Friday, August 22, 2008

Home Alone

I was by myself last Saturday, and I felt I'm free to do anything that I wanted. I didn't have to cook lunch which would sometimes take an hour or so, then a half hour to wash dishes and clean up. So, there I was contemplating what to have for lunch. In my fridge are sorts of left overs. There was the quesadilla left over when I had lunch at a Mexican fast food restaurant; left over Pasta e Fagioli, an Italian dish I made the other night; and 2 pieces of moldy chicken that I don't know what dish it was. I decided on having the pasta dish. I warmed up some of it, and put some aside, in case someone looks for it. I was out of grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over it, so I got a stick of mozzarella cheese and sliced it into small pieces and tossed on top of my pasta.

This is the leftover I put aside in the fridge.
Click image to enlarge

When I was done eating, I still felt hungry. I opened a box of crackers, and munched 6 pieces of it.


Still I was not full. I thought I'd have a handful of potato chips.

I devoured it in a few seconds. It was salty...too salty. I needed something to get that salty taste off of my mouth. I opened my fridge, and found nothing there. Then I found ice cream in the freezer.

Eureka! This is perfect. Ice cream! I scooped about half a cup of it and put it in a small bowl. Hmmm....yum! I was about to finish it when I started feeling guilty. I've been eating all this junk, and now I felt guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! I dumped the rest in the sink, and I drank a glass of water.

***************

I love this pasta dish. I copied it from a magazine some years ago. It's very filling; always a welcome dish at home, especially when we get tired of the usual pinakbet, adobo or sinigang.


Pasta e Fagioli

Ingredients:

1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (8-ounce) tomatoes*, cut up and undrained
1 can (8-ounce) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups cooked macaroni
1 can (15 1/4 ounces) dark red kidney beans**
Parmesan cheese, grated

Procedure:

Saute vegetables in olive oil until onions are transparent, but not browned. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Add macaroni and undrained kidney beans. Simmer 20 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4 servings.

*I have searched all over for an 8 ounce can of tomatoes, but could not find any. So, I buy the big can (15 1/4 oz or 16 oz) and use half of it. I wonder why it said 8 ounces can when there is none.

**This also comes in 16 ounces can.

*****************

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

it looks like a perfect feast! love everything, but my faves would be the potato chips and the ice cream :D

thanks for the recipe. i love pasta, so this is a must-try for me!

Nance said...

I will surely try this tonight! One thing I like is the simplicity of the recipe and the ingredients are ones that you normally find in your pantry. Thanks for planning dinner for me, dudette! :)

GingGoy said...

so it's like a staycation for you...me too. tipid pa :P

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

oh yeyeeeee

pareho tayo, pag gusto kong kumain, hala kain ng kain...
lahat kainin, matamis, fats, junk foods, cold n etc.

pagkatapos, naku, nagsisi, guilty ako, gusto kung lumabas para mawala sa tyan ko....lol

remedy ko, uminom ako ng MOLKE...i don´t know ano ito sa english, it wrks a lot sa kinakain ko.

maintainance ko ito....lol

seems, the pasta menu mo, masarap, hindi pa ako nakaloto ng using red kidney beans....

i used this beans when my menu is mexican recipe?

subukan nga.....si kim lang hindi kumain ng beans, sa amin.

we like chilli con carne too, with rice.

thanks gusto mo ang Taco salad ko.......madali lang yon at hindi matrabaho, ....

yon lotoin mo lang yon grind meat mo....300-400 grms, yon kalaki ng form ko.....
yon lahat sa post ko, yon lang ang ingrs.

subukan mo, masarap at not heavy sa stomach....

thanks for always visiting ha?

hindi ako matagal dito pag nandito si bernie sa bahay din....laging alis sa bahay.

happy sunday na lang sa inyo.

regards

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

visit my blog again,pls.

meron akong loto....baka gusto mo.

do you like Onions?...itong loto ko, easy and hindi rin matrabaho.
masarap with new fresh grape wine....tuba sana, wla naman dito...


oo nga isang friend ko sabi nya, hindi na daw uso sa pinas ang tuba.
eh saan na ang mga manananggot?...i don´t know sa tagalog nito....lol

yon kumuha ng tuba sa puno?

next month is harvest time na sa mga grapes dito sa region namin, malapit lang kami sa mga vineyard.

kaya ang daming fresh wine, minsan nadamihan sa inom, mag LBM ako...lol

masarap kasi, lalo na kung fresh n fresh.....at mora lang, a gallon worth only an euro....lol

sigi, thanks agian.....bye

Lo Kelween said...

you are trying to make us hungry don't you? I have not had my meal since this morning and i am starved! LOL

Mari said...

lady cess,
Hmm...potato chips and ice cream! For me it would be potato chips and ice cold soda.

You're welcome. You'll love that pasta...it's meatless, very filling.

Mari said...

nance,
You're right about having those readily in our pantry.

You're welcome. Let me know how it turned out.

Mari said...

tutubi,
You're right. You don't spend anything, and it's good to be by yourself at times.

Thanks for the visit.

Mari said...

vicki,
Oo pag nagutom kahit ano kakainin. He he he Ang ginagamit yata ng mga Mexicans sa dish nila ay yung pinto beans, madalas.

Oo susubukan ko yung recipe mo.

Thanks.

Mari said...

vicki,
Oo, nakita ko na yang huling recipe mo, onions and bacon. I will try it.

Thanks again.

Mari said...

eel wind,
Oh no! Better get yourself something to eat right away. You might pass out because of hunger. LOL

Thanks for the visit.

Pepe said...

Hello Mari.... You know, you are like a hungry monster on the loose pala when hungry ha-ha....! Exactly like i am....! I'll just put in my mouth whatever food it is that i will find in my fridge when i'm hungry, and not even a moldy chicken will survive when that happens ha-ha....! Amazingly, i don't even get fat at all with my unusual eating habbit.... Or maybe the bad effect is yet to come pa he-he....! =D

Anonymous said...

I'm all alone here too Mari. Hub went to Manila. I'm laughing here, 'coz my dinner is crackers too, had a soup, ice cream and chips!!! I'm also guilty! lol!

Anonymous said...

oh great!!its almost midnight here and u made me starve!!urgh....

but thanx for the recipe,Mari..really,ill try to do it,it looks so yummy and new to me!

at wow,sossy ang left over mo,international!hahaha!

CONNIE said...

I go through a binge and then feel guilty about it. Hey, you only lived once... go for it!

Salamat, Mari for your sweet comments about Joe. We appreciate them all.

Anonymous said...

wow mari, it seems like you had a veritable food fest ;-)

Mari said...

pepe,
Ganoon pag gutom. Sabi nga ng mga Markano (Americans) "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." LOL

Mari said...

nona,
Magandang kumbinasyon yan - soup and crackers. Yang ice cream ang nakaka-guilty kasi daming saturated fat at sugar yan.

Okey lang naman din...life is too short to eat boring food. ;-D

Mari said...

ghee,
Maganda yang pasta dish kasi walang meat...good for those who are health conscious. Yup, give it a try and let me know how it turned out.

Mari said...

connie,
Yeah, we have to spoil ourselves once in a while. Life is too short to deny ourselves heavenly tasting food.

Mari said...

caryn,
Yup, that's my fest for the day...no one to stop me from gorging myself with it. Har har.

Anonymous said...

it's goog to be home alone every now and then, and what we can do is pamper ourselves--not that we have to do anything grand. we can try "to do less and have all our time just relaxing". yes, better have these things handy just in case, the potato chips, the ice cream the canned goods, the light recipes.

Mari said...

sexy mom,
Yes, it's our time of pampering - binging, and relaxing when we're home alone.

Thanks for the visit.

Pepe said...

Sabi naman nung australians, "i'm so starving that i could finish a whole horse.... ingest the jockey....!" (lol) Have a great week ahead Mari....! =D