Here are some easy and healthy recipes you can add to your culinary resume. Pour yourself and your dinner guests a nice glass of wine and don’t be afraid to get creative. Happy cooking and bon appétit!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Directions:
The first thing you want to do is cook the pasta (and make sure the pasta isn’t overcooked). Once the pasta is cooked, set it aside; you will be adding it to the sauce later. Wash and chop the tomatoes and garlic cloves thinly and do not discard any excess juice from the tomatoes. In a big pan, sprinkle olive oil and lightly sauté the garlic (do not put it on a high heat because once the garlic is burned, there is no turning back). Add the tomatoes, and any leftover tomato juice, and bring the heat to a low simmer. It’s important to consistently stir the tomatoes because they will burn and harden if you don’t. If the sauce is burned, you will either have to remake the sauce or maybe just order a pizza instead. After five minutes, you will start to see the tomatoes almost melt together in a sauce. If you do decide to use any other vegetables or shrimp, add them to the sauce at this point. Add salt and pepper accordingly and fresh basil as well. You can either chop it up finely or put in it whole. From there, take the pasta and slowly add it to the sauce. It is important to not put it all in the pan at once, but add some pasta incrementally and mix it around. Continue this process until all or almost all of the pasta is included. If you add too much pasta, the sauce will become dry. I’ve always had success using six heirloom tomatoes or eight Roma tomatoes, but feel free to experiment when it comes to this sauce because it is impossible for it not to taste good.
Baked Rosemary Broccoli
Servings: 4
Here’s what you’ll need:
Directions:
This is the easiest, and yummiest, broccoli recipe ever. It can be a side dish for fish, steak, pasta or even eaten on its own. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash the broccoli and dry it completely. The key to success when it comes to preparing this recipe is making sure you cut the broccoli pieces very fine, because it absorbs the flavor better and creates a better texture. Once the broccoli is finely cut, put it in a big mixing bowl. (It may seem like there is too much broccoli, but it will become even smaller as you begin to bake it). Then, finely chop the garlic and rosemary. You can add more or less rosemary depending on your taste, but make sure they are both finely chopped. Add olive oil to the broccoli, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. Make sure to put oil on the pan, or else it will burn, and nothing smells more terrible than burnt broccoli. Add the mixture to the pan so it is evenly dispersed and bake it for 30-45 minutes or until the broccoli becomes golden-brown and crispy. Every 5-10 minutes, take the pan out and move the broccoli around so it doesn’t burn. In general, when it comes to cooking, remember you can always add more ingredients, but you can’t take out ingredients. I suggest under salting at first, because broccoli absorbs oil and salt. If you over salt the broccoli, it will ruin the whole dish, which will definitely give you something to be salty about.
Sweet Glazed Carrots
Servings: 2
Here’s what you’ll need:
Directions:
Before you begin, lightly steam the carrots so they are still under-cooked. Once the carrots are somewhat steamed, slice them into bite-sized pieces and put them to the side. Heat your stove to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan. If the heat is too high, the butter will burn. Once the butter melts, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the pan. You may want to add more butter or soy sauce depending on the mixture, but you’ll know the proportions are correct when the sauce is a golden-brown color. From there, continuously stir the sauce as the mixture turns into a glaze. Add the carrots and continue to mix until the carrots become a crisp, golden color. Make sure there is enough butter mixture so the carrots don’t dry out, but not too much mixture where the carrots cannot absorb the flavor.
Garlic Butter Herbed Side Potatoes
Servings: 2-3
Here’s what you’ll need:
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and chop the potatoes. Make sure they are not cut too fine, because they will burn, but don’t leave them too thick, or they’ll take five hours to cook. Once the potatoes are chopped, melt the butter (45 seconds in the microwave should do the trick) and put the potatoes in a mixing bowl. Finely chop the garlic and rosemary. Again, you can put more or less of a seasoning depending on your preference. Add the melted butter, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper to the bowl and stir them. Add olive oil to the pan. Put the potatoes in the pan so they are evenly dispersed and bake the potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour or until the potatoes are golden brown. Every 10 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and stir the potatoes around so they don’t burn.
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