Edamame Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese and Honey Dressing

Pasta salads are one of my favorite summer foods. For me, pasta is a comfort food but, when the weather is hot, I don’t always want to eat a heavy and hot meal so I turn to pasta salads. My “go to” pasta salad is mayo based with celery, egg, peas, and tuna. My mom and grandmother both always have a big bowl of it in the refrigerator throughout the summer. It keeps well, everyone in my family loves it, and it goes perfectly with grilled meats and vegetables. However, you know I like to switch things up. I’m also very finicky when it comes to mayo. Sometimes, especially when it’s hot out, it makes my stomach feel a little weird. So I generally try to stick with more oil-based pasta salads when I’m experimenting.

This recipe uses lemon juice, olive oil, and honey. I think the flavor combination is absolutely wonderful. The lemon keeps it light, the olive oil keeps it from being dry, and the honey makes it just a little bit sweet. The goat cheese tones down the sweetness of the honey and the tartness of the lemon and it all comes together perfectly. When you let the pasta salad sit for a couple hours, the liquids cause the goat cheese to break down a little bit, which creates a creamy sauce that coats everything. For vegetables I used edamame and cucumber for some crunch and tomato for some color. I think next time I would substitute the tomato for a red bell pepper because it would hold up better. But you can use any veggies that you like!

This can also be eaten cold as a pasta salad or slightly warmed. If you stick it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, the pasta will get a little warm and the goat cheese will melt but the vegetables will still stay crisp! 

Edamame Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumber, and Honey Dressing adapted from Sugarcrafter

• 8 ounces pasta (I used penne)
• 6 ounces frozen edamame, shelled and thawed
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cucumber, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/2 cup goat cheese

For the dressing:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp lemon juice

1.       Cook the pasta according to package directions. Let cool completely.

2.       Dice the cucumber and onion, and halve the tomatoes.

3.       In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients.

4.       In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, honey, and lemon juice. Toss with the salad. Can be served chilled or slightly warm. 

Butternut Squash Pasta with Blue Cheese and Spinach

Hi guys! I meant to update sooner but I've been pretty busy with school work and the stomach flu. Yeah... the flu. It was terrible. Oh, and it kicked in on the night before I had to take my last teacher certification test. And I was headed home for the weekend. When it rains, it pours.  Luckily (?), my mom and sister weren't feeling wonderful either so we spent the weekend lounging and trying to recover. 

But there were a couple positive notes:
#1 - I bought about six cardigans in bright spring colors at Forever21 for $13 dollars each. Short cardigans were on my "need-to-buy-right-this-instant" list because all of mine are long winter ones so I didn't feel guilty at all. Even with the flu, my shopping addiction cannot be stopped. No really, it's a problem. My new purchases are folded nicely on my couch because there is no more room in my pathetic excuse for a closet.

#2 - The movie In Time with Justin Timberlake. It doesn't seem like a movie I would normally like but I loved it! It's basically about living in a world where time is the currency instead of money so the few rich people could live forever and the poor people never know if they'll be alive at the end of the day. It really made me think about society and the disparity between different socioeconomic statuses. Definitely worth the dollar at RedBox!

Well after a couple days of not being able to eat or move, I'm feeling 100% better and ready to talk about some food!

I made this butternut squash pasta a while ago. It first grabbed my attention because it had a " withoucreamy" sauce without all of the calories of a cream or cheese sauce. I'm constantly looking for ways to lighten up hearty favorites so this seemed perfect.

The color combination of the bright orange squash with the green spinach was gorgeous! The texture was very creamy without being heavy. The squash and onions gave the pasta a pleasant sweetness, which was counteracted by the bite of the blue cheese. I found that the blue cheese in the sauce gave the perfect flavor combination. When I topped my serving of pasta with a little extra blue cheese for garnish, I thought the flavor was too strong and completely overpowered the flavor of the squash and onions so I scarped it off.

Unlike most of my other recipes, this one is not freezer friendly. I tried to freeze some and when I thawed it out, it had a really strange and unpleasant consistency so I threw it out. Lesson learned - next time I'll only make what I can eat, which is still a lot :)

Make this if you love a pasta with a creamy texture but would like to consume less calories and more veggies!

Butternut Squash Pasta with Blue Cheese and Spinach (6 servings) from Budget Bytes

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1.5 tsp chicken bouillon
• 2 cups water
• 12 oz pasta
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 3 oz blue cheese

1. If you are using fresh butternut squash, peel, scoop out the seeds and cut into one inch cubes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Spread the squash cubes out on the baking sheet, sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper and sage. Toss to coat then roast in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft and golden along the edges (stir once half way through). 
2. Dice the onion and cook it until soft with 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a medium sauce pan. When the onion is soft, add the water, bouillon and roasted squash cubes. Cook for about 5 minutes more or until it is hot and the squash is mushy.
3. Transfer the squash, bouillon and onions to a blender and puree. Pour the pureed squash sauce back into the sauce pan and keep warm over low heat. 
4. Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the squash sauce and spinach. Stir it all together until evenly mixed and the spinach has wilted. Add the blue cheese crumbles and stir once more. 

beautiful colors!

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Yesterday was a great day.  I spent it in the kitchen, watching football, and doing pilates.  It was the absolute perfect combination of productive, fun, and relaxing.  This lasagna and the dessert that will be coming in a couple days (see what I did right there?  now you HAVE to come back and read more!) are the product of my glorious Sunday.

I finally bought a 9 x 13 Pyrex pan! It is now the one thing I own other than 2 cheap frying pans.  So I set out to find a recipe that would use my brand-spankin'-new pan and incorporate some summer vegetables, before they become absurdly expensive.  I remembered that I had just given a friend of mine a list of lasagnas, which contained a version packed with veggies.  I figured I should do a pasta dish now since I have no less than 100 pasta recipes that I'm dying to try.  I have to space them out so we all don't get bored (and chunky).

Lasagna is beyond easy to make. Especially when you use no bake noodles. This particular version was a little time consuming because of all the chopping and roasting of the veggies but definitely not difficult.  It was well worth the effort! This dish so hearty and full of veggies that even meat lovers would be happy with it.  I tried to make it healthier by using all fat free or low fat cheeses.  But that probably didn't make a difference because I doubled the cheese from the original recipe, which is reflected in my recipe below so you don't need to double it (though if you did I wouldn't blame you since I don't think a recipe can ever have too much cheese). Bake this before the New York winter dooms all vegetables.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (makes 9 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 packages of baby bellas, sliced (relatively thick)
• 3 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced (relatively thick)
• 2 bell peppers, chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 1 onion, chopped 
• olive oil
•  black pepper, divided
• 1 (15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg (1/4 cup of egg beaters)
• 1 3/4 cup bag grated Italian blend cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 9 no cook lasagna noodles, divided
• 1 (26-ounce) jar tomato spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 3/4 cup bag  shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup commercial pesto

Directions:  

1.   Chop mushrooms, zucchini, and red pepper as indicated in the ingredients list.  Put in a bowl and toss with olive oil and pepper.  Roast in the oven on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, mixing halfway through.

2.  Chop onion and sautee with olive oil in a pan.  Mix with the roasted vegetables when they are out of the oven.

3. Combine ricotta cheese, egg, 3/4 cup Italian blend, basil, parsley, and season with black pepper.

4. Preheat oven to 375°.

5. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over tomato sauce. Top with half of vegetable mixture. Spread half of ricotta cheese mixture over vegetable mixture; sprinkle with 1/2 the bag of mozzarella cheese.

6. Arrange 3 noodles and 1 cup of spaghetti sauce over cheese; cover with the remaining vegetable mixture. Top with remaining ricotta mixture. Spread pesto over ricotta; sprinkle with ½ bag of mozzarella cheese. Cover with remaining 3 noodles.

7. Spoon 1 cup spaghetti sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup Italian blend.

8.  Loosely cover with tinfoil and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Now this post isn't just a lesson on lasagna.  It's also a lesson on cooking for one because, slowly but surely, I am learning all the tricks. I'm used to cooking enough for a family of four plus left overs for the next night.  Well, that amount of food for one person is just ridiculous.  I found myself binge eating pounds of pasta for days just to avoid throwing anything away because I don't waste food.  Ever.  Please refer to BROKE in the title of this blog.

I think many single people (or even couples) shy away from cooking because they think it's a ton of effort for just one meal. I know the frustration of having half of a can or jar of all the ingredients left over.  Then what do you do? Throw them out? Find more recipes to use the ingredient that will leave you with even more half used supplies?  Seems like a never ending cycle. I HAVE THE SOLUTION!!! I have finally discovered the art and value of freezing food in small portions. This sounds really simple and obvious but I had never employed the technique until now due to lack of freezer space and excess of laziness.  It takes a little extra time and effort but it will be worth it when you have healthy, delicious, home-cooked meals at your fingertips at all times! Because this is made in a 9 x 13 pan, it makes about 9 large slices.  I left one out for myself for dinner and packed up the rest for the freezer.  Look how organized and efficient I am! 

In January, you can turn up the heat, throw on a bathing suit, eat zucchini, and pretend it's August again :)