Zucchini Sketti

7/11/2011

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It's no mystery I like Italian-esque food.

I adore pasta, but sometimes it's just too much at the end of the day. I'm always trying to get in more veggies, you know, because More Matters and all.

Zucchini is actually a wonderful substitute for the carb-backed noodles.

You'll need:
3 straight Zucchinis (I used two green and one yellow)
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 c. Baby Bellas mushrooms
2 Roma tomatoes
1/4 c. red wine
1/2 T. Minced Garlic (I use jarred when cooking for myself)
a few basil leaves (of course!)
1/2 c. Prego Mushroom tomato sauce (I cheat a little)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Shredded Asiago cheese for garnish
1. Measure EVOO in a sauté pan and put on low heat.
2. Slice tomatoes, basil and mushrooms to sauce-sized pieces and place in a saucepan. 
3. Add red wine, garlic and Prego to saucepan and then turn to Low-medium heat.
4. With a vegetable peeler, start making "noodles" by peeling zucchini. Yes, you can use the skin. Peel zucchini until you almost get to the seeds. Discard core.
5. Stir sauce in between peeling zucchini.
6. When all zucchini is peeled, turn heat in sauté pan to Medium.
7. Add zucchini "noodles" to oil and stir often. Zucchini will only take 2-3 minutes. It's done when it begins to turn translucent.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste, then strain excess water from zucchini.
9. Place in the middle of a pretty plate, top with your "homemade" sauce and Asiago cheese.
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Deelishus Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta

3/1/2011

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This is one of my most favorite dishes to make. I always get "oohs and aaahs" over it. And besides all the chopping, it's incredibly simple, and definitely can be tweaked to your liking (or dis-liking) of ingredients.

You will need:
1 box Whole Wheat pasta
1 lb uncooked shrimp (I like to get mine from the seafood dept the day of)
3 cloves garlic, minced (or more if you're me!)
1 large shallot, chopped (they're by the onions, if you can't find 'em, you can use a small red onion)
1/4c. dry white wine (I like using Sauv. Blanc for this recipe)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
Bag of asparagus (in the fresh food isle, steam-in-the bag kind!!!)
1/2 pint Grape or Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Zest of 1 lemon (I normally just use a cheese grater lightly)
dash salt & pepper to taste

1. Chop everything first! Everything goes really fast after that...
2. Start your pasta water. (Add pasta when water boils, of course)
Meanwhile:
3. Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat.
4. Heat bag o' asparagus in the microwave for 2 minutes (the bag will say 3 min.)
5. Once butter is melted, add lemon zest, chopped shallot and garlic and heat through. (a couple minutes)
6. Add shrimp and white wine. Sprinkle salt and cracked pepper to taste.
7. Get asparagus out, cut into 1" pieces. Throw away woody ends, if necessary.
8. Shrimp are ready when they turn pink. (*Don't overcook! If shrimp start looking more like an "O" than a "C" they are starting to overcook).
9. Add tomatoes and asparagus. Heat through.
10. Your pasta should be done, or close to done!
11. Add everything together.
12. Serve & Enjoy! :)
(Let me know if you have any questions!) I tend to actually not write down the recipes.

Really, the real trick here is using ingredients that YOU like to eat. Cooking is like an experiment! A yummy, yummy experiment.
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