Chicken Pastina

Have you seen the mini pastas the grocery stores are selling? I learned from an Italian friend that the mini pasta is called "pastina". The mini pastas cook a little faster which is great when you're in a little bit of a hurry. I used the mini farfalle (bowtie), you can use your favorite pasta shape and size. This is the easiest, most awesome and quick chicken dish that will wow your family and friends. It's pretty economical too!

Chicken Pastina -

Chop one medium onion and 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsely.

Cube one package of chicken tenders. Cook 1/2 lb. of mini pasta to al-dente in salted water. Butter a 9x9 baking dish.

Add 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and 2 cloves minced garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 - 7 minutes more.

Pour chicken mixture into buttered dish add 1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (with juice), 1 cup, 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl mix together 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs and 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter.

Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree for about 20 minutes to melt the cheeses and then place under the broiler for a minute or two until the top is golden brown.

Kick-Off Steak Sandwich

First, I want to thank all of your for your well-wishes for the folks affected by Hurricane Gustav. Our family members are all safe and it seems they suffered little damage so far. Let's hope the three storms still out there spin out in the Atlantic and don't cause any harm.

Soccer has consumed my free time. I spent the last two weekends at tournaments and taxied people to and from practices and games all week. I need to win a gas card bad. Last night I FINALLY got to cook and we did sandwich night. This wasn't any ordinary sandwich night; I wanted to put it over the top. I missed my knife and cutting board, I missed my pots and pans...not really, well kind of...so while I was supposed to be working yesterday afternoon, I zoned out and came up with this Kick-Off Steak Sandwich...I think it's a wonderful idea for a football game too!

Kick-Off Steak Sandwich -

Start off with a package of Gruyere cheese. A little note here, this cheese is a little pricey, but when you see what we do with it, it goes a long way. Gruyere is a Swiss cheese imported from, you guessed it Switzerland, and it has a stronger taste than domestic Swiss cheese.

Cut off the rind.

Cube the Gruyere and place in a food processor using the cutting blade. Add about 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt. Be careful because the Gruyere is slightly salty...you can leave the salt out if you're not a salt person.

Pulse the food processor until the cheese is completely broken up. While the machine is running, stream in about 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil. You will wind up with a thick, but spreadable, palate pleasing mixture. Set this aside and keep at room temperature.

We're going to roast an Anaheim pepper. These peppers have a little fire to them, and are a lot like a bell pepper. Place the pepper on the grill or under the broiler in your oven. You want to char the outside skin of the pepper.

Keep a close eye on the pepper and turn as each side begins to char.

Once all sides are evenly charred. Remove pepper from grill and place in a PAPER bag, close bag and let the pepper steam for about 10 minutes. (Sorry this was the smallest paper bag I could find) I have visited several cooking blogs that instruct you to place roasted peppers in a re-sealable plastic bag. PLEASE use PAPER. There's a good chance the plastic will melt onto your temperature hot pepper...gross!

Remove the pepper from the bag so you can peel the outer layer of the charred skin.

The charred out skin peels off so easy. You can use this method to roast just about any kind of pepper.

You can use any cut of steak you like; I used a sirloin that I caught on sale. Brush steak with extra virgin olive oil on both sides and season with Montreal Steak seasoning. Grill until you've reached your desired doneness. Thinly slice the steak.

Okay, now for the bread. I used Chibatta bread. It has a thin crust and is light and airy on the inside. With steak, I didn't want to use a heavy bread. Melt one stick of butter over very low heat, add 2 cloves of crushed garlic to infuse the butter with garlic flavor. (I started this before I started the cheese mixture.) Cut the bread in half sandwich style and brush the inside of the bread with the garlic butter and place butter side down on the hot grill for about 30 seconds.

Mmmm, I can't wait to put these sandwiches together!

I put the two pieces of bread together and cut into 4 equal portions. Spread the Gruyere cheese mixture on the bread, place your steak slices, top with the grilled peppers and a few pieces of spicy arugula and you have a sandwich that will please all of your homies!

GO SAINTS GO!

I Can't Forget

Please keep the people from the Gulf Coast Region in your prayers. Thanks!

Garlic Flavored Spaghetti Bowls

There are A LOT of cooking blogs out there in the blogosphere! I visit a all of them everyday. Just kidding, I think you knew that. I visit a few piratically everyday and even visit a few that are photography or humor related. It is amazing how many talented people are blogging and I feel privileged to have made friends with some truly wonderful people. The cooking blogs are pure torture though...all of the dishes I see everyday have me drooling over my computer screen. My co-workers think I have a salivary gland problem and chipped in and bought me a bib. I see so many recipes that I want to try and sometimes I even get to do that provided that A.J. and the homegirlz are receptive. Jenny at Picky Palate created this dish and I decided to try it. Jenny, I hope you don't mind that I changed it just a tad, but you can click the link for the original recipe This fabulous recipe got a two thumbs up from my crew.

In a small pot of low heat, add 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and one peeled and crushed garlic clove. I smashed the clove a little too hard that's why it's in 2 pieces. The garlic will infuse the oil with a wonderful garlic flavor in about 10 to 15 minutes.

While the oil is getting flavored, open up one package of refrigerated pie crust (it will contain 2 rolls of dough) and roll out. Use a cup or bowl approximately 3-inches in diameter and cut dough circles with a knife or pastry cutter. Use both pieces of dough, you will need 12 circles.

Brush both sides of your circles with the garlic infused olive oil.

Place the circles in a muffin pan, prick the bottoms of the bowls with a fork so they won't bubble up while baking and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes.

Remove the bowls from the muffin pan and allow to cool.

While the bowls are baking, cook 1 lb. of angel hair pasta to al-dente and drain. Add the remainder of the garlic flavored olive oil to a skillet and and add 1 lb. of lean ground beef to skillet, season with salt and pepper and brown. Once the meat is completely brown drain off any excess fat and add approximately 16 ounces of a prepared spaghetti sauce or your favorite homemade sauce to the meat. I just happened to have some sauce in the freezer that I thawed and combined with the meat.

Place a small amount of past to the bowls, spoon the meat sauce over the past and top with freshly grated Parmigiana-Reggiano.

Thanks Jenny, our Wednesday night was definitely not boring!

Savory Chicken Stir Fry with Glass Noodles

We spent the weekend at the soccer field watching our tween play her season opener jamboree. I didn't cook all weekend and when I got home from work yesterday afternoon, the homegirlz gave me a MapQuest to the kitchen and I had to re-learn how to use that vittle fixin' thing with the knobs and the big black glass screen on the front.


This chicken dish is a work-in-progress and the first time I've cooked glass noodles. The real challenge with the glass noodles is there are no directions on the package on how to cook the darn things. If any of you know, I would welcome your advice! Also, once I played with the sauce and the veggies, I always think of things I could have added....like shitake mushrooms, broccoli, water chestnuts...all things the homegirlz would turn their noses up at. I"ll add them anyway next time.



Savory Chicken Stir-Fry with Glass Noodles -

Cut 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1-1/2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (Tamari), and 1-1/2 tablespoons corn starch. Whisk all ingredients together and add cut up chicken. Coat the cubed chicken with the sauce and set aside for about 20 minutes.

In another bowl combine 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (or 1 teaspoon of garlic juice from a jar of minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne), 2 teaspoons sugar. Whisk together and set aside.

Heat a skillet or wok over medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Once oil is heated, add 1 teaspoon powdered ginger or 2 teaspoons grated ginger, 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 scallions finely chopped. Cook for about 30 seconds and then add 1 thinly sliced red bell pepper and 1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced.

Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved sauce to the pan and make sure you coat everything in the pan with the sauce. Stir in 1 teaspoon sesame oil.

Ok, now for the glass noodles or bean threads - side note you can serve your chicken over lo-mein or rice.

Pour about 16 ounces of chicken stock into a large pot and bring to a low boil.

Place noodles in the warm chicken stock, cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 7 minutes. The noodles absorb the chicken stock, so I added about 1/2 cup more chicken stock and turned the noodle nests over and cooked for another three minutes.

Talk about delicious! The homegirlz cleaned their plates! I couldn't keep the tween out of the pot.

Have a Great Weekend!

A friend sent this to me and I thought you might think it was entertaining too! Have a wonderful weekend!

French Market Pie

This is an oldie but a goodie that I've had for years. I had just gotten engaged and a lady that I worked with at the time, gave this to me on a simple sheet of yellow legal paper. She told me to make this for my husband-to-be. I didn't. I found the yellow paper years later and said, "Hmmm, think I'll give it a try." and WOAH, why did I wait so long?! This pie is so light and heavenly, you must make it tonight!

French Market Pie

1/3 cup melted butter
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla (for a neat twist if you're out of vanilla, try almond extract)
9-inch pie shell, unbaked
Whipped cream and nutmeg for garnish

Cream butter and sugar together for 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add cream and vanilla. Beat a few minutes.

Pour mixture in unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream and grated nutmeg. Ok, just stick a fork into the thing...I know you've earned it!