Oven hot Broccoli & Fusilli in white sauce,a winter warmer dish !

A week back i had been to my regular store to buy some groceries ,there i found a roll back offer on broccoli,a packet containing two small cute little heads of broccoli and then what,obviously i had to pick it up and put it in my shopping basket.No matter on whatever stuff i see the tag of " roll back price " i have some googly eyes going on there ;) .Finally i came home with my usual jam packed trolley and on the way my mind boggled for some good and healthy broccoli dishes.Its just that i always try and think of healthy food in dreams but while making i end up cooking the way i like to consume it ...and u bet it has nothing to do with health factor anywhere close  .The next day i made the broccoli and potato fry with one head and the other one was still lying in my refrigerator.I also found some cheese sitting in my fridge which i had to make use of or else it would straight away go into the trash.My daughter meantime started yelling that i never make fun food and when i asked her wht is this fun food all about,she said that according to her fun food means pastas/pizzas/burgers ....so here i go,hadn't much choice in hand i opted for pasta .So this is why i came up with this dish and i really thank my sweety pie for wrecking my brains to use pasta with this green beauty .

ingredients :
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup cooked fusilli as per the instructions given on your packet ( you can use any pasta)
2 tbsp chopped onions
1 tsp of finely chopped garlic
1 cup white sauce
1/4th cup shredded cheese ( i used mozeralla)
salt to taste
black pepper pwd to taste
2 tsps olive oil
red chilli flakes / herbs for seasoning ( optional )
for white sauce :
1 cup milk
2 tbsps butter
2 tbsps plain white flour ( maida)
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

method :
Steam broccoli over hot boiling water,cover for 5 mins until its tender yet crispy.Meanwhile heat olive oil,fry onions till translucent ,add garlic and fry for few seconds till u get its fragrance.Turn off the flame,add cooked fusilli,steamed broccoli ,toss a little,sprinkle some salt and pepper and give it a mix.
Preheat the oven at 200c .
For making  the white sauce,melt butter in a saucepan,stir in the flour and fry till the colour changes and u get some foam.Add in the milk slowly little at a time and whisk continuosly to avoid lumps.Keep stirring till the milk boils and then lower the flame and keep stirring till the sauce thickens and is smooth enough.Simmer for 5 mins and turn off the flame.Sprinkle salt and pepper as per your taste.
Pour this white sauce in the broccoli and fusilli mixture and mix it  gently,transfer this mixture in a greased baking pan.Sprinkle some shredded cheese over and bake in a preheated oven till the cheese melts and you get brown spots.Sprinkle some italian herbs/chilli flakes and the broccoli and pasta bake is ready to eat.



 

cannelloni pasta stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese

Winter is upon us so are coughs and colds ,in such colder months we are now craving for some warming comfort food,so today i made some piping hot cannelloni pasta ,which was quite filling and cheesy .Here i have used the regular and common riccotta cheese and spinach combination but you can wear your thinking aprons on and make some delicious and healthy stuffing to warm yourselves up. Our love for italian food is rustic ,after my luscious,lip-smacking italian dessert tiramisu ,my adventure in cooking is heating up and this cannelloni pasta dish invention turned out wonderfully good too. I used store bought pasta sauce but next time im gonna make my own pasta sauce :P.Also i would luv to add some bechemel ( white ) sauce on top ,im sure it wuold be divine.  

approx for 2 ppl
ingredients :

6-8 cannelloni pasta tubes
150 grms frozen spinach ,thawed 
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
500gms of pasta sauce ( store bought or home made ,i used store bought creamy tomato and mozarella pasta sauce)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1-2 cloves of grated garlic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil  + 1 tbsp to drizzle on top
1/2 cup shredded mozerella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste
black pepper pwd to taste
method :
Boil the dry cannelloni tubes for 8-10 mins with enough water  , wash under cold water to get rid of extra starch.Strain and keep aside.Heat olive oil,add chopped onions and grated garlic.Saute onions for a while,add spinach and cook for 8-10 mins.Turn of the heat,add riccotta cheese and mix well.Sprinkle some salt and pepper in spinach and cheese mixture.Preheat the oven at 180c ,spread 1/2 the pasta sauce first on the ovenproof deep baking dish. Spoon the spinach and riccotta mixture in the boiled cannelloni tubes generously and place on the layer of the paste sauce in the baking tray.Cover the cannelloni's with the remaining pasta sauce and top it with shredded mozerella and parmesan cheese.Bake it for 15-20 mins or untill the cheese melts and gets crisp.
pls note  :
1. You can try using instant cannelloni tubes which can be directly filled and baked ,no need to boil them .And if boiling then take care not to over cook them otherwise they make break and loose their shape.
2.I had actually little less pasta sauce in hands then then given measurements above which  u can notice in my first pic,it looks a bit dry but nevertheless the taste was awesome.
3. You should cover the tubes generouslly with pasta sauce or else ur tubes will get hard and it might get little burnt taste after baking.
Sending this over to reshmi of rasoithekitchen for guest hosting veggie/fruit of the month event,brainchild of priya.

easiest,quickest & mouth melting tiramisu recipe with store bought ingredients :D

Tiramisu ( tiruh-mee-sooo) is a mouth melting italian dessert which means " pick me up " / "carry me up " .It actually means getting a jerk emotionally through your palatte which will shake you completely,it is also said that tiramisu  is the "most heavenly dessert on God's earth ".The actual authentic tiramisu is made up of ladyfinger/sponge biscuits,mascarpone cheese,marsala wine,expresso,sugar and eggs.This blog is an "eggfree" blog so i skipped eggs , i didnt wanted to use any alcohol either so i skipped wine too :) .I was short of time so i tried this easiest and quickest heavenly dessert with few and all store bought ingredients in my cosy kitchen :)) .Tiramisu turned out the awesomest dessert ever i made,initially i was scared and worried as i wasnt using any eggs , without one of the major ingredient it would have been definately a disaster  still i was very keen to try and it just hit the bull's eye,i agree it was not that perfectly set but the taste was wowest and awesomest and it had to be as all the ingredients were ready store bought and i just assembled it..hehehe..lol,it was fun while i was assembling it ;).Everyone just luved and cherished it and wanted to dig in as soon as they saw the dish !Thanx guys for showering all those lovely comments and luving my tiramisu dessert and im really sorry for posting the recipe so late :P

approx will serve for 4-5 ppl

ingredients :
18-20 sponge biscuits/savoiardi biscuits/ladyfinger biscuits
300ml chilled whipped cream ( keep the whipped cream in the freezer for 5-10 mins )
250ml mascarpone cheese
2 cups thick vanilla custard (i made custard at home,but you can use store bought double thick custard )
1 tsp vanilla extract
11/2tbsps instant coffee pwd + 11/2 cups of water ( i used nescafe expresso instant coffee pwd )
instant coffee pwd to taste ( for garnishing )
1 cup powdered sugar
method :
Boil 11/2 cups of water , add coffee pwd and simmer for few mins ,take off the flame and  the coffee decoction is ready,let it cool down and keep aside in a wide bowl.In  a mixing bowl add mascarpone cheese and sugar , beat together,add whipped cream , vanilla custard ,vanilla extract and beat all together for few secs or till it gets soft and fluffy,keep this aside.Dip the sponge biscuits one by one in coffee decoction ,(both the sides) and place side by side in a rectangular or square dish .Spread evenly half of the cream mixture on the top of the dipped  biscuits ,sprinkle some coffee pwd with a tea strainer on top,again repeat the layer of dipped sponge biscuits in coffee decotion on top and lastly spread the remaining cream mixture on it.Cover the dish with cling sheet and refigerate it for atleast 4-5 hrs so that it sets nicely .While serving sprinkle coffee pwd with tea strainer all over and garnish with chocolate coated coffee beans and serve immediately.

Beetroot ,rocket and feta cheese bruschetta

Beetroot ,rocket leaves and feta cheese,this unique combination and topping on italian bruschetta was very wonderful and the best appetizer i ever had till date,trust me,you may definately not try at once hearing the wierd combo,but one should definately go for this,you will surely ask for some more,also if you dont have french/italian bread slices for your bruschetta ,try using this topping on your normal sandwhich bread slice or can have it on its own as a salad,beetroot and rocket leaves combination is so fresh and healthy.I would like to thank my friend Ramya for sharing this healthy,beautiful and gorgeous appetizer ,its been more then a month now,when she made for our family potluck as an appetizer and that day itself i took the recipe from her and since then i wanted to make it immediately.

makes 4 slices of bruschetta (2 ppl)
ingredients :
4 baguette slices
1 large beetrrot ,peeled and chopped into small cubes
1/4 th cup of roughly broken feta cheese ( i used lemnos brand )
handful of fresh rocket leaves
2 tsp garlic paste mix in 2-3 tsps of olive oil
salt to taste
black pepper pwd to taste
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
method :
Heat olive oil,add beetroot cubes and saute repeatedly by jerking the pan till tender(it may take some time ).Brush the baguette slices with garlic and olive oil mix and toast in hot oven for 5-6 mins.Once the beetroot are sauteed,add rocket leaves,pepper pwd and salt .Spread some beetroot mix on toasted baguette slices and top it with some crumpled feta cheese and serve immediately.
pls note :
pls take care when using salt as feta cheese is very salty and u may need to add  less salt accordingly in beetroot.
Sending this to the following events :
1.priya for her event bookmarked recipes-every tuesday ,now co-hosting aipi of usmasala.
2.akila for her event the dish name starts with : B
3.priya for hosting this month's healing foods-beetroot ,an event by siri.

garlic rolls

Exactly two weeks back i was  blogging as usual and suddenly i revcd a comment on one of my posts by ayeesha of taste of pearl city ,  she also became my blog's follower,i immediately  landed up on her blog to thank her and that day itself she had posted these garlic rolls recipe , i was just amazed to see the pics and i immediately bookmarked it.A couple of days back i had made them (but posting now ,had some problems with uploading my pics....finally :D) and to my surprise it came out very good,i always thought iam very bad at baking...but i guess im improving day by day :)..and credit definately goes to all my fellow bloggers,whose recipes im trying and tasting .I was very happy to see the outcome,it looked beautiful and tasted divine,we three luv garlic bread very much and often we get it from super markets and bake them at home for our dinner and from now on i can make them at home ..yay !  !Thank you so much Umm Mymoonah for sharing such gorgeous recipe.

approx makes 8-9 (pcs)garlic rolls
ingredients for dough :

3 cups plain flour

1 tbsp active dried yeast

1tsp salt to taste

2tbsp sugar to taste

1 cup warm water ( i used little more )

2 tbsp olive oil

ingredients for garlic spread :

2 tbsp butter

3-4 grated garlic cloves

1/4 tsp salt 

2 tbsp chopped corriander leaves or any italian herb ( i used dried chopped chives and oregeno )

1-2 tbsp sesame seeds

method :

Mix flour,yeast,sugar and salt all together,add water and make a soft dough,add oil and knead till elastic.Cover and keep aside to prove it for 30-40 mins or till double in size.Punch down the dough to remove air and knead again for few mins,divide the dough into 2 ,roll out the one portion of dough into a rectangle shape keeping approx 1/2 inch thick with the help of dry flour.Mix all the ingredients under garlic spread together.Spread around a table spoon of garlic spread all over evenly,start rolling it from one end to other ,cut the roll into 4 equal portions and place into a greased cake tin/loaf tin ,brush the garlic rolls with some milk and spread some more garlic spread on top and sprinkle sesame seeds all over,repeat the same with the other portion of the dough too.Cover the garlic rolls while they are in cake tin / loaf tin and let it rest for 15-20 mins.Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 mins at 180c or till brown in colour .Remove from the oven and serve hot with soups or salads.
Since im posting it today,on my tuesday, im sending it to priya's bookmarked recipes-every tuesday  event.

basil peas and ricotta cheese spaghetti

Few days back i recieved an e-mail from NITHU asking me to do a guest post at her lovely space and i was like" huh", who me?i just coudnt believe ,thank u so much nithu for featuring my blog in ur guest post series,i was just so overwhelmed after i read nithu's lovely write up about me,never thought that i would ever give an interview like this to any one,nithu is having wonderful blog ,i sincerely request you all to please visit her blog,coming to this recipe ,it is quite easy and simple but just delish and i dedicate to all my wonderful , energetic and innovative fellow bloggers.Thanx a million nithu :-)

ingredients :

250 gms spaghetti

1/2 cup peas ( i used frozen )

handful of basil leaves

1/2 tub ricotta cheese ( approx 4 oz)

2-3 garlic cloves crushed

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1 dry red chilli crushed/finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

lemon juice to taste

method :

Cook spaghetti as per the instructions given on pkt,last 2 mins before add the peas into the spaghetti ,drain and keep aside.Heat oil,add garlic,red chilli,pasta and peas.Add roughly torn basil leaves by your hand,add salt,pepper and lemon juice and toss well.Lastly crumble ricotta cheese over the pasta with your hands and serve hot.

thin crust margherita pizza with olives and fresh basil specially for my daughter and her father :)

I had seen this pizza base recipe in one of the gourmet books at my daughter's kindergarten's waiting room ,i was just waiting for her and suddenly i grabbed this book which was lying on the table and as i went through the book i found the margherita pizza recipe though the topping was of spinach and feta ,quite different unlike my hubby and  daughter's choice ,but the base recipe was quite interesting ,till now i never tried anything with wholemeal flour and so i thought  i should give it a try .I changed the topping as per my family's need as they just love the margherita pizza with loads of cheese and tomato flavour but my hubby also likes olives a lot,so i added olives and  we just loved this pizza,my daughter was super excited and was standing near the oven all the time eagerly waiting for her favourite pizza,she literally had no patience ,she wanted to have it as soon as possible and im glad it turned out awesomely good , and in no minutes we all filled our tummy :),i had a perfect sunday lunch and dinner with my daughter and her father on this father's day occassion.Sending this over to chaitra's lovely bread mania event.

( makes 2 medium size pizzas )

ingredients for wholemeal thin crispy crust pizza base :

11/2 cups wholemeal plain flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

7 g sachet dried yeast

2 tbsp  oil ( i used olive oil )

1/2 cup hot water

ingredients for toppings :

1/2 cup canned  chopped tomatoes

1/2  cup pasta sauce /pizza sauce ( i used store bought )

1/2 cup pitted olives,optional ( adjust  more or less acc to your taste buds )

4 cups shredded mozerella cheese 

few fresh basil leaves broken by your hands ( optional )

salt to taste

black pepper pwd to taste

olive oil as per required

method :

Combine oil and water together.Mix flour and salt in a bowl,sprinkle yeast ,make well in centre ,add the combined oil and water mixture and make a dough.Sprinkle some dry flour on a dry clean surface and knead the dough for 10 mins or until smooth and elastic.Oil a bowl and place the dough into it and cover it nicely.Keep in some warm place  for about 1/2-1 an hr or until it is double in size.Knead the dough again for few mins till it is smooth enough.Divide the dough into two , grease two pizza trays ( i used one portion for lunch and refigerated the other portion and used  for dinner again ),first roll out one dough large enough to cover the pizza pan( approx 25cms round ) ,meanwhile the second portion keep it covered with a clean kitchen towel,sprinkle some semolina (rava ) on the greased pizza pan and place the rolled dough,brush it with little olive oil,spread the pasta sauce,little shredded cheese,chopped tomatoes,olives,basil leaves and again some cheese ,drizzle some olive oil and bake in moderately hot oven ( approx 200c) for 15-20 mins or till done.