Pasta Fagioli

Thanks again to Pinterest for allowing me to find this wonderful recipe on Our Blissfully Domestic Life blog!  Pasta Fagioli is an Italian soup/stew and it is oh so tasty!  I know it is summer, but it has been cool this week so I decided to give it a try.  The nice part was that I now have two containers of leftovers in my freezer for the next time I want something in a flash!

Shopping List:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1 medium Yellow Onion, chopped

2 medium Carrots, chopped

2 stalks of Celery, chopped

2-3 cloves of Garlic, minced

1- 28 oz can of Tomatoes

1- 8 oz can Tomato Sauce

1- 15 oz can Cannelloni Beans, drained 

4 cups Beef Broth

1 & 1/2 cup Elbow Pasta

2 cups of Fresh Spinach (packed)

1 Beef Bouillon Cube (or the equivalent in Granules)

1 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning

4-5 dashed of Hot Sauce (Texas Pete or Tabasco)

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (for topping)

 

Directions:

-Over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until meat is no longer pink and veggies are starting to get tender. Season with salt and pepper.

-Add in the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth(i used bouillon cubes to make my broth), bouillon cube, garlic, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Stir well and turn the heat to low.  Cover.

-Let the soup simmer for as long as you can. (I let mine go for about 2 hours, but this can be as fast a 30 minutes.) Stir occasionally.

-After the tomato sauce has simmered, add the beans and keep on low/covered for 1 more hour (or long enough to heat through if you are in quick mode).

-When you are ready to eat, cook the pasta according to directions in a separate pot.  Add the spinach into the tomato mixture and stir. Add in the hot sauce as well. This does not make it spicy, just a little background flavor!

-When the pasta is finished and drained, you can add it straight to the soup or serve it on the side to be dished into individual soup bowls.  We did ours on the side so the pasta wouldn't get mushy when we froze the leftovers. Top each serving with fresh Parmesan cheese (or the shaker kind if that's all you have on hand) :(

The finished stew



Everything ready to be eaten!



It was a little time consuming, but as I mentioned you can do this in as little as an hour if you choose.  It was a fantastic meal and I can't wait to dig into the leftovers in a few weeks!

Happy Eating!

Oven Roasted Chicken

Have you ever had those pre-cooked, oven roasted chickens from the grocery store? Me neither... But I do hear they are quite tasty!  If you have, you will never purchase another one, because now you can make your own at home for a fraction of the price!

Imagine an entire chicken for about $3.00.  They are usually around $1.00/lb. and can be even cheaper when on sale!  Thanks to the wonderful Taste of Home magazine yet again for this great recipe.

Shopping List:

1 whole chicken, rinsed, packet of yuckies removed, patted dry

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried basil

6-8 small red potatoes

4 ribs celery

3 medium carrots

1 medium onion

Directions:

-Chop all veggies into bite sized portions. Set aside (in a 9x13 pan).  I usually use about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of veggies for just the two of us.

-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease another 9x13 with cooking spray (I usually use a disposable for easy clean up). Place chicken in prepared pan.

-Whisk olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and basil together. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons for the vegetables. Brush remaining olive oil mixture onto chicken. Roast for 30 minutes.

-Toss remaining oil with veggies, spread them into a single layer (best you can) and cover with foil.

-TRICKY PART. Remove chicken from oven. Increase oven temp to 450 degrees. Baste chicken with drippings in bottom of the pan. Place both the chicken and veggies in oven when temperature is reached. ( I usually put them in a bit early because I don't want to wait).

-Roast 20 minutes. Remove foil from veggies, stir, and place back in oven uncovered. Roast 10 more minutes or until chicken is done/no longer pink! Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving.

In short:

-Prep chicken and veggies in separate pans.

-Roast chicken at 375 for 30 minutes.

-Baste chicken, up temperature to 450.

-Roast chicken and veggies for 20 minutes.

-Remove foil from veggies, roast veg and chicken for 10 minutes.

-Let stand for 10 minutes

-Eat

Chicken before roasting

Veggies before cooking

Finished Chicken

My favorite, some white meat! 

Finished Veggies



I know the directions seem a little crazy, but it is a super simple process, I promise!

Happy Eating!