Posts Tagged ‘entree’

What’s better than pasta, bacon, egg and cheese? Adding CHICKEN of course!  This is a chicken carbonara recipe courtesy of my friend Kelly.  This is a hearty, delicious and messy dish of food!

We spent an afternoon at Lisa’s house because she has much better kitchen lighting than I do.

Here’s the dish in step by step pictures, and the full recipe is repeated at the end of the this post.

Heat 2T olive oil in a deep saute pan.  Add 2T minced garlic and cook over low heat.

Boil 1lb boneless skinless chicken breast until it is cooked. Remove from pot, let cool enough to chop.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook til it is al dente. (No picture needed because it’s boiling water for pasta.  You can do that.)

While the chicken is cooking, cut 3/4 pound of thick cut bacon into pieces and begin to render in the saute pan with the garlic.

Bacon!

Mmm. Bacon cooking!

Mmm. Bacon and bacon fat!

Shred chicken into smaller, coarse pieces. Add to the pan with the bacon and garlic; toss together. Remove from heat.

Everything is nicely incorporated. All the chicken tastes like garlic and bacon now. Yummmm.

While the pasta is cooking, prep the sauce!

In a large bowl, whisk together 8 egg yolks, 1 pint whipping cream,  1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 c chopped basil.

Checking for doneness.  (No throwing against the wall!)

Add the cooked pasta to the bacon garlicky goodness in the saute pan and mix thoroughly. Turn on heat to low.

Pour in the cream sauce. Add fresh black pepper, and toss over medium-low heat until everything is mixed together and hot, about 5 minutes. (Make sure you keep the heat low so that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs)

This is where it gets messy!  You almost need an extra set of hands to mix everything together.

Top with lemon zest, and mix it in.  Don’t forget this ingredient, it’s the secret to the amazing flavor.

Chicken Carbonara ala Kelly

2 tsp olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 lb. thick cut bacon
1 pint whipping cream
1 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8 egg yolks
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil leaves
1 lb. capellini or angel hair pasta
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and garlic, and saute until crisp.

Boil the chicken until it is cooked. Shred chicken into smaller, coarse pieces. Add to the pan with the bacon and garlic; toss together. Remove from heat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook til it is al dente.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whipping cream, parmesan cheese, and basil.

Add the cooked pasta and cream mixture to the frying pan. Turn heat to low. Add fresh black pepper, and toss over medium-low heat until everything is mixed together and hot, about 5 minutes. (Make sure you keep the heat low so that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs)

Top with lemon zest, and mix it in.

Enjoy!

My mom is the BEST soup maker I know.  Her lentil soup with smoke sausage and spaetzle is one of my favorite foods. EVER. My sister also makes pretty great soups. I have not inherited the soup gene, but I did manage to create a soup from scratch today that in the words of my brother “Was AWESOME!”
Next time, I’ll make a few changes, which I’ll indicate in the recipe.

I package ground chicken (ground turkey will also work really well here)
1 packet taco seasoning (once I find a really good recipe, I’ll be making my own. I don’t care for all the salt and questionable items in this stuff, but for now, use it)
1T olive oil
1 vidalia onion – chopped
4 cloves garlic – chopped
8oz button mushrooms – chopped
1 jalapeno -chopped (ribs and seeds removed)
1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies – I used original and almost burned my mouth to death, I’ll be using Mild from now on, but if you’re not a wimp, you can use the original)
1/2t salt
1/4t pepper
32 oz of reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can of black beans – drained and rinsed quickly
2 avocados
2 limes

First note:
I mixed half the seasoning packet into the chicken with about 3/4 c cilantro and made mini meatballs (roughly 24). Baked in the oven at 350 for 35 mins. Then I added them to the soup for the last 20 mins of cook time BUT the texture of the meatballs was off. Jason said they were “boingy” and I’ll try the next batch with browning the meat and mixing the packet in like regular tacos. (The key is to make sure you get equal amounts of meat in the servings.)

How To:

In your soup pot heat 1T olive oil over medium heat.
Brown meat with taco seasoning packet
Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, jalapenos and Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies) and salt and pepper
Cook a few minutes until all the veggies are soft.
Reduce heat to low.
Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add the drained black beans and stir.
Cook for another 20-30 minutes.  (This is really a “simmer while you do other things recipe.” It can take as little as 30 minutes or you can drag it out for as long as 45ish)

Cilantro Lime Cream
1/2c greek plain yogurt
Lime -zest half, juice entire thing
a handful of chopped cilantro
Mix these ingredients together.

Heat oven to 350 – Spray 6 mini corn tortillas or  3 regular sized ones with cooking spray.  Cut into strips and lay on a tinfoil covered sheet pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes (WATCH THEM!).  Divide into 6 portions and top each bowl of soup with the baked chips. (You can do this ahead of time, possibly a day.)

To Serve:
Ladle soup evenly into 6 bowls
add chopped avocado
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro
Top with cilantro lime cream and baked tortilla strips
Squeeze fresh lime juice over the soup.

Eat! Yum!!

If my calculations are correct, each serving is 500 calories. That includes the baked chips AND the cilantro lime cream on top AND the chopped avocado.

This corn chowder is easy to make and super delicious with fresh summer corn!  There is a bit of prep time, so make sure to consider that.  I based this off a recipe from Cooking Light and it’s really delicious and surprisingly, not too hot for an August night.  The corn is sweet and fresh and I think cilantro brightens up everything!

a small chunk of pancetta, or a few slices of bacon

3 shallots, finely chopped (1 onion would work as well)

1 celery stalk finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1/2 poblano pepper finely chopped

1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika (season to taste)

salt

pepper

1 -16oz of reduced sodium chicken broth

1/3c water

5-6 ears of fresh corn kernels or 4  cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp

1/3 cup half-and-half

cilantro and flat leaf parsley to taste

Directions:

Heat a large Dutch oven or saute pan with high sides over medium-high heat.

Add pancetta or bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until it begins to brown.

Remove pieces and drain on paper towels.

Add shallots, celery, garlic, and poblano pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.

Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. (I used my immersion blender and it worked just fine. I did blend it in a separate bowl and poured it back in, but next time, I’ll do it right in the soup pot.

Return pureed corn mixture to pan.

Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Stir in half-and-half and adjust seasons to taste.

Crumble reserved bacon over soup and sprinkle with cilantro and parsley.

My notes:

I like shrimp, but I don’t think it added anything special to this recipe.  You could also make this vegetarian by omitting the pancetta or bacon and using vegetable stock instead.  The real flavor comes from the corn and the poblano pepper.  Adapt as you like, adding whatever veggies you want.  Enjoy!

a small chunk of pancetta, or a few slices of bacon
3 shallots, finely chopped (1 onion would work as well)
1 celery stalk finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1/2 poblano pepper finely chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika (season to taste)
salt
pepper
1 -16oz of reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3c water
5-6 ears of fresh corn kernels or 4  cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/3 cup half-and-half
cilantro and flat leaf parsley to taste

Directions:

Heat a large Dutch oven or saute pan with high sides over medium-high heat.
Add pancetta or bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until it begins to brown.
Remove pieces and drain on paper towels.
Add shallots, celery, garlic and next 3 ingredients (through minced garlic) to pan, and saute for 2 minutes.
Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.
Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. (I used my immersion blender and it worked just fine. I did blend it in a separate bowl and poured it back in, but next time, I’ll do it right in the soup pot.
Return pureed corn mixture to pan.
Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done.
Stir in half-and-half and adjust seasons to taste.
Crumble reserved bacon over soup and sprinkle with cilantro and parsley.

While I was working very hard today at school, I was also thinking about what I was going to make for dinner. I’ve been a little lazy lately and haven’t been cooking as much.  Ok, I haven’t been cooking at all.

Yesterday I bought some lovely cremini mushrooms and grape tomatoes (oh, how I LOVE those) and decided I was going to make a creamy meatless pasta and bruschetta for a side dish.  Today as I was driving home, I remembered that I had a chunk of pancetta hanging out in my freezer calling my name.  What?  Your bacon doesn’t do that? (I think you need better bacon.)

This is an original creation, so of course it needs a little tweaking and one day I’ll actually write down ingredient measurements. Here’s what I did. (recipe will be repeated at the end of the post)

1 medium onion thinly sliced in rings

2 large cloves of garlic, minced (this is also the garlic I used for the bruschetta, so it’s more than 2 large cloves)

small chunk of pancetta (I would have put more in if I had a bigger piece) finly chopped

Heat a little olive oil (maybe 1T) in a large saute pan and cook pancetta until crispy.  Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.

Add onions and garlic to pan drippings and cook slowly until transluscent and tender.  Remove from pan.

Add a little more olive oil and then saute mushrooms until browned.

Add a little more olive oil (if there are a lot of pan drippings from the pancetta, you do not need to add the oil to the above steps) and sprinkle in an equal amount of flour.
I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour.  Cook the roux until it’s thickened, but don’t let it turn brown.

Slowly add in the half and half (you could also use chicken stock and regular milk) and stir until thickened.  This may take  a few minutes and you may continue to add milk or your pasta liquid to thin it out.  At this time, season with salt and pepper and add the pinch of nutmeg.

Add the pancetta, onions, garlic and mushrooms back into the sauce and mix to combine.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Cook pasta according to directions (take out a little early…it will continue to cook in the sauce.  Mix into the creamy pancetta mushroom mixture and serve immediately because the  sauce with thicken up right away.

Sprinkle with fresh basil and add parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano as needed.

Look at this beautiful bruschetta!  Jacqi did all the chopping of the tomatoes…I use grape because they taste better and have less goopy stuff inside.

Ok now for the comments.  While this was really delicious, I thought it was a heavy dish. I probably will not make this again until it’s colder outside or I need a huge carb rush.  I am just starting to like cream sauces, so this was very rich for me.  Next time I will use 2%  milk and possibly a little chicken stock to prevent it from becoming too thick.

Creamy Pancetta Mushroom Pasta
1/2 box of thin spaghetti (Barilla is my favorite)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
small chunk of pancetta (I would have put more in if I had a bigger piece) finly chopped
1T flour
olive oil
1 1/2 cup half and half
salt
pepper
nutmeg (pinch)

Heat a little olive oil (maybe 1T) in a large saute pan and cook pancetta until crispy.  Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.

Add onions and garlic to pan drippings and cook slowly until transluscent and tender.  Remove from pan.

Add a little more olive oil and then saute mushrooms until browned.

Add a little more olive oil (if there are a lot of pan drippings from the pancetta, you do not need to add the oil to the above steps) and sprinkle in an equal amount of flour.
I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour.  Cook the roux until it’s thickened, but don’t let it turn brown.

Slowly add in the half and half (you could also use chicken stock and regular milk) and stir until thickened.  This may take  a few minutes and you may continue to add milk or your pasta liquid to thin it out.  At this time, season with salt and pepper and add the pinch of nutmeg.

Add the pancetta, onions, garlic and mushrooms back into the sauce and mix to combine.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Cook pasta according to directions (take out a little early…it will continue to cook in the sauce.  Mix into the creamy pancetta mushroom mixture and serve immediately because the  sauce with thicken up right away.

Sprinkle with fresh basil and add parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano as needed.

The first time I had this dish I was in Rome.  Of course, I took a photo and decided to try to recreate it when I got back.  It’s a surprisingly easy recipe that uses just a few ingredients.  This is definitely a hearty meal and a big crowd pleaser.

Original dish:

Mine

This is how I made it. (recipe repeated at the end of this post)

Ingredients
1 bag frozen broccoli cuts or chopped broccoli
Orecchiette pasta but any small pasta will work
One medium onion – finely chopped (sometimes I put this in my food processor)
2T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic – minced - (sometimes I put this in my food processor)
1-2C chicken broth (you may not need both cups, use as much as needed)
1lb pork sausage (I used italian seasoned turkey but you can also use mild/hot turkey sausage, just remove it from the casing)
salt
pepper
peccorino romano cheese or parmigiano reggano cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Heat olive oil and add chopped onions and minced garlic.  Cook until translucent.

I added a little bit of leftover white wine at this stage because I had some.  It worked nicely, but it’s not necessary.

When the onions are garlic are ready, add the sausage and break into pieces. I’m really bad at this part. I don’t always have the patience to chop the meat finely.

Season with salt and pepper (easy on the salt because the sausage has lot and you’ll be adding cheese later)

Brown sausage until it’s no longer pink and it’s thoroughly cooked.

Add frozen broccoli and the chicken stock.  Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat. The chicken stock shouldn’t make too much of a sauce, it’s just to give a little moisture to the meat mixture.

Drain pasta and mix with the sauce.  You can also freeze the sauce before adding pasta if you can’t possibly eat all this food.  It does reheat really well (This is coming from someone who doesn’t like most reheated food!)

Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano cheese.

That’s it.  This is my version of a Roman dish and I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients
1 bag frozen broccoli cuts or chopped broccoli
Orecchiette pasta but any small pasta will work
One medium onion – finely chopped (sometimes I put this in my food processor)
2T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic – minced - (sometimes I put this in my food processor)
1-2C chicken broth (you may not need both cups, use as much as needed)
1lb pork sausage (I used italian seasoned turkey but you can also use mild/hot turkey sausage, just remove it from the casing)
salt
pepper
peccorino romano cheese or parmigiano reggano cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Heat olive oil and add chopped onions and minced garlic.  Cook until translucent.

When the onions are garlic are ready, add the sausage and break into pieces.

Season with salt and pepper (easy on the salt because the sausage has lot and you’ll be adding cheese later)

Brown sausage until it’s no longer pink and it’s thoroughly cooked.

Add frozen broccoli and the chicken stock.  Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat. The chicken stock shouldn’t make too much of a sauce, it’s just to give a little moisture to the meat mixture.

Drain pasta and mix with the sauce.  You can also freeze the sauce before adding pasta if you can’t possibly eat all this food.  It does reheat really well.

Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano cheese.