Freezing Pasta

One of the keys to success around a house with 4 little kids is being prepared. For meals on busy days that means having things prepared ahead of time. A couple days of the week when we are running around to therapy appointments or classes in the afternoon I try to get dinner made in the morning and have it ready for us when we get home at 5:30. But that just doesn't always happen. So my solution on those kinds of days is to have things in my freezer that are easy to pull out and quickly serve. One of those things is cooked pasta.

A few years back I noticed that Trader Joes was selling bags of frozen cooked pasta - you just pop them in the microwave and serve, with cooked pasta ready in just 3 minutes.  I bought those for a while.  But as little bodies and appetites grow and grow, buying packaged things like that gets expensive - one bag of pasta doesn't do it for us.  So I freeze my own now.  

Whenever I am cooking any kind of pasta, I always, always make extra and freeze it.  I do this with any kind of pasta.  Penne is a favorite, because it's sturdy enough that it can hold up to being tossed around in the freezer a bit.  All you do is just toss your cooked pasta with a little oil or butter, let it cool, and then spread it out on a baking sheet to freeze without sticking together.  Then dump it onto a ziploc bag.  When you want to use it, pull out the amount you want and warm it up.  You can do this in the microwave for a couple minutes.  Or you can put a little hot water over it and let it sit for just a minute or two - this method works especially well if the pasta got a little dry in the freezer.

For longer pastas like spaghetti - below you will see what I do.  Take a fork and spin individual little servings onto a baking sheet (lined with wax paper helps keep them from sticking).  They look like little birds nests.  Then freeze these and then bag them when frozen.

Having cooked pasta in the freezer means I can have a meal ready for hungry kids in less than 5 minutes - thaw the pasta, toss it with a little sauce, or some butter & cheese, throw in some frozen peas or chopped broccoli, maybe dice up some ham or salami - a balanced meal in minutes.

These are no ordinary deviled eggs: Soy & Wasabi Deviled Eggs

Never let it be said that I don't love the classics. Deviled eggs are one of my all time favorite things. There is no other preparation of eggs that somehow tricks you into downing a half a dozen eggs without even realizing how much you've eaten. There are reason why some recipes become classics that keep appearing year after year - because they are that good. I love them so much - when I was pregnant a friend used to make a batch of them for me and just hand me the container every time she would see me. When you're pregnant with twins you don't even have to share!

I love the original way to make them - when I am making classic deviled eggs I keep them very simple - a little salt and pepper, a bit of mustard, and my secret ingredient (which also makes amazing potato salad) is a little splash of the juice out of a jar of dill pickles. No pickles in the eggs! Just the juice. Try it, trust me. 

But every now and then, I like to shake things up a bit. My deviled eggs made with soy sauce marinated eggs and wasabi mayo definitely fill that bill. I made a batch of these with leftover Easter eggs last year and they were a huge hit, so they are definitely on the menu for this year. This is a great way to use up those eggs in a way that you won't get tired of. They are far from ordinary.

But they are certainly not just for Easter - these are a great way to please a crowd any time of year. They are easy to make and one of those little appetizers that will really impress, but you'll know that they were actually quite simple. 

This recipe does require a little bit of advance preparation - marinating the eggs in soy sauce ahead of time. I've got a whole recipe just for that. But don't worry, it's super quick and easy. And you'll also need to either make or acquire some wasabi mayonnaise.  Once you have those two pieces - then these come together in no time. 

Wasabi + Soy Sauce Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

1 Dozen soy sauce marinated eggs

1/2 cup wasabi mayonnaise 

1/8 teaspoon salt

Hot sauce - to taste (Sriracha, or whatever you like)

You can read my quick version of wasabi mayo here, or you certainly can use a store-bought one. 

Directions:

As you would with any other deviled egg recipe - carefully slice your cooked and marinated eggs lengthwise and pop out the yolks. Put the yolks in a bowl and set the halved whites aside.

With a fork, mash the yolks a little and then add in the wasabi mayonnaise and salt and mix well. Then just carefully spoon the mixture back into your halved eggs, distributing evenly across all of them. I always inevitably break at least one the yolks, but that just means that I get a snack. 

Top with a dot of your favorite hot sauce - Sriracha or other Asian style hot sauce goes well with the soy and wasabi flavors here.

That's it. Too easy.  

Easy Wasabi Mayonnaise

Do you ever get takeout sushi and wonder why the heck they give you SO MUCH wasabi? 

Maybe it's just me, I don't know. I personally think a little wasabi in the sushi goes a long way - I like a little heat, but I also like to taste my sushi. So I always end up with extra wasabi.

But I may have mentioned before how I hate to waste food. Especially when it's the good stuff - like when we order sushi from a good place and they give you the real fresh grated wasabi.

So a friend turned me on to this tip and I've been doing it ever since: use the leftover wasabi to make wasabi mayonnaise. It's genius in its simplicity.

Just mix the wasabi into a jar of mayo - I think about a tablespoon of prepared wasabi to about a half a cup of mayo is about right for my taste. But this is really one that you can do however you like. If you like more kick, then you more wasabi. If you want it mild, then use more. 

It's awesome on sandwiches, or for dipping veggies in. I love mayo on grilled or roasted veggies, and this is a great way to give it a little extra kick. 

The other day I made myself a rice bowl for lunch, with brown rice, tofu, zucchini and some leftover asparagus. A good dollop of the wasabi mayo on top was the perfect to take it from ordinary leftovers to something really delicious.