Pasta e Fagioli

My husband was out for the evening so my friend and her son came over for dinner. Since it was a cold and rainy day, I was in the mood for a hearty Italian soup. I found a Cooking Light recipe for Pasta e Fagioli that I adapted. It was rich in flavor and thick with beans, meat and pasta. At the last minute I threw in some fresh spinach which topped it off nicely. This soup was served with a fresh salad made by my friend and some crusty bread lathered with butter. All of us loved this soup, especially the kids. It was a wonderful meal shared with great friends.

* 2 tsp olive oil
* 2-3 turkey Italian sausage, casing removed
* 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
* 4 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, blended
* 4 cups of chicken broth
* 2 15 oz cans of white beans, drained
* 1 tsp of dried basil
* 1/2 tsp of dried oregano
* Pinch of crushed red pepper
* Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
* 1 cup of tubed shaped pasta
* 1-2 cups of fresh baby spinach
* 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
* Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish



Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the turkey sausage, removed from casing, and cook until done and well crumbled. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds then add the chicken broth. Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl, blend the tomatoes thoroughly with an immersion blender (or just use a blender) then pour into the Dutch oven. Add the drained beans and seasonings to the soup and simmer partly covered for 1-2 hours.

When you are ready to eat, turn the soup up to a slow boil then add the pasta and cook per instructions. Taste the soup and re-season if needed. Once the pasta is cooked, add the fresh spinach and parsley. Serve with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy.

Note: Be careful not to add too much pasta because it will thicken up the soup too much.

Roasted Vegetable Medley

We were leaving town for the weekend and I needed to use up the vegetables in my refrigerator. I grabbed the fennel, zucchini, squash, onion, green beans and asparagus. I roasted the fennel and onion for 30 minutes then added the rest of the vegetables and roasted until fork tender. I topped it with lemon zest and fresh shaved Parmesan cheese. It was a delicious side dish that we all really loved.

* Handful of green beans, trimmed
* Handful of asparagus spears, ends removed
* 1/2 a fennel bulb, sliced into chunks
* 1/2 an onion, sliced into chunks
* 1 yellow squash, cut into spears
* 1 zucchini, cut into spears
* 2 tsp olive oil
* Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
* Zest of one lemon
* Parmesan cheese shavings



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Chop the onion and fennel into large chunks, making sure to leave the cores on so the chunks stay attached. Drizzle with one teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes then remove from oven. Add the other vegetables to the baking sheet, drizzle the last teaspoon of olive oil over the veggies and re-season with salt and pepper, toss to coat. Roast for an additional 10 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender. Top with lemon zest and Parmesan shavings. Enjoy.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

I had some lean ground beef that I needed to use up. I Googled ground beef recipes and kept coming up with salisbury steak. I used to love those frozen dinners in the tin tray when I was a kid. I decided to try my hand at a healthy yet tasty version of salisbury steak. I used packaged brown gravy because my daughter loves it and it's low in fat and calories. The bacon, roasted garlic and caramelized onion really made the steak patties full of flavor. This was an easy meal to make and tasted really delicious - it took me back to my childhood. My husband and I both enjoyed this dish and our kids did too.

* 3 tsp olive oil (divided)
* 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
* 8 oz of button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
* 1 lb of lean ground beef (96/4)
* Bulb of roasted garlic
* 2 pieces of bacon, crumbled
* Snider's Prime Rib seasoning (or your favorite steak seasoning), to taste
* Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
* 1-2 packets of brown gravy mix, prepared per instructions



Prepare roasted garlic (click on link above for directions). Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, once done remove to a paper towel to drain. Remove all but 1 teaspoon of bacon grease from the skillet then add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion and cook until soft and tender, about 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil to the same skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms once the pan is very hot. Let them sit, without stirring for 3-4 minutes for a nice golden color. Flip the mushrooms and continue to cook for a few minutes until golden brown.

In a small saucepan, prepare gravy per instructions. Once it's thickened, add the golden mushrooms and simmer.

Combine the ground beef, bacon bits, caramelized onion, roasted garlic bulb, steak seasoning, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper in a large bowl. Form into oval shaped patties, not too thick or thin. Add the last teaspoon of olive oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the salisbury steak patties and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or to your desired degree of doneness.

Place the cooked steak patties on a serving dish and cover with mushroom gravy. Enjoy.

Turkey, Swiss and Vegetable Sandwich

I was craving a healthy lunch filled with fruits and vegetables. I had some turkey, low fat Swiss cheese and loads of veggies in the fridge so I decided to make a tasty sandwich filled with good things. This was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. The flavors were fantastic. It was hearty, filling and delicious. I served with fresh grapes and strawberries for a very satisfying lunch.

* 2 pieces of good whole wheat bread
* 3 thick slices of roasted turkey breast
* Roma tomato slices
* Cucumber slices
* Avocado slices
* Handful of sprouts
* Handful of baby spinach leaves
* Thin slices of red onion
* 1 piece of low fat Swiss cheese
* Low fat mayonnaise
* Deli mustard (optional)
* Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste



Add the mayonnaise and mustard to the slices of bread. Add the turkey, spinach, tomato, sprouts, cucumber, red onion, Swiss cheese and avocado. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Featured Recipes for Crispy Fried Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken, cut into pieces - 1 (4 pound)
Buttermilk - 1 cup
All-purpose flour for coating - 2 cups
Paprika - 1 tsp
Salt and pepper - to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

Method

1.Take your cut up chicken pieces and skin them .

2.Put the flour in a large plastic bag and season the flour with paprika, salt and pepper to taste (paprika helps to brown the chicken).

3.Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk then, a few at a time, put them in the bag with the flour, seal the bag and shake to coat well.

4.Place the coated chicken on a cookie sheet or tray, and cover with a clean dish towel or waxed paper.

5.Set it aside until the flour becomes a paste like consistency

6.Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about 1/3 to 1/2 full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot.

7.Put in as many chicken pieces as the skillet can hold. Brown the chicken in HOT oil on both sides.

8.When browned, reduce heat and cover skillet; let cook for 30 minutes (the chicken will be cooked through but not crispy).

9.Remove cover, raise heat again and continue to fry until crispy.

10.Drain the fried chicken on paper towels.

11.Depending on how much chicken you have, you may have to fry in a few shifts. Keep the finished chicken in a slightly warm oven while preparing the rest.

Chicken and Galangal Soup Recipe

Ingredients : Serves 6

1 Roasting chicken

10 slices Fresh, frozen, dried or brined galangal

400 ml Canned coconut milk

4 Coriander plants with roots

12 Black peppercorns, pounded

2 stems Lemon grass, thinly sliced

4 Fresh green chilies

1 teaspoon Salt or to taste

6 Fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves

1 tablespoon Fish sauce

Lime juice to taste


Method :

*

Cut the chicken into joints, then chop the joints into small serving pieces.
*

If using dried galangal, soak it in hot water to cover for 30 minutes.
*

Put chicken and galangal into a saucepan.
*

Set aside half the can of coconut milk for adding later, and dilute the rest with water to make 750 ml thin coconut milk.
*

Add thin milk to the pan with the chicken, add the well-washed and crushed coriander roots, pepper, lemon grass, whole chilies, salt and lime leaves.
*

Bring to the boil over low heat.
*

Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is tender.
*

Add the thick coconut milk, stirring constantly until heated through.
*

Remove from heat and stir in fish sauce and sufficient lime juice to give a piquant flavor.
*

Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander leaves and with steamed rice served separately.

Thai-Garlic Chicken

A while ago, while searching out recipes, I stumbled across a video cook on You Tube. He has a great series of videos called Cooking With Kai. I've made his Mongolian Beef several times (it's very good), last night we had his Kung Pao Chicken (another winner), and here's the Thai Garlic Chicken I made last week. You can check out all of Kai's recipes by visiting his You Tube profile, great stuff there!

Note: The key to stir fry cooking is to have all ingredients measured out and sitting close by BEFORE you begin. Stir frying is a fast process and you don't have time to cut things up as you go.

Thai-Garlic Chicken
Serves 2-3

(I double everything in this recipe and it feeds a family of 6. However, please note that my nine year old rarely eats anything and my eleven year old eats a small portion, so maybe realistically it serves 4-5.)

1 lb boneless chicken, cut into bite size pieces
cooking oil
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
1 carrot, sliced thin (can substitute water chestnuts, I did both)
4 green onions, cut into 1" pieces
1 cup straw mushrooms (hubby hates mushrooms so I substituted broccoli)

Set wok to medium heat and add 1 tbsp. cooking oil. Add garlic, stir fry 15-20 seconds.

Add vegetables, stir fry for 1 minute. Remove vegetable to a platter and wipe out wok.

Set wok to medium heat again and add 1 tbsp. cooking oil. Add chicken, stir fry 3-5 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.

When chicken is done, do not remove it from pan, push it all off to one side of the wok. On the other side of the wok, add chicken stock, cornstarch, soy sauce, and cooking wine. Stir until sauce thickens, a few minutes. Add chicken into sauce and stir to combine. Add vegetables and stir fry everything for a few minutes until combined well.

Serve over white rice.