Meatless Mondays: Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables

I'm excited to tell you about this week's Meatless Mondays dish, because it was such cheesy, comforting goodness. After finding myself with a healthy supply of zucchini, summer squash, and various cheeses, it seemed only natural that this recipe would pop into my head. After searching briefly through one of my Giada De Laurentiis cookbooks, I found it: Baked Pasta with Roasted Vegetables.

There's really nothing I can hate about this dish. It's pasta, so right there I'm in love. Next, throw in a nice assortment of roasted veggies. Awesome. Then, you mix it all together with some marinara sauce, thawed frozen peas, and, best of all, four different types of cheese. Uh, yum! You pour it all into a big baking dish, then top it with yet another type of cheese, and bake it until the whole thing turns brown and bubbly and melty. Ahhh.

This was wonderful. What else can I really say? If you like baked pasta dishes, I highly recommend throwing in some roasted veggies for a delightfully healthy twist on the old fave. The five types of cheese just make it more interesting and even more delicious. I liked the peas in there, too. It was a nice pop of texture every time you bit down on one. I made it a bit differently than Giada did; it's got less oil in the veggie-roasting part, and I thought it was totally unnecessary to add chunks of butter to the top of the casserole before baking it, like she did. I wrote the recipe as I made it down below.

Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta
makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1-2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. dried Italian herb blend or herbes de Provence
1 lb. rigatoni pasta
3 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store bought
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup gouda cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Muenster cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Camembert cheese, crumbled or chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. On a baking sheet (I lined mine with nonstick aluminum foil), toss the bell peppers, zucchini, squash, and onion with the olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of the salt, 1/4 tsp. of the pepper, and the herbs. Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes; you don't want to cook it fully since it will be cooked later in the oven. Drain.

3. In a large bowl, combine the pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, all the cheeses except the Parmesan, the peas, and the remaining salt and pepper. Gently mix using a wooden spoon until all the pasta is coated with sauce and the ingredients are combined.

4. Pour the pasta into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden and the cheese melts, about 25 minutes. Allow the pasta to rest for 5 or so minutes before serving.

Pizza Pot Pies

I've had Giada De Laurentiis' book Giada's Kitchen for about a year and a half now, and I've had my eye on this recipe that entire time. Unfortunately, I was missing one very important thing that I would need to make it: a set of ramekins. I've been wanting these forever; oh, to be able to make some molten chocolate cake in them! I'm sure those will be featured here on this very blog sometime soon...

But back to the Pizza Pot Pies. As I was saying, I've wanted to make these, and now that I finally have ramekins, I was presented with an opportunity to try them out! I wanted to make these during the week that my mother and father in-law were to be in town. They seemed so simple, not to mention adorable. What could be wrong with that?

These are a breeze to put together; the hardest part is portioning out the dough and fitting it over each ramekin. Simply make a quick tomato sauce, then mix that together with storebought rotisserie chicken, some fresh veggies, cubes of mozzarella cheese, and some salt and pepper. Giada says to use broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces, but we had tons of fresh zucchini to use up, so I went with that instead. I'm really glad I did, because I found out later that my father in-law really doesn't like broccoli, but everybody likes the zucchini!

Once you have this mixture, you divide it evenly into your ramekins. Then, you take your pizza dough, divide it into even pieces, and cover each ramekin with it. I took more liberties here; Giada would like you to cut circles out of the dough to fit over the ramekins. I used my kitchen scale here. I weighed the dough as a whole, then divided it evenly into 6 balls. These balls were then stretched to fit over the tops of the ramekins. Much easier this way, I think!

Finally, the tops of the dough are brushed with olive oil, then Parmesan cheese is sprinkled over that. They bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, and that's it! You want to let them rest briefly before cutting into them; they'll be screaming hot.

And now, a quick confession. I was all set to make these for my guests. I got my sauce made, threw all the chicken, zucchini, and mozzarella in a bowl to mix together, and made an easy pizza dough in my bread machine. Then....it hit. I'm still not exactly sure what happened to me, but I came down with some kind of bug, and it knocked me off my feet. Suddenly I found that the work I had yet to do in the kitchen was daunting; I didn't know if I could pull it off. My dreams of finally using those ramekins were fading fast.

Luckily, my wonderful hubby and his mom stepped in and took over. They were able to assemble the pot pies and bake them for me. I just wanted to get that off my chest. Anywhere above where you see that "I" did a part of the recipe, it could have either been me or one of them. I wanted to give credit where credit was due! Sadly, I wasn't able to eat dinner with them that evening; I was just too sick. But they did save me a pot pie, and I enjoyed mine the next night.

Everybody really loved these! They're fun, they're a snap to make (which I think we proved when I had to quit mid-preparation, and my lovely assistants were easily able to finish up for me!), and they're even fabulous as leftovers. I just wrapped mine in foil the next night and baked in a low oven for close to an hour. Delicious!

Pizza Pot Pies

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

makes 6 individual pot pies

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves

2 oz. diced bacon (Giada used pancetta)

1 (28-0z.) can crushed tomatoes

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the pot pies:

3 cups Tomato Sauce (see above)

2 cups diced roasted chicken (from a purchased roasted chicken)

2 cups zucchini, diced (the original calls for bite-size pieces of broccoli)

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, diced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 lbs. pizza dough, either purchased or homemade (we used homemade)

1/3 cup olive oil

6 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Special equipment:

6 (10-0z.) ramekins (I only had a 9-0z. size, which worked fine)

Directions

Make the tomato sauce: 1. Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, rosemary, and bacon (or pancetta) and sauce until the bacon (or pancetta) is crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stir to combine, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Make the pot pies: 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the tomato sauce, chicken, zucchini (or broccoli), mozzarella, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Divide the chicken mixture evenly among 6 ramekins.

2. Roll out the pizza dough 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick, and use a paring knife to cut circles that are 1 inch larger in diameter than the ramekins. Set the circles of dough over the filled ramekins and press down to seal, making sure to pull the dough over the edges of each ramekin.

3. Brush the pizza crust with the olive oil and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Cut a small slit in the top with the paring knife. Bake until the pizza crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Farfalle with Turkey Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

This past weekend we attended the annual Easter Egg-citement at Eckert's Farm, just as we have the past two years. There were a couple differences this time, however. For one thing, it was freezing! Normally by the end of March, it's not too painful, but this past weekend it was in the 30s. I don't think it would have been quite so bad, had it not been for the wind. It was brutal! It didn't matter to the kids, though; they still had a blast. The other difference this year was that Evan is finally old enough to participate in the egg hunt! He had a lot of fun, not only with the hunt but also just running around and taking in the sights. He's definitely an outdoorsy baby! Just look at how happy he is outside on our deck.

Now, onto last night's dinner. This is one of the few recipes that I make repeatedly; most of the time I enjoy trying new ones. But this meal, from Giada De Laurentiis' cookbook Everyday Pasta, is worth making at least every couple of months. It's relatively simple to prepare, requires mostly inexpensive ingredients, and it's fabulous the next day as leftovers. Plus, it makes the house smell heavenly while it's simmering away on the stove!

Last night was the first time I actually made it with the Marsala wine that the recipe calls for. I have to say, it really did make a difference to me. Previously I had simply used chicken broth to deglaze the pan after cooking the veggies, but I thought I'd go all out this time and splurge on the bottle of Marsala. After all, it will give me an excuse to use it in other dishes. In this meal, the wine added a deeper, almost fruity flavor, and it blended surprisingly well with the tartness of the tomato paste. I recommend letting the sauce/sausage mixture simmer for at least the suggested 20 minutes, if not a half hour or more. This meal definitely benefits from a longer stay on the stovetop before hitting your plate.

Farfalle with Turkey Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb. sweet Italian turkey sausages
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice (I pureed mine a bit)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional, but we added it in)
1 lb. farfalle pasta (Giada's recipe calls for rigatoni)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions
1. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove sausages from the pan.
2. Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the other 1 Tbsp. oil. Add bell peppers, onion, salt, and pepper and cook until golden, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and basil and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir until incorporated, then add the Marsala wine. Allow the wine to cook out a bit, scraping the bottom of the pan with a spoon to release the brown bits. After a minute or so, add the tomatoes with their juide, and the (optional) red pepper flakes. Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer.
3. Cut the sausages into 6-8 slices each, then return them to the pan. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened, at least 20 minutes (30-40 would be even better).
4. While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the farfalle and cook according to the package directions. Drain pasta and add to the thickened sauce; toss to combine. Spoon into shallow bowls and sprinkle servings with Parmesan cheese.