Recipe: My Scrumptious Mushroom Linguine Is a Dish the Family Will Demand Again and Again!

How does a plate of my Scrumptious Mushroom Linguine sound?

The recipe that I want to share with you today is not only easy, but a deliciously different pasta dish that makes use of fresh mushrooms delicately seasoned to perfection with minced garlic in olive oil with just the right blend of savory herbs to coax out all that inner flavor before serving on a bed of fresh, waiting linguine and then sprinkling with grated Parmesan for a marvelous finish.  My Scrumptious Mushroom Linguine also doesn't take much time to whip up before you sit down to dinner.

Recipe: Cozy Up With a Hearty Bowl of My Special Lentil Soup Because Snow Is Coming!

My Special Lentil Soup 

Though I love soups all year round, I think nothing warms you up more on a cold winter’s day than a bowl of piping, hot soup. The recipe that I have for you today is one of my favorites for a hearty and satisfying lentil soup that you will make a roux and thicken.  Unlike the typical seasonings for this bean soup, I gave it a unique flavor from an unexpected twist of basil that brings out maximum deliciousness.

If you’re trying to lose weight, this is a good low-calorie soup to make ahead of time and reheat later for lunches or serve along with dinner.

Dried legumes usually need to soak overnight before you cook them.  However, lentils cook up rather fast so just sort for any small rocks, then rinse and put them in pot with the water to cook until softened.

To make it even more filling, I add some type of noodle or elbow macaroni but it tastes just as good plain. For the days when I’m lazy or rushed, I will dump in some dried ready-made pasta.  However, I do prefer homemade noodles every time.  There is no comparison of the taste and quality of homemade to what you can buy.  

Here is the recipe for my homemade pasta dough that I always use that is quite easy, especially when you whip it up in your food processor.  If you haven’t tried to make your own dough yet, you truly are missing out something so extra delicious. It also saves you money when you figure out the cost compared to boxes of those commercial brands. 

I use a pasta machine that you attach to your table and crank by hand.  It really isn’t a lot work or very hard to do.  It takes me only about 30 minutes to finish and clean up when I make a batch (about five cups) for both soup and a pasta dinner.  

I don’t recommend the electronic models because they are extremely slow compared to the crank variety. My friend had one and hated it so much that she sold it at her garage sale before getting a manual one like mine.

By the way, I also have another wonderful lentil soup recipe that you might want to try as well that I shared at an earlier time.  This one is for red lentil vegetarian soup with a tomatoes and spinach that you should check out also.

I do hope you try these wonderful recipes because they are full of fiber, protein, and lots of vitamins and nutrients to keep you healthy and going.  


My Special Lentil Soup

6 cups of water
1 cup of dried lentils
1 medium onion
4 or 5 stalks of celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup of olive oil
8 small potatoes or 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon of dried basil leaves
½ cup of flour
1 cup of dried elbow macaroni or noodles 


Sort your lentils for small rocks because there is always a chance that you might find one. Rinse and then keep the lentils in water until the vegetables are prepared.  

Start with browning the onions and celery in the olive oil until golden before adding the carrots and potatoes to your pan.  

Continue cooking the vegetables for a few minutes and then take off of the heat and coat with the flour for your roux.

Add the coated vegetables and your seasonings to your water and waiting lentils and cook. Check periodically until the vegetables are soft as well as the lentils.

What I normally do is toward the end of the soup’s cooking time, I just throw in the dry macaroni or noodles and cook until the preferred degree of firmness.  On other days, I will make my homemade noodles, which I do boil first before adding some to the soup.  

Serve when the noodles or macaroni gets ready.  

ENJOY!

Recipe: Warm Up With My Healthier Recipe for Homemade Corn Chowder!

Nothing can be finer for cold winter days than a big hearty bowl of soup to warm you up!  Bacon has been traditionally used in making corn chowder.  However, I  do try to avoid artery-clogging ingredients as much as possible.  In the past, I will admit that I used bacon to flavor my corn chowder.  Now I can honestly tell you once you follow my recipe that I use now that you too will not miss it.  

Another good thing about making your own homemade soup is thinking of all the money you will save on those expensive cans often with less than ideal oils, preservatives, overabundance of salt, and the like.

For starters, I use olive oil to brown my vegetables in this recipe.  Another thing that I did was add a dash of ground nutmeg, and one-half teaspoon of thyme leaves, and one teaspoon of sugar for a wonderful flavor kick.  

You can make this soup even more filling and equivalent of a light meal by making a batch of homemade noodles from the recipe for pasta dough that I shared with you earlier. 

I do hope you will try this recipe for yourself because I am nuts about it!


My Hearty Corn Chowder

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup of chopped celery
2 tablespoons of flour
3 cups of milk 
1 can of cream-style corn (about 14.5 oz.)
5 medium potatoes, cut and diced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
dash of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
1 cup of evaporated milk
3 tablespoons of olive oil

Fry your chopped onions and celery in the olive oil until they are lightly browned and tender.  Next remove from the heat briefly and coat those vegetables with your flour so the soup will thicken later. 

Return to the heat and stir in all the remaining ingredients, except for the corn and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Stir in the corn last along with your cooked noodles and cook 5 minutes longer to heat through. 

My homemade Corn Chowder is perfect for warming up.

Recipe: For a Lazy Day Summer Dinner Try My Delicious No Work Tuna Spaghetti!

Here is a plate of my No-Work Tuna Spaghetti

This is the perfect type of lazy day summer dinner that requires only a minimum of effort to keep you near that hot stove.  At the same time, this is also one of my favorite recipes all year long since it is easy to prepare, healthy, and does not involve too much time when you are busy.  You will be surprised at how the addition of mustard takes away the strong taste of tuna and changes the flavor into something more like a clam.

Usually I like to make my own homemade pasta dough.  However, I do resort to store bought on occasion when I'm short of time.  You can make my dough recipe as I shared with you in an early post or use a one pound box.  Both methods will work well, but I will be honest that homemade pasta does taste better and I am spoiled when it comes to fresh pasta and homemade bread and do prefer making my own.

The only real work in this recipe involves peeling lots of garlic.  If you hate garlic, you can substitute onion or use equal parts of both.  I made this countless times both ways, but usually prefer the garlic version best.

You can use Dijon mustard or prepared yellow mustard.  Both taste equally delicious in this recipe, only the prepared mustard version is slightly sweeter and cheaper. 

Save about two tablespoons of your boiled water that you cooked your spaghetti in to add to your sauce.  This helps thicken it up slightly.

I do hope you will try this recipe out because it is delicious, easy, and economical.  Trust me, but you can fool even tuna haters with the incredible flavor of this dish.  They just might think they are dining on clam!

My No Work Tuna Spaghetti

two 5-oz. cans of tuna fish (use packed in water, do not drain)
1/4 cup of olive oil
8-10 large cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and chopped or (1 medium onion, peeled and chopped)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons water from your boiled spaghetti
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 lb. of spaghetti

Clean and peel your garlic or onion or both and chop fine.  

Brown your garlic pieces in the olive oil  in your skillet until golden, then stir in your mustard, tuna, margarine, lemon juice, pepper, water, and salt for your sauce.  

When cooked through throw over your cooked spaghetti and blend.  Top with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and enjoy!

ENJOY!