Bow tie pasta with beef, peas, carrots, and garlic

Okay, another one of Giada's recipes inspired me to make this dish for my daughter.  

Here's the Adult version:

Here's the baby version:

Items needed are:

• 0.50 lb of beef ( I got mine from WF and is organic)
• 2 cloves of garlic (organic)
• 1 whole white onion (organic)
• 2 tomatoes (organic)
• 1 cup of farfalle pasta (organic)
• 0.50 cup of peas and carrots combined (so..that's 0.25 cup of peas and 0.25 cup of carrots)

Here steaming quarter chopped tomatoes.  I stop steaming until the skin is wrinkled.  Then I peel.

I boil 1 cup of bow-tie pasta (farfalle)

         I just take 2 cloves of garlic and use 1 whole onion.  You might say that might be a lot, but this recipe doesn't call for any salt or anything so these 2 will be the source of flavor for the dish besides the beef and tomatoes.

I use organic beef.  Yes, it's kind of expensive but when you think about all the hormones pumped in today's beef and chicken, it's kind of scary.  I myself don't want to eat it.  

I use frozen organic peas and carrots that is already prepared and ready to be used.  This is my shortcut to save time.

I  add 0.25 cups of water and throw in the cubed beef in a pot/pan.  After the beef is somewhat cooked I add in the tomatoes peas and carrots. 

After the sauce starts to boil I throw in the pasta and mix the sauce and pasta together.  I  heat it up over low heat for 3-5 minutes.  It's done!

I put the pasta in my new toy, my baby bullet, and puree it until it's the texture my daughter can eat without choking.   I place them in my containers and store in freezer!

Spaghetti or Squash?

I was browsing through Food Network's website and found this yummy Spaghetti recipe.  But instead of using the standard Spaghetti pasta, it calls for Spaghetti squash.  Believe it or not... it's very tasty! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 links hot Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey; 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions

Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Put the squash, cut-side up, in a large microwave-safe bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until tender, about 20 minutes. Scoop out the flesh into a colander (use a towel to hold the squash) and shred with 2 forks.

Meanwhile, heat a grill pan over medium heat. Grill the sausages, turning, until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper, onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the vegetables begin to brown, about 4 more minutes. Toss in the squash and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the sausages and sprinkle with parmesan.

Easy Pasta and It ain't Mac & Cheese

I glance at the clock and it's 4pm (still on my maternity leave).  Time to cook dinner for my hubby and myself while my sweet prince is napping.  Sure we can order takeout but after having takeout for a couple of days one craves homemade food.

Instead of preparing dinner I go on Facebook.  I love to cook but after my little one was born, i can't cook the way i used to.  I now rely on quick and simple recipes.  Once on Facebook, I see my cousin's wife posted a picture of sun dried tomatoes pasta with garlic and coriander.  This recipe called for you to saute garlic in olive oil, to add coriander, and to toss in some pasta.  What do  you know... this was the quick and simple recipe I was looking for!

I made some modifications to the recipe.  Instead of using spaghetti, I used farfelle (those bow-tie pasta).  I prefer using smaller size pasta to avoid using my big pots.  I substituted the corainder for zucchini, yellow squash, and basil.  My hubby and I needed to eat more veggies to makeup for all the takeout we've been eating.

You can pre-cut the veggies ahead of time and cook the pasta in parallel with the veggies to save time.  Overall, it took me no more than 15 minutes to cook dinner! It was quick, easy, yummy, and most importantly healthy!

Recipe Summary

• 3/4 - 1 lb of farfelle pasta
• Kosher salt
• Olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 medium size zucchini, chopped
• 1 medium size yellow squash, chopped
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
• handful of basil, chopped
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook the pasta in a medium size pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 8-10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes until garlic is aromatic, about 2 minutes.  Add the zucchini and yellow squash until tender, about 3 minutes.  Season with the chopped basil, salt, and pepper.  Finally, add the drained pasta into the large pan. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes.

garlic, zucchini, basil, sun dried tomatoes, and yellow squash

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (optional) and serve.

Sun dried tomato basil pasta with garlic and veggies

If you have other quick and easy recipes feel free to send us an email, urbanwarriormoms@gmail.com.  Many thanks to my cousin's wife!