No Measurements Monday

I’m still not good at consistently taking photos of food. As I’m spooning or shoveling food into my mouth I realize – shit – I was supposed to take a picture of this. *resumes shoveling*

So, in advance: Sorry for the lack of photos.

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Tonight I’m initiating a new series of posts called No Measurements Monday. I’ve seen similar types of ‘recipes’ around the internet and the concept makes so much sense to me. These focus on whipping up a quick and healthy meal without all the hassle of multiple measuring spoons and cups (less dishes to wash!! Yay!!!).

Welcome to the first No Measurements Monday or #nomemo as it’ll be known on social media.

This week’s NoMeMo is a pasta dish with a creamy garlic mushroom sauce. It’d be easy to make even if I did want you to get the measurements exact, but I’m giving you a pass to skip the precision and just go with your gut and trust your tastebuds.

The below instructions are for two generous servings, increase your ingredient amounts proportionately if you’re serving more people (ie: double or triple my suggestions). Don’t worry – you can’t mess this one up – unless maybe you dump in too much salt!

Ingredients:

Cooked pasta
Butter
Minced Garlic
Mushrooms (I used Crimini)
Other veggies chopped, if desired
Heavy Cream or Whole Milk
All-purpose flour
Herbs De Provence
Salt & Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese

• First, get your water boiling with a generous amount of salt. Cook pasta according to package directions. (I used capellini which cooks super fast: ~4 min). Once the pasta is al dente, mix  in a little olive oil (I actually used white truffle oil to enhance the earthy flavor I wanted) into the pasta and set aside.
• While the pasta cooks, melt a good amount (about 2 tbsp) of butter in a non-stick skillet. When the butter has started to brown just slightly, toss in some minced garlic (this is optional – we love garlic in our house so I did one oversized clove!). Let the garlic sauté until fragrant (1 min).
• Once garlic is stinking up your house real good and fending off Kristen Stewart, throw in a nice big handful of Crimini mushrooms (more or less, depending on your love of ‘shrooms) into the butter. Let these sauté until golden brown.
  • If you want to make this a hardier meal, feel free to add in additional veggies. Onion, bell pepper or zucchini would be great additions. I suggest cooking these before the mushrooms, since mushrooms cook a lot faster. I did peas in one variation of this meal and it was amazing.
• Now, the fun part! The cream sauce… awwwww yissss. Pour about half a cup (give or take depending on the serving size you’re aiming for) of heaving cream or whole milk into the skillet with butter and mushrooms. Add about a tablespoon of all-purpose flour to the mixture and whisk together until combined. Then add a generous dash of Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper to taste AND grated parmesan cheese (as much as your little heart desires). Mix this up real good and let simmer for a few minutes on low heat until the sauce has thickened up to your liking, stirring often so not to burn it. What’s worse than spilt milk? Burned milk.
• Toss the sauce in with your pasta and mix well. Serve in a bowl with a little extra parmesan on top and, voila! You’re done.

Get creative with this dish. Experiment with seasonings and different veggies. It’s an easy and cheap way to get a delicious and people-pleasing meal on the table.

Thanks for your attention and I hope you enjoyed the first No Measurements Monday post.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please leave them below or email me!