Chinese Spaghetti and Meatballs

Okay, I know it sounds weird. But that is really kind of what grabbed me and made me want to make this recipe! I am sure my family wasn't sharing my curiosity though. Their faces said it all...."ummmm you are making what?"...."What is in that?"......"Oh, OK" I am sure I heard some rumblings about sneaking out to McDonalds too. But hey, they know me and what I do. They might not have signed up for this but they were definantly drafted!

I love chicken chow mien and this kind of reminds me of that. The whole wheat noodles give it a nutty taste and the meatballs....well all I can say (as I channel my inner Rachael) is YUMMMMMO!! Once the meatballs started cooking and you could smell that wonderful smell coming from the oven, people started thinking twice about the whole McDonalds thing.

When they were actually able to taste it they all had a new appreciation for my curiosity and the good things it can bring. I am thinking now I should have made a double batch of the meatballs, they are THAT good. They went so fast and then we just had a pot of naked noodles leftover, so sad. Not to say the noodles weren't good because they were awesome too. The soy and sesame oil together made a terrific combo and the veggies were perfect, not to crisp but not too soft. Seth took some over to his friends house to share with her for dinner and I just got a comment from her on my Facebook page saying that she loved them. She also complimented my Turkey Sausage and Orzo Stuffed Peppers recipe that you can find at Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen.

I think this would actually make a good meal for a night when you are trying to find something to do with the leftover veggies in the fridge. You could use just about anything, asparagus, broccoli, peppers, onions, even thinly sliced carrots and celery could be used. So let your tummy be guided by my curiosity and give this one a try!

Chinese Spaghetti and Meatballs

Salt

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti

1 pound ground pork or chicken (I used chicken)

1 egg

2 cups puffed rice cereal

Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder, 1/3 palm full

8 scallions, 2 finely chopped, 6 cut into 2-inch lengths

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup tamari dark soy, divided

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

2 cups snow peas, thinly sliced on an angle

1 red bell pepper, very thinly sliced

2 inches ginger root, grated

4 cloves garlic, grated

1 pound triple washed spinach, leaves stripped of larger stems, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, available on Asian foods isle of market

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, available on Asian foods isle of market

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Place a pot of water on to boil for spaghetti. When it comes to a boil, salt the water and add pasta to cook to al dente. Heads up: reserve 1/2 cup cooking water just before draining.

Place pork (or chicken) in a mixing bowl. Add the egg to the bowl. Place rice cereal in food processor and pulse into a bread crumb like consistency. Add cereal crumbs to bowl.

Add salt, pepper, five-spice powder, 2 chopped scallions and two tablespoons soy sauce. Mix the meatballs thoroughly. Form 1 1/2 in balls and coat with 1 tablespoon oil, scatter onto a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes.

When meatballs are close to done and the pasta is in, heat a large skillet (or wok) over high heat with enough vegetable oil to coat the skillet, a couple of tablespoons. Add the snow peas, red pepper, remaining scallions, ginegr and garlic, stir fry 2 minutes add spinach and wilt, 1 minute. Add the remaining soy sauce, about 1/3 cup, and the sesame oil then drain, add in pasta cooking water and toss to combine so pasta can soak up the sauce, about 1 minute. Garnish with the sesame seeds and top with lots of meatballs.

Serves 4

Crab Cake Mac N Cheese

I made this recipe in the past but never posted it. It got rave reviews from the family but, I of course failed to take a picture. So therefor no post DUH me huh?

This time was a little different in two ways, #1 I remembered to take a picture (Yay me!), #2 I kinda tweaked the recipe a bit to what I thought would taste even better. Not that I am bashing Rachael's recipe, I of all people would never do that. However, Rachael herself says take a recipe and make it your own, so I did.

Below is the original recipe as Rachael wrote it, and as I said everyone that tried it loved it. My version of this recipe will be posted at Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen. If you are feeling adventurous try both and let me know your opinion!

Crab Cake Mac N Cheese

Salt

1 pound cavatappi or elbow pasta with lines or conchiglie (small fat tubes/shell shaped pasta with lines)

2 tablespoons EVOO
2 tablespoons butter
3 ribs celery with leafy tops, finely copped
1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
About 2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves, several sprigs
About 1 tablespoons grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound fresh lump crab meat, picked for shells and flaked
1 tablespoon seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
3 tablespoons all-purpous flour
2 1/2 cups milk
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 pound, about 1 rounded cup grated sharp white Cheddar
1/3 pound, about 1 rounded cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
3 tablespoons hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
A gernerous handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a couple of handfuls

Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium heat, then salt the water. Add the pasta and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, (it will be undercooked). Cool, drain well and add to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons of EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, red pepper, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste. Cook to tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the crab meat to the vegetables and season liberally with seafood seasoning. Stir to combine, then remove from heat.

IN a medium sauce pot, over low heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter and whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk and bring to a bubble. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, to taste, and cook for a few minutes, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Add the mustard and the cheese and stir in a figure 8 motion. Add the vegetables and crab, sauce to the bowl with the pasta and transfer the mixture to individual baking crocks or a large casserole dish. This can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To complete the dish, melt a couple of tablespoons butter in a small skillet over low heat and add 3 tablespoons hot sauce. Warm through, then add the panko crumbs and toss evenly to coat the crumbs in the sauce mixture. Cool the crumbs, then toss in the parsley and 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Top the mac n cheese with the spicy crumb mixture. Arrange individual crocks on a baking sheet or put the casserole on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Back until brown and heated through, about 10 minutes. If cooking from cold, the mac n cheese will take 40 to 45 minutes, but add the crumbs the last 10 minutes of baking.

"Christmas" Pasta

No, I have not lost my mind. I know it isn't Christmas time. Although I wish it was since Christmas is my favorite time of year.

The reason this recipe is called Christmas pasta is, in Rachael's words, "For Italians, after all those fishes on Christmas Eve, this dish, with four different meats in it, is especially nice on Christmas Night".

Kevin did the same thing that I am sure many of you did when you first read the recipe title...

K: But it's not Christmas.
B: Yes, yes, I know honey, this isn't JUST for Christmas, it is just the name of the recipe.
K: Well if it isn't JUST for Christmas why is it called Christmas Pasta.
B: Rachael explains in the recipe that it was just her way of getting "meat" in a meal after all the fish Italians eat on Christmas Eve.
K: Well I still think she should have named it something else.
B: Maybe you are right....now can we cook?

When you first look at this recipe it seems like a lot of ingredients and well, it is a lot of ingredients,  but not a big hassle to make. Rachael mentions that she has used this recipe in several of her books and is constantly redoing it to make it quicker and easier. I think it is just fine the way it is.

Oh and Kevin decided he loved this. He is the one that looks at a meal I might be making and the first thing he asks "Is there meat?". I will never sneak vegetarian food in on him that is for sure. I am walking a fine line when I make Pasta Carbonara! He still doesn't like the name of the recipe though. Oh well, as long as they eat it right?

I am not Italian,  but I can tell you that this was a BIG bowl of Merry Christmas to ME!

The picture does not do this meal justice, I am sorry!

Christmas Pasta

Salt

1 pound rigatoni2 tablespoons EVOO

1/4 pound pancetta, chopped

1/4 pound bulk hot Italian sausage (No bulk? Split a link open)

1/4 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound ground veal

1/2 teaspoon allspice, eyeball it in your palm

Course black pepper

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup dry red wine, a couple of glugs

1 cup beef stock

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves (a generous handful), finely chopped

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (a couple of handfuls), plus some to pass at the table

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the pasta and cook to al dente, with a bite to it.

While the water and pasta work, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon EVOO. Add the pancetta to one half of the pan, the sausage, both hot and sweet, to the other. Break up the sausage into bits and brown while the pancetta renders, then combine and cook together another minute of so. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the remaining tablespoon of EVOO, then the beef and veal. Brown and crumble all of the meat into tiny bits and season with allspice, salt, and pepper. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic and cook another 5 to 6 minutes to soften the vegetables, then add the sausage and pancetta back into the pan. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping up all of the browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the stock, then the tomatoes. Check the seasoning. Simmer over low heat until ready to serve, at least 10 minutes.

Drain the pasta and add back to the hot pot. Ladle a few spoonfuls of the sauce over the pasta, and add a couple of handfuls of cheese to the pot. Stir to coat the pasta evenly. Transfer to a large serving dish or individual bowls and top with the remaining sauce and parsley. Pass plenty of extra cheese at the table.

Serves 6

Creamy Spaghetti and Beans

This is kind of a bonus recipe. It isn't out of the 365 No Repeats cook book. I was watching 30 Minute Meals, like I always do, and saw a recipe that sounded so good. Rachael said it was like a warm hug for your tummy. Kevin had been sick for a few days and not eating much. I thought a nice warm hug for his tummy was just what he needed.


I liked the sounds of this recipe because it is a sort of risotto made with spaghetti. It just sounded so interesting.. Plus I love white beans. Once she threw the word "creamy" in the mix I was already salivating!


It is a super simple recipe to make, not very many ingredients, it just takes time. You need to be on top of things and watch your pot so you can add the chicken stock when needed. 


I always have cannellini beans on hand so I substituted those for the Roman beans the recipe called for. I also left the carrots out. Since I am a huge bean fan I added 2 cans rather than the one can the recipe called for and it was a good thing because I kept nibbling on beans the whole time the meal was cooking!


Rachael really did hit the nail on the head by saying a bowl of this was a nice warm hug for your tummy. I know the weather is getting warmer so it may not seem like you need a "warm hug" but if it is cool or you just feel a bit under the weather, make this one. You won't be sorry you did!

Creamy Spaghetti and Beans

Ingredients

5 to 6 cups of chicken stock

2 tablespoons EVOO

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 pound pancetta chopped into small dice

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound spaghetti

i medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, cut into a small dice

1 fresh bay leaf

5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme

1 (15 ounce) can Roman beans or small white beans (recommended: Goya brand)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

a generous handful flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place the stock in a sauce pot and warm it over medium heat then reduce to a simmer.

Heat EVOO and butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta to brown slightly. Next add the garlic and the spaghetti and toast noodles lightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions and carrots, bay leaf, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Soften veggies a bit, 5 minutes. Add wine and allow it to be completely absorbed. Add beans and then a few ladles of stock and stir the pasta. Keep adding stock a few ladles at a time allowing liquid to be mostly absorbed before adding more, as if you were preparing a risotto. When liquids are absorbed and spaghetti is cooked to al-dente, 12 to 15 minutes, stir in cheese. Adjust salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and stir another minute. Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems. Serve in shallow bowls and garnish with lots of parsley.

Serves 4

Southwestern Pasta Bake

Hello to my favorite foodie gang! I thought Springtime had come to my little corner of Washington but it was just a tease. One day of sunshine and 60+ weather, now we are back to drizzle. Even my tulips are confused by this crazy weather. I really want to get my new batch of herbs planted and get my garden set up, but I don't want to get soaking wet to do it! 


Anyway. let me get to today's recipe. We are on #153 Southwestern Pasta Bake. To be honest, this was one of those recipes that I read and thought it sounded OK but I wasn't in a huge hurry to make it. For some reason I just wasn't putting all of the ingredients together in my head and come up with YUM. Also, I had it on my shopping list and had picked up all of the groceries but I was having a hard time finding a night to cook when someone besides Kevin and I would be eating. I am sure that you all trust our opinions, but I like to have more to offer.


Finally I gave up and made it for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. Kevin and I really liked it. Of course I feel the heat could have been kicked up a notch. I even kept the ribs and seeds with the jalapeño, but next time I would go for two peppers at least.  Of course for those of you that like it on the milder side, if you remove the ribs and seeds of the pepper you will be just fine.


I also had more like 2 pounds of chicken vs the 26 ounces called for because I had chicken breasts in the freezer already so I used 4 of those and they were bigger breasts. I liked how meaty it made the dish though.


After Kevin and I had our fill we put the leftovers in a Rubbermaid container and popped it into the freezer for a night when I didn't feel like cooking, not that I have many of those, but just to have it. The next night Seth and Melissa came over unexpectedly and I didn't have anything planned. Kevin and I looked at each other and both had the same idea, we needed their input on the recipe, so we pulled it out, warmed it up and had it for dinner a second night. Actually, I think it was even better the second time. Maybe because the flavors had time to really get happy together? I am not sure, but the kids both really liked it. 


So this dish went from one that really didn't grab me, to one that is a winner in my book.


Sorry, I forgot to take a picture. Bad Bobbi!


Southwestern Pasta Bake


Ingredients


Coarse salt
1 pound penne rigate or cavatappi (corkscrew) pasta
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (twice around the pan)
4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon ground cumin (1 palmful)
1 tablespoon ground coriander (1 palmful)
2 tablespoons chili powder (2 palmfuls)
Coarse black pepper
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3/4 pound sharp yellow cheddar cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/4 fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (a generous handful)
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped (a couple of handfuls)


Preheat the broiler to high and position the rack 8 inches from the heat.


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta until slightly undercooked-a little chewy at the center.


While the water is coming to a boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat with vegetable oil. Season the chicken with cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the seasoned chicken to the hot skillet and cook until light brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, and jalapeño and continue to cook for 5 minutes, While the chicken is cooking with the onions, make the Cheddar sauce.


In a medium sauce pot, melt the butter and add the flour to it. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, whisk in the milk. When the milk comes to a bubble, stir in the cheese, cilantro, and parsley with a wooden spoon. Season with a little salt and pepper and remove the cheese sauce from the heat.


Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it back to the large pot, add the contents of the chicken skillet and all of the cheddar sauce, and stir to combine. Transfer to a baking dish and place under the broiler to lightly brown.


Serves 4


*When I reheated the pasta bake the next night, I warmed the container in a hot water bath. Once it was fairly thawed out I transfered it to the casserole dish and topped it with panko bread crumbs. Then cooked it in a 350 over for 40 minutes.


Chicken Breast



Chicken Southwestern

Chicken with Wild Mushrooms and Balsamic Cream Sauce

Sorry I am behind a day in posting. I have two recipes to do, but I have been a been feeling poorly. I am hoping I am not coming down with a bug! I miss you guys when I don't post. Hopefully you miss me too!


Let me start this off with I knew Jessi's wouldn't even think about eating this one, I hoped, but knew it was a pipe dream. This girl can NOT stand mushrooms. Something that I don't understand since pretty much everyone else in our family likes them. Seth isn't jump up and down in love with them, but he at least will eat them. Not Jessi, nuh uh, no way are you getting a mushroom anywhere near this girls mouth! So, as soon as she saw that there were 36 mushrooms in this recipe, well she got a bowl of Ramen and was happy. 


Kevin and I on the other hand were having a very hard time leaving the mushrooms in the pan until the end of the meal! I just love sauteed mushrooms, as does Kevin. We kept standing over the pot impatiently waiting for them to cook, and balsamic cream sauce? Oh My Gosh!!! Heavenly!! I could have made a meal of just the mushroom and sauce over the orzo pasta. Kevin was just smelling the balsamic out of the bottle and said it smelled so good he wanted to take a drink! There is nothing like a nice aged balsamic, so yummy.


On the chicken side of things, I suggest using chicken cutlets or boneless skinless chicken thighs, depending on your preference for light or dark meat. The issue with the whole breast half, is the typical one, they dry out. I am not a big fan of white meat chicken unless it is in a cutlet or chopped up in something for that very reason. But this is not because of my prejudice, the chicken did come out dry even though I cooked it exactly as the recipe called for.


So recipe #52 is a pretty easy recipe. The hardest part is slicing all of those mushrooms on one cutting board! Kevin had done all the other prep work so there was garlic, shallots, and thyme on one corner of the board and I took over the rest with all of my mushrooms!


I think this one is a keeper just for the sauce alone. I will definitely make it with thighs next time though.

Chicken with Wild Mushrooms and Balsamic Cream Sauce

Ingredients

Coarse salt

1/2 pound orzo pasta

2 tablespoons EVOO

4 6 ounce boneless,skinless chicken  breast halves

Coarse black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

12 cremini mushrooms, sliced

12 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

12 white mushrooms, sliced

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the orzo. Cook until al dente.


Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add the EVOO. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.


Return the skillet to the heat, reduce the heat a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown, season with salt and pepper, then add the garlic, shallots, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes, or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook for 2 more minutes. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar, and cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes, or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the chicken back to the skillet to heat up with the parsley, about 1 minute,


To serve, pile the orzo on a dinner plate and top with the sliced chicken and the sauce.


serves 4






Sauteed Chicken With Mushrooms and Cream



Mushrooms



Balsamic Mushrooms

Big Beef Balls with Bucatini

I chose this recipe because Kevin's daughter was coming for dinner and she had told me she like spaghetti. I was excited to find something that I could cook that would not only make her happy, but also be from the 365 No Repeats. Unfortunately she didn't make it for dinner, but we liked what we had.


Sometimes the ingredients that Rachael puts in her recipes drive me crazy. I know she says that she lives in a small town and her store carries these things but my stores a lot of the time DON'T and that makes me nuts. I mean nuttier than I already am. The one in this recipe was the bucatini pasta. I had seen her use this pasta on 30 Minute Meals and thought it would be interesting however, I hadn't been able to find pappardelle pasta anywhere until just recently. I was determined to not be negative about the hunt for this elusive pasta and off I went into the drizzle to complete my quest.


As I began to scour the pasta isle of the store, I started getting more and more depressed thinking I was not going to be able to find a major part of this meal (I mean it is in the name of the recipe for God's sake!) I had to be able to find this pasta! Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a pasta that looked like spaghetti but much thicker. Ok I knew bucatini is this hollow spaghetti so I snatched up the bag like it was a pot of gold. Much to my dismay, when I turned the package over the pasta was called perciatelli. My smile fell and my frustration grew. I must have gone through every single type of pasta they had at the store, and was just about to give up and buy regular spaghetti and issue my apologies when a light bulb went off in my head. I grabbed my trusty iPhone and jumped on Google. I did a search for perciatelle pasta and the very first one said perciatelli a fun spaghetti like noodle with a tiny hole running through it YAY!!! DING DING DING I found it. After I did my little happy dance, and the lady down the isle looked at me like I shouldn't be drinking this early in the day. I purchased my little treasure and away we went, home to make a wonderful meal with this exciting new treat. I know it is crazy that I am this excited about pasta right? I need to get out more.


Now this recipe, #269, was a bit confusing for me to follow because it was a twist to a Master recipe. So it is like you are reading two recipes at once. Maybe it is just me, I don't know, but seemed confusing. Hopefully I can make it clear when I share it with you.


I did follow this recipe very closely. I think that the meatballs need another egg or less bread crumbs because mine had a hard time staying together. They also need to cook longer in the oven. I cooked mine for the exact amount of time the recipe said and they were not cooked all the way through. My answer to that was to place them in with the sauce and cover the pot so they could finish cooking that way. It didn't help the problem of them not staying in one piece, in fact it probably added to the problem, but they were nicely cooked and took on a lot of the sauce, which we all really liked.


I need to get some different plates, the plain white is getting boring for all of the pictures. Although it does make the food the focus, so we will see.

Big Beef Balls with Bucatini


Ingredients

• coarse salt
• 1 pound bucatini (thick hollow spaghetti)
• 1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground  beef
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs ( a couple of overflowing handfuls)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some to pass at the table
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• fresh black pepper
• 3 tablespoons EVOO, plus some for drizzling
• 1 small to medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, San Marzano variety if available
• 1/2 fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
• 1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
• 12 cremini (baby portabello) mushrooms caps, chopped
• 1/2 beef stock

Directions


Preheat the oven to 400. Heat a large pot of water to a boil.


Heat a deep skillet over medium heat. Cook onions in 1 tablespoon of the EVOO for 5 minutes. Remove the onions and set them aside to cool.  In a large bowl, mix the meat with half of the onions, 3 cloves of the chopped garlic, the egg, bread crumbs, cheese, allspice, capers, sage, a handful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a healthy drizzle of EVOO. Score the meat into 4 sections and make three very large balls from each section. Arrange the 12 balls on a nonstick cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes until firm, but not hard.


Add salt to the boiling water and drop the bucatini in, cook to al dente. Drain the pasta.


While the pasta and meatballs are cooking, heat another tablespoon of the EVOO in the skillet in which the onions were cooked. Add the pancetta and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the remaining garlic and the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Add the remaining onions back and deglaze the pan with the red wine, cook for 1 minute, add the beef stock, and whisk up any brown bits. Stir in the tomatoes and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining parsley. Simmer for 5 minutes.


Toss the pasta with half of the sauce. Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the remaining sauce, turning to coat. Serve 3 meatballs per person alongside the pasta. Spoon any remaining sauce over the pasta. Pass extra cheese at the table. Serve with a green salad.


Serves 4

Italian Style Garlic Shrimp, Or In Other Words YUMMMMM!

Please forgive me dear friends for missing Friday nights recipe. I would hang my head in shame however, I had an amazing date night with Kevin so I can't feel bad. Sometimes a girl just has to have fun. I will tell you that I had some fantastic scallops with a bacon onion sauce that I will figure out the recipe for if it kills me! For those of you that follow my other blog, Bobbi's Bitchin' Kitchen, it will be there soon I promise.


But back to the reason we are here. I picked up last night where we left off and made recipe #147 Italian Style Garlic Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes and Thin Spaghetti. I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I have really never cooked shrimp before. I have done all kinds of fish, clams, muscles, scallops, but for whatever reason I have never cooked shrimp. I knew that if you overcook it they are rubbery and awful, so I just was a bit worried. But this is a recipe that, if you follow the directions, you can't mess it up. It was great! My nerves gave way to a very hungry tummy as I was cooking.


I had a houseful last night. Kevin, Jessi, Seth, and Melissa were all here for dinner. Everyone gave this recipe their seal of approval, even Jessi, my pickiest eater. My Dad just doesn't like seafood so he was out of this one. All of us, except Jessi of course, thought the addition of some red pepper flakes would be fantastic in this. But as it stands it is still a terrific meal. You know we just like things a bit hot in this house.


I actually followed the recipe very closely, believe it or not. Like I said I was nervous so no going crazy for me this time. The only things I did were, used two pounds of shrimp instead of one. Which if you do make sure and double the lemon zest and juice. I also used grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes because I think they are sweeter. I think I have told you that I am not the biggest fan of tomatoes, at least raw tomatoes, but grape tomatoes are great.


So in my wrap up here I will say MAKE THIS RECIPE!! This was a master recipe too and the variations sound just as yummy, Spanish Style Garlic Shrimp, and Greek Style Garlic Shrimp......stay tuned for those, I know I am excited!


Oh, and I know that you are not supposed to use cheese with seafood, but I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on mine and it was fabulous!

Italian Style Garlic Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes and Thin Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 pound thin spaghetti
• 1 pound small shrimp, deveined and peeled, tails removed
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest plus the juice of 1/4 lemon
• 1/4 cup EVOO (4 times around the pan)
• salt
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 4 scallions
• 1/4 cup white vermouth or 1/3 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
• 2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 20 fresh basil leaves, torn or shredded
• course black pepper

Directions
Heat a large pot of water for the pasta, when the water boils, salt it and cook the pasta al dente.


Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Season the shrimp with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and a little salt. Add the EVOO to the the hot pan and then the shrimp. Cook for a minute, then add the garlic, tomatoes, and scallions and toss, cooking for another minute or two until the shrimp are firm and pink. Add the white vermouth and the herbs. Turn off the heat. Drain the pasta well and add to the sauce. Toss and combine the sauce with the pasta and season with salt and black pepper.


Serves 4 (very very hungry people)

Three is a Charm?

Hi gang, sorry I haven't posted! I know it has been three days. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle for me huh? No excuses, just put the laundry and house cleaning on the top of the list and didn't realize there was as much to do as there was! YIKES! Who's been making all of these messes?


Ok, now we have three recipes to go over. So look at it as a bonus right? Three is a lucky number!


Friday night was recipe #50 Big Thick Hearty Thighs. Only three of us ate that night, and I didn't get the report from Seth until the next day because he took it to work, he works nights, and ate it there. But when he does that I can always count on someone else from his work weighing in on how they liked the recipe. So far they are a nice crowd to feed!
Seth, as well as his boss, like this one. I felt I may have under salted it but for some reason my taster wasn't working very well and I just kept thinking it is missing something but couldn't put my finger on it. Usually I am Johnny on the spot when it comes to salt, and I salted and peppered the thighs liberally before I put them in the pan, plus salted again a bit later on. I just kept feeling like something was missing. But Kevin said he liked it and it makes a nice broth for sopping with some crusty warm french bread yummm can't go wrong with that right? I would suggest trying this recipe but just stay on top of the salt and see if that was my issue. 


Another nice thing about the recipe is it is inexpensive. So if you are like me, and don't have a lot of money to throw around for crazy recipes, this is a good one for you! I did add slightly more garlic than the recipe calls for. My family LOVES garlic, plus the cloves Rachael has on the show are always nice and big. Mine, well, not so much. I also added and extra tablespoon of thyme leaves.


Alas, I neglected my duties of taking a picture so the recipe will have to suffice. 


Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs


Ingredients
2 tablespoons EVOO
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt 
black pepper
1 small yellow onion
5 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves chopped
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 medium to small red  bliss potatoes, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves chopped


Directions
Preheat a large skillet or wide soup pot over medium high heat and add the EVOO. Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on both sides for about 3 minutes. Scoot the browned thighs to the edges of the pan, making some space in the center of the skillet. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently for 2 minutes.


Add the wine and the chicken stock, turn the heat up to high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the potatoes and stir everything together. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.


Remove lid and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add the peas, lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley, and cook for 1 more minute just to heat the peas through. Serve with crusty bread. 



Chicken Thigh

serves 4

Night Number 2

The next recipe is #7 Chipotle Mac-N-Cheddar. It is a twist on the Master Recipe #4 Mac-N-Cheddar with Broccoli.

Four out of the six people that I can be feeding any given night, enjoy spicy food. I expected this one to be a bit hot with the "C" word (chipotle) in the title. I am still remembering how hot the ribeyes were and a bit nervous about making things so spicy only a few of us can eat it. It is a fine tap dance I do but I try.

Actually this one was not hot at all. Just enough spice to make it warm and yummy, but not enough to burn your tongue off. Seth, Melissa, and Kevin all said it was great and would even suggest adding a bit more chorizo to the recipe. I had it but was afraid it would be too much. They said I could have even add an extra chipotle pepper. So if you want to warm it up a bit give that a try. I will say this recipe is a nice one for people looking for something other than *yawn* Mac-N-Cheese. I love most of Rachael's spins on Mac-N-Cheese and this was just another one to add to the list.

FYI a little hint for the chipotle peppers in adobo. This comes from Rachael so I can't claim it myself, once you open the can and use the peppers you need, place the remaining peppers and sauce in a snack or sandwich baggie and roll like a tube then pop in the freezer. The next time a recipe calls for chipotles in adobo BAM you drag it out of your freezer and grate a bit off with your cheese grater. Rachael says it is about 1 tablespoon per pepper.  

Again, I hang my head in shame, no picture for your viewing pleasure.

Smokey Chipotle Mac-N-Cheddar

Ingredients

• 1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, plus some for drizzling
• 3/4 pound chorizo, 1 package, casing removed and diced
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 chipotle in adobo and their juices, chopped or 1 tablespoon ground chipotle chili
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups shredded smoked Cheddar

Directions

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni. When it boils, salt water and cook pasta until a little under done, just shy of al dente.

While pasta cooks, place a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and chorizo. Brown the chorizo then add the canned tomatoes to the pan and heat them through. Remove from heat and reserve.

While chorizo begins to cook, heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, then add onions and chipotles and cook 3 to 5 minutes to sweat it out and turn the juices sweet. Raise heat up a bit, add the flour and whisk together until mixture bubbles up. Cook 1 minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat up a little more to bring the sauce to a quick boil. Once it bubbles, drop heat back to a rolling simmer sauce to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta. Add cooked pasta back to the large pot.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt, a minute or so. Stir in chorizo and tomatoes and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over cooked pasta in large pot and toss to combine. Transfer to a large serving platter, garnish with chives and serve.

serves 4

Chipotle Peppers



Macaroni and Cheese

Night Number 3

Now we are on to recipe #74 Turkey (or Chicken) Croquettes with Spinach Mashers and Pan Gravy. This recipe right off the bat reminded me of Thanksgiving. That is because I used to always make turkey croquettes from the left over turkey. I wish I had found this way to make them a long time ago! I made them with a rue and then you had to grind the turkey and let it all set in the fridge....blah blah blah. This was like a little Thanksgiving party in my mouth.

I would suggest chopping the veggies very fine. I did the "rustic" chop and that made them too big. I also felt 1 pound of spinach was too much so I grabbed a 5 ounce container and I will say that is as much as I would want in the potatoes. But that is the only negative thing I will say about this recipe. If you like "Turkey Day" make this one!!!

And YAY!! I have a picture!

• Turkey or Chicken Croquettes with Spinach Mashers and Pan Gravy

Ingredients

• 3 large starchy potatoes, peeled and cubed
• Coarse salt
• 1 package (about 1-1⁄3 pounds) ground turkey breast or ground chicken
• 2 celery ribs and their greens, finely chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (eyeball it in the palm of your hand)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (from 5 to 6 sprigs)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (a handful)
• Coarse black pepper
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups plain bread crumbs
• 1⁄4 cup vegetable oil (eyeball it)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2-1⁄2 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1⁄2 cup cream or half-and-half
• 1 pound triple-washed baby spinach leaves
• Prepared whole-berry cranberry sauce, to pass at the table

Preparation

Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Put a lid on the pot and bring the water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. While the potatoes cook, make the croquettes. Place the turkey or chicken in a bowl. Add the celery, onions, poultry seasoning, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and egg yolk. Combine and form 8 patties. Coat both sides of the patties in the bread crumbs. Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the croquettes to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Reduce the heat under the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet and melt, then whisk in the flour. Cook the roux for a minute or two. Whisk in 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a bubble. Thicken for a minute or so and turn off the heat. Season the sauce with a little salt and pepper.

Drain the cooked potatoes and return to the hot pot. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken stock, and the cream. Mash and season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Fold in the spinach leaves until they wilt into the potatoes.

To serve, pile the spinach mashers on plates and top each portion with 2 croquettes and a spoonful of gravy. Pass the cranberry sauce at the table.

serves 4

I will update the menu page and then can't wait to report to you on all the great stuff coming up this week!

Chicken Croquettes



Mashed Potatoes



Spinach