Tag Archives: penne

Penne Sweet Potato Casserole with Sesame Crumbs

June 15, 2015

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I am getting so over my current apartment. I know I’ve mentioned how I’ve bought a rowhouse. It is an exciting adult step for my husband and I, and a little scary. We went to our inspection on Saturday, and turned out really well. We are requesting $1,000 worth or repairs before going in, and there isn’t anything we would care about it they said no to (and I think only two requests they legally need to fund us or fix). Going through the house again makes me want to start designing everything.

There is a WHOLE MONTH before we can move in, and it is killing me. I want my dishwasher, god I would love to take a plate and just put it away and out of sight. I would love to only have to handwash a blender and french press in the morning, then a few pots at night. I would also love to wash my clothes whenever I want and not have to worry that if I leave my laundry in the machine and then be a burden to someone else. I want for Toulouse to have stairs to run up and box windows to stare out of.

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To try and keep my mind occupied I am trying to do the Summer Shape-Up on The Fitnessista. It might be fun to have new recipes to try out, and heck switch up my breakfast plans a little even! This is the first day in years I didn’t have a SMOOTHIE! It was oddly really hard, but I think tomorrow my body will cope with it a little better. Funny since I read so many articles about how smoothies are calorie bombs that don’t keep you full for long.

This will also help with spicing up my workout routine. I’ve been pretty much just been running and going to an Orangetheory class each week. So it probably will be nice to get more weight training in, especially since I will be lifting many many many boxes in a month. No need to workout on moving day.

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This recipe was resurrected from the dead this weekend. I originally made the recipe, wrote down notes, and loved it so much that I took photos for the blog. I edited the photos, but waited to post it since I had a few other recipes I wanted to put on the blog. Fast forward a few weeks and I couldn’t find the recipe. At that point summer was creeping in and the desire to cook a casserole had disappeared. So I figured the recipe would never make it to the blog.

Then my husband decided he would clean the computer area. And what did he find? The recipe! I am pretty excited about it because I would like to make this recipe again this winter. I love Korean sweet potatoes. They have a chestnut-like flavor which I totally recommend using in this recipe. If you can’t find any, the closest substitute is a white sweet potato.

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I also love the touch of sesame flavor on the top crumb. The sesame seeds really add an extra crunch that contrasts the creamy sauce and soft noodles. It adds a nice twist to the normal creamy pasta casserole dish. I really don’t think it emulates any western cream based noodle dishes, like alfredo or macaroni and cheese. This really is something that stands on it’s own. Continue reading →

Posted by Jennifer in Recipe Tags: caramelized onions, cashews, casserole, nutritional yeast, oats, onions, penne, rolled oats, sesame seeds, sweet potato

1 comment

Kimchi Lentil Pasta

May 8, 2015

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I am officially pooped today. My work is located in a housing development, which is weird since it is zoned as commercial. Well, the development has a yearly yard sale, and my boss decided to unload all his family inherited stuff. So I went to work an hour early and just spent the days… doing something… I just couldn’t tell you. Oh wait, I remember listen to sexists jerk make comments about those “poor women” who had to use the old irons as they were so heavy that they wouldn’t have energy to make dinner for their men. No. fucking. joke.

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Needless to say all my mental energy was used on making sure I didn’t clobber the guy, and now I am ready for a nap. Which this meal would be a perfect dish to make on day like this. A lot of these ingredients I always have on hand, though I can see why people wouldn’t always have kimchi in their fridge. I am always trying to think of ways incorporate kimchi into meals. Most kimchi, pickles, and relishes are great for cooking, but sometimes can be hard to actually find recipes. I am always trying to find ways to save my produce during the summer, and brine-pickling is a easy way to do it.

Other cool things about the recipe? You can pretty much use any type of kimchi, even sauerkraut would be a great substitute. I personally mixed my kolhrabi kimchi and traditional nappa cabbage kimchi together for the recipe. But you can get a little crazy, try out a beet kimchi or daikon radish kimchi, I am drooling just thinking about it.

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Like I mentioned it is fast to put together. There are two plans of tackling the dish, one to make the least amount of dishes, or the other is to make it as fast as possible. If you get two pots going, you can have everything done in 30 minutes, easy. Just boil the pasta in one pot, then make the lentils in another, then toss. But if you are like me, you can boil your pasta, drain, then use that pot to make the lentils. It might make the dish take 45-50 minutes, but you get lots of down time to get some things ready or make other sides.

Another time saving trick is to use small red lentils. They cook up in 10 minutes, but if you use larger brown lentils, you’ll have to add more water and cook for longer, which is fine if you have the time. Just don’t skip over the lentils, the added protein makes the dish, and they really work well with the kimchi.

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