- 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1/4 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 cup Italian salad dressing
- 3/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Mix beans, peas, tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers in a large bowl. Season with garlic salt. Add dressing and cilantro; toss to coat. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until ready to serve.

My original thought for dinner was to marinate the chicken in something and then grill them, then wrap the asparagus in the prosciutto and grille that… then make some potato dish.

Sounded good on paper, but then I had NOTHING, I mean NOTHING to marinate the chicken in!  Oops…

Plan B.

Google Chicken, Prosciutto, Asparagus and see what comes up!

I came across the following recipe – since I didn’t have the exact ingredients, I’m going to give you MY version.  Much to my delight EVERYONE LOVED IT!  This recipe will easily serve five (two adults and three kids)… adjust accordingly for your family size.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil (to cook the asparagus in, and to put in the pan with the potatoes)
1 bunch of asparagus spears – roughly a dozen or so spears (I cut the bottom 1/3 off because it’s usually kind of tough and the kids won’t eat it)
Salt and pepper to taste
5 boneless chicken breast halves
dried basil
10 pieces of thin sliced prosciutto (you’ll want about two slices per chicken breast)
parmesan cheese (the kind you’d sprinkle on pasta)
2 good tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup or so water
1/4 to 1/2 cup light cream

Directions:

Heat oven to 375F.

In a roasting pan, put your potatoes, roughly cut into 1″ cubes.  Put just enough olive oil to cover the potatoes, then add seasoning.  I used a packet of seasoning we got from Yankee Candle (called Harvest Thyme, basically a thyme/rosemary/parsley/spice pre-mix)… coat the potatoes with the seasoning and put in the oven uncovered.

Heat a 12″ ovenproof skillet – I use a cast-iron skillet, it’s just perfect for this type of meal.  Over medium-high heat, add about 1 1/2 Tbsp of oil and add the asparagus.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  As the asparagus saute, shake the pan often to prevent them from burning.  You don’t want to overcook the asparagus!  I find that adding a bit of liquid, say a 1/2 cup of water, at the beginning helps steam the asparagus while it cooks.  Take a taste after about 2 to 4 minutes.  You’re looking for “al dente” NOT mush.  So if they still have a bit of crunch, they’re probably done.  Remember, they’re going to cook a bit more when you put them in the chicken.

Lay the chicken on a cutting board OR better yet, I put plastic wrap on my counter (granite) and put the chicken between another piece of plastic wrap to hammer them to a consistent width.  Basically, you want to pound out the breasts until they are a uniform thickness so they cook evenly and are easy to roll out.  Use a meat mallet or a heavy skillet to flatten out the breasts.

When they are all pounded out – lay out the breast long way (from right to left, not top to bottom) and start arranging an even layer in this order: a light but even sprinkling of dried basil, a light but even layer of the parmesan cheese, prosciutto, and then the asparagus.  I used enough to cover the middle portion of the chicken – depending on how big, between 6 and 8 asparagus spears.  With the long side of the breast facing you, roll the chicken away from you, folding it tightly over itself.  Use a couple of toothpicks (or more) to seal the rolled area.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper.

Put the skillet back on the heat (medium-high) add about two more tablespoons of olive oil and put the chicken rolls in.  Cook the chicken on all sides until they are browned, about 3 minutes or so per side.  Remove chicken to a plate for the moment, and add the two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.  Scrape all the chicken that might have stuck to the pan and let cook about a minute – now add the 1/4 cup of water.  Put the chicken back into the pan and coat with the mixture.  Loosely cover the chicken and put in the 375F oven.

Give them a good 10-15 minutes… basically once the potatoes are done, the chicken is done too!

The only thing missing from the recipe was that there wasn’t really much “sauce”, so I took the chicken out of the pan (oh, by the way, that frickin’ pan is 375F HOT, use kitchen mitts and for goodness sake DON’T FORGET the PAN IS STILL HOT – I burned my hand!).  I added about 1/4 to 1/2 of light cream and let the mixture cook a bit – I could have probably made a better sauce, but it was SO GOOD!  I’ll work to perfect the sauce someday, but for now, it’s quick, simple and everyone loved it!

Let the chicken rest for a couple of minutes, cut the rolls diagonally (because it makes it look so pretty) and serve with a spoonful of the sauce.  OR do like we do and serve from the pan and we all dip into the pan for the sauce!

Enjoy!

Gnocchi are very easy to make and if you have a bunch of people involved, everybody can get in on the action.

Here’s the basic (very basic) recipe:
Potato:
2 medium Yukon gold potatoess – can substitute with russet potatoes
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Water

Preheat your oven to 400º degrees Fahrenheit. Put the potatoes onto some foil, add the salt and water, and wrap. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until cooked through. I’m pretty sure it took closer to an hour, but at that point we had already started drinking wine!
Peel the potatoes while they are still hot. Cut and rice the potatoes, don’t pile them in one spot. Let the potatoes cool completely! If you don’t, you’ll wind up cooking the egg and have mashed potatoes with scrambled eggs…

Sprinkle the potatoes with a good amount of flour. Aerate the potatoes with a bench scraper, and then add the salt, nutmeg and white pepper. Mix up the egg yolks and pour them over the potatoes. Cover the surface again with more flour. Continue to cut and gently lift the dough.

Test the dough by squeezing it gently in your hand. It shouldn’t stick. Add a bit more flour, if needed.

Once done, shape the dough into a rectangle and fold it a few times, using your fingertips to bring it together. Flatten the dough out until it is about the thickness of your finger. Sprinkle with flour and let rest about 5 to 10 minutes.

The last bit was to cut them into about 1″ pieces then roll them down the back of a fork… it’s tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, you get the fork mark on one side and an indent on the other side, great for catching all that great sauce!

Unpaid help makes the best gnocchi

We made two sauces: one quick marinara type sauce, whatever your favorite will do and another was a sage-butter sauce:
4 tbsp Unsalted butter
8 fresh sage leaves
1 large pinch Kosher salt
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

I heated the mixture in a steel bowl over the boiling water – THEN to make it really interesting, I put it all into a “magic bullet” device, with some olive oil and puree’d it all… it sort of emulsified and thickened a bit – Oh Soo good!

The gnocchi cook FAST so have your boiling water ready and do them in small batches so as not to make the water cool and take a long time to bring back to a boil. We did about 1 to 1.5 dozen at a time. We scooped them right from the water right into a pan of either sauce or the sage-butter mixture… and then served.

** We actually thought about taking this show on the road, it was that much fun!  Keep your eyes peeled, we might be pitching it to TLC, Discovery, Food Network, MTV, Oprah TV, A&E, CMT and/or BET in the very near future ***

In the meantime, please enjoy all the pictures from that night!

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I made ribs this week – they were so yummy!  Best part was the leftovers – let me tell you.

To start, I took babyback ribs (pork) and hit them with a rub.  I wrapped them in foil and stuck them in a bar-b-que stand thingy (do you like my technical lingo?).

I smoked them over indirect heat for about five hours – and then to finish them, I took them off the bar-b-que grill and put them on the regular grill.  I put a slather of bar-b-que sauce on them and just let the sauce caramelize on the heat.

Whoa, they were DELISH!

So, I had a bunch of leftovers because Lizzy and I are the only ones that will eat the ribs.  What to do with the leftovers??

I grabbed my trusty crock pot this morning and put the ribs in along with a couple of bottles of Guinness 250 and some bar-b-que sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s).

Holy smokes, GOOD EATS!

Here are some pics for you:

I recommend you try this, you’ll love it!!!

(FYI, I’m too lazy to do it right now, but next batch I’ll take step-by-step pictures as well as give you the exact rubs, etc.)

Joe made this recipe and it was FANTASTIC!  I love eggplant, so I thought I’d share this with you all…

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, about 1½ pounds. Cut into ½ inch slices
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 crushed garlic cloves
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 ½ cups breadcrumbs plain or Italian
1 generous cup grated parmagiana cheese
1 generous cup of feta cheese crumbled
3-4 tbsp flour

cooking oil as required

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 F

-Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown on each side. ( you can also get the same result by placing them under the broiler and turning them.)

-Chop the eggplant slices into cubes and place them in a bowl. Add the cheeses, parsley, garlic and egg and mix. Add the bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. The mix should be moist and and sticky. Let it rest for about 20 minutes If it’s very sloppy, add a bit more of the breadcrumbs.

-Make small meatballs and flatten them.

-Place the flour on a plate and flour the fritters on all sides. (This will make them easier to handle.)

Shallow fry the fritters on each side until golden brown.

Drain with paper towels and serve with sour cream or flavored yogurt and lime wedges.

Mediterranean Chicken with Saffron Couscous

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 (6 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 pinch saffron or 1 single use packet saffron powder (I don’t normally use this)
4 garlic cloves, 1 crushed, 3 chopped
1 cup couscous
1 large red onion
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 (15 oz) can of quartered artichoke hearts drained
1 cup dry white wine (3-4 glugs)
10 kalamata olives pitted and cut in half
1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (a couple of generous handfuls), coarsely chopped 20 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Instructions
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat with olive oil. Place flour in a dish and season the chicken with salt pepper and cayenne pepper, then transfer the chicken in the dish with the flour. Cook the chicken in the skillet for 5-6 minutes on each side. While chicken is cooking start the couscous.

In a sauce pot bring two cups of chicken stock up to a boil with saffron, the crushed clove of garlic, salt and pepper. When the stock is at a boil ad the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Once the chicken is done remove it and put it on a plate with foil to keep it warm. Add more olive oil to the skillet, add onions, 3 cloves chopped garlic, thyme, salt and pepper cook stirring frequently.

Add the artichokes and wine to the pan, bring it to a simmer and add the remaining cup of chicken stock, olives, and grape tomatoes.

Return the liquids to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the tomatoes start to burst. Add the chicken back to the pan. Add the parsley and basil to the dish and stir.

To serve, fluff the couscous with a fork, remove and discard the crushed garlic clove. Serve the chicken and sauce over the couscous.

Serves 4.

So, I was at Fresh Acres (owned by Big Y) and saw some nice Chicken Sausage and some nice HOT Italian sausage and decided to make a small batch for myself.

It couldn’t have been easier:

2 links of Chicken and Mushroom Sauage
2 links of Hot Italian Sausage
1 Green Bell pepper
2 Red Bell peppers
1/2 sweet onion

Cut the peppers into strips (clean them out, of course) and cut the onion into strips as well.

Put everything into a roasting pan and coat with some olive oil, season with Salt and Pepper.

Cover with tin foil and put in a 375 F oven.

Check after about 1/2 hour, stir everything around a bit.  Cook for about another 15 minutes, checking to see if the sausage is cooked thru.

At this point, I took the foil off and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so to let some of the juice cook off and to let the peppers carmelize a bit.

And that’s it!  It was so good, I should have made a double batch.

I should have taken pictures, but I was too busy eating  .

Add some apple sauce and you got yourself some good eatin’!

Ingredients:

DIRECTIONS:

I don’t know who’s recipe it is, but my mother-in-law came up with this and we love it.

Here it goes:

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. boned, skinned chicken breasts (see note at end)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter
Unflavored bread crumbs (about 1 can)
1 can sliced, drained mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken bouillon
6-8 slices of Muenster Cheese
1 medium small onion

Directions:
1) Slice chicken into 2″x1″ strips (as well as possible. we found it was between tht and 2″x3″)
2) Soak chicken in eggs for 1 hour
3) Roll chicken in bread crumbs and brown in butter
4) Sauté mushrooms and onions in butter
5) Put chicken in large pan or casserole keeping to one layer if possible
6) Top with mushrooms and onions
7) Cover with cheese
Bake 350 deg F about 1/2 hour. Cover with foil until the last 10 minutes

Note – I used a flat pan 9 x 13 x 2. In this i had room for 3 lbs of breast strips.

Also, you can put some chicken broth (1 chicken broth cube in a cup of hot water) in the pan with the chicken. Just before putting in the oven, dribble this in the corners of the pan (it avoids sticking).

Serves 8!

Enjoy!

Serves 4 to 6
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 1/4 cups sweet white wine (see note)
1/2 small carrot , peeled and chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 small onion , chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/3 cup)
3 ounces pancetta , cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes with juice
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small clove garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 1/4 pounds meatloaf mix (or equal amounts 80 percent lean ground beef, ground veal, and ground pork)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons tomato paste
table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound pasta
grated Parmesan cheese , for serving

1.Cover porcini mushrooms with 1/2 cup water in small microwave-safe bowl; cover bowl with plastic wrap, cut a few steam vents with paring knife, and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Let stand until mushrooms have softened, about 5 minutes. Using fork, lift porcini from liquid and transfer to second small bowl; pour soaking liquid through paper towel-lined mesh strainer. Set porcini and strained liquid aside.

2. Bring wine to simmer in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; reduce heat to low and simmer until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 20 minutes. Set reduced wine aside.

3. Meanwhile, pulse carrot in food processor until broken down into rough 1/4-inch pieces, about 10 one-second pulses. Add onion; pulse until vegetables are broken down to 1/8-inch pieces, about 10 one-second pulses. Transfer vegetables to small bowl. Process softened porcini until well-ground, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary. Transfer porcini to bowl with onions and carrots. Process pancetta until pieces are no larger than 1/4 inch, 30 to 35 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary; transfer to small bowl. Pulse tomatoes with juice until chopped fine, 6 to 8 one-second pulses.

4. Heat butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides, add pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned, about 2 minutes. Add carrot, onion, and porcini; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and sugar; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ground meats, breaking meat into 1-inch pieces with wooden spoon, about 1 minute. Add milk and stir to break meat into 1/2-inch bits; bring to simmer, reduce heat to medium, and continue to simmer, stirring to break up meat into small pieces, until most liquid has evaporated and meat begins to sizzle, 18 to 20 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until combined, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, reserved porcini soaking liquid, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; bring to simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid is reduced and sauce is thickened but still moist, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in reduced wine and simmer to blend flavors, about 5 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil, covered, in stockpot. Add 1-tablespoon salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta cooking water, and return pasta to stockpot. Add 2 cups sauce and 2 tablespoons pasta water to pasta; toss well, adding remaining pasta water, if necessary, to help distribute sauce. Divide pasta among individual bowls and top each portion with about 1/4 cup remaining sauce. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.