Spicy Chicken with Penne

Yes, I am a terrible, neglectful person. Who is not keeping up with things over here. But who vows to do better. Starting with what I made for dinner last night, and it was really good!

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Canned Diced Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Onion
• Cumin
• Red Pepper flakes
• Salt and Pepper
• Lime Juice

I took about a pound and a half of chicken thighs and cut them in large chunks. I squeezed two limes over the chicken pieces and set aside.

I got water going for the penne pasta and sauteed some onion and garlic in EVOO. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and threw it in the pan with the onion and garlic. When the chicken browned I added two cans of diced tomatoes (with the liquid drained). I threw in about two teaspoons of cumin and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Simmered until chicken was cooked through and sauce had thickened (maybe 15 minutes?).

I topped the cooked pasta with the chicken/sauce and topped THAT with a Kraft cheese blend of Colby Jack and Cheddar with jalapenos. The only thing that could have made this better was if I'd had some fresh cilantro to sprinkle over the the top.

Now go cook!

Goulash

Slow Cook Goulash

1 ½ lbs. Lean Stew Meat
Half a Bag Pearl Onions
1 ¼ C. Beef Broth
1/3 C. Tomato Paste
¼ C. Brown Sugar
2 Tbs. Paprika
2 tsp. Garlic
Salt and Cayenne Pepper to taste

Heaping Tablespoon of cornstarch.

Spray the crock with Pam. Swear to God people, just do it. Dump in onions (frozen) and stew meat. (I don't bother with slow cook recipes that make you brown the meat. What's the point? And if you're gone more than eight hours, as I usually am, I like to use partially frozen meat to ensure it does not dry out. ) Sprinkle meat with salt.


Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk in cornstarch. (I mix this the night before if I think of it. Then it's done in the AM, and all I have to do is add the cornstarch.)

Pour down over the meat, set on low, cook for 8 hours.

Serve over egg noodles.

A little sweet, a little spicy, no oil or butter! What could be better? (Well, except my photography!)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is great comfort food on a cold winter day.

Saute 1/3 an onion in a stick of butter.
Whisk in 1/2 C. flour.
Whisk in 5 cups of chicken stock.*
Simmer until thickened.
Add 1 cup of half and half.
Throw in 2 Tbs. of Chili Powder and 1 Tbs. each of Salt and Cumin.
Add 2 ts. Cayenne Pepper
Add a diced jalapeno. (Take out the seeds if you don't like a lot of heat.)
Add several cups of cooked, shredded chicken* and 1 C. cheese. ( I like the Kraft "Mexican Mix" for this.)



Top with cheese and tortilla strips.

* A recipe for stock and cooked chicken is here. If you're pressed for time, ready-made broth is fine. For the chicken, chunk up some chicken tenders and saute them in olive oil with a little onion, salt and pepper.

Pesto

I had a dinner on Friday, and was asked to bring Pesto. The request was mad becauseI have one of the best recipes ever.

We went to Italy for two weeks a couple of years back. We spent seven days in the middle of the trip in a villa in Tuscany. We wanted to experience local life in a small town, and we wanted to COOK. Before we went we took an Italian cooking lesson from a lovely lady who grew up in Turin, Italy.

She taught this Pesto recipe, and it's the best I've ever tasted.

4 Cups Basil
2 Clove Garlic
¼ Cup Pine Nuts
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbs. Heavy Cream
Olive Oil

Combine first six ingredients in your food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Scrape down sides and give a quick pulse.

Stream in Olive Oil until pesto is desired consistency.

Serve over warm pasta. Delicious!

Friends For Dinner

We had some neighbors over for dinner Tuesday night.

MENU:

Marinara with Italian Sausage on Penne
Green Salad with Vinaigrette
Bread with good Olive Oil

I love a good marinara sauce. And I'm not talking about the stuff in a jar. This takes all of fifteen minutes to make. Step away from the Ragu people!

Here's what you need:

• Half an Onion, diced
• Garlic , clove or two, minced
• 1 lb. + Italian Sausage (Bulk)
• 28 oz. can Crushed Tomato (I prefer Di Napoli)

  

  
  
• 2 Tbs. Tomato Paste
• Salt/Pepper/Italian Seasoning
• Red Wine
• Sugar?

Sauté onion and some garlic in some olive oil.
Break up a pound or so of Italian Sausage in the pan and brown. You can use any pan, but I think a good sauté pan makes the best sauce.
Deglaze pan with a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes.
Squirt in some tomato paste. (This is where having the stuff in the tube on hand in the fridge , beats the canned stuff.)

Season to taste with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
Simmer for five minutes and thin with red wine as needed.
Sometimes I add a pinch or two of sugar, sometimes not. Just taste and you'll know.
A little fresh basil on top is a nice touch too.

You can do a veggie version too. Substitute a pound of sliced mushrooms and a diced zucchini for the sausage and you've got a healthy alternative!

Bon Apitito!

Alfredo Sauce

Sunday Lunch

• Bowtie Pasta with Alfredo Sauce
• Salad with Italian Vinaigrette
• Bread
• CAKE!

Alfredo sauce is one of the quickest and easiest sauces to make, so step away from the jar. In the time it takes to boil water and cook pasta? Done! So here we go.

Cook pasta of choice. Fettuccini is “traditional”, but just about anything works. I had an open box of bowtie pasta, so that’s what I used.

While water is heating, crisp pancetta in a little EVOO. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. (Pancetta is Italian “bacon”, cured, but not smoked. Allow 2 ounces per four servings.)

In a large shallow pan, melt a stick of butter. I use half and half instead of heavy cream so I sprinkle a generous tablespoon of flour into the melted butter. Whisk in 2 cups of half and half. Return to a boil, lower heat and simmer for five minutes.

When pasta has a few minutes left to cook, stir a cup of grated parmesan cheese into the sauce.

Drain pasta and toss with the sauce. Top with pancetta.

So good an so easy!

I also served a green salad made with red leaf lettuce, heart of palm, cucumber and mushrooms. I dressed it with vinaigrette. Equal parts red wine vinegar and EVOO. Salt (this is the time to use sea salt folks), pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning.

Precious Oldest was home this weekend and she baked the Saint a cake for his upcoming birthday. Isn’t that sweet? (It was cherry chip – not strawberry.)

Lunch was a long time ago. I think I need a snack.

My Mom is a Big Cook

Another blog? I know, overly ambitious for someone who posts irregulary on her OTHER blog. Nevertheless, there are many times when a post I write is about something that happened at family dinner. I don't always want to interupt that tale to delineate the dinner details. So, if I do that over HERE, folks can come over to see what I'm doing if and when they choose.

Now as to the name of this blog, credit goes to Precious Youngest. When she was a wee lass, she used to thank me for cooking and would always add, "you're a big cook". She meant to say "good", but even after we got the language sorted out she continued to call me a "big cook".

With a tip of the hat to Precious Youngest, off we go!