Pasta with Tomato and Blue Cheese Sauce

My new kitchen is huge.
It is just enormous.
I love it.

It is a little strange because we decided to buy exactly the same oven as we had in our old house so when I cook it feels like home. I know how my oven works and it makes me just as happy as the old one did. Except this one is all new and shiny. (Which it won't stay for long...)

Last night I made a very basic pasta dish. It went a little like this:
Take one big clove of garlic and an onion both finely diced and add to a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil which has been heated up. Let it cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Now add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a hand full of finely chopped basil (fresh if possible but a tablespoon of dried basil will do just fine). Stir together and let it simmer, make sure to add some water if the sauce becomes too dry.

While the sauce simmers away add enough pasta for two persons to a pot filled with boiling water. Cook as per the directions - my dried wholewheat spaghetti took about 12 minutes to cook. I added some of the pasta water to the sauce, about a third of a cup during the time the pasta was cooking.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained it is time to get back to the sauce which should be ready and smelling very garlicky by now. Simply dice about 150 grams of blue cheese and add it to the sauce. Now add the pasta to the sauce and mix it all up. Enjoy!

Caprese Salad

The basil I have growing on in my kitchen is so lovely.
Even though I seem to neglect it ever so slightly (yes, I either give too little or too much water) it always bounces back to give me the most tasty, fragrant leaves.

This past weekend my husband pointed out (again) how disorganised I am. Of course he is right but I do so hate to admit it. I buy groceries without any real plan and then I find things in the fridge which I had better use or throw out. Like a ball of mozzarella which I bought ages ago. Why did I buy it again? Oh yes, it was on special... good reason, right?

Luckily I had my trusty basil and some ripe tomatoes which of course go really well with mozzarella.

I love the combination and what I love even more is eating it while in Italy but since that is not really an option right now I'm happy to enjoy it at home.

Remember to drizzle extra virgin olive oil over your salad just before you serve it :-)

Ham and Cheese Muffins

I am on a roll.
Muffins - sweet and savoury.
This week it is ham and cheese muffins.
I thought they would be a good breakfast for the kids.
And I was right.
Plus you can freeze them :-)

Of course the recipe called for buttermilk which I did not have. In fact, I never have buttermilk. Like ever. Luckily there is a way to simulate buttermilk and it is dead simple.
Add one tablespoon of lemon juice in a one cup measure and fill up with milk. Let it rest for 5 minutes and you will have curdled milk a.k.a buttermilk substitute.

The muffins are perfect kids food - go on, make some!

Here is a link to the site where I found the recipe and here is a copy:

TIP: make sure you use cheddar cheese or an aged cheese!!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup ham, chopped fine

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, oil and maple syrup and stir to combine.
4. Add the buttermilk to the egg mixture and stir.
5. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and stir until just combined.
6. Fold in the cheese and ham.
7. Scoop the batter 2/3 of the way up into greased muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes (15 minutes if using mini muffin cups).
8. Cool on a wire rack and serve.

Butternut, Spinach and Caramelized Onion Pasta

This pasta dish turned out to be just lovely.

It started off with me having some fresh spinach and not knowing what to do with it.
Then I remembered something which I saw on pinterest (you just gotta love pinterest!)
It was a lasagna with squash, onions and spinach.
Since I did not have most of the ingredients, I improvised.

My recipe below is for one very hungry person, but can easily be adapted for more.

I roasted a medium sized butternut, while at the same time caramelizing one onion. The idea was that they should be done within 40 minutes and the timing worked out well.
Halfway through cooking the onion I added half a clove of crushed garlic.
Oh the smell... it was mouthwatering.
I cooked my spaghetti (100grams) and also sauteed two big hands full of spinach.
When everything was done I used about half the butternut and saved the rest for another day.
Then I poured 100gram demi creme fraiche onto the spaghetti, mixing it well and to this I added the onions, butternut and spinach.
Lastly I grated Parmesan cheese over the pasta.
Yum.

Kids Food #12 - Chicken Noodle Omelette

We have a sweet little kids cook book with all kinds of easy recipes.
My husband actually found and made this one - he is quite good in the kitchen!
It is very simple and the kids liked it.

A chicken noodle omelette.
There is a bit of prep work involved, but once everything is ready and in the pan, it goes very quickly. I sliced it up 'pizza' style and as always Heidi enjoyed hers with a splash of tomato ketchup on the side.

Recipe:

1 packet of instant noodles
175 gram cooked chicken, chopped up finely (I used one chicken breast)
2 teaspoons parsley, finely chopped (I left this out since I did not have any in the house)
2 eggs, loosely beaten
2 tablespoons grated cheese
Optional: Bacon or ham (My husband's little addition to the recipe!)

Method:

1. Cook the noodles as per the instructions on the packet and drain them.
2. Mix the cooked chicken with the noodles, parsley and eggs in a bowl.
3. Pour the mixture into a non-stick pan and let it cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Do not stir, just wait it out.
4. Sprinkle the cheese on top and then place the omelette under a hot grill until it gets a bit of colour and the cheese melts.

Serve immediately!

Kids Food #11 - Pizza Night!

Who can resist a pizza?
Certainly not my kids.
Every now and again, usually on a Saturday night, we have ourselves a little pizza party.
Heidi loves it. She just loves helping with adding the toppings.
The last pizza we made was pretty basic since Heidi wanted ham and cheese on her pizza, but you can let your imagination go wild.

The best part of this dinner is that I buy the pizza base and sauce ready made in the supermarket. Yes, you simply open the packet and roll out the dough in an oven tray. It does not get easier than this and it is much cheaper than ordering in!

Spread the sauce over the dough. Select your favourite toppings and generously cover the base. Lastly sprinkle grated cheese on top and pop into a hot oven for 15 minutes.

Definitely a winner in our house in terms of the kids and the grownups. Just serve with a green salad and enjoy!

Kids Food #7 - Pasta Gratin

This is pretty much my usual pasta with some melted cheese on top :-)
You know, for a little variation.

Boil the pasta, add some frozen peas a few minutes before it is done.
Drain, mix in a little tub of creme fraiche and diced slices of ham.
Pour into a oven proof dish.
Scatter grated cheese on top and place in a hot oven under the grill for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.

Serve to kids with tomato ketchup on the side.

Glorious Haloumi

Haloumi cheese is very salty.

Salty and delicious.

Grill it on both sides until warm and slightly scored, then serve in a salad.

Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

My salad of choice was couscous with roasted pumpkin and courgette.

A glorious combination.

Homage to the Tosti

Every Sunday evening my mom and dad used to make toasted sandwiches for dinner.
Every Sunday evening.

In the Netherlands you can buy toasted sandwiches in almost any restaurant for lunch. It is called a tosti. I do prefer making my own. It is just always better.

It is so simple and easy. Plus I really love our tosti machine. It is big and shiny and makes glorious toasted sandwiches.

Butter the bread on one or both sides, add some cheese, tomato, ham, onions or tuna mayo... anything you like can be toasted on a sandwich!

Place in the tosti machine for a few minutes until the cheese melts.
Serve hot.

Cheating... Just a little bit

Pasta is definitely a weakness of mine.
Since my huband wasn't home for dinner, I decided to cheat.
Bring on the dairy and some bacon while I'm at it.

My version of oven baked "macaroni" and cheese:
250gr penne
Small tub of sour cream
2 eggs
100gr grated cheese
As many strips of streaky bacon as you like
The ingredients above are enough to serve 2 adults and one child.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius
Boil the penne until al dente
Whisk the eggs and sour cream together, add some seasoning (salt, pepper, whatever!)
Drain the pasta and put it into an ovenproof dish
Pour the egg mixture over the pasta
Sprinkle the cheese on top and mix some into the pasta
Lastly, layer the bacon on top and pop into the oven for 20 mins to half an hour, until the egg mixture sets

While the pasta is baking you can put together a quick salad to serve with the pasta. I just use the usual suspects - lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onions.

My little princess loves this pasta dish... Especially with some tomato ketchup on the side.
Tomorrow I will be good again (promises, promises).