Penne Primavera by Joe Bastianich

Primavera means spring, but Bastianich says you can make this dish year-round using whatever vegetables are in season.

Pomodoro sauce
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, cut into
1/2-inch slices, or diced
1 yellow pepper, sliced into
1/4-inch strips
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup peas
1 pound whole-wheat penne

Put a large pot of heavily salted water on high heat to boil, and simmer pomodoro in a saucepan on low. Place the onion, zucchini, yellow pepper, and mushrooms on a 9x13 baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle with the oil and toss lightly. Broil at 400° F until almost tender (about 10 minutes, turning vegetables halfway through). Add cherry tomatoes and peas to the pan, and broil for two more minutes. Set vegetables aside. Add pasta to boiling water. Two minutes before pasta is cooked, remove it from water and add to the pomodoro sauce, along with a little pasta water if needed to keep sauce liquid. Stir and simmer over low heat until pasta is tender. Add the vegetables and gently stir. Season with salt and pepper. Serves six.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 489
CARBS: 75 G
PROTEIN: 14 G
FAT: 14 G

Pasta Pomodoro

Basic sauce from Joe Bastianich, as seen in Runners World. He refused to give up pasta in a quest to get fit, lose weight, run.  It's suggested you can use this base sauce for pasta fagioli. Will definitely try it.

Pomodoro Sauce
Pomodoro (or tomato) sauce is the base for all of Chef Joe Bastianich's pasta dishes featured in these pages. Use a full batch of pomodoro for each recipe.

1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 16-ounce cans of peeled, whole Italian plum tomatoes, such as San Marzano
1 teaspoon Sicilian oregano (optional)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) Today's food marathon begins with what
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium. Add garlic and saute until golden brown, about three minutes. While garlic browns, pour tomatoes into a bowl. Squeeze with your hands to break them up. Add tomatoes and their juice to the saucepan. Add oregano (if using), salt, and pepper. Simmer on low for 45 minutes. Add a little water if needed to keep sauce from becoming too thick (it should be bright red; if it turns brick red, it's too thick). To make oreganata, simmer sauce with sprigs of fresh oregano. Make arrabiata by adding red pepper flakes to taste. Makes six one-cup servings.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 139
CARBS: 9 G
PROTEIN: 2 G
FAT: 9 G


Pasta Pomodoro

Simmer pomodoro on low. Add one pound of pasta to a pot of boiling, salted water. Two minutes before it's cooked, remove pasta from water and add to sauce. Cook until tender, allowing pasta to absorb sauce. Add a little pasta water if needed to keep sauce liquid. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian cheese, such as Grana Padano. Garnish with basil. Serves six.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 470
CARBS: 66 G
PROTEIN: 13 G
FAT: 16 G

Pasta e Fagioli

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup ditalini or elbow macaroni
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (19 ounces) cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) grated romano or parmesan cheese

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Directions

1.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

2.

Add the broth and water and bring to a boil. Stir in the macaroni and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8 minutes, or just until the macaroni is tender.

3.

Stir in the tomatoes (with juice) and beans and return to a simmer. Add the spinach and basil and cook for 2 minutes or until the spinach is wilted. Serve with the cheese.

Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES

328.2 CAL

FAT

11.3 G

SATURATED FAT

3.5 G

CHOLESTEROL

14.7 MG

SODIUM

1781.4 MG

CARBOHYDRATES

40.6 G

TOTAL SUGARS

4.6 G

DIETARY FIBER

6.9 G

PROTEIN

16.4 G

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

 Variations: substitute pineapple with 1 can cherry pie filling.  Or as suggested on the box of Pillsbury Angel Food cake mix, make Chocolate Angel cupcakes by adding 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa before mixing cake as directed on package. Ah, chocolate cherry angel food! If made in a tube pan, a serving is 3 WW points. Cupcakes are 1 point. Some suggest serving with cool whip - personally, I think these are fine as is. Can't get any easier than this!

1 package angel food cake mix

1 can crushed pineapple in water -- 20 Ounce Can

1. Combine both ingredients in large bowl.

2. Mix on medium speed with electric mixer.

3. Bake according to instructions on cake mix box (350 degrees). Cake is about 30 - 40 minutes. Cupcakes 20 - 30.

Green Tomato Relish

Marcia McMullen shared this with me way back when. With a bumper crop of tomatoes I'll surely put up a batch this year!

4 quarts green tomatoes
6 large onions
6 green peppers
6 red peppers

Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse till desired consistency. Set in strainer for two hours to drain liquid. When drained, add to large sauce pan along with:

1 quart white vinegar
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp mustard seed
1 Tbsp tumeric
2 Tbsp celery seed
3 Tbsp salt

Simmer for ½ hour. To can, fill jars, seal and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Cinnamon-Raisin Granola

Found this on Allrecipes.com, The best online site for trusted recipes. Simple, few ingredients. Makes a great snack or with milk as morning cereal. I double it and keep in large canister. I usually add some chopped walnuts or almonds and some flax seed. Anything goes, I guess.

Ingredients:

4 cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup shredded coconut 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup raisins

Directions:

1.

In a large bowl, combine oats and coconut; set aside. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, oil, honey and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture; stir to coat. Spread in a large shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool. Add raisins, 1/4 cup ground flax. 1 cup nuts. Store in an airtight container.

Quinoa, Black Bean and Corn Salad

Great for summer picnics as a side or mix in grilled chicken to make a meal!

1 cup quinoa
6 cups water
one 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked corn kernels, drained
1/3 cup seeded and diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup seeded and diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup cilantro

For the Sherry-Mustard Vinaigrette
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 T sherry vinegar
1 T Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
Pinch of sugar

Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under cold running water until the water runs clear.  Bring the 6 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the quinoa, and cook until the grains are transparent throughout, about 12 minutes. Drain, rinse, and return to the saucepan.  Cover and dry the quinoa over low heat for 5 minutes.  Toss with a wooden spoon, then transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool.  Add the beans, corn, peppers, onion, and scallion.  Toss to combine well. Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.  Whisk until the mixture slightly thickens.  Add the vinaigrette to the salad.  Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate. Just before serving, add the cilantro and toss. Serve the salad on lettuce leaves.