they'll look prettier.)

While those are grilling, spread the pesto on one slice of bread, and top with turkey and goat cheese. I'm a huge fan of goat cheese, so if it looks like I went a little overboard with it, I did.

Top with grilled pear slices.

Then, I threw the sandwich into the hot panini press, and grilled for a minute or so on each side. Just keep an eye on it until it's toasted the way you like it!

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese & Cucumber Toast

This is so simple, I can hardly call it a recipe. But I doubt many of you have tried this combination, so I wanted to share!

You'll need:
Wheat bread, toasted
Cream Cheese
Cucumber, thinly sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Just spread cream cheese on some toast.

Top with cucumber slices, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

That's it! Enjoy!