No Time to Cook Dinner: Pasta Abruzzesi

My first video! Thank you to Cousin Tony Pinto & his site NoTimeToCookDinner. Check out the video & visit his site. Lots of fun food stuff going on over there! It's like facebook for foodies! Or in another word, HEAVEN!

Deja Vu: Day 2 of 3 (Simple Lemon Chicken)

We're two days into a 3 day flatten your chicken run. This wasn't intentional. I had planned to make last night's meal ahead of time, and today I was craving citrus so I decided to make Lemon Chicken. Then, in planning for dinner guests tomorrow, I was looking for a way to make Gardein for a Vegan guest. So tomorrow it will be Chicken Marsala. Stay tuned for that experiment.

This recipe is my simple version of Chicken Picatta. It really isn't Picatta, since there are no capers, but it hits the spot & it's EASY!

Simple Lemon Chicken

• 3-4 Chicken Breasts
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp Butter
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup white wine (optional)
• 1 cup broth or stock
• Juice of one lemon
  

You're going to follow the first couple steps from yesterday's post. Flatten the chicken, dredge it in flour/salt/pepper mixture. I'm not reposting the same pictures, but I will show you that even a 3 year old can do this. This is becoming B's go to kitchen task. (Save the flour! You'll need it again.)



Melt 1/2 tbsp of butter & 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a pan with the garlic on med-high heat. Cook the chicken about 2 minutes on each side, just enough to cook the outside & give it a little color. Remove from pan.

In the same pan, melt the remaining 2 1/2 tbsp of butter & 1/2 tbsp of olive oil. Add broth (or stock), wine (you can omit this, just add extra broth), & lemon juice. Add about 1 tsp (more if needed) of the flour mixture. This will help to thicken the sauce as you bring it to a boil. Stir to make sure the flour is evenly distributed. A whisk works well here. Return the Chicken to the pan & turn heat down to medium. Cook through & until the sauce is thickened & reduced to about half of it's original volume (about 5 minutes).



I served with a Green Salad & Parkerhouse rolls.


Bottom Line
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Make ahead: none, needs to be cooked right before serving
Cooking time: 10 mins
Servings: 4 (easily adjustable by adding more chicken)

Chicken Margherita

(I finally have pictures!! Woot Woot!!)

As the spelling suggests (margherita vs. margarita), this recipe is inspired by Margherita Pizza. Well, that & a Prego advertisement. Whatevs.

So, I saw this idea in a stupid ad, but I have changed it completely. First to go? Prego. This is super easy, crowd pleasing & quick. Oh, and yummy! That's important too.

Chicken Margherita

• 3-4 Chicken Breast halves
  
• 1/2 cup flour (I use unbleached, white whole wheat)
• 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp butter
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup Marina (I used TJs Organic Marinara, but just use your favorite)
• Whole Basil leaves (about 6)
• 3/4 cup shredded Cheese (I used TJ Quattro Formagio, but Mozzarella would work fine)
• 1 med Tomato, sliced into thin rounds
• 2 tbsp Grated Parmesan or Romano (optional)

On a cutting board place a large piece of plastic wrap. Place a chicken breast in the middle & fold the plastic wrap over the top. Using a mallet pound the chicken until it is thinned out. Start from the inside of the breast, working out & flip over to pound the other side. If you don't have a mallet, you can use the bottom of a wine bottle or a rolling pin. Repeat with all the chicken.



In a pie plate combine flour, salt & pepper. Lightly coat each breast with the mixture and set aside.


In a large pan, (if you have one that goes from the stove to the oven, you can eliminate dishes, otherwise, you need to transfer to an oven safe dish after this next step), melt butter & olive oil together over med-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan & cook for about 2 minutes on each side. You are only looking to cook the outside & to get a little color on it. Don't worry about cooking it through. Take out of pan & set aside. Remove pan from heat.


At this point, if you are going to use a different pan for the oven, you want to make the switch now. Place the sauce in the pan & place the chicken on top.

Place the basil leaves on top of the chicken, using two leaves on the bigger pieces. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top & then finish with the slices of tomato. Place the whole pan into a preheated 350 degree oven.


Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted & bubbly. Take it out & sprinkle with Parmesan. Place under the broiler (on low) for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is a little brown.



I served it with Gnocchi, tossed with butter & Parmesan, and grilled eggplant & zucchini (courtesy of TJs).

The finished meal:



Bottom Line
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Make ahead: You make everything up until the point that it goes into the oven, up to the morning of. You'll have to adjust the baking time a bit (I would add 10 mins), to account for the chilled dish.
Cooking time: 20 mins
Servings: 4 (easily adjustable by adding more chicken)

Waste Not, Want Not (Tasty Sauteed Beet Greens)

Last week I picked up some fresh beets at the Farmers Market. For those of you that don't think you like beets, you have to try (just one bite, like I tell the little one) oven roasting fresh beets. They are completely different than those canned things you skip at the salad bar. They are sweet & earthy & delicious. I roasted mine with other veggies (mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, carrots & garlic), in a little olive oil, some red wine & salt & pepper. They take about an hour. I chilled them & added them to some field green mix & goat cheese for a yummy salad on pizza night.

I had this bunch of beet tops left that I didn't feel right tossing, so I but them back in the fridge & decided to tackle them later. Friday I took them out & sauteed them based on a few recipes that I saw online. They were AMAZING! Even John loved them, and he hates veggies! This week I got lucky when I picked up another bunch of beets & someone had foolishly asked the vendor to dispose of their beet tops. He threw then in my bag for free, so now I have even more to enjoy. They cook down quite a bit (think spinach), so you need way more than you would think to get a decent portion.

Sauteed Beet Greens
1 bunch (from aprox 4-5 large beets) of Beet Tops, washed, trimmed & dried
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves of minced Garlic
Dash of salt (or to taste)
Dash of Pepper (or to taste)
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp of Brown Sugar

Heat oil & garlic in a pan over med-high heat. Add greens, salt/pepper & vinegar. Saute until wilted, but still retaining some bite (about 5 minutes). Add sugar & stir. Remove from heat & serve while warm.


Bottom Line
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Make ahead: none, needs to be cooked right before serving
Cooking time: 5-10 mins
Servings: 3-4 if using one bunch of beets

Orange Confit. You ask why? I ask why not?

This recipe is really prep for a larger recipe that I will be making for dinner tonight (Burnt Brown Sugar & Orange Confit Pork Loin). I am filing both of these recipes under "fancy pants". I like to make at least one adventurous, more elaborate meal each week. This happens to be one that the hubby LOVES and so it has found itself onto our regular rotation. Really this part of the recipe, the Orange Confit, is the most labor intensive part of the whole thing. And luckily you don't have to make it every time, as it makes tons more than you need & it lasts for several weeks in the fridge. I am giving the Confit it's own post, as it really stands on it's own. Even if you don't eat pork, it is great to cook with other meats. Especially the oil that it is stored in. It makes great oil to cook in or to use for salad dressings, using it will be useful for you vegetarians as well.

This recipe is adapted from one I found in "The Week". It takes a bit of time, but it is not difficult from a skills perspective.

Orange Confit

• 6 oranges
• 4-6 bay leaves, depending on size
• palm full of whole peppercorns (about 20)
  
• About 2 1/4 cups of olive oil
• 3/4 white wine (anything that isn't too sweet, like a dessert wine)
• 1 tsp salt

Cut oranges in half & juice. You don't need the juice for the recipe, so you can set it aside. I like to start this recipe in the morning & the 6 oranges make a perfect sized cup of OJ for breakfast. Place oranges, cut side up, in a large saucepan. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, wine & 3 tbsp of oil. Add enough water to fully cover the oranges. The oranges will float, so just make sure that there is enough water to submerge them when you press them down; we'll deal with their submersion later.

Bring it to a rapid boil & then turn down to a full simmer. Once the liquid is no longer boiling, you want to make sure the oranges are submerged. I use a shallow soup bowl & just but it right on top, inside the pan. You could use a small plate, as long as it sits on top of the oranges to ensure that they are completely submerged. From this point, you will simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the orange skin is tender. Remove from heat & let cool in the liquid (this will take several hours, but it is important to help get the oranges sufficiently tender). At this point you have discovered one of the best parts of this recipe. YOUR HOUSE WILL SMELL AMAZING! And it will last for hours!

Once the oranges are completely cooled, remove them from the liquid & cut into about 1 inch strips. Using a paring knife, remove the fruit & discard; you will be left with just the skin & a bit of the pith (white part). The end product will be just the orange skin with no white pith remaining. In order to do this, use a sharp paring knife to remove the pith. The best way I have found to do this is to hold the knife as close to parallel to the cutting board as possible. The last tiny bit can be removed by scraping the knife lightly across the skin.

Place all of the prepared skins in an air tight container (I use mason jars). You don't want to pack them down, just to place them loosely in the jar (use more than one jar if needed). Pour olive oil over the skins until fully covered, making sure all air pockets are filled. Refrigerate until needed. THE OIL IS AMAZING!!!!

Bottom Line
Prep Time: 1 hour (when you add in the pith removing after cooking)
Make ahead: You can make this as far ahead as you want, it keeps for several weeks in the fridge
Cooking time: 30 mins
Servings: n/a

Lazy Mom Lasagna

I have a feeling that once this blog really gets rolling people are going to think I'm a bit schizophrenic. Case in point, tonight's post vs. an upcoming post on how to make Orange Confit for a Burnt Brown Sugar & Orange Confit Pork Loin.

But even though I consider myself a foodie & love to make an elaborate meal, I am also a mom & wife with a hectic schedule. That means a bit of easy. But I promise, easy or elaborate, it will always be yummy.

So, here's the basic recipe, but read on to see how you can make it your own.

Lazy Mom Lasagna

• 2 pkgs of fresh Ravioli (aprox 10 oz each)
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (24-26 oz)
• 1 bag of frozen spinach, thawed (10-12 oz)
• 2 cups (or more) shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9x13 casserole pan, spread a 1/3 of the sauce to make an even layer. Place one layer of slightly overlapping ravioli over the sauce. Make sure the layer fully covers the sauce. Place spinach in a strainer & press on it to remove as much water as possible. Spread spinach over the ravioli. Spread another 1/3 of the sauce over the spinach. Cover this layer with 1 cup of cheese. Lay down another even layer of ravioli, then the final 1/3 of sauce & final cup of cheese. Cover & bake for 30 minutes. Uncover & continue baking until cheese is melted & bubbly, aprox 10 minutes. Let rest about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Ok, so my notes & variations:

I use an 8x8 pan and a little less of each ingredient, just due to my small family. For the ravioli, I use TJs (I know, you're shocked), but any grocery store has a section of fresh ravioli (meaning, not hard & dry, and in a refrigerated section). As far as kinds, you need to use at least on layer of cheese ravioli (TJs has a 4 cheese variety). This is is your "ricotta layer" in a normal lasagna. But for the other layer, I change it up. Tonight I used a Chicken Sausage Ravioli, but I have used a mushroom one also, or even just all cheese. A great vegetarian version is to use all cheese (sorry Vegans!), and add Ives Ground Beef Substitute in the "in between" layer. I have done this before & my meat eaters had no idea.

As for the spinach, I know not everyone (or their kids) is a fan. Get whatever veggie you like in there! Lasagna is a great way to get veggies in a sneaky way. Zucchini or broccoli would be great, but use your imagination. You can also get veggies in with your sauce choice. I never seem to buy the same one & I don't really have a preference. Tonight I used the leftover pizza sauce from pizza night. I also added some leftover pesto sauce under the final layer of cheese tonight. It was delish!

For the cheese, I use the Quattro Formagio shredded blend from TJs. Any Italian cheese blend would work, or even just shredded mozzarella.

Just get creative! This is such an easy & yummy meal, you can't screw it up! I served it tonight with a green salad & some garlic bread (put it in when you take out the lasagna & it is ready when the lasagna is!).

Bottom Line
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Make ahead: You can assemble as early as the morning of, but it might take a bit more cooking time since it will be chilled.
Cooking time: 40 mins
Servings: At least 6

Sometimes doing things halfway is fine (Stock vs. Broth)

What's the difference between stock & broth? Here's some info I found here.

Stock: A strained liquid that results from simmering meats, fish, herbs, and vegetables in water. It is usually made by browning bones, vegetables and other ingredients before they're cooked in the liquid for hours. Used as a basis for soups or sauces.

Broth: A flavorful, aromatic liquid made by simmering water or stock with meat or vegetables.

Generally speaking, stock has a heartier, richer flavor. This is mostly due to the bones used (broth is made with meat only and no bones). In most recipes the two can be interchanged with similar results. Fine chefs might tell you different, but for regular home cooking, the dish will be fine. However, note that broth may end up saltier than stock, so you may need to adjust your recipe accordingly

Looks wise, broth tends to be lighter in color (and flavor) and generally clear. Stock is darker & usually cloudy looking. Taste wise, Stock is richer & more flavorful. As noted above, there is a difference in the way each are made. In my opinion, you would never make your own broth. There are perfectly acceptable choices at any store. Stock on the other hand is a great thing to make. If you find yourself using broth often, it can be worth the time investment to make it occasionally to have on hand. It freezes well, so you can store it in several containers & defrost the amount you need. It isn't hard to make, but it is definitely a time commitment. Lots of chopping & hours of simmering. Some day maybe I'll do a post on making a "real" stock. But today is not the day.

I wanted to share my "halfway" stock with you today. It is really something in between the two. I made some tonight. I'll give you a list of ingredients that I used, but you can fudge your way through with different measurements. As long as you have broth & a chicken (or Turkey) with bones & a little meat left on it, you can make this.

Halfway Stock
Roasted Chicken or Turkey Carcass with some meat remaining
Broth (Preferably Chicken, but Veggie broth will work in a pinch)
water
herbs/seasonings
salt & pepper

As noted in yesterday's post, I bought a rotisserie chicken from the Grocery store on Sunday to use for our pizza bar. We had used a little more than half the white meat, and most of the dark meat was untouched. I put the chicken in large pot & covered it with some broth (about 3-4 cups) & water, about 16 cups of liquid total. I added a couple cloves of garlic (just removed the skin & crushed with my knife to get the flavor going), a few bay leaves, a few tsps of poultry seasoning & a couple sprigs of thyme. I had all this stuff on hand, but really you could get away with just salt & pepper (which I added as well), but you would probably want to up the broth & use less water. I bring the whole thing to a boil & then down to a rolling simmer for about an hour. Once the meat has all fallen of the bones & the bones start to disconnect from each other, it's time to drain. You can use a fine mesh strainer, but if you don't have one, use a normal strainer to get the big "chunks" out & then pass it through again with a paper towel in the bottom of the strainer. Put the liquid back in the pot & let it simmer again for several hours. This sounds like a lot of work, but it is REALLY low maintenance. It doesn't need stirring or fussing with. A great thing to make during a day at home cleaning or hanging with the kids.

Taste it occasionally & season with more salt & pepper as needed. Just remember, during the simmering process you are removing the water & concentrating the flavor, so it will be saltier in the end than it is in the beginning, even if you add no more salt. To be safe, you can wait until the end to adjust the seasoning. The last step is to let it cool a bit on the stove & wait for the "gunk" to come to the top. Mostly fat that you don't need. Use a ladle or large spoon to skim the top layer & toss it out. Let it come to room temp before refrigerating or freezing. You can freeze it for about 3 months, and it will stay good in the fridge for about a week.

Tonight I used it in Risotto & it was DELISH!!!! Happy Stocking!

Bottom Line
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Make ahead: The whole recipe is make ahead! Make it when you have the time. Use it whenever you need it!
Cooking time: 2-3 hours
Servings: n/a

Trader Joe's Saves the Day

It's no secret that I heart myself some TJs. Not only can you find delish food, but also great time saving, prepared meals that are made to my standard of "real" food.

On Sunday we had some friends for dinner. They have a 4 year old & of course we have a 3 year old. What do you serve to 4 adults & 2 little ones & please everyone at the same time? PIZZA!!! But not just any pizza. Individual, made to order pizzas. This also supports one of my ideas about kids & food. I've found that the more that you can get them involved in the process, the more likely they are to venture into new areas of eating. For example, B has been weird about pizza lately. He insists on taking the toppings & cheese off & eating the bread & sauce only. But when faced with a counter of toppings he picked Bruschetta, shredded cheese, goat cheese crumbles, and pepperoni. AND HE ATE IT!!!!

So here's what we had for our pizza bar.

Sauces

• Pesto (TJs)
• Bruschetta (TJs)
• BBQ Sauce (Bold & Smokey...from TJs)
• Pizza Sauce (TJs)

Cheeses

• Grated Parmesean/Romano Blend (TJs)
• Quattro Formagio (Italian 4 cheese blend....TJs)
• Smoked Gouda, that I grated (TJs)
• Goat Cheese Crumbles (TJs)

Toppings

• Pepperoni (TJs)
• Shredded Rotisserie Chicken (Grocery Store...TJs was out!)
• Sliced Red Onions (TJs)
  
• Cilantro (TJs)
• Chopped Basil (TJs)

We used the plain pizza dough from TJs. Each bag makes about 3 individual pizzas, or 2 decent sized pizzas to share. They have a wheat dough & a garlic herb dough as well. You can find them in the deli section. You bake them at 425 for about 10-12 minutes, but you'll want to check on them every few minutes.

Everyone made their own pizzas (I made BBQ Chicken) & we had some great combos. We all shared, so everyone got a taste of everything. For sides the kids had peas (frozen) & apple sauce. The adults had a salad of roasted veggies that I had made earlier in the day. And that is a story for another day!

Try the pizza party with friends or your just family. I promise you that you'll have fun. Just remember to wash your hands!

Bottom Line
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Make ahead: Prep toppings early in the day
Cooking time: 15 mins
Servings: up to you!

Breakfast, Resolutions & Rationalization....Off to a great start! (French Toast Casserole)

My New Years resolution was to get this damn blog started already. The best part about that is that I can make french toast casserole instead of some healthy steamed egg white concoction. Because, really, you can't have 2 resolutions. It's the rule. I promise.

I won't post a ton of breakfast recipes. It's kind of wasted cooking time for those of you just trying to start making dinner most nights. And really, we are a cereal, eggs & toast, and if you're lucky, pancakes kind of family. But this takes 10 mins to prep, & you can do most of it the night before.

The story behind this recipe is that we had guests for dinner last night & had half a baguette & some cream cheese leftover from appetizers we made. And since the man of the house is not a fan of "crusty" bread (who is this person?), I thought I should find something to do with it. A quick google search & WAH-LA! This is a great illustration of how I cook. I found a recipe here, from the fabulous Paula Deen, and reworked it to fit the ingredients I had on hand & the size of our family. Hers might be better, feel free to try it! If you are missing one or more of the ingredients, feel free to leave a comment & I'll try to offer some suggestions. Best part of using Paula for inspiration? You get to feel good about the fact that yours is WAY lighter than hers, even if it is nowhere in the vicinity of light! I'm all about the the rationalization.

French Toast Casserole

• 1/2 loaf French bread (thin baguette style)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk (I used 1%)
• 4 oz cream cheese (I used half the tub of the whipped light cream cheese from TJs)
  
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/8 each of nutmeg & cinnamon)
  
• Dash salt
• Butter for pan
  
• Streusel Topping , recipe follows

Slice bread into 1 inch slices, place in buttered casserole dish (I used an 8 inch square pan). You should have one layer with a little overlap of slices. In a bowl combine, eggs, milk, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, spices & salt. Whisk until combined, but not frothy. Pour over bread making sure that every piece is saturated. Cover & leave in fridge over night. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press the bread down into the milk mixture to make sure that it has soaked up as much as possible. Make & spread streusel mixture on top & drizzle with with melted butter. Place in oven & bake for 45-50 minutes. There should be no liquid egg mixture left in the pan. You can serve with your favorite syrup, but really it's great without it!

***Quick note about Pumpkin Pie Spice. I use it in place of cinnamon &/or nutmeg in a lot of recipes. It has other yummy stuff in it (ginger, cardamon, lemon, etc) & it's easier than measuring multiple spices. Most of the time you can use cinn & nutmeg instead.***

Streusel Topping

• 4 tbsp butter (room temp)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp each nutmeg & cinnamon)
  
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Combine all ingredients, EXCEPT melted butter, in a bowl. Use a fork to mash everything together into a crumbly texture. After spreading on top of casserole, drizzle with melted butter.

Bottom Line:
Prep time: 10 mins
Make ahead: night before
Cooking time: 45 mins
Servings: 4-5 (more if serving to little ones)

Damn New Years Resolutions

I have firmly resolved not to make New Years Resolutions. Months ago I promised a nagging friend (uh-um Adeana) that I would get this thing off the ground. It didn't happen. Then I promised after the holidays & our move that I would REALLY do it this time. So I guess it has turned into a resolution. Oh well.

One thing I know about myself is that I try to have everything perfect & outlined & planned out before I do anything. Guess what happens? I never end up doing it. So I guess the resolution this year is to just START! It's not going to be pretty, it's not going to be perfect. But it will be here.

Did I forget to mention what this thing is? Damn. Guess I should have had an outline. Bygones.

It's a food blog. Sort of. It's also sort of a mommy blog & sort of a way to connect with all my friends & family that are spread out all over the place. Did I mention that I don't have a plan. Um, yeah.

I am not promising much of anything. I will cook what I cook, look for new ideas, try to teach a few tips that help me, and try to introduce some new foods. I can't promise healthy, fast, kid friendly or time saving all of the time, but I'm sure they will all make appearances.

I love to cook. And I really love to cook for my family. I also love the feeling of sitting down nightly with said family, over a home cooked meal, sharing the days events (usually something about Aztec sports as luck would have it). I like "real" food. Fresh veggies, grilled meats, yummy baked goods. Things that fill our stomachs & hearts and add some nutritional value to our bodies. But I'm not a slave to rules either. I don't count calories & I think that "real" should rule over fat grams. So, I cook with butter & olive oil, and I try to balance that with nutrients, taste & balanced meals. I'd like to cook more vegetarian meals & less meat, more local & less processed foods. But I use frozen veggies & prepared meals to save time & sanity. Not always, but it happens.

I find a lot of recipes online, in books & in magazines. Sometimes I follow them to a tee, but mostly I tweak them to work for my family & my pantry. I'll site any recipe I "steal" from elsewhere or any combination I used for inspiration.

One last note. I do the majority of my shopping at Trader Joe's, so you can expect some of their specific items to show up here. I'll try my best to suggest substitutions for those of you unfortunate enough to not have one in your area. For those of you that do, and just choose not to shop there...well, you're just dumb. =)

Take what you want, ignore what you don't & send me ideas, questions & comments! I promise make this a collaborative effort.