Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes of all time. I've been waiting and waiting to share it with you...waiting until it was harvest time and you could get all these vegetables fresh from your garden or farmer's market. It's super healthy (well, minus the cheese) and hearty enough that even the most carnivorous eater will enjoy it.

Aside from or cutting and chopping a mound of vegetables, there's nothing tricky about this dish. The hardest part is "peeling" the butternut squash. Don't ever believe a recipe that tells you to "peel" the butternut. Unless your squash has ripened to a state of mush or your peeler is super-powered, you'll spend a lot of time cursing the squash and nicking and cutting your fingers. I don't suggest you try it. Instead, I usually just cut the skin off, losing some of the squash in the process. If you're opposed to such needless waste (I'm filled with guilt every time I look at the perfectly good squash I throw out, not that it stops me), you can also halve the squash, put it a small glass bowl/pan filled with 1-2 inches of water and microwave it for 10-15 minutes. That will soften the squash to the point where you can actually cut the skin off without much waste. Or you could eliminate the butternut (which I wouldn't recommend- it adds such a buttery, nutty flavor to the dish) and substitute another type of squash or even eggplant.


Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis (foodnetwork.com)
Pictures by Kelly

Makes 1 very large 9x13 pan

2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 butternut squash, skinned and cut into 1-inch cubes*
4 cremini mushrooms, halved
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb mix or herbs de Provence
1 pound penne pasta
3 cups marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella**
2/3 cup grated Parmesan, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander.
4. In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses (half the Parmesan), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.

*I would suggest roasting the squash about 10-15 minutes before you add the other vegetables. If you don't, you'll end up with either perfect zucchini, mushrooms and peppers and slightly crunchy squash, or squishy zucchini, mushrooms and peppers and perfect squash.
**Using smoked mozzarella will add a distinct flavor to your dish. If you don't like the smokey taste or can't find it in your supermarket, regular mozzarella will also do.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Do you have some fusty, black banana's laying on your counter, but you don't want to throw them out and waste them? Here is the answer. These muffins are wonderful and a change from banana bread. And, they are made from whole wheat, so they are even healthier! These muffins are not as sweet as banana bread and they will freeze well, so you can make a batch or two and freeze the rest for later. If you don't want to add the chocolate chips you can substitute them for walnuts, or just leave them out all together.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe by King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking (awesome book, I highly recommend it)
Pictures by Caroline
Yield: 12 muffins

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium-to-large bananas)
¼ cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I used half white and half whole wheat)
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin cups, and grease the muffin cups with nonstick vegetable oil spray.
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups; they’ll be nearly full. Bake the muffins until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and after a couple of minutes transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

Black Walnut French Toast

This is a recipe that twolittlechefs reader, Kelly, submitted. It is a variation on traditional french toast, and it is delicious. Now I happen to love french toast, so I may be bias. However, when I make this again I will make it with my own french toast recipe and add the banana-nut topping. When I make french toast I don't use any milk, and I add a bit of vanilla and cinnamon. Anyway you make it though, the topping is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Thanks Kelly!


Black Walnut French Toast
Recipe from Southern Living Magazine (submitted by twolittlechefs reader, Kelly)
Picture by Caroline

Ingredients

2 tablespoons chopped black walnuts (or traditional walnuts or pecans)
1 tablespoon light butter
1 large ripe banana, sliced
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 white bread slices
Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 cup reduced-calorie maple syrup.

Directions

1. Place a small skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add chopped black walnuts, and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove from skillet.
2. Melt butter in small skillet over medium heat; add banana slices, and cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in toasted black walnuts and 1/4 cup honey, and remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients in a shallow dish or pie plate. Lightly press bread slices, 1 at a time, into egg mixture, coating both sides of bread. Cook bread, in batches, on a nonstick griddle coated with cooking spray over medium heat 2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure, if necessary. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve with banana mixture and syrup.

*From Kelly who submitted this recipe: “I love breakfast and so this was a great twist to a classic. I made it this morning for some family and they were asking for the recipe - always a good sign! We had it on corn cakes instead of French toast and it was good that way too.”

Garden Chicken Soup

Usually I wouldn't dare to make soup during the summer. It just seems more appropriate as a fall or winter meal. But today was cool(er) and rainy and seemed like a soup day. So here we are: a simple soup starring a few of summer's best vegetables. And although they aren't included in this recipe, (mostly because I didn't have any on hand) you may want to add 2 medium zucchini or yellow squash, chopped.

Garden Chicken Soup
Recipe by Kelly
Picture by Kelly

2 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 medium carrots, peeled and diced into 1/4 in rounds
6-8 medium tomatoes, chopped (or 2 14.5 oz cans diced)
2 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, chopped
3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, garlic and carrots. Saute 4 minutes. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned.
   
2. Add tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper and basil. Bring to a boil; let simmer 20 minutes.
3. Add spinach and cook 5 minutes, or until spinach begins to wilt.
4. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Fettuccine with Ricotta, Tomatoes and Basil

This is one of my favorite "I don't know what to cook tonight and dinner is in 15 minutes" meals. The ricotta cheese makes an excellent and simple sauce of sorts. It can, however, become a bit dry after it begins to cool. To prevent this, add a few tablespoons of the pasta water to the cheese when you toss the pasta. Using the pasta water is better than regular tap water because it will allow the cheese to stick better to the pasta. And it's very versatile: sometimes I throw in some green peppers or sauteed mushrooms while my husband loves to add bacon (delicious, but slightly on the greasy side).


Fettuccine with Ricotta, Tomatoes and Basil
Recipe loosely adapted from bettycrocker.com
Picture by Kelly

1/2 (1/2 box) pound fettuccine
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
2 large roma tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons basil, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons water, reserved from pasta water
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large pot of well salted water to boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain, but reserve 2 tablespoons water.
2. Stir together riccotta cheese, 1/3 cup of Parmesan, salt and pepper. Toss with hot fettuccine. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until cheese sauce has thinned slightly.
3. Top with tomatoes, basil, and remaining Parmesan.

Ratatouille (Provencal Vegetable Stew)

A good friend of mine recently gave me a large zucchini from her garden and suggested that I could use it to make Ratatouille, a vegetable stew made in France; she was also kind enough to provide me with a recipe. In the book it reads, “The classic combination of the vegetables that grow abundantly in the south of France is infinitely flexible. Use the recipe as a guide for making the most of what you have on hand.” This is exactly what I did. I replaced the eggplant with summer squash and used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes. In the end the combination of flavors was delicious, and very healthy. I would suggest eating this with some hearty bread, or even with a side of angel hair pasta to make it more filling (not very French, but I think the Ratatouille would go great with pasta).

Ratatouille (Provencal Vegetable Stew)
Pictures by Caroline

2 medium eggplants
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, halved and diced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 large red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips*
2 large zucchini, cut into ½ inch slices
1 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (I used a mixture of savory, fennel, basil and thyme)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the broiler. Cut the eggplant into ¾ inch slices, then brush the slices with olive oil on both sides and broil until lightly browned, turning once. Cut the slices into cubes.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan or flameproof casserole and cook the onion over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until lightly golden, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, pepper and zucchini and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the tomatoes and eggplant cubes, dried herbs and salt and pepper and simmer gently, covered, over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue cooking for 20-25 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender and the cooking liquid has thickened slightly. Serve hot or at room temperature.

*To add flavor, broil the peppers in the oven until the skins begin to blacken. Remove from broiler and place in a brown paper bag and set aside until cool. Peel off the skin, then remove the core and seeds and cut into strips. Add to the mixture with the cooked eggplant.

Cream Puffs

You know the little frozen cream puffs you can buy from Costco, Sam's Club or BJs? These are so much better.

Every time I visit my family in New York, I make these for my uncle. Being from a traditional German family, we don't really express our emotions aloud very often, but cream puffs have bridged that barrier. They've become our way of sharing a bit of affection without actually having to say anything.

Cream puffs aren't actually that difficult to make, and 99% of you probably have all the ingredients you need already in your cupboards. The hardest part is making the filling; I usually make my own vanilla pudding, but that can be time consuming and tricky- it's really easy to burn the milk. Use instant Jello pudding or vanilla ice cream as an easier substitute.

Cream Pufffs

From Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Pictures by Kelly

Makes 12

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter and salt. Bring to a boil. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir til mixture forms a ball (mine is always more like a blog than a ball). Remove from heat. Boil for 10 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition.
4. Drop dough by 12 heaping tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Let cool.
5. Cut tops from puffs; remove soft dough from inside. Fill with whipped cream, pudding or ice cream. Replace tops. If desired, sift powdered sugar or drizzle chocolate over tops.

Vanilla Pudding*

from Better Homes and Gardens

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 cups milk

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in 3 cups of milk. Cook and stir over medium heat til bubbly (this may take 15 minutes or so- you don't want to turn the heat up too high or you could burn the milk). Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
2. Gradually stir in 1 cup of the milk mixture into the beaten eggs (doing this gradually will slowly increase the temperature of the eggs and prevent them from becoming scrambled).
3. Add egg mixture to milk mixture in saucepan. Bring to a gently boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour pudding in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap on the surface of the pudding. This will prevent a "skin" from forming on the top of the pudding.
5. Chill 3-4 hours.

*This makes plenty of pudding for 1 batch of cream puffs. I usually only use half of it.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This may be hard to believe, but growing up I loved stuffed bell peppers, the kind you made with hamburger and rice. So I thought I would take that idea and come up with something a little more unique and perhaps...with a few more flavors. I started with a couple of recipes I found online, and came up with a bell pepper stuffed with turkey sausage. These peppers have a strong flavor due to the sausage, but they are a great way to incorporate meat and vegetables in one fancy package. I hope you will enjoy them.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Recipe by Caroline
Pictures by Caroline
Makes 2 (large) to 4 servings

¾ pounds sweet turkey sausage, casings removed (or you can use Italian sausage, whichever you prefer)
¾ cup coarsely grated zucchini
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped white mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 large egg
¼ cup parmesan cheese
2 medium-size red bell peppers (each about 4 to 6 ounces), halved lengthwise, seeded

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned. Add the zucchini, onion, parsley flakes, rosemary, black pepper, and salt. Cook until sausage is mostly cooked through.
3. Take sausage mixture off of heat. In a medium mixing bowl combine the sausage mixture, breadcrumbs, egg, and parmesan cheese.
4. Fill pepper halves with the sausage mixture, dividing equally among each half. Arrange peppers, filled side up, in a baking dish (I add a little bit of water to the bottom of the pan to help steam the peppers). Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until heated through and peppers reach desired tenderness.

Contest Winner - Chocolate Turtle Cookies

After MUCH deliberation, we have finally picked a winner for our 100th Post Contest. There were recipes of all sorts and sizes from appetizers to desserts to dinner and breakfast submitted. Many of them were very good, making this a very tough decision for us, but we finally picked the winner.

We picked these cookies because they are first and foremost delicious. In addition to the taste they are unique and aesthetically original. So congratulations to our loyal reader and commenter, Jessie who submitted this recipe for Chocolate Turtle Cookies. She will be receiving The Essential Baker: The Comprehensive Guide to Baking with Chocolate, Fruit, Nuts, Spices, and Other Ingredients by CCP Carole Bloom.

Chocolate Turtle Cookies
Recipe submitted by Two Little Chefs reader Jessie
Picture by Caroline
Yield: approximately 2 dozen

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped fine
14 soft caramel candies**
3 T heavy cream

1. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on med-high speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment (hint from twolittlechefs: you need to line your tray or spray with a non-stick spray, otherwise the egg whites will firmly attach to your baking sheet). Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. One at a time, roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently press existing indentation again with teaspoon measure. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

**Note: the only adaption I would make to this recipe would be to add more caramel, and I would suggest making your own caramel, which will have a stronger flavor - mixing equal parts of brown sugar, butter, and a tablespoon or two of milk.

Grilled Vegetables with Mint Sauce

I feel as though this is too easy to really call it a recipe. But it's good and fast and simple and healthy, so why not share it? We had this vegetable dish last night as a light dinner, and anyone in my family who actually ate the vegetables (my sisters still haven't discovered the pleasure that comes from eating red peppers or zuchinni) loved the combination of the masala with the yogurt (on the vegetables and in the sauce). And of course, if you can't lay your hands on a grill, or you're simply too eager to try this to wait for your grill to heat up, you can always broil the veggies.

Grilled Vegetables with Mint Sauce

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit July 2005

Picture by Kelly

For Mint Sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt

2 teaspoons garam masala (optional)

1/2 chopped fresh mint

salt and pepper to taste

For Vegetables:

2 red bell peppers

3 large zucchini

2 red onions

2 cups mushrooms

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon garam masala

salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare barbeque (medium high). Soak bamboo skewers in water, about 30 minutes.
2. Cut vegetables into large wedges (except mushrooms- leave them whole). Toss in oil, masala, salt and pepper.
3. Thread vegetables onto skewers and grill unto slightly charred in spots, turning occasionally.
4. Serve with mint yogurt sauce.

Chicken Curry Korma

My sister has been asking me to find a good recipe for Chicken Korma for ages. It's a type of curry often served in Indian restaurants with chicken, cashews and raisins. For this dish, you will need two "unusual" spices you may not have on hand: turmeric and garam masala. They're spicy in the flavorful sense of the word, not hot, and are used in dozens of other Indian recipes, so they surely won't go to waste.

A note to the wise: you may want to take special care to be tidy when cooking with turmeric; it has a very bright neon yellow/green color and can be a pain to try to clean off counter tops, especially white ones (trust me, I know).

Chicken Curry Korma

Recipe by Kelly

Pictures by Kelly

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger root, minced

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons salt

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/3 cup roasted cashews

1/3 cup golden raisins

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and saute until softened. Add garlic and ginger and cook about 2 minutes.
2. Add yogurt, coconut milk and spices. Bring to a boil and add chicken pieces. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
3. Add cashews and raisins. Simmer 4-5 more minutes. Serve over rice or with naan bread.
   

*If you like your sauce thicker, add less coconut milk and more yogurt. If you like it thinner, add more coconut milk (or some water). You may also increase/decrease the amount of cashews and raisins according to your preference.

Mango Lime Fool

A "fool" is a fruity dessert usually made with cream and/or yogurt and some type of pureed fruit. Why it's called a fool is beyond me, but it's the perfect fast and refreshing dessert for summer.