Pasta with roasted vegetables and goat cheese

This is one of my new favorites. You can alter the flavor significantly with what type of cheese you use. I like gorgonzola, but it definitely has a much stronger flavor than say, feta. Just use 4 oz of any type of soft white cheese, goat or not.

12oz cavatappi (corkscrew) pasta
2 med. yellow squash, cut in chunks (I like to throw in zucchini as well)
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 T olive oil
4 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
2 T butter
salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle squash and tomatoes with olive oil and roast at 450 degrees for about 20 min, add mushrooms and garlic and continue roasting until all veggies look done (about 10-15 min more). Stir occasionally while roasting. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, save 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add roasted veggies to pot. In separate bowl, combine goat cheese, butter and 1/2 cup of pasta water, whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add cheese mixture to pot. Add more pasta water if needed. 

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

This was very yummy and super easy to make. My 2-year-old even loved it.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Chicken Salad
2/3 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 - 2 tablespoon minced cilantro
2 – 3 green onions, sliced thin
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cups poached, diced or shredded chicken OR 2 13oz cans chicken
2/3 cup black beans, I like Bush's brand best
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup corn kernels

For the Wraps
Santa Fe Chicken Salad
Burrito Sized Tortillas
Salad Greens or Baby Spinach
Avocado Slices

*I omitted the celery and put about 1/2-1 tablespoon cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

For the Chicken Salad:

In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, lime juice, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and cilantro. Whisk to combine.

Add the chicken, green onion, and celery to the sour cream mixture. Stir until the chicken is well coated.

Fold in the black beans, bell pepper, and corn. Cover and chill until serving.

*We also tried it warmed-up and it was good that way too.

To Prepare the Wraps:
Layer chicken salad, salad greens or baby spinach and avocado slices inside burrito sized tortillas. Fold up the ends and roll the wrap to seal it. Slice in half. Serve with salsa on the side, if desired.

Mango Salsa

3 mangos, chopped
3 avacados, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
minced jalapeno, to taste**
cilantro, to taste
2-3 Limes

Just add it all together and squeeze in some lime juice.

**Be sure to test the spiciness first!

Easter Eggs

I made these delicious chocolate peanut butter eggs this week. They were super easy. I'd probably cut back on the powdered sugar next time (they were a bit too sweet for me), but the rest of my family thought they were perfect.

My Favorite Sandwich

Thank you, Agnes, for introducing me to this sandwich. I will forever be happy.

Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich

Fresh mozzarella, sliced
arugula (and/or spinach)
tomatoes, sliced
ciabatta bread
olive oil
balsamic vinaigrette
salt and pepper

Assemble the tomato, mozzarella, and arugula on the ciabatta bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper and drizzle with oil and the balsamic vinaigrette.

Butternut Squash Soup

Erin makes this soup every Fall and I love it so much! I look forward to it every year. She taught me how to make it last night and I wanted to share this yummy goodness with you.


2 medium-sized Butternut squash
milk/half-and-half/cream (it depends on how healthy you want to be)
small onion (or onion powder...I didn't have one last night)
salt
pepper
cumin
coriander 
cardamom

Chop squash into medium-large pieces and steam for about 30 minutes. Remove from pot and peel off the skin. (Note: you could peel it before, but this way is much easier even if your working with boiling hot squash. Or if you're smart,  you'll let it cool off first...but we were in a hurry.) Cut the squash into smaller pieces and return to pot and boil until squash is tender. (A chopped onion can be added sometime during this boiling process...)

Drain the water from the pot and set aside. Place everything else into the blender and puree. Return it to the pot. Use milk, and the water set aside from before, to thin out the soup to your desired consistency. 

Season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cardamom or whatever you have. The squash is very flavorful so it's easy to play around with different spices. 

Serve with cranberry sauce and/or cream.

Favorite Pizza Dough

2 1/4 tsp Yeast (Active Dry)

2 1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cup warm water

4 1/4 cup Flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve sugar in warm water. Gently stir in yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. 

In separate bowl, combine 3 cups flour and salt. Mix well and add yeast mixture. Add more flour as needed. Knead for 7-8 minutes.  Divide dough into two balls and let it rise for about 2 hours in a covered bowl. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Makes 2 crusts.