Breaded Goat Cheese Bites

I am kind of obsessed with cheese. I can have a seriously appalling amount of cheese in one sitting. Sometimes, good old cheddar just won't do and I want something even more indulgent. Enter goat cheese. And sometimes just goat cheese isn't enough, so I bread it and fry it. Oh, yeah.

Spicy Italian Sausage Penne

Back-to-back pasta recipes on the blog this week! But I can't help it. I love pasta. It's so easy and versatile (and not to mention delicious). I have a couple of go-to pasta recipes (including my spaghetti alla puttanesca, which I can almost make in my sleep) but I also really like trying something new, or putting a new spin on an old favourite.

I use Italian sausages with pasta quite often, but I don't do anything particularly fancy or complicated with them. Usually I just break them up while frying them and then toss them in tomato sauce, often with artichoke hearts. I then saw Jamie Oliver's recipe for "Pregnant Jools's Pasta" in his cookbook Meals in Minutes, which is a different approach to sausage pasta than my usual. He puts the sausages through the food processor before frying it up, which gives the sausage a more silky texture, as opposed to the more rustic texture of my sausage pastas. He also makes the sauce with carrot, celery (which unfortunately I didn't have on hand) and diced tomatoes, which makes it taste fresh.

Pulled Pork Pasta

We had a lot of pulled pork left over from making pulled pork sandwiches the other day. Instead of making more sandwiches, I thought we would try making some pulled pork pasta. I have to admit that the idea came from that Boston Pizza commercial where the guy eats their pulled pork penne and turns into a "foodie," which in the commercial, apparently isn't a good thing. Too bad for me, since I self-identify as one. The commercial actually drives me crazy (mostly because it gets played alllll the time) but the idea was interesting.

I was going to make some tomato sauce to mix with the pulled pork but didn't have time, so I just used jarred sauce. Since we had the leftover pork, all of the hard work was already done. This was super quick and easy, and pretty tasty. It's so simple that I kind of feel silly writing it out like you don't know how to boil pasta and heat some sauce, but I guess not everything I put on this blog is going to be complicated, so here it is in all its glory!

Tomato and Herb Quinoa Salad

I'm a big fan of quinoa. It's a grain that is apparently quite high in protein. I find it similar to couscous. It's great to make as a side because it's quick to prepare and is tasty served hot like rice, or cold like pasta salad. I recently made a simple version with cherry tomatoes, herbs and garlic. It was fresh and delicious - perfect for summertime!

Italian Sausage and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

I realized the other day that I had a half a box of jumbo pasta shells that had been sitting around for a while, so I thought I should use them up. The first time I made stuffed shells, I used ground turkey (and unfortunately they came out a little dry for my taste), but this time I decided to use some spicy Italian sausage, which I love. We are currently obsessed with using ricotta in our pasta (it started when I made baked ziti) so the love affair continued with this dish. I also added some artichokes to give the shells a bit more taste and texture. They turned out really great - I'll definitely make them again!

Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna is one of my favourite meals. These lasagna rolls are a neat-looking spin on the usual dish. I think I first saw them on one of Giada de Laurentiis' cooking shows. I find the rolls stay together a bit better when you cut into them than plain lasagna, though they're probably a bit messier to make - but that's part of the fun!

Salmon, Asparagus and Lemon Risotto

I have to confess that I had never made risotto before this - that's how much of an amateur chef I am. I've always wanted to try it, though. I saw a mention of salmon risotto somewhere on Pinterest and thought that sounded amazing, so I went hunting for a good recipe.

Salmon Potato Cakes

These salmon potato cakes are tasty, filling, and best of all, pretty easy and quick to make. I adapted these from Chef Michael Smith's recipe. You could use other types of fish in this as well, but I like salmon best because it doesn't make the cake too fishy-tasting or heavy.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Spaghetti alla puttanesca is a recipe I originally heard of on Nadia G's cooking show, Bitchin' Kitchen. It's a spicy, salty, delicious dish that is quick to put together and has become my go-to dish when I want something made from scratch but don't have a ton of time to do it. I've made it so much since I first heard about it that I've made the recipe my own. I just looked up Nadia G's actual recipe and it's very different. Funny how things evolve the more that you make them!

Spaghetti al Forno

Spaghetti al forno is a delicious pasta and cheese frittata. Breadcrumbs, pasta, eggs, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and prosciutto are layered together and then baked. It's hearty, cheesy and so good with a side of marinara sauce. I adapted this recipe from Giada de Laurentiis' recipe for capellini al forno. This would make three to four servings because I cut some of the ingredients down so that my husband and I wouldn't have tons of leftovers. If you want to make more, there would be plenty of room in the springform pan for an extra layer if you follow this recipe, so you can increase the amount of pasta, prosciutto and mozzarella if you need to.

Tomato Braised Chicken with Broccoli and Brown Rice

We came home late from work a few nights ago and I didn't feel like having something frozen for dinner (again) so I made chicken braised in tomatoes and chicken broth with broccoli and brown rice. It was very good - especially for something that I threw together without using a recipe. We both really liked it so I think we'll add it to our dinner rotation.

Minestrone Soup

I love making soups. They're so quick, easy, and perfect for a cold winter day. I like that I can throw in ingredients that I usually have sitting in my fridge and pantry and turn them into something delicious. One of my favourites is minestrone soup.

I've been looking around online and there are so many different variations of it - some with beef and some without, and it seems like each recipe calls for a different batch of vegetables. I decided to try to make it with what I had around the house - though I did go out of my way to get some Swiss chard to try with this soup for the first time, as called for in a winter minestrone soup recipe that I found on Giada DeLaurentiis' website. This is the version I threw together for lunch today, which makes a big potful of soup.