Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

 Since soups fall under the category of " foods I'm able to eat," I made this for dinner the other night.  I'm still having a difficult time swallowing and ended up sticking my serving into the blender.... nummy.... pureed soup.  Seriously folks, this is getting old.

But at least there was flavor to be had and it met with rave reviews.  Even my grandsweetie had two bowls!  The original recipe is from an old Light and Tasty magazine and can be found here  I doubled the recipe and added a few other things.  This is definitely a keeper recipe that will certainly be on my soup rotations this fall. My husband, bless his heart, is becoming more brave with foods every year.  But since I love this guy so much.... so very much... I accommodate him by giving the tomatoes a quick whirl in the blender.  My broth turned out to be quite red because of that.  If you leave the tomatoes whole the broth will be clear.

Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

adapted from taste of home magazine

Ingredients

3 Italian turkey sausage links (4 ounces each), casings removed

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, grated

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each)  chicken broth

1-3/4 cups water

1 can (14-1/2 ounces)diced tomatoes with roasted garlic, undrained

1 can (16 ounces)  cannellini beans, drained and rinshed

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped (I chopped mine more fine)

 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

In a dutch oven or large soup pan, crumble and brown the sausage until it is no longer pink.  Remove the sausage from the pan and let the grease drain off onto a paper towel.  Safe just a slight remainder of the grease, in the pot, and drain off the excess; add the onion, carrots, garlic, basil, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft and onions are translucent.  Stir in the broth, water and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Add the tortellini and cook for about eight minutes or until the noodles become tender.  Reduce the heat and add the spinach; cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 more minutes.  Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese, if desired.

 Yield: 6 servings (2 quarts).

SRC: Betsylife Pasta with Asparagus

The best part of SRC (secret recipe club) is getting to experience all the fabulous blogs out there.  The worst part.... deciding which of their fabulous dishes I want to try.  This month I had the privilege of getting Betsy's blog, Betsylife.  She also is working on food styling and her blog clearly shows her talent in that.  I'll patiently pause here so that you can view her blog and see for yourself how accurate of a description that is :-)   Gorgeous pictures and many healthy choices to choose from.

I needed to take a dish to a family gathering so decided on making her Pasta with Asperagus I made a few changes but nothing too drastic.  While this was delicious as it was, I had to add bacon (sorry, it was written in the marriage vows that all meals must include bacon)  it really didn't need it.  But while I'm thinking of it,some added chicken breast would make an meat lover happy in this dish.  Betsy used this as a meal in itself but I used it as a side pasta salad.  Either way works pretty darn good!

Pasta with Asparagus and Parmesan

8 ounces uncooked whole wheat penne pasta
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1 pound)
1 cup chicken broth (substitute vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
3 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup bacon crumbles

Directions
Cook Pasta according to package directions using the 1 tablespoon of kosher salt in the water.

Add oil to pan medium size skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add asparagus to pan and cook tender, (this took me about 4 minutes.) Don't overcook the asparagus as you still wants some crispness to them. lly. Remove asparagus from pan and set aside. Add broth, lemon rind, and garlic to the pan; allow the liquid to reduce by half (about 5-7 minutes). Return asparagus to pan, add pasta, salt,pepper, cayenne and bacon; toss well. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Mom's Crazy Cooking: Spaghetti Sauce

The challenge for Mom's Crazy Cooking this month was to find a spaghetti sauce.  I liked that this recipe included red wine... something I've really been into these past few months; cooking with wine.  Her recipe used canned tomatoes but I have several gallon bags of roma tomatoes in my freezer that I needed to use up.  Go check out One Couples Kitchen To see her recipe.  She made her sauce using venison, which I bet tasted amazing!

Spaghetti Sauce from Scratch
adapted from One Couples Kitchen

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 6oz can tomato paste
4 1/2 pound roma tomatoes (I had a gallon size bag frozen in my freezer)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup full bodied red wine
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp majoram
1 tsp parsley
1/2 teaspoon baking soda ( this was to help with the acidity of the tomatoes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

Directions
In a large skillet,cook ground meat until browned and cooked through and set aside.

In a large pot, add olive oil and over medium heat saute onion, stirring often; add garlic.  Add the cooked meat and the wine (this will deglaze the pan) add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer for 2 hours.

Serve over pasta and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Monthly Challenge: Macaroni and Cheese Soup

The Monthly Challenge for February was to make soup or stew.  I have to ask your forgiveness.  You see, this soup was so delicious that I completely forgot to take a picture!  Everyone in the family gave this a big hooray... doesn't happen that often when we all can agree on a keeper recipe!

Macaroni and Cheese Soup
adapted from Food Network Magazine

Kosher salt
1 cup dry elbow macaroni
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons butter
1 carrot, shredded
1 stalk celery, shredded
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (we like heat so I added more, but this is a good start!)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 and 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 and 1/4 cups milk
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions:

Fill a large sauce pan with water, add kosher salt and bring to a boil.  Add macaroni and cook according to
package directions.  Drain and set aside.

In a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons butter and melt; add the vegetables and cook over medium high heat until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the flour; cook stirring constantly for another 2 minutes (you want the flour to brown slightly to eliminate the raw taste of flour).  Add the mustard powder ad cayenne pepper.  Gradually stir in the stock and bring to a boil; stir until thickened, about 6 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the milk, cheeses and macaroni.  Stir until the cheese melt; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

Smoked Gouda and Swiss Rigatoni and Cheese with bacon

Although my kids had always preferred the box mac and cheese, I was never overly fond of it.  Being on a budget, of course, meant that we ate a lot of it while the kids were growing up. I was ever so thankful when I was able to start making homemade macaroni and cheese.  Hubby likes it to be super creamy and would rather it not be baked.  No problem! I wanted to try making a recipe using smoked Gouda (don't know why really, it just sounded like something fun to say!) and I  came a cross this recipe here at Cooker Girl's blog.

I switched it up just a tiny bit using ingredients I had on hand.  The end result was this creamy, smokey, rich mac and cheese.  It was the perfect meal for such a bitter cold day.

Smoked Gouda and Bacon Rigatoni & Cheese 

Adapted from The Adventures of Mindyanna Jones and Cooker Girl

1 pound rigatoni

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 

2 Tbsp unsalted butter 

1 shallot, finely chopped 

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika 

1 1/2 cup whole milk 

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 oz shredded smoked Gouda 

4 oz shredded swiss

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 

Freshly ground black pepper 

4-6 slices crispy cooked bacon, crumbled 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water is heating up, cook, drain and crumble the bacon. Once the water is boiling, add salt to season the cooking water, then add the pasta. Cook for 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Drain well and return to the pot. 

While the pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and heat with the butter until it melts. Add the shallot and garlic; cook for 3-5 minutes to sweat them out... watch so that the garlic does not burn! Raise the heat a bit, then whisk in the flour, cayenne, and paprika. Whisk together until the roux bubbles up, then cook for 1 minute more. Whisk in the milk and stock and raise the heat a bit higher to bring the sauce to a quick boil. Once it bubbles, drop the heat back to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Add the cheeses to the thickened sauce and stir to melt it, a minute or so. Stir in the mustard and bacon and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over the cooked pasta and toss to combine. Adjust the seasonings to your taste and serve immediately.

Pastitsio - pasta with warm winter spices!

For me, a winter comfort food would either be a soup or a casserole.  Not only are they generally big on flavor, but they are usually easy on the wallet.  I'm not talking about the Campbell soup casseroles either... you know, the type where you just open up a couple cans and throw in some rice or noodles.  While those will do in a pinch, they are not what I look for when I think comfort.  No, I'm talking about deep, full flavors.  This recipe for Pastitsio certainly fit the bill.  You have layers of tomato sauce that has just a hint of cinnamon and another layer that is more of a white sauce with a touch of nutmeg.  Incredibly easy and full of flavor, this is a casserole that makes you forget all about all the others!

Pastitsio

2 lean ground beef

6 garlic cloves, minced and divided

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and ground black pepper, to taste

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine (or water if you prefer)

1 pound penne pasta

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk (I used skim)

1 1/2 cups vegetable or beef broth (I used beef)

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat a pan over medium-high heat; add ground meat.  Cook until is browned.

Add Four of the minced garlic cloves, the cinnamon, oregano, pepper flakes and a

 generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Cook until fragrant and spices are 

well incorporated, about 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, sauce and enough wine, or water,

 to make a sauce that is suitable to your taste but still not too thin. You will be

 layering the sauce as you would for a lasagna so keep in mind that thickness. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, partially covered,

 until sauce is thick and richly flavored, about 20 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.

Microwave milk and broth in a quart measuring cup, cover lightly with plastic wrap

 and cook until steamy and hot.  How long this takes will depend on your microwave. 

 Mine only took 4 minutes.

In a medium saucepan; heat butter and remaining 2 cloves minced garlic until garlic

 is slightly golden.  Whisk in flour until well blended.  Pour in hot milk mixture while 

whisking vigorously until sauce is smooth and starts to thicken.  Stir in 1/2 cup of

 the Parmesan cheese and nutmeg; season to taste with salt and pepper. In a separate

 bowl, whisk together the two eggs; add a ladle full of the broth mixture to the eggs 

and whisk to combine.  Add the egg mixture to the remaining broth in the 

sauce pan and whisk to fully incorporate.

Add a ladle full of tomato sauce mixture to bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.  

Spread half of the pasta over the the pan and top with remaining tomato mixture; 

sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Top with remaining pasta and pour over the top the milk/broth mixture; 

cover top with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Cover pan with foil; bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil and turn oven to broil.  

Watching carefully, broil until tops is spotty brown, 3-5 minutes.  

Remove from oven and let stand to set 10-15 minutes.  Cut into portions and serve.

Yields: 8 serving

Crazy Cooking Challenge: Shaker Chicken Noodle Soup

This month's Moms Crazy Cooking Challenge (the brainchild of  Tina Messick-Hudgens) was to find a recipe for chicken noodle soup.  The challenge isn't necessarily making the recipe, for me it is in finding a recipe.  You see, we have to use a recipe from someone's blog that isn't a professional blog (ie Pioneer Woman, Paula Deen, etc.) While there are a gazillion recipes for chicken soup out in the world wide web, finding one that wasn't originally from on of those professional sites.  Deep into my search I came across this wonderful blog called  Kitchen Trial and Error and found the perfect soup recipe.  This is a recipe that was handed down to her from her mother. It was on a photocopied piece of paper that did not include who it originally came from.
The only change I made was to make my own noodles.  I also leave the noodles cooked, but stored on the side.  If you leave the noodles in the soup they can become mushy and absorb too much liquid.  I put some in a bowl and then ladle on the soup.
Shaker Chicken and Noodle Soup

from Kitchen Trial and Error

serves 8

13 cups chicken stock, divided
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrot
12 ounces dry egg noodles (I made my own noodles for which the recipe follows)
2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup all purpose flour

in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup stock, vermouth, and butter. bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about a quarter cup, about 20 minutes. the mixture will darken and be thick and syrupy. remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream. set aside.

see how much it reduces!!






coat the bottom of a stock pot with olive oil and set over medium heat. saute the celery and carrot until softened, about five minutes. add the remaining 12 cups of chicken stock and bring to a boil.
.Stir in the chicken and cook until heated through and bring back to a boil.
whisk together the 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 flour until no lumps remain. Add a ladle of hot broth to the mixture and whisk to combine.while continuously stirring the soup, add the flour and water mixture. cook, stirring continuously for about 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. do not let the soup boil.
Stir in the reserved reduced stock, vermouth, butter, and cream mixture. taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and do not let the soup boil.stir in the reserved reduced stock, vermouth, butter, and cream mixture. taste and season with salt and pepper. serve immediately and do not let the soup boil. leftovers reheat perfectly.

Easy Peasy Homemade Pasta
1 egg
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cold water
about 1 tablespoon salt
2 cups flour

Beat the egg and egg yolks until light. Add water and salt; beat in.

Work the flour into the mixture, with your hands, to make a stiff dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 10 minutes.

Cut into three equal parts. Lightly dust a board with flour and roll out one part of the dough as thin as you desire.... I like mine not too thin, but it can't be too thick either.  Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips.  strips

Spread them out on a cookie sheet and let dry.  You aren't looking for a totally dry noodle, but one that has lost most of its surface dampness.  I generally let mine dry at least fifteen minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.  Boil noodles until just tender... this can take 5-to minutes depending on the thickness.  Drain water and serve.

Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti

I'm back and recovered!  What a fun time that was... NOT!  My belly button is still sore.  

I'm telling you this, things are not meant to come out of your belly button!  'Nuff said.

I am just thrilled to be back in the kitchen again.  I don't know why it wasn't as much fun when the kids were growing up.  Well, maybe I do.  They are a lot less picky at their adult ages than when they were kids.

For dinner I made up some Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti along with some 90 minute bread. Both are very easy to make and allowed for me to cook between loads of laundry.  I saw a recipe for the Spinach and Ricotta shells but I didn't want to stuff a bunch of shells; The Manicotti was easier. To make it a lot more easy, one could easily use it as the filling for a meatless lasagna. I combined a couple different recipes and made my own Marina sauce.

Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti

adapted from Real Simple, Spoon Fork Bacon

and Allrecipes.com

Sauce:

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup white wine

1  28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne

Filling:

2  15-ounce containers ricotta

2 cups baby spinach, chopped

1/3 cup chopped Parsley

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

1 egg

1 shallot, minced

Salt and Black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup grated Mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Manicotti:

1 box Manicotti (mine yielded 14 shells)

1/3 cup Parmesan, grated

1 cup grated Mozzarella

Directions:

In saucepan, cook onion in olive oil until slightly translucent; add garlic

 and continue cooking 1 minute more.

Deglaze pan with whitewine.  Add crushed tomatoes and remaining

sauce ingredients.   Let cook for about twenty minutes.

Cook Manicotti according to box directions.

To make filling;  chop spinach.  I like to wilt my spinach in a saute pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well.

  Add spinach and mix thoroughly.

Fill a piping bag with ricotta filling and pipe into  cooked manicotti. I find that

inserting the piping bag half way and filling as I am pulling out works best.
I then turn it around and fill the other half using the same method.

In a 9-inch x 13-inch pan, add a scoop or two of the marinara sauce to the bottom of the pan.

Top with filled manicotti.  Add remaining marinara sauce to the top of the manicotti and top with remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F., for twenty minutes.  Let set five minutes and then serve.

Bacon and Feta Pasta

One of the best things about the Secret Recipe Club is you get tons of great recipe ideas.  One recipe immediately jumped out at me since it had the words bacon and pasta in the title. The recipe is from Crumbs and Chaos, but I had to make several adjustments to make it with the ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe calls heavy cream and I like to substitute evaporated milk when asked for in sauces.


Bacon and Feta Pasta
8 ounces pasta of choice  (I used linguine)
8 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 tablespoons evaporated milk
4 stems of fresh thyme, leaves removed
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled with additional for topping if desired 


Directions:

     Cook pasta to al dente according to the package directions.  

While the water is boiling, heat a large skillet over medium heat.            

Add sliced bacon and cook until crisp.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Wipe skillet out with a paper towel.

Add butter to skillet and melt over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms.  When the mushrooms are soft, add garlic, thyme and evaporated milk.  When the milk, is warm, add feta and stir gently until melted.  Season with pepper and add bacon back to pan.

Add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat.  

Serve immediately with feta sprinkled on the top.

Greek Penne pasta with Chicken

I wasn't sure I would be able to do the monthly challenge this month, but, as luck would have it, I did a dish that fits the criteria. We were challenged to make a dish using farmer's market ingredients

This is the first year I have been successfully able to grow herbs.  I guess the lousy start to the summer we had was good for something!  I made this dish last night and even my non-veggie husband ate two servings!  I liked the fact that it had no true "sauce" to it, only what the vegetables and feta cheese made.  Hubby thought it could use a bit of an Alfredo like sauce but the rest of us thought it was perfect as is!

Greek Penne and Chicken

adapted from this recipe by Jenny at allrecipes.com

• 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (I had only a walla walla sweet on hand)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
• 14 ounces marinated artichoke hearts (I rinsed them to remove some of the oil)
• 1 -15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook penne pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat melt butter, add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add chopped chicken and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium- low. Drain and chop artichoke hearts and add them, tomato, feta cheese, fresh parsley, lemon juice, oregano, and drained penne pasta to the large skillet. Cook until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Serve warm.

1. 
   

The Daring Cooks' July Challenge: My Noodle hands! Spaetzle

Blog-checking lines: Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks' July hostess.  Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine.  She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

Having made egg noodles before, I knew that I would have to create something new for this challenge.  Along with being challenged to make pasta, Steph also wanted us to do something from our heritage. I don't know why, but while I always wanted to try spaetzle, the thought of making it scared me.  I guess that in my head I just made it seem so complicated.  Well guess what.... it isn't!  And I can kick myself for not having tried this years ago!  The dough in itself is very bland but that just gives you a large canvas to experiment with.  I went for a simple Spaetzle in brown butter and sage sauce.

Spaetzle in Sage Brown Butter

http://www.food.com/recipe/Spaetzle-in-Sage-Brown-Butter-136384

3/4 cup cold milk

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 fresh sage leaves, Chiffinod

2 fresh sage leaves

 Directions

Bring to a boil a large pot of salted water. Combine milk, eggs, and nutmeg in processor; blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add salt and flour pulsing until batter is just smooth, about 30 seconds (batter will be very thick and sticky). Since I don't have a food processor, I just whisked the eggs and blended in the nutmeg and flour.  

 
Working in batches, pour batter through slotted spoon or grater held above boiling water, pressing with spatula to form strands. Stir gently to prevent sticking.  Simmer until Spaetzle float to surface, then continue cooking 1 minute longer.Using slotted spoon, transfer spaetzle to large buttered baking dish. (Can be made 2 hours ahead). Let stand at room temperature.)

Cook butter and Sage in heavy large skillet over medium  heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Add Spaetzle and toss until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.

Divide among plates. garnish with fresh sage.

Optional: One small sautéed onion diced in the butter.

You can see the butter starting to brown

Grab a fork and dig in!

Creamy Parmesan Pasta Salad

Before going to my daughter's house for dinner, I asked what could I bring. She replied, "A good pasta salad."  I can count on one hand the times I have made a pasta salad... and while they got eaten, I didn't think that they were all that good!  Thankfully I had my latest issue of Food Network Magazine and they had an article on pasta salads. It was a handy article to have as they gave you a list of different combinations that worked well together and three different dressings to choose from... seriously folks, the combinations are endless!  I went with using roasted red peppers and broccoli in my pasta salad. My daughter and husband highly approved and so I guess I finally found a "good" pasta salad I could make!

The secret to adding broccoli to a salad is blanching it.  I used to never take the time to do it, but once I started to do so it made a big difference in my salads.  Not only does blanching give your broccoli a nice vibrant color, but it also gives it a nice crunch.


How to blanch broccoli:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. The water should ideally taste faintly salty.
Fill a large bowl with water and ice. Make sure to leave enough room for the broccoli to comfortable fit.
Once the water has reached a boil, put the broccoli into the pot and allow it to boil for 3 minutes


Remove the broccoli from the pot and put it directly into the ice water, making sure the broccoli is covered with the water completely.  Drain and use.

Creamy Parmesan Dressing
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon finely grated garlic
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
            Combine all the dressing ingredients together except the parmesan cheese.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta salad
1/2 pound pasta of your choice ( I used small bow ties) 1 cup broccoli florets,
1 cup roasted red bell pepper, diced.

Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.  Combine ingredients and pour creamy parmesan dressing over; toss gently to cover pasta.  Add 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese and toss again.  Top with remaining 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and serve.

Homemade Gnocchi Bake with Red Onions and Pancetta

This months Monthly Challenge was to make "red" foods for the month of February. Right off I swore I wouldn't do the obvious choices of red velvet cake or tomato based dishes..... But I was sooooooo wrong. When I did a Google search of "red foods" (seriously, look it up and you will see quite a listing!) and I came across this recipe for Gnocchi with Red Onions and Pancetta it just screamed out at me. Gnocchi has been on my list of things to make for ages now and hey, red onion count as red, right?? Ok, don't go getting all technical on me. I know that they are not really "red" but lets not get picky about things :-) 

Gnocchi

3 large baking potatoes (Idaho, about 1 3/4 pounds)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper

1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups all purpose flour (as needed)

Directions:
Place the potatoes in a large pot with enough cold water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are easily pierced with a skewer but the skins are not split, about 3

5 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and let them stand just until cool enough to handle. (The hotter the potatoes are when they are peeled and riced, the lighter the gnocchi will be.) Working quickly and protecting the hand that holds the potatoes with a folded kitchen towel or oven mitt, scrape the skin from the potato with a paring knife. Press the peeled potatoes through a potato ricer. Alternatively, the potatoes can be passed through a food mill fitted with the fine disc, but a ricer makes fluffier potatoes and therefore lighter gnocchi.
 Spread the riced potatoes into a thin, even layer on the work surface, without pressing them or compacting them. Let them cool completely.

In a small bowl, beat the egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg together. Gather the cold potatoes into a mound and form a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Knead the potato and egg mixtures together with both hands, gradually adding the grated cheese and enough of the flour, about 1 1/2 cups, to form a smooth but slightly sticky dough. It should take no longer than 3 minutes to work the flour into the potato mixture; remember, the longer the dough is kneaded, the more flour it will require and the heavier it will become. As you knead the dough, it will stick to your hands and to the work surface: Repeatedly rub this rough dough from your hands and scrape it with a knife or dough scraper from the work surface back into the dough as you knead.          

      Dust the dough, your hands, and the work surface lightly with some of the remaining flour. Cut the dough into six equal pieces and set off to one side of the work surface. Place one piece of dough in front of you and pat it into a rough oblong

Using both hands, in a smooth back-and-forth motion and exerting light downward pressure, roll the dough into a rope 1/2 inch thick, flouring the dough if necessary as you roll to keep it from sticking. (When you first begin making gnocchi, until your hands get the feel of the dough, you may find it easier to cut each piece of dough in half to roll it.). Slice the ropes into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Sprinkle the rounds lightly with flour and roll each piece to prevent sticking. Repeat the whole process with the remaining pieces of dough. At this point the gnocchi must be cooked immediately or frozen.
To cook gnocchi:Bring six quarts of salted water to a vigorous boil in a large pot over high heat. Drop about half the gnocchi into the boiling water a few at a time, stirring gently, until tender, about 1 minute after they rise to the surface.
To freeze gnocchi:It is best to freeze gnocchi uncooked as soon as they are shaped. Arrange the gnocchi in a single layer on a baking pan and place the pan in a level position in the freezer. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours. Gather the frozen gnocchi into resealable freezer bags. Frozen gnocchi can be stored in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks.
To cook frozen gnocchi:Frozen gnocchi must be cooked directly from the freezer in plenty of boiling water, or they will stick together. Bring 6 quarts salted water to a boil in each of two large pots. Shake any excess flour from the frozen gnocchi and split them between the two pots, stirring gently as you add them to the boiling water. It is important that the water return to a boil as soon as possible; cover the pots if necessary. Drain the gnocchi as described above and sauce and serve according to the specific recipe.

                                                         Gnocchi Bake with red onions and pancetta

adapted from here

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 ounces Pancetta, cubed

1 red onion, peeled and finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup chopped tomato (I used one cup of canned diced tomato)

3 tablespoons sun dried tomato paste (sadly, this is unheard of in my area so I used regular tomato paste)

1 cup Mascarpone cheese

1 pound fresh gnocchi

8-10 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

2 cups grated mozarella cheese (which I thought was way overkill so I used maybe 3/4 cup

1/3 cup white breadcrumbs (again, I thought this was a bit much so just used a couple tablespoons)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
Heat the oil in a skillet and add the pancetta. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
Add the red onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for a further 5 minutes, or until the pancetta is cooked and the onion softened.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomato paste, and mascarpone cheese. Simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi for 1-2 minutes, until they rise to the surface. Do not overcook.
Drain the gnocchi thoroughly and place in a large ovenproof dish (My 9-inch square pyrex worked perfectly).
Add the chopped basil to the pancetta sauce mixture and stir. Pour the sauce over the gnocchi and toss gently to coat it.
Combine the grated cheese with the breadcrumbs and scatter over the gnocchi.
Cook in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

1.