Chicken and Spinach with White Wine Sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz pasta
16 oz chicken breast, cooked and sliced
6 oz fresh spinach
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated

Fill a large pot with water and place over medium-high heat to boil.  Once water boils, add pasta and cook to desired tenderness.  Meanwhile, pour olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat.  Add garlic, pepper flakes, and thyme and stir for about a minute. Stir in butter and once melted add the flour.  Gradually add wine, using a whisk to work the liquid and flour mixture together.  Add bay leaves, salt and pepper.  Bring wine to a boil and let simmer until sauce starts to thicken. The sauce does not need to get too thick, but a slight thickness will help it coat the noodles.  By now, the noodles should be about done cooking.  Drain the noodles and add them to the pan with the wine sauce.  Toss to coat noodles.  Add sliced chicken and fresh spinach to the pan.  Cover the pan and let it sit a couple minutes until the spinach wilts.  Toss together and serve with Parmesan on top. Serves 4.

Stuffed Portabellas

This is a great recipe that is very adaptable to your tastes and creativity!  If you don't want to make homemade bruschetta (see my recipe here), try the pre-made mix from Trader Joe's.

2 large portabella mushrooms
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup raw spinach, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup bruschetta
1/3 cup mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove stems from mushrooms and brush with a dry cloth to clean.  In a frying pan, saute spinach with garlic and a bit of olive oil.  Once spinach is wilted, transfer to a bowl and mix in the ricotta cheese, salt and pepper.  Lay mushroom caps upside down on a baking sheet and fill with cheese/spinach mixture.  Top with bruschetta and mozzarella.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Tortellini Soup

I got this recipe from my mother in law and I love it because it is so simple yet so delicious!  It is also extremely forgiving if you want to use more or less of a particular ingredient to fit your needs or tastes.  For instance, I have added more tomatoes and tortellini to make it stretch farther when we have company.  I also don't worry about it if the bunch of spinach or bag of tortellini I buy differs in size from the recipe.

2 Tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
6-8 oz tortellini
14 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice
10 oz fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
8-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, saute minced garlic in oil for 1-2 minutes (careful it can burn fast).   Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.   Add tortellini for recommended cooking time.  Add spinach and basil, cook until wilted.  Serve with Parmesan cheese on top. Serves 4.

Spinach & Mushroom Quiche

I made this quiche for breakfast with some lovely friends this morning and it turned out great!  The texture was nice and light. It was so flavorful--the perfect savory dish to go with a tall glass of orange juice. I started with this recipe as a guideline but made changes to fit my own tastes: Spinach Quiche.  I love that you can be flexible with this recipe--you could use whatever types of veggies and cheese you prefer.  I combined some muenster with Kraft's triple cheddar shredded cheese.

9-inch pie crust
2 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp minced onion
6 oz spinach, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
4 eggs
1 cup milk
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lay unbaked pie crust out in a 9-inch pie dish. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and minced onion and cook for 1 minute.  Add chopped mushroom and spinach and saute 3-5 minutes until spinach is wilted and mushrooms start to brown.  Add most of the cheese, reserving 1/4 cup for later, and mix well.  Pour vegetable and cheese mixture into the pie crust. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over the vegetable mixture in the pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top.  Return to oven and bake another 30-40 minutes until the top is golden and the eggs are set.  Let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Makes 6 servings at 241 calories per serving.

Roasted Chicken

This week I endeavored to roast my first chicken! I started with this recipe for Juicy Roasted Chicken and made a few changes based on some other research I did.  The recipe is heavy on butter, but having just watched Julie & Julia, I was reminded how much butter really does make everything taste delicious. So I decided not to skimp on it this time and my, was it tasty! The flavor was excellent but even better was the tenderness of the meat--so moist it fell off the bone.  After seeing the amount of butter drained off in the bottom of my pan, I will definitely try reducing it to 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup to see if it still produces the same tender, juicy result.

I used a dutch oven and I kept the lid on until the last 15 minutes when I removed the lid to let the skin get a little more golden.  After removing the chicken from the dutch oven, I moved the pot to the stove and mixed some water and flour with the leftover butter and drippings in the pot to make a gravy.

Ingredients:
1 3-4 lb whole chicken
1/2 cup butter
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp dried parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk celery
salt and pepper

Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.  Truss the chicken if desired (if you don't know how to do this--look up an instructional video).  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Salt and pepper the entire chicken liberally,  inside the cavity and the entire outside of the chicken. Sprinkle onion powder and parsley over the chicken, inside and out.  Cut celery stalk into 4 pieces and stuff inside chicken cavity with 3 Tbsp butter and the garlic clove.  Cut remaining butter into small pads and spread them over the outside of the chicken, rubbing into the chicken slightly so they stay in place.  Place chicken in roasting pan or dutch oven and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  Turn down oven temperature to 350 degrees and cook an additional 20 minutes per pound of meat or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees.  Let the chicken rest about 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven so the juices can settle.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love Italian food and I've been searching for a good meatball recipe.  This has been adapted from a few different recipes I read. It has just the right amount of spices for me and the meatballs stay nice and moist. I hope you enjoy it as much we do!

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork or turkey
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs or oats
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt & pepper to taste

Sauce

• 2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (you can use 1 can of diced if you prefer chunky sauce)
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine

Combine meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Form into balls the size of golf balls.  Heat olive oil (about 2 Tbsp) in a skillet on medium heat and brown meatballs on all sides.  While meatballs are browning, combine sauce ingredients in a large pot on the stove and begin to simmer the sauce on low heat.  Add meatballs to the sauce once they are browned.  Let sauce and meatballs simmer covered for about 2 hours.  Serve over 16 oz of cooked angel hair pasta.  Serves 8.

Quinoa Patties with Kale

I've decided to go gluten-free over the next month to see if it alleviates some issues I've had, so you're going to see some G-Free recipes on here.  I found this recipe on this gluten-free blog, which was adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day, and it was delicious!  You can do so many things with this recipe!  We drizzled lemon juice over them and ate them with some avocado.  My husband also ate his as an open-faced sandwich on some garlic toast.  I think next time I'll try making a dijon vinaigrette dressing to pour over them.  They'd also be great with spinach or mushrooms mixed into the patties.  I made some slight modifications to the recipe this time so here is what I did:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp minced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups steamed kale, chopped
• 1 cup oats (the recipe called for breadcrumbs, but I couldn't find gluten-free ones)
• olive oil

Prepare quinoa by boiling it in the water until the water is absorbed.  Let quinoa cool slightly and then mix with whisked eggs, cheese, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, kale and oats/breadcrumbs.  Let mixture sit for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large frying pan.  Pat together patties from the mixture and place in the frying pan to cook.  Let the patties cook about 7 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and crispy on the top and bottom.  Serve with the garnish of your choice!  This serves about 4 people. If you are cooking for less, I'd make the desired amount of patties and then refrigerate the mixture (rather than making all the patties and then refrigerating them), as suggested by the blog I read.

Stuffed Tomatoes

These were a bit tricky, but really tasty!  I modified a recipe my friend pinned on Pinterest: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/511633 to make it simpler.  The hard part for me was scooping the pulp out of the tomatoes without destroying them.  I think I'll try using a grapefruit spoon next time to see if the serrated edges help.

Tomatoes
2 large beefsteak tomatoes
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
3-4 cups fresh chopped spinach
1 clove garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch of thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Dressing
Pulp reserved from tomatoes
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard*
Pinch of basil

*Gluten free dieters: make sure your mustard doesn't contain gluten!

Remove tomato stems and blanch tomatoes by boiling them in hot water for 1 minute.  Then place them in a bowl of ice water and set aside.  This step will make it much easier to peel the tomatoes later on. In a frying pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Add chopped mushrooms and spinach and cook 3-5 minutes until spinach is wilted and mushrooms are tender.  Add garlic, lemon juice, thyme, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  While the mushroom/spinach mixture cools, remove the tomatoes from the bowl of ice water.  Peel skin off of the tomatoes.  Cut off the top of the tomatoes about 1/3 of the way from the top.  Carefully scoop tomato pulp and seeds out of each tomato and reserve pulp in a separate bowl for the dressing.  Now that the mushroom/spinach mixture has cooled some, add ricotta and parmesan cheese and mix well--reserving a small bit of the parmesan for later.  Fill the tomato bottoms with the cheese/mushroom/spinach mixture.  Press the tomato tops back on the stuffed tomatoes and sprinkle tops with the remaining parmesan.  Grease a baking dish with olive oil and place the tomatoes in the greased dish.  Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees.  While the tomatoes bake, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Remove tomatoes from the oven when the cheese mixture looks melted.  Serve hot with dressing drizzled over the tomatoes.

Lemony Lentils & Kale

This dish has become one of our vegetarian favorites!  It is fresh, flavorful and hearty. I found the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemony-lentils-with-kale/detail.aspx.  I omit the onion from the original recipe since I can't eat onion, but I'm sure it would be delicious.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 pound lentils
• 1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

*Gluten free dieters: make sure your spices do not contain gluten.

Heat oil in a skillet.  Cook carrot until softened. Add garlic, thyme, salt, black pepper and red pepper; cook one minute.  Add lentils, tomatoes (and juice), and chicken broth into skillet.  Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.  Add kale, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Cook until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Serves 4.

Creamy Tomato Soup

We've been wanting to try homemade tomato soup for a while. I got hooked on Trader Joe's tomato soup last year because it was so much yummier than the can. Craig found a great recipe from King Arthur Flour and I made a few small changes.  This was so simple and inexpensive that I think I have a new favorite! You can read the King Arthur recipe here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/creamy-tomato-soup-recipe.  It makes about 4 bowl-sized servings.  It is definitely a creamy tomato so if that isn't your thing you can use less of the evaporated milk.

1 28-oz can tomato purée

1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp onion powder or minced onion

dash of thyme
dash of black pepper
3 Tbsp flour*
a scant 2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
1 tsp salt

*Gluten free dieters: substitute cornstarch for the flour.

In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, basil, onion, thyme, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes.  In a small bowl, combine the flour and broth, whisking till smooth, and add this mixture to the soup, stirring until well incorporated. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the baking soda (the soup will foam up briefly; don't worry, but be sure it's in a big enough pot), the sugar, the milk and the salt. Heat, stirring, to a bare simmer. Serve hot. Serves 4.

Potato Corn Chowder with Hearth Bread

Today is one of those cold and rainy fall days so I decided some warm, comforty soup sounded right for dinner. My husband made the meal even better with some delicious homemade bread!  Both recipes are below.  We baked the bread in a dutch oven instead of on a cookie sheet.  If you use dutch oven, you can ignore the instructions about the baking stone and the pan of water.

Potato Corn Chowder

1 Tbsp butter
3 cups diced potatoes
2 cans creamed corn
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup onion
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp flour dissolved in 1 Tbsp water

Combine all ingredients except milk, cheese and flour in a large soup pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until thick. Makes about 6 servings.

Rose Levy Berebaums Hearth Bread from the back of the Gold Medal Bread Flour Bag

3 1/3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/3 cups water
1 tsp honey
olive oil

In medium bowl, stir together flours, salt and yeast. Stir in water and honey.  Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and springy but still slightly sticky.  Add a little flour or water as needed.  Lightly brush oil inside on a large bowl.  Place dough inside the bowl and turn to grease all sides.  Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about an hour or until dough has doubled in size.  Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly sprinkle with cornmeal.  Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Flatten dough and shape into round ball.  Place on cookie sheet.  Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in warm place for another hour until dough has doubled in size again.  Place baking stone on lowest rack in oven.  Heat oven to 475 degrees.  Carefully cut an X shaped slash on top of the dough. Spray with cool water. Place cookie sheet in oven on baking stone.  Place 1 cup water in shallow pan on another oven rack.  Bake 10 minutes reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees.  Bake an additional 20 minutes or until bread is golden brown and skewer in center comes out clean.  Cool completely on baking rack.

Homemade Pasta

Fresh pasta is some extra work, but the flavor and rich texture is worth the effort every now and then.  We love to make this pasta and toss it with just a little butter and some good quality parmesan cheese.  If you don't want to knead the dough by hand, you can use a mixer with a dough hook but you have to make sure the ingredients are mixed well.

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup water

Mix flour and salt in a bowl.  Make a well in the center of the mixture and add eggs.  Mix ingredients, adding water a tablespoon at a time as needed to get the dough to stick together.  Knead dough for 3-5 minutes on a floured surface. Divide dough into two and roll each ball out into a thin layer, one at a time (if you have a large work area you can leave the dough in one ball to roll out, but I find it easier to work a smaller amount at a time).  Sprinkle both sides with cornmeal and then roll dough up into a pinwheel.  The cornmeal is very important as it will keep the dough from sticking together when you roll and slice it.  Gently slice rolled dough at the width you want your pasta.  Unroll slices and lay out to dry for at least 2 hours.  Cook pasta in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Makes about 4 servings.

Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Bake

Ingredients

• 3 cups rice, cooked
• 2 cups broccoli
• 1-1 1/2 cups chicken, chopped
• 16 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp minced onion
• French's fried onions

Prepare rice in large saucepan. Once rice is cooked, add minced onion, cheese, soup and milk. Mix until cheese is melted. Add chicken and broccoli. Pour mixture into greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread a layer of French's fried onions over the top. Bake covered for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.

Aioli Chicken Panini

This recipe is from Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads by Christine Avanti.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp mayo
• 1 tsp fresh parsley
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 chicken breast

Mix above ingredients in small bowl and spread over the bread of your choice. Cover mixture with mozzarella and cook in panini maker.

Chicken Fricassee

This recipe is from Cook's Bible. I made some slight modifications. It takes a long time (40-50 minutes), but it's pretty easy and very tasty served over rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp flour
• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 5 pearl onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• salt and pepper

Cut chicken into cubes. Place flour in a dish and add salt and pepper. Coat chicken in flour mixture. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and garlic. Cook over low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Gradually stir in chicken stock. Add carrotts, celery and peas. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pepper and mushrooms, cover, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Stir in the yogurt and chopped parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook 1-2 additional minutes. Serve hot with rice or potatoes.

Almond Chicken

This recipe was given to me by my cousin Kay.

Mix the following ingredients and spread in a greased 9 x 9 casserole pan.

• 1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp minced onion

In a skillet, combine 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, and 1 cup crushed corn flakes (I used crunchy fried onions) until browned. Sprinkle over top and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Perfect Homemade Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 whole egg and 1 egg white (beaten until frothy--this is VERY important for fluffiness)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter

recipe yields 8-10 pancakes