One Pot Italian Pasta
Once upon a time I asked my husband for a Dutch Oven for Christmas. Do I need ONE more pot? Probably not. But I
couldn t resist the thought of cooking up a delicious roast in the oven with a pretty colored, straight-out-of-a-magazine looking Dutch Oven. However, instead of getting the Dutch Oven I got a.wait for it. a cheese shredder and a dish drying rack from Walmart!*insert sarcastically excited emoji here* The best part about this is we never go to Walmart. Like ever. Everything about that place irks both of us, so how he ended up there shopping for me for Christmas is beyond me. *insert confused emoji here* Ok, so busted drying with a he tried. I ll give him carts and weird people rack for Christmas? Ok, beautiful, photo-worthy that. Heck, he even braved the at Walmart! But really? A dish so long story short I ended up Dutch Oven anyway, thanks to a gift card from my Grandmother and my heckling skills at Boscov s. I used it today for this One Pot Italian Pasta and it was just glorious! Husband officially forgiven for his random Walmart presents! As I was putting this One Pot wonder together today I just couldn t help but marvel at the deliciousness that was about to happen + wholesome, healthy ingredients! This beautiful pot includes: 100% whole wheat linguini mushrooms cherry tomatoes strained tomatoes spinach fresh basil Big plus: This recipe is completely customizable! Don t have spinach? No problem. Hate cherry tomatoes. Leave them out! Want to sub something else? Give it a try! Want to force more greens on your family? Double the spinach. Is there anything this pot can t do?
And then that huge picture happened.
Cooking Tips and Techniques (Full recipe below) Biggest tip: Must stir pot while pasta is cooking! I ve made a few one potters before and didn t need to stir as much as I did with this one. Not sure what was making things stick, but I was stirring frequently. It is worth it though! This recipe makes a fairly large batch. If you are cooking for a family this should be enough for 4+ people with leftovers. If you are cooking for just 1-2 people I d suggest halving the recipe. Beef, mushrooms, and garlic are browned first then everything else is added. I use Bionaturae strained tomatoes because they come in glass jars. If you can t find this product I would suggest subbing a 15 ounce can of whole tomatoes in juice and crushing them before adding them to your pot with juice included. Depending upon what stock/tomatoes you use (I used no salt added tomatoes and low sodium homemade stock) you may need to adjust your salt. I would suggest starting with 1/4 tsp and adding more as you go if you are using any products that are salted. I used about 3/4 tsp of kosher salt, but like I said I was starting with a pretty bland base. And that s all folks! *Here is a link to the tomato product I use. Price is based upon bulk quantity.
Marsala & Veggie Brown Rice Risotto
Ok let me just state the obvious I got new little dishes and I LOVE THEM! It s like I m a little kid again playing around
with a tea party set or something. Although my real childhood tea party set was not near as cool because it was plastic and I ate boxed Hamburger Helper out of it. Really parents, really? Now that I m an adult I get to go to Pier 1 with my big girl pants on and pick out some awesome little dishes to take pictures of food in. Scratch that. I get to go to Pier 1 with my oldest son who REALLY wanted to break something in there, so I was basically panicking the whole time because the associates were glaring at me like I was a totally inadequate parent for bringing my child in there. Single with no kids much? I promise associates, one day you ll totally get it.
Enough about my awesome dishes, let s talk about this brown rice risotto because lawdy this stuff is amaze-balls. So
amaze-balls I get to say amaze-balls. I love, love, love cooking with marsala wine, and anytime marsala is involved so are baby bellas. Baby bellas + marsala + me = LOVE, just incase you didn t get that when I said amaze-balls. Now let me just tell you beforehand, making risotto is more time consuming then just throwing the lid on a pot of brown rice and walking away. You DO have to ladle the liquid into the pot little by little, but I think it is worth it in the end when you have a ol pot of this risotto that you might just want to keep all for yourself. Making it isn t technical, it just requires a little extra attention. Also, make sure you use quick cooking brown rice or this will take an eternity to cook!
Parmesan, Mushroom and Rice Soup Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)
Parmesan. Mushrooms. Rice. Because everything is better with cheese!
I ve made mushroom soup a ton of times. I can easily say THIS Mushroom soup should get a big blue ribbon that says #1, and maybe even one of those little gold star stickers because it is by far my favorite mushroom soup ever! Not only is this soup really delicious, it is packed with nutrition and antioxidants. Yes, I just said antioxidants. I know, I know, I m going to get all healthy-person talk right now but bear with me because you might just want to try something new at the end of this! Black Japonica rice is hands down my new favorite ingredient to use. It has a really nutty and unique flavor (without being totally overbearing) that gives this soup just a hint of earthiness that goes perfectly with the mushrooms. Not only that. it isn t bleached and processed or fortified with a bunch of nutrients. It doesn t need that crap, because it is just perfect the way it is. Anything that leaks color into a soup like this rice is amazing because color=antioxidants. I love, I love I love! If you don t have black rice on hand, check the organic section of your local grocery store, I m sure it will be there. I used Lundberg brand. There s a handy-dandy link at the bottom of the post so you know what it looks like! Wild rice would be a great substitute for black rice if you d like to go that route as well. I mean really, this color!
So what else makes this soup really amazing? Whole grain mustard. Again! I know, I know. WHY more whole grain mustard?
Hasn t every recipe I ve recently posted contain it? To be honest, maybe. I know for sure my Sweet-Fire Chilli had a little mustard in it, and I threw it in some Mac n Cheese the other day, and well it is just awesome so please expect to see a lot more of it! It just makes everything good. That s all. I served this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (Ezekiel bread, butter, cheese), and my family loved it! Nothing says *breezy fall day* like soup and grilled cheese sandwiches so this was a perfect fall dinner. Veggies + Antioxidant rich rice + Grilled Cheese = Yum!
*This listing is for 6 bags of rice, in the grocery store it
is far less expensive.
One Pot Veggie Mac N Cheese
30 minute meal right here! Feeding your family veggies has never tasted so good! Cheese meet veggies
For real though, who doesn t love some mac n cheese? It s like an American diet staple. Please let s remember the best mac n cheese DOES NOT I repeat DOES NOT come out of a box! Kraft Annies Velveeta. Even the better organic boxed mac n cheese still has a nice little packet of cheese powder stuff right inside the cute little bunny box. Now please, someone anyone what IS that stuff? How, just how I ask do you get cheese powder like that? Don t know, don t care! *finger snap* because anyone who has a stove can make their own mac n cheese with just a few ingredients PLUS veggies. Incase you think you are not included in that anyone even my mom can make homemade mac n cheese, and let s just say she s not kitchen savy.
That s real cheese right there! Cheese powder say what? That s what I thought! In your face cute bunny packets!
Ok, now that I verbally abused the Annie s bunny I m just going to keep explaining how amazing one pot meals are that take LESS THAN 30 minutes to make. This reminds me so much of my Unprocessed Hamburger Helper recipe, in that it is made the same way. Instead of ground beef, I sautéed those lil baby bellas with a clove o garlic, and then I added the other goodies, put a lid on that baby, and let a little heat work it s magic. Now, let s not just walk away from our stove like those baby bellas don t need supervision because they do. This pot needs stirred a little more then the Unprocessed Hamburger Helper but it is still very low maintenance and easy.
If you are looking for a little more oommmph in your pot, go ahead and throw in some shredded chicken. A little protein goes a long way, so chicken could bump this meal up on the I m full scale if you need it. Now excuse me while I go eat what is left in that pan!
Creamy Pasta Lemon Basil Shrimp
This pasta though! Move over fancy-pants Italian restaurants because this pasta just swooped in to remind everyone cooking Italian food at home is SO EASY! That s right, if you have 25 minutes and a few fresh ingredients then you are on your way to this delicious pasta soaked in a creamy sauce, and topped with fresh basil and parm cheese. You in? Of course you are in or you wouldn t be here, gawking at that pour shot like a 13 year old boy with a nudie mag. I mean, not that I was ever a 13 year old boy or anything, but I was just thinking.. well.. ya know what forget I ever said that and let s get back to the food porn! And now. it is food blogger confession time brought to you by 3Boys Unprocessed! Confessions are as followed: This pasta is not whole wheat I m not as excited about this post because it isn t a cupcake I ve recently become obsessed with cupcakes Did I mention the word cupcake? Yes, you read that correctly. I m using refined pasta but baking whole wheat cupcakes. That totally makes sense doesn t it? Hmm I know, I know it s totally crazy but just let me go on with my crazy self and let s all pretend they are both whole wheat so I can feel a little less crazy. My refined pasta was imported from Italy and had a sparkly and official Italy sticker on the bag. You know, like the best sticker EVER that we all longed for in Elementary School. A seal of approval, if you will. I looked at it EVERY TIME I was at the grocery store, longing for it s beautiful ridges to take pretty pictures of and plop some big bad shrimpies on top of. Last time I was at the grocery store somehow it ended up accidentally falling into my cart and I totally thought it was whole wheat when the cashier swiped it over that cool scanner. You know, because my kids were yelling about wanting coloring
books and other crap they throw near the cash registers to lure all the parents into buying. Even though I totally said NO WAY to the coloring book, somehow the pasta slipped by my radar. Ok, truth is, it looked cool so I bought it! A slight lapse in Real Food judgment but hey, we are all human right? And about those cupcakes you see I was always kind of obsessed with cupcakes (hence a big ol pink cupcake tattoo on my foot), but my cupcake obsession was lying dormant for a while I was on an ice cream binge.. I mean eating healthy. I kid, I kid! The ice cream binge never happened but babies did and I just haven t had all the time in the world to bake pretty things. Now I have a food blog as an excuse so the cupcake madness just might be back for good!
Now that all my dirty food laundry is aired I guess we can get back to this creamy and delish pasta that could be served up for any occasion, including a Monday night! You can totally throw a curve ball in your life by making this epic pasta on a Monday and surprising your spouse like you are newlyweds or
something. Remember, it only takes about 25 minutes to put together so throwing this together on a weeknight is do-able and easy! Just a little FYI, I used a homemade chicken stock that I did not season yet. If you are using a boxed stock, check the ingredients for MSG (labeled MSG, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract) and choose a stock that is lower in sodium and doesn t contain anything you wouldn t put in your own stock. If you are interested in making your own (super easy I promise!) check out my post on Everything you Need to Know About Making Your Own Chicken Stock. And then that pesky sauce went all up on the side of my sauté pan to ruin this beautiful picture. Please ignore and maybe it won t happen again!
Ceasar Encrusted Salmon with Lemon and Goat Cheese Asparagus
We were out for the day and dinner time was approaching. How easy it would be to just stop for something, we thought. Something in the back of my mind just kept saying NO, don t do it, you know that food is junk. I remembered that we had frozen salmon at home, which is really easy to unfreeze and throw in the oven. We also had asparagus and sweet potatoes to make with the fish so I knew I had a complete meal that could be made at home. When I finally got to sit down and eat, I was so happy I chose the unprocessed route. For the salmon, I prepared an olive oil based Ceasar dressing to coat the salmon with before putting the breadcrumbs on top. The dressing is really simple, and contains just a few real ingredients olive oil, lemon juice, anchovy paste, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. If you just read the words anchovy paste and thought Forget about this recipe! let me ease your mind. All Ceasar dressings get their distinct flavor from either anchovies or anchovy paste. I have been making real Ceasar dressings for quite a few years in restaurants and I got over the whole anchovy thing a long time ago. If you are worried about the ingredient, step outside the box just a little and give it a try. I promise once you taste the salmon you ll be thanking me! The real base of flavor from Ceasar dressing comes from the anchovy paste, so it isn t an ingredient you can omit. I don t use store-bought breadcrumbs because they are actually one of the WORST products found in grocery stores. Who knew those seemingly simple breadcrumbs actually contain about 50 ingredients including trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils), and high fructose corn syrup? To make your own you simply place two pieces of bread in the oven while it is
preheating and let them get a bit toasty (or you could use a toaster and toast them lightly). You don t want your bread to get overly toasted, just a bit dry. Take them out of the oven, put them in a blender or food processor for a minute and that s it! Once they are processed you season them and add a bit of olive oil to get a nice and crispy topping for your salmon. I promise once you do this, you will never be tempted to buy the store bought garbage again! Just an FYI, I use a whole grain, 100% natural bread from Food for Life. It is a sprouted grain bread that will knock your socks off because it doesn t contain soybean oil, sugars, additives, or preservatives. Every single ingredient is identifiable and necessary. Please check them out in the frozen section of the organic isles in your grocery store! With the salmon I served this lemon and goat cheese asparagus.
It is another really simple side to put together quickly that is nutritious and delicious. It is really as simple as steaming/boiling the asparagus, seasoning it, and adding the cheese. I love my asparagus with big chunks of freshly cracked black pepper as well! Lemon and Goat Cheese Asparagus Ingredients: About 25 asparagus spears 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp white wine 1/2 tsp olive oil sprinkle of salt sprinkle of pepper sprinkle of garlic powder
1-2 ounces goat cheese Directions: Steam/boil asparagus. Put asparagus, lemon juice, olive oil, and white wine in a small sauté pan and allow wine to cook off (give it some heat). Add seasonings, remove from heat and crumble goat cheese on top to serve. Creamy Parmesan Cauliflower Peppercorn
I am almost embarrassed to say this, but I ate almost all of this! My husband stepped outside to talk to the neighbor and I
kept going back for more, and more, and more. Then finally when there was 2 pieces left I had to remind myself he had to at least give me his opinion on the recipe! Everything about this recipe makes it delicious especially the crunchy outside the cauliflower gets when you roast it. This is a recipe that could really wow a dinner party! The texture is just right, the cauliflower looks beautiful, and who doesn t love cheese! Your friends will think you secretly went to culinary arts school or something when they taste this cauliflower because it is THAT good. Plus, cauliflower isn t exactly the first side you think of when planning a dinner, but this s a great outside the box recipe to show people veggies can be delicious. I really wanted a good shot of the sauce, and here it is. Tell me that isn t a beautiful sauce! I love the specks of paprika (secret to making roasted cauliflower look nice), and peppercorns.
This is a two step recipe. The cauliflower is prepared by seasoning it and tossing it in olive oil, then roasting it n a sheet tray in the oven. The sauce is prepared on the stovetop, then the cauliflower is tossed in the sauce to finish it off. The sauce only takes 5 minutes to put together, so I just waited until the cauliflower was just about done roasting to start the sauce, that way it wasn t sitting around waiting for it s buddy to come out of the oven. Also, just to note, using 1 head of cauliflower makes enough for about 2 people. If you are cooking for more, I would suggest doubling it. Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Mushrooms
I have to say, this is one of those dinners that will leave
everyone at the table asking for seconds! Both of my older boys devoured their first plate and asked for more before I finished my own plate! The key to a great chicken and pasta dish is seasoning your chicken correctly, and making sure to pound it thin. If you have ever tried to recreated a chicken dish from a restaurant and can t figure out what makes theirs so much better it is probably that they pound their chicken, and use more salt! You see, boneless skinless chicken is virtually tasteless. When you have that hunk of middle meat, you have a portion of the chicken that isn t sauced. I hate chewing through a fat piece of chicken and getting to the middle. It is like eating a piece of sautéed chicken with nothing on it. yuck! Therefore, even if I use tenderloins like I did for this recipe, I STILL thin them out. That way I have a nice thin piece of chicken that will have lots of sauce, and no bland middle. It also cooks up more evenly, and you don t have to cook as long on each side. All the way around, if there is one thing I can stress about the perfect chicken in a pasta dish it is pound your chicken! *If you have no clue what I m talking about you take this piece of kitchen equipment and gently hammer your meat until it is thinner.
The other essential, seasoning your chicken correctly is easy. After you have pounded and cut your chicken pieces, start heating your sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on low and throw your chicken into a bowl. In a separate bowl throw in a little flour, salt (I suggest course kosher or Himalayan pink sea salt), pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour before you put it in your pan. This simple step will make a world of difference because it will help you get that nice, golden coating on each side. It also helps to keep your chicken from sticking to your pan (I never use non-stick because of the chemicals), and I always throw in an extra tablespoon or two of flour so that my sauce ends up thick and I don t have to worry about thickening it up later. Even if there is extra flour just sitting in your pan, you will be happy later when you have a thick sauce! I would suggest looking for the roasted red peppers in the pasta isle of your grocery store. They will come in a glass jar either whole or in strips. Before purchasing check the ingredients. There should not be any soybean oil or additives in the
peppers. I found mine in the Italian specialty section of my local store where they have all of the whole parmesan wedges, mozzarella balls, olives, and spreads. Unprocessed Lasagna Helper
Once upon a time I went to the grocery store and came home with a LIVING basil plant by accident. I don t do plants
because I live in an apartment with 3 kids and a husband and well boys love dirt! I ve tried and tried to love on a plant in my very own home but it never really seems to pan out the way I was hoping. Like the time my mother in law sent me a plant when my middle son was born. I had such high hopes, I brought him home from the hospital with the new baby and he was like a new member of the family. We took him outside, we gave him a great home, and he even moved all by itself! Planty was his name and I have many fond memories of him brightening my day with his wonderful natural presence. Then one fateful day my baby grew into a toddler and started tearing up my house. Little ol Planty never even saw the big bad toddler coming. All of a sudden Planty was flipped upside down all over the carpet, his dirt everywhere. What should we do with him? I asked my husband, who kindly suggested Planty be banished to the porch forever. As the days grew shorter and the nights colder, Planty began to shrivel like a poor ol fellow and one day. I knew it was his time. The plant I tried so hard to love on, was gone forever, his leaves shriveled and yellow. RIP Planty! Now, what is a mom of 3 boys to do with a basil plant that will inevitably be ruined by one of them? For now Basil Man is sitting in a mason jar on a window sill, unharmed by any children. Here is sweet Basil Man now sitting pretty as a food prop! Isn t he beautiful!
Speaking of basil, nothing puts a smile on my face like the smell of fresh basil. Why buy something in a box and miss out on such a wonderful smell and taste? With this recipe you will never have to miss that perfect fresh basil smell again. Just like my Unprocessed Hamburger Helper recipe, this is the all
REAL ingredient version of a processed classic that contains nothing but awful ingredients. Speaking of ingredients it is time for me to go all ingredient freak on you because this is important stuff, right? OF COURSE! The boxed version of this includes partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), MSG, monoglycerides (potential hidden trans fats), GMO cornstarch, hydrolyzed soy protein, artificial colors, and a few other questionable ingredient. For reals General Mills? Like are you trying to kill people or are you trying to kill people? Thankfully, we never have to turn to General Mills again for this delicious dinner. It is SO SIMPLE and easy to make yourself and the ingredients are quite obvious. Cheese, buttermilk, basil, tomato, salt, spices, VIOLA! This is made just like the old classic. brown the beef, add the other stuff (except the basil), bring to a boil, let simmer, enjoy the goodness.
Classic Sauce Alfredo and Herb I don t know anybody who doesn t love a good pasta dish. This recipe is simple to make, takes only a few minutes, and can t be beat by ANY jarred version. My toddler loves this served with whole wheat penne pasta and topped with sautéed mushrooms and eggplant (I m eggplant obsessed). I love it topped with spicy chicken or even fish. All around, it goes great with any vegetables or protein, which makes it one of my go-to recipes.
Ditch the Campbell s Fish and Noodle Casserole I have a confession I HATE canned soups! What I hate even more is browsing Pinterest and viewing recipes that are using the slogan Healthy only to click the link to find it is actually just another recipe using cans of 98% fat free cans of soup and adding extras. Yes these recipes may be low calorie but they aren t low sodium or by any means healthy due to the fact that your getting a whole lot more then just mushrooms and milk. Here are the ingredients in a can of Campbell s Cream of Mushroom Soup: WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN
CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC. What these ingredients tell me is that Campbell s wants to make their soup out of highly refined soybean oil instead of real cream or milk because it is cheaper for them to produce. Then to make you think you are actually getting cream they add some fillers to thicken it up as well as two forms of MSG and flavoring (whatever that means). Obviously this soup can stay on the shelf because there is nothing remotely healthy about it. That was the bad news. But now I have some good news to tell you. You can make a fresh, creamy mushroom sauce in about the same time it would take you to open that can and heat it. It isn t much more expensive either because other then buying the mushrooms, which run in the $1.78 range, you probably have the other stuff on hand. I know the classic Campbell s Tuna Casserole recipe that everyone is familiar with also includes canned tuna, but since canned tuna contains soy and chicken broth we stay away from that as well. The chicken broth is a huge unknown because the ingredients in the broth are not labeled.
I know the process of making this is not that picture worthy but these pictures basically spell out the steps. Melt the butter while cooking the mushrooms, add flour until gritty, add milk and stir until it thickens and THAT S IT! If you have other recipes that include canned soups you can easily switch the ingredients up to copycat the canned version. If you aren t using mushrooms just melt butter, add flour, add milk. Super easy! As I mentioned I don t use canned tuna so I baked some wild caught Flounder and topped the pasta with the fish. Alternatively, you could break it up in the mixture (my kids like it that way). I called this a casserole even though I didn t bake mine but you could throw it in the oven for a few minutes if you wanted to and top with some sharp cheddar or homemade bread crumbs. That would be even more delicious! Meatless Rollups Monday Eggplant
Eggplant is an awesome substitution for pasta because you can season it however you like and give your meal 10 times the flavor. It also contains a lot of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals (vitamins C, K, and B6, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, and pantothenic acid), as opposed to the enriched nutrients in refined grain pastas. Our bodies do not process enriched nutrients as easily as we process natural nutrients so it is always better to rely on natural sources of these nutrients. If you have never tried substituting eggplant for pasta and are thinking it might not be appealing, I can assure you it is very similar to the texture of pasta when it is sliced thin and cooked. My husband was quite surprised how much he liked these even better then traditional pasta the first time I made them. These rollups are similar to manicotti as they have ricotta cheese inside them and a red sauce on top. If you like these you can experiment with eggplant in other ways such as using it as layers in lasagna. In my opinion eggplant is highly under-
rated! I did use a store bought red sauce for this recipe. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a store bought pasta sauce: Look for one with little to no added sugars (I have found a sauce with no added sugars) If you see soybean oil in it, put it down and don t purchase that brand again! Check the sodium content. companies are notorious for putting massive amounts of unnecessary salt in their tomato sauces. The one I used had around 300 mg per 1/2 cup which is in the middle of the spectrum. I have seen some sauces have as much as 700 mg per 1/2 cup! Yikes! Fun Fact: Eggplant is actually a FRUIT!