Take Two- Tuna Noodle-Casserole V2.0

I've shared this recipe before, or rather a previous version. I decided I'd love to have it again, since I'm not sure I'd even made it since I posted it long ago. It's based on a Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole from Everyday Food. When I tried out that recipe the first time I discovered that I just couldn't stand artichoke hearts. That lesson learned, I had to make a quick substitution and went with frozen peas. This time around I knew that peas were my go-to ingredient, but I also had some green beans that needed to be put to use. Also, I was able to pick up some whole grain egg noodles, which tasted great in this recipe- no big difference at all. I still haven't followed through on my idea of subbing white whole wheat in for the all purpose yet though. Maybe next time, because I think this recipe came out much better than the last. I think I've gotten better at working with flour and making a slight bechamel sauce too. The original Everyday Food recipe was a "Freeze It" feature, so it served 8. This recipe serves 4, but feel free to double up and tuck one in the freezer for a rainy day.

Tuna-Noodle Casserole
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food; Serves 4

2.5 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 lb. whole grain egg noodles
1 red bell pepper, seeded and ribbed, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2.5 cups 2% milk
2 6 ounce cans tuna, packed in olive oil, drained
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup chopped green beans
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil 8" square or shallow 2 quart baking dish. In a large pot of boiling slated water, cook the noodles until 2 minutes short of al dente; drain and return to pot.
• Meanwhile in a large pot, heat oil over medium. Ad bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add mi8lk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a simmer.
• Remove from heat; add mixture to noodles in the pot, along with tuna, peas, and green beans. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Transfer to baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

My notes: My green beans were pretty crisp still, next time I might toss them in the pan with the noodles for a moment before draining just to soften them up a little. Other than that the crisp was a night extra texture. The original recipe called for whole milk, which might make a slight difference in the creaminess of your bechamel, but honestly I couldn't tell enough of a difference to make it worth it for me. I'm fine with saving a few calories instead, ha. Oh, and I just spray my baking dish with some cooking spray, works just as well and saves me a little of my more expensive olive oil.

If you want to freeze this recipe: Prepare through step 3; cool to room temperature. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and freeze up to three months.
If you want to cook directly from the freezer bake it covered with foil, until center is warm, about 2 hours. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes more. If you thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, the covered baking time is reduced to 30 minutes.

Tortellini with Peas, Please!

I made this quick and fast recipe last week. Really yummy, this is another recipe that I'd seen and had been floating around in my head, waiting for the day it would land on the menu. This is going to be a great recipe to add to the repertoire, because it truly is one of the easiest. Yum! It would be so easy to have the handful of ingredients in your kitchen at all times, leaving you with a super speedy meal when you just don't know what to make. It's also so fast to throw together it would make a good meal for last minute entertaining. In fact, with a main dish as easy as this, you could spend a little time on a great dessert and impress your guests with how quickly you brought dinner together in a crunch.

Tortellini with Peas
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4












Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 lb. frozen cheese tortellini
1 10 oz. package frozen peas
2 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook tortellini about 2 minutes less than package instructions. Add peas; cook until pasta is al dente and peas are tender, 2 minutes more. Reserving 1 cup pasta water, drain. Set aside pasta and peas.
• Melt butter in pasta pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Discard garlic.
• To pasta pot, add pasta and peas, Parmesan, and 3/4 cup reserved pasta water; season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Add more pasta water, if necessary, to thin sauce. Serve, topped with additional Parmesan if desired.

My notes: Now see, how easy is that? Especially because frozen pasta takes no time at all to cook. My frozen tortellini took all of 3 minutes. This could also be delicious with a full-blown alfredo sauce, but I guess that would really push the calorie count up, ha.

Easy Peasy

I was searching for a nice simple recipe to use up some of my frozen peas and I definitely found it over at Checkered Napkins. This recipe was really easy, really quick, and really delicious. So, since the recipe is so fast I won't waste a lot of time chattering about it.

Penne with Ricotta and Peas
Recipe from Checkered Napkins
1 lb. whole wheat penne
8 oz. part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup grated parmigiana reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen green peas (not baby peas)

• Put a large pot of water to boil. Salt water well, and cook pasta according to package directions. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta, grated cheese, salt, and pepper. When pasta has about 3 minutes left to cook, stir and scoop out about a cup of the cooking liquid. Whisk enough liquid into ricotta mixture to make a sauce consistency.
• When pasta is about a minute away from being done, toss in the frozen peas. Drain pasta and peas, then toss with ricotta mixture. Serve up with more parm, if desired.

My notes: I made this with what I had, regular penne and shredded Parmesan. I like the difference in texture between the more smooth ricotta and the shredded cheese. I also added a little garlic powder, and next time I think I'll add even more. All in all this recipe was great and I'll definitely be using it again.