Rotini & Veggie Skillet

I got this recipe from a Barilla Pasta box.  Luckily, I had most of the veggies on hand.  I made some substitutions:  I skipped the onion and yellow squash and used diced tomatoes instead of the cherry tomatoes.  It was delicious!

Rotini and Veggie Skillet
Prep time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

1 box Rotini pasta
4 Tbsp Olive oil
1 small Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 Bell pepper, chopped
1 medium Zucchini, diced
1 medium Yellow squash, diced
1 bunch Asparagus, sliced into bite-size pieces
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Salt and Pepper, to taste
4 leaves Basil, torn

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute onion for 3-4 minutes until translucent.

3. Add garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 minute.

4. Add bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash and asparagus and saute for 5 minutes.

5. Add tomatoes; season with salt and pepper and saute for 2 more minutes. 

6. Drain pasta and toss with the sauce and basil.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and Zucchini bake

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

4 tomatoes
4 cups tomato juice
14 fresh basil leaves
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and seed tomatoes:
Cut out the cores and score a cross in the base of each tomato.  Immerse the tomatoes in a pan of boiling water for 8-15 seconds.  Transfer to a bowl of cold water with a slotted spoon.  The skin should peel off easily...lift the edge of the skin with a knife, if needed.  Seed the tomatoes by halving them and squeezing the seeds out.  I prefer to rinse them out in my kitchen sink.

For the soup:
Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Let cool before transferring to a blender or food processor.  Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves.  Return the puree to the stock pot.  Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat, stirring until the butter is melted.  Do not boil.


Zucchini Bake

3 cups zucchini, unpeeled and sliced
1 cup biscuit mix
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
dash garlic powder
2 Tbsp fresh parsely, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheast oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.  Pour mixture into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes until lightly browned.

My confession:  I was not a big fan of this zucchini bake at first (I think because of the parmesan cheese).  However, I do like to eat tomato soup balanced with some carbohydrates (grilled cheese sandwich or crackers).  Since one of the ingredients in this casserole is biscuit mix, I decided to try dipping the casserole into my soup and eating it that way (weird, I know).  It was delicious!