Meatless Monday

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health. Our goal is to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.

Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.

It has always been my goal to open the pantry, see what is there, and prepare a meal dependent on what is available. I don't work particularly hard at that goal but I am getting much better, with a little help from food bloggers and websites that drop recipes in my email once a week.

This week's dish is Spicy Baked Macaroni, recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. While this pasta dish reminds me of a summer pasta with spinach and cherry tomatoes, baked and spicy seemed more appropriate for winter. I'll admit I have a bad habit of substituting and leaving out ingredients - it is just enough to drive a Type A personality crazy! I'm getting better about that, as well.

Substitutions to help empty my pantry and refrigerator and to avoid waste:
1) Instead of elbow macaroni, I had three boxes of different kinds of small pasta (bow tie, penne, and shells), about 1/3 in each box. Perfect.
2) I only had shredded mozzarella cheese.
3) I used ground red pepper.
4) I substituted Parmesan cheese since I didn't have any Romano.
5) I used fresh spinach.
Other than that........ sorry, real cooks, Type As, and Giada. Five substitutions should qualify for an adapted recipe, don't you think? Oh! I used my frozen homemade bread cubes for the bread crumbs. I grated those and the Parmesan cheese in my mini-food processor. I felt like a real cook!

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound assorted mushrooms, quartered
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup
• 1/4 cup Romano, plus 1/3 cup
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons
• 12 ounces mozzarella cubed (about 2 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the onion is golden, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup Romano. Spread the softened butter in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle half of the bread crumb mixture inside the dish to coat.

In a large bowl combine the vegetable mixture with the cooked macaroni, cubed mozzarella, the remaining Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and the nutmeg. Spoon into the prepared baking dish, top with the remaining bread crumb mixture, and dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Serves: 8 to 10 servings


BASIC FUDGE

I realize everyone made fudge BEFORE the holidays. I waited until AFTER the holidays. It is like wearing a red dress on Valentine's Day - why blend in? Wear it the day after, if you want to be noticed:)

I was always led to believe making fudge was extremely difficult and included scary things like double boilers, stirring and watching it constantly, and making sure it was just the right temperature. I believed this because I never seemed to have a consistent piece of fudge.

I set out to make the Easy Oreo Fudge from Taste and Tell; my mini Oreos didn't make it through the holidays. So, here is basic fudge - very easy and very good!

Ingredients:

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.

Microwave the chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in a microwavable bowl on high for 2 to 3 minutes, or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Blend in the vanilla.

Spread the fudge into the prepared pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Cut into 20-25 squares.

One more thing: I purchased cinnamon pine cones and vanilla candles recently, but there is nothing that makes my apartment smell better than the holy trinity - olive oil/onions/garlic!

Happy and Healthy Eating!