Quick & Easy Pasta with Homemade Sauce

This is my go-to pasta recipe, especially when it's a weeknight and I don't have time after work to cook up a storm :). I really like to make my own pasta sauces so that I know exactly what ingredients are in it and how much of everything. With jarred sauce you risk high levels or sodium, sugar, etc. The sauce below is so easy that you can pretty much cook it up as quickly as you would warm up a jar of sauce.
There's not right or wrong on ingredients and measurements here, it's really more of a method that consists of the below. The other great thing is that you just use whatever vegetables and protein you already have in your refrigerator and want to use up and don't have to worry about making a stop at the store for fancy ingredients.

The Method:

• Sauce
•  Tomatoes, chopped (2-3 per person)
• Garlic, chopped (for four servings I would use 2-3 cloves)
• Olive oil 
• Vegetables, chopped
• Anything you have on hand and want to use up
• Spinach or a leafy green 
• Protein (optional)
• Shrimp, chicken, Italian sausage, fish, etc. 
• Whole Grain Pasta (follow the recommended servings on the package)

Directions:

Get your pasta water boiling and pasta cooking at about the same time you start the sauce below... this will all happen quickly!

Heat (at about medium-low heat) a layer of olive oil (enough to cover the pan) in a skillet. Once the oil has heated add the chopped garlic. The idea here is to just brown it slightly; watch this carefully to make sure it doesn't burn (which can happen fast and you will smell it!). Once the garlic browns, add all of the chopped tomatoes and stir. This will now start to simmer, add salt and pepper to season. And there you have your sauce!

Next add in your chopped vegetables and let those become tender with the tomato sauce. Lastly add in your protein. If you're adding something like chicken or sausage I would cook those separately, perhaps on the grill or grill pan. If you’re adding in raw shrimp, that could cook in the sauce.

The amount of simmering is up to you. If you want a chunky tomato sauce then you won't cook for very long. If you want a brothier sauce then you can add wine or stock to make it more of a "soup". There’s no wrong way to do it!

Lastly, play around with seasonings. If you like spice go ahead and add in red pepper flakes. The great thing about this sauce/dish is you can edit it and change it up however you like!

When your sauce is ready and pasta is al dente, transfer the pasta (no water) to the skillet and mix together. If you feel that the sauce is too thick then feel free to add some pasta water. The last step here is to throw in a few handfuls of spinach or other leafy green for a little more nutrition. Let that briefly wilt and you are good to go!

Serve with bread and Parmesan and enjoy!

Roast Chicken & Vegetables

Last night I cooked for a dinner party for one of my friend's birthdays. We were debating what the perfect menu would be knowing that we had a few gluten-free guests as well as a blizzard going on that makes comfort food seem like a must!

As we explored Whole Foods (which is possibly my favorite activity!) we thought it would be fun to make some roast chickens with seasonal vegetables. I had wanted to make roast chickens for awhile now as the presentation is so pretty and great for a dinner party. This is actually very simple to do and yet is a definite crowd pleaser.

Here's the steps I went through... it's not really a recipe, but rather a pretty easy, quick and delicious way for a great meal.

Ingredients:
Roast Chicken:
1. Chickens for roasting (you can find these at the meat counter)
-- I bought two as we had 8 guests for dinner and that allowed for leftovers
2. Fresh herbs to stuff the chicken
-- I used the Osage Gardens Poultry Blend that you can find by the fresh herbs in the produce
section at Whole Foods
3. Two-four lemons depending on the size and how many chickens you are roasting. If you are roasting one you probably only need 1-2 lemons, sliced into wedges to stuff the chicken
4. Chicken broth for de-glazing and basting to keep the chicken moist while cooking
5. Salt, pepper and olive oil for seasoning

Roast Vegetables:
You can use any variation for these. I wanted to use seasonal vegetables, but really whatever you have will work great.
1. Six small zucchinis, chopped
2. Three medium squash, chopped
3. Two yellow onions, chopped
4. Two sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
5. Olive oil and seasonings of your choice


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. To prep the chicken, remove the giblets and clean (as you would for a turkey). Place chicken/s in roasting pan (breast side up) and massage with olive oil, salt and pepper to keep skin moist. Stuff the chicken/s with the lemon wedges and fresh herbs. If you want to go ahead and tie or pin the legs to keep this all together. Roast the chicken/s for about an hour and a half until golden brown and an internal temperature of 165 degrees (at the deepest part of the meet).


Chickens prepped

For this dinner party we put some of the vegetables in the roasting pan with the chickens (after seasoning the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper).

The remaining vegetables we mixed with olive oil and a Moroccan spice seasoning blend and placed on a pan to roast. For roast vegetables you can add any spices you like, herbes de provence, curry, etc. Play around with whatever you have on your spice rack! The veggies can roast along with the chicken for about the last 45 minutes to an hour until they are tender to your liking.

This is not only a comforting, but also healthy meal that is great for family and friends. Better yet you can use the leftovers for soup stock!





Enjoy :)