Whats for Dinner? One Pot Pasta

 What is One Pot Pasta?

Pasta and veggies all in a pot and cooking at the same time.

 A great dish to use leftover veggies with. 

You will want to begin by prepping all your ingredients:

chopping asparagus, slicing mushrooms, slivering garlic cloves,

and pinching off a sprig or two of fresh thyme.  
Shredded Parmesan will be added at the end along with some cream.

Tonight I have decided to serve along side hot and buttery french bread.

This buttery and baked hot bread by The Pioneer Woman which
she calls The Bread is French bread slathered on both sides 
with lots of butter then baked and finished under the broiler 
until dark brown and begins to burn.  That's right, 
she actually says, "... begins to burn." 

Once prepped and ready to go,

 

add all the veggies along with the dried pasta and water

to a stockpot along with salt and pepper.

 Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked

and vegies are tender.  Give the pasta a stir frequently so it does not

stick to itself. The liquid will actually reduce on its own.

 

  Parmesan is stirred in at the end, along with cream,

and Voila! it is done. Serve immediately with

some extra shredded Parmesan on the top

and that delicious hot bread!

Here is the recipe:

One Pot Pasta

1 lb. dried spaghetti

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1/2 lb. asparagus, cut diagonally in apx. 1" pieces

2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slivers

1 or 2 sprigs of thyme

4 1/2 cups water

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a large stockpot, add the dried spaghetti, mushrooms, asparagus, garlic, thyme sprigs, and water.  Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, apx. 20  minutes.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and heavy cream. Serve immediately.

Adapted from recipe by Damn Delicious.

Enjoy!

I will be linking up with

Thanks for visiting!

Fondly,

~Karen

End of Summer Grilled Beef Skewers and Pineapple Salsa

 Here is a recipe that would be great for this Labor Day weekend.
It is made with Five-Spice powder. If you aren't familiar with
Five-Spice, it is used often in Chinese cuisine and consists of,
you guessed it, five spices: Star Anise, Cloves, Chinese Cinnamon,
Black pepper, and Fennel seeds. It can be purchased in the
spice aisle along with all the other spices.

I wanted to marinate beef in a Five-Spice marinade,
then skewer and grill the beef for dinner.  I was at Costco 
looking for flank steak or skirt steak that I could thinly slice 
for the skewers. I didn't have luck finding one of those two 
and had to settle on Flap Steak. 

Flap Steak is a thin cut of meat that comes from a bottom sirloin

butt cut of beef. It differs from Flank Steak because it comes from a more 

rear portion of the beef.  Likewise, Skirt Steak is even more forward then

then Flank Steak.  Flap Steak is sometimes confused with Hanger Steak

but it is not.  Both Hanger Steak and Skirt Steak are cut from the

diaphragm of the beef.  I think Flap Steak gets a bad wrap but I

have to admit it usually isn't my first choice either.

 

BUT as a thin piece of meat, it works beautifully

for skewers. It marinates nicely, and grills quickly.
The finished dish shows how thin the meat is.
I only cut it width-wise for the skewers.

The original five-spice marinade recipe came from 
 Better Homes and Gardens and the recipe I used as
modified can be found on BHG Delish Dish.
On this site, it is served with a yogurt sauce,
but I wanted to go even lighter and chose a pineapple salsa.
 
I, unfortunately, don't recall where this recipe for the pineapple 
salsa originated.  You can use these amounts listed in the recipe
below and at the end, give it a taste and make adjustments to
to your liking. The flavor improves as it sits in the refrigerator. 

This pineapple salsa is delicious and is also great as a side dish
for chicken or just served with tortilla chips (and a margarita!).

It's also great with these Five-Spice beef skewers.

Enjoy!

Pineapple Salsa

Source: Unknown

 

Serves 6

1 fresh pineapple, cored and diced

3 green onions, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantry

2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Combine. Cover and chill. 

Please join me as I link up with

Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Fridays

 

 

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Fondly,
~Karen

A Bird's Nest Napkin Fold and Dinner!

 Lucky me! 

Continued outdoor dining at my daughter's!

Previously, I enjoyed a lovely dinner on her balcony.

If you missed that post, you can check it out HERE

 

Tonight, dinner was originally for four but dwindled down to two.

That's okay. It happens... and it means more leftovers!

I like to include one or more wow-factors when entertaining

and often a napkin fold does just that.  I found this fun napkin 

fold in the shape of a bird's nest on You Tube HERE demonstrated

 by Denise Vivaldo. She has authored a book named 

"Top 100 step-by-step Napkin Folds." 

I decided to go with a bird theme and thought it coordinated

 well with this Morning Glories tablecloth and matching 

cloth napkins from Target.

My dinner for two began with an easy appetizer.

On a skewer, I added a cube of cantaloupe melon, a small fresh mozzarella

ball, and thinly sliced prosciutto.  I placed two each in margarita glasses,

drizzled each glass with a balsamic reduction sauce and chopped parsley.

The sweet melon goes beautifully with the Italian dry-cured ham

and the mozzarella ball has great texture and adds to the overall flavor.

They are pretty and were very nice to nosh on with a glass of wine.

For the entree, I made an Artichoke Chicken and Spinach Lasagna and served it

with a Caprese Summer Salad with Cannellini Beans. The salad had a

Basil Pesto Dressing that was really good.

Instead of a garlic bread traditionally served with lasagna, 

I tested a bread made with pizza dough stuffed with a soft herb

cheese, sprinkled with parmesan and topped with sliced zucchini 

and red onion.  You can find that recipe HERE.

Dessert was a wonderfully simple Lemon and Pistachio 

one-layer cake. Check back and I'll share the recipe with you.

I will be linking up with these following blog parties:

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays

Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursdays 

Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Fridays

 

 As always, thanks for visiting me!

 

Fondly,

~Karen

Summer Balcony Dining and Fresh Strawberry Salad

 One of my favorite things to do is to eat outdoors.
On a recent summer evening, I enjoyed a lovely dinner at 

my daughter's on her balcony.  The weather was a beautiful 70-something.

Perfect for outdoor dining with a friend and family.

I made a centerpiece using store-bought flowers, combining 

them with sliced limes inside a square glass vase. You can see

I placed some of the discarded flower stems on the bottom of the

vase to help wedge in the limes (to avoid their tendency to float)

and to act as a floral frog to anchor in the flowers.

 

Our food picture taking was a little scarce, but I did want 
to share with you this delicious Fresh Strawberry Salad.

This fresh baby spinach salad included bleu cheese crumbles, 

thickly-sliced fresh strawberries, sliced red onion, and blanched 

slivered almonds. I dressed it with a White Balsamic Apple Vinaigrette.

I don't use a recipe, but a very similar one is this copy-cat
version of Panera Bread's White Balsamic Fuji Apple Vinaigrette.

 What a relaxing way to spend the evening... outside.

Where do you like to eat during the summer?

Thank you for visiting.

I will be linking up with these talented ladies' linky parties:

Fondly,

~Karen

Whats for Dinner? Crock-Pot Chili with Chocolate

 

This chili with fool you!

Going into the crock-pot, it may seem like any ordinary chili.
 

 

It begins with black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans,

along with cooked ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and spices.

It cooks for 6-8 hours... then for the last 15 minutes it

gets finished with chopped Chocolate - and just a tad of honey!
 

 

It's sure to please the most skeptical palate and would be fun to

serve guests, asking them what they think is the secret ingredient.

Its actually pretty tasty and delicious and, other than seeing the

sprinkling of shaved chocolate on the top for garnish, you would

never suspect there was chocolate in it.  The chocolate really is that subtle.
 

 

I made some seasoned saltine crackers to serve
along side. I often make these with chili flakes but for
tonight I left the spicy-ness off so we could get enjoy
the full spicy flavors of the chili.

 

Come on! Eating can be an adventure. Give this a try!

You can click on this link for the recipe for the

Slow-Cooker Chocolate Chili with Three Beans

and here is the recipe for the crackers:

 

Seasoned Crackers

Source: Unknown
 

1 lb. unsalted saltine crackers
1 cup canola oil
1 (1 oz. pkg) ranch dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons chili flakes (optional)

Line crackers on their ends in an air-tight container. In a small bowl, combine canola oil, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined. Spoon mixture evenly over crackers. Close the lid and gently flip over the crackers.  Flip over every 5 minutes for a total of 20 minutes.  There will be excess oil at first but as they get flipped they will absorb the oil.  The crackers can be stored in a ziploc bag and will last for about a week.

Enjoy and Thank you for visiting!

 

I will be sharing this recipe along with others at

Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday

 

Fondly,

~Karen

 



 

 





What's for Dinner? Bleu Cheese Gnocchi

Here is a standby dish that is helpful for one of those days

when you've spent the day doing other things and hadn't

even thought about what to fix for dinner:  

Bleu Cheese Gnocchi with Spinach.

Anyone can work wonders with one of these in the pantry. 

This Gnocchi comes vacuummed-packed and is not refrigerated.

There are different brands and I have seen them at WalMart

as well as World Market.  They have a pretty long shelf

life which makes them a great item to keep in the pantry.

Once cooked, they are delicious tossed with fresh tomatoes, basil, and

olive oil or any other favorite sauce of your's.

 

I am making this gnocchi with bleu cheese and spinach.

I began by bringing a large pot of water to boiling.

I cook these packaged gnocchi the same as I do freshly made gnocchi:

I pour all gnocchi into the boiling water and they sink to the bottom.

Each piece of gnocchi will rise to the top when it is fully cooked.

 

While the gnocchi are in the boiling water, I spread the sour cream into

the bottom of the baking dish, then grate the parmesan evenly over that.

Once all the gnocchi have risen to the top, I add all the fresh baby

spinach, give it a quick stir, then immediately drain into a collander.

The gnocchi and wilted spinach is then added to the baking dish

on top of the sour cream/parmesan mixture...

 ...then stirred to fully combine.  The bleu cheese is now

crumbled over the top.  Tonight I used a a Stilton bleu cheese

because that is what I had in my refrigerator but any favorite bleu

cheese will work just fine.  The baking dish is now placed under the boiler

until hot and the bleu cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

 

This dish is very rich, very filling, and very delicious!

 

 

Bleu Cheese Gnocchi

Adapted/Converted from BBC Good Food Mag./October 2004

Serves 4

 

1 lb. gnocchi

one ready-bag of baby spinach

3 1/2 oz. sour cream

4 tablespoons grated parmesan

soft bleu cheese, crumbled

 

Cook the gnocchi in a pot of boiling water according to package directions.  They are done when they rise and float on the top of the water.  When all have risen to the top, plunge the spinach into the same water, then immediately drain through a colander and shake off any excess water.

 

Put the sour cream in a small baking dish with the grated parmesan cheese. Add the hot, drained gnocchi and spinach and give everything a good stir.  Crumble the bleu cheese over and season with ground pepper.

 

Slide the dish under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Serve immediately.

 

Enjoy!

 

I will be joining

Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday

 

Thank you for visiting!

 

Fondly,

~Karen



 

 





Queen's Valentine's Dinner

Each year, a Valentine's Queen is elected in my sorority

chapter.  She is a gal who gives of herself her friendship,

is supportive, and is a gal we can look up to and see

a smiling face.  She is a true sorority sister in every way.

 

She gets to wear our chapter's coveted Queen's Crown...

...and a Queen's Valentine's Dinner is given in her honor.

 

Her dinner was given at a sorority sister's home the other night.

The sister hostess set a lovely table made the dinner. She asked me

to make the dessert.  Days prior, I asked our Queen what

her favorite dessert was.  She responded with "cupcakes".

The dinner was going to be a plated-sit down dinner so I opted for

Creme Brulee with dinner and Cupcakes saved for later in the evening.

The red and pink cupcakes rested beautifully on the piano while we ate dinner.

The Valentine's dinner began with festive salads plated

on the table when the sorority sisters arrived.

We each sat down with our choice of red or white wine

to a delicious entree of chicken, roasted potatoes, and green beans.

I made Creme Brulee in shallow ramekins garnished with

raspberries, mint, and a flourless-chocolate cake heart

cut-out and drizzled with chocolate.

 

Here is the evening's actual dinner menu:

 

Mixed Green Salad w/Beet-Infused Goat Cheese Hearts

Chicken Parmesan w/Marinara Sauce, Avocados, and Mozzarella Cheese

Roasted Red Potatoes

Steamed Haricots Verts

Creme Brulee w/Flourless Chocolate Cake Heart Garnish

Rose-Piped Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

 

The dinner was delicious!

After a lively dinner, we settled into the livingroom, each exchanged

Valentines, then ate the cupcakes - leaving four for the

Queen to take home to her family.

 

It was a fun evening and one we all look forward to every year.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for visiting!

 

I will be joining

Susan's Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursdays.

Feel free to go on over and check out all the tablescapes linked there.

 

Fondly,

~Karen

 

What's for Dinner? Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing

I had a couple of Cornish hens left in my freezer,

left from Christmas dinner when I roasted the

other hens for the non-red meat eaters in my family. 

 

In my continuing effort to cook through Ina Garten's cookbooks,
she has this recipe for Cornish Hens with Cornbread

Stuffing in her Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook. 

I baked the cornbread earlier in the day
to be used later in the evening when preparing dinner.

The cornbread stuffing is first made stove top

and the Cornish hens are prepped and set on

top of sliced yellow onions. 

The Cornish hens are then stuffed with the cornbread

stuffing, tied, and roasted.  Additional stuffing is

placed in a baking dish and baked separately. 

 After roasting for 50 minutes, they come out

juicy and tender - just as very young hens should.

The stuffing inside had just enough of the

juices to not be too soggy.  Delicious!

 

Here is the recipe taken from Ina's cookbook:

 

Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing

Serves 6

 

For the stuffing

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 1/2 cups medium-diced celery (3 stalks)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

5 cups (13 ounces) coarsely crumbled cornbread

1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade

 

For the hens

6 fresh Cornish hens (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 - pounds)

2 cups sliced yellow onions (2 onions)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

   For the stuffing, melt the butter in a medium sauté pan, add the onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, until translucent. Off the heat, add the celery, parsley, cornbread, and chicken stock and mix well. Set aside.

   For the hens, rinse them inside and out, removing any pin feathers, and pat the outsides dry. In a roasting pan that's just large enough to hold the hens loosely, first toss in the onions and then place the hens on top, breast side up. Sprinkle the insides of the hens with salt and pepper and loosely fill the cavities with the stuffing. (If there is stuffing left over, bake it in a separate pan until heated through.) Tie the legs of each hen together and tuck the wings under the bodies. brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 50 to 60 minutes, until the skin is browned and the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve a whole hen per person.

 

 What are you having for dinner tonight?

This week I will be joining
 



 

Thank you for dropping by.

 

Fondly,

~Karen

Broccoli Chicken or Turkey Supreme

Dinner tonight is actually a recipe I want to share with you before

Thanksgiving because its such a great recipe for using

our leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. 

I first knew of Broccoli-Chicken Casserole because it

was the first dish my father learned to make after he retired

and my mother was still working.  He wanted to have dinner

ready for her! How sweet is that? (Miss you dad!)

But, I have to tell you, most of those recipes (including the

one my dad used) called for canned soup. 

 

I'm happy to say this recipe I'm sharing with you has NO canned

soup.  It is scratch-made using a cheese sauce and made with

crumbled (and buttered!) Ritz crackers for its topping...

I didn't say it was lower in fat!

 

Tonight I made this casserole with some leftover shredded chicken

breast that I had in the frig and had been needing wanting to use.

 

I broke up the fresh broccoli florets, leaving them on the

larger side, and then steamed them for 3 minutes.   

I placed them in the bottom of a greased

baking dish and sprinkled the shredded chicken over top.

 

The cheese sauce was then made by melting butter and adding

seasonings, milk, a little chicken broth, and a slurry of cornstarch and water.

It thickens beautifully then shredded cheddar cheese is added and

combined until melted and smooth.

This cheese sauce is now poured over the top of the chicken and broccoli
with more cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

 

For the topping, I used Ritz' Roasted Vegetable crackers,

crushed them in a ziploc, again leaving pieces on the large side, then

added them to melted butter.  The topping was sprinkled

over the top of the casserole then baked. 

The recipe makes a 9x13 but I improvised and

made only an 8x8 because there was only two of us for dinner. 

I served it along side one of my favorite salads which includes
 dried cranberries, pecans, feta, ripened pear, and an unusual,
but tasty, dressing made by combining two different dressings.  Check
back in a day or two and I'll share that salad recipe with you as well.

 

This isn't the normal Broccoli-Chicken Casserole

and it certainly deserves the title of Supreme.

I hope you keep it in mind come Friday and you have

all your leftover turkey.

 

Here is the recipe: 

 

Broccoli Chicken Supreme

Makes a 9x13 baking dish.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh broccoli, broken into florets.

3 cups cooked chicken breasts, cubed or shredded

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

2 sleeves Ritz crackers

1 stick melted butter
 

Cheese sauce:

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water

1/3 cup chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups milk

1/2 of the cheese listed above.

 

Directions:

Steam broccoli florets for 3 minutes.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish and layer the broccoli and the chicken.  Set aside. In a saucepan, combine the melted butter, cornstarch slurry, chicken broth, seasonings, and milk.  Stir with a whisk and continue whisking until sauce has thickened. Take pan off heat and add 1/2 of the cheddar cheese and whisk until melted and smooth.  Pour over the chicken and broccoli. Top with the remaining cheddar cheese.

 

Topping:

Crush the Ritz crackers in a ziploc.  Melt butter in a bowl and add the crushed crackers to combine.  Sprinkle topping over the top of the grated cheese.

 

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Cover with foil if topping is getting too browned before its done.  Let it sit and cool slightly before serving.

 

Enjoy!

Thank you for visiting!

 

I will be linking with

 

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays

Stone Gable's On The Menu Mondays

Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday

 

 

Fondly,

~ Karen