Empanadas de Papas

I found this recipe over at Moosewood Cooks. I've been trying to find a winner empanada recipe for a while and this one fit the bill. The only downside was that the dough was not super easy to work with, and I ended up having lots of filling left and no dough to put it in. We barely got a picture of the finished product because they were so tasty.


Ingredients:

Filling: 

• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned (drained)
• 1/2 cup chopped pimientos
• 1 cup cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup grated mild cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Dough:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine, or vegetable oil
• vegetable oil for frying

Instructions:

1. To make the filling, in a small pot, cook the potatoes in water to cover until soft.
2. Drain them well and mash them with a potato masher or wooden spoon.
3. In a large frying pan, saute the onions and bell peppers in the oil.
4. Season with the cumin, black pepper, salt, and cayenne.
5. When the vegetables begin to soften, stir in the corn.
6. Continue to saute until all the vegetables are tender, then transfer them to a large bowl and add the pimientos.
7. While the vegetables are still hot, vigorously mix in the mashed potatoes, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese.
8. For the dough, in a large bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, and salt.
9. Add the flour and melted butter. Mix well and work the dough a bit with your hands.
10. Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and form it into a large, long roll.
11. Cut it into eight equal pieces.
12. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each piece into a 6- or 7-inch circle.
13. Place about 1/2 cup of filling on each circle leaving about a 1/2-inch border.
14. Wet the edge of half of each circle to help the dough seal well.
15. Then fold the dough over the filling to form semicircles and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork.
16. In about one inch of oil, heated to 360°, fry both sides of each pastry until golden brown.
17. Drain the empanadas on paper towels.

Notes about this recipe:


1. I ate mine with avocado slices. 
2. I omitted the pimientos, because I couldn't figure out where they were at the store. I now know what they are and have a better idea of where to look in the store for next time.
3. I also left out the cheese and had my hubby just sprinkle it on top of his, if he wanted it.

Creamy Tomato Pasta

(Picture from Kitchen Trial and Error.)

This recipe was submitted by Vanessa H. She found it at Kitchen Trial and Error. The author there adapted her Alfredo sauce from Cook's Illustrated.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound farfalle or other short cut pasta

Tomato Sauce:

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 9 medium)
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
• olive oil

Alfredo Sauce:
(if you want to lighten it up, halve the alfredo and keep the tomato sauce the same)

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup half & half
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
2. Start the tomato sauce. Bring a large pot of water to boil. score the bottom of the tomatoes, blanch in the boiling water for about a minute, cool and peel. discard skins. Roughly chop tomatoes and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, sweat the minced onion and garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, until soft.
4. Add the tomatoes to the onion and garlic. If you want a thin sauce like mine, blend the sauce with an immersion blender. Cook about 15 minutes until thickened.
5. While the tomato sauce thickens, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.
6. While the pasta and tomato sauce are cooking, make the alfredo sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. whisk in the flour until smooth and cook about 2 minutes, until brown.
7. Whisk in the milk, half & half, and garlic and season with salt & pepper. Continuously whisking, bring to a simmer and cook about 2 minutes until thickened. Fish out the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.
8. Whisk in the parmesan. the sauce will be very thick, so add 1/3 cup of the hot pasta cooking water to the alfredo sauce to thin it out a bit. Remove from heat.
9. Drain the pasta and add to the alfredo sauce.
10. Mix the basil into the tomato sauce and add the tomato sauce to the pasta. Mix well.

Serves 4

Penne Rosa

(Picture from Back To Her Roots, of the original recipe with shrimp. Just imagine it with no shrimp.)

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She slightly adapted it from Back To Her Roots by nixing the shrimp.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz whole wheat penne
• 1 Tb. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.) chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 c. fresh spinach
• 1/2 c. marinara sauce
• 1/3 c. 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook penne according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften.
3. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to release their water.
4. Remove from heat, add in spinach and cover skillet. Let spinach wilt for 2 minutes.
5. Remove lid and place skillet back over low heat. Add the penne, Greek yogurt, and pasta sauce. Stir until sauce is mixed well and all pasta and veggies are coated. Heat until warmed through. Top individual servings with parmesan cheese.

Nectarine Summer Salad

Sadly, I have no picture for this recipe. I was eating it and thought about taking a picture, only to realize I didn't know where my camera was. 

I adapted this recipe from Kelsey's Apple a Day blog, and she adapted it from The Curvy Carrot. 

If you are interested in seeing a picture of what my salad was similar to, head to Kelsey's Apple a Day for a peek.

Ingredients:

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 small shallot, minced
• 3 TBSP raspberry vinegar dressing
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• about 1 1/2-2 tsp orange juice
• 4 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad:

• 7-10 oz of salad greens of your choice (I used 1/2 romaine, 1/2 spinach)
• 1 generous c. fresh cherries and strawberries, sliced (pit the cherries!)
• 1 nectarine, thinly sliced (by all means use more if you want!)
• chopped almonds, for sprinkling on individual servings

Directions:

 

1.  Make the vinaigrette by combining all the ingredients in a measuring cup with a spout (for easy pouring)

2. Slice nectarines, cherries, and strawberries. If you want you could toss them with a bit of oj too.

3.  Add the fruit to the greens. Add the dressing and nuts on individual servings.

Notes about this recipe:

1. My hubby actually preferred the salad without the dressing because the fruit was so yummy!
2. You could definitely substitute peaches, and other types of berries for the ones in this recipe.
3. We ate it with some herb rolls, so it was a light dinner but perfect for a hot day. We were also going on a date to eat smoothies so we didn't want to fill up all the way.