Apple and Cheddar Penne Pie....I was confused....
Is it a pie? Is it a main dish?
I don't understand, it has pasta in it? Whaaaatttt????
I don't understand, it has pasta in it? Whaaaatttt????
It's a main dish! Albeit a very decadent main dish.
It's very good.
Because it was so rich,
I made up this quick, thrown together
Sweet Potato Squash Soup,
you know, kind of like a healthy side dish to counter the decadence.
I made up this quick, thrown together
Sweet Potato Squash Soup,
you know, kind of like a healthy side dish to counter the decadence.
So here's the line-up for this scrumptious, decadent Apple and Cheddar Penne Pie that would be wonderful for Special Occasions.
Here's the recipe, the printable recipe is at the end of the post...
Apple Cheddar Penne Pie
from BHG Holiday Recipes magazine 2012
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
3 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme
12 ounces dried penne pasta (3 1/2 cups)
2 cups chopped, peeled tart cooking apples (3 medium)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion, such as Walla Walla
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup apple cider
6 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut up
1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter. Sprinkle sides of pan with 1/3 cup of the panko to coat; set aside. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon softened butter. Stir the remaining 1/3 cup panko and 1 teaspoon of the thyme into melted butter; set aside.
2. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than directed by package directions; drain. Return pasta to pan; set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook apples and onion in the 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Add flour, salt, and pepper to saucepan. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and apple cider. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low. Add cheeses and the remaining 2 teaspoons of thyme; stir until cheese melts.
4. Add sauce mixture to pasta; stir to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with reserved panko mixture.
5. Bake, uncovered about 40 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Let stand on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Using a serated knife, cut pie into eight wedges. If desired, top with fresh thyme sprigs. Makes 8 servings.
from BHG Holiday Recipes magazine 2012
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
3 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme
12 ounces dried penne pasta (3 1/2 cups)
2 cups chopped, peeled tart cooking apples (3 medium)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion, such as Walla Walla
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup apple cider
6 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut up
1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter. Sprinkle sides of pan with 1/3 cup of the panko to coat; set aside. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon softened butter. Stir the remaining 1/3 cup panko and 1 teaspoon of the thyme into melted butter; set aside.
2. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than directed by package directions; drain. Return pasta to pan; set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook apples and onion in the 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Add flour, salt, and pepper to saucepan. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and apple cider. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low. Add cheeses and the remaining 2 teaspoons of thyme; stir until cheese melts.
4. Add sauce mixture to pasta; stir to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with reserved panko mixture.
5. Bake, uncovered about 40 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Let stand on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Using a serated knife, cut pie into eight wedges. If desired, top with fresh thyme sprigs. Makes 8 servings.
So start by cooking and draining the penne, cook it two minutes under al dente.
Then notice that you have a picture showing the melted part of your cheap colander...
Then notice that you have a picture showing the melted part of your cheap colander...
Take a better picture,
hiding the melted part of the colander,
so that people don't know you use crappy, cheap stuff from auction in your kitchen.
There. Now that's better.
Do your prepping, chop the apples and dice the onions, cut the cream cheese into small chunks and shred the white cheddar.
You will need a spring form pan for this dish by the way!
Now butter up that spring form pan,
you will need a spring form pan for this recipe if you want it to look fancy.
you will need a spring form pan for this recipe if you want it to look fancy.
Sprinkle the sides of the pan with panko.
Melt butter in a pan, add the panko and thyme...
And this is how the crunchy mixture will look.
Now melt more buttah and add the onions and apples in and saute for about 5 minutes...
Add the flour and salt and pepper in...
It should look like this consistency.
Add the whole milk in.
Now I gotta tell ya, one can lighten up this recipe easily by using
1. Whole wheat penne
2. Whole wheat panko crumbs
3. Maybe olive oil instead of butter
4. Skim milk
5. Light cream cheese
6. Lower fat white cheddar
Now I gotta tell ya, one can lighten up this recipe easily by using
1. Whole wheat penne
2. Whole wheat panko crumbs
3. Maybe olive oil instead of butter
4. Skim milk
5. Light cream cheese
6. Lower fat white cheddar
No wonder this dish is so rich, all that butter, whole milk etc...but I must say, this is awful tasty :)
Now add the cider vinegar in and stir....
Now add the cider vinegar in and stir....
Now add the cream cheese and white cheddar and thyme...
Rich creamy white sauce....
To be poured over the cooked penne.
Stir gently....
Spread into the spring form pan...
Sprinkle with the panko crumbs...
So your dish is ready to go in the oven.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove and let cool on a wire rack....
Take a knife and work your way around the pan.
Gently take off the bottom plate....
Set on a pretty cake plate.
And this is a close-up of the top with that crunchy panko and some apples and penne sticking out.
Yum.
Go ahead and dig out a piece of deliciousness.
Now this is a rich dish,
so I went ahead and made up some quick, quick root vegetable soup to counter the decadence of the dish...
I simply took some sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, apples and squash (crap, forgot to put the butternut squash in the picture)...
I cut the vegetables up in chunks and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper and the rosemary, then I popped the baking sheet in the oven.
I roasted these for 35-45 minutes.
So this is supposed to be pureed but I was lazy and didn't want to get out the food processor so I used a hand mixer.
Uh no.
Just no.
So I hauled out the food processor and deposited the chunky veggies in there.
OH, add several cups water or broth...I added water.
Yup,
much much better!
All that healthy roasted taste in a bowl...the squash and sweet potatoes meld nicely with the sweetness of the chopped apples and onion with a hint of garlic.
Now these two dishes paired up well. I don't have a recipe for the soup, just throw your root vegetable together with a couple apples, sweet onions, garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper and roast. That's it!
What would pair nicely with this Apple and Cheddar Penne is roasted asparagus too!!!!!!!
Okay guys, that's all I got for today!!
It's a beautiful day in Iowa today, hope everyone is having a good day!
This is a picture of somebody's porch down by Morning Sun.
I was traveling through there last week and spied this casually festive porch and asked the homeowner if I could take a picture of her fall decorating and she kindly obliged.
This is a picture of somebody's porch down by Morning Sun.
I was traveling through there last week and spied this casually festive porch and asked the homeowner if I could take a picture of her fall decorating and she kindly obliged.
Okay, have a good day and we'll talk at ya soon!
