Thursday, October 27, 2011

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Kale and Chicken Sausage

This is a recipe that I took from Food Network magazine and made last night. It was amazingly quick, because almost everything cam straight out of a package (love it!) John and I both have our Bible Studies on Wednesday night's, so it's important that we have something quick to make.



We made this with chicken sausage that I got from Trader Joe's (LOVE them for quick meals). This one was their Spinach, Fontina and Roasted Garlic variety and it was yum-yum-good!

Just a note- I've had kale before, but for some reason I really didn't like it in this dish? I think it's because there are already a lot of heavy, dark flavors...if I made it again I think I would switch it out for spinach! Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and diced
1 tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 1/4 c. chicken stock
1 bunch/package kale (I would remove the ribs...they're tough!)
1 package gnocchi
4 links of chicken sausage, sliced 
1/4 c. parmesan
1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

In a cast iron skillet, melt butter and saute squash until soft.

Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Wilt kale in stock in batches.

Add gnocchi and cover in sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add sausage, cheese and butter. Cook in broiler for about 10 minutes, until brown and bubbling.

Grr...this picture is SO ugly...I want a better camera...or an iPhone.



Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Twilight...

Sometimes, you realize that you're watching Twilight on FOX at 9:45 on a Wednesday while drinking a $4 bottle of red wine, and you just have to be OK with that.


That's really all that I have to say.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Baked Pasta w/ 6 Cheeses

Ingredients:

1 lb. cheese, shredded (I used mozzarella, triple creme brie, bleu, sharp cheddar, parmesan-asiago, and pepper jack)

1 lb. pasta (I used gobetti, penne or rigatoni would also work)

4 strips bacon, fried, crumbled, reserving the fat
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c. skim milk, hot
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp. mustard powder
1 tbsp. seasoned salt (I used a cajun-style seasoning)
Salt
Pepper
1/4 c. panko

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Boil pasta until al-dente. Drain and set aside. 

Combine bacon fat and flour in a sauce-pan. Cook oven medium heat for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Take whisk and slowly temper a small amount of flour mixture into the hot milk. Once tempered, pour milk into sauce pan and cook over medium low heat for about 10 minutes, until very thick (about the consistency of a cream gravy).

Take 1/4 c. of the milk mixture and slowly temper it with the egg in a separate bowl. Once tempered, add the egg mixture to the milk mixture, and cook for 5 minutes. Add mustard, seasoned salt, sat and pepper to taste.

Slowly add the cheese in 2-3 installments. Whisk until combined. Pour over pasta and mix until combined. Pour pasta into a greased pan, topping with bacon, panko and additional cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and browned on top.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Crispy Italian Sausage with Warm Lentil Salad & Roasted Brussels

**Warning** This post does not have any pictures. Can you guess why? Is it:

A) Because Emily forgot to take any?
B) Because the meal was so delicious that she ran out of food to photograph?
C) Because Emily wants a fancy camera and is thus disenchanted with taking blog-related pictures?
D) All of the above.

This meal was amazing (PS- the answer was D...as in duh). AND, as we discovered after we finished eating...it was gluten-free! Not that either of us care...and not that the beer we were drinking with the meal was gluten-free...but still. AND, it's a Rachel Ray recipe...but don't let that stop you from trying it!

Crispy Sausage:

However many sausages you want
1 bottle good beer (an ale, preferably definitely)

Place sausages in a pan and cover with appx. 1/4 inch beer. Bring to a simmer and cook until beer dissolves and sausages are crispy on all sides (appx. 10 minutes)

Warm Lentil Salad:

1/2 lb. lentils, rinsed
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, halved
1/4 c. parsley
Salt
Pepper
1/4 c. Olive Oil (mine was infused with garlic)

Cover lentils, bay leaf and onion with water (2 inches above) in a pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Do NOT let them get too mushy. Drain, and combine with remaining ingredients.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

1 lb. brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved
1 apple, diced
4 slabs bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine brussels, apples and bacon. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, syrup and vinegar. Combine with brussels mixture. Spread evenly on a sheet pan and liberally season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes, until golden brown.





Sunday, October 9, 2011

Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's been, approximately, 10 years since my last post. I've been doing much more "studying" and less "baking" lately. This weekend was our first weekend at home for a month! We have been beaching, wedding, and Homecoming it up! We spent our weekend off catching up on our favorite shows, cleaning house, studying (guh), entertaining, praising, and (dun dun dun DUN!) cooking up a storm!

No really, we have so many leftovers. Please just come over and take things from our fridge. 

On Friday we mixed it up by added spinach to our normal Italian sausage and jalapeno pizza. Success! On Saturday my aunt and uncle came over for dinner and we made chicken stuffed with spinach, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives and Panko with homemade tomato sauce and brown rice. For dessert we had a blueberry ginger upside down cake. Absolute perfection.

Then today I finally made Chicken Tortilla soup! I've been wanting to make this Pioneer Woman recipe for a few months and I finally got around to it. Downside...the recipe said that it took almost 2 hours to make. I was not down with that. So, I made some changes and came up with this masterpiece.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. each: garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, salt
1 red pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 c. corn
1/4 c. green chilies
2 cans black beans, drained
32 oz. chicken stock
4 c. water
3 tbsp. tomato paste
3 tbsp. corn meal + water (to make a paste)
5 tortilla strips, cut into slices
Cilantro
Sour Cream
Cheddar
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Rub chicken breasts lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with spices. Bake for 25 minutes, until done. Shred and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Saute pepper, onion, garlic until soft.

Add tomato, chili and corn. Saute 1 minute.

Add black beans, stock, water and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.

Add chicken and corn meal mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add tortilla strips and turn off heat. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Top with cilantro, sour cream and cheddar. Season with salt and pepper as needed.