Roasted Broccoli Alfredo

This was a great easy dish that was pretty yummy. Because I've been kind of...not really participating in eating what I cook for my boyfriend (still trying to eat somewhat healthier or cleaner), I've been trying to cook a lot of simple dishes (not because I can't eat it! Just because I occasionally have to prepare two dishes, his and my even simpler one...haha). I grabbed a jar of Trader Joe's alfredo sauce and wanted to try it out, so decided on this straightforward recipe that called for a lot of ingredients that I already had. I just used chicken apple sausages from Costco.

Roasted Broccoli Alfredo
Recipe from Simple Green Moms

1 lb. fresh or frozen broccoli florets sliced in half
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 package tortellini pasta (or other pasta of your choice)
4 to 6 links chicken Andouille sausage (optional)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup Alfredo sauce (I used Trader Joe's)
Parmesan cheese (for serving)

To roast the broccoli – Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the broccoli with 2T olive oil, salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then spread the broccoli evenly on the sheet. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they are crispy on the outside and soft of the inside. Carefully remove from the oven and set aside.

To cook the sausage - Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium-high. Slice the sausage then cook, turning occasionally, for about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another minute or so until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.

To cook the pasta – Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water then toss together in a large saucepan with the Alfredo sauce, sausage, and broccoli.

You can add a little extra milk to make it creamier, if desired. We think it is best served warm, and sprinkled with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese!

Seafood Paella

SO. MUCH. FOOD. It was pretty good. A maleable recipe. I had to add a lot more spices etc to it, but I didn't use the best stock or anything so maybe that was why. I pretty much used the recipe as a guide of what to add, and could have definitely used fresher and better seafood, but used the frozen mix at Trader Joe's since it's a decent deal.

This was very easy to make, and a great dish if you're too busy to cook for the rest of the week and don't mind eating lots of leftovers!

Seafood Paella
Recipe from Abbe's Cooking Antics

1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek - chopped
1 red bell pepper - deseeded and chopped
1 clove garlic - crushed
3.5 oz/100g spanish chorizo sausage - chopped
1 tsp turmeric
10.5oz/300g long grain rice
2 tbsp cherry tomato paste/puree
1 ltr hot fish stock
5oz/150g frozen petit pois peas
14oz/400g frozen cooked seafood mix - defrosted

Heat the oil in the pan, cook the leek, pepper and garlic for 5 mins. Add the chorizo and fry until it releases its oils. Stir in the turmeric and rice and coat with the oil.

Add the tomato paste and stir it through the rice. Pour in the fish stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Add the peas and cook for 5 mins, then stir in the seafood to heat through for a final couple of minutes cooking. Remember the seafood has already been cooked and will turn rubbery if you over heat it.

Turkey Meatball Spaghetti

Instatips on this recipe: definitely make sure not to mix the turkey etc too much into a mush, make sure to really mince the garlic super tiny, and MAKE THIS.

Adam asked me to make spaghetti and meatballs, and I don't eat beef, so I found this recipe. It was soo good and had just the right amount of spice. I doubled the recipe and it made a TON of meatballs that I ate alone (first time we had spaghetti, then I got lazy and plus it was healthier to just eat the meatballs anyway). So yum. So so yum.

Turkey Meatball Spaghetti
Recipe from Bev Cooks

1 pound spaghetti
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, whizzed through a food processor until smooth
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbs. finely chopped herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
6 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1/2 cup breadcrumbs or panko
4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
freshly grated parmesan, for garnish

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, crushed red pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, herbs, panko, a good pinch of salt and pepper, half the minced garlic, and the egg. Mix it all up good with your hands.

Form little balls with your hands and set them aside on a tray. Size doesn’t matter. (sorry) Totally up to you!

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the remaining garlic and bloom 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

In a medium skillet, heat the other 2 Tbs. oil over medium-high. Add the meatballs and sear until brown all over, about 8 minutes total. Transfer meatballs to sauce and continue simmering another 20 minutes.

Cook the pasta until it reaches al dente.

Serve spaghetti with a good helping of meatballs and sauce. Garnish with parmesan and more basil, if desired!

Turkey Spinach Lasagna

Here's a repeat for you. I made this summer 2010 and made it again this year--still so yummy! This time I used noodles that needed to be pre-cooked but that worked out fine. I also (according to the pictures) used more cheese on top. Yum. Still a good recipe!