Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce

This recipe is from Diane Dyer, MS, RD and Cancer survivor. Diane Dyer has battled cancer since childhood, surviving neuroblastoma and then 2 breast cancers in her adult life. As a cancer survivor and dietition, she is dedicated to eating a cancer prevention diet, which she states is based on the latest scientific information (see her website at http://www.cancerrd.com/).

Always looking for healthy disease fighting foods I was inspired by her website and decided to try one of her recipes. Her red pepper pesto sauce sounded like a light fresh vegetarian meal, which contains lycopene, phytochemicals and antioxidants.

I thought it would be excellent over spaghetti squash or angel hair pasta, but I could not find either of these, so I went with whole wheat penne.

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce
(Printable Version)

1 roasted red sweet pepper, peeled and seeded or 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, about 40g
10 black olives
2 large cloves garlic
1 T parmesan cheese
1 T pine nuts
4 roma tomatoes
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste

If roasting your own pepper, place under broiler and rotate every 3-4 mins until charred with skin blistered.

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Heat over med high heat and serve over pasta (angel hair or penne), spaghetti squash.

Butternut Squash & Kale Lasagna

My favorite time of year is autumn, I love the smell of the crisp fresh air and the wood burning stoves. I love the color of the changing leaves. In fact I was really happy to get out for a long 20km hike in the Adirondacks last weekend to enjoy the changing of the leaves. But most of all I love the bounty autumn offers. I think my favorite of all the great produce of fall is the squash. There are so many types of squash and they are colorful and very versatile – you can use them in pies, soups, stews, pastas, and/or side dishes such as salads or risottos.

My father provided me with yet another large butternut squash from his garden. I made butternut squash and spinach lasagna last year and was excited to make another one but wanted to change it up a bit. This time I used provolone cheese instead of mozzarella and enjoyed its stronger taste and how it did not melt as much as mozzarella does and rather crisped up a bit.

In this dish the butternut squash is pureed rather than left in chucks. I have no preference over either method in terms of texture they are both good, but the pureed form made putting the lasagna together and serving it much easier as it kept its form better when cut. The recipe also has other changes such as kale vs. spinach and a few different spices. Overall both recipes are highly recommended and make a great week night vegetarian meal.

This recipe was adapted from two different lasagna recipes from cooking light.

Butternut Squash & Kale Lasagna

Cooking spray or olive oil
3 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves peeled (1 whole and 2 minced)
1 lbs fresh kale
6 round slices sharp provolone cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1 (30-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
6 cups diced peeled butternut squash cut into ½” cubes

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large saucepan add the olive oil and heat over med-high heat. Add onion and whole garlic, cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and translucent, 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, oregano, and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until thick and flavors are combined, about 30 minutes. Set aside.

While sauce is cooking, in a large baking pan, sprinkle squash with thyme, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Add minced garlic cloves and toss squash mixture to unsure the squash is well coat with the oil. Bake until soft about 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Transfer squash and garlic to a food processor and purée until smooth.

Tear kale leaves from center ribs and discard ribs. Boil leaves until soft 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and let cool. Squeeze out as much water as possible and chop finely.

In a bowl, mix ricotta, nutmeg, eggs, parsley and salt and pepper.
In a 10x10 baking dish put the lasagna together.

First Layer:
Spread 1/2 cup Marinara sauce in the bottom of one prepared dish.
Arrange 3-4 noodles over sauce.
Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over noodles.
Arrange 1/2 squash over cheese mixture.
Spread 1/2 kale mixture
Spread 1 cup tomato sauce over squash and kale.

Second Layer:
Arrange 4 more noodles over sauce.
Spread the other 1/2 of cheese mixture over the noodles.
Spread remaining squash.
Arrange the rest of the kale mixture over squash.
Spread 1 cup sauce over kale.

Third Layer:
Arrange 4 noodles over sauce.
Spread rest of the sauce over noodles.
Lay down provolone sliced on top of sauce
Cover pan with foil and bake at 375° for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Thin Crust Pizza

An easy friday night dinner is homemade pizza. What makes it even easier is buying a pre-made crust. Although I love making my own whole wheat pizza dough, if you haven't made it in advance it is not something you can whip up considering it has to rise. I really like the whole wheat blue menu pizza crusts, as they are thin and light. I also love my homemade pesto on my pizzas along with the following ingredients.

thin crust pizza

tomato sauce

pesto

italian sausage (pre-cooked)

baby spinach

sliced mushrooms

tomatoes diced

goat cheese

Heat oven to 425F. Cook crust for 5min before adding sauce and toppings. Spread pesto on crust, followed by tomato sauce. Top with ingredients peperoni/italian sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach. Crumble cheese on top. Place in oven for about 10 min. Broil for 2 min until cheese is browned.

Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

We have been hit with a ton of snow lately which has made snowshoeing really beautiful. Last weekend after a morning snowshoeing followed by hot chocolate at a local cafe with friends, I went home to make this lasagna. One of my favourite lasagna's is a roasted veggie lasagna which I usually make once or twice a year. This year I wanted to try something a bit different. My father had given me a butternut squash this summer which I cut into chunks and froze. I did not want to make anymore squash soup and thought it would be perfect in a a lasagna. I'd have to say this recipe is a combination of a few recipes, but largely adapted from Cooking Light. All the flavors blend so well together. Each bit you get the creamy texture of the ricotta cheese mixture, followed by the juiciness of the sauteed spinach and roasted butternut, ending with a hint of spice from the nutmeg.

Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

3 cups chopped onion

10 cup fresh spinach

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

1 (15oz) carton part-skim ricotta cheese

1 (15oz) carton fat-free ricotta cheese

3 cups diced peeled butternut squash

6 cups Marinara Sauce (Recipe Below)

12 whole wheat oven-ready lasagna noodles

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese for the top or freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach; sauté 1 1/2 minutes or until spinach wilts.

Combine 3/4 cup of mozzarella, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, and ricotta cheeses and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Place squash in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and cook on high 5 minutes or until tender. Or roast in the oven for 25 min at 425F.

Coat the bottom and sides of a 8x8 or 10x10 baking dishes with cooking spray.

First Layer:

Spread 1/2 cup Marinara sauce in the bottom of one prepared dish.

Arrange 4-5 noodles over sauce.

Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over noodles.

Arrange 1/2 squash over cheese mixture.

Spread 1/2 spinach and onoing mixture

Spread 1 cup Marinara sauce over squash.

Second Layer:

Arrange 4 more noodles over sauce.

Spread the other 1/2 of cheese mixture over the noodles.

Spread remaining squash.

Arrange the rest of the onion and spinach mixture over squash.

Spread 1 cup sauce over onion and spinach mixture.

Third Layer:

Arrange 4 noodles over sauce.

Spread 1 cup Marinara evenly over noodles.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Cover pan with foil and bake at 375° for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

To freeze unbaked lasagna: Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Wrap with heavy-duty foil. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

To prepare frozen unbaked lasagna: Thaw completely in refrigerator overnight. Preheat oven to 375º. Remove foil and plastic wrap. Cover lasagna with foil; bake at 375º for 1 hour. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Marinara Sauce

(adapted from CookingLight)

3 T olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion

1 T sugar
3 T minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 (28-ounce) cans no-salt-added crushed tomatoes

1 tsp red chili flakes

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fennel seeds and chili flakes); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

Ricotta Cheese Layer

Spinach and Onion Mixture

Pizza with Grilled Vegetables, Pesto & Goat Cheese

I had some friends over to look at photos of my European trip. I figured if I had to get their attention for over 1000 photos I should probably entice them with some food. I figured pizza was a classic thing to have since I was featuring some photos from Italy. It was also nice because I could pre-make the pizza and then just throw it in the oven when it came time to eat. To make the pizza more Italian I used my homemade pesto and tomato sauce as the base and topped it with grilled vegetables and goat cheese. Grilling the vegetables adds so much more flavour to the pizza. You can also roast the vegetables (if you do not have a grill) to intensify the taste of the veggies.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water

1 tsp dry active yeast

4 tsp honey

2 cups organic whole wheat flour

1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

add herbs if desired (oregano, basil, chili flakes)

Place the yeast and honey in a large mixing bowl and pour the heated water over the mixture, stirring until well blended. Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes until foamy. Add the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and salt and stir with a fork until a coarse dough forms

Continue to mix by hand until a dough ball forms and all the flour is well blended. Cover the bowl and place it in a sink with about 4 inches of hot water in the bottom. The heat from the warm water will help the dough rise. The dough will double in size in about 40 minutes.

Punch it a few times with your fingers and let it rise another 30 minutes. Remove from the bowl and cut the ball into four equal pieces or 2 pieces. Can refridgerate unused dough for a day or two.

Pizza Sauce

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced onions
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups tomato sauce
1 can (5oz) tomato paste
2 T dried oregano
1 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar

Add salt, pepper, chili flakes, italian seasoning as desired to kick it up a bit. Cook onions and garlic in saucepan for 3min until softened. Add the rest of the ingredient and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 min. Cool before using. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a food processor combine the basil, pine nuts, cheese, garlic, and salt and pepper. Pulse in a the food processor. While pulsing slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream. Add more salt and pepper if needed.Makes 1 cup.

Pizza Toppings

1 yellow zucchini
1 green zucchini
tomatoes (orange, yellow, red)
eggplant
red peppers
goat cheese
optional (Italian sausage)

Slice the vegetables to ½” thickness (lengthwise for zucchini and red pepper and in rounds for eggplant). Brush with olive oil and grill on each side over med heat (only a few minutes per side). Let cool before placing on the pizza or will be soggy.
Cook pizza crust slightly before adding the pesto, tomato sauce and vegetables. Crumble with goat cheese and cook for 20 min at 400F. Usually broil it for a couple minutes after it is cooked. Watch the pizza and check it at 15 min to ensure not burning as all ovens differ.

Sausage Penne for Camping

Above is all the ingredients you will require. This is perfect for car camping and likely a bit too much to carry for back country (but could alter it to work for that, such as using cured sausage).
We enjoyed this meal the night before our hike to Mt. Colden.

First if only one stove, boil some water for the pasta (I used my whisper light camping stove). Once boiled add 2 cups of pasta to the pot, remove it from the heat and let sit covered for 10-12min until el dente.

Then in another large cooking pot. Cook the jalapenos and garlic in 1T of oil for about 3min. Then add the cut up vegetables. I used mushrooms and zucchini (do not add tomatoes yet or they will get soggy). Cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the sausage (pre-cooked), the pasta (drained) and the tomatoes. Mix all together well. Place lid on and let simmer for 5-8min. Might need to stir occassionally so not to burn (those camping stoves can sometimes be tricky).

Voila Sausage & Penne

Spoon heaping full into plate.

Grate some cheese on top and add chili flakes if you have them. Enjoy!

This provided us with great energy for our next day hike to Mount Colden.

Tomato-Feta Orzo Salad

This simple orzo salad is perfect for summer at the cottage or picnics. It took me no time to make and was a popular hit on Canada Day. If you want to improve the flavor you could grill or roast the tomatoes first, but it is good just as is. I am going hiking this weekend and will likely make a large bowl of this to take with me and help energize me through what might be a long long hike.

2 cups orzo

3 cups cherry tomatoes halved

2/3 cups feta

1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped

1/2 cup fineldy diced red onion

4T red wine vinegar

2 T olive oil

lemon zest

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta, rinse and drain it. Pour pasta in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss well. Place in fridge and take out 5-10min before serving.

Another great orzo salad is Orzo Salad with Dill & Feta (Roasted Shrimp Optional)

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Pasta with Sausage

Well I wish I had an exciting story to tell as to why have not been blogging, but I've got nothing. I have still been cooking up a storm and the past weekend I decided to make a few dishes for the freezer to have on hand. I will get around to posting these delicious dishes in the next week. Considering the past week has been freezing (today is -35C with the windchill), I made dishes that would warm my chilled bones. I trust this comfort food - pasta- will warm anyone up, especially if you add extra chili flakes.

Roasted Red Pepper-Tomato Sauce

1 cup jarred roasted red peppers
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
10-12 black olives
2-3 large cloves garlic
1 T parmesan cheese
4 roma tomatoes
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.

Additional Ingredient

4 hot turkey sausages (whole)
1 zuchinni, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (cremini or button)
1/2 cup red wine

In a large non-stick saucepan heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Cook the sausages whole over low-med heat (this way they retain all their juices). Once cooked set aside. When cool enough slice into 1/2" slices.

In the same sauce pan add 1/2 cup red wine to deglaze scraping up all the brown bits. Add diced onion and cook for 5 min. Then add zucchini, mushrooms and sautee for 5 min.

Add sliced sausage and tomato sauce to pan/pot. Heat over medium heat until desired thickness. Serve over whole wheat penne and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Makes about 4 servings.

Pastas:

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce (vegetarian)

Spinach Pesto, Chicken Penne

Pasta Sauce with Chicken & Peppers

Shrimp in a Creamy Tomato Sauce on Penne

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

This weekend I enjoyed a couple rounds of golf in the hot sun. I did not play very well, not that I ever break 100, but regardless it was a fun day. The 19th hole was spent on my parents patio where we enjoyed a great appetizer of multigrain crackers with herbed goat cheese spread and topped with hot red pepper jelly. This was followed by grilled salmon skewers served with a shrimp and orzo salad.

The salad was certainly the highlight of the meal. My mother found this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, and has been the hit of many company gatherings. The fresh dill flavor is unbelievable, complimented with lemon juice, and feta. Not to mention larege roasted or grilled shrimps. You can eat the salad without the shrimp as well. Overall highly recommend trying this one out.

salt

olive oil

3/4 pound orzo pasta (2 cups)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds (16 to 18 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts

1 cup chopped fresh dill

1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced

1/2 cup small-diced red onion

3/4 pound feta cheese, large diced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Fill a large pot with water, add 1 T of salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente. Drain and pour into a large bowl.

Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Pour over the hot pasta and stir well.

Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through.

Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully.

Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, bring back to room temperature before serving.

Grilled Meditaranean Pizza

If you have ever been asked the question what is your favorite meal? If you had one last meal to eat what would it be? If you over think this question you undoubtably will have an endless list of great foods and dishes you love from decadent chocolate desserts, grilled steak, large bowl of ice cream, pasta...

When I don't overthink this question the first thing that comes to my mind as being the last meal would be pizza and a glass/bottle of wine. There is something about the flavors of pizza that keeps you going back for more and more even though you know you are more than full.

The great thing about pizza is you can put whatever ingredients you desire on it. Myself, I love meditarranean flavors. I usually make my own dough, but recently tried this indian flatbread from President's Choice and love it. Cooks well on the BBQ.

Two Questions:

1. What would be your last meal?
2. What are your favorite pizza toppings?

My Favorite Ingredients

1 stonebaked flatbread (indian flatbread or homemade pizza dough)
homemade pizza sauce
homemade basil pesto
zucchini, sliced thinly
cherry tomatoes, halved
white mushrooms, sliced thinly
red onion, diced
red pepper, diced
sundried tomatoes (did not have any this time)
black or kalmata olives, whole (pitted)
feta crumbled

Spread a light amount of pesto on the crust. Then spread a desired amount of tomato sauce over the crust (i like lots). Then add your toppings.

Preheat grill to high until 500F. Then shut one side off and turn the other side of the grill to low. When the temp is at 400F turn the one sid eup to about med or low-med and maintain the heat.

Place the pizza directly on the BBQ on the side that is not on, and cook using indirect heat for about 10-15 minutes (crust crispy and toppings cooked).

Then to broil the pizza on a top rack (if have one) - crank both sides of the BBQ to 500F and let broil until browned and cheese melted, about 5 mins.

Related Recipes:

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough and Pizza Sauce
Meditarannean Pizza