Sun dried tomato and mushroom pasta in a garlic and basil sauce

I found this recipe here but copied it into metric because it was too hard to follow in American measurements. 

Serves 4

Get This -

2 tablespoons olive oil
200g mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
100g sun-dried tomatoes, diced
2 chicken stock cubes (use vegetable for vegetarian version)
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup half and half (may need to add another 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried basil (or up to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil)
fettuccine for 4

NOTE:
WHAT IS HALF AND HALF? Half and half is the US milk product that combines half milk half cream to form a lighter cream (unlike heavy cream). To make 1 cup of half and half, combine 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup regular cream (heavy, or whipping cream).


Do This -

1. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat, add sliced mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes. Add diced sun-dried tomatoes. Reduce heat.
2. Dissolve 2 chicken stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water. Add the broth to the pan and cook on medium heat until the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes absorb some of the broth and the broth reduces somewhat. Add half and half, heavy cream and bring to boil just for a short moment. Add Parmesan cheese and cook the sauce, stirring, for a couple of minutes, on low-medium heat until the cheese melts. Add the basil.
3. If your sauce is too thick at this point - add another 1/2 cup half and half. If your sauce looks thin to you - do not continue simmering the sauce to thicken it as you will be adding pasta shortly (in the next step) - and pasta will absorb some of the sauce liquid. Even if the sauce looks thin now, it will not be so thin once you add pasta.
4. Cook fettuccine according to the package instruction. Drain and rinse in cold water (this will stop the cooking). Add the fettuccine into the sauce and continue cooking the sauce with the pasta in it, on medium heat, for a couple of minutes (or more - to achieve the desired thickness) stirring constantly to coat well.

Note: Do not add salt to the creamy sauce because it should already be salty enough from the chicken cubes. Check at the end when the sauce is done to see if some salt is needed.

My Greek Style Salad

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iceberg lettuce
red onion
cherry tomatoes
Lebanese cucumber
sun dried tomatoes
whole olives
feta
dried oregano
dried thyme
salt & pepper


Do This -

1. Slice and chop the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cucumber & sundried tomatoes and place in a salad bowl.
2. Squash the olives to remove the pips and then tear them into the bowl.
3. Add crumbled feta, dried herbs and salt & pepper.
4. Pour a little of the sun dried tomato oil from the jar, and a little olive juice from the jar to make the dressing.
5. Toss well and serve.

4 Ingredients - Creamy Bacon & Sun Dried Tomato Chicken

Couscous Salad

I think this is my favourite salad ever.

So quick.

So easy.

So YUM!!

Serves 2 - 4

Get This -

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed, diced
• 1/4 red onion, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons semi sun dried tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 4 anchovies chopped finely
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• fresh parsley

Do This -

1. Place the couscous in a large bowl. Place the stock in a saucepan, bring to just boiling point, then pour over the couscous. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Fluff couscous with a fork and season with salt and pepper. When couscous is cold, stir in the cucumber, onion, tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the olive oil and lemon juice, add to the couscous and stir until well combined. Top with chopped parsley.
   
   

Mini Asparagus Frittatas

Makes 12

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• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup pure cream
• 1/4 cup grated tasty cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 bunch asparagus, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped semi-dried tomatoes
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

Do This -

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/170°C fan-forced. Grease 12 hole patty pan.
2. Whisk eggs, cream, cheese and garlic together in a jug. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Combine asparagus, tomato, basil and onion in a bowl. Spoon evenly into holes of prepared pan.
4. Pour egg mixture over asparagus mixture. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden and set.

Rice Cakes

Tonight I had some left over cooked rice.
I'd usually make fried rice with it, but I did that 2 nights ago, so I went looking for something else.
I found a recipe on Taste.com.au for rice cakes that used smoked chicken. But I didn't have any chicken so I substituted bacon and added some sour cream to make sure they wouldn't be too dry.

They were really tasty! A bit like mini quiches, but without flour, which is always good for me!

Makes 12

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1 - 1 1/2 cups cooked basmati rice
4 bacon short cut rashers, diced
2 tablespoons semi-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 tablespoon sour cream
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup basil leaves, finely shredded
3 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper

Do This -

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan.
2. Fry the bacon until cooked, then leave to cool.
3. Place rice, bacon, dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cheese, parmesan, onions, basil, eggs, salf and pepper into a large bowl. Mix well to combine.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cakes are firm to the touch and light golden. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Run a flat-edged knife around edges of cakes. Turn onto a wire rack.
5. Serve with salad. Tonight's salad was coral lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, capsicum, lebanese cucumber, fetta and avacado dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

These would also be great lunch box idea.