Pasta Shells with Pancetta, Peas, and Shrimp

First of all, I have to be honest. I did not cook tonight's delicious feast. I know, tragic! I was actually feeling quite lazy and Craig offered to cook it (again from the Just In Time book). But I was still an active participant in the eating portion of the program, so I figured it was blog-worthy anyway. :)

INGREDIENTS:

-1 lb medium pasta shells

-2 tbsp EVOO

-1/3 lb. pancetta, sliced 1/8 inch thick

-1 medium onion, chopped

-3-4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped

-1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

-1 (16 oz) bag frozen peas, defrosted for 2 minutes in the microwave

-Zest and juice of 1 lemon

-Salt and pepper

-A generous handful of fresh flat leaf parsley

-1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

DIRECTIONS:

-Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt it liberally, then drop in the shells. Undercook the pasta a bit; it should be slightly al dente, about 8 minutes.

-While the pasta cooks, heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO, twice around the pan, and when the oil ripples, add the pancetta. Brown and crisp the pancetta for 3-4 minutes, then add the onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes, just until they become firm and pink.

-Place 2/3 of the peas in a food processor along with the lemon zest and juice, parsley, and chicken stock. Puree until smooth. Add the pureed peas and remaining whole peas to the cooked shrimp and stir until just heated through, a minute or two. Toss the cooked and drained pasta shells with the peas and shrimp for a minute to absorb the flavor and liquid.

COMMENTS:

-First, I'd like to state that this household has a strict only-buy-precooked-shrimp policy. Peeling and deveining raw shrimp is not our idea of a good time. Also saves time on cooking!

-Craig skipped the onion because he's allergic. Still good without it!

-This sauce was a little thicker than the one in the shrimp scampi verde (see earlier this week). I think it was because of the peas. We both agreed this seemed a lot like a "comfort food" as a result.

-We also used bacon instead of pancetta. As with the prosciutto earlier this week, I don't think Price Chopper has ever heard of pancetta. Bacon gave it a good flavor. Enjoy!

Ham-and-Cheese Stuffed Chicken Cutlets

Since I'm still on my Rachael kick, here's another 15 minute meal from Just In Time. It's basically a lighter type of chicken cordon bleu.

INGREDIENTS:

-4 (6 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-3 tbsp EVOO, plus more for drizzling

-5 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped and chopped

-1 lemon, zested and halved

-1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, a generous handful, chopped

-4 slices prosciutto cotto or rosemary ham

-4 slices Fontina cheese, about 4 oz.

-Salt and pepper

-1/2 cup dry white wine

-1 lb. asparagus, trimmed

DIRECTIONS:

-Line up the chicken breast pieces on a work surface with the pointed ends closest to you. Place your hand flat across the top of each breast and use a sharp knife to cut horizontally into the meat, working your way down to the tip end; do not cut all the way through. You just want to be able to open up the breast like a book. Cover the butterflied breasts with plastic or wax paper and gently pound out to 1/4 inch with a small skillet; a couple of gentle whacks will do it.

-Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 3 tbsp of EVOO, 3 times around the pan.

-Combine the chopped thyme with a couple of tsps of lemon zest and the parsley. Sprinkle the inside of each chicken breast with the thyme-lemon zest-parsley mixture. Add a folded slice of prosciutto cotto or rosemary ham and Fontina cheese to each, then fold up the breasts again. Season the stuffed chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

-Add the seasoned stuff chicken to the hot skillet and brown for 5 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken over, add the wine, and cook for 3-4 minutes.

-While the chicken cooks, bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a skillet. Salt the water and cook the asparagus for 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Drain and dress with the juice of 1/2 lemon and a drizzle of EVOO.

-Arrange a few spears of asparagus on each plate and top with a stuffed chicken breast. Spoon some of the pan juices over each serving.

COMMENTS:

-We made several substitutions here. As far as I can see, our local Price Chopper does not sell prosciutto, so we used ham instead. And we used provolone cheese instead of Fontina, partially because we already had some provolone, and partially because I've never heard of Fontina cheese.

-We skipped the whole pounding on the chicken part, because we didn't understand why we had to. Now I understand. It was kind of hard to stuff all that cheese and ham into a thick chicken breast. Pounding on it would have flattened it out and made it easier to stuff. (We ended up cooking them with toothpicks in them to hold it shut.) Now I know for next time!

-We did our usual garlic and butter asparagus recipe, instead of Rachael's. However, we did add in the lemon juice that she used, and it made a huge difference! We were surprised how much we tasted it and it really added to the flavor.

-We seasoned our chicken with Essence of Emeril. Yummm.

-Just a reminder that whenever recipes call for a 4-person serving, Craig and I usually make a 2-person meal instead. We did 2 chicken breasts instead of 4. Feel free to adjust the recipe accordingly!

Shrimp Scampi Verde

First of all, Happy Birthday to Bill!

Tonight's delicious feast is from Rachael Ray's Just In Time cookbook...a personal gift to me, from her, you might say. Ha. It is actually listed under her new category of 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) minute meals. Woohoo!

This was really yummy. And very green!

INGREDIENTS:

-2 (12 oz) packages of linguine

-1/2 cup chicken stock

-1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed (about 20 leaves)

-1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, packed (3 handfuls)

-15 to 20 chives, coarsely chopped

-2 cups arugula leaves, packed (1 bunch stemmed and cleaned)

-Salt

-Pepper

-Zest and juice of 1 lemon

-6 tbsp EVOO

-1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated

-1 tsp red pepper flakes

-1/2 cup dry white wine

-2 tbsp cold butter, cut in pieces

DIRECTIONS:

-Fill pot with water for the pasta. When it boils, salt it liberally. The pasta will take only a couple of minutes to cook al dente, so add it to the water when the shrimp are about half done (watch for your cue below).

-Place the stock, herbs, and arugula in the bowl of a food processor with salt and pepper to taste, lemon zest, and 2 tbsp of the EVOO. Grind into a coarse paste.

-Heat a deep skillet with the remaining 1/4 cup of EVOO, 4 times around the pan, over medium-high to high heat. When the oil ripples, add the shrimp and season liberally with salt and pepper. Toss and cook the shrimp for 3 minutes, then drop your linguine into the boiling water. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Deglaze the pan with the wine, then add the green sauce from the processor to the pan. Swirl in the butter and finish the shrimp and green sauce with the lemon juice.

-As soon as the pasta is al dente, use kitchen tongs to transfer it from the pot to the skillet with the shrimp and sauce. Toss to work the green sauce through the pasta and serve immediately.

COMMENTS:

-We loved this one! Craig said it is a definite repeater. Rachael's word for this dish is "herbaceous" and I agree. The taste of the basil/parsley/chives is awesome. Though the look on Craig's face when I was filling our grocery cart with all these fresh leafy things was even better.

-One little problem we had is that we do not have a food processor. So we used our blender instead. This was tough because the recipe does not call for that much liquid in the green sauce, as compared to the amount of herbs. So the blender had trouble breaking it down. We ended up adding extra chicken stock and EVOO to help. The sauce didn't turn out thin (like I was dreading) so it worked out.

-Rachael suggests serving with some crusty bread for mopping. Enjoy!

Knife-and-Fork Burgers with Provolone Dipping Sauce

I have returned from Rachael Ray worship! The taping was awesome. Rachael was awesome. I was pretty much speechless for the entire 2 hour taping, because I am a nerd and/or stalker. Anywho, we had a great time, and when Rachael found out there was this group of us there, she went into the back of the studio and gave each of us a free copy of her new cookbook. SCORE!!!

In tribute, tonight's meal is from the latest edition of Rachael Ray Everyday magazine. :)

INGREDIENTS:

-2 lbs. lean ground beef sirloin

-2/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (a couple of generous handfuls)

-2 cloves garlic, grated

-2 tbsp butter

-2 tbsp flour

-1 1/2 cups milk

-1 1/2 cups shredded provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS:

-Combine the ground beef, parsley and garlic, and form into 4 patties. Press your thumb in the center of each patty to prevent it from bulging when cooking.

-In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil for you Rachael rookies!) over medium-high heat, and cook the burgers 7-8 minutes on each side for well-done.

-While the burgers cook, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, whisk the flour in and cook for 1 minute.

-Whisk the milk into the flour/butter and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Add the provolone stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

-Serve each burger with a small bowl of cheese sauce for dipping.

COMMENTS:

-Rachael actually has this recipe paired with an arugula and roasted tomato salad. Craig's not down for roasted tomatoes, so we skipped her fancy salad and had nice, normal bagged salad instead.

-I found that the cheese sauce, once you add the milk, takes longer than 3-4 minutes to thicken. I thought it would never happen but it finally did. The sauce was realllllly good. (I used a real block of provolone cheese and grated it all myself--BIG STEP for this girl!!)

-We only used 1.75 lbs of ground beef, and still ended up with 4 huge burgers. (The pic does not do them justice.) Leftovers for tomorrow! I really loved the parsley/garlic in the burgers, awesome flavor.

Apricot Sausage Kabobs

Another YUM-O dinner tonight from allrecipes.com. That's right, YUM-O. Because I have a VIP ticket to Rachael Ray tomorrow, y'all! Apparently this show is supposed to air on Black Friday, 11/23. So everybody better watch! What is better than watching me drool over myself on national television?

INGREDIENTS:

-3/4 cup apricot preserves

-3/4 cup Dijon mustard

-1 lb. fully cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 12 pieces

-12 dried apricots

-12 medium fresh mushrooms

-Hot cooked rice

DIRECTIONS:

-In a small bowl, combine preserves and mustard--mix well. Remove 1/2 cup for serving and set aside.

-Alternate sausage, apricots and mushrooms on 4 metal or soaked bamboo skewers.

-Grill, covered, over indirect heat for 15-20 minutes or until meat juices run clear. Turn frequently and baste with remaining apricot sauce.

-Warm the reserved sauce and serve with the kabobs and rice.

COMMENTS:

-Firstly, we are not mushroom fans, and really I don't think I've ever seen an apricot in whole form in my life. So we substituted the dried apricots and mushrooms with green peppers and zucchini.

-Also, as you can tell from the picture, the whole kabob thing didn't work out. Turns out our skewers are larger than our biggest skillet (and that's a pretty darn big skillet), which makes it hard to grill. So we just threw it all in the skillet and made it more of a stir fry. Still good!

-Since we had so many leftover potatoes from last night, we ate those instead and skipped the rice.

-Overall I HIGHLY recommend this sauce. We used a similar sauce for a pork marinade a couple weeks ago, and it was great then too. The apricots are sweet but the mustard adds a little spice to it--and so I leave you with a final Yum-O. :)

Blog will be back on Monday, after Rachael and Burlington. Have a good weekend!

Garlic Chicken with Ranch Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRAIG! Yes, Craig turned the big 3-0 today, so I made him a REAL dinner with sides and everything. Don't worry, he will get a much more birthday-worthy dinner this weekend...we are going to Burlington, VT and staying at the Inn at Essex, where the Vermont Culinary Institute is housed. Read: awesome food everywhere. Woohoo!

Tonight's chicken recipe is from allrecipes.com!INGREDIENTS:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

10 cloves garlic, peeled

1 1/2 tsp canola or veggie oil

5 tbsp chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

-Season chicken with salt and pepper

-In skillet, cook chicken and garlic in oil 4-6 minutes.

-Add 4 tbsp broth, wine or additional broth, lemon juice, basil, and oregano.

-Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until chicken is done.

-Transfer chicken to a serving platter and keep warm.

-In small bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth. Stir into skillet, and bring to a boil--cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Spoon sauce over chicken.

COMMENTS:

-We used pre-chopped garlic instead of cloves--about 2 teaspoons. It was more than enough!

-The sauce at the end was actually a little too thick, so we just added some extra chicken broth--maybe 2 tablespoons more. Sauce was still pretty thick, but not as bad as it was at first.

-For the mashed potatoes: these came out AMAZING. We just made regular mashed potatoes, then added skim milk, butter and ranch dressing. Lots of ranch dressing. They were soooo good.

-For the asparagus, we just grilled them in a skillet with butter and chopped garlic. We do this a lot as a veggie side, and we love it. Simple and very yummy!

Also, Craig really liked licking the potato spoon.

Chicken Pasta Salad

Kitchen blog has returned! Flu is gone, and Craig is back on the East coast, so let us continue with the cooking. :)

This recipe is one of my favorites. Its origins date back to when I played varsity softball at Fitch...haha. One of my teammates, Lizzie Myers, made this pasta salad at home and brought a bunch of it with her on a particularly long bus trip to a rival school. She made the mistake of offering to share with her teammates...and didn't get much for herself! Lizzie gave all of us the recipe and I've been drooling over this stuff ever since.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box rotini pasta

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

1 packet Pasta Salad mix (found in salad dressing aisle)

1 green pepper, cut into bite size pieces

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

Essence of Emeril (or any other favorite seasoning)

1 carrot, peeled and cut into small pieces

DIRECTIONS

-Start by cooking the pasta. Once the pasta is done, drain and put it in a large bowl. Put the pasta in the refrigerator so it can cool while you do everything else.

-Spray a pan with cooking spray. Put the chicken in and cook on medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with the Essence of Emeril--make sure all the pieces get some covering with the seasoning. Cook the chicken until no longer pink. Let cool for a few minutes.

-Pull the pasta out of the fridge, and add the chicken, pepper, and carrot to the pasta.

-All the pasta salad mixes that I buy have the recipe for the dressing on the side. Usually you need to stir up the mix with 1/4 cup of the vinegar and 1/4 cup of the olive oil. But read the packet because some call for water, more/less vinegar, etc. Whatever the packet says, mix up that amount of dressing. Mix the dressing with the pasta/chicken mixture.

-We usually put the pasta salad in the freezer for about 10 minutes (if we're in a hurry), or in the fridge for about an hour before eating. It's better cold!

COMMENTS:

-We eliminated the carrot in our version and just did more green pepper. You can try adding different veggies too.

-We ate this for dinner (hey, we're light eaters), but it also makes a good side dish. I bring it to a lot of office parties and potluck things.

-The amount we made fed both of us for dinner, plus packed 2 containers for lunch leftovers. (Sweet, more tomorrow!)