Creamy Pasta Chowder

I don't know what's the deal with me this week but I began studying and then I side track into cooking food. It happen this monday too, where I made the bake potato and creamy potato chowder.

Early this morning 8:30am, class start at 9, so I went on pintrest and looked at my pins. This one pin caught my attention because it was similar to what I made on monday but with pasta. So I had an idea what I want to make

http://chefrecipesmagazine.com/broccoli-shells-n-cheese/

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cheesy-chicken-chowder

I start following the first recipe on butter, onion, flour and milk, cheese but I didn't like doing it this way, made my hand tired, but then again I was using a wooden spoon. Next time I make this kind of step again, I will be using a whisk on the butter, flour and milk. And how, I went to the grocery today, so this time I have most of the ingredients. and I also roughly measured my amounts.

one medium onion, diced
1 carrot roundly sliced
1 rib of celery
handful of broccoli
1-2 potato, diced
over 3 cups of water
1 or more cheese string, sliced (I only had cheese strings)
1 tsp salt
over 1/2 tsp chicken bullion granules
1 tsp black pepper
scoop of butter (I had margarine)
1/2 cup flour
over 1 cup milk/cream
pasta, cooked as instructed and set aside

In a pot, bring water to boil add the potato, celery, carrot, onion, salt and pepper
let it cook until potato tender (I had it on high heat). Have a taste if need more seasoning.

While thats cooking make the flour mixture. In another pot, on high, melt the butter than whisk together the flour (looks clumpy) and stir around a few minutes, don't want to burn can turn on medium heat. Then add milk little bit at a time, whisk, milk, whisk... until the flour mixture looks smooth with no clumps. Then add the cheese. and mix until melted.

When the veggies are tender add the flour mixture into the veggie pot, and stir around until dissolves. Then I add the broccoli and cook a few minute and then add the pasta into pot. Fold it for pasta to be coated with sauce. Have a taste if need more seasoning.

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

I didn't totally followed the recipe. I had to adjust and improvise on the ingredients. I used heavy cream, mozz cheese, butter, pepper, and chives, not very good.

Heavy Cream Alfredo Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.

Cream Cheese Alfredo Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 2/3 cup)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Pasta noodle + spinach filling

LINK: http://dragonflydrama.blogspot.com/2013/06/spinach-filling-recipes.html

Fufufu...I had both of the pasta so I boiled both of them. After boiling the pasta, the cylinder one most if it have ripped. Now that I look at the 3rd picture pasta, I notice that Recipegirl used uncooked pasta to fill in the filling.

I didn't have package spinach but I did have fresh spinach in fridge. I rinsed them and then boiled them until tender. I also put salt in the boiling water. Then I drain it, rinse with cold water, squeezed most of the water out, and then chop it.

I chopped it vertically and it was too chunky, I suggest to chop it small if using fresh spinach.

It was a bit tasteless. I would have added more pasta sauce if I had any left so I sprinkle some salt and pepper.

Spinach Filling Recipes

I'm volunteering at a hospice care center in their kitchen. The chef had me rolling up noodle with spinach filling. It looked so good when I was working and simple to prepare and make. So I search online for the recipe and found two different presentation that I like and also have the noodle to make it.

Filling recipe:
4oz cream cheese
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 or 2egg
1 package frozen spinach
1/2 tsp salt and
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
1 garlic clover, minced
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
pasta

Dip and garnish:
pasta sauce

Covered, Bake at 350 F for about 30 if pasta already precooked. For uncooked pasta bake for 1 hour.

LINK: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/01/spinach-lasagna-roll-ups/

LINK: http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/mini-spinach-lasagna-roll-ups-recipe/2/

LINK: http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/02/21/spinach-and-cheese-stuffed-manicotti/

Pasta with Broccoli Recipe

Black Spaghetti with Sausage and Pesto

BY:BK

I love this picture and and creativity Holly created. And the quality of the sausage picture looks drooling good. The sausage looks tender good and juicy. This picture made me crave for some white sausage but there so expensive. So I only can imagine.

Ingredients:
1 package black spaghetti
1 lb pork sausage (any kind you like)

For the Pesto sauce:
2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut sausage into about 1"size chunks
Poke 6-10 spaghetti noodles through each sausage pieces. When done, drain the noodles and drizzle olive oil to prevent them from sticking.
Boil water and cook sausage spaghetti noodles according to package directions, about 9 minutes.
To make pesto sauce, put basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese in a food process. Pulse them together as you drizzle the olive oil through a tube until well blended.Season with salt and pepper.
Toss the spaghetti with pesto sauce and serve.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

LINK:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/02/creamy-chicken-soup-for-soul.html

This looks so good too. I want something creamy! I just ran out of potatoes and I don't have chicken of any form

by Beth Goodman

LIST:
6 carrots-peeled and diced
6 potatoes-peeled and diced
1 onion-diced
4 celery stalks-diced
12 c. water
12 chicken bouillon cubes
1-2 c. diced chicken-Beth shreds hers. ( I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco. I was just that lazy today )
2 sticks of butter-she said remember it makes A LOT
1 c. flour
8 oz jar cheez whiz- her secret weapon:)
2 c. egg noodles-cooked

DIRECTION:
Bring water and bouillon to boil. Add vegetables, partially cook them. In separate pan melt butter and flour on medium heat. When smooth, add to vegetables. Turn heat to medium low. Add cheez whiz and chicken. Simmer 30 min or until vegetables are cooked. Add egg noodles and serve.

Simple Midwest Mac and Cheese

LINK:
http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/2910/midwest-macaroni-cheese

Mac and cheese isn't in my diet but the care package had some microwave mac and cheese and it was good, maybe because I was hungry. Then I looks for the recipes and there was long list of things, but this recipes looks really simple to make with not a lot of ingredients. Lets just hope it taste likable too.

List:
6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) uncooked dried elbow macaroni
1 cup milk
16 (3/4-ounce) slices Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese, quartered
1/2 cup coarsely crushed seasoned croutons

Direction:
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

Combine cooked macaroni, milk and cheese in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted (5 to 6 minutes).

Spoon macaroni into individual serving dishes; sprinkle with crushed croutons.

Pasta with mushroom and okra

I was in the mood for pasta!

For the sauce I just randomly put in what I thought might be good combination and I have to used up some of the okra I had left and I really wanted mushroom in it.

Pasta Sauce Ingredients:
5 pieces okra, sliced
handful of ground meat, I used turkey
veggie stock or water or other stocks
5-7 mushrooms, the white ones, sliced
half an onion, diced
salt and pepper and granulated chicken bouillon for taste
milk 
grated cheese
oil

Directions:

1. cook pasta as directed
2. Let the oil heat in pan and put in the meat, used your spatula to separate the meat into pieces, mine were chunky. 
3. When most of the meat's surface is cooked add onion and okra, stir fry 3-5 minutes, then add mushroom, stir a bit
4. then add stock and milk to cover the stuff in pan. and then your spices for taste and then let it cook until you think is good
5. garnish with shredded cheese

When I finished cooking I remember I forgot the tofu!

Smiling Pasta

WIKIDRAMA SUM:

Xiao Shi is a girl who has gone through 17 relationships,but always broke up by the third month, she was cursed with a three-month curse by Ah Zhe. After being dumped by her 17th boyfriend, she gave up on hope to love another guy. At that time, a famous idol, He Qun runs past, bumps into Xiao Shi, and they end up "kissing" on the street. Paparazzi swarmed by and titled the kiss as secret affair behind He Qun's girlfriend Rita, to not make He Qun look bad, his manager declared Xiao Shi as He Qun's girlfriend of one year and fiancée. Thus, a love contract was made. This story is about how the "Fake" couple learns to like each other after having disagreements in the beginning, as well as fighting the injustices the media throw at them. Even Ah Zhe and Rita come back into the love triangle! Everyone want to find love, will He Qun and Xiao Shi be together, or will the be parted by Ah Zhe and Rita and will Xiao Shi finally break her 3 month curse? Find Out on Smiling Pasta...

In this drama, I really like Cyndi Wang's hair color, who is acting as Xiao Shi.

LINK:
http://sugoideas.com/drama-2006/smiling-pasta/