mom-inspired tuna pasta.

My favorite breakfast that my mom makes is ginisang sardinas, which is basically sautéed mackerel sardines in tomato sauce that's served with a side of hot, steamy rice. Her version, though, is slightly different in that she adds additional tomatoes, adds one or two bay leaves, and is heavy on the onion. Finished with a few squeezes of calamansi, and you have a great hefty meal to start the day.

I didn't really fully appreciate her cooking until I got married and started living with my husband. To date, I've only made a handful of Filipino dishes that were either a hit or miss with the hubby. I miss her cooking and I guess that nostalgia (and the fact that the husband is iffy on Filipino food in general) makes me shy away from making Filipino dishes on my own.

Today I was feeling a little homesick. Eating at the table with my mom's generous cooking and having a conversation about the day's events were the norm during dinner time. This was family time and I was missing my family. So to ease that, I decided to make her sardines, but in a more "inspired" version and with an Italian twist.

I started with using an almost 2 to 1 ratio of tomatoes to onions. Adding a good amount of garlic and olive oil followed, then finished it with some lemon juice for acidity and lots of parsley for herbacious freshness. Since sardines in tomato sauce isn't something that we regularly keep in the house, I used chunk light tuna that's always a staple in our pantry. Toss that together with some hearty rigatoni, and dinner was served.

While it's a far cry from my mother's sardines, the flavors were there and the bite from the rigatoni added a pleasant counterpart to the fish. Fusion pasta . . . mmmmmm. As an added bonus, this made for a quick and tasty meal that was ready in less than half an hour. Mom, here's to you!
 

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Tangy Tuna Pasta
(makes about 4 servings)

2 cups dry rigatoni pasta
2 cans chunk light tuna, lightly drained
1 clamshell grape tomatoes, halved (or 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped)
1 large onion (about 1 cup), thinly sliced
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 large dried bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

 
Prepare pasta as directed then reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and bay leaves to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes have softened then add the tuna and a third of the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Sautée for 5 minutes, stirring lightly, then add the drained pasta. Cook for another few minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add some of the reserved pasta liquid as needed.

Remove pasta from heat, discard bay leaves, then stir in lemon juice. Toss in the remaining parsley then adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste. To serve, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and additional parsley for garnish.

you're doin' this, caprese?

Surprisingly, when I made marinara the other day, I was sort of at a loss to what I wanted to do with it. Sure, I could do the pasta route or have it with some ravioli, but that didn't seem grand enough for what I had envisioned when I made this sauce.

What to do?

I flipped through a bunch of my cookbooks and decided that I wanted chicken as my main protein. I love chicken. It's easy, versatile, and an ingredient that I was comfortable experimenting with. Then, since I was working with a sauce that was Italian-themed, it made sense to base the ingredients off of classic Italian flavors.

So, I thought i'd do a play on caprese salad. But, instead of serving it as a starter, I thought I'd stuff it in the chicken. Mozzarella, basil, and tomato . . . perfect! I decided to also top the chicken with some oregano-spiced panko to add some interest. Paired with the marinara sauce, this was a killer dish!

As a side, I made ratatouille on the fly, garlic butter pasta for the hubby, and soft polenta for me. I am such a glutton for punishment! It was like having a chicken with it's head chopped off . . . a mad rush from one spot to the other. On hindsight, this turned out to be heavier than I expected, so I'd probably cut out the ratatouille next time. All in all, not too bad. :)

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Stuffed Chicken Caprese with Marinara Sauce
(Makes 2 servings)

2 skinless boneless chicken thighs
2 slices fresh mozzarella
3 leaves basil, julienned
2 pcs sun-dried tomato, chopped
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp dried oregano
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup marinara sauce
chopped parsley, for garnish

 
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Combine panko breadcrumbs and dried oregano then set aside.

Drizzle chicken with some olive oil then season with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper, to taste. Transfer chicken to a lightly sprayed, foil-lined baking pan, top-side down. Place a slice of mozzarella on a chicken then top with half the basil and sun-dried tomato. Fold the meat over, tucking securely under to make sure stuffing is mostly covered and repeat for the remaining thigh. Top with panko mixture until evenly distributed.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve on a bed of marinara sauce and garnish with parsley.

marinara part deux: makin' it fresh!

The plus side of living stateside is the fact that I have access to FRESH fruits and vegetables. In Guam, everything was oftentimes past it's peak or not readily available. And if it were available, it was gone in a blink of an eye. God, I missed vegetables. Even finding a good-tasting tomato was hard to find.

With that being said, I have made marinara sauce before using ingredients I had on hand. Although using canned tomatoes was convenient, I felt that I was cheating my inner chef. Inner thrifty home-maker was pretty happy with the results, but inner chef was screaming to work with fresher ingredients. Thankfully, with the abundance of farmer's markets like Freshfields Farm, Jacksonville Farmer's Market, and Camden Tomato House in derivable distance, fresh ingredients aren't hard to find. So, I decided to remake the marinara sauce again.

I knew that basic marinara sauce was primarily tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions. So, I looked through my pinterest board for some ideas and decided to use a combination of these three recipes. Mainly, using their major herbs and putting them in mine. Also, I wanted my sauce to have a kick of garlic . . . a nod to all things Italian, lol.

But not everything was farm fresh. Inner thrifty home-maker was tired of tediously mincing garlic by hand so a bottle of minced garlic was bought and stored in the fridge. With that being said, instead of bottle minced garlic, a substitution of 5 to 6 fresh garlic cloves would probably work.

In the end, I love how this sauce tastes. It's not as red as I'd like it to be, but the flavor is awesome! It's got a good amount of garlic, very tomatoey, and just the right flavor from the combination of herbs. If anything, I think I made too little. Can you imagine if I had made this during tomato season?? And inner chef? Definitely happy. :)

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Fresh Marinara Sauce
(adapted from Angie's Kitchen, Homemade Hooplah, and Tide and Thyme)

3 large vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp bottled minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp paprika
2 tbsp finely chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper
water, as needed*

 
In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat then add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until fragrant and onion begin to soften. Add tomatoes, dried herbs, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper, then continue cooking until tomatoes reduce and sauce thickens (about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in parsley and reseason as needed. Simmer for a further few minutes then serve.

*If sauce is too thick, add water as needed and reseason to taste.

Makes about 2 cups.

needing a quickie.

The hubby's been working super late lately and every time he calls to come home, he's requested nicely if dinner could be ready when he comes home. Not an unreasonable request. I tend to take my time in the kitchen experimenting so I sometimes forget that there's another person who's waiting to eat.

Tonight was one of those nights where something quick needed to happen in the kitchen.

So what to do? Pasta, of course. Saw this recipe a couple of weeks ago and decided that it would be perfect for a weeknight kind of meal. Handful of ingredients that didn't need anything fancy. Tasty... simple... quick. And, most importantly, something to fill my husband's tummy after a hard day at work. Huzzah and hip-hooray!

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Pasta with Italian Sausage and Peas in Cream Sauce
(adapted from Beantown Belly)

1 pound pasta
1/2 pound Spicy Italian Sausage, casing removed
1/2 pound Sweet Italian Sausage, casing removed
12oz frozen green peas
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt and Pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add pasta.

In the meantime, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes in a large pan. Add Italian sausage meat and cook until brown. Drain fat then add frozen peas and cook for 5 minutes.

Add flour and stir to incorporate. Add milk and butter. After mixture boils, bring to a simmer and add Parmesan cheese.

When pasta is al dente, drain and add to sauce. Mix and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. If sauce is too thick, add additional milk and adjust taste accordingly. Makes approximately 5 to 6 servings.

jazzing it up.

This sad, sad, sad picture of pasta stabbed with a fork is actually tastier than it looks. Today was one of those "need to get food on the table, quick!" kind of days. When the hubby called to say he was coming home from work, he sounded so tired...I wanted to make sure that he got some food in him quick that wasn't only fast, but also nice and comforting. What better way to say that than pasta?

I originally based this off the way that my mom would make it for us when we were growing up. In her version, she'd add a can of Manwich in it. Well, at the time I was playing around with her recipe, I didn't have that on hand so I looked for alternatives. I found this recipe and decided to take some elements from that instead. Essentially, this fusion of recipes has got a loooooot more extra add-ins that I think makes it more well rounded and a little bit more complex. Served with a side salad, this made one, feel-good meal for my work-tired hubby. Mission accomplished!

---- o o o o ---- Meaty Spaghetti Pasta Sauce
(loosely adapted from Table for Two and my mom's recipe)

3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 to 2 lbs lean ground beef
2 pcs Italian sausage, casing removed (optional)
3 tbsp minced bottled garlic
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped*
2 4oz. canned mushroom, stem and pieces

1 medium squash, diced small (optional)

1 medium zucchini, diced small (optional)
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 24oz. Prego or Ragu Chunky Vegetable pasta sauce
1 cup beef or chicken broth
1 6oz. tomato paste**
1 8oz. tomato sauce*
2 tbsp ketchup

1/2 cup pesto sauce

salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs pkg pasta of choice
water as needed

*Sometimes I like to substitute one 15oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes or diced tomatoes in tomato sauce to skip a step.

**For extra oomph, try finding a tomato paste with pesto!

Start pasta by boiling a pot of salted water on high heat. Once it comes to a rolling boil, add some olive oil and drop pasta. Cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add olive oil and saute the garlic and onion until fragrant on high heat. Crumble in the ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and then add the rest of the seasonings.

When the beef has browned, drain any fat cooked out and add vegetables, and half the parsley. Cook for a few minutes until peppers are tender then add the sauce, broth, tomato paste, tomato sauce, pesto, and ketchup.

Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the remaining parsley and simmer an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened. Season with additional salt, pepper, and spices as needed. If sauce is too thick, add water to liking and let simmer an additional 10 minutes after adjusting.

Serves roughly about six to ten people.

If desired, you can freeze half the sauce for later use. Keeps in the freezer up to six months.

faking italy.

So, after a leisurely break, I decided to make some stuffed peppers. Continuing with the themed nights, I went with "Italy" even though this isn't even remotely Italian. Hah! That's okay...last night's dinner wasn't really Moroccan either, was it? Lol.

I wanted to make something that wasn't pasta and used what I had already in the cupboards. The recipe seemed interesting and I figured I'd do what I could. When I followed the directions almost entirely with a few substitutions here and there, I ended up with a whopping amount of meat filling. Yikes! X_X; After reading through some of the comments, people did have some similar results, *sigh* Thant's okay though...I made some to freeze to have at a later date. One less thing to worry about in the future, lol.

I've halved the recipe for the meat mix and wrote the directions of how I made my peppers. I used breadcrumbs in my version just because that's what I had on hand. Next time I'll try it with the rice (or even couscous!) and see how that turns out. I also decided to give the peppers a head start by steaming them in the microwave for a little bit. I hate it when they're raw compared to the rest of the dish! Also, whipped up a batch of Italian seasoning mix, used it in the recipe, and found that I didn't really need to add any additional salt or pepper--which is always a great thing! Huzzah!

In the end, though, these turned out great! It had sort of a meatloaf-fy thing going on and the marinara sauce was awesome! I did have to water down the sauce a little (blasphemy!) as I had reduced it a little too much. Pretty tasty though. I only made two portions and the hubby was disappointed he couldn't have seconds. There was a lot of extra salad tho, lol! He was happy when I said I had some in the freezer. Might have to put that in the oven this weekend. :)

Italian-Style Stuffed Peppers
(adapted from AllRecipes.com)

1/2 lbs lean ground beef
3 oz mild Italian sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp plus 1/2 tbsp Italian dressing mix, divided
1 clove plus 2 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 cup plus 1/4 cup marinara sauce, divided
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
handful Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp bread crumbs, divided

1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2 large bell peppers, halved, deseeded, and membranes removed
4 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 375F. Pour 1 cup marinara into a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.

With damp paper towels, wrap the bell peppers and microwave for 30 seconds on high. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, cook onion, 1 clove minced garlic, and 1/4 tsp Italian dressing mix in olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.

Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, 1/2 cup marinara sauce, Italian parsley, remaining garlic, remaining Italian seasoning, and balsamic dressing into bowl with the cooked onions; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup bread crumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano. Do a taste test by taking a little bit of the meat and sausage mixture and cooking it in a pan. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.

After seasoning is to taste, remove the cooled peppers from the paper towels. Stuff bell peppers with beef and sausage mixture. Place stuffed bell pepper halves in the baking dish over marinara sauce; sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs and top with feta cheese. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Remove aluminum foil and bake until the meat is no longer pink, the peppers are tender, and the cheese is browned on top, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Serve topped with chopped Italian parsley and with additional marinara sauce, if desired.

 

Italian Dressing Mix
(from Seasons with the Sewells)

1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp kosher salt

To make mix:
Combine all ingredients together and store in an airtight container (I put mine in my spice grinder and blitzed it for a few seconds before storing it. :D). Use 2 tablespoons of this mix whenever a recipe calls for one package of dry Italian seasoning mix.

To make dressing:
Combine 2 tablespoons of dry mix, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 2/3 cup olive oil together in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shaker well.