Creamy Pesto Macaroni

You need:

1/2 cup elbow macaroni
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp Butter
1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cube (about 1 tbsp) Basil Pesto (I froze the Pesto I made in an ice cube tray!)
1/4 cup cream
1 cup milk
1 cup water (reserved after boiling pasta)
3-4 florets broccoli (optional)
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Boil pasta as per package instructions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup water. (I added the broccoli florets along with pasta so they get really tender by the time the pasta gets cooked. This is a good trick when you want to sneak in some vegetables)
2. Heat butter in a medium sauce pan, add flour and stir briskly using a wire whisk.
3. Add garlic and saute for few seconds.
4. Add cream and Parmesan cheese and blend well until creamy.
5. Add milk, water and salt and bring it to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in Pesto Sauce, and then macaroni and cook for another couple of minutes. (Before adding in pasta, I mashed the broccoli with a fork and as you can see in the picture it blended nicely with the slightly green sauce)
7. Cook few more minutes if you want to thicken the sauce more, however it does thicken a bit as it cools down anyways.
8. Serve hot and garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan Cheese. Sprinkle some black pepper to add a little kick.
Black pepper can be mixed in when cooking the sauce as well but to keep the recipe ‘toddler friendly’ I preferred adding it while serving it for adults!

Enjoy! And yes, my son did enjoy his dinner very much so I am happily tagging this recipe is ‘Toddler Friendly’.

Creamy Pesto Macaroni

Tip: Stir in grilled chicken towards the end of the cooking to make it ‘Creamy Pesto Chicken pasta!’. Serve as is to the little ones and with a side of garden salad and sour dough bread for yourself.

Creamy Pesto Macaroni is a post from: Chef

Basil Pesto

I read this recipe in Woman’s day magazine and immediately wanted to try it. However, my busy schedule did not really permit me until last weekend. Ironically, it takes less than 5 minutes to make it. The only thing you need to plan for his having fresh basil leaves on hand that was the hard part for me. If you are growing them in your backyard or in a container on your windowsill you are in luck and you don’t need to wait like me to buy couple of ‘live plants’ from the grocery store and make it as soon as I bought it to preserver freshness!

You need:

Basil Pesto-Basil,Garlic and Cheese

2 cups fresh basil leaves (firmly packed)
6 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
3-4 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (for making it my ‘toddler friendly’ I did not add any)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
dash of lemon juice (optional)

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the oil. Pulse until a thick paste is formed.

Basil, Garlic and Cheese- in Magic Bullet

3. Transfer to an airtight container and press plastic wrap directly onto Pesto to prevent browning. Cover with lid.
Mine came out little runny as you can see in the picture. I had little less than 2 cups of Basil leaves, After refrigerating, I removed the extra oil later. Next time I just have to make sure I have ‘firmly packed’ two cups as the recipe calls for.
You can refrigerate up to 4 days and freeze up to 3 months.

I absolutely loved this tip in Woman’s Day magazine: divide the leftovers into an ice cube tray, seal it tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. Since Pesto has a very concentrated flavor, you will not use more than a cube or two at any time (unless coating large quantities of meat!). Later pop out a cube, defrost in microwave and use it in:

1. Soups: Minestrone, Lentil, vegetable or chicken soup
2. Add to pasta sauces – Marinara, Alfredo
3. Coat fish/chicken, grill
4. Spread on sandwiches
5. Mix with cream cheese and serve as a spread for crackers

Basil Pesto-Freeze

I would say sky is the limit…and this is the just the beginning of my adventures with Pesto! Obediently, I saved one serving and froze the rest for later. I also found out that there are variations with Spinach, mint, cilantro, almonds and so on – so I guess there is more experimenting to do as well.

Presto Basil Pesto (Nut Free) is a post from: Chef

Toddler Approved Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Broccoli

You need:

1 cup boiled thin Spaghetti, I cut the Spaghetti into smaller pieces before boiling
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1-1/2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Collard greens, chopped (or any other leafy vegetable like Spinach or Mustard)
3-4 Broccoli florets, chopped
salt to taste
pinch of turmeric to make it look yellow!

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and onions and saute for few minutes until onions are tender.
2. Add tomatoes, turmeric and salt and cook on high for another 5 minutes.
3. Add Collard greens and Broccoli florets and cook for couple of minutes.
4. Add about three fourth cup water and bring it to boil. Simmer until vegetables are tender and a medium thick sauce is made. Adjust water if needed. Add the boiled Spaghetti and mix well.

Serve warm to the little one! My son enjoyed the colorful pasta with a very mild taste so I am happily tagging it as ‘Toddler Friendly’.

Toddler Approved Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Broccoli is a post from: Chef

Chicken Noodle Soup

On cold winter evenings, I love having a big bowl of chicken noodle soup for dinner. It is a nutritious, hearty and low fat meal that does not need too many ingredients. Moreover, this is one of the dishes my entire family enjoys including my 2 year old son. I thought I should make one more batch while it is still little chilly in my part of the world. I have experimented with different types of noodles and pasta shapes. This time I mixed tri color egg ribbon pasta with some spiral pasta (my son loves both!). However, please feel free to use regular egg noodles if you like.

You need:
1 lb rotisserie chicken (with bones and skin)

Chicken Noodle Soup-Prepare

4-5 carrots
5-6 celery stalks
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3 quarts water
1 cup egg ribbon pasta
14 cup spiral pasta
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
garlic seasoning to taste
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot add water, chicken, carrots, celery and garlic and bring it to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup-prepare broth

Turn off the burner and take out the chicken. Remove skin, debone and shred the chicken to small pieces (you can use your fingers of pull it apart with fork).

Chicken Noodle soup-shred chicken

Return the chicken to pot, add pasta, chicken broth and cook on high until pasta is cooked.

Chicken Noodle Soup-Add pasta

For my son, I make sure I over cook the pasta. Add salt, pepper and garlic seasoning to taste.

Serve hot! I eat it with a dash of Tobasco sauce and my son enjoys it with some butter on top!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Low Fat Chicken Noodle Soup is a post from: Chef