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This is the third dish I made with the marinara sauce I cooked a few days ago. It’s a great way to stretch the buck. I have already made chicken parm, mushroom pizza and now roasted pasta primavera. Pasta primavera is typically a dish where the vegetables are the focus.
Years ago my husband worked as a consultant and traveled all over. While he was on a project in Los Angeles, I would go visit him on the weekends and we would go out for meals all over LA. His favorite place was a local Italian restaurant close to the hotel that served pasta primavera with angel hair. He loved it- and still talks about it. Since then I have made it many different ways- this time I decided to roast the vegetables. I think this is my favorite version of the dish! Roasting the vegetables gives the pasta dish a very sweet and nutty flavor. It is my favorite way of preparing vegetables for any dish now- it is easy and fast and it transforms the veggies into a soft gooey sweet concoction! Adding the fresh basil and parmigiano cheese took the pasta to a whole new level. I purchased fresh baked kalamata olive bread. I sliced and toasted it with a drizzle of olive oil- it was fabulous with the pasta!
My daughter watched me cook the dish and was not happy seeing all the veggies going into the pan. I reminded her not to have a closed mind asked her to try it and what do you know- she loved it!

• 1-2 zucchini, diced small
• 1 yellow pepper, diced small
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add the vegetables mixed with the olive oil and salt on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes or till they are soft and golden brown. Keep aside.

• 1 cup marinara sauce
• ½ pound angel hair pasta, cooked
• ½ cup fresh basil, torn
• ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated
• Salt to taste

In a wide frying pan, heat the marinara sauce on medium heat. Add the roasted vegetables and mix well. Next, add the cooked pasta, basil and cheese. Mix well and add salt if necessary.

My daughter was sick at home from school on Friday. We stayed in and took it easy since I was recovering from a virus as well. My plan was not to cook that evening and order in. Her favorite ‘ordering in’ dish is mushroom pizza. We had some errands to run and were walking past one of the pizzerias in our town. It occurred to me that maybe we should buy a serving of pizza dough and make our own! I remembered I have homemade marinara sauce in the fridge-I had made it for the chicken parm a few days ago- and I also had the shredded mozzarella cheese I bought for the same dish! So, the only thing we had to buy was mushrooms- it ended up being a very economical dish. In these times, it is smart to be able to save money, re-use leftovers and still eat healthy!
It took lots of tries before I came up with the perfect way to make homemade pizza. It involves your local pizzerias pizza dough and your outdoor grill. Pizza dough is one of those things that seems quite easy to make but is very hard to master. I have decided to make my life easier and buy it. It took a while to find the right pizzeria to buy the dough. We have three pizzerias in our town- we frequent one regularly- but I don’t buy the dough from there. Somehow their dough doesn’t work very well at home.
The next thing I realized is that home ovens are just not hot enough to cook the top and bottom of the pizza well enough. Usually the bottom is left almost raw and very doughy. I decided to use my out door grill to cook the bottom and then bring it inside to cook the toppings under the broiler. This method works really well and results in a pizza that looks just like you get at a pizzeria with a great crispy crust. Most importantly you control everything that goes on the pizza. My daughter gave it two thumbs up! My husband and I had a yummy green salad and a delicious Cabernet with the fabulous pizza!

• 1 serving pizza dough from your local pizzeria
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese
• 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt to taste

Preheat grill. Preheat oven on broil.

In a non-stick pan, heat one teaspoon olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook on a high flame for 4-5 minutes. Once all the moisture is gone, add the garlic and salt to taste. Keep aside. Spread pizza dough on a round perforated pizza pan. Spread one teaspoon olive oil. Pierce holes in the dough with a fork and place the pan on the grill. Cook the pizza for 5-7 minutes (depending on your grill). The bottom should be golden brown. Take out and add the marinara sauce, cheese and the mushrooms. Now place the pizza under the broiler in the oven. Cook for 7-9 minutes (again depending on the intensity of the broiler), making sure the cheese is melted and the top is golden brown. Slice and serve.

We made this dish for a cooking class a few days ago. When I was trying to come up with a menu, I wasn’t sure if I should add this dish. It is a concoction that is not very popular amongst Indians as well as Indian restaurants. I wasn’t sure if people would be interested in learning a dish they have never heard of! This is a dish I grew up with- my Mom learned it from her Mom and now has passed it down to me and my sister-in-law. Keema is a word used for ground or minced meat in India.  Typically ground goat meat is used with peas or potatoes, but I tend to use either pork or dark meat turkey.  The addition of cauliflower is not typical but it is absolutely fabulous. Somehow the broken down soft cauliflower goes really well with the well seasoned ground meat.  It is essentially a one pot meal and can be enjoyed with frozen naan or a vegetable rice pulao. All the people who attended the class really loved the aromatic flavor of the dry spices and the wonderful mix of the meat and the cauliflower.  Overall it was a successful class!

• 1 pound ground pork (dark meat turkey can be used as well)
• 1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 green cardamom crushed
• ½ inch stick cinnamon
• 3-4 cloves
• 1 medium white onion minced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 3-4 inch piece of ginger minced
• ½ cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt to taste
• ½ cup cilantro for garnish

In a deep pan, heat the oil and add the bay leaf, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
In the meantime, mince the onion, garlic and ginger in a processor. Once the spices begin to sizzle, add the processed onion mixture. Saute on moderate heat until the mixture turns light brown. Add the crushed tomatoes and saute for another five minutes. Then add the ground meat crushing it down with a wooden spoon to separate and cook. Saute the meat with the tomato mixture for another five minutes. Add coriander powder, garam masala, cayenne pepper, turmeric and salt. Now add the cauliflower florets and cook on medium heat covered till the cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes. Take the lid off and turn the heat to high and sauté the mixture till the moisture has evaporated, about 7 to 8 minutes. Adjust seasoning, and sprinkle cilantro before serving.

This meal is a favorite one in our house- well one of the favorites amongst many! My husband loves chicken parm in all forms. He loves it with spaghetti and as a sandwich. My daughter loves the chicken cutlets I make for the chicken parm. I love making it as well as eating it. I love cooking marinara sauce at home. It makes the house smell warm and cozy, especially on a cold evening. The mixture of tomatoes, onions and garlic makes me really happy! Good thing about making a big batch of marinara sauce is that I can re-use it for other meals that week or freeze it for later. I usually make pasta primavera with the leftover marinara. The chicken cutlets are very versatile as well. I usually make extra since my daughter loves them so much- she says the cutlets taste just like the chicken nuggets she used to have when she was younger. The chicken tastes extra delicious because of the marinade I use before breading it.
I love using really fresh crusty rolls for the sandwich part of this dish. In this case, I found rosemary focaccia rolls. I thought they would go really well with the chicken and the sauce and they did! I also like to toast the rolls with a little drizzle of olive oil. The other flavor enhancer I use is a whole clove of garlic. Rubbing the garlic on the toasted roll gives it a mild and subtle garlic flavor! The sandwich was bursting with flavor! I served it with mixed greens and beer!

Chicken

• 4-5 pieces boneless skinless chicken breast

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Marinade

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt and pepper

Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and marinate the pounded chicken breast for 4-5 hours.

Breading

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups homemade marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese

• 4 Rolls- sliced in half
• 1 garlic clove- whole
• Olive oil to drizzle on the rolls

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt. On a third plate, combine the breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts.
Lay the cooked chicken pieces in an ovenproof casserole. Ladle spoons of marinara sauce over all the chicken pieces. Add the shredded mozzarella on top and bake for 5-10 minutes in a 350 degrees oven until cheese is melted. In the same oven, place the open rolls drizzled with olive oil. Toast for 3-4 minutes and rub a clove of garlic on all the rolls. Once the cheese is melted, place the chicken pieces on the toasted rolls and serve!

My husband absolutely loves cauliflower! He will eat it in any form he can get his hands on. I think if I cooked cauliflower everyday, three times a day- he would be a happy man! Unfortunately for him, I like to make something different all the time and he doesn’t get to eat cauliflower as often as he would like to. When I do make cauliflower, I try to think of different ways of cooking it. I grew up with cauliflower and potatoes cooked almost like a stew, the way my maternal grandma made it. It is absolutely delicious- with lots of fresh cilantro in it. My daughter and I were out grocery shopping and she picked up a head of cauliflower reminding me that daddy loves it!  It was sitting in the fridge for a while- I finally decided to take it out and cook it.  Over the years, I have managed to make cauliflower in a few different ways- with peas, tomatoes, even ground meat. I remembered  I hadn’t  cooked the dish with spinach in a long time- so that is what I did.  The spinach adds a lovely creaminess to the cauliflower.  Both the vegetables complimented each other really well.  We had it with hot home-made rotis (Indian bread similar to whole-wheat tortillas).  It all turned out very delicious- best of all- my husband loved it!  

• 1 head cauliflower- cut into florets
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 inch piece ginger, minced
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons salt- or to taste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

In a large and deep pan, heat the olive oil. Add the cumin seeds and cook for a minute on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Saute on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, till golden brown. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes. Add the coriander powder, salt and turmeric- mix well. Add the spinach and sauté with the onion and tomato mixture on medium high heat- to evaporate the water from the spinach, for at least 5 minutes. Next add the cauliflower florets and mix well. Lower the heat and cover the pan. Cook for about 15 minutes or till the cauliflower is tender and cooked. Take lid off; turn the heat up to medium high and sauté for about 5 minutes- again, to evaporate the water. Top it off with the garam masala and cilantro.