This is a pasta dish that never really appealed to me….the whole raw egg thing.  Until I saw Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals.  Traditionally Carbonara is made with [...]]]> Here is another pasta dish…I seem to have a few pasta dishes accumulated in my draft posts…but this one was so dang yummy just had to share right away!

This is a pasta dish that never really appealed to me….the whole raw egg thing.  Until I saw Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals.  Traditionally Carbonara is made with cream – Jamie used yogurt.  Plus I discovered the egg actually cooks in the hot pasta.  And you bet – I sooo did not make this in 15 minutes. I guess I am just too slow in the kitchen, no matter how organized I feel I am.

The sauce was rich and creamy – so delicious!   So here  is my take on Jamie’s Carbonara.

4 cups Gluten Free Penne Pasta – cook as per directions

1 large shallot, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 slices of bacon, chopped and cooked until brown

2 large crimini mushrooms, diced

2 big Tblsp. fresh flat leaf Italian Parsley, finely chopped

4 heaping Tblsp. Organic whole plan yogurt

1 large jumbo organic egg – bring to room temperature

salt and pepper

lots of Parmesan cheese

Heat up a saute pan on medium heat and cook the bacon bits.  Once cooked, remove to a bowl.  Turn down the heat to low and saute the shallots, mushrooms and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Meanwhile cook the pasta as per directions.  Reserve a cup full of the cooked pasta water and set aside.

Add the egg to the yogurt, 1/2 a cup of Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper, mixing well.  Remove 1 cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta, and add 1/4 – 1/2 a cup of pasta water to the saute pan of mushrooms and shallots.  Scrape up any brown bits, then add in the pasta.  Take the pan off of the heat and add the yogurt/egg mixture – stirring quickly to mix well.  Add the bacon and fresh parsley then transfer to a platter.

Serve while hot and add extra Parmesan Cheese.  So so good.  Seriously, you can not go wrong with Jamie’s recipes – they always end up great!

I still do not know how much I will be on this blog this summer, but will give it the best I can given my [...]]]> I finally got a day off – the first in ten days!  So I headed to the kitchen to make this tasty side dish for the BBQ we are having tonight.

I still do not know how much I will be on this blog this summer, but will give it the best I can given my busy work season. (Janet asked…bless her heart, so this summer I will do what I can).  xoxo

This recipe is a take on homemade “baked” beans, but quicker, and done on the stove top.  A great vegetarian dish, or as a side dish for any Barbequed meats.  It is also tasty with cooked natural hot dogs.  You could soak pinto beans over night and cook them the next day, but for a quicker version, I used canned pinto beans for this dish.

2  398 ml. cans of pinto beans – drain, but save some of the liquid

1 onion – chopped

4 garlic cloves – minced

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1  28 oz. can of whole tomatoes

1  small can of tomato paste

2 Tblsp. Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tblsp. Black Strap Molasses

1/2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 large bay leaf

salt and fresh cracked pepper

grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Add the whole tomatoes and liquid to a food processor to puree.  Then add in the tomato paste, and pulse until combined.

Heat up a dutch oven on low medium heat with 2 Tblsp. EVOO.  Add in the onion and garlic, sauteing until soft.  Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Pour in the tomato sauce and add in the balsamic vinegar, black strap molasses, allspice, rosemary, bay leaf, and season again with salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Mix well, and bring to a light simmer.

Simmer for 30 minutes to reduce stirring occasionally.

Add in the canned beans, stir well, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

We had this with BBQ’d Turkey Ranch Burgers and potato salad…it feels like summer is finally here!

Life in my neck of the woods is getting super super busy with work.  [...]]]> This chicken dish very closely resembles Chicken Cacciatore.  The process is somewhat different – as I made it into a chicken cheese bake in the oven.   We had this dish served over pasta, however, it would also be tasty served over rice.

Life in my neck of the woods is getting super super busy with work.  I may take a hiatus from the blog for a while.  I will see how busy my schedule becomes over the summer months.  (I worked 7 days this week…I am one tired “puppy”…but I do love it too!)  

680 ml. Basil Passata

water added to the passata jar, shake up, to equal 1/4 of the jar

6-8 chicken pieces, breasts and thighs, skin on bone in

salt and pepper

1 Tblsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 large crimini mushrooms sliced and roughly chopped

1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, halved then thinly sliced

2 Tblsp.  balsamic vinegar

2 Tblsp. water

Parmesan Cheese

Asiago Cheese

Here is a picture of the sliced veggies:

Heat up a frying pan on medium heat with the EVOO.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat the pan for at least five minutes, then add the chicken pieces skin side down.  Do not turn over for at least 5-6 minutes so the skin will get nice and golden.  Once turned, leave in the pan for 2 more minutes, then transfer the chicken to a platter.

Turn the heat down to low/medium and and in the mushrooms sauteing until golden.  Then add in the sliced onions, season with salt and pepper.  Saute until the onions begin to get some golden color, then add in the peppers and minced garlic.  Saute another 2-3 minutes.

Add in the Balsamic vinegar and 2 Tblsp. of water, scraping up any brown bits.  Continue to saute until all the liquid is evaporated.  Transfer to a casserole dish.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add the onion pepper mixture to the bottom of your casserole dish.

Then lay down the chicken pieces on top, as well as any of the juices in the platter.  Pour the Passata sauce throughout the chicken.  Add the water to the passata jar, shake up, the add evenly through out the passata.  Generously spread grated Parmesan cheese through out the casserole and place in the oven uncovered.

Bake for 40 minutes then remove from the oven and top with a generous amount of Asiago cheese.  Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.  Serve over gluten free pasta, or rice.

This is not so much of a recipe, but more of a method – so easy, and so tasty.  I’ll also post some [...]]]> We live for asparagus season in this household.  When it arrives – we have asparagus dishes pretty much every day.  Here is an interesting article on the health benefits of this power food.

This is not so much of a recipe, but more of a method – so easy, and so tasty.  I’ll also post some of our favorite asparagus recipes to entice your taste buds.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND TOMATOES WITH FETA CHEESE AND POACHED EGGS:

8 fresh asparagus spears

feta cheese

dash of season salt – I used this one

dash of balsamic vinegar

3 small tomatoes sliced

splash of olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Add the asparagus to a roasting pan along with the tomatoes, and a sprinking of feta cheese, olive oil, season salt, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper tossing to combine.

Roast for 20 minutes and serve along side a poached egg.  This dish is lovely on it’s own, or as a side dish to any main meal.

Onto more asparagus dishes:

ROASTED ASPARAGUS BACON CHEESE TART:

Then we have a lovely CREAM OF ASPARAGUS VEGETABLE SOUP:

One of my very favorite risotto’s:  VEGETARIAN RISOTTO:

And finally a delicious SHRIMP AND ASPARAGUS SALAD:

Recently, I had a most delicious asparagus dish at a restaurant – it was to die for.  It was asparagus wrapped in goats cheese and polenta.  It looked difficult to make, but I will give it a try, and keep everyone posted if it works out. Not holding my breath here…but wish me luck!

This might be my new favorite salad….so good!  We have a deli downtown that makes a very good Thai Broccoli Salad, which I will often have for lunch when I am at work.  One day, I decided to ask them for the recipe…thinking they probably would not give it to me, however, it never hurts [...]]]>

This might be my new favorite salad….so good!  We have a deli downtown that makes a very good Thai Broccoli Salad, which I will often have for lunch when I am at work.  One day, I decided to ask them for the recipe…thinking they probably would not give it to me, however, it never hurts to ask, all they can say is no right?  Well no it was.  So I thought no matter, I’ll go home and make it myself.  And you know what?  From now on I will be bringing my own Thai Broccoli Salad for lunch.

This salad makes a generous serving for two, so just double the recipe for more.

2 1/2 cups organic broccoli florets

2 broccoli stalks, peeled, sliced in half, quartered and diced

zest of 1/2 a fresh lime

just over 1/4 cup diced red onion

handful of finely chopped fresh cilantro

toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

2 big Tblsp. Gluten Free Soy Sauce or more to taste

1 tsp. Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste

juice of one lime

1/2 to 1 tsp. toasted sesame seed oil or to taste

1 big tsp. Agave Nectar

1 big Tblsp. peanut butter

Add the broccoli florets to boiling water, and boil 1 minute.  Drain and add to an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Drain and add to a bowl, with the diced broccoli stalks, lime zest, and fresh cilantro.

In another bowl mix up the dressing ingredients – whisking well.  Pour over the broccoli, and toss well to coat.  Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the top and refrigerate a couple of hours to marinate.  Before serving, toss well and enjoy!

In my recipe – I made everything from scratch, my process was quite a bit different as well.  Homemade creamy mushroom soup, and homemade season salt.  And of course it is gluten free.  There were great combination flavors in [...]]]> This recipe was inspired by the Pioneer Woman’s Chicken casserole recipe.  You can find Ree’s recipe here.

In my recipe – I made everything from scratch, my process was quite a bit different as well.  Homemade creamy mushroom soup, and homemade season salt.  And of course it is gluten free.  There were great combination flavors in this dish.  Thanks Ree for the inspiration!

Season Salt Blend:

1 tsp. ground Bay Leaf

1 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. tumeric

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

10 grinds of black pepper

Mix all of the spices together in a jar until well blended.  This can be used as a seasoning on any meat or fish – you may want to triple the recipe.

1 cut up chicken – breasts, thighs, drumsticks (once cooked you will want 2 generous cups of shredded chicken)

water to cover the chicken well

1/2 onion, 1 large bay leaf, a couple of celery tops with leaves roughly chopped

Mushroom/Bacon Sauce:

4 slices of bacon, diced and fried crisp

2 Tblsp. butter

4-5 crimini mushrooms, diced

1 large shallot, diced

3 minced garlic cloves

3 tsp. season salt (save 1 tsp. for the cooked chicken mixed with the vegetables)

3 cups of non dairy milk – I used Soy

4-5 heaping Tblsp. Sweet Rice Flour

salt and pepper

1 pkg gluten free spaghetti, broken into three sections

1 onion, diced

1/4 cup red bell pepper

1/4 cup green pepper

2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

I started by making the season salt blend.  Then onto the creamy mushroom/bacon soup.  This is really more like a very thick sauce.  If you think back to how thick canned mushroom soup is that will be the consistency you will want to achieve.

Heat up a frying pan on medium heat.  Add the chopped bacon, and stir until nicely browned.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl.  I did not have a lot of bacon renderings, so I added 2 Tblsp. of butter to the pan, and turned down the heat a bit.

Add in the mushrooms, shallots and garlic, sauteing for 5-8 minutes until the mushrooms are golden.

Remove with a slotted spoon to the bowl of cooked bacon.  Add in the flour, and whisk 2-3 minutes.  It should start to smell a bit toasted.

Pour in the milk in batches, the whole time whisking well.  It may seem like it will not come together – but it will – just keep whisking and adding in the milk bit by bit.  Once all of the milk has been added, keep whisking and add in 2 tsp. of season salt.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

You will want the sauce to be very thick – like canned soup.  If necessary you can actually sprinkle in more sweet rice flour at this point – just keep whisking well.  Then add in the bacon, mushroom mixture to the sauce stirring to incorporate.  This will give you a good 3 cups of sauce.

The above picture was taken in different lighting than the sauce in the frying pan – but this actually looks like cream of mushroom soup!

Next:  making the chicken broth:

Add the chicken pieces to a pot, with half a roughly chopped onion, a bunch of celery tops with the leaves, and a bay leaf.  Season with salt and pepper, then add water to completely cover.

Put on high heat and then turn down to a strong simmer.  The next step is soooo important.  For the next 45 minutes you must skim the broth.  It is vital to remove the impurities.  Here is a picture of the yuck:

What this essentially is is boiled blood and impurities coming out of the chicken….gross!  While you are skimming, have a kettle on the boil so you can continually, top up the broth while you are skimming away this yuck!

After 45 minutes you will have lovely clear chicken broth…see how clear?  Remove the cooked chicken to a platter to cool.  Then strain off the onion, celery and bay leaf.

Remove 2 cups of the broth and set aside.  Keep the broth on minimum heat, while you prep the onion, red and green peppers.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin, and pull off the meat from the bones into a bowl.  (save the bones to roast for 30 min. in a 350 oven, let cool then freeze with any other roasted chicken carcasses you might have to make stock) (I save all of my roast chicken carcasses, freezing them until I have about 4 to make a lovely rich stock)

Combine the chicken with the chopped vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and 1 more tsp. of season salt.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bring the remaining broth (add water if necessary) to a boil, season well with salt.  Break your gluten free pasta into three sections.  Add to the boiling salted broth stirring well.  Cook as per directions, except, decrease cooking time by 4 minutes.  The pasta will cook in the oven as well.

Drain the pasta.  Add 1/2 of the cheddar cheese to the chicken vegetable mixture, then the mushroom soup/sauce mixing well.  Add the pasta to a casserole dish, then the chicken vegetable mixture.  Pour in the reserved broth…you may not need all of the 2 cups.  Mix well until a nice consistency is achieved, you want to see some liquid….not dry!

Cover with the remaining cheddar cheese, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Allow to rest 5 minutes before plating.

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken – cut into cubes

1 large avocado cut into [...]]]> Having leftover cooked chicken in the fridge can be a godsend on busy days.  This salad makes such an easy delicious lunch, or dinner for that matter.  With fresh spring greens, ripe avocados and fresh lime juice – a perfect match of ingredients.

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken – cut into cubes

1 large avocado cut into cubes

juice of 1/2 a lime

2 big Tblsp. fresh minced cilantro

4 heaping Tblsp. mayonnaise

1 green onion, diced

1/2 of a celery rib, diced small

salt and pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix well.  Serve over fresh lettuce greens.

Now that I have finished eating this salad – I just realized, it would also be tasty with a sprinkling of toasted sunflower seeds on top.  I mentioned this to my dtr. as she was polishing off the last of the salad – mouth very full – her eyes grew large while she vigorously nodded her head in agreement.  We will have to try that next time!