Daily Favorites: The Collection

This is a new cooking series where I'll be focusing on tasty meals under 750 calories, ideally around 600. The goal is to build a collection of reliables recipes that I can return to often and fit into my daily routine. Not everything will be from scratch nor will I promise any level of fanciness. These are every day meals, so quick and easy shortcuts are encouraged. 

I'll be including some old favorites and trying out new recipes along the way. 

The Collection

Aloha Burgers

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese

BBQ Meatballs

Big Salad: Italian Style

Big Salad: Southwestern Style

Big Salad: Summer Style

Biscuits & Gravy

Brat Burger & Sweet Corn

Brats with Homemade Pickles and Pickled Onions

Buffalo Chicken Bake

Buffalo Pulled Pork

Buffalo Tenders & Homemade Cole Slaw

Burrito Bowl

Cheeseburger Casserole

Cheesy Cornflake Chicken

Chicago-Style Hot Dogs

Chicken & Waffles

Chicken Patty Sandwich

Chicken Shawarma with Tzatziki Sauce

Chili Cheese Dogs

Chips & Dip

Classic Italian Hoagie

Deconstructed Reuben

Easy General Tso's Chicken

Fish Tacos

5-Minute Chicken Parm

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Healthy Mac & Cheese: 3 Ways

Hot Carnitas Hoagie

Hot Chicken with Herbed Yogurt Sauce

Italian Flag Pasta Salad

Italian Sausage with Balsamic Peppers and Onions

Italian Sausage Sandwich

Jerk Chicken

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Loaded Tots

Loaded Nachos

Mashed Potatoes

Meatball Hoagie

Meatball Pasta

Mediterranean Meatballs with Herbed Yogurt Sauce

Mexican Casserole

Nachos without Chips

Nashville Hot Chicken

Pita Pizzas

Poblano con Queso Tacos

Pulled Pork and BBQ Beans

Sauce Library

Salsa Verde Tacos

Sloppy Joe's from Scratch

Smoky Chicken Sando

Spicy Cubano

Teriyaki Beef Bowl

Toasted Italian Hoagie

Twice-Baked Potato

Zesty Chicken Legs

eating & cooking update

Usually I save my food realizations for the end of the month weight loss progress post, but too many realizations to wait. 

I'll start with a small one first: I can't eat nuts anymore. Because a few nuts turns into ten handfuls. The Lays' slogan "betcha can't eat just one" definitely applies to me and cashews/pistachios/peanuts. So I just need to avoid them in the first place. 

The big realization was how the pasta journey went in reality. I gained five pounds in a week. Partly that was because of my youngest kid's birthday, and part of it is because I also can't just eat one portion of pasta. I'm much better when things are portioned out or I make one serving of something, then making a pot of pasta and only taking a serving. 

This tells me a few things. I'm definitely better off not going down the rabbit hole of learning to smoke my own meats. I can tell having an entire brisket on my counter would not end well for my health. 

The other thing that I learned is that while part of the fun of pasta journey was the pasta, the other fun part was the journey. I enjoyed the cooking, learning lessons, taking notes along the way, and collecting successful recipes for later use. So...pasta journey will still be ongoing, just at a much more sporadic pace. (My first attempt at cacio e pepe was a clumpy fail. I will be back to master this yet, but there's no hurry.)

And I'll start a new collection of Every Day Favorites. Healthy dishes that will help me stay on track with losing/maintaining a healthy weight while also being delicious. This way I can continue on a journey, adding dishes regularly. Which instead of slowing down my progress, will only help as I build a library of meals to turn to.

Avs were vaxxed yesterday. Look for them to struggle against the Blues tonight. Avs currently a -180 favorite.

JK Avs are too good to be slowed down by a vaccine. They're 9-1 in their last ten and the #1 team in the league. 

Pasta Journey: Sausage, Peppers & Onions Pasta

 

This one was a bit different than the usual pasta + sauce formula. In this case, the "sauce" is extra chunky with not much liquid. I found this recipe from Fabio Viviani, a two-time Top Chef contestant. 

I was looking for a recipe that started with crumbled Italian sausage and this seemed like an easy winner. 

This recipe calls for just a little bit of tomato sauce, so with a little planning ahead, I happened to have a little bit of tomato sauce leftover from my Sweet Marinara. 

Here are some bonus shots of the cooking stages. 

I went with shells for this one, attempting to match the size of all the pieces, though my peppers were still a bit on the large size. 

I love Italian sausage so this was a big hit and super quick and easy. If I ever have a little tomato sauce leftover, I'll remember this one.

The thing I was most wrong about was thinking I could continue to lose weight while doing pasta journey. It's not even the pasta itself per se. I have a bad habit of once I go over my calorie goal I decide to turn the day into a "metabolism-booster day" which basically means eating an extra 1500 calories of mixed nuts and whatever else is lying around. 

My two biggest goals right now are in direct opposition—cook a bunch of delicious food and lose weight. 

NAILED IT

 

The lesson here? Hoagie Central is never wrong! I'm so glad I'm imaginary rich after that imaginary bet. 

Pasta Journey: Sweet Marinara

 

I took the bottom photo first, ate it, then realized that it might have been hard to see under all that grated Romano. So I took another photo sans cheese. 

I learned this sauce from my in-laws and have been making it for 12 years now. This is my all-purpose red sauce. I love it on pizza. I love it on meatball subs. And I love it on pasta. It slow simmers on the stove for an hour. The sauce is thick which is great because you can add pasta water to get the consistency you like. If you start with a thin sauce, I'm not going to want to add any pasta water. Also, in general, I don't like thin sauces.

I feel like I should mention this is a tomato sauce for people that don't like tomatoes. Because I'm one of those people. It specifically doesn't use whole tomatoes because I don't want tomato chunks. 

Today was the first time that I cooked it with any meat. Specifically, I made the recipe and split it into two pots, one with Italian sausage, one without. The browned sausage chunks simmered in the sauce for an hour. And surprisingly, the sauce turned out basically the same in both pots. I was expecting for the sausage to flavor the sauce but that didn't really happen. I did enjoy the sausage chunks for sure, but it's definitely optional and not a meaty revelation like I was hoping for.

1 medium onion, diced

28 oz crushed tomatoes

12 oz tomato paste

1/2 cup brown sugar

salt, pepper, garlic powder, herbs to taste

It's so simple to make. Saute the onion in some olive oil. Add the tomatoes and paste. Add the sugar and seasonings. Cook for an hour on a medium-low simmer. Then taste and adjust as necessary. Usually a bit  more salt and pepper at the end. 

Then serve with pasta and freshly grated cheese.

If you wanted it less sweet, you could certainly add less brown sugar. You could add red pepper flake or garlic for more a robust, balanced sauce.

The boys loved it. Brit liked it but said it was on the sweet side for her. I like it sweet because I like to cover it in salty, hard cheese.

Rangers getting vaxxed today

Look for them to struggle tomorrow. There are currently a -120 favorite over the Penguins. 

I'm laying big imaginary money on the Penguins. 

t-shirt update

After washing and getting to wear a few times, it's clear my favorite shirts are the Next Level ones. 

Right now I've got one v-neck and one baseball tee, so I anticipate getting some more Next Level shirts in the future. 

What is this, pasta central?

I've posted three that were already in the collection, plus two new ones from Tuesday (aglio e olio and creamy garlic shells.) Next up, I'm going to remake one sauce that's already in the collection to try out a new sausage technique. After that, cacio e pepe. 

So I'm all caught up on pastas that I've already made. No more days where I'm posting 5 pastas. 

Pasta Journey: My Take on Carbonara

 

So I used all the important caveats in the introduction post. This is not a true Italian carbonara. This is how I like to make it. (Italians would definitely freak out about the cream, garlic and onions. So that's why this isn't called Carbonara. It's inspired by it.) And although it's definitely in the collection of dishes I know how to make, like most things, there is always room for improvement. One time I made it I thought it was the best thing I've ever cooked. I made it last year and thought I didn't do it justice. 

By the next time I make it, I'll probably watch more videos and pick up new techniques. Can always try and get better Italian meat. But here's how I've done it. 

guanciale/pancetta/bacon

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 eggs

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

3/4 cup heavy cream

lots of black pepper

12 ounces of pasta (rigatoni or angel hair are favorites of mine)

Dice the raw meat and fry over medium until crisp. Set aside and season with pepper. Add the onion and garlic to the same pan. Cook until golden. Set aside. Start cooking the pasta. 

In a bowl, mix the eggs, cheese, cream and pepper until smooth. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before you drain the pasta. Drain the pasta and add to pan where you cooked the meat and onion. Drizzle in the sauce while stirring. Add pasta water as necessary. Add the meat, onion and garlic back in. 

Pasta Journey: Creamy Garlic Shells

 

So I knew my family liked fettuccine alfredo. So I thought, how could I kick this up a notch? Add lots of crushed garlic, chopped parsley, and make a roux, so we're basically riffing on bechamel at this point. 

I let my youngest son pick the shape and it was a great choice. The shells really filled up with the sauce and was fun to eat. 

4 Tbsp. butter

4 Tbsp. flour

8 cloves garlic, grated 

3.5 cups half and half

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced 

1 lb. medium shells pasta

Melt the butter, add the flour and garlic. Then half cup at a time, add the half and half, stirring until smooth. Season with a little salt and good amount of pepper. Stir in the cheese until melted and then add parsley. Stir the sauce into the drained pasta. 

I found initially that the sauce was a little thinner (very creamy) than I was expecting. Just a touch. So I added a little more Parmesan and gave it an extra minute on the stove and it thickened perfectly. But maybe next time I would aim for 3.25 cups of half and half. 

I never claimed that was going to be a strict Italian journey. This is definitely an Americanized pasta dish, just like alfredo. Personally, I thought this kicked the pants off alfredo sauce. The roux added a deeper nuttiness, the garlic was great, and the fresh parsley was a nice addition too. Definitely seems like something I'll be making again one day.

Pasta Journey: Vodka Rigatoni

 

This was the one pasta I learned during 2020 quarantine. It was a recommendation from my boss and it does not disappoint. This was a hit for the whole family. A creamy tomato sauce—and I love the color. 

I like rigatoni for these because it can really get the sauce in each tube. In fact, rigatoni became my default shape for any sauce because of that. It works with everything.

3 tbsp. butter

1 shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 tbsp. vodka

1 lb. rigatoni

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Melt the butter, sauté the shallot and garlic. Add the tomato paste and red pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the vodka. Add the cream, parmesan and 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Salt and pepper to taste and add more pasta water if necessary. Serve with extra Parmesan.

Pasta Journey: Fettuccine Alfredo

 

This was the first pasta dish that Brit and learned to make from scratch over ten years ago. We've since made it many times. It's our oldest child's favorite food. He even requested it at Thanksgiving one year. 

1 pound fettuccine

1 stick butter

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups freshly grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

You just warm the butter and cream in a pan and pour it over half the Parmesan in a bowl. Add the pasta and a little pasta water. Then add the rest of the cheese, salt and pepper to taste. I like to reserve just a but of grated cheese to put on at the table. 

It feels like a special occasion, despite it being super simple to make. 

Pasta Journey: Aglio e Olio

 

This is perhaps the simplest dish of all, so it seemed like the right place to start. Oil and garlic. During World War II, resources were scarce. But you had to eat. Cheese was a luxury. 

I chose angel hair for this because I knew the "sauce" was going to be very thin and light. I wanted a thin pasta that wouldn't be too dense for a light sauce. 

I sautéed 7 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced in the extra virgin olive oil. Then added red pepper flakes and a few chopped fresh Italian parsley stems. Once the pasta was almost al dente, I added a ladle of pasta water. Then transferred the pasta, added the parsley leaves. It seemed like I chopped up a ton of parsley, but it could have handled even more. Added a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Then added pasta water until it seemed the right consistency. 

In a pinch, I've made olive oil pasta before. But never this good. It's simple and light, yet allows for the flavors to come through. You definitely get garlic. (Brit said the garlic was a bit strong, which to me was validation of a job well done.) You get the oil. The parsley adds a lot. And the red pepper and lemon are just there to give the whole thing some zing and brightness. It totally works. 

Not my absolute favorite by any means, but still I get why this is a classic. A great place to start a journey. Pasta al Limone is an upgraded version of this concept that I'll make one day, so I'm glad I started here.