Roasted Tomato Penne alla Vodka

We've now been back from San Francisco for about a month. Our trip was a wonderful week filled with great sight-seeing and absolutely wonderful food. The Golden Gate Bridge really is as cool to see in person as you'd think it is. I want to go back, badly. I mean, look at this. It's beautiful.

We both fell in love with the North Beach neighborhood, San Francisco's "Little Italy." The Twin Cities have a lot of really great restaurants, but they truly don't hold a candle to anything we ate in San Francisco. I don't think I've eaten better Italian since I was in Italy. If you're ever there, you should go to Tommaso's.  It's an adorable little hole-in-the wall place - very small, quaint, and cute. Order their lasagna. It's amazing.

And in the meantime, make this Penne alla Vodka. You won't regret it.

Roasted Tomato Penne alla Vodka
Recipe from Rachael Ray, adapted
Serves 4ish

INGREDIENTS
1 lb penne pasta
3 lbs plum tomatoes
2 TBSP olive oil, plus drizzles
2 TBSP fresh thyme, finely chopped
salt & pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced fine
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup mascarpone cheese
handful basil leaves, torn

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange cut-side up on baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the thyme, salt, & pepper.

Roast for about 1 hr, 15 min. Let cool.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions & garlic and season with salt & pepper. Cook until soft, about 12-15 min. Add the vodka and cook until reduced by about half. Add the chicken stock.and roasted tomatoes and heat through.

Stir in the mascarpone cheese, and then, using an immersion blender (or transfer to food processor), puree until smooth and creamy. Add the basil and stir until it is wilted.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, and drain. Toss the pasta with the sauce, and serve. Top with some grated Parmesan cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I have two cats. They're wonderful. They were my initially my husband's cats. Then, when we got married, I sort of inherited them. Well, truth be told, one of them came over to my side very shortly after my husband and I started dating. In fact, lately, she's almost quite literally been at my side (or on my lap, or sitting next to me, or laying on top of my arms as I'm trying to type...) most minutes I'm home. She's not really one to take a hint or realize that I have stuff to do.

The other cat took a while to come around.  I think she thought I was invading her turf. We're now BFF, but it took her a while to determine that I was OK.

I think what made her come around was that I cook with chicken a lot. She would mysteriously appear at my side and wander through the kitchen with that "oh, hi! I'm just passing through" look about three seconds after the raw chicken got out of the fridge. After a while, she stopped doing it. But recently, she's picked up the habit again. It's so adorable it makes me want to cook with chicken even more. Especially when it's to make such delicious things like this Buffalo Chicken pizza. It's an excellent change in the "pizza night" rotation .

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Recipe from Rachael Ray, adapted

Serves 3-ish

Cook & Prep Time - about 30 min

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 pound chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• salt & pepper, for seasoning chicken
• 1 pizza dough (I make my own)
• Cornmeal or flour, to handle dough
• 4 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 6 TBSP hot sauce (Frank's)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 - 1 1/2  cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles (I leave this off - we don't like it)
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and preheat grill pan to medium-high.

Drizzle olive oil over the chicken then season generously with salt & pepper. When grill is hot, add chicken and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through and has a nice sear. Let rest for a few minutes and then thinly slice.

Stretch dough to form pizza using cornmeal or flour to help you handle it. Poke it with a fork a few times so it doesn't puff up too much during the cooking. Bake for about 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter and stir in Worcestershire, hot sauce, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Once combined and warm, remove from heat. Take about half of it and put on top of the pizza crust.

 Add chicken to the remaining sauce and coat. Put the chicken on top of the pizza and then drizzle with any remaining sauce. Cover with cheese and then add the scallions. Bake 15-18 minutes or until crisp and the cheese is bubbly.

Mac & Cheese with Chicken Meatballs

I believe I've mentioned on this blog that I sort of love ground chicken. Especially chicken burgers. They're so versatile and flavorful. So, when I was looking for a non-lasagna way to use up a tub of ricotta cheese and came across this recipe for chicken meatballs, with a mac & cheese, I was in.

This was a fun recipe to make. The meatballs are juicy and practically bursting with flavor and the cheese sauce is a lovely compliment. It's also a really quick recipe - you realistically can get the entire thing done in 30 minutes, which I really appreciate.

Mac & Cheese with Chicken Meatballs

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

Serves 4

Prep Time - 10 minutes

Cook Time - 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 lb penne pasta (or similar size)

1/2 lb ground chicken

1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

1 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/3 cup bread crumbs (more if needed)

1 1/2 TBSP olive oil

3 TBSP butter

2 TBSP flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup 2% milk

salt & pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 

Mix together the ground chicken, rosemary, garlic, ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. If the mixture seems to wet, add more bread crumbs. Form into small meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter.  Place on a baking dish and coat with olive oil. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

While the meatballs are roasting, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook noodles to al dente. Drain and set aside. 

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour (I also added 1 TBSP minced garlic). Whisk together and let cook for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken stock and milk and whisk together. Let cook to thicken for 5-10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Add the remaining 1 cup Parmesan cheese and whisk together until the cheese is melted. 

Toss with the pasta and serve with meatballs on top.

Chicken Spanakopita Burgers

I love chicken burgers. They're such a nice alternative to a regular beef burger - light, juicy, full of flavor. I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm a little obsessed. These burgers came on my radar when I had a bunch of leftover feta and tzaziki sauce from the Chicken Souvlaki I made earlier in the week.

Before we get to the recipe, we should be clear on something - this burger tastes nothing like spanakopita, which is a Greek spinach pie. I don't think it's meant to, though. Sure, the general flavor profile is there, but what you get is a really flavorful burger.

Chicken Spanakopita Burgers
Recipe from Rachael Ray
Serves 2
Prep Time - 10 minutes
Cook Time - 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz frozen spinach, defrosted
1/2 tsp dried oregano (be generous)
2 oz feta cheese crumbles
1/2 lb ground chicken
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
toasted buns
sliced tomatoes
sliced onions
tzaziki sauce

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions get soft and translucent. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Put the defrosted spinach into kitchen towel and wring out to remove the excess water. Add it to the bowl with the cooled onions and garlic and 1/2 tsp oregano.

Add in the ground chicken, feta crumbles, salt, & pepper. Mix to combine and form into two patties.

Melt 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Once the pan is hot, add the patties and cook for about 5 minutes per side.

When cooked through, put them on toasted buns and garnish as desired.

Pizza Burgers

As I mentioned in my last post, my life has changed a lot lately. My work schedule has been a bit crazy and I've been keeping some odd hours. It sort of feels like I've been living in bizzaro-world. The check-out guy at the grocery store recently told my husband and myself to have a good evening. I was so confused... then I realized it was almost 3 pm. I'd been awake for two hours, at most. Luckily, this isn't going to last a whole lot longer.

I recently had about a half of a loaf of some really delicious focaccia bread to use up. Conveniently, I came across a pizza burger recipe that used focaccia instead of regular buns. It sounded interesting to me, and my husband is always up for things involving pizza. Or burgers. I didn't follow the recipe closely but I don't think I'd change a thing about what I did.

This was really good. I don't think focaccia is necessary, but if you have it, I think it added a little something.

Pizza Burgers
Inspired by Rachael Ray
Makes 2 burgers
Cook & Prep Time - 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 jar spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce
1-2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 lb Italian sausage
15-20 slices pepperoni, cut into small pieces
1/2 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
~1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I'm guessing - I eyeballed it)
1-2 leaves basil, chiffonade (optional)
mozzarella cheese
focaccia bread, cut into two burger-sized pieces.

DIRECTIONS
In a small pot, heat up the spaghetti sauce.

Heat up a couple of TBSP oil in a medium pan over medium heat.  Also pre-heat the broiler.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, Italian sausage, pepperoni, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and basil. Form into two patties. Add to the pan and cook for about 5-7 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

Transfer the burgers to a cookie sheet and top with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. Put under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese gets bubbly.

While the burgers are under the broiler, toast the focaccia buns for a couple of minutes (I did this in my toaster oven).

Put the burgers on the toasted buns and enjoy!

Sloppy Lasagna

Growing up, my family's lasagna was always a jar of spaghetti sauce (usually Prego) mixed with ground beef and some mushrooms, layered with noodles, cottage cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Nothing fancy, but it did the trick. Then, I went to Italy and discovered that lasagna can have a white sauce, too. I was in heaven. It was like a whole new world opened for me.

My husband, on the other hand, prefers his lasagna to be white-sauce-less. This has become an incredibly minor point of contention.

I watched Rachael Ray make this one day and decided I had to try it. You should too. It's pretty quick to put together despite the miles-long ingredient list and was really rich and comforting. I made quite a few changes to the original recipe, but and I think I would keep every single one of them.

Sloppy Lasagna
Recipe from Rachael Ray, adapted
Serves about 8
Prep Time - about 20 minutes
Cook Time - about 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 lb lasagna noodles (not the no-boil kind)
salt & pepper
1 TBSP olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
pinch of cinnamon
1 TBSP tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 jar marinara sauce
a few fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
4 TBSP butter
4 TBSP flour
2 cups 2% milk
pinch nutmeg
1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 to 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (or ricotta)
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Break the lasagna noodles up into irregular-sized pieces. Cook to just shy of al dente. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the meat and brown. Once the meat is almost browned, add the onion, carrot, garlic, and bay leaves. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Once the meat is browned, drain the meat, if necessary. Return the meat to the pan and add the cinnamon and tomato paste. Cook for about 1 minute before adding the stock. Continue cooking for about another minute before adding the marinara sauce. Reduce heat and add the basil.

While the sauce simmers, melt butter over medium heat in a medium pot. Whisk in the flour. Cook for about a minute and then whisk in the milk and nutmeg. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Cook for a few minutes, to thicken, and then stir in half of the cheese. Turn off the heat.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add about 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese to the cottage cheese and stir together.

Add the pasta to the meat sauce and mix together (stop adding pasta when you have reached your desired level of sauce-y-ness). Put about 1/2 or 1/3 of this mixture into the bottom of a lasagna pan. Add 1/2 or 1/3 of the cottage cheese to the top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and pour 1/2 or 1/3 of the white sauce over all. Continue layering as such until you are out of all ingredients. Top with the rest of the Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese.

Put in the oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the broiler on and keep it under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes until the cheese starts to bubble.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

I'm finally able to admit to myself that I generally like Rachael Ray's recipes. Her personality I could do without most of the time, but I will occasionally watch her show and usually find she has some great tips and is really encouraging for people to use their creativity when cooking rather than strictly follow the recipe. 

This Buffalo Chicken Chili is a recipe I've had printed out for a long time but always passed on for one reason or another. I love buffalo wings, but had a hard time imagining how it would translate into a chili. On top of that, it was so hot this summer that eating a spicy chili wasn't high on my list. Then one day a couple of weeks ago, when it started to get cooler, I had the right combination of ingredients in my fridge and pantry that I decided it was time. 

We both liked this. I think I liked it more than my husband did. He said he had a hard time deciding what he thought of it because it wasn't really like anything he'd had before. I did change up the original recipe quite a bit, but I think I all were changes I'd keep if I make this again.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Recipe by Rachael Ray, adapted

Serves 4-6

Prep Time - 15 min 

Cook Time - 30 min

INGREDIENTS

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP butter

1 lb shredded rotisserie chicken

1 carrot, shredded

1 onion, chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBSP paprika

1 bay leaf

salt & pepper, to taste

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup hot sauce

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (15 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

cheese, for garnish

tortilla chips, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf, and some salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 min, stirring frequently. Add the shredded chicken and stir. Cook for a couple of minutes, just to get the chicken warm.

Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and stir. Simmer for a minimum of 15 min (but 30 is better).

Serve and garnish with cheese (Rachael recommends Blue cheese, but we don't like it so we used some shredded cheddar) and tortilla chips. Use extra chips for dipping.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers

A while ago, I made Chicken Parmesan burgers and they were fantastic. So, when I saw this recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu burgers, I had high hopes. They did not disappoint. In fact, I think I may have liked them better.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers

Recipe by Rachael Ray, adapted

Serves 4

Prep Time - 10 minutes

Cook Time - 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp olive oil

4 slices deli ham or Canadian bacon

1.25 lb ground chicken breast

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp grill seasoning (or salt & pepper)

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 slices deli cheese (I used Muenster)

4 Kaiser rolls, toasted

garlic mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS

Preheat a large skillet to medium high heat and place the oil in the pan.

Combine the chicken, paprika, poultry seasoning, grill seasoning, shallot, and garlic. Form the meat into 4 patties.

Put the patties into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

Top the patties with the ham and the cheese.

Put under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes or until the cheese gets bubbly.

Put the mayo on the buns and then top the burger with any other desired condiments.

Chicken Ragu with Whole Wheat Penne

Whole wheat pasta was on a really good sale at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. I'd never tried whole wheat pasta before, but had always been a little curious. When figuring out what to do with it, I came across a Rachael Ray recipe that seemed like it had some good concepts. Since I'm always on the lookout for quick, delicious meals, I decided to run with this one.

In the end, we both loved it. I couldn't taste a whole lot of difference between the wheat pasta and regular white pasta, except that the texture was a little bit different. I'd absolutely make this again, and try playing around with the recipe even more next time.

Chicken Ragu with Whole Wheat Penne

Loosely based on this Rachael Ray recipe

Serves 4-6

Cook & Prep time - 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta

1 TBSP butter

1 TBSP olive oil

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

salt & pepper

1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.

In a large skillet or dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add olive oil. Season the chicken with salt & pepper and brown.

Add onions, garlic and rosemary. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until onions get soft.

Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan and let reduce for about a minute. Add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Season with salt & pepper and red pepper flakes.

Toss with the pasta and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Pasta e Fagioli

I love a good, hot bowl of soup on a cold day. I bet you do, too. Recently, I had a craving for a nice, hot bowl of pasta e fagioli. If you are also a soup fan, you really should make this one. I think it's technically supposed to be a vegetarian dish, even though most of the recipes I came across called for pancetta or Italian sausage - so, vegetarians, knock yourself out. :)



Pasta e Fagioli
Recipe by Rachael Ray, adapted
Serves 6
Prep Time - 10 min
Cook Time - 20 min

INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP olive oil
1/4 lb Hot Italian Sausage
2 (4 to 6-inch) sprigs rosemary, left intact
1 (4 to 6-inch) sprig thyme with several sprigs on it, left intact
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and pepper
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1 cup water
4-5 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups small pasta (I used elbows)
Grated Parmesn cheese, to top

DIRECTIONS
Heat a deep pot over medium high heat and add oil and sausage. Once the sausage is almost cooked through, and add herb stems, bay leaf, chopped vegetables, and garlic. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.

Add beans, tomato sauce, water, and stock to pot and raise heat to high. Bring soup to a rapid boil and add pasta.**

Reduce heat to medium and cook soup, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Rosemary and thyme leaves will separate from stems as soup cooks.

Remove herb stems and bay leaf from soup and remove pot from the heat. Let sit for a few minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and top with lots of grated cheese.

**If you will be eating this for leftovers, I suggest cooking the noodles in a separate pot and adding them to your individual soup bowls instead of cooking them in the pot. When reheated, the noodles will get way over-cooked and mushy.

Spicy Sausage with Peppers

It's been awhile since I came across a recipe that both my husband and I really loved. Sure, there were recipes we both liked, but nothing recently had wow-ed us. Until I made spicy sausage with peppers.

I went back & forth over whether I should post this recipe. I didn't take a picture, and I like to post pictures of whatever dish I'm blogging about. Finally, my husband convinced me that I should, simply because we enjoyed it so much.

I hope you try it, even without being able to see a picture of it. You'll love it.


Spicy Sausage with Peppers

Inspired by Giada de Laurentiis and Rachael Ray
Serves 3-4
Prep Time - 10 min
Cook Time - about 30 min

INGREDIENTS
4 Hot Italian Sausages
3 TBSP olive oil
1/3 cup chicken broth
3 bell peppers, seeded & sliced (I used red, orange, and yellow)
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
crushed red peper flakes, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp dried oregano
6 chopped fresh basil leaves
toasted buns*

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, 8-10 minutes. Add chicken broth to the pan to deglaze and cook for about a minute. Remove sausages from the pan and set aside.

Add the onions, peppers, garlic, salt, & pepper, and cook until onions begin to soften, about 6 minutes.

Return the sausages back to the pan and add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, and red pepper. Reduce heat to low or medium low and cook for about 10 minutes.

Serve sausages with peppers and tomato sauce on toasted buns.

*If you're not a fan of making these into subs, I'm sure this would be delicious over pasta.

Chicken Riggies

I had never heard of chicken riggies until I was watching Rachael Ray a few weeks ago. Apparently they're a huge thing in upstate New York, and different areas each have their own take on the dish. From what I gather, "riggies" means rigatoni; so, what all of the versions have in common is that they're a similar chicken rigatoni dish. While the Rachael Ray version didn't sound that great to me, I decided to browse the internet and find some other versions and see what I could do to tweak it to make it my own.

I can't say how authentic it is, but we both really liked it. It reminded both of us a bit of a spicy chicken cacciatore with pasta. We hope you enjoy it, too!

Excuse the bad photo, please!

Chicken Riggies
Serves 4
Prep Time - 10 min
Cook Time - 25 min

INGREDIENTS
1 lb rigatoni
3 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots, diced
2 chicken breast halves, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 Poblano pepper, chopped
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained slightly
3 TBSP dry sherry
3/4 - 1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta to al dente. Drain & set aside.

Melt butter & heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute until almost soft, then add peppers and chicken, season with salt and pepper. Saute for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is almost cooked through.

Reduce heat to low and add tomato sauce and sherry and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer for 10 minutes more. Toss all with hot, cooked pasta and serve.

Braised Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes

I'm always searching for new ways to make potatoes, and when I saw this recipe on FoodNetwork, I knew I had to make it straight away. On Saturday, I decided to make steaks for dinner, and knew these potatoes would be the perfect accompaniment.

I could go on and on about how great my steak was (and believe me, it was), but I won't. Instead, I'm going to tell you that you need to make these potatoes.


Yukon Gold Potatoes - Jacques Pepin Style
Recipe by Jacques Pepin, via FoodNetwork
Serves 2-3
Prep Time - 5 min
Cook Time - 20 min

INGREDIENTS
1 lb baby Yukon Gold Potatoes
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 cup chicken stock (not broth)
1-2 TBSP butter

DIRECTIONS
Place the potatoes in a skillet (roughly to fit all the potatoes) and season them with salt & pepper. Add chicken stock to the pan, until chicken stock is about 1/2 the way up the potatoes. Add the butter. Cover the skillet and cook on medium to medium-high heat until they are almost tender, about 8 minutes.

Remove the lid and allow the stock to evaporate, about another 5 minutes. Once the stock has evaporated, press down on each potato with a ladle or large spoon, creating a small crack in each. Do not mash. Cook for a couple of minutes, and then flip. Allow them to brown on both sides, about another 5 minutes. Re-season with salt & pepper if necessary.

Serve with sour cream, preferably with sour cream with chives, to dip.

Chicken Piccata Pasta

Three hearings in four days, including one day working very late meant I didn't cook this week (I'm sorry Husband). I felt like starting off the long weekend with some light, brothy pasta, but didn't feel like putting forth a whole lot of effort. Don't let the fact this is a Rachael Ray recipe deter you - it's actually really good! I even made very few changes to the original recipe. The best part is that it came together in about 20 minutes and only used one pot and one pan. I hope you enjoy it. I think I might submit it to Ruth for the next Presto Pasta Nights, once I figure out who's hosting this week.


Chicken Piccata Pasta
Recipe by Rachael Ray
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
One boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small strips
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 TBSP butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 TBSP flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cup chicken broth or stock
1 TBSP capers, drained
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2/3 - 3/4 lb penne pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat.

Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes.

Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce.

Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce.

Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives and Parmesan cheese.

Notes
* I really wouldn't do much differently. While the chicken was a nice touch, I don't think it was necessary. I don't think you'd be missing much by leaving it out or putting some veggies in its place. I want to try this with boneless skinless thighs in the next time, given that they have slightly more flavor.

Spaghetti with Shallots & Garlic

Rachael Ray calls this "That's Shallota Flavor Spaghetti." I think that's hokey. In fact, the name turned me off from making it for a while, so I decided to give it a new name. I really enjoyed this and would recommend it. Don't let the 10 shallots scare you away- they mellow as you saute them. I hope you enjoy it. I made a couple changes and have noted them below in italics.



Spaghetti with Shallots & Garlic
Recipe from FoodNetwork
Serves 4
Cook Time - about 25 min

INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
2 TBSP butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used 4 cloves)
10 shallots, halved then thinly sliced
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and black pepper
1 lb whole-wheat spaghetti (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste)
A generous handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS
Heat the extra-virgin olive oil with the butter over medium-low heat in a skillet with high sides. Add garlic and shallots and season with salt and pepper then cook gently until caramelized about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This took me only about 10 or 15 minutes

Meanwhile heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta, salt the water very liberally then add spaghetti and bring to a rolling boil. Cook to al dente. Add 2 ladles of starchy cooking water, about 1 cup, to the shallots and stir (I used chicken stock instead of starchy water). Drain pasta and add to shallots. Add the parsley and cheese and more black pepper, to taste. Toss 1 to 2 minutes for liquid to absorb and serve.

Mexican Lasagna

I've been on a search lately for yummy-sounding recipes that can be made quickly. Unfortunately, this has lead me to Rachael Ray for inspiration. Say what you will about her, but I do appreciate her concept of the 30-minute meal. So, I'm determined to use any recipe I find of hers as concept-only and will do my own take on it.

I came across her recipe for "Mexican Lasagna" and decided to experiment with it. Below is the original recipe, with my changes noted.

Mexican Lasagna
Recipe by Rachael Ray, adapted
Serves 4-6

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case (I used cubed chicken breast)
2 tablespoons chili powder (I omitted and used a pack of Taco seasoning)
2 teaspoons ground cumin (also omitted in lieu of Taco seasoning
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained (I used about 1/2 of a can)
1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes with chiles, drained)
1 cup frozen corn kernels (I omitted)
Salt
8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, available on dairy aisle of market
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack
2 scallions, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - twice around the pan. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste (I kept these separate and just made taco meat - I put the beans and tomatoes in little bowls to the side).

Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. (I layered tortilla, taco meat, tomatoes, beans, onion, & cheese). Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.

Mac & Cheese, with a twist

I know I've said before that I really like Rachael Ray's concept of the "30-Minute Meal," but usually don't like her actual recipes. I found this one a while back and thought it looked interesting. My husband picked it out for dinner on Friday. We both thought it was great.


Italian Mac & Cheese
Recipe by Rachael Ray (my changes noted)
Prep Time - 10 minutes, Cook Time - 20 minutes

1 pound ziti rigate, penne rigate or cavatappi (I used shells - It was what we had on hand)
1 pound Italian bulk sweet sausage (I used hot)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted)
1 tablespoon butter
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
12 crimini mushrooms, sliced (I omitted)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 (10-ounce) sack, 2 1/2 cups, shredded Italian 4 cheese blend, available on dairy aisle
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), optional
1/2 cup Parmesan, a couple of handfuls

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook pasta to a chewy al dente, about 8 minutes.

In a nonstick skillet, brown and crumble the sausage. Drain cooked crumbles on paper towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic and mushrooms. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Saute 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden. (Because I omitted the mushrooms, I added the garlic to the sausage about 1/2 way through the browning).

Preheat broiler to high.

To mushrooms, add flour and stir, cooking 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, then stir in cream. (Since I omitted the mushrooms, I added the stock first and whisked in the flour, then added the cream). Bring cream to a bubble, then stir in 2 cups of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted into sauce, add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasonings, adding hot sauce if desired.

Combine cheese sauce with sausage and pasta, transfer to baking dish, casserole or oven safe serving platter. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of 4 cheese blend and the grated Parmesan over the top and brown under hot broiler. (This only took about 2 minutes)

Lasagna in a Bowl

I’m generally not a huge fan of Rachael Ray recipes, but this one looked too good to pass up. Since I’m usually pretty busy with work at don’t usually leave my office before 6, I like her idea of “a great meal is never more than 30 minutes away” but her recipes just usually don’t look that good to me, or they call for a lot of ingredients I don't usually have on hand. I modified this quite a bit to fit our tastes, and make it more lasagna-like, but it was excellent. It was really easy and didn’t take more than 30 minutes to whip up, too. I’ll definitely be making it again.





Not-sagna Pasta Toss

Recipe by Rachael Ray, adapted
*Serves 6-8*
Prep Time – 15 min
Cook Time – 20 min

10 oz mini lasagna
Salt
2 TBSP olive oil
1 lb ground beef
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Black pepper
½ cup dry red wine (I used Chianti)
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 TBSP tomato paste
1 tsp garlic powder
1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp parsley flakes
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ cups ricotta cheese (use whole milk ricotta – the lesser fat ones are gritty)
20 fresh basil leaves
½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese, for garnishing

Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling. Boil noodles to al dente and drain. *Note – reserve about 1 cup of the starchy water*

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and brown with onions and garlic. Season with salt & pepper.

Once meat is browned add red wine to deglaze the pan. Cook off alcohol. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings. Bring to a bubble. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 min.

Place ricotta cheese in the bottom of a shallow bowl. Add shredded mozzarella and 1 ladle-full of starchy pasta water. Stir to combine.

Toss hot pasta with the cheeses. Add about ½ of the meat sauce to the pasta bowl and combine. Tear the basil and add to the meat and pasta and toss again. Adjust to taste with salt & pepper.

Serve in bowls and top with meat sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Good Old Fashioned Comfort Food

Last week, I didn't cook once. Blame work, blame laziness, blame the government, whichever you want. I vowed that this week would be different. Tonight, we were in the mood for some comfort food. So, we decided on Rachael Ray's Parmigiano & Herb Chicken Tenders with some Mac & Cheese. I forgot to take a picture, so here is the one I downloaded from foodnetwork.com.

We didn't follow the recipe exactly, as usual. I've indicated our changes. I think you should make them too.

Parmigiano & Herb Chicken Tenders (foodnetwork.com, slightly modified)

Olive oil, for frying (we used peanut oil)
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
Salt and pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup water

Breading:
2 cups Italian style bread crumbs (we used regular)
1 cup shredded Parmesan
6 sprigs or stems fresh thyme leaves, stripped and chopped, 2 to 3 tablespoons
6 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped, 3 tablespoons
2 handfuls chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used garlic powder - the thought of deep fried garlic cloves seemed a little wrong).

Heat 1/2-inch oil in a large nonstick skillet or frying pan over medium to medium high heat. (We used our deep fryer, heated to about 370 degrees).

Place flour in a shallow dish. Beat eggs with water in a second dish along side the flour. In a third dish, combine the breading ingredients. Coat chicken in flour, then egg, then bread and cheese mixture. To keep your hands clean, ask for plastic gloves at the butcher counter. To ease your clean up, try using disposable tin pie tins for the flour, egg and bread crumbs.


Cook chicken until deeply golden on each side, 3 to 4 minutes. (Because of the deep fryer, we just fried them for 5 minutes total). Transfer to cookie sheet in preheated oven and finish off for another 5 minutes cooking time. Cook chicken 5 or 6 tenders at a time in a single layer, adding additional oil if necessary. If the chicken begins to brown too quickly lower heat slightly. (We just skipped this, as the tenders didn't need additional cooking time). Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.

As I said before, I made some homemade mac & cheese to go along with the tenders. I didn't follow a recipe, I just sort of made it up as I went along. So, this is my best guess of what I did.

Homemade Mac & Cheese
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cottage cheese (yes, cottage cheese)
4 oz Velveeta cheese
freshly ground pepper

Boil noodles to al dente. Set aside.

In food processor, mix together cottage cheese, pepper, & milk. Add that to the noodle pot; mix in noodles. Cube the Velveeta, and stir in until melted.


So now, I'm sitting on my couch writing this, feeling full & happy. Life is good.