Cheesy Spaghetti Pie with Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers and Sausage

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My Mom used to make Spaghetti Pie and I always loved it. I recently stumbled across this recipe, loaded with mushrooms, peppers, onions, Italian sausage and tomatoes, all on a spaghetti “crust” and decided to give it a try. It was amazing and makes a lot – so it’s good for a larger group. For a couple or small family, I’d halve it.

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
Kosher salt
4 oz dried spaghetti
1 Tbsp butter
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb. Italian sausage, removed from casing, or lean ground beef (90 percent lean or higher)
4 cups sliced fresh button mushrooms
1 cup chopped yellow or white onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 Tbsp dried Onion Flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated, or 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
One (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce, or 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup cottage cheese, drained (could also use yoghurt cheese*)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil leaves, for serving (optional)

Step 1
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions until al dente, then drain. Return the spaghetti to the pot and stir in the butter until melted. Stir in the egg and parmesan cheese until combined.

Step 2
Meanwhile, in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the sausage or beef, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring, until the meat is browned and the onion and mushrooms are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and oregano and heat through, about 2 minutes.

Step 3
Transfer the spaghetti mixture to the prepared pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides of the plate, forming a crust. Spread the cottage cheese over the pasta mixture and top with the meat mixture, followed by the mozzarella.

*Yoghurt Cheese is just plain whole fat yoghurt with a bit of salt, that’s strained in the refrigerator overnight in a muslin cloth or coffee filter, letting the whey run off into a bowl. It’s a bit like cream cheese but tangier.

Pie Crust Recipes: Traditional Pastry and Graham Cracker Crust

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I don’t often make pie crusts from scratch, but when I do, I have the best luck with this recipe.

Traditional Pie Crust:

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3-4 Tbsp cold water

With a fork, stir together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in vegetable oil and mix gently until the mix is quite crumbly.

Dribble in 3 Tbsp of cold water and gently start mixing it in. The dough will start to stick together and start to form large lumps. If it isn’t, add the rest of the water.

Lay out a section of waxed paper that is twice as wide as it is tall and fold it in half. Unfold it and dump the pie dough onto the bottom layer. Form a flattish 6″ circle. You don’t want to beat it up – just pull all the loosish bits together. Fold the top over and begin to roll it out in a rough circle.

Keep your pie pan handy, and keep rolling until your circle is roughly 1/2″ – 1″ bigger than the pie pan. Remove the top layer of wax paper and “roll” the crust around the rolling pin. Unroll the crust over the pie pan, gently tugging and pushing down so the crust is well-seated in the pan.

Fold the edges up and under themselves, cutting off any extra-long bits and adding them anywhere your crust isn’t quite long enough. Then you can either use a fork to create a ridged edge, or you can crimp the edge with your hand. It’s easier to see than read – here is a video showing how to  crimp a pie crust.

Prick with a fork all over the bottom and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes.  No chilling – and no baking beans or whatever.  Just pop it in the oven and bake it. You want the edges of the crust to just begin to darken. You’ll also smell a cooked flour aroma.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Add filling.  (If you’re using the crust for a filling that needs to bake, just fill it first and follow the baking times for baking a filled pie.)

Graham Cracker (or other cookie) Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers or BelVita Honey and Nuts cookies (3 packs of 2 cookies each)
1/3 cup melted butter
3Tbsp of sugar (1 1/2 Tbsp if you are using Belvita Cookies.)

Mix in a bowl, then dump into a pie pan, gently spreading the crumbs with the back of a spoon, going up the sides of the pan as well.  (Doesn’t have to be perfect – partway up is fine.)   Bake for 10 minutes at 350, remove and let cool before filling.

Mushroom, Leek & Cheese Scrambled Eggs

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Poked through the veggie drawer this morning, hungry for something “brunchy” yet healthy. Fortunately I had some really nice mushrooms and a leek, perfect for scrambled eggs. I made up a recipe on the fly and to my delight, it was surprisingly delicious. Thought I’d have enough for leftovers, but nope – ate the whole thing!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 medium leek, halved and cut into 1″ pieces (be sure to wash really well)
1/4 cup diced onions
2 Tbsp diced peppers
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 kosher salt
few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of dried basil leaves
½ tsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 slice sharp cheddar cheese (approximately) torn into smaller pieces

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large frying pan and add mushroom, onions and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have released their water and it has dried back up again. (7-8 minutes?) Add the butter, leeks and seasonings and saute for another 5 minutes.

Once leeks have softened up a bit, turn the heat way down. After a few minutes stir in the beaten eggs and start folding and gently stirring. Once eggs are mostly cooked, add cheese and continue folding and stirring until cheese is mostly melted. Check seasoning and serve immediately.

Mandarin, Feta, Pomegranate and Candied Pecan Salad

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This recipe is based on Holiday Salad from MelsKitchenCafe.com. It is such a colorful, beautiful salad that doing it on a platter (the way my dear friend Donna does it) is worth it. I made this for Thanksgiving and it was so good! In the mad rush of getting ready for Thanksgiving, I totally forgot to photograph it, but will so do soon.

6 ounces (3-4 cups) mixed salad greens
6 ounces (3-4 cups) chopped romaine
2 11oz cans mandarin oranges, drained and oranges patted dry
½ cup crumbled Feta cheese
1 cup pomegranate arils or ½ cup Craisins
½ cup candied maple pecans or walnuts (see note)

Dressing:
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Dressing: Add ingredients for dressing in a jar with a lid and shake very well until the dressing is nice and creamy.

Toss salad greens in a large bowl. Add most of the mandarin oranges and toss with ½ the dressing.

Lay greens on a large platter, and place the rest of the mandarins, feta cheese, pomegranate arils and pecans on top.

Serve extra dressing in a small pitcher.

To make candied maple pecans: in a small nonstick skillet, add about 1 Tbsp of maple syrup, 1 Tbsp water, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Heat in skillet until it’s nice and bubbly. Toss in pecan halves and swirl until they’re lightly coated. Pour out onto a silpat mat or parchment paper. Let cool and break up. The pecans should be lightly sweetened, not gobbed up with sugar.

Fast and Easy No Knead Cast Iron Skillet Bread

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I bumped into Artisan Bread with Steve on Youtube when I was looking for new bread recipes, and have been pretty addicted ever since. I am especially crazy about his turbo loaf that you bake in a cast iron skillet – since it’s ready in about 3 hours from start to finish – and has wonderful texture and flavor.

I love Steve’s videos: they’re very helpful, to the point and not video extravaganzas. He’s just a real guy baking great bread. Just look for Artisan Bread with Steve on youtube. He actually has a website, too: nokneadbreadcentral.com and has published couple of cookbooks that would be agreat Christmas gift for anyone who is interested in easy homemade bread.

I am including basic bread with sesame seeds that we really like, but you can add anything you like to the bread: chopped olives and rosemary, chopped walnuts and honey, or Feta with dill or whatever you can imagine*. I add lighter items like herbs and sesame seeds right at the start, and heavier things like cheese and olives after the first rise.

I also use Mel’s Kitchen Cafe’s trick of tossing in a handful of ice cubes on the bottom of the oven at the start of baking to add a little steam.

Ingredients:

13 oz warm water
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 tsp yeast
3 1/2 cups flour (Steve uses bread flour, but I’ve had great luck with AP flour, too)
1/4 cup sesame seeds divided (optional)

Warm a medium-sized metal bowl with fairly hot water for a few minutes. Then dump the water and add 13 oz. warm water, salt, yeast and about 1/2 the sesame seeds. Stir just a bit with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Add flour and stir with the handle of the wooden spoon until all the dry flour is gathered up in a nice shaggy mess. If you need to, add a spoon or so of water to help gather eveyrthing up.

Cover with a clean towel and put in the oven with the oven light on. Let rise for 90 minutes. Make sure your oven rack is in the middle.

Uncover and stir again with the wooden spoon handle to collapse the dough a little.

Once the dough is reduced, sprinkle the rest of the sesame seeds over the dough and around the edges. Turn the dough around to get sesame seeds everwhere. Then do the same thing with a spoon of flour if desired.

Spray your cast iron skillet with cooking oil, and place the loaf in the skillet. Cover with a cloth and let it rise for 15 minutes on the counter. After 15 minutes, start preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Let rise 15 more minutes.

Put skillet in hot oven, toss a handlful of ice cubes to the bottom of the oven and let bake for 40 minutes. So good and so easy!

*If you’re adding other ingredients, add them after the first rise. Just flatten the dough in the bowl and evenly sprinkle 1/4 of whatever you’re adding over it. Then just fold the dough over and repeat the process until you’ve used everything up.

Mexican Veggie Soup – Caldo de Res (Sorta)

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There is a great Mexican grocery store near us and recently, I noticed a really interesting tray of veggies in the produce section, simply labeled “Mexican Soup Mix.”

Curiosity piqued, I brought them home, along with a ½ lb. of Chorizo. (Not sure if that’s traditional, but I love how Chorizo adds flavor. You could really probably leave it out, too.)

The closest recipe I could find is called Caldo de Res, so that’s what I based my recipe on. Though this is not a classic Caldo de Res, it is an easy and delicious soup, and makes a big batch – perfect for cool fall evenings.

Really almost everything you need is in the package, including about a million extra red chiles. I am not brave enough to use all those chiles, but maybe someday! Here’s all the veggies, in case you can’t find the mix.

The mix includes a Chayote Squash, which is the green veggie on the far left. I used it like any other squash, though I removed the pit, which oddly it has. I chopped all the vegetables in small bite-sizes like for soup, so not too finely.

Ingredients:

½ lb. Chorizo
1 tsp olive oil
½ onion, rough chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 long red chiles, whole
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp cumin
2 carrots, diced
½ small cabbage, rough chopped
1 Chayote squash, pit removed and rough chopped
2 potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled and rough chopped
1 small zucchini, rough chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 ear of corn, cut into 4-5 sections, or corn kernels removed
4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
Juice of one lime

Serve with:
Sour Cream
More chopped Cilantro
Grated mild cheese
warm corn tortillas
lime wedges
Jalapeno slices

Add oil to large Dutch oven and add Chorizo. Cook a few minutes until lightly browned. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until onion is softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and chiles and cook for a minute or two.

Add seasonings and all veggies, except for cilantro and lime. Add chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, covered.

When Chayote Squash and potatoes are soft, gently stir in Cilantro and Lime juice.

Serve in a wide bowl, topped with sour cream, chopped cilantro, mild cheese, lime wedges and Jalapeno slices.

Warm corn tortillas are delicious too, especially dipped into the broth. You can easily heat corn tortillas in the microwave.

Just lay 5-6 tortillas on a small plate and cover with another plate. Microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, until nice and warm. Keep covered when you serve.

So good!

Napa Cabbage & Noodle Salad

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This is a tangy and delicious cabbage and noodle main dish salad, based on Hannah Che’s recipe from The Vegan Chinese Kitchen Cookbook. It’s perfect for a late summer evening supper, because it’s easy, super fast and has a dressing that is unbelievably good – plus it’s gluten-free and vegan. If you can’t get Napa cabbage, Romaine lettuce works, too.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 head Napa cabbage, cut in half lengthwise
1 small cucumber, seeds removed and julienned, or cut into little bite sizes
1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups fresh rice vermicelli noodles (Pho noodles) or Mung bean vermicelli noodles.

1 medium carrot, julienned
1 scallion, cut into 1/8″ rounds (both white and green part)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 chopped cashews or peanuts
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded, halved and cut into thin slices

Dressing:

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp rice vinegar (cider vinegar would also be fine, I think)
2 1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 large garlic cloves, crushed

DIRECTIONS

Cut cabbage lengthwise a few times, then cut very thin slices. Add cabbage and and cucumber into a colander and toss with the salt. Leave to drain.

Start water boiling in a small saucepan, add noodles and cook 5-10 seconds. Drain and rinse with cool water. Cut noodles into smaller sections with a scissors. If you are using other noodles, cook as directed on the package, then drain and rinse with cool water. You want to end up with about 1 1/2 cups cooked noodles.

Mix dressing ingredients well in a small bowl. Taste and add more soy sauce if you think it needs it. Add dressing to noodles and toss to combine.

Gently press cabbage and cucumber to remove some of the water. You can also squeeze it gently in your hand. Place in a large bowl, and add noodles, carrots, scallions and cilantro. Toss in a large bowl and top with nuts.

Serve immediately. Yum.

End of Summer Pasta with Zucchini and Spinach

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Last night, as I started making Mushroom Ravioli with Spinach from JuliasAlbum.com for a potluck at a friend’s house, I realized that what I thought was ravioli in the freezer was actually Chinese Dumplings and the mushrooms were sludge.

But I did have some nice pasta, fresh spinach and a giant zucchini from my neighbors Amy and Steve, so I switched it up and made Pasta with Zucchini and Spinach. It was delicious and bonus point: another way to enjoy excess end-of-summer zucchini!

Ingredients:

1 lb Trottole or any other nice chunky pasta, cooked al dente
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
a sprig of Rosemary and a few sprigs of Thyme, or a generous pinch of dried Rosemary and 1/4 tsp dried Thyme.
4-5 cups thinly sliced Zucchini (If really large, cut into quarters first.)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
5 oz. spinach (I’d be happy doubling this.)
4 cloves of garlic, smashed or 1 generous tsp garlic powder
1 large pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente stage and drain, saving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a large frying pan, heat butter and olive oil on medium heat with Rosemary and Thyme. Add zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes with the oil they came in. Sauté for several minutes, until the zucchini have broken down quite a bit and are mostly translucent. They will reduce a lot in volume. Remove herb stems.

Add garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Then add spinach in batches, continuously stirring and folding so the spinach wilts.

Add in the pasta and 1/4 cup of pasta water to start and stir to coat the pasta with the veggies. Add more pasta water if it seems too dry. Check seasonings and serve immediately.

For a vegan version, skip the butter and just use olive oil.

Quick & Easy Raspberry Jam (No Pectin)

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Is there anything better than the sweet, tart flavor of fresh raspberry jam?

I picked up some gorgeous raspberries and decided to make jam, but didn’t have any pectin. A quick online search turned up a super-simple recipe from Camilla on FabFood4All.com. She measures ingredients by weight and makes a larger batch.

Costco sells raspberries in 12 ounce packages, so that determined my batch. I do often weigh ingredients, but have included volume measurements as well, since some people prefer that.

This recipe is so easy – and even without pectin, it gels really well.

Ingredients

340 gms / 12 oz. / about 3 cups fresh raspberries, washed and gently dried
297 gms / 1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp and 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan on medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring gently from time to time. Keep on heat for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. I use a flat edged wooden spoon to keep scraping the bottom so it doesn’t burn or stick. In the meantime, put a small saucer in the fridge to chill.

Remove from heat and put a few drops on a the chilled saucer. Put back in the fridge for a minute. Remove and nudge the drops with a spoon or your finger. If the jam is ready it will wiggle a little and have a jammy consistency. If it is very runny, put it back on the heat for another couple of minutes. Remember, it will also thicken a little as it cools.

Pour into clean, sterilized jars (read my Simple Canning post for help) and seal. Mine made enough for one and a half jars. We’re just keeping it in the fridge since we know we’ll eat it soon.

Just writing about it made me hungry, so I had to have a slice of bread with butter and jam. So good!

Salad with Warm Pasta and Balsamic Vinaigrette

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With all the great fresh veggies available right now, we’ve been eating lots of salads. Having a warm element in a salad some how makes it feel like a main dish, and tonight it was Spinach and cheese Tortellini.

That contrast of temperatures, textures and colors takes an ordinary salad to something really quite amazing. I also had some lovely baby radishes from my friend Gene, so with a good drizzle of my favorite balsamic vinaigrette, it was a perfect summer supper!

Ingredients

1/2 lb. fresh Tortellini (any kind)
1 tsp olive oil
Good pinch kosher salt
Few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of garlic powder

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2″ cubes (about 1/4 cup)
8-10 baby radishes, halved (if larger, quartered)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar (Costco’s is amazingly good)
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2/3 tsp dijon mustard
1/3 tsp honey
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Cook Tortellini as directed on package.

Chop lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and radishes, and mix gently in a large bowl.

Mix all ingredients for vinaigrette in a mason jar and shake like crazy.

When Tortellini is cooked, drain water and toss pasta in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

To serve, place salad in a wide flat bowl, sprinkle with several warm Tortellini and drizzle everything with dressing.

Yum!