Ravioli with Sautéed Asparagus and Walnuts

I'm sure I've mentioned a time or two before that I keep a binder on hand of all recipes I want to make. It's a collection from all my magazines that I subscribe to and some printouts from the 'nets. I was on the hunt for an easy recipe. One that you can throw together when you get home from work and still have time to enjoy your evening. I stumbled upon this one which I have made before just haven't blog about it. 

It's easy, quick, filling AND tastes good too! What more can one ask for! 

Here's a good tip from Woman's Day too!: Transform the asparagus-walnut mixture into an easy hors d’oeuvre by mixing in the Parmesan cheese (or substituting feta) and spooning it on top of crostini, crackers or endive leaves.

Ravioli with Sautéed Asparagus and Walnuts

From Woman's Day

• 1 package (14 to 16 oz) cheese ravioli (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 oz)

Cook the ravioli according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and walnuts and cook, stirring often, until the nuts are lightly toasted and fragrant and the garlic is golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the asparagus and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, about 2 minutes. Serve over the ravioli and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

It's that 'Gouda'!

I have finally found the recipe ... the mac n cheese recipe and who knew it would be so simple! In case you didn't know, I've been searching. I've had a lot of mac n cheese failures that I decided not to share with you. I've had some successes that I did share but nothing compares to this recipe! It's creamy, it's cheesy (like most of my jokes), and it's heavenly ... yes, it's that Gouda! 

After having a delicious Gouda at a local restaurant, I decided to look for a Gouda macaroni & cheese recipe. I stumbled across many recipes that called for smoked Gouda ... that's not Goudanough for me! I'm not a fan of smoked flavors. Then I found this recipe from Epicurious and couldn't be happier ... seriously make it and you'll agree! 

Aged Gouda Macaroni & Cheese:

16 oz of aged Gouda, shredded
1 stick of salted butter
1 cup of light cream
1/2 tablespoon of flour
1 16 oz package of dry elbow macaroni
salt and pepper

Prepare macaroni according to package instructions. While pasta is boiling, melt butter in an 8 oz pot over low heat. When butter has turned into liquid, add flour and stir until there are no lumps. Reserve 1/2 cup of grated cheese for topping and add remaining cheese to the butter/flour mixture. Turn up heat to medium low. Stir until the cheese is fully integrated into the mixture, then stir in cream in 3 intervals, making sure that the cream is fully integrated into the cheese before adding more. Continue to stir for 1 1/2 minutes, and then add drained pasta. Mix everything together over low heat for 2 minutes, constantly stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove pot from heat and turn on broiler. Equally divide macaroni and cheese into 8-12 oz or 16 oz ramekins. Sprinkle remaining cheese onto each portion and place in broiler for 60 seconds or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

I had intentions of making my own sweet potato gnocchi, butternut squash ravioli or pumpkin ravioli this year but for some reason I just didn't get to it. While I was grocery shopping yesterday, I noticed these yummy sweet potato gnocchi and thought to myself..."Thank you, Whole Foods!" It was a nice little shortcut and made dinner really simple and yummy! I've been wanting to make a brown butter sage sauce for a while. I did a quick Google search and found this great recipe from Giada. It pairs so nicely with winter squash and sweet/savory pastas like these gnocchi; however, I think it would go really well with any pasta. It would also make a nice sauce on roasted root vegetables...I'm think I'll be making that soon! Talk about a quick dinner!!

 

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks) 

2 tablespoons torn fresh sage leaves 

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped 

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste 

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.

Add the sage and walnuts and let cook until the butter starts to brown, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat off and season with salt, and pepper. Pour over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Lasagna Roll Ups

This is a great alternative to traditional lasagna and in my opinion somewhat easier. I usually make a sauce in the morning and let it simmer all day to get great flavor from my turkey meatballs but I didn't have a lot of time on my hands today so I made this easy tomato sauce (the same sauce from my eggplant parm post). This meal is vegetarian friendly.

Super Easy Tomato Sauce:
2 28 ounce cans of whole, peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons of high quality extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Puree tomatoes and transfer to a medium size pot. Stir in olive oil and let simmer for 30 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also added in some red pepper flakes for a little spice.

Lasagna Filling:
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, finely grated
15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
2 cups of mozzarella cheese, plus some for the top
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1, 10 ounce box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients. Roll into cooked lasagna noodles. Place rolled noodles seam side down in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with 1 cup of tomato sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake covered for 30 mins and uncovered for an additional 10 mins. Serve with remaining sauce.

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

This recipe came from one of my favorite magazines that I subscribe to, Everyday Food. It's another one that we can thank Martha for. They have a show on PBS that airs every Saturday.

This recipe jumped out at me while I was flipping through the magazine. It seriously was a 30 min meal. The tomatoes and the starchy gnocchi water create a delicious creamy sauce. I promise you'll enjoy! Super easy!

You can find the recipe here

Orecchiette with Roasted Broccoli & Walnuts

I didnt get a great picture of this meal but it sure was delicious! This recipe came from the February Real Simple. It was super simple! I'll be making this again.

A good idea from Real Simple: "The combination of roasted broccoli, walnuts, and garlic also makes a delicious side dish for chicken, beef, or pork."

You can find the recipe here

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley, and Breadcrumbs

I love cauliflower especially when it's roasted. It added great flavor to this dish. Instead of toasting up the bread I used breadcrumbs that I had on hand. I usually don't keep white bread on hand and didn't feel like buying a loaf for this dish. The breadcrumbs worked just as well.

I did forget one important step when making this dish. I forgot to save the pasta water! How stupid of me!!! I used some olive oil and tap water to get it to a good consistency. It was quite tasty!!!

You can find the recipe here

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

At the beginning of fall I said to myself "I'm going to make pumpkin ravioli this year" I have yet to do so but I'll consider this recipe a baby step. There's still time for the pumpkin ravioli; although it snowed, fall is not over yet.

This recipe came from the October issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. You can get all her recipes at her website if you don't subscribe to the magazine.

This dish was a great taste of pumpkin. I think you'll like this even if you're not a huge fan of pumpkin (but really who isn't??)

*You can find the recipe here

Tonight's Dinner: Pasta Primavera

What a tasty and simple meal. Although this recipe didn't come from Rachael Ray it was a 30 minute meal! The roasted veggies along with the cheese add a ton of flavor to this dish.

Where else to get an Italian recipe from but Giada at the Food Network.

**If you're interested in this recipe; simply click recipe above. The link is attached.