Chicken Scaloppine

I saw this recipe in Clean Eating magazine and it sounded yummy.
Ingredients:

1/2 lb whole wheat pasta (I used multi-grain, I haven’t been able to make that whole wheat leap)

2 tsp olive oil

1 lb boneless, chicken breast

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1 large lemon, zested and thinly sliced (about 8 rounds)

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups baby arugula (I used spinach)

1/4 cup grate parmesan

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions

Brush Chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  – add to heated saute pan and sear on each side for 1 minute. Top chicken with lemon slices and cover with chicken broth and cover – simmer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes (or until chicken is done) remove chicken and lemon slices and cover. Add to the pan spinach and lemon zest. Spoon pasta into bowl and add chicken and lemon and sprinkle with parmesan.

The picture on the left is from the magazine – the picture on the right is mine = I think I got pretty close. (Oh – I also topped mine with feta – it needed just a bit more flavor)

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Pasta with roasted vegetables and shrimp

This is such an easy recipe and a real crowd-pleaser. Chop vegetables into bite sized pieces. I used zucchini, tomatoes, and onion. Preheat oven to 375 – and start a pot of water to boil for pasta. Put vegetables on a cookie sheet with garlic and olive oil. Roast vegetables for about twenty minutes. Add shrimp and feta or blue cheese and return to oven until the shrimp are done. Toss over pasta. I also added pesto to this and it was delicious.

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Baked Ziti

This is a new recipe for me. It is super easy so I am not sure why I have not done it before.

Preheat oven to 325

Cook Ziti – use directions on the box – time varies

In a sauce pan heat marina sauce – I buy a jarred version and doctor it by adding 1 can of chopped tomatoes, two cloves of chopped garlic, a cup of red wine and about a 1/2 tsp of red pepper.

Drain ziti; grease a casserole dish and add ziti, pour sauce over ziti – just enough to cover the pasta. Top with shredded mozarella and grated parmesan (I also added a bit of feta because I had some on hand to use up) Bake for about 20-25 minutes until bubbling. Serve with warm bread and whatever wine you have left after adding to sauce and waiting the 25 minutes for this to be ready

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Vegetable Lasagna

Vegetable Lasagne

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

It has been a pretty gloomy and cool weekend so I decided to warm the house with a freshly prepared lasagna. You can’t go wrong with lasagna and in general you simply layer the noodles, sauce and cheese and bake and it will be good. I wanted to something a bit beyond that – it took a little more time, but the end result was well worth it.

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees

half and seed a red pepper – sprinkle with olive oil
cut the top off a head of garlic – place in olive oil and wrap in foil

Put both of these in the oven – remove peppers when the skin is blistered – place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and set aside until cool – when cool – remove skin and then slice peppers into bite size pieces – you can add to sauce or just add when you layer the cheese and sauce

Remove garlic when it is soft – let cool a bit and then extract the cloves and set aside.

In a cast iron skillet I put about 15 grape tomatoes and about a tablespoon of olive oil…I turned the burner on high – when the tomatoes soften and break – reduce heat. I then added marinara sauce, and random veggies I had left over – some broccoli, a few shredded carrots and I think a few pieces of cauliflower. Add about a cup of red wine and a dash of ground red pepper and let simmer for as long as you want – I think I let mine simmer about 45 minutes. Add roasted garlic cloves to the sauce then start the water to boil for the pasta. (don’t forget to salt and oil the water)

Prepare lasagna dish with some non stick spray. When the noodles are soft – drain and rinse with cold water – put a layer of noodles in the pan – top with some sauce, and fresh spinach, ricotta, feta and a layer of mozzarella cheese…repeat process for three layers – add fourth layer of noodles – top with sauce – cover with cheeses and bake in 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes until bubbling and cheese is slightly browned.

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Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

A nice spicy pasta dish for a cold Sunday evening…
Ingredients:
5 tbs of olive oil
1 yellow onion (diced)
1 tbs. minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 tbs. anchovy paste
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tbs. tomato paste
2 cans of diced tomatoes (oops I think I only used one)
1 tbs. of capers
1/2 cup pitted olives (I left these out)
Fresh basil
flat leaf parsley
black pepper to taste

Saute’ one onion in olive oil; stirring occasionally, lightly caramelize the onion….add garlic, anchovy paste, red pepper flakes – saute’ for about 1 minute; add tomato paste and saute’ for about 1 minute. Add chopped tomatoes and 1 tbs of capers. Cook until sauce is thickened – put over cooked pasta and enjoy….traditional puttanesca calls for black olives, but I don’t care that much for olives so I left them out. Yum, yum, yum.

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Baked Pumpkin Risotto

Baked Pumpkin Risotto

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I was watching “Ask Aida” today and she was having a vegetarian show – she made baked pumpkin risotto – despite the fact that she used chicken broth rendering it non-vegetarian – I gave this a try with veggie broth – I put my changes in parenthesis

* 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
* 2 cups arborio rice
* 2 cups pumpkin or butternut squash, small dice (I used butternut squash)
* 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
* 1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
* 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil (my basil froze so I left it out)
* 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (I used yogurt)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil (I forgot to do this part)

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Combine broth, rice, squash, puree, and onion in a 3-quart baking dish, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to evenly combine. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake, stirring occasionally, until most the water has been absorbed and rice granules are puffed, about 35 to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven, stir in remaining ingredients, season to taste and serve.

Mine took about 45 minutes – I don’t know if the oven just wasn’t hot enough or what, but I definitely needed more time than the allotted. It was, however, very tasty and something I will definitely do again. I just served this with some hot bread – no sides, it was plenty…next time I will pick up some basil and try to remember the olive oil, though it didn’t seem to need it.

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Champagne Risotto with shrimp and asparagus

 

November09 022

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

This is a great meal!
Boil 3 cups of vegetable broth add about 16 stalks of asparagus chopped into 2 inch pieces and let boil for 2 minutes. Remove the asparagus and set aside. Reduce heat on broth to low. I prepared the risotto by chopping two shallots and cooking in olive oil and butter (about a tsp each) until tender. Add 1 cup of risotto and another tsp of olive oil. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium high heat. Add cup of champagne and let simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and let the liquid absorb, continue adding broth a 1/2 cup at a time until all the liquid is absorbed. When you add the last 1/2 cup of broth also add the asparagus, and about a pound of peeled shrimp. Let the liquid absorb and simmer until the shrimp is done (this should be about the same amount of time). Add 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese and stir until creamy – salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately. I garnished with a bit more shredded cheese as I believe there is no such thing as too much cheese. This was totally delicious!

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First Lasagna of the fall

first lasagne of the fall

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I had a craving for lasagna but Savannah has had some really warm temps for late – especially for this time of year as October tends to be rather temperate and lovely. So I decided that I would ignore the 85 degree weather and high humidity and make the lasagna I craved. I started with the sauce. I let the marina simmer for quite a while; I added carrot slivers and spinach and let that cook for a while longer. Once the sauce had sufficiently festered I preheated the oven to about 350 degrees and started the layering process. One layer of lasagna noodles, drizzle with sauce, add ricotta, feta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and then start another layer of noodles -what could be easier? I think I ended up with about three layers. I cooked the lasagna for about 30-45 minutes until it was bubbling. Remove from oven and let it cool, slice and enjoy with good friends and a bottle of Chianti.

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Tuna with Pesto Butter

Tuna with Pesto Butter

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

I am catching up on food blogs since school has started, I remember to take pictures, but it takes me a few days to get them actually posted. Sometime last week, I made these tuna steaks. I simply:
salted and peppered both sides and put in the saute pan
add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a clove of chopped garlic
cook on each side for about 3 minutes
while still cooking, add the butter mixture to the top of the steaks and let it melt into the steak as it finishes cooking.

For the butter mixture;
about 2 tablespoons of butter (a little more or less, whatever feels right to you)
chopped basil (about 6-8 leaves)
1 clove chopped garlic
mix it all together and put in the fridge until you are ready to top the fish with it.

I served this along side some pasta with a simple pesto sauce and some fresh steamed broccoli.

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Pesto Pasta

Pesto Pasta

Originally uploaded by lyricalmezzo

When I returned from vacation, my basil had been working over time. Nothing better than whipping up a batch of pesto when this happens. Actually the night prior I made a batch of bruschetta which is another great way to use basil if you have extra on hand. I make a pretty traditional pesto. Blend together about 2 cups of fresh basil, 2 cloves of garlic, about a handful of pine nuts, 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and while blending, slowly add olive oil until it is well blended, but not oily. Boil favorite pasta – I used linguine – add chopped tomatoes and feta cheese and enjoy with a hunk of fresh bread. It doesn’t get much simpler or much better than this.

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