Three cheese mostaccioli

This is one of the first dishes I ever really made, dating way back to my early years in college. It has remained a favorite part of our recipe rotation even to this day, and is often requested by friends and family when they visit, so it surprised me to realize that I had never put the recipe up on the blog. It's nothing really specia—just a glorified mac 'n cheese recipe that originally came from a microwave dinner cookbook, but has since been alterred almost beyond recognition, of course.

So here it is, one of our favorite comfort foods.

Three cheese mostaccioli (a.k.a. fancy mac n' cheese)

Ingredients:
  ● 8 oz. mostaccioli, uncooked
  ● 2 tbsp butter
  ● 1/4 cup flour
  ● 1 tsp basil (dried)
  ● 1/4 tsp pepper
  ● 2 cup milk
  ● 1-1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
  ● 1 cup montery jack, shredded
  ● 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, shredded, divided
  ● 1 medium tomato  , sliced

Directions:
Prepare mostaccioli as directed. 

Meanwhile, In 2-quart baking dish, microwave butter until melted.  Stir in flour, basil, salt and pepper, then blend in milk.  Microwave at high for 6-10 minutes, whisking every 2 minutes.  When mixture is thick and bubbly, stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese until melted.  Stir in cooked mostaccioli, arrange tomato slices on top of pasta mixture, and sprinkle with remaining cheddar and parmesan cheeses.  Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned around edges.

Enjoy!

Two-bean tamale pie

This is a Better Homes and Gardens recipe, with a few alterations, of course. It's quick, easy, and pretty flavorful as well. It's also a nutritious vegetarian dish, thanks to the beans. Leave out the cheese or switch to soy and it can even be vegan, but you'll probably never get me to give up my cheese!

Two-Bean Tamale Pie

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes            

Ingredients:
  ● 1 sweet pepper, chopped
  ● 1/2  onion, chopped
  ● 2  cloves garlic, minced
  ● 1  tbsp. cooking oil
  ● 3 cups each black beans and pinto beans, rehydrated, cooked, and slightly mashed
  ● 1 cup vegetable juice
  ● 1/2  tsp. chili powder
  ● 1  tsp. ground cumin
  ● 1  8-1/2- ounce package corn muffin mix
  ● 3/4-1  cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a skillet cook sweet pepper, onion, and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in  beans, juice, and spices and heat through. transfer to a 2-quart baking dish.
2. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions. Add cheese and stir until combined. Spread cornbread mixture evenly over top of bean mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden.

Crockpot Minestroni

I've made this one before, and the original recipe I found calls it Italian Vegetable Soup, but I like the sound of Crockpot Minestroni better, and I've played with both the method and the ingredients so I think I've earned the right to rename it. This meal is great on so many levels: it's vegetarian, it's quick, it's easy, and it makes great leftovers. Plus, it won't break the bank; I made it using bags of 365 label frozen organic veggies, cans of Eden organic beans (Eden is one of the few companies that does not use BPA in can linings, by the way), 365 label organic vegetable juice, and homemade organic vegetable stock (the 365 label organic stocks won't break the bank either). All together the meal cost about $20 and will provide at least two full meals for the three of us (we'll eat it for two dinners and there will be some left for lunches). I served it with homemade roasted garlic and rosemary Italian wheat bread.

Crockpot Minestroni

Ingredients
  ● 1  12- oz. package frozen cut green beans
  ● 1 12-oz. package frozen cauliflower (mine had carrots, too)
  ● 4-5  cups diced tomatoes
  ● 1  cup chopped onion
  ● 1+  cup chopped celery
  ● 1  cup regular barley
  ● 2  cloves garlic, minced
  ● basil, oregano, rosemary, and ground black pepper to taste
  ● 4  cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
  ● 2-1/2  cups reduced-sodium vegetable juice
  ● 4 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  ● Finely shredded Parmesean cheese (optional)

Directions
1. In your slow cooker or crockpot, place frozen green beans, cauliflower, tomatoes, onion, celery, barley, garlic, beans, and seasonings. Add vegetable broth and vegetable juice and stir to combine well. Add more vegetable juice as needed to bring liquid to desired level.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat for 6 to 8 hours. Top servings with Parmesean cheese.

Creamy tortellini soup

I love crock pot recipes, so I jumped for this one from our Healthy Cooking magazine. In the end it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, although it wasn't a train wreck, and there are some things I will do next time that I think will fix it. I don't normally post recipes until I've played with them and feel happy with the results, but there were a lot of requests for this one, so I make note of those things I would change in the recipe following. Let me know what you think!

Creamy Tortellini Soup

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes            
Cooking Time: 6 to 7 hours (on low)

Ingredients:
  ● 1  1.8- ounce envelope white sauce mix (I made my own with 2T butter, 1/4 cup flour, 2 cups milk.  See note)
  ● 4  cups water (I used only 2)
  ● 14 ounces vegetable broth
  ● 1-1/2  cups sliced mushrooms
  ● 1/2  cup chopped onion
  ● 3  cloves garlic, minced
  ● 1  tsp. dried basil
  ● 1/4  tsp. salt
  ● 1/8  tsp. cayenne pepper
  ● 30 ounces rehydrated cannellini beans (can substitute canned, but add them later)
  ● 1  7- to 8-ounce package dried cheese tortellini (I used 22oz. frozen, organic)
  ● 1  12- ounce can evaporated milk (see note)
  ● 6  cups fresh baby spinach leaves or torn spinach
  ● Ground black pepper (optional)
  ● Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Original directions: Place dry white sauce mix in slow cooker. Gradually add the water to the white sauce mix, stirring until smooth. Stir in broth, mushrooms, onion, garlic, basil, salt, oregano, and cayenne pepper. To make my own white sauce I melted 2T butter, stirred in 1/4 cup flour, then blended in two cups of milk and 2 cups of warm water.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 3-4 hours. Add rehydrated cannellini beans and cook for 2 more hours (if using canned beans, add them with the tortellini).

3. Stir in tortellini and cook for 1 more hour.

4. Stir in evaporated milk and fresh spinach and cook until heated through (careful not to overcook the spinach! I left mine in while I cut a few mangoes, and it was more wilted than I would have liked). Sprinkle individual servings with black pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Two Notes for next time:
First, I've never bought a packet of white sauce mix, and don't plan on ever doing so, but when I made my own this time I did all the the work right in the crock pot and the sauce turned out a bit lumpy. In the future I think I will actually make a quick microwave white sauce and then pour it into the crock pot, already heated on low, before adding the additional ingredients.

Second, In our opinion the soup was way too sweet. Next time I plan to either cut the evaporated milk in half, or skip it all together, adding more vegetable broth to make up the liquid content.



Southwestern vegetarian pasta

Getting back into the swing of things has been fun, since I got a number of new kitchen tools, gadgets, and cookware for Christmas. I actually planned tonight's meal around this new cast iron baking dish. Beautiful, isn't it? The dinner was pretty darn good, too, though next time I've decided that I would use more chipotle, more tomatoes, and more cheese. I've already adjusted the numbers in the recipe to reflect that.

Southwestern vegetarian pasta

Yield: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 30 min.
Cooking Time: 20 min

Ingredients:
  ● 16oz. uncooked farfalle pasta
  ● 8 whole green onions, chopped
  ● 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
  ● 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  ● 2 garlic cloves, minced
  ● 2 tsp. minced chipotle peppers
  ● 1 tsp. salt
  ● 1 tsp. ground cumin
  ● 2-1/4 cups milk
  ● 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided 
  ● 3 tomatoes, cut into large chunks
  ● 1/2 red onion, chopped
  ● 15 oz. black beans
  ● 15 oz. pinto beans

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onions in oil until tender. Stir in the flour, chipotle pepper, salt and cumin until well blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in beans and 1 cup cheese until melted.

3. Drain pasta and transfer to a large, heavy baking dish; toss with sauce, stir in tomatoes, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. I served this wil a dollop of sour cream and a side of wilted swiss chard.