Creamy Basil Baked Pasta

Comfort food for me is anything pasta.  This is a good one. 

2 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps butter
4 tbsps flour
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1  1/2 cups 10 % cream
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 small hot chili pepper, chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
454 g medium shell pasta
1/2 tsp salt, plus more for pasta water
nutmeg
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Heat oil and butter to medium and add garlic. Add flour stirring well, then the chicken broth and continue to whisk for a couple of minutes.  Add chili, sundried tomatoes and salt.  Pour in the cream.  In the meantime cook the pasta and drain.

Remove sauce from heat and add basil and lemon zest.  Give it a little shake of nutmeg and toss the sauce with the cooked pasta.

Prepare a casserole dish with cooking spray, then pour the pasta and sauce in.
Shred the cheese and toss with bread crumbs.

Sprinkle over pasta and bake at 350F for 25 minutes. Set 5-10 minutes before serving.

Tuscan Turkey Pot Pie with Basil Cream Sauce and Cracker Streusel Topping

Not going to lie to you.  This is not a very pretty dish.  But 4 out of 4 people in the family agree.....it tastes great!

1  9-inch pie crust
3  1/2 - 4 cups cooked chopped turkey
2 tbsps. butter or marg
2 tbsps. flour
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1  1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup 10% cream

2 cups (1  1/2 sleeves) crushed crackers
1/2 cup melted butter or marg

Heat butter in a frying pan and add onion and garlic.  Cook 1-2 minutes only until translucent.  Mix in flour then quickly whisk in the chicken broth. Add the sundried tomatoes and basil and continue stirring until the sauce thickens.  Add the cream.

Mix the cream sauce in a large bowl with the chopped turkey, then spoon into pie crust.

For the streusel topping crush the crackers (I used Premium Plus) and mix with the melted butter.  Press lightly onto top of pie.

Ready for the oven

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

You might also like:

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2014/10/turkey-soup-adapted-from-five-roses.html

Pineapple Basil Jam

I was on a roll today making jams.  Had some extra basil left over from making this tomato sauce

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2013/09/roasted-tomato-garlic-basil-sauce.html

and thought, hey, this might go well with pineapple!

Put these ingredients in a saucepan.

1 cup fresh pineapple, cut in 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup sugar
4 basil leaves, very finely chopped

Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.  Mash halfway through. (I think I'd wear this smell as a perfume)
Put a small dish in the freezer.  You'll need it later to check jam consistency.

Anyways, after 15 minutes remove from heat. Take your dish out of the freezer and put a spoonful in the middle.  Tilt the dish.  If it's too runny like the one on the left here, boil a few minutes longer until it gets more like the one on the right. 

When you are finished cooking add 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Fill sterilized jars. I pressed a basil leaf on the inside of the jar for fun.

This batch made two small jars.  Process in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes.  Don't forget to check that the seals are good in about 24 hours.

Note:  If your jam ends up being too thick, just empty the jars into a saucepan, add some juice (like apple), bring to a boil, then fill re-sterilized jars and process as before.

You might also like: 

Cantalope Jam

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/09/cantalope-jam.html

Grape Jam

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/08/grape-jam.html

Raspberry Rhubarb and Hot Chili Jam

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/09/raspberry-rhubard-and-hot-chili-jam.html

Caprese Appetizer

Here's another way to serve Caprese.  And again I'm using a watermelon.  Just take the butt end of the watermelon, cut out the fruit to use in this fruit kebab presentation,

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/07/fruit-kebab-watermelon.html








Turn the end over so the green side is up.  Skewer mozzarella or bocconcini balls with fresh cherry tomatoes and basil leaves.