Minestrone

As mentioned in the previous pumpkin post, I made a big batch of chili and an even bigger batch of minestrone to feed the hungry pumpkin carvers and satisfy both the carnivores and herbivores at my table.

I've only made this minestrone soup once before for a college potluck and I don't know why I didn't revisit it sooner, as it is super tasty and perfect in these chill November evenings. Canned tomatoes, dried herbs, vegetable broth, a couple of potatoes, orzo, all affordable and easy to work with ingredients that result in a wonderfully full-bodied vegetarian soup.

Minestrone
adapted from a recipe found on the internet many many moons ago. thank you internet!
Serves 4 -5

1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, diced (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon olive oil
cornstarch
14oz can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1⁄2 teaspoons dried basil
pinch dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
6oz diced mixed root veggies (I used potatoes and carrots)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 1⁄2 oz tiny pasta shapes (I used orzo in this batch, but used ditalini in the past)
2oz cooked chickpeas (canned is fine)

1) Put the onion, garlic and celery in a pan with the olive oil and sauté for about 5 minutes.
2) Add a little cornstarch, stir and cook for a minute or two.
3) Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, root vegetables, water and stock.
4) Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.
5) Season to taste, add the pasta and chick peas and simmer until pasta is tender, about 8 - 10 minutes more.
6) Add a little water if the soup is too thick. Serve hot.

Homemade Fettucini with Pesto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Balsamic Chicken

I had a day off from work last week and felt compelled to use my time towards culinary purposes. I had hoped to mimic a wonderful recipe from my friend Bobicus, which is deliciously entitled "Angel Hair with Grilled Chicken and Macadamia-Arugula Pesto" and which fails to mention that it also contains mango. But this is me we're talking about. There was no arugula in the grocery store, and when it came down to a tiny bottle of Macadamia nuts versus a large bag of walnuts for half the price, you know which I went for. I did try getting a mango. But apparently I don't know how to tell if a mango is ripe. Because when I sliced it open it was a hard, unappetizing white and I mourned the loss of such a wonderful fruit. Le sigh.

So I dug up this recipe for homemade pasta and this recipe for homemade pesto sans lemon juice and went to work. I tossed some chicken in a pan with a bit of salt, pepper, and brown sugar, then let it simmer in white balsamic vinegar. On a whim, I added sundried tomatoes at the end. And it was kind of all of alot of delicious.



Homemade Fettucini with Pesto, Sundried Tomatoes, and Balsamic Chicken
Serves 2

1/2 batch of fresh fettucini
1/2 batch of fresh pesto (or your favorite jarred pesto), about 1/4 of a cup
1 TBS olive oil
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp brown sugar
2 TBS white balsamic vinegar (red would work too)
1 1/2 TBS sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and minced.

1) Fill a large pot half way with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2) While water is coming to a boil, heat olive oil in a medium sized non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken, salt and pepper, and sprinkle brown sugar over top. Sauté chicken until starting to brown, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add vinegar and turn heat down to low. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until liquid in pan has thickened and reduced.
3) Once water is boiling, add fettucini. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Transfer fettucini back to warm pot.
4) Put pesto in a small bowl. Add 2 TBS of reserved cooking liquid and stir until creamy. Add more liquid if necessary. Add pesto to the pasta and stir until thoroughly coated. (I didn't add quite all the pesto, I had a couple TBS left over).
5) Add chicken and sun-dried tomatoes to the pasta and toss. Serve with crusty italian bread!

Classy Vegetable Stir-Fry

No picture, my apologies. The hard drive with all our photos on it is not yet set-up, but will be shortly. Once it is I will include some super photos of us attempting to unpack the kitchen. Which I am sure you are all dying to see.

In the mean time, here's a dish we whipped up in honor of my sister coming to dinner for the first time in the new house! She is vegetarian and so I have made it my mission to find some tasty vegetarian dishes to make for her when she visits that she, as a college student, may not have time/money/facilities/motivation to. Alas, she is not big into pasta, so that eliminated about 90% of my initial ideas, but Mr. Heart suggested a vegetable stir-fry. So we took it up a notch by including a wide variety of vegetables, and made it simple by only adding the bare minimum of seasonings. It came out delicious. We served it up with couscous and a dark rye bread. And then we ate cookie dough and played cribbage like old people.

"I'm so proud of myself," Mr. Heart said, as we drove back from dropping off Sister Heart, "Before I met you I wouldn't have even touched a dish like that." And he liked it! Excellent. So I AM having a positive culinary influence. My main challenge with him? Legumes. Some day, some day...

Classy Vegetable Stir-Fry
Serves 2-3

1 Portabello mushroom cap, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (or half of a red and half of a yellow)
3-4 green onions, chopped
1/2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch crescents
1/2 cup sugar snap peas, cut in half
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 lb spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cashews
1 - 2 TBS olive oil
a good squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper

(for omnivores: add a link or two of your favorite chicken sausage, sliced)

1) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering, but not smoking.
2) Add bell peppers and green onions. Sauté until peppers start to brown, stirring often.
3) Add zucchini, mushrooms, and garlic. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to sauté, stirring often, until vegetables are just tender.
4) Add spinach, snap peas, and lemon juice. Toss together, then cover for 1 -2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted and cooked down.
5) Add cashews toss to combine. Cook for 1 -2 more minutes, until cashews are heated through. Add more salt and pepper as desired.
(For omnivores: Transfer vegetables to a separate dish and cover to keep warm. Add sausage and a splash of oil. Sauté until lightly browned, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add vegetables back to pan and toss to combine. Cook an additional minute to heat through.)

Pesto Salmon

Mr. Heart and I are not big seafood eaters, but we have been braving the new world of fish with small baby steps. First tilapia, now salmon. This recipe is ridiculously easy. Below I've listed a whole wonderful pesto recipe, inspired by The New Best Recipe, but ultimately, I just used jarred pesto. Classico to be precise. Serve with lemon slices.

Pesto Salmon
inspired by Prevention's Ultimate Quick and Healthy Cookbook and The New Best Recipe
Serves 2

¼ cup walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, or almonds
3 medium garlic cloves
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
6 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBS lemon juice
¼ cup grated Parmesan
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ lbs skinned salmon fillet, cut into 2 pieces
Lemon wedges, for garnish

1) Toast the nuts in a small heavy skillet over med heat. stirring frequently until just golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2) Put nuts, garlic, basil, oil, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt and pepper into a food processor and process until puréed.
3) Preheat broiler. Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick spray.
4) Place the pieces of salmon on a plate. Spoon 3 TBS of pesto over the salmon and coat both sides of each piece. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp for 15 minutes. Reserve remaining pesto at room temperature.
5) Place the salmon in the prepared pan, spreading any extra pesto from the plate onto the fish. Broil the salmon 4 to 5" from the heart for 6-8 minutes, or until just opaque (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fish).
6) Transfer salmon pieces to dinner places and top each with some of the reserved pesto. Garnish with lemon wedges

"Succotash"
Serves 2

1 cob of corn, cooked and de-kerneled (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn)
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 -2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
ground red pepper (to taste)
1/4 tsp salt

Melt butter in a hot pan, over medium heat, until frothy. Add corn, peas, and seasonings to taste. Toss to coat. Cook until corn begins to brown and peas are thoroughly cooked (4-5 minutes).

Turkey and Rice Stuffed Peppers

This is one of those recipes where I love all of the ingredients but somehow, when put together, it was still lacking a little something. I love the concept of stuffed peppers--sweet red pepper stuffed with rice, meat, and veggies. And it looked beautiful. But somehow this came out kind of blah. Maybe next time I would add more seasoning to the turkey or add cheese to the rice mixture. I still want to share it with you all because I think the recipe, for the most part, is a good one (and it comes from one of my favorite cookbooks). If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

Turkey and Rice Stuffed Peppers
from Preventions Ultimate Quick and Healthy Cookbook, with mods.
Serves 2

2 large red bell peppers, plus 1/2 a small bell pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup long grain rice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
pinch of ground black pepper
1/2 lb fresh spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 TBS grated Parmesan

1) Preheat the oven to 350º. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2) Cut off and discard the tops of the two large bell peppers. Remove seeds. Seed and dice the half of bell pepper. Set aside.
3) Blanch the whole peppers in the boiling water for 2 minutes until slightly softened. Remove the peppers from the water and drain over paper towels. Place, top up, in a 9x9 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray or rubbed with olive oil.
4) In a medium sauce pan, combine the water and rice and 1/4 tsp of salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to med-low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (add more water if necessary).
5) In a non-stick skillet, warm the oil over medium heat until hot. Add turkey and sauté for about 3 minutes until opaque, breaking up any clumps. Add onions, garlic, thyme, pepper, and remaining salt and cook for an additional 3 minutes, until onions are softened.
6) Add diced bell pepper, spinach, and cranberries. Continue to cook until spinach is wilted. Remove pan from heat.
7) Add the rice to the spinach mixture and stir to combine.. Spoon rice mixture into whole bell peppers and top with Parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes or until peppers/filling are hot and the cheese is browned.

Tortellini with Broccolini and Summer Squash

I have this bad habit. I find these delicious looking recipes, write down all the ingredients on my grocery list, go to the store, buy them, return home, go to prepare the recipe, and find out I am missing half of what I need. Does this habit to other people, or am I just a forgetful ninny?

Case in point: for this recipe, which was originally "Tortelloni with Vegetable Sauce" I forgot the stewed tomatoes and tomato paste that created the sauce, fresh basil to toss in, and wound up substituting cheese tortellini for meat tortelloni and broccolini for zucchini (because my grocery store is still going under renovation and there was no zucchini). It's not even the same recipe.

Never the less, it still came out tasty. I should have blanched the broccolini first, and will correct for that in the recipe. However, I would use zucchini if you can find it--that was the whole point of this dish anyway.

Tortellini with Broccolini and Summer Squash
Serves 2

olive oil cooking spray
1 cup jarred tomato sauce (of your choice... we like Classico)
1-2 TBS broth or water
1/2 medium summer squash, cut into 1/4" rounds
1 cup broccolini, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and blanched
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
2 cups cheese tortellini
1 TBS grated Parmesan

1) Bring a large pot of water to boil. Prepare tortellini according to package directions.
2) Spray a non-stick skillet, generously with olive oil. Heat over medium heat until the pan and oil are hot. Add broccolini and summer squash. Sauté until the squash begins to brown, about 2 -4 minutes. Add garlic and Italian seasonings; sauté an additional minute or until fragrant
3) Add tomato sauce to the pan and stir. Add broth/water as needed to loosen the sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4) Add tortellini to the vegetable sauce. Toss until thoroughly coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Peanut Chicken with Vegetables

So the recipe I had hoped to use was a Chinese five-spice chicken stir-fry, but alas, our ever friendly Shaw's Market is going through major renovations and none was to be found. So instead we picked up some peanut sauce.

I know, I know, peanut sauce is easy enough to make, but hey, we were feeling lazy AND we're going to Europe this week, so the last thing we wanted to do was buy more ingredients. After sifting through several mixes and jars, we settled on Thai Kitchen Peanut Satay Sauce. We chose this because it seemed to have mostly natural ingredients and very few (if any) preservatives. We've also had some success with their products in the past (I buy their rice noodles to make Pad Thai.)

However, it seemed to lack a little something when used as a sauce over all of the ingredients in this dish. I'm not sure what it was, maybe it needed a little more spice, a little more zing. It wasn't bad, it was just kinda plain.

But when we used this to make wraps for lunch (peanut sauce, cucumber, shredded chicken, rice, and fresh red pepper) I thought it tasted great. Mr. Heart was still not a huge fan. So I would say it might be worth a try. Or you can always just make your own.

Feel free to substitute any vegetables in that you like! This is what we had on hand. I actually served it over orzo, which was tasty. I am sure it would be equally delicious over rice.

Peanut Noodles with Vegetables
Serves 2

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks
1 TBS plus 1 tsp canola or peanut oil
1/2 cup cornstarch
salt and pepper
pinch of ground red pepper
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets (~1 cup)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup fresh green beans, trimmed
1-3 TBS water
1/4 cup peanut sauce mixed with 2 TBS water or chicken broth
1 TBS peanuts, chopped fine (for garnish)

1) In a ziplock bag, combine cornstarch and salt/pepper/red pepper to taste. Add chicken and toss to coat.
2) In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 TBS of oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Remove chicken from ziplock bag, shaking off any excess cornstarch. Add chicken to pan. Cook until a golden crust has formed, turning frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.
3) Warm the remaining teaspoon of oil in the skillet until hot, but not smoking. Add the vegetables a cook, stirring, for 1 minutes. Add 1 TBS of the water to the pan and cover. Cook for 2 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender (add more water as needed, if the pan gets too dry).
4) Add the chicken and peanut sauce mixture to the pan, tossing to coat. Cook an additional minute until heated through.
5) Serve over rice or orzo and garnish with chopped peanuts.

Unceremonious Steak with Balsalmic Vinegar

[This conversation took place between myself (obviously) and my dear friend Dallas who lives in said city and is my might-as-well-be-big-brother. This conversation certainly didn't take place during the work day. Never.]

Dallas: I made a very good dinner the other night which I will now recommend for you. Balsalmic steak. Yum!
me: ooOooOO. That sounds tasty!
Dallas: You'll need to be comfortable with red meat - are you comfortable with red meat?
me: um, yes
Dallas: It's like chicken, only from a cow- and with blood.
me: dude, i love steak! you took me to Ruth's Chris, recall?
Dallas: I do recall. That's when I met what I didn't-know-at-the-time would become your husband. If I'd have known, I would have expected him to pay in way of wooing my vote for your suitor.
Dallas: Anyway- as for the steak, you'll need find some nice sirloin cuts, and trim. You know- take off unwanted fat.
me: right
Dallas: Then you must pound them, somewhat relentlessly. With a meat tenderizer. Not just a hammer or something. And maybe not relentlessly, so much as throughly.
Dallas: When you're done, you can cut the steak into several pieces. I bought M and I two steaks and ended up with about 7 or 8 pieces.
me: mmm. I have a meat tenderizer thingum i think. With the spikes
Dallas: Now, throw them unceremoniously into a ziploc and add balsalmic vinegar, pepper, and a splash of worcester sauce. Seal and the marination will begin.
Dallas: After marinating for about an hour- you can cook. Apparently, you don't want to marinate too long. I cooked them in a frying pan, but a grill would work too.
Dallas: Then cook until they look as done as you want - adding pepper to taste.
me: mmm
Dallas: It turned out really good. I think you could also stand to add a little dill (not a lot!) to the marinade, for an extra kick.
Dallas: Of course, you'll have to guess on quantities. Like many of my recipes, I just kind of guess on how much I need. But my instructions are okay - especially the "unceremonious" way of tossing the steak into a ziploc bag.
me: it must be unceremonious. Can't be too much pomp and circumstance in the kitchen
Dallas: Exactly. So, I clearly now dub this recipe: "Unceremonious Steak (with Balsalmic Vinegar)"
me: mmm
Dallas: So now you can cook it for your honey.
me: i will! maybe this weekend!

And I did.

Unceremonious Steak with Balsalmic Vinegar
Serves 2

1 lb sirloin steak, about an inch thick
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
salt and pepper
dill (optional--I did not have any on hand)

1) Slice steak in half lengthwise and then cut each half in half again (to make 4 pieces). Pound each piece to about 1/4 inch thickness with a meat tenderizer.
2) In a ziploc bag, combine vinegar, worcester, salt and pepper to taste, and dill, if using. Toss the steaks "unceremoniously" into the bag and seal. Press the marinade into the meat. Refrigerate for 45 minutes (really, don't marinate for too long. this marinade is VERY strong).
3) Heat a grill pan/cast iron skillet/non-stick skillet. Remove steaks from bag and discard marinade. Grill/pan fry steaks to desired temperature (I like mind well-done so it was about 4 minutes per side).

Asparagus and Sausage Risotto

Whenever I mention to people that I love making risotto, they always give me this look and say "Well isn't that really time consuming" or "Wow, you must REALLY like to cook." Well yes, I do like to cook, and yes, this is no insta-meal. However, it only takes about 30 minutes if you're just patient and know what to look for. So to prove to you that I'm right (because I am) I spent extra time taking step-by-step photos.

Of course, I did all this before I realized that Pioneer Woman was going to post something so similar (and with much prettier photos). Her risotto looks quite tasty as well. Mine will show portions for two and also what to do if you're adding extra ingredients. It also has about a bajillion photos (and thanks blogger for making uploading and positioning pictures a real pain). Note: You can apply these guidelines to any kind of risotto. For the most part, just add your pre-cooked ingredients to the end. Want some other risotto ideas? See here.

Also, if you know how to make blogger do expandable post short-cuts without making it add "Read More" links to all previous posts, PLEASE let me know. It's been driving me crazy.

Okay, so here it goes! Click here to dig in!

The line-up!

Asparagus and Sausage Risotto

Serves 2

1/2 cup arborio rice

2 - 3 cups chicken broth

1 TBS olive oil

1 large shallot, chopped fine

1 - 1 1/2 cup asparagus, steamed and chopped into 1" pieces

1 link pre-cooked chicken sausage, sliced thinly

1/4 cup frozen (or fresh) peas

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 TBS butter

a splash of light cream

salt and pepper to taste

1) Pour chicken broth into a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer. Lower heat, but keep warm. We're going to be adding this to the risotto as we go along.

2) Heat oil in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, until it shimmers.

3) Add shallots to the hot oil. You can use onions instead, if you'd line, but I'm starting to have this love affair with shallots because they have this delicious subtle sweetness to them.

Sauté until translucent.

4) Add risotto to the pan. Stir until coated. This slows down the absorption process and gives the rice a slight nuttiness.

5) Add white wine to deglaze pan. Stir until most of the wine is absorbed. The rice should start to feel a little sticky.

6) Okay, now we're going to start adding the broth. I usually add the most at the beginning and then smaller amounts as we go along. I usually start with about a cup of broth.

Now we're going to start stirring. According to many risotto experts, one needs to be stirring "constantly." I usually stir more like "often." You do sort of need to hover near the stove and keep an eye on things, but you don't need to be stirring every second.

You want to keep your eye on the heat level. I usually leave it at this low simmer over medium to medium-low heat. You don't want the rice to absorb too quickly/boil off the liquid or it won't really cook right. And hey look, I'm not stirring!

This is what the rice will look like about 10 minutes in. See how it's starting to puff up and turn opaque? If you tried a grain right now it would be still mostly raw and kind of crunchy. You'll also notice there's very little "creaminess."

See how the liquid is being absorbed and starting to make the rice kind of creamy? You'll notice when you stir that the mixture will feel thicker and the rice will start to stick a little to the bottom and sides of the pan. Time to add more broth!

I added about 1/2 - scant 1 cup of broth. Depending on the brand of rice you get, you may need more broth, you may need less. Same deal if, say, you had the heat on too high when you started. So I usually try to keep an extra cup of broth handy. Hot water will work in a pinch.

Let's take another look at the risotto itself. We're not about 20-25 minutes into the cooking process. See how it's softer and we're starting to get that "creaminess" from the starch that's been released from the grains? Lets give it another stir...

Most of the liquid has been absorbed and there's more of that creaminess in the pot. If you try a bit now, it should be a little too "al dente" meaning almost tender, but with a bit too much of a crunch. Right now, we want it to be tender and firm, sure, but not crunchy. However, this point in time heralds the coming of additional ingredients!

*Trumpets Sound!*

Add another 1/2 cup of broth (sorry about the flash folks)

6) Time to add the asparagus...

... chicken sausage...

... and peas!

Now we stir it all together. Isn't all that green pretty? This is going to cook for another 5 -10 minutes. You'll need to be a little more active about stirring now because there's so much stuff going on in here. I usually add whatever last splash of broth I have leftover to this beautiful mess.

Let's get another close up. The rice is opaque, soft, and now, if you taste it, tender. It should still have a firmness to it, a bit of chew, but it shouldn't be crunchy. Now just watch the amount of liquid in the pan. You don't want risotto soup.

Ah, perfect. There's some liquid left, but it's thick and kind of creamy. Don't worry if it's not super "creamy." Much of that will come from adding the cheese and, well, cream.

7) Turn off the heat and add salt and pepper.

8) Now we add that tablespoon of butter. Stir until melted and incorporated.

9) Then we add the cheese. And stir. Now. We could stop here. It will be plenty creamy and delicious, but I just happened to have some cream sitting around, all lonely like, in my refrigerator, so why not.

So lets add a splash of cream. Like 1/2 tablespoon. You really don't need it. But it's tasty.

Isn't that just gorgeous? I want to eat it. Off of my screen.

And this, this here is what it's all about. Your final product? Dreamy, creamy, cheesy, risotto deliciousness.

10) Serve it up with an extra sprinkling of parmesan. Just for good luck.

Thai Noodle Salad with Chicken

Another recipe out of Cooking Light! This salad looks so beautiful, fresh and delicious. The original recipe calls for tofu rather than chicken, but we have yet to acquire a taste for tofu. The chicken came out wonderful with the marinade nevertheless. Unfortunately, the noodles came out undercooked. I might actually boil the noodles for a couple of minutes rather than just letting them soak in boiling water. Soaking them is great for stir-frying (see this fantastic Pad Thai recipe) but they were almost unpleasantly crunchy here. Mr. Heart was not a huge fan of the dressing, which he found too strong (which is odd because I'm usually the one to complain about dressings), so for once we had a split vote. I enjoyed this, though it had potential to be better. I'm thinking for next time making a peanut-sauce type dressing.

Thai Noodle Salad with Chicken
from Cooking Light with mods.
Serves 2

1 large chicken breast, cut into strips
2 TBS lime juice
1 TBS low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 TBS canola or peanut oil

1/2 lb uncooked rice vermicelli

1 cup romaine lettuce torn into small pieces
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup cucumber, sliced thinly
salt to taste

1/4 cup lime juice
2 TBS low-sodium soy sauce
2 TBS canola or peanut oil
1 TBS fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp minced garlic

1) Combine first eight ingredients in a ziplock bag. Seal and marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
2) Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Heat for thirty seconds. Add chicken and sauté for 5 -7 minutes until crispy, golden brown, and cooked through.
3) Prepare rice noodles according to package directions (something like cook in boiling water for 2 -3 minutes or until just tender). Do not over cook! Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
4) Combine last nine ingredients in a measuring cup and whisk to combine to create the dressing.
5) Toss together lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and rice noodles in a large bowl. Add dressing, to taste. Toss to combine. Top with chicken and serve!

Coming soon!
Step-by-step photos of Asparagus Risotto
Banana Bread
Chocolate Walnut-Date Balls
"Unceremonious" Balsamic Steak

Rosemary-Orange Chicken over Spinach

This dish is from one of my favorite cookbooks, which I will blog about another time. It's called Preventions Ultimate Quick and Healthy Cookbook and I bought it at a used bookstore for $5 and I love it. However, this recipe made me very frustrated because the usual straightforward directions were mired in incomprehensibility:

"Using a sharp paring knife, peel the orange, removing all of the white pith. Working over a bowl, cut between the membranes to divide the orange into sections. Squeeze the membranes between your fingers to release the just then discard them. Pour all the juice from the bowl into a measuring cup, then add additional orange juice to measure 1/3 of a cup."

I stared at this paragraph for like 10 minutes trying to figure out what they wanted me to do. I understood vaguely, since one of the benefits of this cookbook is the full-color photograph of the dish on the facing page. I gathered that I was to remove the "membrane" from the sections and preserve the intact fleshy sections of the orange to top off the chicken, but when I read the directions, that didn't come across at all. I think they left out a sentence or something. So I was kinda on my own for the orange part.

Not to mention how difficult it was to preserve that intact fleshy part of the orange sans membrane. It was impossible. Maybe it's because I was using a honeybell orange, rather than the navel orange it called for. I don't know. I just know I got a lot of juice all over my hands and not along of orange.

So lets just pretend none of that ever happened. I'm going to reconstruct this recipe the way I think it should have been written. Needless to say, the dish was pretty good.

Rosemary-Orange Chicken over Spinach
paraphrased from Preventions Ultimate Quick and Healthy
Serves 2

1 large orange
1-2 TBS orange juice
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp brown sugar
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 thin boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb spinach, washed with stems removed.

1) Zest 1/2 tsp orange zest from the orange and set aside.
2) Slice orange in half lengthwise. Take one half of the orange and peel it carefully with a paring knife, removing all white pith. Separate the orange into sections and carefully slit the membrane along the back and inside of each section. Slip the paring knife under the membrane and slide it along the inside to separate it from the flesh, then peel off the membrane. Set sections aside.***
OR
Take one half of the orange and cut it crosswise into four to six slices so that each slice has sections. Then cut flesh away from the rind. Set these sections aside for garnish.
(I hope at least one of those made sense. Let me know if it doesn't work)
3) Juice the other half of the orange and pour the juice into a measuring cup. Add additional orange juice as needed to reach 1/3 of a cup
4) Add zest, 1 teaspoon of oil, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of rosemary, brown sugar, and red pepper to the orange juice. Whisk together and set aside.
5) Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining rosemary, and salt and pepper. Warm remaining teaspoon of oil in a large, non-stick skillet until hot. Add chicken and sauté 2-3 minutes per side, or until a nice golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil.
6) Add spinach to the pan and stir-fry over med-high heat for 1 -2 minutes or until just wilted (add a little oil if the spinach starts to burn).
7) Portion spinach out on each plate. Place a chicken breast on top of the spinach, then place orange sections on top of chicken. Whisk dressing briefly to reincorporate, then pour over chicken and spinach.

***UPDATE: Obviously this is a learning process. Thanks, anonymous commenter, for this handy link! With the photos it makes so much more sense. I would follow these step-by-step instructions rather than my mangled version above.

Gnocchi with Asparagus and Pancetta

Homemade gnocchi and I have a history of failure (a story for another time). So when Cooking Light's trio of gnocchi recipes only required the store-bought variety, I jumped at the chance to have successful gnocchi in my home kitchen without the grief off boiled blobs of mashed potatoes.

We tried both the Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, Bell Peppers, and Fennel as well as the Gnocchi with Asparagus and Pancetta. The former was okay, but was severely-lacking in flavor, despite it's myriad of interesting ingredients, probably do to it's lack of sauce (perhaps uping the liquid content would help), though the fennel was an interesting touch. It's a recipe worth revisiting and modifying. The latter was delicious, though we went a little overboard on the pancetta (a little goes a long way my friends).

Gnocchi with Asparagus and Pancetta
from Cooking Light, with slight mods.
Serves 2
8 oz. pre-packaged (or fresh) gnocchi
1 oz. pancetta, cut into thin strips, about 1/4 cup (I put in, like, 3 oz. which was overpowering)
1 thinly sliced shallots
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese

1) Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Keep warm.

2) Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and sauté 5 minutes or until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.

3) Add asparagus to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add shallots and sauté until translucent, about 3 min. Stir in garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add gnocchi, pancetta, 2 TBS reserved cooking liquid, juice, salt, and pepper to pan and cook an additional minute or so until flavors are mingled and the dish is warmed through (add more reserved cooking liquid if pan gets too dry). Divide among boths and top with cheese.

French Dip and Beef Barley Soup

When I saw this recipe for a slow-cooker French Dip on Baking Bites, I knew I had to give it a try. So I made it as a super-secret-special surprise for the Mister because he's big into the au jus. This was eaten so quickly, I was unable to photograph it.

Then, when I was perusing the comments on allrecipes for a similar recipe, I found that many people had turned their leftover beef and au jus into beef barely soup. Two meals in one! So I made sure to keep the amount of broth the same, even though I got a smaller cut of beef (there are only two of us, after all).


I added probably more barley than needed (as you can see), about half a cup. A quarter of a cup would easily do. You can cook it right in the broth. I tossed in some frozen peas at the end. This would be divine with delicious chunks of potato as well.

Slow-Cooker French Dip
courtesy of Baking Bites, with slight mods.
Serves 2 (with leftovers for soup)

2 -2 1/2 lb beef chuck roast or brisket
2 cans beef broth
1 can condensed French onion soup
6 oz. red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
2 french rolls (we used small sub rolls... not quite authentic)
2 - 4 slices of provolone cheese

1) Trim excess fat from roast and season with salt and pepper.
2) Pour beef broth, French onion soup, wine, and garlic powder into slow cooker. Place roast in liquid.
3) Cook for 4 1/2 - 5 hours on high, until falling apart tender.
4) Remove roast from slow cooker and allow to rest under tended foil for 10 -15 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain, then return meat to slow cooker for an additional 30 minutes on low (this step was ingenius, Ms. Baking Bites, the meat came out succulent).
5) Lightly toast rolls and lay 1 -2 slice of provolone on each. Fill each roll with sliced beef and serve the jus on the side in small bowls. Eat while it's still hot!
6) Package the beef seperate from the broth for storage. Or make your beef barley soup right away!


Beef Barley Soup (ala French Dip)
Serves 4 - 6

remaining broth from French Dip (see above)
remaining beef from French dip (see above), chopped or shredded
1/4 cup barley
1/4 cup froz peas

1) In a large pot, bring broth to a boil. Add barley and lower the temperature to a simmer. Cook covered for approximately 1 hour (or according to package directions) until barley is tender.
2) Add beef and peas. Cook 10 -15 minutes more. Serve with crusty bread.


**Note: This soup is way better than the somewhat less inspiring William-Sonoma version attempted previously.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Every once in a while, I can get Mr. Heart to contribute to the cooking process by either integrating something he'd be interested in making (usually baking)/eating or by putting on my sad puppy face. With homemade tortillas, however, I didn't have to pout too much. He had been disappointed with store-bought tortillas being too thin and dry and cracking when rolled. This recipe came out pretty well and was very simple. My only complaint was that the tortillas were a little on the thick side--we don't own a tortilla press--so be sure to roll these as thin as you can. They were also quite filling. I found one taco to be plenty sufficient.

Flour Tortillas
Makes five 8-10" tortillas

2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup hot (115º to 130ºF) water

1) Mix all ingredients together by hand or on low speed until dough comes together.
2) Knead by hand or with the dough hook on low - medium speed until smooth, ~4-6 minutes.
3) Divide dough equally into 5 parts (or more for smaller tortillas) and roll into balls. Let rest for 20 minutes.
4) Roll out each ball into 8 - 10" round, as thin as possible (~1/8" thick).
5) Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, slide a tortilla on to the skillet one at a time, cooking until brown spots appear, about 30 seconds on the first side. Flip and cook about 15 seconds on the second side. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
6) Cover cooked tortillas while cooking the rest. Serve warm.


We used our tortillas with this taco recipe, but using ground turkey instead of beef. yum!

Fried Rice

The first time I made fried rice for myself, I must have been in early highschool. Home on a half day, I was hungry for something different than canned soup, mac and cheese, or the deli meat in the fridge with questionable expiration dates (it seemed to be policy in my house to ignore food after it was put in the fridge and if it wasn’t eaten in due course, hope it would just go away on it’s own). We had some leftover chinese food, some frozen peas, a log of kosher salami (expiration date: safe!), soy sauce, eggs and seasonings. From whence sprang an un-traditional fried rice concoction, but a tasty one nonetheless.

If you are looking to make something more authentic (or as authentic as Chinese restaurant style cuisine can be), you can certainly go for more Asian flavorings and vegetables: bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, bok choy, snow peas, five spice, teriyaki. But you are not limited by those flavors to say the least. The best thing about fried rice is that it’s a great vehicle for revitalizing leftovers.

For the first time ever on this blog, we have step-by-step photo instructions! I usually do not have the patience or dexterity for this, so no guaruntee that this will be a constant feature (and my apologies if some of the photos are blurry). But this is one of those dishes that when friends tell me they can’t cook, I say “Anyone can make fried rice.” The other thing anyone can make is quesadillas, but even I never had a homemade one until college, so I give people a break on that one. Once I figure out how, I will put this behemoth of a post behind a quick cut.

Here you can see the ingredients that I used all laid out. These should all be approximated based on your own leftover situation:


Fried Rice
Serves 2
8/10

1 1/2 cups leftover white rice
1 cup mixed frozen veggies, chopped (not chopped in photo)
1/4 cup red pepper, chopped
2 TBS soy sauce
1 egg
1/3 lb cooked chicken, chopped (not chopped in photo)
1/2 tsp garlic salt and other seasonings, to taste
cooking spray

In with the soy sauce I mixed other ingredients that are often used in Asian-flavored dishes, such as seasame oil, rice wine vinegar, dry white sherry or rice wine, and ginger. This is entirely arbitrary. While I would recommend using soy sauce, you could easily replace it with teriyaki, stock, even barbecue sauce (though that would be quite adventurous). I would recommend some sort of liquid to prevent the rice from totally drying out and to give the rice a more concentrated flavor.

Have all of these ingredients ready to go mise-en-place style. It’ll make the process go a lot faster.

1) Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.


2) Add chopped veggies to the skillet and cook until tender (about 5 minutes if your veggies are totally frozen).

3) Add leftover rice to skillet and toss to combine. Sauté rice for about 5 minutes, until slightly brown at the edges.


4) Add cooked chicken to the skillet. Toss to combine.


5) Add soy sauce mixture, garlic salt, and other seasings to skillet. Toss until rice is thoroughly coated. Cook for 5 minutes, allowing flavors to mingle and some of the liquid to absorb.

6) Beat the egg in a separate dish.

7) Add beaten egg to skillet. Stir immediately and constantly until egg is scrambled and cooked, about 1-2 minutes. Toss to combine.

8) Remove from heat and serve!

And this can be used with any meat, veggies, and flavors. My one rule is: have fun with it and don’t make too much work for yourself. With entirely leftovers, this can be made in 20 minutes.