2 Simple End-of-Summer Pastas (Perfect for Weeknights!)

Oh, pasta. Why do we love you so? That's right...it's because you're so easy to make and so versatile. We can take almost any ingredient and with it, turn you into a stunningly simple meal. And, there's always some of you in our pantry. Plus, you have carbs. And we love carbs. (Sorry, carb-haters.) (Not really.) 

Seriously, though. The two dishes featured here make the most out of farm- or garden-fresh ingredients and they can be prepped in the time it takes to boil the pasta water. It doesn't get fresher or easier than that!

Our first "simple end-of-summer pasta" is our take on Caprese salad, but in pasta form. It was inspired by a cheese made by Meadowstone Farm* of  Brooklyn, CT, and a pasta from Meriano's Bake Shoppe in Madison, CT, which is why we are calling it "Connecticut Caprese Pasta." Stracciatella (Italian for "little shreds") is fresh mozzarella that has been shredded then mixed with fresh cream. It's soft, delicate, and delightfully creamy. In this recipe, we mixed Meriano's tomato-basil infused linguine with Meadowstone's cheese, and our own chopped basil and chopped garden tomatoes. Voila! Dinner in about 15 minutes. Using the tomato-basil pasta added so much flavor, so try it if you can.

Connecticut Caprese Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (we used tomato-basil linguine)

2 cups chopped garden tomatoes

8-10 basil leaves 

1 package stracciatella cheese (or burrata or fresh mozzarella chopped into bite-sized pieces)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Set water over heat to boil pasta. While it is getting hot, chop tomatoes and basil; set aside. When water is boiling, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta when ready and fold in chopped tomatoes and basil. Then fold in the cheese and season to taste.

*Also, check out this gorgeous salad we made with Meadowstone Farm's burrata. 

Our second "simple end-of-summer pasta" is one we made out of sheer laziness. We looked around one weeknight shortly after school began and realized that it was dinner time and we didn't have much to work with. A yellow squash donated to us by the neighbors (thanks, Whits), some sliced prosciutto from a Portuguese shop brought over by Amy's mom, some shredded parmesan that was in the cheese drawer, and whatever was in our garden. Okay, maybe it was time to go grocery shopping. And, this is probably why we have cats and not kids. But we did have pasta in the pantry (see above), so, we give you our strange little take on alfredo:

School Just Started Summer Squash Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (we used thick spaghetti)

1 tablespoon bacon grease (don't judge us) (use olive oil if you must)

1 yellow squash (or zucchini), cut into "batons"

4-6 slices prosciutto, cut into thin strips

6-10 cherry tomatoes

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup half and half (or milk, or light cream, some dairy product)

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Set water over heat to boil pasta. While it is getting hot, heat bacon grease in a large skillet over medium heat. Add squash, prosciutto, tomatoes and garlic, and cook until tender and fragrant. Add parsley and chicken broth, and cook 3-4 minutes. Add half and half and allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add parmesan and cook, stirring thoroughly, until slightly thickened. Cook pasta according to package directions, and drain. Toss pasta with sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slightly Smoky Ham and Bean Soup

We attended an Oktoberfest celebration thrown by friends C and L, and indulged in some hearty beer, homemade soft pretzels, spiraled ham, grilled brats and other sausages, and fabulous fall desserts (among other things). And then, C and L were generous enough to let us take home the ham bone along with some of the leftover meat. Chris had his eye on that bone all night, so he was delighted, and started trawling the web for soup recipes the very next morning. He finally chose the recipe for "Northwoods Smoked Ham and Bean Soup by Crock-Pot" from ICookbook, an app on his IPad, and as usual, we fiddled with it, adjusted it, and in an effort to avoid errands, did what we could with what we had. 

This recipe has a lot of wonderful qualities. The best part is that this is a slow cooker recipe. That almost all of the work is done for you by that magical little machine, while you are at work, or wherever it is you go during the day. Which is made even more wonderful by the aroma that greets you when you come back from wherever you were. Plus the fact that you are probably tired from wherever you had been, and now dinner is already done. Oh, the fabulousness! 

The ham was sweet, and we wanted a little smoky flavor, so we added a couple of dashes of liquid smoke. We decided against adding pasta, because we felt it was hearty and chunky enough with the beans, and neither of us need the extra carbs right now. It's definitely our kind of soup, similar to, but different enough from our Tuscan Sausage Soup or our White Bean and Leftover-Easter-Ham Soup.

Slightly Smoky Ham and Bean Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

6 cups chicken stock (we ran out at 5 cups, so used 1 cup water)

1 leftover ham bone (from a large spiraled ham, with meat scraps still on it)

2 cups cubed cooked ham

28 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tablespoon dried parsley

4 sprigs fresh thyme

4 bay leaves

5 dashes liquid smoke 

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 15-ounce can canellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can small white beans, drained and rinsed

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Place onion and garlic mixture, stock, ham bone, ham, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, liquid smoke, salt and pepper in slow cooker. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Stir in beans, and cook for about 15 additional minutes, or until heated through.

One More Simple Summer Snack: Steakhouse Skewers

Steakhouse Skewers! How could we have forgotten this amazing simple summer snack when we published our last post? Made with only three ingredients, these pack all the flavor punch of a steakhouse salad. This recipe makes a large platter full, but you will want to buy more for leftovers, trust us.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound deli roast beef, sliced

4 ounces crumbled bleu cheese

1 pound green seedless grapes

Fold bleu cheese into a small slice of roast beef, and skewer with a toothpick on top of a grape.

3 Simple Summer Snacks

Having a porch party? Is it girls' night? Need a light lunch, snack or simple summer appetizer? Here are three ideas that have worked well for us recently. Each one is deceptively elegant, utterly easy, relatively inexpensive, and of course, absolutely delicious.

Brie 'n Berry Bites

Ingredients:

1 package phyllo cups

4 ounces brie

1 pint berries

balsamic glaze, or reduced balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350. Lay phyllo cups on a cookie sheet. Fill each cup with brie, top with a berry and bake for about 10 minutes, until heated through. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and serve warm. 

Idea plus: Try it with apples or peaches drizzled with honey.

Caesar Salad Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce

1 pint grape tomatoes, diced

1 English cucumber, diced

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

Caesar salad dressing, to taste

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup croutons

Peel off the outer leaves of the romaine and discard. Wash and allow to dry the remaining leaves of lettuce. Gently mix the diced tomatoes, cucumber, mozzarella cheese and Caesar dressing in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set the croutons aside for garnish. Place everything on a large platter and allow guests to make their own wraps. 

Idea plus: Add grilled chicken or shrimp to make it a meal.

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 baguette, sliced

1 garlic clove, peeled 

1 pint grape tomatoes, diced

5-6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

olive oil, to taste

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Lay out the sliced baguette on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown. Rub each toast slice with raw garlic. In a small bowl, gently mix the diced tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spoon tomato mixture onto the bread and drizzle with additional olive oil. 

Idea plus: Need it quicker? Buy pre-made crostini at your local market.

Italian Lemon Shrimp (Secret Recipe Club)

It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day again! And we haven't posted anything since April 9th! Sorry about the unannounced hiatus, by the way. We have lots to catch up on, but first, you really need to check out the blog assigned to us this month for SRC - White Lights on Wednesday - where author Julie shares DIY projects, giveaways, cooking challenges, and PLENTY of fantastic recipes. 

One of Julie's most recent recipes was for a "Mocha Cupcake Milkshake," and we can't tell you how tempting that was. Let's just say it's been bookmarked, and seeing as we are entering the chaos of the beginning of the end of the school year, we'll probably be making two of 'em quite soon. Several others sounded scrumptious as well, such as Tequila Infused Queso Fundido (hmmm...Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner), Thai Pizza with Peanut Butter Sauce (so creative!), and Butter Cream Chicken (decadently delish). 

Still, we were in the mood for shrimp and Julie's Italian Lemon Shrimp sounded easy and refreshing - perfect for a pretty spring evening. And even though our last post was about a shrimp dish, again, that was way back on April 9th so we thought  it would be okay. 

We made the Italian Lemon Shrimp almost exactly according to the recipe, using Key West Pink Shrimp that our favorite market carries (frozen, unfortunately). These Gulf shrimp have a salty-sweet taste and firm texture that went really well with Julie's spicy buttery lemon sauce. A great match indeed! We served ours over angel hair and ate it all up. 

Italian Lemon Shrimp

minimally adapted from this recipe by Julie of White Lights on Wednesday

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red chile flake

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

1/2 pound angel hair pasta

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut lemon in half and then into thin slices. In a medium bowl, combine Italian seasoning, oregano, chile flake, salt, and pepper. Add shrimp and toss to combine. Pour shrimp onto prepared baking sheet. Top with lemon slices and melted butter - evenly distributing both. Bake shrimp for 10 to 12 minutes, until pink and cooked through. While shrimp bakes, cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. Remove lemon slices from shrimp. Pour shrimp and butter onto drained pasta. Add reserved pasta water and Parmesan cheese to taste. Toss to combine. Top with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

Spring Pasta with Prosciutto, Lettuce and Peas

We were trolling through some old Epicurious recipes that we had saved in our "recipe box" and found a springtime pasta that sounded interesting. That recipe is here. A few tweaks for our tastebuds and we ended up with a pasta that was different and interesting in all the right ways, perfect for this time of year, and while it made a whole lot of food, it heated up nicely the next day in the microwave at work (with a little extra olive oil tossed in). And just an aside, a little BTW if you will, life has been quite crazy as of late. Our normal, happy, cooking and blogging selves should reappear soon. We promise!

Spring Pasta with Prosciutto, Lettuce and Peas

Ingredients:

1/4 stick unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling later)

1/4 pound green onions, sliced

2 tablespoons minced shallot

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)

1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

1 package (about 2 cups) frozen peas

1 pound campanelle (trumpet-shaped) pasta

1 head Boston lettuce, cored, leaves cut into 3/4-inch-wide slices

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for sprinkling

4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Melt butter with 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until fragrant and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add wine. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid is almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to simmer; then set aside. Cook peas according to package directions, then drain. In the meantime, put water in a large pot to boil for the pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente results. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Add lettuce to onion/broth mixture and stir over low heat just until wilted, about 1 minute. Add peas, drained pasta, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese and toss together, adding reserved pasta water by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Fold in prosciutto, drizzle with olive oil, and serve, with additional Parmesan as desired.

Our Macaroons Featured on Simple Recipes

Need a recipe for a delicious (and so easy!) spring cookie? Try our recipe for "Mad Easy Macaroons," currently being featured on Simple Recipes!

Sweet Potato and Kale "Souper" Food

We were going to make colcannon. With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, it seemed like a good idea to try something truly Irish. But, no offense to Ireland, mashed potatoes with some onions and greens seemed, well, boring. So we headed in an entirely different direction. We bought one big sweet potato and a head of kale and decided to make a "souper" soup.

What makes it "souper?" That's an easy one to answer. Sweet potatoes and kale are two of the most nutritious foods in the world – packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. They have health benefits for cancer prevention, anti-inflammatory properties, can lower blood sugar and cholesterol, and are great for digestive health. They are also both high in Vitamin C so they boost the immune system. 

This simple soup was a cinch to make. It has only a handful of ingredients, and could easily be made vegetarian- or even vegan-friendly by using olive oil and vegetable broth instead of butter and chicken broth. It was really tasty and made us feel good about eating these super foods. 

And what about St. Patty's Day? Maybe our "Souper" soup isn't an Irish recipe, but it has the right colors, doesn't it?

Sweet Potato and Kale "Souper" Food

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil, divided
1 large sweet potato, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth if you like)
2 1/4 cups water, divided
1 head of kale, chopped (about 6 cups)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

In a large soup pot, over medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter. Add the diced sweet potato, chopped onion, salt and pepper. Stir until onions start to soften, then cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add broth and 2 cups of water, then bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender. In a separate pot, add the remaining 1/4 cup of water and tablespoon of butter. Bring to a low boil then add the kale and thyme leaves. Cover and cook for five minutes, stirring once about half way through. Using an immersion blender, blend the sweet potato mixture until smooth. Add the cooked kale and thyme to the sweet potato mixture and stir to combine. Serve hot.

Super-Easy Super-Crispy Baked Chicken

Let's start off by saying that if you are concerned about your salt intake, read no further. Those of you with high blood pressure, look away. If salt gives you cankles, please proceed to the next blog.

If you're still here, we'll continue.

This is one of Amy's favorite recipes from childhood, one from her Mom's twice-a-month-or-so repertoire. It's a go-to dinner when Amy is either PMS-ing (read: craving salt) or feeling run down or just generally in need of comfort food (as most childhood dishes are). Well, this week, it's all of the above, so salt be damned, we went for it.

This chicken is soooo very tasty, with its super-crispy, salty, herby skin and moist, tender meat. The house smells of Italian seasoning and garlic as it cooks, and, to get that just-like-Mom's-ness, we always have it with Near East Rice Pilaf (original flavor only) (and yes, we know that means more sodium) and canned (that's right) cranberry sauce on the side. Just like Mom.

Bonus? It's so easy, it can be prepped in about 3 minutes with a cooking time of about 45, depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Go on, you know you want to try it. But beware, once you try it, you'll be back for more.

Chicken goes into the pan.

Spices come out of the cabinet

Spices go onto the chicken; the oven does the rest.

Super-Easy Super-Crispy Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

Number of chicken pieces needed to serve number of diners

(we usually use legs, thighs, or, like this time, quarters)

onion salt, to taste

garlic salt, to taste

Italian seasoning, to taste (preferably without added salt ha ha)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Lay chicken pieces in a baking dish. Sprinkle generously with onion salt, then garlic salt, then Italian seasoning. Place chicken in oven and bake at 450 for 30-45 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces), until chicken is cooked through and skin is nice and crispy.

Countdown to Christmas: Mad-Easy Macaroons

Amy writes: Some women won't admit what I'm about to admit, but I think I can do it. Let me take a deep breath. Okay, ready?

I have a lot in common with my mother. There. I said it. Well.

One of the many things we have in common is our love of coconut, and that is probably why she recently emailed me a recipe for coconut macaroons.



As many daughters might, I had my suspicions that she wasn't sending it to me merely out of the goodness of her heart. I thought perhaps it may be a subtle hint that she would like to see these on our Christmas Eve dessert table. Chris thought so too. And since they fall into the quick-and-easy theme we seem to have going this year, we decided to make them. (Just for you, Mom!)

Mix ingredients in a bowl

Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet

and bake 8-10 minutes

Cool on parchment-lined wire racks

She found this particular recipe at the website Just A Pinch, but when I browsed around the Internet, I found several very similar recipes. What I particularly love about this one is that there are only four ingredients. That, and the preparation only takes about two minutes. Oh, and they only need to be baked for 8-10 minutes. Which is to say, they are "mad-easy," which is why I've dubbed them "Mad-Easy Macaroons." And they are also really tasty - moist, chewy, and full of coconut and almond flavor. So next time either I or my mother have a craving for coconut, we know that craving can be satisified in about a half hour. How great is that?

Mad-Easy Macaroons

recipe from Just A Pinch

Ingredients:

2 (7-ounce) packages sweetened flake coconut
(aka "angel flake")

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1  1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine condensed milk and extracts. Mix well. Add coconut. Mix well. Drop by round teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets and place on parchment-covered cooling racks. Store loosely covered at room temp.