How Little Do You Feel Like Cooking - Reprise.....Awsome Pasta Sauce!

Home from a rough day of work, glass of wine in hand, and BOY do you NOT feel like cooking!  Been there, done that - in fact, I am there almost every night.  Lynne and I often forage through the fridge trying to decide what to eat.  

SOOOOO , pasta occasionally raises its tasty head.  We often keep a jar of tomato basil sauce handy – I happen to like Barilla, but it really doesn’t matter, since the transformation from jar to plate is pretty much complete before I get through with it.   So here goes – Dan’s Kitchen Sink Pasta Sauce: Sauce with what ever you have around in it – everything but the kitchen sink….. ok, maybe I am working this too hard… already, did this recipe once on the blog, ( check out November 2010 “ how little do you feel like cooking” post )  but added mushrooms this time…. Seriously, this takes a jar of pasta sauce into the home made realm…: this is good enough for a second hit - last time,  I promise!

Here we go:

1 Jar Tomato Basil Sauce, of your choice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced fine
1 hand full 3 color frozen peppers, rough chopped
3 turkey sausages, de skinned, and diced fine
3 tbs olive oil
5 twists fresh ground sea salt, 3 twists fresh ground pepper
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
pinch red pepper flakes
½ 28 oz can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
Hand full of sliced mushrooms

Heat the olive oil, add garlic and onions.  Sauté until translucent, add sausage, cook thoroughly , mincing with a spatula to small pieces.  About 8 minutes.  Add mushrooms, and sauté for about 4 minutes until just starting to soften.  Add peppers,  diced tomatoes and spices, sauté till warm through out.   Add jar of sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 20 minutes minimum – the longer the better. 

Cook 2 portions of whole wheat pasta according to instructions, ( Regular if you  are lucky enough not to be on a carb restricted diet) and serve with fresh ground parmesan cheese… 15 minutes total, and tastes like you went out to dinner. Serve with a nice red wine – preferably in front of a fire, and life is good….. 

Apologies for the repeat, but this is a great, simple way to eat home made quick and easy!

Bon appetite!

Baked Brie with Pears and Rasberry Jam

This is a fairly simple recipe, and a great party appetizer.  As an aside, I always cut off the white coating on the brie ... which can be a pain, but to me is worth the effort.

Servings: 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 wheel (8 oz.) Brie cheese
• 1 box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Dough Sheets
• 2 pears, fresh
• 2 Tsp. butter
• 3 tbs Raspberry Jam
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Remove puff pastry dough from box and let thaw if frozen
2. Slice pears into wedges, about ¼ to ½ inch thick (no core pieces)
3. Melt butter in a sauté pan and sauté pears until tender
4. Place pears on a flat plate and place in refrigerator to cool
5. Remove white coating from Brie wheel
6. Stretch puff pastry out, place pieces side to side and roll lightly to pull seams together
7. Crack eggs into a bowl and whip with ½ cup of milk
8. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash onto seams of dough to seal
9. Spread Golden Raspberry Jam on top of the brie
10. Place cooled, sliced pears on top of the jam and then place the puff pastry dough over the cheese wheel
11. Egg wash the edges of the dough and fold around the brie to fully envelope the wheel of cheese
12. Carefully flip the wheel over and place it on a baking sheet pan
13. Gently brush egg wash all over puff pastry dough, being careful to NOT leave any puddles of egg wash
14. Bake in 350 degree F oven until crust is golden brown
15. Remove from the oven and let set for 15 to 20 minutes before serving
16. Place on your favorite serving tray, surround with slices of French bread, crackers and fruit and enjoy.

Delmonico Potatoes - a family favorite!

Lynne makes this at all of our family gatherings - its always a hit!

 

 

Delmonico Potatoes

This is an easy, and AWSOME potatoe recipe! Guaranteed to be in the family for generations!

Ingredients

1	Bag Frozen Hashbrowns – cubed or shredded
1	Can Cream of Chicken soup
1	Container sour cream
2	Cups shredded cheddar cheese
½	Cup shredded swiss cheese
1	Small onion, diced
¾	Cup Butter

Directions

1.     Mix all ingredients in large bowl.      

2.     Place in a greased casserole dish or large oven proof bowl.

3.     Top with Panko Bread Crumbs.

4.     Bake 11/2 to 2 hours at 375 degrees, or until brown and bubbling.

Enjoy  -Bon Appetit!

Oven Roasted Stuffed Plum Tomatoes with Gorgonzola and Bacon and Spinach

        

This is a great side dish – we had them with a small New York Strip the other night – Kind of a twist on the stuffed mushrooms I made last week!

Ingredients:

2 large plum tomatoes

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 twists fresh ground sea salt ( or a  pinch of regular – not too much )

3 twists fresh ground pepper ( about 1/8 tbs)

1/8 tbs garlic powder

¾ tsp dried basil

2 strips bacon crumbled

¼ stick cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

2/3 cup fresh spinach, chopped fine ( frozen will work – just not as well)

¼ cup or so of Panko breadcrumbs.

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees

Slice the tomatoes in half, and scoop out the seeds.  In a small bowl, mix olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder with a whisk.  Add tomatoes and toss till well coated.

In the microwave, cook bacon on a paper towel at 1 minute per slice, plus one minute, then crumble.  Soften cream cheese in microwave for about 15 seconds on high, depending on your microwave – just watch it so it doesn’t melt.  Place chopped fresh spinach on a paper towel, and GENTLY heat for about 10 seconds on high – just barely warm, so watch this, or it will reduce to nothing VERY quickly!

In a separate bowl, mix basil, bacon, cheese and spinach with a fork, until well mixed.  Make 4 “snowballs” out of stuffing, and place in tomatoes.

Place tomatoes on small cookie sheet on foil or parchment paper, top with Panko bread crumbs, and drizzle with remaining olive oil.  Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Serve.  They make a nice, unusual side dish – especially simple for company!

Bon Appetit!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

 Had this for dinner the other night.  10 minutes from start to finish – and it is REALLY tasty – the goat cheese and tomatoes are a totally awesome taste combination. 

This is a super simple, super tasty recipe that is good for lunch or dinner.  It is from Suzanne Somers' Eat Great, Lose Weight cook book, slightly altered for two servings and our personal taste.  Her recipes are great, and always user friendly, and her diet plan makes sense nutritionally.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, (sliced in ½  width wise to thin them down if too thick - then becomes 4 servings.  They should only be about 1/2 inch thick.)

3 tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small clove garlic minced

1/2 to 2/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped

1 small package of goat cheese crumbled – about 4 oz or so ( although for me, the more the merrier!)

Mixed greens.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil, and sauté garlic till just starting to brown.  Add chicken and sauté until juices run clear – about 4 minutes per side.  The breasts can also be done on the grill.  Slice breasts on the diagonal into about 1 inch wide strips.

On a serving of mixed greens ( larger if dinner, smaller if lunch – about a handful)  Layer sliced chicken over greens, and top with sun dried tomatoes and crumbled  goat cheese.  Finish with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.  I recommend you make your own dressing over bottled – much tastier, and better for you because there are no preservatives.  Here is a basic recipe:

4 tbs high quality aged balsamic vinegar

12 tbs extra virgin olive oil

3 twists fresh ground sea salt

3 twists fresh ground pepper

pinch of garlic powder ( SMALL pinch!)

Add vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic in small mixing bowl.  Whisk in olive oil slowly, until it emulsifies, and turns a nice creamy color.  Serve immediately.  You can always re emulsify the dressing by re whisking before serving.

Dan's Kitchen Sink Shrimp Scampi - 15 minutes to awsome!

Dan’s Kitchen Sink Shrimp Scampi

Ok, here is a dish I made tonight, again, just with whatever I had sitting in my freezer or fridge ( hence the "kitchen sink", as in everything but....)  I keep frozen jumbo shrimp in the freezer pretty much all the time (21-25 per lb)  They are a super lo cal meal, simple to fix, and it was REALLY good!.  Throw in some shallots and garlic... basic necessity, and some veggies - and you are good to go!

Here are the ingredients I had to work with:

12 jumbo frozen shrimp, thawed, shelled, and cut in ½ width wise

½ bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets, thawed, and pressed in paper towel to remove liquid

2/3 cup sliced mushrooms

12 cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 small shallot, diced small

2 hand fulls baby spinach

3 or 4 shakes parmesan cheese

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 tsb dried basil

about 4 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

Sauté garlic and shallots in oil and butter , till translucent – about 2 minutes.  Add broccoli and cauliflower, sauté until warm – about 4 minutes.  Add mushrooms, and sauté until starting to turn soft- about 3 minutes.  Add shrimp and lemon juice and sauté until opaque – about 3 or 4 minutes.   Finally, add tomatoes and spinach, red peppers and a couple of shakes of parmesan cheese -  sauté till warm – about 1 or 2 minutes – just till spinach starts to wilt. Add another splash of lemon juice, or another tbs of butter if it is looking dry.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.  15 minutes from start till awsome!

There are practically NO calories in this meal –(ok, some from the oil and butter and cheese - probably about 350 per serving.. not much for a dinner meal - leave the butter  and cheese out to cut calories - the oil is a good fat!)  and it tastes awesome!  This will make enough for 2, with leftovers for a lunch.  Got some feta cheese - yum!  add it in!  ( yes, more calories.. but there is room...)I have even used blue or gorgonzola ( just a little goes a long way with a dish like this!)  You can serve it OVER the spinach if you wish ( or whole wheat pasta, but we aren't doing pasta for the time being) I just like to heat the spinach up with the sauce.  

Enjoy, Bon Appetite!

Carrot Soufle - if your kids hate carrots - give them this!

Ok, I am on a roll - first Brussels Sprouts, now carrot soufle - lets make veggies fun!!  This is an amazing dish, hot OR cold.  I guarantee your kids will love it.  I have made this for cooking classes, even as a sampler for a retail kitchen supply store, and everyone walking by that tasted it loved it.  Super simple, a GREAT holiday side dish, but also good for everyday cooking.  Let me know how you like it!

Carrot Soufle

Ingredients

1 lb carrot (steamed soft, then mashed)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter, softened but not warm or melted

3 eggs, beaten                   

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (to taste)

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the baking dish.

2.       Mix all ingredients in bowl with a mixer.

3.       Pour into an 8x8 inch glass baking dish.

4.       Bake 45-50 minutes, until knife comes clean.

5.       Can be served hot or cold.

6.       Refrigerate after finishing serving/cooling.

7.       Shouldn't be kept for more than a couple of days, as it will lose its flavor and freshness.

8.       Servings really depend on how much you choose to serve

Enjoy!  Bon Appetit!