Chicken Parmesan

The Recipe: From Cook This; Not That cookbook.

The Food: Husband prefers chicken parm made on frozen chicken patties. While this would be easier, I love this homemade version. And it's really not that hard. It's totally, totally worth it.

What You Need:
1 lb package of chicken breasts (3 breasts)
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 C bread crumbs
2 T grated parmesan cheese (the kind in the shakey bottle)
1/2 T Italian seasoning
olive oil
1 jar tomato sauce
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 lb pasta (linguine, spaghetti, or fettuccine are good choices) 

Your Turn:
Crack the egg into a bowl and beat it a bit.

In another bowl, mix 1 C bread crumbs, 2 T parmesan cheese, and 1/2 T Italian seasoning. 

Slice each chicken breast like it's an uncut hamburger bun, making two thinner pieces of meat out of it. Alternately, you can use a meat mallet to pound the breasts thinner, but I think slicing it is better.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of each slice of meat.

Cover the bottom of a large skillet with a thin layer of olive oil. Turn on the heat to medium. 

Start a pot of water boiling for your pasta.

Dip each piece of chicken in the egg, then in the bread crumb mixture. Place the breaded chicken pieces on a plate.

Place the chicken pieces in the hot oil for several minutes, until the side in the oil is browned and crispy. Flip when you feel it's right. Let them cook several more minutes on the other side. When you think they're done, take out the thickest one, and slice it in the middle. If it's still pink, give them more time on either side or both sides, depending which side is darker. You need to make sure they're cooked all the way through.

Your pasta water may be boiling by now. Add the pasta and cook to al dente.

When you're sure the chicken pieces are done, transfer them to a baking sheet. Spoon some pasta sauce on each one, and then sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella cheese on top. Place the sheet in the oven under the broiler for about 4 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and browning.

Heat up some additional sauce to serve with the pasta and the chicken parm.

Meatball and Pasta Casserole

The Recipe: A variation of Baked Ziti... which I've never actually made.

How it Went: This was tasty. Husband thought it was a bit strange to have the onions and peppers in there. Kind of like a cheesesteak, he said. But I thought it was quite a tasty meal. Also, it made a lot of food!

What You Need:
one box pasta (any shape you like, but I used medium shells)
one jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi, Tomato & Basil is good)
one half bag of frozen meatballs
one yellow onion
one half green pepper
one half package shredded mozzerella
one half package shredded Parmesan 

Your Turn:
Boil water and cook the box of pasta to al dente.

Chop one yellow onion and half of a green bell pepper into small pieces. Heat a bit of butter in a small skillet and saute the onion and pepper until tender.

In a large saucepan, heat the jar of sauce and about 30-35 small meatballs. (It's not as many as you think. I promise.)

In a large casserole dish, greased with butter (I actually ended up using two medium dishes), layer cooked pasta, peppers and onions, sauce and meatballs, and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Pasta with Meat Sauce

The Occasion: Any quick dinner night

The Recipe: Improvised from my mom

How it Went: Love this super-easy dinner. Absolutely nothing fancy; just a cozy comfort-food dinner. Yum!

What You Need:
1 box pasta, any type
1 jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi Four Cheese is good)
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
1 lb ground turkey

Your Turn:
Boil 1 box pasta as directed to al dente.

Chop 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 yellow onion. 

In a large skillet, cook 1 lb ground turkey with a little salt and pepper. Add pepper and onion. Drain grease from skillet when turkey is cooked through.

Stir in 1 jar pasta sauce. Bring to a low simmer and let cook several minutes, until heated through.

Serve sauce over pasta with grated cheese on top.

For a complete meal, add fresh cooked green beans or broccoli.

Penne with Basil Rosa Sauce and Bacon

The Occasion: It was Saturday night, a night I don't normally cook an organized meal. I had no plan and we were both hungry; I needed an easy meal with ingredients I already had. 

The Recipe: Pasta is a no-brainer for a night like this. I had some penne and some twirly egg noodles. It's probably frowned upon by real pasta eaters, but I blended the two. (Don't tell.) I didn't have a jar of tomato or alfredo sauce, so homemade sauce was a necessity. I wanted to make rosa sauce, something I'd first tried and loved at our favorite Italian restaurant (Giovanni's in Spring City). I found this recipe for penne with rosa sauce and used it as a springboard to create my own sauce. When I served it at the kitchen table, Husband remembered we had some cooked bacon in the fridge. He got it out and we added it to the pasta. It was this spontaneous ingredient, this last-minute addition that made the most significant difference in this meal.

How it Went: I didn't have extremely high hopes for this. It was pretty much made up and although I knew it would be edible, I doubted that it would be exceptionally tasty. To my surprise, Husby and I both loved this! The bacon, as I've said, was the key ingredient. So Husband gets 100% credit on this one. It was fabulous: a perfect blend of flavors. This might even be the central character on the table at our dinner party next weekend.

What You Need:
3 T butter
3 T flour
1 and 1/2 C milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 slice provolone cheese
grated Parmesan cheese (the kind in the shaky bottle)
6-8 leaves fresh basil
1 box (1 lb) penne pasta
6 (or more) slices cooked bacon

Your Turn:
Cook 1 lb of penne. When it's done, toss in some olive oil or butter to keep it from sticking.

Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut 6-8 fresh basil leaves into small pieces. You'll need these later, so set them aside.

Melt 3 T butter in a large saucepan.

Whisk in 3 T flour when the butter is melted.

When smooth, add 1 and 1/2 C milk, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Simmer over low heat, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens.

Now, tear up your slice of provolone cheese and add the pieces, while whisking to allow them to melt in. Shake a few shakes of Parmesan cheese in.

Dump 1 can of Italian diced tomatoes into your blender and give it a few whizzes. Add the processed tomatoes to the sauce.

Now, carefully stir in your basil leaves.

Serve sauce over penne with crumbled bacon on top. Add additional Parmesan cheese on top.

Easy Tortellini with Chicken Alfredo Sauce

The Occasion: I had leftover cooked chicken from another meal. I also had a jar of alfredo sauce and a package of dried tortellinis. I thought it would all go together pretty well.

The Recipe: From my head.

How it Went: We liked this! Very easy and very tasty. Ideally, you could even make your own alfredo sauce. And I had so much extra sauce, that I cooked up some additional pasta (wagon wheels) and put the sauce with it for a lunch for Husband. It would be excellent with broccoli.

What You Need:
1 & 1/2 cooked chicken breasts
1 packaged dried tortellini (mine was from ALDI, but Barilla makes it too)
1 jar alfredo sauce
splash of milk
Italian seasoning

Your Turn:
Cook pasta as directed on the package.

Warm alfredo sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of milk and a few shakes of Italian seasoning.

Chop cooked chicken into pieces. If you can get it more shredded, that's good too.

Stir chicken into alfredo sauce. Cover and let simmer gently.

Serve chicken alfredo sauce over tortellini.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

The Occasion: I just wanted to make something special to add some flair to a Monday night dinner. This is also awesome for any occasion you can think of. Pot lucks, picnics, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthday dinners… I’d even have served this at my wedding if I’d known about it then.

The Recipe: From Taste of Home’s 2011 Annual Recipes book

How it Went: Great! I put in too much nutmeg by accident, but it was still fine.

What You Need:

4 C spiral pasta (cavatappi)

1/4 C butter

1/4 C flour

4 C milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Dash nutmeg

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 C cubed Velveeta cheese product

Your Turn:
Cook pasta according to box’s directions.

In a large saucepan, melt 1/4 C butter. 

Stir in 1/4 C flour until smooth.

Gradually add 4 C milk, stirring. Then stir in

· 1/2 tsp salt

· 1/4 tsp pepper

· 1/4 tsp ground mustard

· 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

· Dash nutmeg

Bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in

· 2 C shredded cheddar cheese

· 1 C cubed Velveeta

Drain pasta. Stir cheese mixture and pasta together. Transfer to an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly. 

Creamy Pesto-Chicken Casserole

The Date: 29 March 2012

The Occasion: Thursday night

The Recipe: From Betty Crocker’s Annual Recipes

How it went: Yum! Loved this. I’d like to try my own version of it with broccoli and a homemade alfredo sauce. I think I could concoct a more from-scratch version that would be really good. I’ll get back to you if I do.

What You Need:

2 cups uncooked “fancy” pasta (Recipe calls for radiatore. I couldn’t find that so I used cavatappi. Campanelle would also be good)

1/2 C roasted red bell peppers from jar (I omitted these)

1/3 C basil pesto

1/4 C milk

10 oz jarred alfredo sauce

12-16 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked

1/4 C shredded Italian or parmesan cheese

Your Turn:
Cook the chicken. As I’ve said before, the best way I’ve found to do this is to cook it in the crock pot all day. For something that’s going to be pesto flavored, like this recipe, cook the chicken in broth with basil and garlic to start those flavors going.

When you get home, or when your chicken is done, cook the 2 C pasta until al dente. Drain.

Mix pasta in a large bowl with

· the cooked chicken

· 1/3 C basil pesto

· 1/4 C milk

· 10 oz jarred alfredo sauce

· 1/2 C roasted bell peppers (optional)

 

Spoon into a square 8x8 baking dish.

Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Cover with aluminum foil, then bake another 10 minutes.

When you remove it from the oven, sprinkle with 1/4 C shredded Italian cheese. (I sprinkled this on before I baked it. Oops!)

Enjoy with steamed fresh broccoli or green beans.

Ravioli with Pesto Cream Sauce

The Date: 31 January 2012

The Occasion: Easy weeknight meal.

The Recipe: From a 2010 Betty Crocker Annual Recipes cookbook.

How it Went: Great. This is really simple, and makes an all-in-one meal. You can easily swap the vegetables in the recipe for what you like or have on hand. I skipped tomatoes and used carrots instead, but you could use plum tomatoes if you like. Sometimes I've used onion too. The green beans are really good, though.

What You Need:
frozen ravioli
olive oil
bell pepper
green beans (fresh or frozen)
carrots
salt
sour cream
pesto
lemon

Your Turn:
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and cook 1/2 sliced bell pepper (any color), 3/4 C sliced carrots, and 1 C green beans (fresh or frozen, about two handfuls), stirring frequently until tender. Add 1/2 tsp salt and stir.

Meanwhile, cook 1 package (16 oz) frozen ravioli as directed.

Mix 1/2 C sour cream, 1&1/2 T pesto, and 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel.

Toss hot cooked ravioli with vegetables and pesto cream sauce.

Chicken Soup with Vegetables and Orzo

The Date: 3 January 2012

The Occasion: I made a whole chicken in the crock pot last week and had lots of chicken leftover, plus real chicken stock. I thought this would make a totally winning soup.

The Recipe: Mostly from a recipe for Vegetable Chicken Noodle Soup from this book. But with several modifications including replacing the egg noodles with orzo, using real stock instead of reduced-sodium chicken broth, and eliminating the evaporated milk.

How it Went:
We loved this soup! Delicious. The stock was weird when I got it out of the fridge. Sort of gelatinous, not liquidy like broth you'd buy. But I mixed it into the soup, and it dissolved down to normal. I'd definitely do this again. Superb.

What You Need:
onion
carrots
celery
garlic
olive oil
flour
soup herbs (your choice)
chicken broth or stock
potatoes
cooked chicken
orzo

Your Turn:
Chop up vegetables so you have

• 1 C chopped onion
• 1 C chopped celery
• 1 C chopped carrot
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Saute these in a large soup pot in 2 tsp olive oil about 10 minutes, until tender.

While this is sauteing, scrub, peel, and chop 3 potatoes. This should be about 3-4 cups. Set these aside.

Now, add to the soup pot

• 1/4 C flour
• 2 tsp of herbs (Good choices are oregano, thyme, and basil. A poultry seasoning is good to add too.)

Stir to coat vegetables well.

Now add

• the chopped potatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• about 3 C chicken broth or stock
• about 3 C water

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in 2 C cooked, shredded chicken and 1 C orzo pasta, and let simmer another 10-15 minutes, or until orzo is plump and soft.

Taste it, then add more herbs and/or more salt, as needed.

Serve and enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Soup with Tortellini

The Date: 6 December 2011

The Occasion: Soup Week! I've decided to expand my soup repertoire. I found a few recipes that looked appealing, and tried the first tonight.

The Recipe: Found it while browsing Recipe.com whose Daily Recipe email I get each day.

How it Went:
Well, I'd say it was successful, but since Campbell's has been selling condensed tomato soup for decades, it's no wonder homemade tomato soup has fallen by the wayside. It's time-consuming, messy, and expensive. Not only did I have to peel and slice up 6 large tomatoes, but the soup had to then simmer for a half hour while I wiped up tomato debris. And - I spent $10 on tomatoes! Can you believe that!? Four pounds of tomatoes at $2.50/lb. Ugh. So, yes, it went ok. And it was pretty good-tasting. But I probably won't do it again. It wasn't quite worth it.

What You Need:
onion
tomatoes
tomato sauce
chicken broth
salt
pepper
sage
milk
tortellini

Your Turn:
First, you need to peel tomatoes. I sort of accidentally doubled my recipe, so I did 6 large tomatoes. You can do 3 small ones instead. The recipe called for 2 pounds, which was estimated 6 tomatoes. My 6 tomatoes, though, were 4 pounds. Oh well. Let's do the recipe version: 2 lbs of tomatoes.

To peel, prepared a pot of boiling water and a bowl of ice cubes. Then wash the tomatoes, and cut a plus-shaped slit in the bottom of each one.

Drop one at a time into the boiling water for a couple minutes until you see the skin peeling back at the plus. Then collect it with a slotted spoon and drop it into the ice.

As it cools, peel the skin off.

As you get them peeled, cut out the stem section, then chop them up.

When you've got a big bowl full of chopped tomatoes, toss 1 onion, chopped, into some olive oil in your soup pot and let it cook until it softens.

Then add

• your tomatoes
• 1 & 1/2 C chicken broth
• 1 & 1/2 C water
• 1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 T chopped fresh sage
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Bring this to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes while you clean up your red, slimy counter.

Cook one 8 oz package of Barilla dried tortellini (you'll only use half of it) according to package instructions.

After 30 minutes, it's time to puree the soup. I did this in my blender, but the recipe says you can use a food mill (whatever that is).

Now, mix in about 2-3 T of milk and half of the pasta you boiled. (I added the whole package, but remember, it was a double batch. For a normal batch of soup, I'd use half and save the rest for another meal.)

Sprinkle with some cheese, if you wish, or serve with grilled cheese sandwiches. If you want to feel extremely domestic, give this a whirl. But if all you want is tomato soup, just open a can.

Pasta Primavera

The Recipe: An original, inspired by similar recipes.

Tips: This is great with cooked chicken but equally good meatless. Don't overcook the veggies, especially the zucchini. This dish is peppery, filling, and despite the butter and pasta, it still manages to be healthy, chock-full of colorful vegetables.

What You Need:
1 crown broccoli
1-2 small zucchini
2 red and/or yellow bell pepper
1/2 C snow peas
1/4 C butter
1 1/2 C half & half (or whole milk)
3 T flour
black pepper
salt
cooked angel hair or linguine 
optional: cooked chicken

Your Turn:
Chop up:
- 1 crown broccoli (about 1 cup chopped florets)
- half each of a yellow and a red pepper into fork-sized pieces (about 1/2 inch wide, 1 inch long)
- 1 - 2 small zucchini.

Melt 1/4 C butter in a large skillet. Add the chopped veggies along with 1/2 cup of snow peas. Sprinkle with a generous dash of black pepper and a pinch or two of salt.

This would be a good time to start your pasta cooking. 

Pour 1 1/2 cup of half & half (or whole milk) into a bowl or glass measuring cup. Add 3 tablespoons of flour. Microwave about 35 seconds, until warm. Whisk with a fork.

When the vegetables are crisp-tender, (add the cooked chicken to the skillet, if you've opted to add that, then) pour milk mixture over them and cook briefly until slightly reduced.

Serve over pasta with garlic bread.

Greek Pasta with Pork

The Date: 11 October 2011

The Occasion: Wanted to try this dish again. I made it once, but I had some ideas I wanted to try on my second attempt.

The Recipe: From this book, but with modifications

How it Went:
I'm still not thrilled with this dish. I know that's not the best way to entice you to try it out, but I've gotta be honest about that. It's good, but certainly not a favorite.

The first change I made from the recipe was swapping pork for the chicken. I did a little bit of reading about Greek cooking, and they use mostly pork and lamb. So I thought I'd be authentic about that. Using the rotisserie chicken, as the recipe suggests, is great, though, because it's already cooked. Which I love. You just pull the meat off, shred it up, and toss it in. I had to cook the pork first, but that's a pretty quick process, so it wasn't a difficult adaptation.

The first time I made this, I left out the artichokes, but kept the sun-dried tomatoes. Neither Peter nor I liked the taste of the tomatoes and ended up picking around them, so this time I left those out and included the artichokes instead. It was definitely an improvement, but the artichokes seemed to lend an almost vinegary flavor that was a bit strong. Maybe next time I'd rinse them or something. I'd also chop them smaller. They come quartered, and I chopped the quarters up. But I'd even like them more fine. (Can you food-process artichokes?) Also, I didn't buy Greek olives, so I used regular black olives, but I think the Greek ones might be worth it. Regular black olives don't have that Mediterranean zing that everything else had.

In my browsing around online today, I found a recipe for Greek seasoning. I didn't take the time to make this mix, but I did use the flavor ideas and added a lot more spices than the recipe called for. It called for just some fresh minced parsley for garnish. I added parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, pepper, and just a dash of nutmeg to my dish. I was a little nervous, though, so I don't think I really added enough spices to make much difference. I think it would be worth making a batch of the Greek seasoning mix. It sounds like a good combination of flavors anyway.

The next time I try this, I will be more bold with my seasonings and possibly try the Greek olives instead of standard black. I served this tonight with fresh steamed green beans on the side, but I think it would be good with a vegetable in the dish itself. Potatoes? Zucchini? I don't think broccoli is really a Greek veggie, but it would probably be good in this. Another vegetable would also help cut the sour taste of the artichokes.

Your Turn:
To prepare, chop up

• 1 large onion 
• about a 1/2 cup of Greek (or regular black) olives 
• 1 jar of quartered artichoke hearts

and set aside.

Cook 2 cups of dry penne in boiling water.

While this is cooking, chop up about 1 pound of thinly sliced pork chops into cubes. In a large skillet, cook the pork in olive oil with pepper and any seasonings you like (parsley, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, nutmeg, paprika...) or the Greek seasoning mix mentioned above. If you'd prefer chicken, prepare about 3 cups of cubed or shredded rotisserie chicken.

When the pork is cooked through (and it shouldn't take too long), take it out and set aside. Leave the oil in the skillet. Add a bit more oil (or some butter) and the chopped onion. Season this a little bit as well.

When onions are tender, add 1/4 cup of flour and stir. Then pour in 1 can of chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then let simmer about 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in the pork, artichoke hearts, olives, and 2-4 oz of feta cheese. (The recipe calls for 4 oz, but I used what I had which was about 2. That works too.) (Optional: Add 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes.)

Drain your pasta (I hope you haven't forgotten about the pasta!) and add it to the skillet too. If your skillet is ovenproof, you're luckier than most. For the rest of us, transfer the whole thing to a medium sized casserole dish. Broil in the oven for 6-7 minutes, until the top is bubbling and golden brown.

Serve with a salad or steamed green beans or asparagus.

Caesar Chicken with Orzo

The Date: 22 September 2011

The Occasion: Just a Thursday night dinner.

The Recipe: From this book, which I got at Ollie's years ago and have loved ever since. It's full of wonderful and very easy recipes that are easily fancied up and tailored to the ingredients you have and the flavors you like. I'd made this one before and knew I liked it.

How it Went:
This recipe is extremely straightforward. The only thing I really modified was the vegetables. Instead of a bag of frozen veggies, I used some freshly chopped onions, broccoli, and carrots. I also added the Caesar dressing much earlier in the recipe than it suggests. I find the flavors blend better that way. My version, below, is a yummy stir-fry type dish.

Your Turn:
Heat a little olive oil in a skillet, then cook chicken (2-4 breasts, depending on how many you're feeding) in cubes with a bit of chicken seasoning or Perfect Pinch. Add about three tablespoons of Caesar dressing (NOT the creamy kind) and some diced onions (half an onion).
Remove the chicken from the skillet when it's cooked, but leave the juices and dressing in the pan.
Add to the skillet

• one can (about 15 oz) of chicken broth
• 1 C of water

heat to boiling, then add

• 1 C of orzo pasta 

and boil until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Now, stir in your vegetables. About 2-5 cups of veggies, depending on how many you're planning to feed. Chopped fresh vegetables are best; a combination of carrots, broccoli, green beans, and onions is good. Shake some black pepper and a few more tablespoons of Caesar dressing in too.
Now let it simmer on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until the veggies are crisp-tender. Add the chicken back in and let the whole thing simmer together for a few minutes while you set the table.
Serve with garlic bread or hot rolls, or with some fruit.