Monday, January 28, 2008

"Mary's" Pasta

I don't know if there's a real name to this, but since it's one of my favorites (and one of the few meals I can make...) my family calls it "Mary's" Pasta.

You'll need...
Tomatoes (I use cherry tomatoes)
Mozzarella Cheese
Basil
Garlic
Olive Oil
Pasta

Cut the tomatoes, cheese, basil, and garlic and mix them with the oil. You can let this sit all day if you want to let the flavors blend. Cook the pasta (I usually use fettuccini, but anything would work). Pour the mixture over the pasta and mix while it's still hot. You can use as much or as little of the ingredients that you want.

Chicken Theresa ...

.... Or that really awesome chicken dish that Gina made for Esther the first time she met her.

I first got this recipe from my college roommate, Sarah. Her family called it Chicken Theresa because her Aunt Theresa would make this for all family functions. I've never had an actual recipe for it so I'll do my best here but it's really mostly to taste and perfection comes with experimenting with it along the way.

What you need:
Boneless, skinless Chicken breats (I allow for one per person)
Butter
Garlic
White Wine
1 -2 cans of Artichoke Hearts - drained and quartered
1 small - medium bag of still dry, sun-dried tomatoes, halved (the tomatoes re-hydrate with all the yummy flavors of the butter/wine/garlic sauce)
Pasta of your choice

Dredge each chicken breast in flour. Melt between half and a whole stick of butter in a large, deep pan with tons of garlic. Cook the chicken breasts in the melted butter/garlic until cooked through. Add a bunch of white wine, stir the whole mixture and bring it to a simmer.

Add artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce and let it simmer until it's nice and thick. You can always add some flour/water mixture to the sauce to help thicken it a little more if you feel the need.

While this is all cooking up, I prepare the pasta; I serve it over penne but you can use any kind of pasta you'd like.

And that's pretty much it .... =) Enjoy!!!!

Orzo with Shrimp

This is one of my new favorite recipes. I saved it years ago in my Epicurious recipe folder but only recently tried it. It's quick, easy, hearty and makes amazing leftovers. I didn't use this much oil and it was still delish. I used the creamier kind of feta, I think it was from France. And I used a bag of frozen shrimp already peeled and deveined which cut way back on prep time. Just thaw before you use it in this recipe.

I also added kalamata olives (about a dozen), as suggested in the comments on Epicurious. They also suggested pine nuts and spinach, but the pine nuts I had were rancid. Eew. I served sauteed spinach as a side dish.

Ingredients
8 ounces orzo
6 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush 11x7-inch glass baking dish with oil. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain well and return orzo to same pot. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 cup feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and 2 tablespoons basil; stir to blend. Arrange orzo mixture in prepared dish.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté until slightly pink, about 2 minutes (shrimp will not be cooked through). Arrange shrimp atop orzo. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet. Add garlic and sauté over medium-high heat 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with juice; cook 1 minute. Stir in wine, oregano, crushed red pepper, and remaining 1/4 cup basil. Simmer uncovered until reduced to thick sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper; spoon over shrimp. Bake orzo until heated through, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup feta cheese and serve.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Corn Chowder

I love corn chowder. I got this recipe from epicurious but I've made minor changes over the years. If anyone has other good recipes please post them! I'm always open to suggestions.

4 (or more) slices bacon, coarsely chopped
1 6-ounce russet potato cut into 1/2-inch pieces (peel optional)
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 small bay leaves
2 cups milk
1 10-ounce package frozen corn kernels (or 1 1/2 cups of fresh corn cut off the cob)
1 14 3/4-ounce can creamed corn
1 1/4 cups canned chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon (or more) hot pepper sauce

Sauté bacon in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot. Add potato, onion, celery, and bay leaves to pot. Sauté over medium-high heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add milk, frozen corn kernels, creamed corn, and broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer chowder until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Add hot pepper sauce, and half the bacon. Simmer chowder uncovered until flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and more hot pepper sauce, if desired. Top each bowl with remaining bacon.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Smashed Cauliflower

This is a variation on the South Beach / Atkins answer to mashed potatoes .. it should end up being the same or similar consistency.

1 head of Cauliflower
1 -2 cans of low sodium, chicken broth
Parmesan / Romano / any shreaded cheese (to taste)

Put the cauliflower pieces in to a large pot along with 1 - 2 cans (depending on the how much cauliflower you have) of the chicken broth. Cook covered on Med - High until cauliflower is soft; remove from head and mash the cauliflower directly into the remaining chicken broth. Once it's all mashed, add shreaded cheese, mix together & serve! Depending on how much chicken broth was left over, you may have to add more cheese, but you can always drain a little of the excess out too.

It keeps pretty well for a few days in the fridge too if you have leftovers and they taste better than mashed potatoes reheated.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

turkey goulash

I just made this super yummy goulash:

2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added kidney beans with liquid
medium yellow summer squash in bite-sized chunks
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt-free seasoning (I wasn't sure what this was, so I used seasoning salt...)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
lightly mist a pot with oil and saute onions and garlic until they're soft. Transfer them to a bowl, then brown the meat in the same pot, breaking up any clumps with a spoon. Once the meat is brown add the beans (with the liquid), tomatoes, seasoning, and onion/garlic mixture. Heat it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Then turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30-40 minutes (until the veggies are soft and cooked through.)
Serve over rice, noodles, or with crackers on the side.*
*Recipe from The Biggest Loser Cookbook...they recomend using brown rice or whole wheat crackers. I used the noodles we had in our house and topped with a little parmesan cheese. SO YUMMY!

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Garlic Dressing

This is a super yummy garlicky dressing. I always get rave reviews when I bring this to parties. You can also top the salad with grilled chicken for a quick healthy dinner. I made it tonight and I can still taste the garlic, which is what reminded me to post my first recipe...

Combine:
1/2 clove of fresh garlic, finely chopped or squished through a garlic press
4-5 teaspoons of olive oil
4-5 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of dry mustard

Toss chopped romaine lettuce with grated parmesan cheese - I use about 1/4 cup of cheese with a bag of pre-washed chopped romaine or 1-2 chopped romaine hearts. Dress just prior to serving.

Vary the amount of all of these ingredients to taste.