Great for bringing to picnics or just for a light summer dinner, this pasta salad is a simple one-pot meal.
Mats:
1 lb shrimp - the smaller the better
4 carrots
4 stalks celery
3 tomatoes
2c leafy green. So far, I've used baby spinach, kale and bok choy. Mustard greens, swiss chard, or beet leaves would all be fine as well.
1 box elbow macaroni. Or something similarly-sized, like small shells or tiny penne or wheels.
1 bottle Ranch dressing.
Put a pot of water on to boil. When it reaches a full boil, dump in your pasta of choice and cook to 'al dente' (Italian for 'with tooth', you don't want to overcook the pasta at all or it won't hold up), usually about 10 minutes.
Drain your pasta and put it in a large bowl.
Fill the pot back up with about 3c of water and put it back on to boil.
Peel the carrots and cut into 1/4 in rounds. Add to the water (it's ok if the water hasn't fully come to a boil yet).
Cut the celery into 1/4 in slices, add to the water.
Peel and de-vein the shrimp (or just buy it pre-shelled) and add that to the pot of water too.
Cut your leafy green into bite sized pieces, about 1/2 inch, and add to the water.
Cover with a lid and steam for 5 minutes or so, just enough to cook the shrimp and leafy green.
Drain the veggie mixture.
Put the pasta and the veggie mixture into a large bowl. Add the entire bottle of ranch dressing, 1 tsp salt and pepper (to taste. I like to used a cracked black pepper as it gives it a nice texture).
Mix thoroughly and stick in the fridge to cool.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sausage and Rigatoni
Mmmm, Italian Classic:
Mats:
6 links sweet Italian sausage
1 box Rigatoni pasta
1/4 c Lemon Juice
1/2 c Water
2 cloves garlic
1 can red kidney beans (or cannelloni beans)
1 c Kale
Parmesan cheese
Steps:
Put a pot of water on to boil, add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp olive oil. When it boils, add rigatoni, cook for 14 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet on med-high heat, cook the sausage links. They go in the pan 'dry' (don't add butter or oil). Cook for about 10-12 minutes, rolling them so they get nicely browned on all sides.
Pull out the sausages and set aside to cool.
Pour the lemon juice and water into the sausage pan, reducing the heat to med-low. We're looking for a very low simmer, just enough that you see tiny bubbles on the bottom of the pan. Stir the juice around to scrape up any sausagey bits that stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Chop the garlic very fine (use a garlic press if you have one) and add it to the pan.
When the sausage is cool enough that you don't scald your fingers, slice it into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Throw the sausage back into the pan with the juices, and try to get as much of the juice off your cutting board and back into the pan.
Add the beans.
Chop the kale into 1/2 inch sized pieces (the stems on kale are notoriously tough, so you can throw them out if you like. If you don't like waste, just cook the dish for an extra 4 or 5 minutes) and add to the pan.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Add 2 or 3 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese to the pan and stir so it gets dissolved in the juice. This will thicken the sauce a bit.
Dish out a bowl of rigatoni pasta, top with the sausage/greens and pour the sauce over! Top with extra cheese if you'd like.
Mats:
6 links sweet Italian sausage
1 box Rigatoni pasta
1/4 c Lemon Juice
1/2 c Water
2 cloves garlic
1 can red kidney beans (or cannelloni beans)
1 c Kale
Parmesan cheese
Steps:
Put a pot of water on to boil, add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp olive oil. When it boils, add rigatoni, cook for 14 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet on med-high heat, cook the sausage links. They go in the pan 'dry' (don't add butter or oil). Cook for about 10-12 minutes, rolling them so they get nicely browned on all sides.
Pull out the sausages and set aside to cool.
Pour the lemon juice and water into the sausage pan, reducing the heat to med-low. We're looking for a very low simmer, just enough that you see tiny bubbles on the bottom of the pan. Stir the juice around to scrape up any sausagey bits that stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Chop the garlic very fine (use a garlic press if you have one) and add it to the pan.
When the sausage is cool enough that you don't scald your fingers, slice it into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Throw the sausage back into the pan with the juices, and try to get as much of the juice off your cutting board and back into the pan.
Add the beans.
Chop the kale into 1/2 inch sized pieces (the stems on kale are notoriously tough, so you can throw them out if you like. If you don't like waste, just cook the dish for an extra 4 or 5 minutes) and add to the pan.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Add 2 or 3 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese to the pan and stir so it gets dissolved in the juice. This will thicken the sauce a bit.
Dish out a bowl of rigatoni pasta, top with the sausage/greens and pour the sauce over! Top with extra cheese if you'd like.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Carnitas
Very tasty Mexican-style recipe - takes a while to cook the pork shoulder but fairly low-maintenance.
Requires:
half pork shoulder (also called a 'picnic ham' in some places)
4 large burrito shells
1c white rice
1 can black beans
1 green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
cheddar cheese
1 jar salsa
Procedure:
Cut the skin off the pork and place in a crock-pot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4.
Take the pork out of the crock-pot and let it cool on a cutting board for 30-45 minutes. Trust me, you don't want to keep burning your fingers on hot pork fat.
Pull the pork off the bone and shred with your fingers. It'll separate into long strands - you're looking for a consistency like barbecue.
While shredding the pork, put 1c white rice into a small pot with 2c water and cook on low for 20 minutes.
Core and seed the bell pepper and put into a food processor with beans and garlic. Remember to take the paper off the garlic first!
Run the food processor for a minute or until the mixture is smooth. This mixture is known as 'sofrito' and is a staple in many Mexican foods.
Grease a large Pyrex dish (spraying it with some oil is fine) and set the oven to 350 F.
Take a burrito shell and place it in the Pyrex dish. Spoon in 1/4 of the rice, add some pork and cover with 6Tbsp or so of sofrito. Top with cheddar cheese.
Fold up the burrito, tucking the top and bottom in first, then rolling the sides.
GENTLY flip the burrito over so it's seam-side down.
Repeat until your Pyrex dish is full or your run out of fillings.
Pour the salsa over the burritos and place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes.
When the timer is up, pull the dish out and cover the burritos with more cheddar cheese. Stick back in the over for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melty and begins to brown.
Take out, separate burritos with a spatula and serve! Possibly with guacamole or sour cream, if that's to your taste.
Requires:
half pork shoulder (also called a 'picnic ham' in some places)
4 large burrito shells
1c white rice
1 can black beans
1 green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
cheddar cheese
1 jar salsa
Procedure:
Cut the skin off the pork and place in a crock-pot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4.
Take the pork out of the crock-pot and let it cool on a cutting board for 30-45 minutes. Trust me, you don't want to keep burning your fingers on hot pork fat.
Pull the pork off the bone and shred with your fingers. It'll separate into long strands - you're looking for a consistency like barbecue.
While shredding the pork, put 1c white rice into a small pot with 2c water and cook on low for 20 minutes.
Core and seed the bell pepper and put into a food processor with beans and garlic. Remember to take the paper off the garlic first!
Run the food processor for a minute or until the mixture is smooth. This mixture is known as 'sofrito' and is a staple in many Mexican foods.
Grease a large Pyrex dish (spraying it with some oil is fine) and set the oven to 350 F.
Take a burrito shell and place it in the Pyrex dish. Spoon in 1/4 of the rice, add some pork and cover with 6Tbsp or so of sofrito. Top with cheddar cheese.
Fold up the burrito, tucking the top and bottom in first, then rolling the sides.
GENTLY flip the burrito over so it's seam-side down.
Repeat until your Pyrex dish is full or your run out of fillings.
Pour the salsa over the burritos and place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes.
When the timer is up, pull the dish out and cover the burritos with more cheddar cheese. Stick back in the over for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melty and begins to brown.
Take out, separate burritos with a spatula and serve! Possibly with guacamole or sour cream, if that's to your taste.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
African-Style Stew
Yes, the ingredients in this stew are slightly out of the ordinary. Don't be scared! It really does taste fantastic.
Needed:
1 lb goat meat, cut for stew. (Hopefully you can get this deboned)
1 Sweet Potato
1 onion
2 carrots
1 box of Chicken Stock - 32 oz.
2 Russet-Burbank potatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 knob of fresh ginger - about the size of your thumb (or 1 1/2 tsp ground dried)
allspice
nutmeg
peanut butter - I use creamy because that's what I generally eat, but chunky is fine
flour
In a medium pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.
Debone the goat meat (if necessary) and trim the connective tissue and fat from the meat.
Toss the meat in the oil and sear for 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Don't worry about cooking it through, you're just going for a nice brown.
Finely dice the onion and add it to the pot. Saute it for 4 minutes, or until the onions start to become translucent.
Add the chicken stock and turn the heat down to low.
Peel the sweet potato, cut it into ~1 inch chunks, add to the pot
Peel the carrots, cut into rounds ~1/2 inch thick, add to pot.
Peel the ginger, dice finely as you can, add to pot
Also add 3/4 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper
Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours
After 2 hours, stir well. In a separate cup, mix 1/2 cup peanut butter with 2 Tbsp flour. Add the mixture to the stew and stir well until the mix is dissolved.
Cover and cook for another hour.
Cut the potatoes into cubes ~1 inch cubes, add to the pot and stir. Make sure you scrape the bottom well, the sweet potatoes will be mushy and tend to clump up at the bottom and threaten to burn.
Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are done.
Serve over white rice
Needed:
1 lb goat meat, cut for stew. (Hopefully you can get this deboned)
1 Sweet Potato
1 onion
2 carrots
1 box of Chicken Stock - 32 oz.
2 Russet-Burbank potatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 knob of fresh ginger - about the size of your thumb (or 1 1/2 tsp ground dried)
allspice
nutmeg
peanut butter - I use creamy because that's what I generally eat, but chunky is fine
flour
In a medium pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.
Debone the goat meat (if necessary) and trim the connective tissue and fat from the meat.
Toss the meat in the oil and sear for 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Don't worry about cooking it through, you're just going for a nice brown.
Finely dice the onion and add it to the pot. Saute it for 4 minutes, or until the onions start to become translucent.
Add the chicken stock and turn the heat down to low.
Peel the sweet potato, cut it into ~1 inch chunks, add to the pot
Peel the carrots, cut into rounds ~1/2 inch thick, add to pot.
Peel the ginger, dice finely as you can, add to pot
Also add 3/4 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper
Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours
After 2 hours, stir well. In a separate cup, mix 1/2 cup peanut butter with 2 Tbsp flour. Add the mixture to the stew and stir well until the mix is dissolved.
Cover and cook for another hour.
Cut the potatoes into cubes ~1 inch cubes, add to the pot and stir. Make sure you scrape the bottom well, the sweet potatoes will be mushy and tend to clump up at the bottom and threaten to burn.
Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are done.
Serve over white rice
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Chicken Cacciatorre
'Cacciatorre' is an Italian term for 'hunter's dish' and is kinda an inside joke. The story goes that the hunter goes out, charged by his wife to bring back something for dinner. He is a failure of a hunter and only manages to bring back a few wild mushrooms, making his wife use chicken for dinner that night instead. She, in stereotypical wife fashion, never lets him live it down.
Needed:
Package of chicken parts - I like using just the thighs
Can of diced tomatoes
1/2 box of chicken stock
3 sticks of celery
2 carrots
16 oz. mushrooms. Baby bellas are the tastiest, but regular white button work just fine
4 Russet-Burbank potatoes
1 small onion - somewhere between golf ball and baseball-sized
salt
pepper
oregano
basil
1/2c dry red wine (optional)
You can either cook this dish in a crock-pot or a heavy saucepan with a lid.
Remove the skin from the chicken parts (or just buy skinless) and trim any excess fat. Place in the bottom of the crock-pot
Cut the potatoes into cubes ~1 inch, place in crock-pot
Remove the paper from the onion, cut into ~1in slices and toss in pot
Peel the carrots, cut into rounds ~1/2 inch thick, add to pot
Chop celery, ~1/2 inch thick, add to pot
Dump the whole can of diced tomatoes into the pot, juice and all
Add 1/2 box of chicken broth (and wine, if you're using it)
Spices: 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano
Set the crock-pot to high and cook for about 4 hours. If you're using a covered saucepan, put the heat on medium low and cover for ~1 hour. Make sure to stir occasionally.
*NOTE* if you put wine in the cacciatorre, remove the lid from the crock-pot for the last half-hour of cooking (last 10 minutes, if you're using a saucepan).
Serve over white rice or egg noodles.
Needed:
Package of chicken parts - I like using just the thighs
Can of diced tomatoes
1/2 box of chicken stock
3 sticks of celery
2 carrots
16 oz. mushrooms. Baby bellas are the tastiest, but regular white button work just fine
4 Russet-Burbank potatoes
1 small onion - somewhere between golf ball and baseball-sized
salt
pepper
oregano
basil
1/2c dry red wine (optional)
You can either cook this dish in a crock-pot or a heavy saucepan with a lid.
Remove the skin from the chicken parts (or just buy skinless) and trim any excess fat. Place in the bottom of the crock-pot
Cut the potatoes into cubes ~1 inch, place in crock-pot
Remove the paper from the onion, cut into ~1in slices and toss in pot
Peel the carrots, cut into rounds ~1/2 inch thick, add to pot
Chop celery, ~1/2 inch thick, add to pot
Dump the whole can of diced tomatoes into the pot, juice and all
Add 1/2 box of chicken broth (and wine, if you're using it)
Spices: 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano
Set the crock-pot to high and cook for about 4 hours. If you're using a covered saucepan, put the heat on medium low and cover for ~1 hour. Make sure to stir occasionally.
*NOTE* if you put wine in the cacciatorre, remove the lid from the crock-pot for the last half-hour of cooking (last 10 minutes, if you're using a saucepan).
Serve over white rice or egg noodles.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Chicken Picatta
This dish is a versatile Italian classic that can be made with chicken, turkey or (most commonly in restaurants) veal. Pork wouldn't be out of the picture either. In any case, make sure your cuts of meat are thin, 1/2 inch thick AT MOST.
Needed
6 thin-cut chicken breasts (a nice trick is to just take regular chicken breasts and cut them down)
1 box chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup if you buy it pre-squeezed)
1/2 bottle dry white wine. I like to use a chardonnay.
1 egg
flour
Olive Oil
capers - this is a specialty item you can find in most grocery stores in the condiment aisle. It's a type of berry that they pickle and preserve in brine
Crack the egg and mix it with 1Tbsp water. Beat the egg like you were making scrambled eggs.
Put about 1/2 cup flour onto a plate
Pour the olive oil into a medium saucepan so that it's 1/4 of an inch deep. Set the oil over medium-high heat
Dip the chicken breast into the egg, coating it.
Dip the eggy chicken into the flour, coating both sides. Lift the chicken and shake off the excess flour.
Put the chicken in the hot oil and cook for about 3 min. Flip and cook the other side for another 3 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.
Once all the chicken is cooked, discard all but 1 Tbsp of the oil. It should be fairly cloudy and brown with the excess flour.
Add 1/2 bottle of white wine, 32oz of chicken stock and the lemon juice to the hot pan. If you want to be fancy, slice the lemon thinly and put the entire slice in the pan, instead of just the juice. Simmer this, reducing it down for about 20 minutes. *Note* this will make A LOT of sauce. If you want less, halve the wine, stock and lemon juice.
Add 2Tbsp capers to the sauce, simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve the chicken breasts on a plate, top with sauce and extra capers if you like. Goes well with a crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Wild rice or polenta are also both nice accompaniments.
Needed
6 thin-cut chicken breasts (a nice trick is to just take regular chicken breasts and cut them down)
1 box chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup if you buy it pre-squeezed)
1/2 bottle dry white wine. I like to use a chardonnay.
1 egg
flour
Olive Oil
capers - this is a specialty item you can find in most grocery stores in the condiment aisle. It's a type of berry that they pickle and preserve in brine
Crack the egg and mix it with 1Tbsp water. Beat the egg like you were making scrambled eggs.
Put about 1/2 cup flour onto a plate
Pour the olive oil into a medium saucepan so that it's 1/4 of an inch deep. Set the oil over medium-high heat
Dip the chicken breast into the egg, coating it.
Dip the eggy chicken into the flour, coating both sides. Lift the chicken and shake off the excess flour.
Put the chicken in the hot oil and cook for about 3 min. Flip and cook the other side for another 3 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oil and place on paper towels to drain.
Once all the chicken is cooked, discard all but 1 Tbsp of the oil. It should be fairly cloudy and brown with the excess flour.
Add 1/2 bottle of white wine, 32oz of chicken stock and the lemon juice to the hot pan. If you want to be fancy, slice the lemon thinly and put the entire slice in the pan, instead of just the juice. Simmer this, reducing it down for about 20 minutes. *Note* this will make A LOT of sauce. If you want less, halve the wine, stock and lemon juice.
Add 2Tbsp capers to the sauce, simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve the chicken breasts on a plate, top with sauce and extra capers if you like. Goes well with a crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Wild rice or polenta are also both nice accompaniments.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Beef Stew
Needed
1 lb beef chuck, cut into cubes for stew. This is usually sold pre-boned and pre-cut
1 medium yellow onion (about the size of a baseball)
4 russet potatoes
2 carrots
2 tsp corn starch
Chicken stock (~32oz)
salt
pepper
4 cloves garlic
Sear the beef cubes. Use a medium saucepan and high heat to quickly cook the cubes on all sides. You'll want to cook each side of the beef cube for 30-45 seconds, until it's brown.
Transfer the seared beef to a crock-pot
Peel the onion and cut it into eighths. Add to the crock-pot
Cube the potatoes into ~1 inch pieces. Add to crock-pot
Peel the carrots and cut into rounds, ~1/4 inch thick. Put them.... in the crock-pot
Add chicken stock to the crock pot until the level is about even with the stuff you've put in it. This will be a little over two cans, or a full box.
Peel the paper off the garlic and either mince it or put it through a garlic press, add to crock-pot
1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper into the crock-pot and stir it around a bit
Set the crock-pot to medium and let it stew for 4 to 5 hours (or low for 10-12 hours, but honestly, who plans that far ahead?). The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat will get and it's pretty much impossible to overcook
Before serving, in a separate bowl, mix 2 tsp corn starch with 1/4 cup water and stir until smooth. Add this slurry to the stew. This will thicken the stew.
Serve over white rice or egg noodles.
1 lb beef chuck, cut into cubes for stew. This is usually sold pre-boned and pre-cut
1 medium yellow onion (about the size of a baseball)
4 russet potatoes
2 carrots
2 tsp corn starch
Chicken stock (~32oz)
salt
pepper
4 cloves garlic
Sear the beef cubes. Use a medium saucepan and high heat to quickly cook the cubes on all sides. You'll want to cook each side of the beef cube for 30-45 seconds, until it's brown.
Transfer the seared beef to a crock-pot
Peel the onion and cut it into eighths. Add to the crock-pot
Cube the potatoes into ~1 inch pieces. Add to crock-pot
Peel the carrots and cut into rounds, ~1/4 inch thick. Put them.... in the crock-pot
Add chicken stock to the crock pot until the level is about even with the stuff you've put in it. This will be a little over two cans, or a full box.
Peel the paper off the garlic and either mince it or put it through a garlic press, add to crock-pot
1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper into the crock-pot and stir it around a bit
Set the crock-pot to medium and let it stew for 4 to 5 hours (or low for 10-12 hours, but honestly, who plans that far ahead?). The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat will get and it's pretty much impossible to overcook
Before serving, in a separate bowl, mix 2 tsp corn starch with 1/4 cup water and stir until smooth. Add this slurry to the stew. This will thicken the stew.
Serve over white rice or egg noodles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)