Saturday, March 5, 2011

Home, & A Recipe

Well, I am home from Thailand and crazy exhausted/jet-lagged, of course. I pretty much slept all day Friday, which wasn't the best idea, but like I said, I was exhausted. LOL Anyways, today I'm just relaxing at home, doing laundry, unpacking, etc. But a girl's gotta eat, right?
So I go to the fridge/freezer to see what I have - not much, obviously, since I just got back from a two week trip, but enough that a plan forms in my head. This plan turned out to be pretty darn amazing, if I do say so myself, and so I thought, "I must share this "recipe" with the world!!" Of course, I don't really have world-wide domination [yet], but onto to blog it goes. :)

I'm going to call this the "Creamy, Hearty Pasta Sauce" because well, I'm jet-lagged and that's about as creative as I can get at this point... ;)
Ingredients:
water
1 tomato
1 tblsp. olive oil
1 tblsp. butter

1/4 onion, diced
basil
oregano
black pepper
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pint of heavy cream
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
chicken stock or broth
parmesan cheese

*Also, you'll need a blender*

Step 1: Boil enough water to cover the tomato. I used an electric kettle, then placed the tomato in a measuring cup (bowl works too) and poured the water on top. Cover with a plate or something to keep the heat in. Leave it soaking while you prep everything else. You're doing two things: 1) softening the tomato skin so you can peel it & 2) warming up the tomato.

Step 2: Heat oil in skillet on med-high heat. When hot add onions & stir. Add butter & stir. Cook 2-3 mins, stirring occasionally so they don't stick or burn. Add salt, pepper, oregano, & basil. Keep stirring. Cook approx. 5 more mins, until the onions have softened a bit and the spices are smelling really good. Add the garlic, stir and cook another 2-3 mins.

Step 3: Add the heavy cream. Bring up to a boil and reduce heat to med. Keep stirring, and watching, because cream will boil over if you're not careful. Add yellow pepper, stir and bring back to boil again. Continue cooking the cream mixture for approx 8-10mins until it thickens up a bit.
While sauce is thickening, remove the tomato from its bath, pull the skin and top off, and place it in the blender.

Step 4: Add a splash of the chicken stock/broth to the thickened cream mixture (approx. 2-3 tblsps.), and stir. Pour cream mixture into blender, over the tomato. Blend mixture on the "Puree" setting, until everything seems mixed together well (2-3 mins). Pour back into skillet. Stir in 3-4 tblsp. of parmesan cheese, add to your pasta, top with a little more parmesan, and voila!

I had mine with ravioli, and while good, I think the filling over powered the sauce a bit. So, here are a few suggestions on how to use this sauce:
~ Toss with steamed veggies (peas, carrots, asparagus, etc.) and angel hair pasta, for a "Pasta Primavera" style meal.
~ Toss with linguine or fettuccine pasta, and top with grilled chicken.
~ Add some ground sausage or turkey and toss with spaghetti pasta.

Let me know if you try this out, if you enjoyed it, and what kind of combo you used or came up with! Bon Appetit!

6 comments:

H. Najjar said...

Okay, I just figured out what to make for dinner tomorrow. We haven't had pasta for a while.

:)

Christin said...

Yaaay! Let me know your spin on it. :)

H. Najjar said...

I didn't have cream, so I used milk and thickened it with flour. Tasted amazing. :) The bell pepper flavor is unique and refreshing. It received my roommate's seal of approval. :)

Christin said...

Awesome! Glad you all enjoyed it. :) I really love yellow and orange peppers. They're a nice switch for the taste buds. :)

Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking said...

Wow this recipe sounds great. So glad I found your blog!!

Christin said...

Alicia - Welcome! Please let me know if you try this recipe, and any different spin you put on it.Hope you enjoy!