Red Pepper Pesto

I have never tried pesto before—the stuff made with fresh basil, pine-nuts and olive oil—although it sounds interesting. But I found this recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Pesto the other day and thought I'd try it out, and it's really tasty!

I wonder what "Pesto" means anyway? Uncooked, blended-up, pasta topping? Whatever it may mean, this was delicious.

ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO

3 large red bell peppers, roasted *
4-6 unpeeled garlic cloves (4 medium-size or 6 smallish)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parsley leaves, packed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (use fresh, not the dried-out powdery stuff)
1 tsp. dry thyme leaves (or 1 Tbsp. fresh)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place garlic cloves into a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Toast them about 7 minutes, until they darken in color.
Remove garlic from the frying pan and peel. [You can snip off the root-ends of each clove with scissors and then just squeeze the garlic out by pinching from the top of the clove.]
Cut the roasted red peppers into about 2-inch pieces.
Put all ingredients into a food processor (or blender, if you don't have a food-processor) and process until smooth. [I did mine 1/2 at a time, because my processor is small. Also, it won't get 100% completely smooth. Just smooth-ish.]
Stir in salt and pepper, to taste
Now it is ready to serve over the top of your favorite pasta. I served mine with additional parmesan for sprinkling on top. :-)

Makes about four servings—depending on how much you like with your pasta. I think this would also make a marvelous sandwich spread to go with roast beef.

*To roast red bell peppers:
Slice off the tops and bottoms of the peppers.
Cut down one side of the pepper and spread the pepper open.
Remove seeds, and remove stem from top of pepper.
Lay all the pepper pieces skin-side-up on a baking sheet.
Place under a hot broiler and cook until the skin blackens—about 5-7 minutes. You may need to rotate the pan every now and then to make sure all the pepper pieces get blackened.
Remove from oven. Place peppers into a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let sit for 15 minutes.
Peel the skins from the peppers.
Now they are ready to use. Yum!
(They're delicious on sandwiches, too!)

Tuna Casserole Supreme

I know. You're thinking, "How good can tuna casserole be?"
I know you're thinking this because I know that tuna casserole is THE default, can't-think-of-anything-else-to-make, last-minute dinner. A couple cans of cream-of-something soup, a couple cans of tuna and Voila! Dinner.

And that's how Bruce feels about it. He politely eats just enough to keep from starving.

But today I did something different; and Bruce said that I "transformed it from the last-minute, gotta-eat-something meal, to something [he'd] order at a restaurant and be glad that [he] did." High praise! And he said I'd better write what I did to make it before I forget. (He came up with the swell name, too.)

So here it is:

TUNA CASSEROLE SUPREME

1 1/4 lb. of your favorite pasta [I like penne]

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup can-milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cans tuna packed in water, drained, but reserve the liquid—you'll be using it .
6 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
2-3 oz. American cheese, finely diced
salt and pepper, to taste
dash Bon Appetit seasoning

1 cup Panko crumbs
onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. butter

Put the pasta water on to boil after you chop the veggies, but before you cook the sauce. :-)

In a large skillet, melt 3 Tbsp. butter.

Add the chopped onion, chopped celery and 1/2 tsp. salt to the melted butter. Turn heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent—5-8 minutes.
Add flour to onion mixture and stir until it's all moistened up with the butter and veggies.
Stir in the can-milk and the milk. Turn heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens up.
[Is your water boiling yet? If so, add the pasta—and keep an eye on it . . . who likes mushy pasta?]
Whisk the cream-of mushroom soup and the water from the cans of tuna into the sauce [don't whisk it into your boiling pasta!].
Whisk the sour cream into the sauce.
At this point I got out the hand-blender—because my kids won't eat anything that has the appearance of little veggie pieces in it—and I blend it until it's smooth. But this step is totally optional!
Stir in the tuna.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and Bon Appetit seasoning.
Add the cheese and stir until just melted, then remove from heat.
Now you can set it aside while you wait for the pasta to finish cooking.

Drain the cooked pasta and then put it into a LARGE baking dish.
Stir the sauce into the pasta.

Put the Panko crumbs into a separate, smallish bowl. Sprinkle them with onion powder and about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. of salt.
Dollop the 2 Tbsp. butter onto the crumbs and work it into them with your fingers. You don't want to see any big pieces of butter.
Sprinkle seasoned crumbs on top of the casserole.
Bake at 325 for about 10-15 minutes, or until crumbs turn golden-brown. OR you could just stick it under the broiler until the crumbs look nice.

Serve it up hot! Mmmm—mmm good!

It Really IS Spring!

Trees budding, changeable weather, tulips popping up, grass greening—it is springtime! So, naturally, this is the time for Pasta Primavera (which literally means Springtime Pasta). This recipe has nothing to do with the big party last week. It's just a really yummy, family-favorite around here—even the kids love it. And that's saying something!

PASTA PRIMAVERA

3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 lb. asparagus, tough ends snapped off
1 small zucchini, diced
1/4 cup slivered ham
1-2 small carrots, sliced thinly
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry basil
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz. linguine or fettucine, cooked according to package directions

Slice the asparagus diagonally, in 1-inch slices, leaving the tips whole.
Melt butter in a large saute pan; add asparagus, zucchini, ham, carrots and mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes, uncovered; then cover and cook 3 more minutes. Add the salt, basil, nutmeg and peas; toss to combine. Pour heavy cream into pan and let cook until large, shiny bubbles appear on surface.
Toss vegetable mixture with pasta; add half of the Parmesan cheese and toss to combine. Serve hot and pass the remaining Parmesan.
Delish!

I think this would be good with some shrimp tossed into the sauce, too. I'll have to try that out some time (although, then my kids probably wouldn't like it so much.)

Shrimp Lasagna

I got this recipe from my oldest brother, Peter, who got it from my youngest brother, Paul. (Both brothers are older than me.) So here, word-for-word, is the recipe as I got it. No, actually I think I may have changed a few things. But the introduction was written by Peter----that part is word-for-word. And this recipe is really good!!

In the Spring of 1988 my brother Paul and I were working 72 hours a week at the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant in Arizona, moving and processing radioactive waste for disposal. We rented rooms from our brother Wendell (a reactor operator at the plant) in Peoria. At that time of year shrimp fishing is real good in Rock Point, Mexico, which is about four hours away by car. In the Phoenix area it is not uncommon for the locals to make a "shrimp run" to Rock Point so they can buy fish and shrimp right off the boats. Paul and Wendell both having the same day off one weekend, went on a run and came back with 50 pounds of 4 to 6-inch shrimp. Every day for two weeks we fried, grilled, broiled or sauteed some shrimp for dinner. Finally, when we were all getting tired of eating shrimp, Paul announced that he was going to cook something new: a shrimp lasagna. This delicious recipe is what he created for us on that Spring day in Arizona.
----Peter Johnson

PAUL'S SHRIMP LASAGNA

1 1/2 lbs. unshelled green shrimp
1 pint half & half
3 Tbsp. butter
1 bunch green onions
1 clove garlic, pressed or finely chopped
1 tsp. pepper
salt to taste
1/2 pint cottage cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
3 cups grated Swiss cheese
8 oz. uncooked lasagna noodles
1/2 cup roux (3 Tbsp. butter & 3 Tbsp. flour)
3 cups water or milk

Shell and devein the shrimp; save the shells. Set aside some of the best-looking shrimp for garnish. Cut the remainder of the shrimp into chunks; set aside. [I, Loralee, like to keep them in a little water so they don't dry out----you can use this water later in the recipe.]
Prepare the roux by melting 3 Tbsp. butter in a small skillet and adding 3 Tbsp. flour to make a thick paste; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella and Swiss cheeses; set aside.
Cook noodles according to package directions; set aside. [They will dry up and get sticky if you make them too far in advance. Unless you keep them in cool water. Don't use hot water or they'll keep cooking and get mushy.]
In a medium saucepan, saute the shrimp shells in 3 Tbsp. butter for two to three minutes. Use a lid on the pan to preserve all juices. Remove the shells to a cheesecloth and squeeze out the remaining juices into the saucepan. Discard shells. Sauteall shrimp in the juices from the shells until pink. With a slotted spoon, remove and set aside the shrimp reserved for garnish. Remove the remainder of the shrimp and set aside. Saute the garlic in the shrimp juices. Add the half & half and the water or milk [I use the water that I had the shrimp sitting in earlier, then add enough milk to that amount of water to total 3 cups.] Stir in the pepper. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. After the sauce boils, reduce heat to a low simmer and cover pan. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Chop green onions, reserving 5 or 6 tops for garnish. Add chopped onions to sauce. Slowly add roux to the sauce, stirring out any lumps and using only enough to bring sauce to desired consistency (kind of thick, but not like pudding). Salt to taste. Add the cut shrimp to the sauce.
In a 9-inch square baking dish, layer (in order) sauce, noodles and cheese until you are within 1/2-inch of the top of the pan. Garnish with reserved shrimp and green onion tops. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Is Paul a great cook, or what?

For Ann: You can use chicken instead of shrimp in this recipe. Paul said so.
For Sara: Grilled zucchini planks would be great layered in with this. Or any other veggies that seem tasty.
For Michael: Enjoy those noodles!

Sesame Noodles

These noodles make a nice side-dish for your Chinese dinner. They also make a great lunch for the kids! (But they eat a lot--I have to triple-triple the recipe for my family!) Don't limit yourself to the veggies listed; try broccoli, or celery or bell peppers--whatever you like!

SESAME NOODLES

2 pkg. Ramen noodles, your favorite flavor
3 - 3 1/2 cups water
1 large handful fresh bean sprouts (don't use canned, they're yucky!)
1 small carrot, grated
vegetable oil
sesame oil
soy sauce
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Place Ramen noodles in a medium saucepan; sprinkle the contents of the seasoning packets over the noodles. Cover the noodles with water and bring to a boil. Let cook for 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them sit for about 2 minutes (they should be cooked, but not super-soft). Drain the noodles, reserving about 1/4 cup broth.

In a large frying-pan or wok, heat some vegetable oil (about 1 Tbsp.). Add bean sprouts and carrots (and any other veggies you like) to oil and stir-fry. Add about 1 Tbsp. sesame oil to veggies, then add drained Ramen noodles. Drizzle a little sesame oil over the noodles; dash with soy sauce to taste, and stir-fry until noodles and veggies are coated evenly. Add a little more sesame oil as necessary to keep the noodles from sticking together. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.

Yummy, easy and inexpensive!