Friday Food

Fridays are my favorite day of the week.  I love having the whole weekend to look forward to.  My husband works from home most Fridays, so I get to see more of him.  It is also the day when I really get my cook on.  I work on Saturdays and Sundays, so I like to make sure the fridge is stocked with easy, good food that my husband and the kids can eat while I'm not around.  Friday night is  pizza night.   I  like to try out a new dessert that night too, to kill the craving I may have been having all week for cheesecake or brownies.   This Friday I made Jenna's Heath Bar Blondies,  this AH-mazing pizza (best one I've made ever),   I tried my hand at making some baguettes, and for a change, I made meatball hoagies to go with our pizza.   Think I might have a tendency to put a little too much on my plate (excuse the pun)?

I had originally intended for the baguettes to go with the hoagies, but I didn't read the recipe properly (such a rookie mistake!)  and had to send the husband out for some at the store.  I missed the part where it said the baguettes had to rise in the fridge overnight.  We have a lot of bread at my house now.  Never a bad thing.

I wanted to do something a little different with my meatball hoagies.  For some reason, I always end up with half a tub or pesto lingering in my fridge after I've bought it for a recipe, so I thought I'd make Pesto Meatballs.  They turned out really good.    A subtle flavor of basil and garlic, with pine nuts and Parmesan running through the meatballs.  They were very tender too.  I'm definitely keeping these in my recipe rotation.

Pesto Meatballs

• 1.5 lbs ground turkey
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/4 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 heaping Tbsp pesto

Preheat oven to 280C (350 F). 

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Shape into meatball shapes and put in a lightly greased baking dish.

Bake for about 25 minutes.  Done.  

The possibilities are pretty endless with these guys.  I made hoagies with this marinara sauce.  I added mushrooms and green bell pepper and I loaded up the hoagies with grated mozzarella.  

That's the incredible pizza and my pesto meatball hoagie.

Yep, that's beer in the wine glass.  I'm not be pretentious. The bottles these ales come in are so big, I'd be asleep by 8 if I drank a whole one myself.  So we split one, and now it's a Friday night tradition.  We try a different one every Friday night.  Yeah, it's the little things that excite us now.  Thanks, kids.  

Anyhow, I digress, the meatballs.  We had a lot of meatballs in marinara left over (yay for leftovers!) as you can see....

Looks kinda weird in the pic. Trying to work on the camera issues.

I can see spaghetti and meatballs in the very near future.  You could also make some pretty cool little appetizers with these.  Hunks of mozzarella, fresh basil leaf, cherry tomato and a meatball on a toothpick.  Super Bowl snacks?

An Old Stand-By

So after my day of errands and muffin making, I did NOT feel like cooking.  So I threw together this pasta that is something different, pretty healthy, quick and very yummy.  The kids like it too, and that's saying something for a boy who will only eat something if it's buried under a half a bottle of ketchup.

Roasted Red Pepper and Squash Pasta

• 1 large Butternut squash
• 1 Pound (454 g) fusilli  or penne pasta (I used spelt fusilli)
• 2 red onions
• 1 Cup (225 g) creme fraiche
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Cup (225 g) fresh grated Parmesan 
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200.  Put pasta in pot with water and cook until al dente.   Peel and dice your squash.  Peel and cut your red onions into wedges (about 6 per onion).  Put vegetables into baking pan and coat with 1 Tbsp vegetable oil.  Roast vegetables in oven for 35 minutes.  Combine pasta, roasted veg, creme fraiche, Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Top with more Parmesan when serving.

Adapted from BBC Good Food.

Super easy, super comforting.