Spinach and Sprout Salad with Gorgonzola

This was part of the meal I made with my sister at our Sister's Day party a couple of weeks ago. This isn't really a recipe; obviously you can make a salad any way you like. But here's how we made ours.

Spinach and Sprout Salad with Gorgonzola

Ingredients:

baby spinach leaves, torn

sprouts (alfalfa or bean)

gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

tomatoes, diced

anything else you like

dressing of your choice

Directions:

Lay baby spinach in bottom of salad bowl. Add sprouts and top with cheese and tomatoes. Serve with dressing.

We had never had gorgonzola before and I (at least) had never had sprouts before. We really liked the gorgonzola. It is crumbly like feta but has a very sharp taste to it. It's kind of like an extra-sharp bleu cheese. Super good.

The sprouts were okay. I can't say that the were good or bad; they were just there. They didn't really add flavor; a bit of texture, maybe. They are supposed to be very healthy.

Before the addition of the tomatoes. I thought it needed a bit of color.

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SCAMP Bake (Spinach, Chicken, and Mushroom Pasta)

This is a recipe I tried from Allrecipes. I renamed it. (I seem to be doing that a lot lately!)

SCAMP Bake

Ingredients:

8 oz. uncooked penne pasta

2 tbsp vegetable oil

½ lb. portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced

½ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup flour

1 large clove garlic, minced

½ tsp dried basil

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 small chicken breast halves, cooked and diced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9x13” baking dish.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms, cook 1 minute, and set aside. Melt margarine in the saucepan. Mix in flour, garlic, and basil. Gradually mix in milk until thickened. Stir in 1 cup cheese until melted. Remove saucepan from heat, and mix in cooked pasta, mushrooms, chicken, and spinach. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, and top with remaining cheese.

Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly brown.

Makes 8 servings.

It was originally called Portobello Penne Pasta Casserole. That's kind of wordy and it doesn't reflect all the ingredients. So I am calling it by the acronym SCAMP.

I really didn't change much. I added cooked, diced chicken. I forgot the soy sauce and it tasted just fine, so I left that out of the rewrite. The only other thing I did was to use a fancy flavored cheese. Meijer had Sargento on sale today so I got one that is in their "Bistro Blends" line. It's called Italian Pasta Cheese. It is a combination of mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan. And it has Italian herbs in it as well. It added really great flavor to the dish. I think it might have been a bit bland otherwise. I also seasoned the chicken with Penzey's Tuscan Sunset when I cooked it. That probably helped too.

The only thing I might do differently next time is to not put the cheese on top for the full 20 minutes. It got kind of crunchy on top. I think I might cover it with foil, bake for 15 minutes, uncover, add cheese, and bake an additional 5 minutes. That way the cheese will melt but not get hard.

Before the addition of the cheese.

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Mexican Deep Dish Pan Pizza

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I saved years ago and recently discovered. I had never tried it before and I don't know why! I love Mexican food and look forward to taco night once a month. This is a nice twist on taco night. It would really be great to use up taco night leftovers.

Mexican Deep Dish Pan Pizza

Ingredients:

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg

2 tbsp melted butter or margarine

¾ cup milk

1 cup corn kernels

Cooking spray

1 lb. ground beef

Taco seasoning

2 ½ cups shredded cheese

black beans

Veggies of your choice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º. Mix together muffin mix, egg, butter, milk, and corn kernels. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and pour in the muffin mix. Use a large skillet, 10” to 12”. Choose a pan with oven safe handle or, double-wrap handle with foil to protect it in the oven. Place pan in oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes in center of the oven until light golden in color.

Brown the meat over medium high heat in a second skillet. Add onions and seasoning and cook meat 5 minutes more.

Remove cornbread from oven and top with meat, cheese, and veggies. Add pan back to oven and cook 5 minutes more to melt cheese. Cut into 8 wedges and serve the deep dish pan pizza from the skillet.

Makes 4 servings, 2 slices each.

The above recipe has a few changes from the way I made it. I didn't read the reviews before I made it, so I made it the way it was written. It originally called for 2 boxes of corn bread mix, 2 eggs, 4 tbsp butter, and 1½ cups milk. This makes the bread part of it very thick. I was surprised at how much it fluffed up during baking. I barely had room for my toppings. Then I read the reviews and most of them said they use only one box of corn bread mix. That makes a lot of sense. I will definitely make it that way from now on. It was good, but it was a lot of bread.

The beauty of this dish is that it is so easy to customize it to your liking. You can season the ground beef any way you like, and you can top it with any veggies you like. I made this with diced fresh tomatoes, diced onion, chipotle salsa, and black olives. Jim suggested adding some refried beans. I thought the consistency of the beans would clash with the consistency of the bread. So then he suggested using black beans. I think that's a great idea; I will use them next time. He didn't like the black olives, but I did. That's the other nice thing: since it is a "pizza", you can top the halves differently for different tastes.

Make sure you are using a pan with an oven-safe handle. No plastic handles. I made that mistake only once! When it was time for me to buy a new pan, I specifically looked for one with an oven-safe handle. Also, if your pan is non-stick, be careful cutting the pizza into slices. A knife can easily scratch a non-stick surface. I am very careful with my pan, wanting to keep it nice as long as possible. I never use metal utensils on it. So when it came time to cut it, I tried using a plastic knife. It worked just fine. The pizza is not difficult to cut. The plastic worked just fine.

Also remember that the handle is hot while you are topping your pizza. It's easy to forget that since you are used to the pan being on the stovetop. I actually burnt the underside of my arm while topping my pizza because of this. It isn't a bad burn, but annoying nonetheless. Just something to keep in mind.

If you want the slices to look pretty, wait a few minutes after the pizza comes out of the oven before slicing and serving. I tried to serve mine right away and it was a crumbly mess. It just completely fell apart. But after a few minutes it firms up and you can lift pieces out pretty easily.

I served it with sour cream on top. Guacamole would be good too.

Update 08.26.09:

I made this again using the changes listed above. Only one box of corn bread mix works really well. It's much less bready that way. And the black beans that Jim suggested were a nice touch. And this time instead of using sour cream, I topped it with my Cilantro Cream Sauce. Delicious!

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Zucchini Chicken Skillet

This is a recipe I got from BHG.com. They call it "Greek-Style Chicken Skillet" but there really isn't much Greek about it so I renamed it for my personal recipe collection.

Zucchini Chicken Skillet

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Greek seasoning or salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups zucchini, sliced (1 medium)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup water

10.75 oz. can condensed tomato soup

2 cups hot cooked couscous or orzo

½ cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250°. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning. In a 12” skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken registers 170° on an instant-read thermometer, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm in oven.

Add zucchini, onion, garlic, and more seasoning to skillet. Add the water; reduce heat. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Stir in soup. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes more, stirring once.

To serve, divide couscous or orzo among dinner plates. Place chicken on couscous. Spoon vegetable mixture over chicken and couscous. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

I liked this. It's nothing fancy, but a nice simple meal that is perfect for a busy weeknight. I made a few changes from the original recipe. First, it called for salting the chicken before browning. I have some Greek seasoning in my pantry (Penzey's) and I thought that would "Greek" it up a bit more. It added a lot more flavor than regular salt would have. I'm sure Greek seasoning is available in the grocery store as well. The only other thing I changed was to use the oven to keep the chicken warm. I didn't think it would stay very warm just sitting in foil, so I turned the oven on low, covered them with foil, and put them in there while I finished the zucchini. That worked very nicely.

You'll notice in the picture that I used couscous. I had every intention of using orzo (it's Greekier), but discovered that I didn't have any. Oops. So I used couscous. It was good with the couscous, but I will try it with orzo next time.

A reviewer on the website where I got it said to make it more Greek you could use canned diced tomatoes with oregano and basil in place of the tomato soup. That sounds like a good idea. I think I will try that next time. I think that if you make that change, use Greek seasoning, and use orzo instead of couscous, maybe you really could call it Greek-style!

Lena liked it too. I cut up the chicken and zucchini for her and she gobbled it all up.

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Herbed Cheese-Stuffed Salmon

This is a recipe I got from bhg.com and amended.

Herbed Cheese-Stuffed Salmon

Ingredients:

4 skinless salmon fillets

1 lemon

3 wedges Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Cheese

1 cup soft bread crumbs (about 1½ slices)

½ cup Parmesan cheese

½ tsp dried basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Rinse fish; pat dry. Grate lemon zest and cut lemon into wedges and set aside. In small bowl combine cheese and lemon zest. Cut a pocket in each fillet taking care not to cut all the way through the fish. Spoon cheese mixture into pockets. Set aside.

In a shallow dish combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and basil. Roll each fillet in the bread crumbs, coating all sides. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly spray each fillet with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, about 14 minutes or until salmon flakes when tested with a fork. Squeeze lemon juice on each fillet and serve with remaining wedges.

Makes 4 servings.

This was so good! We love salmon and I am always looking for new ways to prepare it. This was awesome. I served it with rice pilaf.

I made a few changes to the original recipe to get this amended one. They mostly had to do with the breading. The original called for melted butter and pine nuts, and didn't have basil. I omitted the butter because I felt it was unnecessary. And it was. I sprayed the breaded fillets with cooking spray and they browned up just beautifully. I omitted the pine nuts because I just didn't feel like adding them. The recipe called for whole pine nuts and I didn't think that would work very well. I added the basil mostly because I thought it would look pretty with some green flecks running through it. But the basil complemented the herbed cheese very well. Thyme would work too.

The original recipe called for salting the fillets after stuffing and before breading. I totally forgot this step, but I didn't think it was necessary. I didn't miss the salt at all. Also, the original said to just sprinkle the fillet with the bread crumb and parmesan topping. I actually rolled mine in the bread crumbs to completely coat it. And squeezing the lemon juice on top was my twist too. I always think lemon goes really well with seafood and it gives it a nice bright flavor. And Jim really commented on the lemon flavor. He really liked that.

So Jim liked it so much that he is insisting I make it for houseguests later this month. I like how simple it is, yet it kind of has a fancy air to it.

Here are some pics of the process.

After stuffing with cheese. Where you make the incision will depend on the specific shape of your fillet. Just try to cut into the fattest part of it.

Right out of the oven. See, they got very nicely browned on top without the butter. And the cheese didn't ooze out of the pockets at all. That really surprised me.

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Cilantro Coconut Rice

A creamy rice dish with classic Thai flavors.  I found this online somewhere, but I can't remember where.

Cilantro Coconut Rice

Ingredients:

½  cup basmati rice (or long grain white rice)

1 cup water

½  tsp salt

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

½  cup snipped fresh cilantro

1 tsp finely minced fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp lime juice

Directions:

In medium saucepan combine rice, water, and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in blender or food processor combine coconut milk, cilantro, ginger, garlic, and lime juice. Cover; blend or process until nearly smooth. Stir into rice. 

Makes 2 servings.

Now, mine didn't turn out so well.  But it was my fault.  I put the rice into the pot, then the salt, and then when I was getting the water, I thought I should use chicken stock instead. I had some in the fridge that needed to be used up and I thought it will add a little flavor as well.  I had forgotten that I already put salt in the pot.  Yeah, so it ended up way too salty.  Oops!  So we didn't really like it, but that was my fault and I will definitely be trying this again, the right way!  

About the rice: I didn't have basmati so I used long grain white.  I think basmati is a fragrant Indian rice.  Next time I will try it with the basmati just to see if it adds anything to the dish.  Also, the original recipe called for 2 cups of water.  My regular rice recipe uses ¾ cup water to ½ cup of rice.  I don't know if basmati requires more water than long grain white, but since I was using white, I cut it down to 1 cup.  And it turned out just fine that way.  

I really like making salmon with Thai flavors so I am always looking for simple Thai side dishes.  I have a few noodle recipes that go well with it but this was my first Thai rice dish.  The cilantro flavor is quite dominant, so if you don't like cilantro, I wouldn't recommend this for you.  But I like cilantro and I think that if it hadn't been over salted it would have a great flavor.  I can't wait to try this again.

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Tortellini Primavera

A yummy pasta dish using seasonal springtime vegetables and flavorful basil pesto.

Tortellini Primavera

Ingredients:

1 lb. tortellini or ravioli, refrigerated, dried, or frozen

½ lb. fresh asparagus, cut into 1” pieces

1 yellow squash, cut into ½” slices

1 batch basil pesto

Directions:

Boil pasta according to package directions. Four minutes before pasta is done, add asparagus to pot. Two minutes later, add squash. Finish cooking and drain well.

Toss with the pesto and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Yum! This can be made using any vegetable you like. I think it would be good with peas as well. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time to suit the veggie you are using. Yellow squash cooks in no time (in fact, mine got a bit overdone this time, so I reduced the cooking time on it above.) The asparagus takes a bit longer. Even at four minutes it has a nice bite to it.

Clicking on the words "basil pesto" in the recipe above will take you to the recipe I use for pesto.

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Traditional Basil Pesto

I got this recipe from a package of fresh basil a couple of years ago.

Traditional Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

⅔ oz. fresh basil

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp pine nuts

½ tsp salt

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup parmesan

Directions:

Tear basil into pieces.  Dice garlic.  Put basil, garlic, pine nuts, and salt into food processor.  Process, streaming in the olive oil.  Remove from food processor and fold in parmesan.

Makes enough for one pound of pasta.

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Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

So a couple of weeks ago (yes, I am always behind on this blog!) I was trying to put together dinner with limited ingredients. It was just before grocery shopping day so I was scraping the bottom of the barrel, or in this case, bottom of the pantry! I had some vacuum-packed gnocchi but I had no pasta sauce to speak of. No tomato or alfredo, or the ingredients to make pesto. I spotted a can of pureed butternut squash that I had picked up at Trader Joe's in Chicago. I wasn't sure what I would use it for when I bought it, but I thought it might come in handy. I got the bright idea to make a pasta sauce out of it.

When I was trying to decide how to flavor it, I came up with two spices/herbs that go really well with butternut squash: nutmeg and sage. I had some homemade dried sage that a friend gave me last fall, so I decided to go with that.

Here's the recipe that I came up with.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp dried sage

2 cups pureed butternut squash (or a 15 oz. can)

½ cup chicken stock

Directions:

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add sage and turn down to medium-low. The sage should get soft but not fry. Add squash puree and chicken stock and stir to combine. Turn heat back up and let it simmer and reduce down a bit.

Makes 2 cups.

It's pretty rare that you see me post a recipe that I came up with completely on my own. Usually I start with one I have seen somewhere and have adapted to my tastes. But this one is all mine. And I have to say, I'm pretty proud of it! It was great on the gnocchi and Jim loved it.

Like it says, this recipe makes 2 cups. I cooked up one pound of gnocchi and it only required a ½ cup of the sauce. So I divided the other 1 ½ cups and froze them individually. So the next time I make this, I can grab the sauce from the freezer and I'll have the perfect amount for my gnocchi.

And of course, this sauce is packed with great vitamins and minerals. One half cup of pureed squash has 2 grams fiber, 80% Vitamin A, 2% calcium, 8% Vitamin C, and 4% iron. You won't get that from tomato, alfredo, or pesto sauce.

When I run out of the leftovers I have in the freezer, I would like to try it with the nutmeg next time and see how that tastes.

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Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I am always interested in different things to do with sweet potatoes.  I came across this recipe on my computer.  I must have saved it years ago; I don't remember it.  It came from Ellie Krieger's show Healthy Appetite.

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

 

Ingredients: 

2 lbs. sweet potatoes 

2 tbsp olive oil 

2 tbsp honey 

1 tsp lemon juice 

½  tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. 

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1” pieces and put in a 9 x 13 baking dish. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, honey and lemon juice. Pour mixture over potatoes and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the salt, and bake, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes, until potatoes are tender. 

Makes 6 servings.

These were super yummy.  A really tasty way to serve sweet potatoes.  And a nice change from the usual mashed.  I did amend the cooking temp and cooking time.  The original was 350° for an hour, but a couple of the reviewers suggested doing 400° for 45 minutes instead.  They turned out beautifully.  I served them with a rotisserie chicken (I need to post the spice rub I use for that too.)

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