Smoked Salmon Spaghetti

I may have mentioned once or twice (or three times) how much I like leftovers.  I like the challenge of turning one meal into something completely different, though sadly, not being able to replicate it ever again, because the same ingredients might not be available and I never ever write things down.  Until now.  Blogging about what I've made ensures I have a written record of my latest creation. 

About a month ago, I threw a dinner party for some girls I used to work with.  I had quite a few leftovers since I only used a little of the salmon to make the blinis and made an entire tray of roasted Mediterranean vegetables.  What followed was a dish so simple I'm surprised I haven't made it before.  I fried a little garlic and onion in some oil, tossed in some of the vegetables and the smoked salmon and threw in a few green olives.  Mixed with some whole wheat spaghetti, this was absolutely divine.  For something I just threw together it felt like I was eating in a restaurant; one where the dress code is very lax and so is the health code - think track pants and two dogs sitting next to me.

I won't be waiting for leftovers to make this again.  

Pasta With Rocket And Pine Nuts

I'm so determined to come up with an all original, Chloe made recipe that will take the world my few readers by storm that I often let the contents of my cupboard and fridge inspire me, refusing to step foot in the supermarket and just use what I have.

Well, I thought I'd nailed it - a nice tomato sauce served over tortellini with rocket and toasted pine nuts.  Yeah - no one has thought of this, I said to myself.  Google told me otherwise.   I found the pine nuts tucked away in the cupboard and only tossed in the rocket to get some green leafy veg in our diet as we didn't really have anything else in to make a salad with and here I was unknowingly following a recipe.

I made a simple sauce - canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, a little beef stock, salt n pepper, oregano, and sprinkle of sugar and let it simmer.  I toasted the pine nuts by quickly dry frying them in a pan for a couple of minutes and then assembled everything - pasta (I had tortellini but any pasta will do), rocket, sauce, pine nuts and a little parmesan cheese.  It was absolutely delicious.  And though I did think of it on my own, I wasn't the first.  Back to the drawing board.  I'm going to have to be a little bit more inventive.

Goat's Cheese and Prosciutto Spaghetti

A few years ago my cousin came to stay with us for an extended visit.  I was very excited for her to experience life in another country and share my love of travel to hopefully spark the same in her (it actually worked on her sister who also visited and she's been back to Europe several times since).  While she was here, she made dinner for us a few times.  I love to cook but I also love being cooked for - something about enjoying a glass of wine while someone else slaves over a hot stove just makes everything taste that much better.  This dish is amazing no matter who makes it!  It's that easy.  My cousin re-created the same spaghetti that she had had in a lovely Italian restaurant called Ambrosia's which I was able to try when I visited Canada a few summer's ago- and she had got it pretty well on the money!

I'm not sure if I make it just like she had that day but this is my take.  I put the pasta on to boil and while that's going I saute some onions and red and green peppers (all sliced lengthwise) in some olive oil and then add a few cloves of crushed garlic.  Using scissors, I cut up the prosciutto (parma ham) and add to the pan of peppers.  Once the pasta is ready, I drain it and toss it in with the peppers and add more olive oil to coat.  Next, I add in some fresh spinach and once it has wilted slightly, plate up.  I crumble goat's cheese on top et voilà!  A beautiful, easy pasta dish ready in minutes and pretty much how they describe it on the menu!

What is your favourite restaurant dish?  Have you tried to re-create it or will only the restaurant version do?  Guess what I had for dinner last night?  Yep- pasta, ah-gain!  I'll spare you for now as I think I've shared enough about pasta this week.

Pasta Shells Stuffed with Sausage, Spinach, Pumpkin and Ricotta

I had some pumpkin puree leftover from this delicious baking session, so I decided to try some stuffed shells and satisfy my carb craving.  These were easy and really tasty and I made them in side dishes which gave the dish a real restaurant feel.  This was comfort food kicked up a notch!

I started by boiling the shells, cooking the sausages and preheating the oven to 200°C.  I then slightly mixed about equal parts puree and ricotta cheese in a bowl, leaving chunks of cheese still intact, along with a handful of spinach.

Once the shells were cooked and the sausages fried, I sliced the sausages into small pieces and began to stuff.  There was no rhyme or reason, I just roughly divided the pumpkin,cheese and spinach mixture among the shells and stuffed each one with a piece of sausage (Uh oh...been watching too much Nigella).  Just before I started to assemble the pasta, I made a little tomato sauce by simply sauteing one finely chopped onion and adding a can of chopped tomatoes seasoned with some salt and pepper.  I let it simmer and then filled in around the shells with the finished sauce.  I grated a little Applewood Smoked Cheddar (my favourite cheese) on top, sprinkled a few pine nuts and baked it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

I'd like to try some other combinations; a cheese blend, roasted vegetables, or a seafood version?  I had really wanted to try a goat's cheese combination but the supermarket was out.  I did find some the next day, however and I'll be sharing that pasta dish tomorrow.  This is turning into a week of pasta posts but it derived from a weekend of pasta eating - what can I say, I love pasta!  (and I love winter jumpers that hide the fact that I love pasta!)

Spicy Chili Lasagna

So, you've made enough chili to feed the 5000 but only 8 showed up?  What to do with all of that chili?!  Make chili lasagna of course!

Leftover chili can be frozen as is.  I like to freeze it in single or double portions and then all we have to do is boil rice, cook some chips or bake a potato and dinner is done.  But seeing as though we ate this chili in a manner of ways on Saturday I decided to try something different (here I thought I was inventing something but it's been done before - it's ALL been done before!)

Here's my spin on it anyway.  I thawed some frozen spinach and mixed it with some ricotta cheese and set aside. Then in my lasagna pan (I thought for sure there would be a better name for such a pan but this is what it seems to be called and there's even one that gives everyone crispy edges no matter what slice you get!) I spread a little salsa at the bottom and began layering.  Let your ingredients guide you for this part and be creative.  You might like a lot of layers or a different type of cheese, or (gasp) no cheese at all!  I did one layer of chili and then one of the cheese with a little salsa and repeated about 3 times.  On the top layer, I spread a thin layer of grated cheddar cheese and crumbled some nachos chips for the pièce de résistance.  I baked it in the oven for about a half an hour at 200°C.  I served it with a dollop of sour cream on top.  This dish can be frozen as well, so perfect if you're all chili-ed out!  Which is what I am now after having had it for lunch for the last 2 days (and maybe one dinner).

Anyone else invent something only to find out you were way behind the times?  Though like my mother told me when I lamented, "Everything old is new again".