Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce

I'm always looking for a fast but delicious side dish to go with dinner. I slow braised a brisket today, cooked up a mess of green beans, but I still needed a side dish to round the meal out. This dish cooks up in about 30 minutes and is always appreciated by the fam, and tastes downright delicious. I use the vacuum-packed gnocchi from Trader Joe's for this recipe. It's par-cooked and heats up very quickly.

Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. vacuum-packed gnocchi
1 onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped basil

1. Heat oven to 475 degrees. Heat 2 tbs. oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add gnocchi and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes; transfer to a plate.

2. Add remaining 2 tbs. oil and and onion to skillet and cook until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, water, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper; cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add cream and browned gnocchi to pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until gnocchi are tender, 5-7 minutes; transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake until cheese is well browned, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Pasta Salad

Eating Well had a nice spread on the new pasta salad, emphasis on the salad. Their article got me thinking how I could makeover the traditional pasta salad based on their proportions and lighten it up while still having a ton of flavor and texture. The result is a fun and delicious salad that has endless possibilities of variation. I'm providing my variation below, but use the quantities to make your own version of a pasta salad. And feel free to whip up your own ranch dressing, if you prefer a creamier version of pasta salad.

Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked pasta (2.5 cups dry pasta) (I used orecchiette)
4-6 cups vegetables (I used red peppers, cucumber, kale raab, spinach, snap peas, and leeks)
2 cups protein (I used chicken)
1/2 cup flavor boost (I used provolone cheese and toasted slivered almonds)
3/4 cup dressing (I used a homemade muscat orange champagne vinaigrette)

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain but do not rinse. Cool on a sheet pan.

2. Cut vegetables, protein and flavor boosters in similar shapes.

3. Combine pasta, vegetable, protein and flavor boosters in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing. ENJOY!

Options:
Pasta: try to pick something that will allow the dressing to grab onto it (fusilli, elbow, orecchiette)

Proteins: chicken, eggs, turkey, beef (flank steak would be very nice), tuna, ham, beans (chickpeas!)

Vegetables: broccoli, onions, tomatoes, kale, carrots, celery, fennel, mushrooms, peas, zucchini, arugula

Flavor Boosts: nuts, pepperoncini, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, salami, cheese, olives

Dressings: whatever you love!

Lasagna

Confession...I've never made an actual homemade lasagna with noodles, sausage, etc. I have made Jack's stunning veggie lasagna, which is delicious, but I've not made the traditional version. Italian sausage was on sale the other day in the meat department, so I ordered up a pound and have been holding on to it in the hopes of making my own lasagna. The long weekend gave me the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl. Now, I have my mother's recipe, which, again, I haven't tried...that's next, but I didn't have it on me when I was shopping for ingredients, so I bought ingredients based on a recipe I found online at All Recipes. I modified the recipe a bit to make it mine. I'm thrilled with the result of this lasagna! I was concerned it would be overly runny, but it wasn't. I was concerned it would be too heavy, but it wasn't. I was concerned it would be too complicated, but it wasn't! It did take some time - but slow-cooked sauces do require time to make them great. All in all, I'm very, very happy with this recipe. Andy was too - he ate and ate!

My friend Tori shared a recipe for lasagna rolls that I may have to try next time - a little twist on this classic!

Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles (regular - not pre-cooked)
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced*
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

*I sliced my fresh mozzarella and then pressed it down on both sides with a clean paper towel to remove some of the excess moisture. I highly recommend this as that extra moisture will contribute to a runny lasagna.*

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. (This sauce makes A LOT!!! I had 1 quart of sauce left over after assembling my lasagna...perfect for spaghetti or the aforementioned lasagna rolls!)

2. When you have 30 minutes left on the sauce, line a 9X13" baking dish with the 12 lasagna noodles. Pour hot water over the noodles and let them sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the noodles and dry them with a clean dish towel. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To assemble, spread 1.5 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon another 1.5 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. (All told, you should use only about 4.5 cups of sauce - there will be leftovers...don't use it all or your lasagna will be runny!)

5. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Beef Stroganoff

I had a little over a lb. of beef stew meat sitting in the fridge today when I got home from work. What to do, what to do? Normally, I like to really slow cook stew meat because it tends to be a tougher cut, but I didn't have time for 2.5 - 3 hours. I looked through what we received in our CSA box this morning and we had cremini mushrooms. I'd also picked up some fresh gnocchi from the store. Hmmm...stroganoff! While it is typically served with egg noodles, I couldn't think of anything better than serving it with fresh, soft, pillowy gnocchi!

So I did. The results were excellent...Andy (my husband) licked the plate. Licked it. Like my kids lick their bowls after ice cream. When I gently admonished him, he said, "I can't let this go to waste!" So, this little ad libbed recipe goes in the recipe book!

Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped finely
3/4 - 1 lb of cremini mushrooms, sliced thickly
Butter
Olive oil or bacon fat
1.25 lbs of beef stew meat
1/4 cup Maderia wine
2-3 cups beef broth
5 tbs half-n-half
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup sour cream
Slurry of 2 tbs flour and 1 tbs warm water, if needed
Salt and pepper
Pasta (I used gnocchi)

1. In a Dutch oven set over medium high heat, add a little olive oil (about 2 tsp). When it's hot, add the onions and slowly sweat.

2. Meanwhile, in another pan, saute the mushrooms in butter in batches. Don't crowd the pan with mushrooms. This will cause them to steam. You're looking for them to saute in the butter, to each get individually golden brown and delicious. Yes, you need to turn each one over individually until both sides are brown. Don't worry, it's worth it. When the mushrooms are done, set aside on a plate.

3. When the onions are translucent, remove them to the plate with the mushrooms. Add some bacon fat or olive oil to the Dutch oven. Dry your beef stew meat on paper towels so they are dry and will get a good sear. Sear the meat in batches in the Dutch oven. Remove each batch to the plate with the vegetables while the rest cooks.

4. When the meat has all been browned and removed, deglaze your pan with the Maderia. Scrape up those brown bits. Let cook down until most the alcohol has evaporated. Then add 2 cups of the beef broth. Now, add all the meat and veg back to the pan. Crank the heat to high and bring to a boil. When it is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer, clamp on the lid and cook for as long as you've got, at least 45 minutes, though, if you have the time, 2 hours would be better. Check periodically to make sure your braising liquid remains just above the meat. If you need more liquid, add a little more beef broth.

5. When at least 45 minutes has elapsed, cook your pasta according to the instructions given on the package.

6. Mix the Dijon mustard, sour cream and half-n-half together in a small bowl until thoroughly mixed. Add to the meat mixture and stir until combined. Cook through for a few minutes. Depending on how thick your mixture is, you can make a quick slurry of flour and warm water and add to the mixture. Stir until combined. When the pasta is cooked, add to the meat mixture. Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh chives or parsley.

Slow-cooked Mustard Boneless Porkchops

My dad made the best mustard pork chops. Today, I made a variation of his pork chops, but finished them by slow cooking them in the oven until the meat just fell apart. I added peas, onions and small raviolis to finish this meal. Talk about a hearty, smooth as silk sauce that warms you all over when it's cool outside (as it currently is here). Yum. **You certainly could make this meal with bone-in pork chops, and frankly, you'd get a tastier chop, but boneless were on sale here, so that's what made the cut today.**

Slow-cooked Mustard Boneless Porkchops
Ingredients:
9 thin to medium thickness boneless porkchops (about 1.5 lbs)
1/4 - 1/3 cup yellow mustard (you can use whole grain, but I love the tang of good old yellow mustard)
1 onion, sliced in half and thinly sliced
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 cups of chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium to large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Salt and pepper one side of your pork chops. Brush the salted side with mustard. Place mustard side down in the dutch oven and cook until browned. Meanwhile, salt and pepper the other side of the chop, and brush with mustard. When the first side is browned, flip over and brown the other side. Remove to a plate. Do this until all the pork chops have been browned and removed to a plate.

2. Add sliced onion to the pot. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and using a wooden spoon, scrape down all the lovely brown bits from the meat into the onions. In a separate bowl, mix the soup and the rest of the chicken broth until combined. Add to the onion along with salt and pepper. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the meat back in and stir around until combined. Bring to a boil. When it boils, put the lid on and put in the lower third of the oven for 1.5 hours.

Like I mentioned, I added frozen peas and cooked small cheese raviolis to mine to make it a full meal.

**Since I no longer use and condensed soups, I would make this same meal using a roux (flour, butter and milk, mixed with mushrooms) rather than the Cream of Mushroom soup.*

Fennel, Pepper and Onion Fusilli

Wednesday's meal was another Rachel Ray recipe. This was, again, fast, easy and very tasty. Rach has a bit of portion distortion, however, as this recipe says that it serves 4, but it really serves 8. One pound of pasta for four people? Yikes! That's fine by me, however, as it leaves us a lot of leftovers! There is no meat in this, but you don't miss it. The fennel seed and fennel give the illusion of Italian sausage, and after pairing this pasta with a spinach salad, I'm quite full. Yum.

Fennel, Pepper and Onion Fusilli
Ingredients:

1 lb. fusilli pasta (corkscrew)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 bulb fennel, quartered, cored and sliced
1 onion, quartered, lengthwise and sliced crosswise
1 cubanelle pepper, halved, seeded and sliced (I didn't have a cubanelle, so I used a red bell pepper)
3-4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 can (28 oz.) Italian plum tomatoes
1/2 cup torn basil
Grated Parm for topping

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt it and add the pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain, reserving a ladleful of the pasta cooking water.

2. While the pasta is working, in a large skillet, heat 2 tbs olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the fennel seeds for 1 minute. Add the fennel, onion, pepper and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and basil. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the reserved pasta cooking water.

3. Toss the pasta with the sauce. Toss with cheese.

Pork and Snap Pea Lo Mein

Recipe #3 from my Eating Well magazine. I'm running a 1/2 marathon tomorrow morning, and I needed a bit of a carb-loaded dish to help me out, so this recipe was my answer to that. This has a lovely Asian flavor without being too strong. I really enjoyed it, although I think it could use fewer noodles and more meat, but that's for next time. This was tasty-asty-o.

Pork and Snap Pea Lo Mein
Ingredients:
8 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs canola oil
2 cups snap peas, trimmed
12 oz. boneless pork loin chops or tenderloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 scallions, sliced

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until just tender, 8-10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.

2. Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add snap peas and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add pork and cook, stirring, until no longer pink on the outside, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir the soy sauce mixture, pour into the pan and cook, stirring, until thickened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add the pasta to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce. Serve topped with scallions.

Serve immediately. This dish is loaded with vitamins like zinc, Vitamin C and Iron.

Chicken Bow Tie Pasta

I was talking with my friend Tori, and we were discussing that sometimes the best dishes we make are off-the-cuff, whatever-is-in-the-pantry dishes. Many of these involve pasta. I had defrosted some panko-crusted chicken breasts that I needed to cook up tonight, but I wondered what I should do with them. I saw some bow tie pasta I'd recently bought, sitting in the pantry and decided a little pasta would be nice! Add some peas, a really good marinara, some pasta water, fresh ground pepper and grated Parmesan cheese, and voila! You have a yummy pasta dish that my kiddos gobbled up, and will make for some good leftovers! This one is going in the recipe book. This made six good sized servings.

Chicken Bow Tie Pasta
Ingredients:
2 panko-crusted chicken breasts
*If you can't find these, you can easily crust your own chicken breasts with panko bread crumbs*
1/2 jar of a good marinara sauce (I used Mario Batali's Tomato Basil sauce)
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1/2 large bag (about 5-6 oz) of bow tie pasta
Grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly cracked black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cook your chicken for 16 minutes, flipping them over at the 1/2 way mark, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Set aside on your counter to rest for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, boil your pasta water. Add the pasta when ready and cook according to package directions. DO NOT dump the water out, and keep the pot and water on the heat even after you have removed the pasta.

3. Prepare a saute pan on another burner over medium heat. Add the pasta sauce to the saute pan, and add the pasta as soon as it is done. In the pasta water, add the frozen peas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Cut your chicken into small cubes (bite-sized). Add to the pasta and sauce. Add the peas to the sauce, pasta, chicken mixture. Add a small amount of pasta water to thin out the mixture. Mix and keep on the heat until everything is heated through. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper.

My kids asked for leftovers for dinner tomorrow night. This was a big hit and was so very simple.

My mom's macaroni and cheese

For lunch today, I made my mom's macaroni and cheese! Yummy! It's the best comfort food there is. I added a quick salad with strawberries and toasted pecans. Delightful!!

Mom's Macaroni and Cheese

For the white sauce:
2 tbs butter (NOT MARGARINE)
2 tbs flour
2 cups milk

3 tsp onion salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt

8 oz macaroni noodles (cooked)

1-2 cups cheddar cheese shredded (as much or as little as you want)

Make the white sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When melted, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk (I use non-fat) and whisk into the mixture. It will thicken. Add more milk and slowly whisk until incorporated. Do this until all the milk is incorporated. Add the onion salt, dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk in and add the extra salt, if needed. Add half the shredded cheese and stir until incorporated.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni noodles. Once cooked, add them to the sauce. Pour mixture into a 3 or 4 quart casserole dish or a 9X13 baking dish, coated with non-stick spray. Top with remaining cheese.

Cook at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. When it comes out, it will be hot, so let sit for 5 minutes before eating.

There's nothing like a slice of childhood memories!