It has been a while since I posted a recipe. That would be due to the busy, busy schedule my husband and I have been keeping lately. The past 2 weekends have been spent attending friends' weddings - both of which were TONS of fun. In the in between time of traveling and wedding attending, we've been trying to keep our house in order.
Last week we decided that we would mix things up a bit with a 7-day 'food cleanse'. With a really restricted menu of foods to choose from and a limited set of cooking methods, there wasn't much to blog about. It was supposed to be 2 days of only fruits and vegetables, days 3 and 4 incorporated beans, rice, peanut butter and oatmeal, and days 5 through 7 we could add white fish into the mix. No dairy, so no coffee.
Long story short, we lasted approximately 2 days. At the end of day 2 when my husband had to leave work early on account of a killer headache and I came home to him laying in bed, in the dark at 5:30 pm, I decided our cleanse had to end. He had such bad caffeine withdrawal he couldn't open his eyes. I made him drink a Coke on the spot, and then I took him to Boston Market for some sustenance. All has been right in the world since!
What on earth were we thinking? Our day to day life is already so jam-packed as it is, why would we intentionally do something to make it more difficult?! Sometimes we are really crazy :)
So this week, I've been able to cook real dinners. Like tonight's dinner - American Chop Suey. Mine is an original recipe that is ready in about 30-40 minutes. A few basic ingredients simmered in a large skilet on the stovetop - perfect for a weeknight meal!
American Chop Suey
Ingredients:
1 package lean ground turkey - approx 2 lbs
1 large can Kitchen Ready Tomatoes (i use Pastene brand, but you can use any crushed)
1 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 large white onion, chopped
3 tsp minced garlic
3 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
In large skillet, heat oil. Saute onion with garlic until tender. Add turkey. Brown turkey, season with salt and pepper. Add both cans of tomatoes, stir to incorporate. Add garlic and onion powder. Stir to incorporate. Let Simmer 3-4 minutes. Add basil and oregano. Simmer 5 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, stirring to incorporate. Simmer 10 minutes. Add Parmesan. Stir to incorporate. Simmer 10 more minutes.
While sauce is simmering, cook box of multigrain elbow macaroni. Drain. When sauce mixture is done, top pasta with sauce and serve with extra grated cheese.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Waiting out the storm with a homemade pasta experiment
Well, Hurricane, um, er, Tropical Storm Irene has pretty much come and gone. In our area, there isn't much sign that she was here. Our lights stayed on and our trees are still standing. We saw plenty of rain and it's still a little windy, but all in all, it was a low key day at home. We watched plenty of Instant Streaming on Netflix - we started watching 'Scrubs' from the pilot episode. Everyone needs a little mindless comedy.
Since we had so much time on our hands and the electricity was working, I decided to experiment with homemade pasta. It was inspired by a show on the cooking channel with Mario Batali. He was visiting a few restaurants where they were making homemade pasta. I decided to give it a shot - I had time and I wasn't going anywhere.
Handmade macaroni was a specialty of my grandmother's, and my mom is an expert at homemade ravioli. They spent years rolling out pasta by hand - no pasta machines necessary! That's the method I used as well. To go along with the handmade macaroni, we needed sauce (gravy as my husband would call it) and meatballs. Both made from scratch, too. The sauce and meatballs were my husband's contribution - they are his specialty.
The end result was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend that everyone try making pasta from scratch - it has a flavor and texture that can't be replicated through mass production.
Here's the recipe I used for the macaroni dough:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp water
Combine flour and salt in medium size bowl. Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl. Create a small well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet mixture into the well. Begin mixing the wet ingredients with a for slowly incorporating more and more of the flour until incorporated. Finish mixing with hands.
Move dough to floured work surface and knead until shiny and elastic. Add small amounts of flour during kneading if dough is too sticky. Form a ball and place dough ball into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for at least 10 minutes at room temperature.
When ready to roll out the macaroni, remove from bowl and place on floured work surface. Flatten ball into a small disc with hands. Using a rolling pin, roll from center out, repeating until thinned. Occassionally turn disc so as to thin equally. Add flour to surface should dough begin to stick. Roll out until dough is paper thin.
Once dough is thinned and not sticky, roll dough onto itself lightly from one edge to the other, until completely rolled. Beginning at one end, begin slicing 1/8 inch sections - chiffonade style.
Shake out cut pieces into long thin strips. Lay out on wax paper to dry. Macaroni can be placed in freezer to store.
When cooking the pasta, the pasta will cook quickly - within 5 minutes in boiling water. Drain and then top with your favorite sauce and enjoy!
The pasta can be used for ravioli as well. Instead of rolling and cutting, leave the thinned pasta in the sheet form.
Since we had so much time on our hands and the electricity was working, I decided to experiment with homemade pasta. It was inspired by a show on the cooking channel with Mario Batali. He was visiting a few restaurants where they were making homemade pasta. I decided to give it a shot - I had time and I wasn't going anywhere.
Handmade macaroni was a specialty of my grandmother's, and my mom is an expert at homemade ravioli. They spent years rolling out pasta by hand - no pasta machines necessary! That's the method I used as well. To go along with the handmade macaroni, we needed sauce (gravy as my husband would call it) and meatballs. Both made from scratch, too. The sauce and meatballs were my husband's contribution - they are his specialty.
The end result was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend that everyone try making pasta from scratch - it has a flavor and texture that can't be replicated through mass production.
Here's the recipe I used for the macaroni dough:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp water
Combine flour and salt in medium size bowl. Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl. Create a small well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet mixture into the well. Begin mixing the wet ingredients with a for slowly incorporating more and more of the flour until incorporated. Finish mixing with hands.
Move dough to floured work surface and knead until shiny and elastic. Add small amounts of flour during kneading if dough is too sticky. Form a ball and place dough ball into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for at least 10 minutes at room temperature.
When ready to roll out the macaroni, remove from bowl and place on floured work surface. Flatten ball into a small disc with hands. Using a rolling pin, roll from center out, repeating until thinned. Occassionally turn disc so as to thin equally. Add flour to surface should dough begin to stick. Roll out until dough is paper thin.
Once dough is thinned and not sticky, roll dough onto itself lightly from one edge to the other, until completely rolled. Beginning at one end, begin slicing 1/8 inch sections - chiffonade style.
Shake out cut pieces into long thin strips. Lay out on wax paper to dry. Macaroni can be placed in freezer to store.
When cooking the pasta, the pasta will cook quickly - within 5 minutes in boiling water. Drain and then top with your favorite sauce and enjoy!
The pasta can be used for ravioli as well. Instead of rolling and cutting, leave the thinned pasta in the sheet form.
Hurricane Eve Pizza: Nana's Pizza
On the eve of Hurricane Irene, we decided we would order a bunch of pizza so we could have leftovers should the power go out. (Read = we didn't feel like cooking!) We had my in-laws over so we needed a place that would have Gluten Free options for my father-in-law. We decided to try out Nana's Pizza in Everett, MA, since it was closest driving distance. (Well, if you don't count the 20 minutes my husband got lost picking up the pizza, it was the closest.)
It was excellent! Even the Gluten Free Pizza was very good according to my father-in-law. I also sampled the Gluten Free Chicken Wings and they were quite tasty. There are more and more restaurants with Gluten Free options, but it is still challenging to find something that tastes good. Nana's Pizza did a great job.
Their other menu options were also excellent. We had a regular cheese pizza, mushroom and pepperoni, all of which far exceeded our expectations. We also sampled one of their Specialty Pizzas - the Zsa Zsa - it was bellissimo! One of the best pizzas that we've had recently. It is a white pizza with fresh tomato slices, ground garlic, oil and a topped with a four cheese blend. I highly recommend it!
Today we're riding out Hurricane Irene at home. We have a TON of leftover pizza, so we'll see how it does when it's reheated. For me, I like to eat it cold! That will be a good thing especially if the power goes out!
Hope everyone is staying safe in this hurricane!
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