Orecchiette with Braised Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Italian Sausage

Last night for dinner I thought that we would try something new. That new thing was broccoli rabe and cooking with anchovies. I have never had the rabe before but figured that I would like it since  I love most leafy greens. This one did not disappoint. I have some issues with canned fish of any kind and I will sometimes use anchovy paste, but touching those little hairy things and watching them cook, I was not so sure about. I decided to give it a try and I reviewed a ton of recipes and came up with this delicious meal. I hope that you will go out of your comfort zone like I did to make this and give the recipe a try. Happy Eating!

Orecchiette with Braised Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Italian Sausage

1 bunch of Broccoli Rabe, stems trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 pound orecchiette pasta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound Sweet Italian-style sausage, casings removed (I prefer turkey or chicken sausage for this recipe)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, minced

3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry

a Pinch of dried crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the sausage, breaking it up into pieces with a spoon, until browned and juices form, about 12 minutes. Set aside in a large bowl and cook the orecchiette according to package directions. In the same pan that you cooked the sausage in add olive oil and heat to medium high. When the pan is hot add in garlic, onions, anchovies, and pepper flakes. Cook until the anchovies break up and the onion and garlic are soft, about 5 minutes. Rinse the Broccoli Rabe and add to the pan. Cook stirring frequently until the broccoli rabe is wilted and tender around 10 minutes, add to the sausage in the bowl. Drain the pasta and add to the bowl with the sausage and broccoli rabe, stir to mix and top with cheese.

Quick, Easy, Healthy Side Dish

So over the weekend I had a great group of friends over to help get the house painted. To show my appreciation for all of their hard work I made dinner for everyone after we were done with the painting. One of the things that I made was a great healthy side dish that is really easy and quick to make. I hope that you give it a try.

Wild Rice Salad

1 package of Mahatma Long Grain and Wild Rice
1/4 cup of chopped green onions
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of toasted chopped walnuts or pine nuts
4 tablespoons of orange juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Let rice cool slightly and mix into the bowl with other ingredients. Serve warm or chilled.

Super Food Day 6

You can't have a Super Bowl party wiithout wings and let me tell you that mine have even gotten approval from people from Buffalo. These are bettter for than most since they are not fried. They are time consuming but well worth it and by using thighs and drumsticks, you get to eat more of the yummy meat. 

Hot Baked Wings
4 pounds of chicken thighs and drumsticks with skin


1 bottle of your favorite wing sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot Original)

1 bottle of hot sauce (I like Texas Pete's or Louisiana)

1 tablespoon of Creole seasoning (Tony's for me)



In a large bowl place thighs and drumsticks and cover with sauces and seasoning, cover and refrigerate for at least one day but up to two. When ready to cook place thighs, drumstick, and marinade in 9x13 backing dish. Heat oven to 425 degrees, and cook for an hour. You want the skin to be crispy and slightly browned. Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

7 Days of Super Food!

It is that time of year and while I could care less about the teams playing, I still love having friends over and sharing great food and fun while watching football and maybe even more importantly for me this year great new commercials. So in honor of the Super Bowl I am doing my first annual super food countdown to game day. Each day for the next seven day enjoy a great recipe that will be sure to score a touchdown with guests at your game day party. Today's recipe is a a spicy red pepper hummus. This is super easy to make and the level of heat can easily be adjusted to suit your taste buds.

Spicy Red Pepper Hummus

 3 cups of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons of Tahini
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry
2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons of cayenne pepper
a dash of paprika

Place all ingredients but olive oil in food processor, turn on and add olive oil until mixture is smooth. Serve with pita chips, slices of cucumber, cheery tomatoes, and baby carrots.

Fun Fall Recipe

I found this recipe somewhere last year and I thought I would pass it along. This is a great dish that really brings a feeling of fall to the table. I hope that you enjoy....



Baked Stuffed Pumpkin
INGREDIENTS

4 ounce(s) sweet Italian sausage (use more if you want, especially if you are using orzo or another grain)
.5 cup(s) chopped onion
1 (1 1/2-pound ) pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces or acorn squash
.5 cup(s) chopped Granny Smith apples
.25 cup(s) white wine
1 cup(s) Israeli couscous, cooked (available at Trader Joe’s) , Orzo or regular Couscous will work too
.25 cup(s) dried cranberries
1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon(s) fresh thyme
1 teaspoon(s) fresh oregano, chopped
.5 teaspoon(s) salt
.25 teaspoon(s) fresh ground pepper
4 small (1-pound) pumpkins, hollowed out (Not needed but nice for presentation can use casserole dish)

DIRECTIONS:
Make the stuffing: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Decase and crumble the sausage meat and place it in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook the sausage until it is almost done -- about 8 minutes. Remove the sausage from the pan, increase heat to medium, and add the onion and 2 cups of the chopped pumpkin. Sauté until the pumpkin begins to soften -- 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chopped apple and sausage and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the wine, cook for 2 minutes, remove from heat, and set aside. Combine the couscous, dried cranberries, olive oil, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add meat mixture to the bowl and toss to combine. Bake the pumpkins: Evenly fill the hollowed-out pumpkins with the stuffing mixture and place the pumpkins in a shallow baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, bake for 25 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Quick and Easy Pasta for Kids

There are some days when I am not in the
mood to eat at the same time as the kids
are. On those days I struggle to find something healthy and wholesome for the kids. Here is what I came up with one night, that received raving reviews.

Whole Wheat Pasta
1 apple peeled and diced
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1 package of Green Giant's New Immunity Blend

Cook pasta and veggies as directed. Mix cooked vegetable with drained pasta, add in apple and extra cranberries, serve.

Rena Inspired Salad

My friend and I were discussing the recipes found In True Blueberry and got into a discussion on the best fruits to mix with blueberries. I did not really have an opinion on this since I love blueberries on there own but lemon and blueberry is a almost unbeatable flavor combinations for me. Rena, felt that peaches and blueberries go together the best, so in honor of her and the peaches from the farmers market that needed to be used before they went bad, I made a peach and blueberry salad, and Rena was right those two taste great together.

This simple salad is made with two sliced and pitted peaches, sitting over mixed greens, a sprinkling of blueberries, feta cheese, and a lemon vinaigrette make this a flavorful and light salad that goes perfect with grilled chicken or pork.

Summer Twist on Fall Classic

I love pork chops but, they seems to be more of a fall thing, that is until Asian Barbecue by Vicki Liley gave me an idea for a summer twist on a fall classic. In the recipe in the book, there is an Asian flavor twist. I personally wanted something that reminded me more of the classic oven roasted flavors. Here is what I came up with...

1 package of boneless thick cut pork chops

2 apples (I used Fuji, but go for what you like)

1 large white or yellow onion, cut into wedges

2 tablespoons of parsley

1 tablespoon onion powder

salt and pepper

Using an apple corer, core apple. Cut pork into apple sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a bowl large enough to hold all ingredients, mix pork, apple, and onion and season with parsley and onion powder. Place in fridge for 20 minutes, and soak skewers in water for same amount of time. Heat grill on Medium-High. While grill is heating place pork, apple, and onion on skewers alternating each ingredient. Place skewers on grill and cook with the lid on, turning over after 3 minutes until the pork in done. Serve with a mixed greens, cranberry, and walnut salad.

Sweet Potato Fries

My 1 year old is eating solid foods now and some day it is a challenge to come up with healthy things to feed her. I have been reading about what a super food the sweet potato is and have been looking at different ways to bring this vegetable to the table. The vegetable is a excellent source for vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin B-6, dietary fiber, potassium, and iron, why wouldn't I want to serve it to my kids. So thinking of ways to eat this that did not involve the use of forks, or pureeing the sweet potato where a challenge until I remembered how many people keep telling my how good sweet potato fries are. French fries are a great finger food, my daughter has never had them that I know of (a question for my husband perhaps?) so why not make her first experience a healthy one. I looked up some sweet potato french fries recipes and realized that I was going to want to bake them and not to season the fries so much that the nutritional benefits of the sweet potato were lost. I was amazed at the amount of recipes that called for tons of sugar my only thought was why bother adding sugar to something that is already so sweet. So here is what I came up with:

Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato, peeled

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the sweet potato into strips about 1/2 inch thick. In a bowl large enough to hold the potato strips mix olive oil, salt, and paprika and toss potatoes making sure that each is coated. Place seasoned fries on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 45 minutes for a slightly crispy fry. Serve immediately.

Mexican Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salad

Like I said in the wine post, it was girls night so we decided to go south of the border for our flavors and attempt a recipe that my husband makes much better than I do. I will have to update this post after he makes it one night so I can figure out what he does differently with the marinade, but for now here is my version.

Mexican Grilled Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 bottle of Mexican Beer (I recommend Pacifico)

1 lime

1/4 cup of coarsely chopped onion

1/4 cup of Tapatio

In a large bowl combine beer, hot sauce, and onion. Cut lime in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into beer mixture and add the lime halves to the mix. Taste and if flavors are all present add chicken. Cover bowl and marinade overnight. Heat grill on high and cook chicken for around 10 minutes on each side. Serve with black bean salad.

Black Bean Salad

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup of frozen or fresh corn

1/2 cup of diced red onion

2 serrano peppers, sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, diced

the juice from 2 limes

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate, serve when cool.

Recipe Testing

I get a few magazines each month, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet. Each has some articles that inspire me one way or the other. This month it was the strawberries in BHG and Bon Appetit. For breakfast I made this recipe from Bon Appetit.

Strawberry Citrus Salad

Ingredients

3 cups of sliced strawberries

2 large navel oranges, supremed

2 tablespoons of golden brown sugar

2 tablespoons of thin sliced fresh mint leaves

Toss all ingredients in a bowl let sit for 30 minutes, and serve. For the original content please visit http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/05/strawberry_citrus_salad

To make this recipe right I wanted to learn how to segment an or as I learned supreme. This site gave me enough confidence to give it a try. I must say that some practice will definitely be needed before I am perfect at this. http://freshcatering.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-to-supreme-segment-orange.html

Salmon in a Foil Packet

OK, we are heading down to the last week of lent and I have made salmon for dinner almost every Friday since the beginning of Lent in a way that I was sure my guys would eat and devore. I am not always one to stick to the same dish, but when it works and the 5 year old actually eats without a fight in less than 4 hours, you tend to want to stick with what works. Well to be honest I am bored with salt and sugar salmon and I wanted something new. Salmon was not even on the menu until we headed to one of our favorite places to get fresh fish and they had wild caught salmon on sale for $6.99 a pound. I had told someone recently to try this recipe since she was having issues getting fish to turn out good and this is one of the easiest recipes that I have ever made. I taught one of my friends who doesn't cook (her oven wasn't used for over a year) how to make this and she was able to do this too.

Grilled Salmon Packets:

Salmon Fillet or Steak

Salt and Pepper

Lemon, sliced

Fresh Dill

Pat of Butter

Take a salmon fillet or steak and place on a piece of tin foil large enough to make a packet around the piece of fish. Season both side of fish with salt and pepper. Place skin side down and top with a pat of butter. Using the butter as an anchor, put some sprigs of fresh dill on the fish and top with a slice of lemon. Wrap up foil packet and place on a preheated grill for about 5 minutes on high. Check for desired doneness and serve when done.

Soup to Heal

I have been plagued by a sinus bug the past few days and I have a recipe that never fails to clear me out and make me feel better, it is my version of Caldo Tlalpeno, or Mexican Chicken Soup. To let you know in advance this is not a recipe for those who cannot handle spicy. I grew up in Southern California and have been eating spicy foods for most of my life, it takes tons of heat before I am unable to eat something, this recipe does not push the threshold for me, but for those who find a jalapeno spicy, you are not going to like this dish.

1 32oz. carton of Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth/Stock
1 can of chicken noodle soup
1-2 organic chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1-3 serrano peppers, sliced with seeds, how many you use depends on how spicy you want the soup
1 onion, diced
1 plum tomato, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 tablespoon of fresh chopped cilantro
1-2 tablespoons of Tapatio
salt and pepper to season

Heat a large pot on low. Add chicken broth, onion, serranos, and the broth from one can of chicken noodle soup. Heat on low for around a half hour. While onions and serranos are cooking with broth heat a large skillet on high and add oil, before oil starts smoking, add chicken seasoned with salt and pepper, and brown for about 5-7 minutes. When chicken is done browning, add to broth mixture. Now is the time to taste the soup, if you do not feel that the soup is spicy enough, add some Tapatio, then bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low for another half hour. To serve soup, in each bowl add a portion of tomatoes, carrots, and cilantro, pour soup over uncooked vegetables and serve.