Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Fresh Zucchini Pasta

This is badly named Angel's Pasta on allrecipes. Not that my title is much better, but it's a delicious use for all the basil and zucchini I've been growing!

INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 zucchini, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
3 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 [14.5 oz] can diced tomatoes, drained)
12 leaves fresh basil
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour in oil and saute garlic until golden. Stir in zucchini, salt and pepper. Saute 2 minutes, then mix in tomato and cook a few minutes more. Chop basil and add to vegetables right before mixing with pasta.

3. Combine pasta and vegetables. Serve topped with mozzarella.

Servings: 4

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Garden Fresh...Year Round

Sometime last year, I learned that you can freeze fresh herbs and use them at a later time. This has worked out very well for me! I used to buy expensive herbs and use only a small portion of them. The rest would spoil before I found another need for it.

Now, I use what I need, vacuum seal and freeze the rest. Freeze it UNCUT, (lesson learned the hard way) and chop it up as soon as it's out of the bag. The herbs will still lend a lot of flavor to your recipe.

Here's some from our garden:




Chicken Cornbread Pot Pie


From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can (about 8 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups cubed cooked chicken OR 1/2 grocery store rotisserie chicken
1 pkg. (8 1/2 ounces) corn muffin mix
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Directions:

For Freezing: We use a Sam's Club Rotisserie chicken, put all the shredded pieces from a chicken split into two freezer bags. Once we're ready to make the meal we take out one of the chicken bags (makes two recipes total) and finish the recipe by following the directions below since it only take 10 minutes of prep time.

Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, corn and chicken in a 9-inch pie plate.

Stir the muffin mix, milk and egg with a fork in a small bowl until the ingredients are mixed. Spoon over the chicken mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cornbread is golden. Sprinkle with the cheese.