Cheesy Pasta & Zucchini

I still have an abundance of zucchini to work with these days.  My kids are being very good about having zucchini nearly every night.  Tonight I just wanted a simple, light pasta dish and happened to have some ricotta on hand.  The kids devoured it so my plan worked!

Serves 6 easily

1lb Box Short Pasta (I used nuggets, an unusually shaped pasta my kids love)
Olive Oil
2 Medium Zucchini, sliced into half moons
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
15oz Container Part Skim Ricotta
1/4 Cup Shredded Romano Cheese
Fresh Basil

Bring a salted pot of water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente.

Meanwhile heat a saute pan on medium heat.  Add about a tbsp or two of olive oil to the pan and then the zucchini and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and cook about 5-7 minutes until al dente.  Add the wine and lower the heat to low.

In a bowl combine the ricotta and Romano cheese.  Add a couple ladles of starchy pasta water to the cheese and mix.  Season with salt and pepper.

Drain pasta.  Return the pasta to the pot or place in a serving bowl.  Remove the cloves of garlic from the zucchini and dump the zucchini on the pasta (including any juices).  Mix to combine.  Pour cheese mixture over pasta and sprinkle with some torn fresh basil.  Stir once more to combine and then serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Banana Bread

To be honest this recipe was developed out of a need for a quiet recipe.  Yes, a quiet recipe: one that can be made after children are in bed.  So I went for the quick and easy base of a cake mix.  I figured that I use a cake mix to make coffee cake and we eat that in the morning so I could use one to make use of my two rotting bananas.  This was a seriously yummy result!  Besides tasting like fall in a bite, it is also much less dense than a typical banana bread.  Please try it and love it too!

Makes a good 12 slices

1 Box White Cake Mix
4 Egg Whites
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
2 Overripe Bananas
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg

It could not be easier!  Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until combined.  The batter will still be a little lumpy.  Spray a 9x5 bread pan with nonstick cooking spray and scrape batter into the pan.  Bake bread in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes until cake tester comes out of the center clean.  Let cool in the pan for about 10 or 15 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack. 

ATM Salad

Or avocado, tomato and mozzarella salad stacks! Simple, filling and yummy!

Serves 2-3

1 Ripe Avocado
1 Large Tomato
3 or 4 oz Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Olive Oil

Start with a plate to stack the salad on and the first layer is the cheese! Slice the fresh mozzarella into 1/4" slices and line the plate with them. Then slice the tomato into juicy 1/8" or 1/4" slices and place on top of the cheese. Drizzle with some olive oil and salt and pepper (the salt will enhance the tomato) at this point. Finally, remove skin and pit from avocado and spoon out the flesh. Slice and place on top of the tomato. Enjoy!

Zucchini "Chips"

The zucchini plants in our garden are almost scary because they have just grown so big!  We are eating zucchini everyday!  Needless to say, I am trying to come up with some different things to do with zucchini.  These are delicious, crispy bites of zucchini!  Yummy served with marinara sauce or any other condiment of your choosing!

As a side, serves 4-6

1 Medium to Large Zucchini, sliced into "chips" (about 1/4" thick)
1 Egg and 1 Egg White
1/4 Cup Panko
1/4 Cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Cornflake Crumbs

In a shallow bowl, whisk the egg and egg white to combine.  Whisk in some salt and better.  In another shallow bowl, place the Panko, breadcrumbs, and cornflake crumbs and mix.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.  Take a couple of pieces of zucchini and place in the egg mixture.  Make sure to coat both sides.  Move from the egg mixture to the breadcrumb mixture and coat well.  After coated, place zucchini chip on prepared baking sheet.  Continue the process with each of the pieces of zucchini. (Using tongs can help with the process!)

When finished coating, place the baking sheet full of zucchini chips into a preheated 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes until coating is golden and crisp.

Maple Mustard Salmon

This simple salmon dish tastes like it is far more complicated than it is!  So easy and delicious!

Serves 3 or 4

3 or 4 Salmon Fillets
2 Tbsps Dijon Whole Grain Mustard
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup

Spray an oven proof pan with non-stick cooking spray and place the salmon fillets in the pan.  Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper.

In a bowl combine the mustard and syrup to form a sauce.  Pour the sauce over the salmon. 

Bake the salmon in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes (depending on how thick the fillets are).

Fish Tenders

Do they look like chicken tenders?  They do!  And it worked too!  They looked enough like chicken that my kids tried them and liked them!  They are simple to make and you can use many different types of fish.  I prefer tilapia for the kids because it is so mild.

Serves 3 or 4

3 or 4 Tilapia Fillets, each cut in half to look like chicken tenders
1/2 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/3 Cup Cornflake Crumbs
1/3 Cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs
1/3 Cup Panko

I like to use paper plates so clean up is a breeze!  Place the flour in one plate, buttermilk in another and the cornflake crumbs, breadcrumbs and panko in a third.  Place some salt and pepper in the buttermilk and stir around.  Mix around the breadcrumb mixture.

Using tongs, place tilapia once peice at a time in each mixture.  Coat in the flour and shake of excess and then roll in the buttermilk into fully coated and finally coat with the breadcrumb mixture.  Place breaded tilapia on a cooling rack on a baking sheet (this allows both sides to get crispy).  Spray tilapia with a small amount of non-stick cooking spray just before cooking.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 12-15 minutes until fish is cooked through and crispy.

Angel Hair with Shrimp

Today it is was so hot, my family craved a simple, light dinner!  This pasta dish hit the spot!  The angel hair truly absorbs the delicious sauce, but if you are looking for a heartier pasta, linguine would also work.

Serves 6

1lb Angel Hair Pasta (whole grain preferred)
3 Tbsps Butter
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Pint Grape Tomatoes
3 Cloves of Garlic
1/3 Cup White Wine
2 Tbsps Lemon Juice
Fresh Parsley & Basil
1 and 1/2lbs Shrimp, tails removed
1 6oz Package of Fresh Baby Spinach
Parmesan Cheese

Bring a salted pot of water to boil and cook angel hair pasta according to package directions to al dente.

While water boils/pasta cooks, melt butter over medium heat.  Add the oil, tomatoes and garlic.  Stirring occasionally, let the tomatoes cook until they are just starting to burst open (about 7 or 8 minutes).  Add the white wine and lemon juice to the pan, stir.  Toss in some freshly torn parley and basil and the shrimp.  Let the shrimp cook and start to turn pink (about 3 minutes) and then add the spinach.  Cover the pan for a couple of minutes to let the spinach start to wilt.  Ladle about 3 ladlefuls of starchy pasta water over top the spinach.  Turn the heat off.

Drain the pasta and add to the tomato and spinach mixture.  Toss to mix the pasta in with the shrimp and vegetables.  When serving, top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!