An Ode to Football...

Chad Ohcocinco playing for Bill Belichick. 


A prominent college football coach fired from a team which will remain unnamed (but it rhymes with "car deals").  


Jerry Richardson spending money to get quality players in Charlotte.  


All of this crazy football talk made me think... since I love football season, and more importantly, football food, I should start working on a couple of new dishes for the Fall.


I'd like to think of it as training camp in my kitchen!

BBQ chicken wings, ribs, and chili are go-to entrees at my house starting in September.  Why not a football-ish pasta?  


Here we go...   Preheat your oven to 375.  Cook the pasta according to the directions.  While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the flour and stir until it starts to brown.  Add the milk.  Whisk until the milk starts to thicken.  Add the cheeses and stir until smooth.  

Add the buffalo sauce and stir to combine.  It smells like football already!

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.  Add the chicken and sauce mixture.  Stir to combine.  Add the pasta mixture to a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with panko bread crumbs. Don't substitute regular bread crumbs for the panko.  Trust me, they add a great texture.  Bake for approximately 25 min or until bubbly. 

 Serve with crumbled gorgonzola, green onions, and cilantro.  Heaven on a plate. 

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

(adapted from HowSweetEats)

1 lb cooked pasta (I used orecchiette)

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Flour

1 3/4 cups milk

3/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded plus more for topping

1/3 cup Buffalo Wing Sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)

3 Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed

1/3 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Garnishes:

Gorgonzola Cheese Crumbles

Green Onions, chopped

Cilantro, chopped

Ranch Dressing, optional

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook pasta according to directions.  While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large saucepan.  Add flour and stir until it starts to brown.  Add milk.  Whisk until milk starts to thicken.  Add cheeses and stir until smooth.  Add buffalo sauce and stir to combine.

Drain pasta and return it to the pot.  Add chicken and sauce mixture.  Stir to combine.  Add pasta mixture to a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with panko bread crumbs.  Bake for approximately 25 min or until bubbly.  Serve with crumbled gorgonzola, green onions, and cilantro.  

Veggie Bacon Pasta Salad

I'm really loving pasta salads right now. And see the goat cheese?  It's one of my weaknesses.  I can eat an entire container (or log, in this case) in one sitting.  No kidding.  I like it on crackers, in pasta salads, on hamburgers... I could go on.  


This recipe was inspired by the Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette I used a couple of weeks ago in the Summer Pasta Salad. We ate this as a side dish with Jalapeno Bacon Burgers but you could add some grilled chicken or shrimp and make it a main dish.  

Veggie Bacon Pasta Salad with Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

(recipe by Mary, Quite Culinary)

2 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme, chopped

1 Lemon, zested

2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

3 Garlic Cloves, crushed

5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 lb Bow-Tie Pasta

1 Cup Frozen Sweet Peas

1 1/2 cups Fresh Snow Peas

1/2 cup Carrots, sliced

3 Green Onions, thinly sliced

6 slices Cooked Bacon, chopped

Goat Cheese, crumbled (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding sweet peas and snow peas during the last minute of cooking.  Drain.

In a small bowl, whisk together thyme, lemon zest, vinegar and garlic.  Drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to whisk.

Toss the pasta mixture with the carrots, onions, bacon, and vinaigrette.  Top each serving with goat cheese crumbles.  Serve warm or chilled.  

Southwest Pasta Salad

Pasta salads are one of my favorite things to make.  They combine two of my favorite things -- pasta and dressing!  The pasta salads I tend to like have tons of flavor and simple ingredients.  As an added bonus, sometimes I can sneak in veggies that my girls otherwise wouldn't eat (tomatoes in this case).  If they're chopped small enough and coated with dressing, somehow they don't notice them and gobble them up.

We have 'taco night' a couple of times a month at our house and this dish has been a perfect accompaniment several times.  I made the dressing a day in advance, so when it was time for dinner all I had to do was cook the pasta, chop the tomatoes and green onions, and take the corn out of the freezer!  So easy!  

Southwest Pasta Salad

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1/4 cup Low-Fat Buttermilk

4 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

3 Tablespoons Lime Juice

3 Tablespoons Sour Cream

3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper (if you'd like to spice it up)

3 Cloves Garlic, Crushed

1 cup Orzo Pasta, Cooked

1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, cilantro, lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise, chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic, and ground red pepper.  Set aside (or make ahead and store in the refrigerator).

Cook pasta according to package directions.  In a large bowl place corn, tomatoes and green onions.  Drain the pasta and add it to the large bowl.  Stir to combine.  

Drizzle the dressing over the pasta mixture and stir to combine.  

Summer Pasta Salad

Since I planted what has turned out to be a ton of fresh herbs on my deck, I have been on the hunt for recipes in which to use them!  Fresh thyme is a great addition to a basic lemon vinaigrette in this dish.   


We ate this warm as a side dish with grilled steaks last weekend.  The flavors are bold, so I wasn't sure if my girls would eat it, but they gobbled it up!  There were a few leftovers and I ate it for lunch the next day (cold).  I think it would make a great dish to take to a picnic!

Pasta Salad with Green Beans

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 lb cooked pasta, such as Fuscilli or Gemelli

2 cups fresh green beans, ends snapped and cut in half

4 Tablespoons fresh Thyme

3 Tablespoons Grated Lemon Rind

2 Tablespoons  Minced Shallots

4 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Parmesan Cheese for garnish

In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to directions.  During last 3 minutes of cooking, add green beans.  Drain pasta and green beans. 

To make the dressing combine Thyme, Lemon Rind, Shallots, Vinegar, Salt, Pepper and Garlic in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in the Olive Oil.

Drizzle the dressing over the pasta and green beans.  Stir to combine.  Garnish with fresh parmesan cheese.

  

Cheesy Noodle Bake

Casseroles don't make an appearance very often in my kitchen.  I have a few go-to casserole recipes, but not many.  I'm not quite sure why that is.  It could have something to do with the fact that my girls don't always like their food all mixed together.  They like to see exactly what's on their plate.  I think they feel like I'm trying to "hide" something super healthy in there!  


Our conversation about this dish went something like this -- Me: "It's noodles AND cheese, both of which you love!" (utilizing the power of suggestion here)  Them:  "What about that white stuff?"  Me:  "Oh, that's another kind of cheese that you've eaten before and liked."  Them: "If you say so..."  After they gave it a few more pokes and prods with their forks, they dug right in.  And of course, they loved it.  

This is one of those dishes you can make in advance and keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook.  I made this one morning when I knew there would be no afternoon prep-time for dinner.  I needed something that I could just pop in the oven when our after-school activities were over.    


For the sauce, brown the ground chuck and drain.  Add the tomato sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Let the mixture simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  

In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, cottage cheese, green onions, and additional pepper.  Add the cooked noodles and stir to coat.

Add half the noodles to a 9x13 baking dish.  Top with the meat mixture and half of the cheddar cheese.  Repeat the layering with more noodles, meat mixture, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  

Cheesy Noodle Bake

(adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

8 oz. Egg Noodles, cooked al dente and drained

1 lb. Ground Chuck

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Black Pepper, divided

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

15 oz (1 can) Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1 cup Cottage Cheese

5 Green Onions, chopped

1 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Grated Mozzarella 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook egg noodles until al dente and drain.  Brown the ground chuck and drain.  Return the meat to the pan and add the tomato sauce, garlic, salt and  1/2 tsp. pepper.  Simmer this mixture while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a separate bowl combine the sour cream, cottage cheese, green onions and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add the cooked egg noodles and stir to coat.

Add half the noodles to a 9x13 baking dish.  Top with the meat mixture and half of the cheddar cheese.  Repeat the layering with more noodles, meat mixture, cheddar cheese and mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Creamy Carrot Pasta

This is so sneaky.  As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it.  I'm always searching for ways to incorporate veggies into things my girls will eat. They even thought (until I clued them in on the carrots) that it was mac & cheese!   And since I love garlic (nearly) as much as I love chocolate, this hits the spot for the adults in this house, too!

I have a little container herb garden on my deck and thyme is making its debut this year.  Last year I grew basil, rosemary and mint (mainly for Mojito's, of course).  I was so excited to be able to pick a few sprigs of fresh thyme for this recipe, but dried would work just as well.  

Have you ever tried roasted carrots?  They are fantastic!  We have them as a simple side dish quite often.  They lose a lot of their sharp carrot flavor and are sweet and yummy...

I almost didn't include this picture of the carrot puree, mostly because it just looks like baby food.  But I wanted to show how creamy this really is!  All that heavy cream is doing its job.  

Once the carrots are roasted and pureed, they take on a sweet and smooth flavor.  You could even turn this into an entree by adding bacon or diced chicken.

Creamy Carrot Pasta

(adapted from Cinnamon and Spice and Everything Nice)

1 bag of baby carrots (approx. 1 pound)

7 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried thyme

2/3 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup frozen garden peas

1 pound of pasta

1/4 - 1/2 cup milk

Salt & pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, combine carrots, garlic, olive oil, and thyme.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread on a roasting pan and place in a 400 degree oven.  Bake about 45 minutes, or until carrots are tender.  Toss once or twice during cooking to make sure the carrots cook evenly. 


Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While the pasta is cooking make the carrot cream.  In a blender, puree the carrots and garlic together with the heavy cream and parmesan cheese until smooth.  Place in a large bowl.  Toss in the peas and stir.  


When pasta is done, drain and add to the bowl with the carrot puree.  Toss gently to coat.  Slowly add the milk until all the pasta is evenly coated with the puree and is a nice consistency.