Penne w/ Ricotta and Basil Sauce

This is a tasty low-fat pasta with ricotta cheese. I had never used ricotta cheese in a pasta other than in lasagna and I was really curious how the pasta would taste with it. It tasted really good. I liked it a lot. But I sprinkled just a little bit, about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta and it added a great flavor to it. (I added it after I took these photos.. so you can't see it in these photos. Sorry!) This pasta recipe calls for a little bit of bacon crumbles, but no other meat, which is why I was attracted to this recipe. In our family, we eat a lot of chicken. Sometimes, I just don't feel like eating chicken or any meat at all. A little bit of bacon crumbles were just perfect for me that night.

Penne with Ricotta and Basil Sauce

Adapted and changed from Tasty Low-fat Recipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 tablespons bacon crumbles (I used Kirkland brand bacon crumbles but you sure can cook bacon strips and crumble it)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped *optional
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
11 oz penne, cooked al dante *save about 1 cup of the pasta water
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan, add the bacon, garlic and onion and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the heat, stir in the ricotta and chopped basil and beat until smooth. Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the ricotta mixture to thin the sauce. Add more water if you prefer an even thinner sauce. Season well with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and stir the sauce through with the tomato halves. Can be garnished with small basil leaves.

Penne w/ Ricotta and Basil Sauce

This is a tasty low-fat pasta with ricotta cheese. I had never used ricotta cheese in a pasta other than in lasagna and I was really curious how the pasta would taste with it. It tasted really good. I liked it a lot. But I sprinkled just a little bit, about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta and it added a great flavor to it. (I added it after I took these photos.. so you can't see it in these photos. Sorry!) This pasta recipe calls for a little bit of bacon crumbles, but no other meat, which is why I was attracted to this recipe. In our family, we eat a lot of chicken. Sometimes, I just don't feel like eating chicken or any meat at all. A little bit of bacon crumbles were just perfect for me that night.

Penne with Ricotta and Basil Sauce

Adapted and changed from Tasty Low-fat Recipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 tablespons bacon crumbles (I used Kirkland brand bacon crumbles but you sure can cook bacon strips and crumble it)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped *optional
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
11 oz penne, cooked al dante *save about 1 cup of the pasta water
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan, add the bacon, garlic and onion and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the heat, stir in the ricotta and chopped basil and beat until smooth. Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the ricotta mixture to thin the sauce. Add more water if you prefer an even thinner sauce. Season well with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and stir the sauce through with the tomato halves. Can be garnished with small basil leaves.

Penne w/ Ricotta and Basil Sauce

This is a tasty low-fat pasta with ricotta cheese. I had never used ricotta cheese in a pasta other than in lasagna and I was really curious how the pasta would taste with it. It tasted really good. I liked it a lot. But I sprinkled just a little bit, about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta and it added a great flavor to it. (I added it after I took these photos.. so you can't see it in these photos. Sorry!) This pasta recipe calls for a little bit of bacon crumbles, but no other meat, which is why I was attracted to this recipe. In our family, we eat a lot of chicken. Sometimes, I just don't feel like eating chicken or any meat at all. A little bit of bacon crumbles were just perfect for me that night.

Penne with Ricotta and Basil Sauce

Adapted and changed from Tasty Low-fat Recipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 tablespons bacon crumbles (I used Kirkland brand bacon crumbles but you sure can cook bacon strips and crumble it)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped *optional
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
11 oz penne, cooked al dante *save about 1 cup of the pasta water
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan, add the bacon, garlic and onion and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the heat, stir in the ricotta and chopped basil and beat until smooth. Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the ricotta mixture to thin the sauce. Add more water if you prefer an even thinner sauce. Season well with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and stir the sauce through with the tomato halves. Can be garnished with small basil leaves.

Chicken Adobo

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who wished me well. I feel a little better this morning. In fact, I've been so sick that I lost 4 lbs in two days without even exercising. ha ha

Okay about this recipe... To be honest, it was my first time trying adobo. I found this recipe on a cookbook I bought not too long ago and I was way excited to try it. It was really tasty and I liked it a lot. I used only chicken breast but thighs would be really good, too, I think. You're supposed to marinade the chicken for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator but I didn't because I hadn't read the instruction ahead and it was already late so I skipped the marinade part. But next time, I'm definitely marinading the chicken for 2-3 hours so that all the flavors in the sauce soaks right into the chicken. But it still tasted excellent.

Chicken Adobo

Adapted and changed from New Asians Cooking Cookbook


Ingredients:

1-2 lbs chicken breasts or/and thighs, cut into pieces
6 cloves garlic crushed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coriandr seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp paprika
1/5 tsp tumeric
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar *optional
2 tablespoons oil

Directions:

Marinade:
Combine all the ingredients, except the oil, in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Transfer the mixture to a large heavy-based pan, bring to the boil over high heat, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 mminutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Bring the liquid back to the boil and cook over high heat for 10 minutes or until reduced by half. Heat the oil in a wok or large non-stick frying pan and add the chicken in batches, cooking over mdium heat for 5 minutes, or until crisp and brown. Serv the reduced sauce mixture over the chicken pieces and accompany with rice.

*If the sauce does not thicken to your desired consistency, mix 1 tbs cornstarch and 1 tbsp water and pour it into the sauce and stir to thicken.

Chicken Adobo

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who wished me well. I feel a little better this morning. In fact, I've been so sick that I lost 4 lbs in two days without even exercising. ha ha

Okay about this recipe... To be honest, it was my first time trying adobo. I found this recipe on a cookbook I bought not too long ago and I was way excited to try it. It was really tasty and I liked it a lot. I used only chicken breast but thighs would be really good, too, I think. You're supposed to marinade the chicken for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator but I didn't because I hadn't read the instruction ahead and it was already late so I skipped the marinade part. But next time, I'm definitely marinading the chicken for 2-3 hours so that all the flavors in the sauce soaks right into the chicken. But it still tasted excellent.

Chicken Adobo

Adapted and changed from New Asians Cooking Cookbook


Ingredients:

1-2 lbs chicken breasts or/and thighs, cut into pieces
6 cloves garlic crushed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coriandr seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp paprika
1/5 tsp tumeric
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar *optional
2 tablespoons oil

Directions:

Marinade:
Combine all the ingredients, except the oil, in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Transfer the mixture to a large heavy-based pan, bring to the boil over high heat, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 mminutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Bring the liquid back to the boil and cook over high heat for 10 minutes or until reduced by half. Heat the oil in a wok or large non-stick frying pan and add the chicken in batches, cooking over mdium heat for 5 minutes, or until crisp and brown. Serv the reduced sauce mixture over the chicken pieces and accompany with rice.

*If the sauce does not thicken to your desired consistency, mix 1 tbs cornstarch and 1 tbsp water and pour it into the sauce and stir to thicken.

Chicken Adobo

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who wished me well. I feel a little better this morning. In fact, I've been so sick that I lost 4 lbs in two days without even exercising. ha ha

Okay about this recipe... To be honest, it was my first time trying adobo. I found this recipe on a cookbook I bought not too long ago and I was way excited to try it. It was really tasty and I liked it a lot. I used only chicken breast but thighs would be really good, too, I think. You're supposed to marinade the chicken for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator but I didn't because I hadn't read the instruction ahead and it was already late so I skipped the marinade part. But next time, I'm definitely marinading the chicken for 2-3 hours so that all the flavors in the sauce soaks right into the chicken. But it still tasted excellent.

Chicken Adobo

Adapted and changed from New Asians Cooking Cookbook


Ingredients:

1-2 lbs chicken breasts or/and thighs, cut into pieces
6 cloves garlic crushed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coriandr seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp paprika
1/5 tsp tumeric
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar *optional
2 tablespoons oil

Directions:

Marinade:
Combine all the ingredients, except the oil, in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Transfer the mixture to a large heavy-based pan, bring to the boil over high heat, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 mminutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Bring the liquid back to the boil and cook over high heat for 10 minutes or until reduced by half. Heat the oil in a wok or large non-stick frying pan and add the chicken in batches, cooking over mdium heat for 5 minutes, or until crisp and brown. Serv the reduced sauce mixture over the chicken pieces and accompany with rice.

*If the sauce does not thicken to your desired consistency, mix 1 tbs cornstarch and 1 tbsp water and pour it into the sauce and stir to thicken.

Chicken, Bok Choy and Black Beans Stir-fry

Happy Sunday everyone! First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday. I had a great birthday. My husband made me an omelet for breakfast and he cleaned up the kitchen for me. Oh and he made me a birthday cake (chocolate mousse cake: YUM!), too. Isn't he so sweet? I love him.

So - I'm not feeling so good today. I have a cold or something. My nose is stuffy and my head hurts a little. But I decided to sit on my couch and post this wonderful recipe real quick. Thank goodness, you can't catch cold through internet. So feel safe to read along. :)

This is a great recipe that calls for my new favorite, bok choy. Whenever I see a recipe that calls for bok choy, I bookmark it. I hadn't really tried anything with bok choy until recently, though. I just never knew what to make with it. Bok choy is great warm. It's excellent in stir-fried food. And it's healthy! The addition of water chestnut and black beans is also what makes this dish so unique and wonderful.

Chicken, Bok Choy and Black Bean Stir-Fry

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breasts
1 canned black beans, drained (about 1 1/2 cup)
1 lb baby bok choy
1 onion, finely sliced (optional)
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 teaspoons chopped ginger
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cup canned water chestnuts, drained
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2-1 teaspoon fish sauce

Directions:

1. Slice the chicken into strips, cutting across the grain. Cut the ends off the bok choy, separate the leaves and shred.

2. Heat half the sesame oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok. Cook the onions, garlic and ginger over high heat for 3-4 minutes, add the bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remve fro the pan. Heat the remaining sesame oil and stir fry the chicken in batches over high heat.

3. Return all the chicken to the pan along with the onion mixture, black bans, shredded bok choy, water chestnuts, and fish sauce. Toss quickly to combine the ingredients, lower the heat and cover and steam for 3-4 minutes, or until the bok choy has just wilted. Serve immediately.