Roasted veggie pasta

Thank you for @caffeinated_mom for sharing this recipe.

1 green pepper
1 onion
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cup heavy cream
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Julienne peppers & onions, sauté lightly in EVOO. Make a roux with 2T butter and 1/4 c. flour cook 2 min, add 2 c. heavy cream and stir.

Add 1 clove of garlic minced, 1 T thyme and S&P to taste. Cook until thickened. Add sautéed veggies and toss lightly. Serve over spaghetti or linguine cooked al dente. Simple sauce but really flavourful and compliments the veggies well.

Coconut Curry Rotini

Servings: 4
Rating: 9/10
Difficulty: Easy
Total time: 18 minutes

1-1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup light coconut milk
1 tsp each sugar and ground coriander
1/2 tsp each ground cumin and chili powder
1/4 tsp each curry powder and ground ginger
8 oz tricolored rotini, uncooked (about 3 cups dry)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed (I rarely thaw!)
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup dried currants (could use raisins if preferred)

In a medium, non-stick saucepan, combine broth, coconut milk, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil. Add rotini. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add peas, red pepper and currants. Simmer 6 - 7 minutes more, until liquid has been absorbed and pasta is tender. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Per serving: 326 calories, 4.4 g fat, 5 g fiber.

Note: You could easily add chopped cooked chicken breast or cooked shrimp for a "meat" variety of this dish.
(From Crazy Plates)

Pork and Fennel Ragu

This is easy to make (start to finish 38 minutes), I use the food processor to cut down on chopping time. While the fennel and onion cooks, measure out your spices and chop the tomatoes. Yes you can freeze this sauce, as it is moist. Gets raves from all who have tried it, including my parents who are very plain eaters!

Cooking spray
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped fennel
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces lean ground pork
2 cups chopped tomato
1/2 cup fat-free low sodium chicken broth
4 cups hot cooked rigatoni (about 1/2 lb uncooked pasta)

Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add onion, fennel and garlic, cook for 5 minutes. Add fennel seeds and next 7 ingredients (through to pork), stirring to combine, saute 3 minutes.

Add tomato and broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot pasta.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size 1 cup ragu and 1 cup pasta)

Per serving: 408 calories (30% from fat), 13.7 g fat, 5 g fibre

Peanut-free Pad Thai

This is my mom's Pad Thai recipe and it's super easy to make.

1/2 pkg rice noodles (angel hair)
1/2 brick firm tofu (or you can use shrimp)
3 large carrots grated
2 cups bean sprouts
1/4 cup soya sauce
2 inch cube of fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
1 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp cilantro
lime wedges
olive oil

1. Cube the tofu and marinate in the soya sauce for 30 mins.
2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles until tender. Drain them and set aside.
3. Put 2-3 tbps olive oil in a frying pan and add half the ginger and half the hot pepper flakes. Don't let it burn, but fry for a couple of minutes stiring often.
4. Add the tofu and soya sauce, and continue to stir fry until brown on all sides. Then remove the tofu and set aside. If there isn't enough oil in the pan, add a little bit more and then add the remaining ginger and pepper flakes. Let it cook a little bit, without burning.
5. Then add the grated carrots and bean sprouts, and a squirt of soya sauce, and the sesame oil. 6. Stirfry everything together at high heat for a minute or two and then return the tofu to the pan. You want the bean sprouts to remain crunchy.
7. Turn off the heat, and add the noodles to the pan. Mix everything well. Add the cilantro at the end, and garnish with lime.

(If you find your frying pan isn't big enough, you can add the veggies to the pot the noodles cooked in instead)

Ham stuffed manicotti

This recipe came from busycooks.about. com and it was quite good.

Ingredients:
- 14 manicotti pasta shells (that's conveniently how many were in the box I bought)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 butter
- 3 cups cooked cubed ham
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 6 tbsp butter
- 6 tbsp flour
- 3 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I used cheddar because I hate swiss)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preperation:
Cook manicotti as directed on package. drain , rinse in cool water and set aside. Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, and bell pepper in butter (or us oilive oil) until tender. Add ham until everything is hot. Then set aside to cool for ten minutes and stir in 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese.

In a heavy saucepan cook 6 tbsp of butter until foamy. Stir in 6 tbsp of flour, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles (about 3 minutes). Add milk and cook, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens. Mix 1/4 of the cheese sauce in with the ham mixture.

Fill manicotti shells with ham mixture (your fingers work best). Spread about 1/2 cup of cheese sauce into a greased 13x9 glass baking dish and arrange filled shells over sauce. If there is any leftover filling (I didn't even use all 14 shells in the end) just sprinkle it over the top. Pour remaining sauce over top of manicotti. At this point the casserole can be cooled in the refrigerator, then wrapped up and frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator, then uncover, sprinkle with 1/2 cup of parmensan chese and bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes. If not freezing the casserole, sprinkle with 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until bubbly.