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

Turkey Saltimbocca Roll-Ups, Mushroom and White Bean Ragout, and Spinach with Pancetta and Onions

WOW!! That is a mouthful! When I first read recipe #18 I had to check the front of the book to make sure that I was reading the right one. This just seemed like a very difficult, loooooooooong recipe. Don't get me wrong, it sounded awesome, but it just looked very difficult. True it does seem to be the most complex Rachael recipe I have done of so far. But the work sure pays off in the end. Plus I have the world's greatest sous chef/boyfriend (thank Goodness!!).

Like I said, this is a long recipe, so don't let the length of it, or amount of pans you will have going at once, scare you off. I was really quite proud of myself once I got it going. My nerves gave way and then I was just downright excited to get it done and in my belly!

Kevin and I prepped everything before hand, so I really didn't cook the "Rachael way" for this one. I just figured if all of the prep work was done BEFORE I started cooking I would be less stressed out about getting everything in the right pan at the right time.

Again a recipe that called for turkey cutlets, and again not a turkey cutlet to be found in the whole town. Luckily for me the store had some HUGE chicken  breasts on sale. I needed 12 cutlets, so I grabbed 3 of the gigantic breasts and tracked down my friendly butcher to get them sliced into 4 cutlets each.

Once I got them home it was really easy to pound them out for the roll-ups. I will admit that I doubled up on the prosciutto for each roll-ups. I just like that saltiness it adds and since there is no cheese I figured a little more wouldn't hurt. I have a huge sage plant in my backyard, so I was able to get some nice large sage leaves to put into the roll-ups. I really wanted to make sure there was a bit of sage in each bite and sometimes the sage leaves in the store bought packages can be a bit wimpy.

After we got all of the roll-ups completed and seasoned we set them aside so we could get everything else prepped. That really didn't take very long, not as long as I thought it would after looking at the recipe, so we were in business and ready to rock and roll. We followed the timing on the recipe pretty close so everything came out yummy and warm ready to be eaten at the same time, which was my big fear. The only thing I did different was to leave the ragout over low heat while I finished the roll-ups and cooked the spinach.

Everyone LOVED this one. It was not only tasty but the roll-ups were really pretty. The cutlets were juicy and the gravy was soooo tummy. I am surprised however that anyone else got any of the mushroom and white bean ragout because I was nibbling away at it while it cooked. One of the perks about being the chef!

So with all of the votes in I really think this is one you should give a try. It is a nice meal to make when you have a couple friends over. One that will make them think you are so fancy and slaved away cooking, but it is our secret that you didn't.

see how pretty they look

my fave white wine vinegar

Turkey (Chicken) Saltimbocca Roll-Ups, Mushroom and White Bean Ragout, and Spinach with Pancetta and Onions.

Ingredients

12 turkey (chicken) cutlets

6 slices of prosciutto de Parma, cut in half

12 whole fresh sage leaves plus 2 tablespoons chopped sage

4 tablespoons EVOO plus more for drizzling

salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 15 ounce can cannellini beans

2 tablespoons wine vinegar, white or red

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 dry white wine (eyeball it)

1/8 pound (3 slices) pancetta, chopped

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 pound triple washed spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped ( I used baby spinach)

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg, (eyeball it)

Using a meat mallet or heavy, small skillet, ound the turkey between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap to 1/8 inch thickness. Top each turkey cutlet with a half slice of prosciutto and a whole sage leaf. Roll up the cutlets and drizle them with EVOO, then season with salt and pepper, and poultry seasoning. Heat a large non stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the EVOO, once around the pan. Arrange the roll-ups seam side down and cook for 6 minutes, then turn and cook for 6  minutes more.

While the turkey cooks, make the mushroom and white bean ragout. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO, twice around the pan, then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes to deepen the color. Stir in the beans and season up the mixture with salt and pepper. When the beans heat through, in a minute or two, add the vinegar and stor, then add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Turn off heat.

After the turkey roll-ups have cooked on both sides, transfer toa platter and reserve. Add the butter to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium low. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Whisk in the wine and cook it for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 cups chicken stock to make the gravy. Add the remaining chopped sage, then season with salt and pepper. Slide the roll-ups back into the gravy and simmer over low heat until ready to serve.

For the spinach, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of EVOO, once around the pan, then the chopped pancetta. Brown the pancetta for 1 minute, then add the onions and cook together for 5 minutes, or until they are just tender and the pancetta bits are crisp. Add the spinach to the pan and turn to wilt it while combining with the onions. Season spinach with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Serve 3 roll-ups in gravy with a portion of the ragout and the spinach alongside.

Serve 4

Chicken Francese and Wilted Spinach

I was really excited about trying this recipe. I loved the ingredients, and there aren't that many. I love cooking fresh spinach, I can't stand that stuff in the can, and the frozen kind is only good for putting into recipes with other ingredients in my opinion. 


So I got into the kitchen with Kevin and went straight to work. Well, Kevin went straight to work actually. Since he has become my sous chef I don't do much prep work. Something I think I have been taking for granted a bit. He has been sick for the last three days so I have been on my own to cook. I realized how much help he is and how much I love being in the kitchen with him.


With all the prep done we got down to the business of cooking which ended up becoming a problem. The recipe calls for you to add a crushed clove of garlic to the pan as the oil and butter heats up. I realize after the fact that it was just to "perfume" the oil and butter with garlic, but the recipe wasn't clear on that fact. It never calls for you to remove the garlic from the pan. The little voice inside my head told me to remove the garlic, but I of course ignored that smart little voice and left the garlic in as I cooked the chicken.


The chicken cooked beautifully. This recipe calls for chicken cutlets and you know by my previous posts that I like using cutlets a lot. They were a perfect golden brown and we couldn't wait to eat them. I liked the fact that you only use a light coating of flour. The chicken wasn't heavily breaded, just that nice little crispy.


After the chicken was done the recipe called for the addition of wine and a few other ingredients to the pan the chicken was cooked in to create a sauce for the chicken. I added everything it called for but when I went to taste it all I could taste was burnt garlic. UGH! Thank goodness the flavor didn't taint the chicken, but the sauce was tragically unable to be salvaged. Now I am in a spot. Chicken is cooked perfectly and ready for a sauce but there was no sauce to use. I quickly washed the pan out to get rid of that awful burnt taste and threw together a sauce of my own. I used butter and garlic (unburnt this time), added some flour to the mix to make a quick roux. To that I added white wine, chicken stock, salt and pepper and threw in some parsley at the end. It came out great THANK GOD!! The meal is saved!


I quickly wilted the spinach and called everyone to get their food. I was very nervous to see what they would think of my on the fly sauce. I began to here mmmm's so I knew I had gotten away with it. Woohooo yay me!


So this was a growing experience for me. I used to stress out over making sure everything was perfect and there was a day when I would have thrown my hands up in the air and had no idea what to do after the mishap. But now I am able to think clearly and shoot from the hip if I have too. It felt really good. I guess I really turned this recipe into one of my own by changing the sauce so drastically. That is a nice feeling too. If anyone makes this one could you please let me know how your sauce turns out. And for goodness sake don't forget to remove the garlic before you cook the chicken!


This is recipe #84

Chicken Francese and Wilted Spinach

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cutlets

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (half a palmful)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (eyeball it)

2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

a splash of milk or half and half

4 tablespoons EVOO

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves, 1 crushed, 2 chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine (a couple of glugs)

a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

1 pound triple washed spinach, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg (eyeball it)

Preheat a large nonstick over medium to medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Dredge the chicken in flour. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolk with milk or half and half and season with salt. Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO to the skillet. Then add 2 tablespoons of the butter cut into small pieces. When the butter melts into the oil, add the crushed clove of garlic to the skillet. Wen the garlic speaks by sizzling in the oil, coat the chicken in the egg mixture, then add to the hot pan (remember to take the garlic out of the pan before you do this).Cook the chicken on both sides until just golden, 6 to 7 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent loosely with foil to retain the heat. Add the wine to the pan and deglaze by whisking up the drippings. Reduce the wine for 1 minute, then add the remaining tablespoon of butter and parsley to the pan. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Return the skillet to the heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO, then add the chopped garlic and let it come to a sizzle. Wilt the spinach, turning it to coat in the EVOO, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Serve the spinach alongside the chicken francese. Pass crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

  

Chicken Francese



Wilted Spinach

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

Switching Things Up In A Curry

Hello my fellow foodies! Hope this afternoon is treating you well. If you can tell I am in a wonderful mood! The sun is shining here in my little corner of Washington, and there isn't a rain cloud in sight. Oh happy day!!


OK, back on track, last night's recipe. Well last night was supposed to be recipe #57 Turkey Cutlet Parmigiano with Warm, Fresh Grape Tomato Topping, Pesto, and Mozzarella. Sounds yummy no? Well, we still don't know since Miss Forgetful over here forgot one of the ingredients for the recipe. Well actually I drank it. It called for white wine and I, not realizing I needed it for last nights recipe, drank the last glass of it a few nights ago. I guess that will teach me to pay attention right?


So here I am, in a bit of a panic, it is time to start cooking and I have no idea what I am going to make. My son Seth was here and his answer of course was to order pizza, ummm no. It was hard to explain to him that I am cooking every night so I can share the experience and information here on my blog. He just thinks I am crazy.


Now I grab my calendar and see what the next recipe is. OK, recipe #147 Italian Style Garlic Shrimp with Cherry Tomatoes and Thin Spaghetti. Sounds awesome......dang it....the shrimp are frozen....UGH....NEXT? Saturdays recipe, #40 Mostly Green Curry Chicken over Coconut Jasmine Rice. Do I have everything I need for it? BINGO gang we have a winner!! 


This was a wonderful finish to a crazy chaotic start. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one. I have only cooked with coconut milk once before, a parchment wrapped chicken with veggies in coconut milk, and it just didn't do anything for me. But I jumped in feet first to get this one done, determined it was going to be good. WOW was I right! Not only was it good, it was fantastic! Kevin ate all of his bowl and finished mine, and Seth had quite a bit as well. I sent some home with him for Melissa because we both said it was one she would love.


I stayed close to the recipe on this one. I switched a yellow bell pepper for the green one, but hey the recipe said "mostly" green right? I used a large jalapeño pepper and finely chopped it. I am not sure if it was a typo or the step was just omitted for some reason, but it only says to cut it in half and seed it. Possibly I was supposed to use it in the cooking and then remove it before serving, but it didn't say that either so I made a judgement call. You know most of us here like things spicy so I was more than happy to have that jalapeño in there. 


I also added 1/2 cup cilantro instead of the 1/4 cup it called for. That was just because, well, I love, love, love cilantro so I couldn't help myself. With the scallions, I sliced about 5 or 6 because I used the green tops in place of the chives for the Aussie Meat Pie recipe. I like onions, so it worked well.


Last but certainly not least, the hot sauce. To me curry needs to have a bit of a bite. I don't mean it needs to bite your head of, but a little nibble at least is needed. The recipe says to use Tabasco to taste but, like I said in Aussie Meat Pie posting, I use Franks Red Hot or Sriracha. I used the Franks this time and a good amount. Probably about 10 to 12 shakes of the bottle. I made sure and salted well too. 


End result......total YUMMINESS!!! Kevin said this is definitely a keeper and I 100% agree. The picture isn't the prettiest but trust me the taste is GREAT!

Oh oops I also doubled the rice part of the recipe, we like starch in this family! I think it was a good idea and you will still have enough coconut milk.

Mostly Green Curry Chicken over Coconut Jasmine Rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 13 1/2 ounce can coconut milk
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 4 6 to 8 ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped into bite sized pieces.
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small jalapeño, cut in half and seeded
•  3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• zest and juice of one lime
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves (a handful), chopped
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves (a couple of handfuls), chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• hot sauce, such as (I say Franks Red Hot) Tobasco, to taste

 Directions
In a sauce pot combine 1 cup of chicken stock, 1/4 cup of the coconut milk, and the jasmine rice. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 to 18 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep the rice covered until ready to serve.


While coconut jasmine rice is cooking, preheat a large non-stick skillet over high heat with about 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, spreading them evenly across the the pan, and brown chicken on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the browned chicken to a plate and reserve. Add the last tablespoon of the vegetable oil to the pan. Add the green bell peppers, onions, garlic, jalapeño, ginger, and broccoli florets. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the veggies start to wilt. To the skillet add the remaining coconut milk and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the skillet, and return it to a simmer for about 2 more minutes. add the lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, scallions, parsley, and frozen peas. Stir to thoroughly combine. Simmer a minute more to heat the peas, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Add some hot sauce if you like heat. Serve over coconut jasmine rice.


Serves 4

Curry Chicken

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