Cooler weather prompts hot-from-the-oven meals
During spring and summer, I avoid recipes that require putting
on the oven. In our small house, the heat from the oven seems to
radiate straight from the kitchen into the living room and no one
wants that when it is 90-plus degrees outside.
Cooler weather prompts hot-from-the-oven meals
During spring and summer, I avoid recipes that require putting on the oven. In our small house, the heat from the oven seems to radiate straight from the kitchen into the living room and no one wants that when it is 90-plus degrees outside.
But now that the weather has cooled down again, I can get back to some of my favorite recipes that start off on the stove top and require a little cooking in the oven. There is something about a dish that is served hot out of the oven that makes it into comfort food. When I was studying in South Africa in graduate school, one of my favorite meals was not a native dish or something new I tried, but a pasta baked with a bechamel sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese that reminded me of my family’s own home cooking. It was served in a little Italian restaurant in Cape Town just a few blocks from where I stayed and I ate there several times in the month and a half of my internship.
Some of the favorites in my family mix up a good dose of cheese and pasta, including a concoction created by Rachael Ray that puts a grown-up twist on macaroni and cheese (see the recipe for mac and cheese dogs online at www.pinnaclenews.com/life.)
While that recipe is an indulgence with its cheese and crispy hot dog bits, one of the things I do like about most casserole-like recipes is that the meat mixed into it seems to go a long way since it is tossed with vegetables and other ingredients. Four chicken breasts sliced or diced in a casserole is enough for dinner and lunch portions for the whole family. Most of these meals are pretty easy to make, too, since they mostly require boiling water for pasta, cooking off some ingredients in a saute pan and then transferring it all to a casserole dish to bake off or melt cheese in the oven. We have a saute pan that can go straight from the stovetop to the oven so we often skip transferring it all to a casserole dish so there is one less step and dish to wash.
The other great thing about some of these recipes is that they pack in the vegetables. We often add in more than what the recipes call for just to get an extra serving of vegetables. The key, of course, to most of these recipes is to cook the vegetables and pasta al dente because the ingredients will continue to cook in the oven. If they are over cooked on the stove top, they will turn to mush by the time they come out of the oven.
Tomato-broccoli bake
½ package penne pasta, cooked according to package instructions
4 whole tomatoes, seeded and diced (diced canned tomatoes can be substituted)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 heads of broccoli with stems trimmed, and florets diced (frozen broccoli can be substituted)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, sliced
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 c. white wine
1 c. cheese of choice (cheddar or parmesan cheese work well)
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook the pasta according to package instructions for al dente pasta. Add in broccoli florets two minutes before pasta is complete. Drain pasta and broccoli, running under cold water to stop cooking.
In a saute pan, add in garlic and saute in olive oil for two minutes. Add in white wine and reduce to half, about three minutes. Add in chicken and onions. Cook thoroughly, about four minutes. Add in pasta, broccoli and tomatoes. Saute all ingredients together for two minutes.
Transfer all ingredients to a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake in the oven for three to four minutes, or until the cheese is melted and brown on top.
Three-cheese chicken penne pasta bake
Recipe courtesy of Kraft
1 ½ c. multi-grain penne pasta
1 pkg. fresh spinach leaves
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 oz. Philadelphia Neufchatel cheese, diced
1 c. Kraft 2 percent milk shredded mozzarella, divided
2 tbsp. Kraft grated parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 375.
Cook pasta as directed on the package, adding spinach to the boiling water at the last minute. Cook and stir chicken and basil in a large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray, on medium heat for three minutes. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat for three minutes, or until chicken is done. Stir in Neufchatel cheese.
Drain pasta mixture and return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and ½ c. mozzarella cheese. Spoon into 2-quart casserole or 8-inch square baking dish.
Bake 20 min. Top with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 minutes or until mozzarella is melted.
