Pasta in White sauce with Roasted Vegetables

Pasta is our family favorite next to South-Indian food. We love all types of pasta though I am not a big cheese fan. I know it may sound ironical. I personally believe that pasta tastes so good and love pasta even without or very less cheese. I always make pasta with marinara or tomato-basil sauce and have never tried white sauce before. Was searching for a good white sauce recipe until I came across Prathibha's recipe in The Chef and her Kitchen. I loved her flavors with making pasta for individuals with two different tastes, which exactly is the case in our house. I also loved the substitutions she used for making it healthy using EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil) and Wheat flour. Since I was making the white sauce for the first time I decided to stick to the all-purpose flour but happily used EVOO because we cannot 'not like' it in any case. I used bell peppers for veggies though you can use any vegetables you love. I doubled the measurements since I generally make pasta for lunch and dinner together.

Ingredients:
Serves - 4 to 5 people
Pasta - any variety - 4 cups (I used Macaroni)
Red bell peppers - julienned - 3/4 cup
Green bell peppers - julienned - 3/4 cup
Onions - sliced thin - 1 cup 
Garlic - 8 cloves - chopped fine
Red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Italian seasoning mix - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Extra Virgin Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Salt & Pepper to taste

For the white sauce:
Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsp (you may use butter instead)
All-purpose flour - 2 tbsp (You may use wheat flour)
Milk - 1 1/2 cups
Pasta water - 1 cup or as required
Grated Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp (I halved this amount from the original recipe, you may add upto 1/2 cup cheese here)
Italian seasoning mix - 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Salt - to taste

Method:
Boil 6 litres of water with 2 tsps of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. When it comes to a rolling boil add the pasta. Stir occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom. Cook for the time specified in the pasta cooking instructions (about 8 mins for macaroni). Drain and reserve the pasta water. 
In a medium sauce-pan heat olive oil and add the flour and fry in medium heat for a minute or two and add milk and whisk continuously so that it doesn't form lumps. Now add the reserved pasta water, grated cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and bring to a boil and remove from heat.
In a wide pan heat olive oil and add the onions and garlic. Saute until the onion is soft and add the red chilli flakes (I just crushed red chillis with my palms to make flakes) and italian seasoning followed by the bell peppers. Fry in high heat for a couple of minutes and reduce the heat to medium to add salt, the prepared white sauce and the cooked pasta with salt to taste. You may add the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if you need. Check for seasoning and serve hot.

Sending this as my entry to Tried & Tasted from The Chef and Her Kitchen event by Savi-Ruchi and Lakshmi.


Sending this scrumptious pasta dish to 'Only'-Pasta Pizza and Noodles event by Pari, guest hosted by Jayasri and also to Fusion-Pasta event by Ramya.

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Breakfast Club - Pancakes - The Roundup

I had a wonderful time hosting the Breakfast Club event for this month. Many thanks to Helen for giving me an opportunity to guest host the event. I received 40 lovely entries each unique in its own way. Here are the entries I received in alphabetical order..

Akheela from TorviewToronto sent Pancakes with Coconut filling. It is a stuffed pancake filled with coconut and palm sugar..

Denny from Oh Taste N See sent German Pancakes, wherein she reproduced her favorite eat-out dish and claims it is a simple and easy oven based pancake. She also sent Sweetcorn & Blueberry Pancakes, a lovely farm-fresh breakfast.

Denny also sent Blueberry Apple coffee cake, she used the pancake mix to make a pretty coffee cake. She also sent French crepes, feathery, soft and buttery, inspired from Julia Child's Master Crêpe Recipe.

Gauri from Pasta and Paratha sent Lentil Pancakes which she prepared with brown rice and a combination of lentils, topped with grated cheese to make it inviting for her kids.

Harini-Jaya from Tamalapaku sent Instant Cornmeal Rava Dosa, Jowar dosa and Barley Dosa. Love the way how they have used the whole grains to prepare quick and tasty dosas.

Judy Serrao from Bring on the Chef in You sent Orange Crepes, warm and vibrant topped with orange syrup..

Julie of Tasty Treat sent Pancakes different from the regular ones. She uses wheat flour and coconut to give a new texture and flavors it with cardamom. 

Madhusmita from Redspice made Pan Roll in an attempt to go oil-free for her kids' breakfast.

Mel from Sharky Oven Gloves who sent Fig, Orange and Honey Pancakes says that is her first attempt to make pancakes and wow she really did a great job. 

Mugdha of Cooking Fundas sent Atta Chakuli made of wheat flour, rava and mashed bananas. I love bananas in any form!!

Mythreyi of Yum! for Little One! sent Pink Pancakes, which her daughter enjoys to call "Pinky Pinky Pinky Pancakes!".. She made it healthy by adding carrots and beets to it..

Nayna of Simple food sent Mango Nutella Pancakes. Love the fruity goodness combined with the choco-nutty nutella..

Nivedita from Nivedita's Kitchen sent Rice and Jaggery Pancakes which has the delightful combination of rice and jaggery.

Nutan from Rice N Spice sent Brinjal dosa, savory pancakes with rice flour and eggplants.

Prathima from Prats Corner sent Chocolate Pancakes. She enjoyed making it with her mom, who had noted this recipe before a long time. She claims it is healthy with the addition of wheat flour and fruits and interesting with the chocolatey flavor.

Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes sent Eggless Pineapple and Cornmeal Pancakes. Using Fruit puree in pancakes is always loved and with the addition of cornmeal, It would give a great texture. She also sent Eggless Ragi & Oats Pancakes. Something which is super-tasty is healthy too, she used whole wheat, oats and finger millet flour in this one.

Raksha Kamat from Raksha's Kitchen sent Eggless Tomato Omelette, a spring mix of vegetables to make an inviting dish.

Rekha of Shahi Rasoi sent Vegan Pancakes, bets eggless and dairy-free doesn't compromise on the taste.

Richa from Hobby & More sent Ginger Pancakes. The warmth of the ginger comforts the soul.

Ruchi from Ruchi's Simply food sent Mango Pancakes. She has prepared pancakes with chunky mangoes and brown sugar, all the reason to take plunge in the mango season.

Sadhana of SensibleVeg sent 4 Lentil Adai with Fenugreek and Cilantro, a low-carb, gluten-free savory delicacy.

Sarah from Simply Cooked sent Brown Rice Pancakes. She used cooked brown rice and wheat flour to make this pancakes which has a nutty texture and says this is a great idea to make these with leftover brown rice.

Shobha from Food Mazaa sent Mixed dhals & Flax seeds cheela made with mixed lentils and flax seed meal. She also sent Bread & Egg Pancakes, savory version made with breadcrumbs.

Shy of Shy's Kitchen Chronicles sent Pancakes with Fruit Puree, which is always colorful, interesting and healthy.

Sobha Shyam from Good food sent Eggless Dates Pancakes. She makes it more healthier by using wheat flour and adding dates. Would so love to try this.

Sudha from Malaysian Delicacies sent Red Bean Pancakes, Pancakes filled with red bean paste topped with roasted peanuts.

Suma Gandlur from Veggie Platter sent Multi Grain - Lentil Crepes which is power-packed with the goodness of lentils and multi-grains.

Supriya of Queen of My Kitchen sent Eggless Omelet, sounds like an oxymoron to me but Supriya made a traditional Marathi dish called dhirde which tastes not lesser than omelet.

Trisha Vaz from My Hobbie Lobbie sent American Panckes with Honey which is so elegant. She also sent Coconut Pancakes, thin crispy crepes filled with coconut.

Vardhini from Spicy Life sent Blueberry Pancakes, wherein she used whole blueberries to make a wonderful breakfast which made her kids happy.

Veena from Veg Junction sent Eggless Pancakes, They look so perfectly done with the perfect spongy texture and lovely color.

And finally from me, my first entry into the blog world with Goan Pancakes, filled with grated coconut and palm sugar, goes well as appetizers/desserts too.

and a savory version using a healthy grain and my new discovery - Quinoa Savory Pancakes

This month's Breakfast Club event is happening at Johanna's space, Green Gourmet Giraffe and the Theme is.. Do check it out at her site :).. I am all excited and really looking forward to participate this month too.


P.S. If I have missed any of your entries by mistake, please leave a comment here, I will update.

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Key Lime Chiffon Pie

This is not the authentic key lime pie. It's another recipe that I like to use.  It's easy as pie! 

 Pour and easy-to-mix filling into a baked graham cracker crust.

Chill a couple of hours.

Serve!

Key Lime Chiffon Pie

Filling

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 C key lime juice

(Nellie & Joe's bottled key lime juice is good.

 Fresh key limes are better)

8-oz tub Cool Whip

Whisk together the condensed milk and the lime juice.

Fold in the Cook Whip.

Pour into a prepared pie crust.

Chill at least 1 hour or longer.

Graham Cracker Crust

Melt 6 T butter in a large bowl in the microwave.

Stir in 1 C graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 C sugar.

a pinch of cinnamon is optional.

It should resemble wet sand.

Press onto the bottom and up the sides of your pie pan.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes until fragrant.

Fill and continue baking as per your recipe, 

or let cool if filling with a chilled mixture to refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Happy MAY DAY!


also see Luscious Lime Cheesecake Squares and
The Best Key Lime Pie for my version of the classic recipe


Links: Remodelaholic, Coastal Charm

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