Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

We might have lost an hour today, but we had plenty of time to make this super quick and flavorful dinner.

It might look like pasta with a cheese sauce but there is actually only a half cup of Parmesan in there.  It’s pumpkin!  And sure, today might have finally felt like spring but this sweet and savory dinner hit the spot.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce (ours is with rotini) is quick because it has only a few ingredients and minimal chopping and it makes a lot so there are plenty of leftovers. I highly recommend trying it.

Honey Cashew Chicken with Rice

We were able to cook dinner again tonight and we tried a recipe that I took out of Cooking Light last year.

Honey Cashew Chicken with Rice was really easy for us to make together and the results were amazing for a weeknight stir fry. We used brown rice instead of white and asparagus instead of broccoli but otherwise followed the recipe.

What makes this dish is the sauce which is a combination of rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce and Sriracha. It’s got a bit of heat to it but mixed with the sweetness it’s subtle and delicious.

Mike suggested we make this regularly because it was just that fabulous.

Cheesy Penne with Broccoli

Tonight I decided to try Cheesy Penne with Broccoli which was in this month’s Cooking Light.

This was a basic macaroni and cheese recipe except the sauce is made with a few different cheeses plus Dijon mustard and without any butter or oil. I normally like to add something green to macaroni and cheese, so this stood out as I was looking through the magazine.

We opted for shells instead of penne just because we had them on hand.  Otherwise, we followed the recipe exactly.  I thought it was pretty good but could use a bit more flavor.  Mike’s suggestion was to add more Dijon mustard and I read in the comments on the recipe that maybe adding some crushed red pepper would help.  But it was good enough and easy enough for a weeknight so we’ll definitely try it again maybe with a little modification.

Green Spring Chili and French Fry Pie

This week is spring break in our town and even though we still have work, a lot of people are gone.  Town is quiet and many of my regular after work activities are not happening this week so I’m taking the opportunity to cook dinner a little more than we have been lately.

Last night I made an old favorite that I can’t believe I’ve never posted about before.  My friend Jenna was the first person to tell me about Rachael Ray’s Green Spring Chili and French Fry Pie and I was skeptical. Mostly I doubted the french fries but she made it for us, it was delicious and now it’s something we make a couple times a year.

We bake the fries and keep them separate from the chili to make sure they don’t get too soggy since there are tons of leftovers. The chili is very fresh and springy and also works on it’s own or over rice.  But I promise, it’s really good with the fries.

Day one in Charleston, SC

Last week, Mike and I took off from work so that we could go explore Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA.  We had so much fun and fit so much into the week.  It was the perfect time of year to visit these cities as the temperatures were mostly in the sixties and there weren’t many crowds due to it being a lighter time of year for tourists.

We flew to Charleston for the first three nights of our trip.  When we arrived we went to Drayton Hall.

When I started to plan our trip, I knew we had to visit one plantation. I chose this one because of it’s proximity to the airport and because it was not restored but preserved. There isn’t fancy furniture or really anything but rooms that show their age but maintain their originality.

We had a great tour of the house and then wandered around the grounds which are right on the Ashley River.

Before we left, we stopped at the African American Cemetery on the property.

That night we had dinner reservations at Trattoria Luca.

We picked this restaurant because on Mondays they have a family supper with a prix fixe menu that got great reviews on Yelp.  I think this was my favorite dinner of the trip.

The four course meal was served family style at the table for us to share. It started with an amazing appetizer course.

Salad with apples, walnuts, shaved parmesan and a delicious dressing.

A charcuterie plate with prosciutto, capicola, salami and pickled vegetables.

Marinated mushrooms with crispy onions.

And delicious brussel sprouts.

And that was just the first course.  After that was the pasta course which was fresh with tomato, onion and a smoked cheese (I can’t remember what kind but it was so good).

The next course was pork which was served with roasted vegetables and a pesto on top.

And finally there was dessert.  Even our waitress said she didn’t know how to describe this.  Calling it a mousse would imply it was lighter and airy but calling it a pudding doesn’t seem special enough.  It was chocolatey without being too rich and the touch of sea salt on top was the perfect compliment.

This was the perfect end to a great first day.

Spicy Peanut Chicken Over Rice

This recipe has been sitting around for us to try since the August 2008 issue of Cooking Light.  I’m glad I never threw it away as I periodically thin out all the recipes I save.

Spicy Peanut Chicken Over Rice was warm, tasty and easy to make which was perfect for tonight.  I just wish I had read the reviews beforehand so I could have made a few modifications.

While this was delicious, I believe it would be even better with more peanut butter, at least another tablespoon or two.  I’d also add a bit less broth so it was thicker.

This is a really big recipe too so halving it would be an option.  In my house, the leftovers will get eaten for additional lunches and dinners so it was fine.This recipe will definitely appear in the rotation again because I’m excited to see how it turns out with more peanut butter.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

Last weekend I actually tried a new recipe.  I saw this Spinach Artichoke Pasta from the Pioneer Woman earlier in the week and knew I had to have it.

It was really easy to make.  We modified it by cooking the artichokes and spinach together and omitted the panko on top.  If I make it again, I’d use two to two and a half cups of milk instead of three because I like a thicker sauce.

Fettuccine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

Tonight we made Fettuccine with Tomato-Cream Sauce from the most recent issue of Cooking Light.

We used fresh spinach fettuccine from Fasta Ravioli Company. We mostly followed the recipe omitting the olives and halving the amount of cooking liquid based on a comment on the recipe.  We also mixed the basil into the sauce not just using it as a garnish.

This was great.  It’s easy, flavorful and way better than any jarred sauce. Next time I might add a touch of sugar to cut down on some of the acidity of the tomatoes, but if I forgot, it’d still be good.

London Broil Marinade

There hasn’t been a lot of cooking posts recently because for a month or more, we’ve been doing this thing where we grill up a bunch of something and then eat it on salad all week.  It’s simple, quick and delicious.

Once upon a time, we regularly used bottled marinades from the grocery store but lately they’ve just tasted gross. Now, we usually make a marinade with some olive oil, citrus and fresh herbs and it keeps us happy for many meals.

Last week we decided to grill a London broil and I found this simple, but delicious marinade in my Martha Stewart magazine.

We don’t keep much soda in the house anymore and if we do, it’s diet, so we bought a little 16 ounce bottle of Coke to make this marinade and put the London broil in the mixture of soda, red wine vinegar, garlic and onion before work.

The meat was tender and sweet and turned out perfect for a few nights of salads.

Afterward we had a half a Coke to drink and we couldn’t believe how sweet it was.  How did we ever drink that on a regular basis?

Orange Beef and Broccoli

Tonight we made Orange Beef and Broccoli.  We both thought we’d made it before but neither of us could remember cooking it once we got started.  It was very easy to make and the Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Medley actually took longer than the entire prep and cooking of the beef and broccoli.

This was really flavorful and fragrant.  It’s probably even better for during the week when we need quick recipes that taste like a treat.