Spinach & Artichoke Mac and Cheese

In my usual form I tend to take forever to get around to doing things. I saw this on Rachael Ray one day when I had the ol tube on and it caught my attention.  So months later I decided to give it a whirl for dinner one night and see if it really stands up on its own.  Link to Rachael Ray's Page

I attempted this with the intention of using what I had on the shelf for the most part so some of my quantities (as usual) are a little off from what is spec'd in the recipe. (once again, this is normal for me)

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound semolina or whole wheat penne
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon or to taste
• 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
• 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped artichokes, defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
• Black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian Fontina cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top 

Variation:

• I had a couple peppers in the fridge I needed to use so I added 1/2 an orange pepper and 1/2 a green bell
• I had a small jar of artichokes.  So I just used this rinsed them real good and chopped them up to replace the frozen artichokes I could not find
• I already had regular penne pasta so I just used it instead of buying the whole wheat

Instructions:

• Boil Pasta in salted water till done
• With a medium pot over medium-low heat add the Olive Oil and butter.
• Add the onion and garlic and cook till soft, 10 min or so.
• Start Oven with Broiler and rack near the center of the oven.
• Turn the heat up to medium-high, whisk the flour into the pan, before this burns whisk in the wine, cooking for another minute or two, just long enough to burn off the alcohol. 
• Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a slight boil. 
• Add the nutmeg, spinach, artichokes, salt and pepper and simmer until it thickens and veggies are warmed through
• . Add all but 1/2 cup of each of the cheeses
•   Stir until melted and combined
• Toss the sauce with the drained pasta
• Add to baking dish (I used a 13x9 and it fit well)
• Sprinkle remaining cheese on top
• I added the sliced peppers here so they would roast and add some pizazz to the presentation
• Broil until cheese is melted and the top is golden brown 30-40 minutes

Serve as either a side or as a meal of it's own - bon appetit

Mexi-Healthy Stuffed Peppers

Most of my cooking comes from a spark of interest in foods I find at farmers markets.  Foods I've either tried in one way or another, knowing if I look at them again in a different light that the taste may not be the same. Canned food vs fresh cooked food provides two very different footprints on your palette in many cases. So to clarify my cooking fashion, I find food I'd like to make or have interest in  then scour the web briefly for inspiration into what I'd like to make.

Tonight's dinner was no exception. One of the local markets which we really enjoy shopping at was closing down for the rest of winter (this is normal) so I scuttled up there on the last night to get the deals I could and to help out the local business. In my trip I found two very lonely pablano peppers keeping themselves company in a basket.  By lonely I mean this kid from Texas was walking by as they were yelling and whistling at me in Spanish. So I kindly picked them both up as there are 2 in my household, and placed them in my basket.  In this trip I also acquired a bag of sweet peppers (the long kind not bells) for $0.50 so I couldn't turn that down either.  I'll reveal the rest of the shopping experience in adventure cliffs to come.

So back to the peppers, I found the bag of sweets on the counter this morning starting to go bad, and knew that if my bargain was not going to go to waste it had to be used.  So this brought on tonight's dinner, that and the timing for me to cook for the wife was good tonight.

I found a link for Stuffed Pablano Peppers on elly says opa!. Like I mentioned before I take these as inspiration. I'm not always the type to measure ingredients and just kind of throw things together. The wife hates this as the next time it may not turn out the same, but...thats me.

So here is the recipe as I made it (approximately)

2 large poblano peppers + a few sweet peppers
little canola oil for skillet
1 small onion - diced
2 cloves garlic - minced
2 links Italian chicken sausage - (I used one spicy and one regular from Whole Foods)
1/2 cup salsa (I bought a garden salsa in one of those plastic containers)
1 cup corn (I like corn and had a 1/2 ziploc full in the freezer I wanted to use up / 1 can would also work)
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 oz. manchego cheese, shredded (about 1/3 cup), divided
(this is one of those cheeses you find in the imported vacuum packed hard cheese section I just bought the smallest one they had it was $6 or so and just used the whole thing, we like good cheese)

Prep:

• dice onion
• mince garlic
• shred cheese
  
• Peppers - slice, wash, and deseed (I like to slice mine either by a t slit or on small sweets just slice along the side to expose a cavity (parallel to the pepper))
  
• Preheat oven to 375-400 (most ovens are not accurate, I'll discuss this more later)
• Figure out side dish and prep that too (I'm bad about prepping so this is less stressful
  

 1. in cast iron skillet over medium heat cook oil until warm then sweat the onions and garlic
 2. cut the casings off the sausage and add the sausage to skillet (cook till onion is translucent and sausage is browned)
 3. Add corn, salsa, and cumin stir and simmer over low heat to mix flavors
 4. stir in some of the cheese
 5. When ready spray a baking dish to avoid sticking, I like to use a corningware dish with a tight fitting lid so when there are leftovers I can just put it in the fridge and not have to transfer dishes
 6. Stuff peppers with the mixture and place in baking dish with mixture face up.
 7. Top with more cheese and bake for 30-45 minutes to soften peppers and melt cheese.

Serve with Mexican rice and beans. Delicious!