Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Soups are so comforting on a cold, wet, rainy day... and you will know what I mean when you live in a place like seattle :)
My daughter loves soups and end up getting one everytime we go to a restaurant..So I have always wanted to make her a soup and here's a starter..
Who doesn't like minestrone? Pretty much every likes it...Its healthy, hearty, filling and comforting..Now what more do you need in a food anyway?
I saw this episode of Ina make a winter minestrone soup and immediately wanted to make one..But as usual, I did not have most of the ingredients and waited next week until I could go shopping..
I have never made anything with butternet squash and I really loved it in the soup..
Here's the recipe for Vegetable Minestrone soup adapted from Ina's.

Ingredients:
French Baguette - 1, thinly sliced
Yellow Onion - 1 very large, diced

Carrots - 3 large, diced

Celery - 4 stalks, diced
Garlic - 5-6 cloves, crushed

Butternut squash - 1, diced

Cannelloni beans - 1 can

Tomatoes - 4 ripened/1 can, diced

Small Pasta - 1 cup (cook as per pkg directions)

Vegetable/Chicken stock - 7-8 cups
White wine - 1/2 cup (optional)

Dried thyme - 1/2 tsp

Dried basil - 1/2 tsp

Dried oregano - 1/4 tsp
Bay leaves - 2

Cayenne pepper - 1/4 tsp

Paprika - 1/4 tsp 

Black Pepper - 1 tsp

Salt - 1 Tbsp

Olive oil

For Pesto: 

Cilantro/Parsley/Basil leaves - 1 cup

Pine nuts - 2 Tbsp

Parmesan cheese - 1 Tbsp, grated

Olive oil - 2 Tbsp

To add chicken: (optional)

Chicken breast - 1 piece, diced

Cayenne pepper - 1/4 tsp

Paprika - 1/4 tsp 

All purpose seasoning - 1/2 tsp

Salt, to taste

Method:

Pesto:
Process all the ingredients from the list into a food processor and blend until coarse.

Garlic Bread: 

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees .
• Thinly slice the baguette to 1/2-1 inch thick pieces and line up on a cookie sheet and bake for about 7-8 minutes until slightly crispy. 
• Once the bread is out of the oven, cut the tip of a garlic clove and rub on each slice of the bread.

Minestrone Soup:

• Heat 1-2 Tbsps of oil in a large pot or pan and add all the vegetables - onions, celery, butternut squash, carrots, crushed garlic, basil, thyme, bay leaves, oregano and salt. Adding salt makes the veggies cook faster.
• Once the veggies are soft and cooked, add tomatoes, vegetable/chicken stock, pepper, cayenne and paprika, mix well and let it come to a boil.
• Once the liquid starts boiling, simmer and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes until it reduces down.
• Now add the spinach, pesto, cooked pasta, beans and white wine (if using) and let it cook for about 5 minutes until the spinach is cooked and shrinks to a dark green color.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve with a garlic bread

Tips:

• You can peel and cut all the vegetables ahead of time. I did this one day in advance as this could eat up your time.
• You could always use any store bought pesto. I did not have pesto, so I made my own version.I used cilantro as I did not have other herbs. I would have used basil preferably, but was surprised that cilantro tasted just as good in the soup. 
• While toasting the bread, if you prefer it less crispy (like my husband), remove it earlier around 5/6 minutes or simply cut the baguette and dip into soup and enjoy.
• If the soup is too thick always feel free to add more stock and let the whole pot come to a boil.
• If you're adding chicken, mix the chicken well with all the spices and saute in a pan with olive oil until well cooked and add to the soup along with the pasta.

Tons of Veggies Pasta

Finally after a long time I'm back!..with the pregnancy and the moving to Seattle, things have been really busy...I never got time to post anything..I always feel cooking is just a small part...writing up and posting the recipe is most of the part.. :)
Anyways, here's a simple pasta recipe I put together with a lot of veggies and mascarpone cheese..Its rich and yummy!

Ingredients:
Wheat penne pasta - 1/2 lb
Onion, diced - 1 medium
Zucchini, cut into thin small pieces - 2
Squash, cut into thin small pieces - 2
Green Peas & carrots, diced - 1/2 cup
Green Pepper, diced - 1/2 no
Garlic, crushed - 2 medium cloves
Mascarpone Cheese - 4oz
Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
Parsley, chopped - 1-2 Tbsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Chives (Fresh/dried) - 1/4 tsp
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Method:

1. Cook pasta in enough boiling water and salt for about 8-10 minutes until cooked.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the onions and sauté until soft. Add the crushed garlic and sauté for a minute. Now, add all the remaining veggies and sauté until cooked and soft. 
3. Add all the seasonings: salt, pepper, lemon juice, chives and italian seasoning. 
4. Now add the mascarpone, parmesan cheeses and parsley and mix. 
5. Toss the pasta and cook for a minute until everything gets coated evenly. 

Turkey Meatballs w/ Angel Hair Pasta

Lately, I've been watching a lot of cooking episodes where they used ground beef, ground chicken, turkey in some form and I thought it's been such a long time since I made meatballs..and this time I wanted to try turkey! These meatballs can be served in several different ways..As an appetizer, curry, in sliders, pitas or traditionally with pasta..I am so bored of having spaghetti now that I wanted to try angel hair pasta..I loved this version sooo much better..coz of the lightness of the angel hair..

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta - 1 lb
Salt, to taste
Olive oil - 1/2 Tbsp

For the Meatballs:
Ground Turkey - 1 lb
Onion - 1/2 medium
Garlic, minced - 3 cloves
Egg, beaten - 1
Tomato paste - 1 Tbsp
Chilly Paste (I used Sriracha) - 1/2 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Curry Powder - 1 tsp
Salt free All purpose seasoning - 1/2 tsp
Breadcrumbs, seasoned - 1/4 cup
Wheat bread - 2 slices
Milk - 1/4 cup
Parmesan cheese,grated - 1/4 cup
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

For the Sauce:
Onion, diced - 1 medium
Fire roasted Tomatoes - 1 can
Stewed Tomatoes - 1 can
Garlic, crushed - 3 cloves
Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp
Red Cooking wine - 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry powder - 1/2 tsp
Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp
Parmesan, grated - 1/4 cup
Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Soak the bread in milk for a minute. 
3. Add everything from the Ingredients list and the soaked up bread and mix. Make 1- 1 1/2 inch balls and line on a baking tray and spray some cooking spray on the top of each meatball and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the meatballs halfway so that it doesn't get too brown on one side. 
4. Cook pasta as per packaging directions in enough boiling water with salt and olive oil and drain. 
5. For the sauce, heat oil in a pan and add crushed garlic and sauté until slightly browned.
6. Add onions and sauté until golden. Now add the tomatoes, wine and let it simmer for a few minutes until the alcohol evaporates.
7. Add everything else from the sauce list and bring to a boil and add the meatballs and remove from flame. 
8. Serve meatballs marinara with the cooked angel hair pasta and sprinkle some parmesan on top and enjoy! 

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

This is a delicious and garlicky shrimp pasta that'll make the whole house fragrant just while cooking!!

Ingredients:
Shrimp - 1/2 lb
Garlic, minced - 5 cloves
Red Onion, diced -1/4
Stewed tomatoes- 1/3 cup
White wine - 1/3 cup
Marsala wine -1/3 cup
Pasta water - 1/2 cup
Whole wheat Linguine/spaghetti - 1/2 lb
Crushed red pepper - 1tsp
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
Parmesan, grated - 1/4 cup
Bread crumbs, seasoned - 1/4 cup
Olive Oil - 3-4 Tbsp
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Cook pasta in boiling water with enough salt and some olive oil for about 8-10 minutes until al dente. 
2. Heat olive oil in a pan and add crushed garlic and sauté until slightly browned and add onions and sauté until golden. 
3. Add the stewed tomatoes, white and the marsala wines and let it simmer. 
4. Add pasta water, lemon juice and the shrimp and let it cook for a few minutes until the shrimp is all curled up and pink. 
5. Add crushed pepper, salt & pepper, parmesan, breadcrumbs, pasta and chopped parsley and mix it in the heat for a few minutes and remove.

Asparagus Pasta

Asparagus is a healthy vegetable that I am slowly trying to incorporate into my cooking these days. I've always loved it as an accompaniment with fish or chicken at restaurants and always look for ways to include veggies in my daughter's pasta..even though she filters them out most of the times :)

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta - 8oz

Asparagus - 10 nos

Red Onions/shallots, diced - 1/2 medium

Garlic, finely chopped - 5 cloves

Broccoli, frozen - 1/2 cup

Green Peas, frozen - 1/2 cup

Cherry tomatoes - 1/2 cup

Chicken/Vegetable broth - 3/4 cup

Parmesan, shredded - 1/4 cup

Mozzarella, shredded - 1/4 cup

Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp

Olive Oil - 2 Tbsp

Method:

1. Cook pasta in enough boiling water for about 8-10 minutes until it's cooked al dente.
2. Cut asparagus into 1 1/2 inch pieces. tomatoes in half, and broccoli into florets if you are using an entire bunch.
3. Heat olive oil in a pan and add onions and garlic and sauté until the onions turn pink. 
4. Add asparagus, broccoli, salt and pepper and saute until they are cooked through.
5. Add the peas, tomatoes, chicken broth, lemon juice. Add the drained pasta.
6. Mix in the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and crushed pepper and adjust salt to taste and cook for a few minutes until the cheeses melt and forms a guey sauce.

Cooking pasta al dente (means "to the bite") will help the pasta absorb all the sauces and the flavor better while cooking in it for a few minutes. I did not have cherry tomatoes so I used 1 roma tomato instead. If you dont have the specific cheeses try with ones you have..If you want the pasta to have more sauce, you can add a little bit of milk or cream. Also, I roasted the leftover asparagus in the same pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper for a nice side vegetable :)

Veggie Egg Noodles

Growing up, my brother used to experiment and make these awesome chinese style egg noodles similar to the ones that you get at restaurants as sunday breakfast or an evening snack. In India you would never had to to crave or add meat to your meal coz you get amazing vegetarian food at restaurants. So I decided to keep this veggie but with eggs..Please..I just said no meat..dint say no eggs :)

Ingredients:
Egg noodles - 1 pack
Red Onions - 1 large
Carrots - 2 nos
Bell pepper - 1 no
Cabbage, cut into strips -  1 handful
Paneer - 10-15 pieces
Spring Onions, cut small - 1/2 bunch (optional)
Ginger, grated - 1 tsp
Garlic, grated - 1 tsp
Eggs - 2
Soy sauce - 1 Tbsp
Worcestershire sauce -1 Tbsp
Chilli sauce - 2tsp (I used Sriracha)
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Red chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Ajinomoto - 1 pinch
Sugar - 1pinch
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Cut all the veggies lengthwise into 2 inch thin long strips. 
2. Cook noodles as per packaging directions
3. Scramble eggs in a pan and keep aside. 
4. If you don't have fried paneer, shallow fry the paneer in a pan/wok until slightly browned and chewy.
5. In the same pan, add onions and sauté until it turns pink. Add ginger and garlic and fry for a few mins. You can also just add ginger garlic paste if you don't have grated ginger and garlic.
6. Add all the veggies, salt and sugar and in high flame, sauté the veggies until cooked through. The sugar helps to keep the veggies retain their colors while getting cooked. 
7. Now add everything else and heat in medium flame for a few minutes. Chilli sauce, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, red chilli flakes, pepper, ajinomoto, noodles, scrambled eggs, spring onions and paneer and adjust salt, pepper and chilli sauces to taste, if needed.

Garlic Butter Pasta

I always experiment with different varieties of pasta..and here is my recent favorite..

Ingredients:

For Chicken:

Bread crumbs - 3/4 cup
Egg, beaten - 1
Boneless Chicken Breast/thighs - 3 nos
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3-4 Tbsp
For Pasta:
Garlic cloves, minced - 3 nos
Pappardelle pasta - 1/2 pack
Parsley, chopped - handful
Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup
Salt and Pepper - for taste
Butter - 4 Tbsp
Veggies, optional

 Cooking Chicken:

1. Take 2 bowls, one with breadcrumbs and one with beaten egg.
2. In a freezer bag, put the chicken piece and bash it with rolling pin until flattened out. Put some flour into the bag and shake to coat chicken.
3. Take the chicken and dip in the egg, and then in the bread crumbs and keep aside.
4. In a Skillet, add olive oil and heat over medium heat and add the chicken in a single layer and cook until browned on both sides for 2-3 minutes each side.

Cooking Pasta:

1. Take a large saucepan and bring to boil 3-4 cups of water. Add salt, little olive oil and pasta and let it cook for 15-20 mins until cooked. This pasta takes more time than others in general
2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, add butter, and when melted, add garlic and parsley and cook over medium heat until garlic is lightly browned.
3. Add salt and pepper and add the chicken cut into thin strips.
4. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup of water.
5. Add pasta to the skillet, top with parmesan and mix.

 This is a yummy pasta for children and adults that can be customized with meat or veggies and any kind of pasta based on your taste. I added some peas and carrots for my daughter. You can even add leftover chicken, fish or shrimp.