If there is one thing I’m learning it’s that I will always thank myself on Tuesday night for cooking up a batch of brown rice Sunday. Food prep like cooking grains, baked potatoes and even shredded chicken in the slow cooker ALWAYS saves me during the school week.

When I find myself unsure of what I want to make for dinner (not to mention, short on time), it’s always incredibly helpful to have a few staples already cooked up and waiting in the fridge. Brown rice is one of those staples and helps to make this super quick and easy Vegetable Fried Brown Rice possible even on the busiest of nights.

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The post 5-Ingredient Vegetable Fried Brown Rice appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

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This recipe is a favorite and perfect for SPRING! I love using pesto that I pick up from Costco (find it in the refrigerated section) and goat cheese from there as well. Right now I’m finding asparagus at the grocery store which is what reminded me of this pasta the other day. It’s such a great, meatless meal so if you are avoiding meat on Fridays during Lent then this is one to try!

Originally posted in March, 2015.

Here’s another “nailed it!” recipe for you. When I say I nailed it, it means everyone at my dinner table happily ate and enjoyed every bite of this Spring Vegetable Pasta with Pesto. I’m considering starting a category of it’s own for these types of recipes.

My kids surprise me often when it comes to food. If I were to put asparagus on their plate as a side dish I am pretty certain there would be a conversation about whether or not they want to eat it, though I’m pretty sure my daughter would at least try it. I was taking my chances by putting it in this pasta dish, and it worked. I know that red bell peppers aren’t their favorite by any means so they would be picked out (and that’s totally ok – more for me 😉 ) but I was pleasantly surprised when no one mentioned anything about the asparagus.

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One big thing I’ve been doing lately is trying to cook from my cookbooks more. I have a huge cookbook collection that I covet, yet sadly they are just sitting pretty on a shelf in my kitchen the last couple of years. How did that happen? (The internet, that’s how). Well, things are changing. My kids have heard me talk about how I miss cooking from my cookbooks and they’ve been pulling some off the shelves and onto the kitchen table lately so that we can look through them and find something to try. This has been fun for all of us!

I bought this cookbook last year when it came out – Aarti was one of my FAVORITE Next Food Network Star contestants and I watched her show regularly after she won her season (did she win her season? I can’t remember now). Total sadness that it is no longer on air. My daughter loved her show too, and my husband and I pretty much were introduced to Indian food because of her (LOVE). This recipe for Kheema comes from her cookbook and made it to our meal plan this past week. We loved it.

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The post Kheema {Spiced Ground Turkey and Peas} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I’m not sure how it happened, but it’s August. Yikes. My kids have informed me they have mixed feelings about going back to school in just a couple of weeks. There’s the excited anticipation of finding out who your teacher is and what friends are in your class, and of course there’s also the dreaded grind of homework that is lurking around the corner. So mixed feelings it is. For me too.

This Orzo with Pesto and Peas dish reminds me a lot of something my mom would make us when we were kids. We always had pasta with peas or even rice with peas for dinner. I think I understand why – it’s quick, inexpensive and is just enough to fill up small children’s bellies. I’ve made this pesto version (because, you know me + pesto = <3 ) quite a few times and it works as a great side dish to grilled chicken or salmon or on it’s own for a light (lazy) dinner. The sun dried tomatoes add a color and flavor that I just love.

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It happens to the best of us. We lose our cooking mojo. It happens to me all the time until I finally get to the point where I can’t stand the idea of making another pita pizza for dinner (ok, so this is not entirely true, I am obsessed with pita pizzas) or wasting a million calories on mediocre takeout.

If you are the person in the household that does the majority of the cooking, getting into a cooking rut can really throw you off your game (especially if you are trying to make healthful choices and want the same for your family).  It takes a little effort to get yourself re-inspired, this is what tends to work for me:

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The post 5 Ways To Get Out Of A Cooking Rut (and a Recipe for Hungarian Goulash with Peas and Carrots) appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I made this one night on a whim for my husband and his parents. It would be nice if my kids would eat stuff like this but when it comes to pasta and my kids, the simpler the better.  I grew up eating pasta with sauce and peas and I crave it like crazy every now and then. I was craving it this night, and I wanted to make it a little more interesting so I added shrimp and boursin cheese to it.

This is a quick throw together kind of pasta. If you don’t have shrimp, throw in some leftover cooked sliced chicken or sausage. I don’t always have boursin in my fridge, but it was BOGO recently and the GO was on the verge of expiration so I saved it from the trash by adding it to the tomato sauce. This pasta was a hit at our house, and I will definitely make it again.

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Pasta with Creamy Shrimp, Tomatoes and Peas

• Author: Aggie's Kitchen
• Category: Fish
• Method: Stovetop

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Ingredients

• 1 box whole wheat penne or spiral pasta
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 15 oz cans diced Italian or Fire Roasted tomatoes (I used one of each)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 round of Boursin cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook while preparing sauce. Drain and set aside when done.
2. In a large non stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Pat shrimp dry, season with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat on each side or until pink. Take out of pan and set aside, reserving some of the pasta water to add to sauce.
3. Add garlic and onion to same pan over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onions soft and fragrant. Add diced tomatoes to pan and cook together for 5-7 minutes. Add cup of frozen peas to sauce and gently stir to combine. Add shrimp, cooked and drained pasta to tomatoes along with a little pasta water if needed (if tomatoes cook too long they may become dry, the pasta water will fix this). Lower heat and add Boursin cheese to pan and gently toss to combine until sauce is creamy. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve with red pepper flakes and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

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