Penne with Turky & Broccolini

Tonight's dinner is courtesy EveryDay with Rachael Ray (April 2012).  Another time I would cut back on the crushed red pepper as it was a bit spicy for us.  We couldn't find the broccolini at the store so we went with the tip and used broccoli crowns instead.  Definitely easy to throw together and cooks up quickly.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound penne
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 1 bunch broccolini (9 oz.) tough ends trimmed, stalks, and florets chopped into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat

Tip If you can't find broccolini, use broccoli florets instead.

Tip ...roasted red peppers. Slice 4 oz. drained jarred peppers into thin strips and mix into the pasta along with the broccolini.

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the penne until al dente, 11 to 13 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, add 2 tbsp. EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the broccolini and season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tbsp. water, cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining EVOO and the onion and cook until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Push the onion to the side of the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and crumble in the turkey; season. Cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the pasta, broccolini and three-quarters of the reserved pasta water to the turkey; toss well. Add the remaining pasta water if needed to thin the sauce.

Meatloaf & Potato Pileup

I saw this recipe in an issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray, and then saw her make it on her show one morning. The video on the show's website wasn't available for a little while, but she verbally says that you can use any combination of meat that you want, as well as saying that they gilded the lily by adding the pesto. So, I halved the recipe, using a medium onion, one beet (halving that would've been a pain, and what to do with the rest?), and a pound of ground beef, and completely skipped the pesto. I messed up when reading the instructions for the cheese sauce, so my cheese didn't melt in the way that it should have. And I probably didn't get the beet wrung out well enough, as there was beet juice in the bottom of my casserole dish. It was a significant amount of work and dirtied a lot of dishes! Tasty overall, but probably not one we'll add to regular repertoire (although the boyfriend might have like it better had I gotten the cheese sauce done the right way!), especially considering the amount of work it took.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds baking potatoes, scrubbed and sliced crosswise 1/8-inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, quartered, one quarter finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half, warmed
• 6 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper
• 2 carrots, peeled and quartered
• 1 small beet, peeled and quartered
• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 pound ground dark meat turkey
• 1 pound ground beef chuck
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1/2 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Yields: 8

Preparation

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.

In a large pot filled halfway with boiling, lightly salted water, cook the potatoes for 3 minutes. Drain and spread them out evenly on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to cool.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour for 2 minutes, then pour in half-and-half and bring to a boil, whisking constantly; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Let cool.

Using a food processor, chop the remaining onion and the carrots. Transfer to a bowl. Add the beets to the processor and chop. Transfer to a kitchen towel, wrap and squeeze out any excess moisture.

Whisk the eggs, marinara, breadcrumbs, 1 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into the carrot mixture. Crumble in the turkey, beef and beets, and mix well. Transfer to a 9x13” oval casserole, pressing into an even layer. Top with the potatoes and cheese sauce.

Place the casserole on a baking sheet and bake until the edges are bubbly and top is browned, about 40 minutes. Cover with foil and continue cooking until a meat thermometer placed in the center of the loaf registers 175°F, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Purée basil, EVOO, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve with the meatloaf.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmesan

We just love chicken Parmesan!  This tomato sauce is so good, it would stand alone with pasta.  Of course, without using the oil the chicken was cooked in, it would change the character of the sauce.

One thing I need to learn to do is trust that the chicken is done!  I overcooked the smaller pieces a bit.  I have finally discovered the secret to keeping fried chicken from sticking -- it's a combination of oil and butter!  This is the second time I've tried a recipe that called for both, and it worked like magic.

The recipe appeared in Parade on Sunday February 26, 2012.  It comes from the amazing Pioneer Woman.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmesan

1/2 cup flour
8 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to uniform thickness
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup wine (white or red - I used a pinot noir)
3 14.5 oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 chopped fresh parsley, divided, plus more for garnish (I used about 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning in the sauce instead)
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb linguine or any other pasta, cooked al dente

Combine flour with salt and pepper to taste on large plate.  Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.  Dredge them in seasoned flour, set aside.

Heat oil and butter in a skillet on medium-high.  Fry chicken until golden, about 3 minutes per side.  Remove from skillet, keep warm.  Add garlic and onion to pan.  Cook for 2 minutes.

Pour wine and scrape skillet, getting flavorful bits off bottom.  Cook for 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.

Stir in tomatoes, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.  Add 1/8 cup parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Arrange chicken on top of sauce.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.  Cover skillet and simmer until cheese melts and chicken is hot.  Sprinkle with 1/8 cup parsley.  Put pasta on plates, top with chicken, sauce and parsley.

Pasta Puttanesca

I had never had pasta puttanesca, but then I saw it made on a local news channel. I had some confusion about the amounts and also referred to the Martha Stewart version. Over the past few years, I've made it my own, adding a jar of marinated artichokes, because I like them. This is my version. It makes a hearty two servings.


1/2 lb linguine
1 1/2 T olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or 1-2 cloves crushed and a small onion chopped
dash to 1/4 tsp crushed red-pepper flakes
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
abt 2 T capers, drained
abt 1/2 c olives, quartered
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente.
While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until aromatic, 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, capers, and olives. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Stir pasta into sauce. Cook, stirring, until sauce clings to pasta, about 2 minutes.

Pineapple Lush Dip

This recipe is so good, you might want to skip the pound cake and cookies and eat it with a spoon!

It comes from a recent issue of Kraft Food & Family Magazine.  It's super easy and makes a great presentation at a party.  It is also the filling for the Pineapple Lush Cake, which is made with an angel food cake cut into layers.  I've made that before and it is also fantastic!

Pineapple Lush Dip

1 pkg vanilla instant pudding
1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple, undrained
1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip (I use the whole thing, although the recipe only calls for 1 cup)

Mix pudding and pineapple together and stir for 2 minutes.  Gently stir in Cool Whip.  And you're done!

I serve it with Nilla wafers and pound cake cubes, but Kraft suggests pears, apples, bananas, grapes, oranges and pomegranate seeds.  That is a bit more fussy, and I worried about how it would look after it's been sitting out on the party buffet for a little while.  But it would be tasty!

Creamy Chicken Pesto & Bowtie Pasta

I enjoy the simplicity of the Philly Cooking Cremes and thought it was time to try another one. I absolutely adore the Santa Fe flavor and the enchiladas and although this wasn't as good as that (I *really* love those enchiladas!) this was pretty tasty and fairly simple to throw together. The pesto flavor wasn't overly strong either, in my opinion anyway, if that's an issue for anybody.

Ingredients:

1lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1cup frozen peas
1/3cup red pepper strips
1tub (10 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Creamy Pesto Cooking Creme
2cups hot cooked farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
1/2cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

COOK and stir chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 to 7 min. or until done. Add peas and peppers; cook 2 to 3 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

ADD cooking creme; cook and stir 2 min.

STIR in pasta; top with mozzarella.

Chicken Cacciatore

I thought it was time to try another one of the McCormick spice kits last night. Again, we have the spices, but there is something very handy about having that all pre measured for you. I don't believe I've ever had chicken cacciatore before, so I don't have a comparison. But I thought it turned out very tasty. I served it on yellow rice.

1 package McCormick® Recipe Inspirations Chicken Cacciatore Or:

1/2 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Minced Garlic

1 tsp Marjoram Leaves

1/2 tsp Oregano Leaves

1/2 tsp Crushed Rosemary Leaves

1/2 tsp Thyme Leaves

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 package (8 ounces) mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into thin strips (1 cup)

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1. Mix flour, salt and Pepper in shallow dish. Coat chicken evenly with flour mixture.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from skillet. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. Add mushrooms, onions and bell peppers; cook and stir 5 minutes on medium heat or until tender.

3. Stir in remaining ingredients and Spices. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Serve over cooked pasta or rice, if desired.