Weeknight Paella

This was tasty! We have leftovers, and I anticipate that after it has been sitting overnight, it'll be even better!

I doubled the recipe below, because I had a full pound of shrimp and chorizo.

Weeknight Paella

(...and a cookie for dessert, by way of Cooking This and That)

2/3 cups yellow rice (Goya)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/2 pound chorizo, sliced

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken broth

1 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup frozen peas

Directions

- Heat olive oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat

- Add rice and cook until it begins to toast, about 1-2 minutes

- Add shallot and garlic and continue to saute until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute

- Add shrimp, chorizo, and broth

- Cover pan tightly and reduce heat to medium-low

- Cook for 18 minutes

- Remove lid, add parsley and peas and cook until heated through

- Continue cooking uncovered until all liquid is absorbed.

Chicken DaVinci

I nabbed this recipe from my friend Chera -- she blogs, but since it's sort of a family blog, I won't link it here for her privacy.

This was tasty -- very much like a sausage sandwich with peppers and onions...except over pasta. with chicken. :-)

Nice and quick as well!

Chicken DaVinci

(Chera)

16 oz. pasta, cooked according to directions.

Drain and toss in bowl with 2 T. olive oil.

1 lb. Chicken, cubed

3 italian sausage links, cut into 1/2" pieces (I assume hot or sweet is fine here...)

1 red onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

10-12 mushrooms, quartered

2 cloves garlic, minced

- Saute chicken and sausage in 2 T. olive oil for 5 minutes.

- Remove from pan, drain drippings.

- Add a little more oil and saute veggies.

- Add garlic when veggies are almost done.

- Add chicken and sausage back to pan to mingle flavors.

- Serve with noodles and season with salt, pepper, and Parmesan and/or Romano cheese.

- Enjoy!

(Chera says don't forgo the Parmesan cheese -- it really makes the dish (as evidenced by this picture I took of DH's plate after he added half a container of parm to it.)

Skillet Noodle Lasagna

DH and I LOVED this recipe, and it makes so much food we had it for 2 dinners, and a couple of lunches! It actually re-heats really well -- better than regular lasagna!

I made it as a weeknight meal, so it's pretty quick as well.

Our only complaint is we'd like more spinach -- next time I'll make it with fresh, chopped spinach so I can add as much as I want!

Skillet Noodle Lasagna

(Erica's Kitchen, by way of Test Kitchen)

1/2 lb pasta, any size/shape you prefer (I used shells)

1 container (1 lb) cottage cheese

1 10 oz package frozen creamed spinach, thawed

1 lb ground meat (I used beef)

Pepper, oregano and garlic powder to taste

1 large 32 ou jar pasta sauce

1 package (8 oz) shredded cheese (I used mozzarella/provolone mix)

1/4 c grated Parmesan

Directions

- In a large skillet (12" and probably somewith with high sides, as this layers up quickly) cook your ground meat, drain any fat and season to taste with black pepper, oregano and garlic powder.

- When done, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

- Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.

- Meanwhile - combine the cottage cheese and creamed spinach in a bowl.

- In the skillet, spread a layer of pasta sauce, about one cup, over the bottom.

- Top with about 1/3 of the noodles, then layer in your meat, and then top with another 1/3 of your noodles.

- Top those with 1/2 of the remaining pasta sauce, then add your cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 of the package of shredded cheese.

- Finally add on your remaining noodles followed by the remaining sauce.

- Cover skillet and turn to high heat and bring to a rapid simmer.

- Reduce to medium heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

- Sprinkle on your remaining shredded cheese and Parmesan cheese.

- Replace cover and simmer for another 2 minutes.

- Remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes.

- Serve.

Zuppa Toscana

I'm not a terribly huge Olive Garden fan, but I DO love their Zuppa Toscana soup.

DH had mentioned he was hungry for "soup, salad, and breadsticks" so instead of trying to wrestle our way into the constantly-full-takes-no-reservations Olive Garden in our town, I just made it at home!

This soup was very tasty. I liked it better than the restaurant version since I could control the fat and salt involved.

I pre-cooked the sausage on Sunday, and tossed it in a container in the fridge. Then all I had left to do was the basic 'soup' aspect on Tuesday, and while it simmered I chopped up our salad and tossed breadsticks in the oven (since it was a weeknight, Pillsbury saved the day on the breadsticks). Worked out to be a great weeknight meal.

The original recipe only served 3 people. I'm not even going to post that recipe here, because when I make soup, I make way more than that (regardless of the soup). I doubled the recipe, we ate it 2 nights for dinner, with some left over for lunches (or freezing, if that's your preference).

For the original "serves 3" recipe, click the Recipezaar link below.

Zuppa Toscana

(Recipezaar)

1 lb. spicy sausage -- we used turkey sausage (original recipe calls for sausage in cups. who measures sausage in CUPS!?)

4 medium potatoes, cut in half length-wise and cut into 1/4" slices

1 large (2 small) onion, diced
12 slices bacon (we omitted. i don't need sausage AND bacon in my soup)

3 teaspoons minced garlic -- we used jarred preminced (don't worry if this smells mega-strong when it's cooking. the garlic flavor will mellow out)

4 cups kale leaves, cut in half then sliced (I chose about 12 kale leaves at the store, and ended up tossing them all in)

4 tablespoons chicken base(bullion)+2 quarts water (I used 8 cups of chicken broth instead)

2/3 cup heavy cream

Directions

- If sausage is in links, remove from casings. Cook sausage until done and set aside.

- Cook bacon and onion over medium heat, and when bacon is crisp, take it out of the pan and leave the onion in. Add the garlic to the onion and cook1 minute (Since I omitted the bacon, and my sausage was already cooked and in the fridge, I just put a little olive oil in the bottom of my stock pot, and sauteed the onion in the olive oil until soft and transparent. Then I added the garlic and proceeded on)

- Add the chicken base, water, and potatoes; simmer 15 minutes

- Crumble bacon and add crumbled bacon, kale, and cream

- Simmer 4 minutes, then serve.

This was DH's first time with kale, and he's decided he likes it. Anybody have good recipes that use it??

Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach

When I saw this recipe I knew we had to try it --  DH LOVES gnocchi. And it looked like another fast weeknight meal. I'm ALWAYS up for fast weeknight meals!

And I share the blogger's agony with a tiny kitchen. :-) 

Her pictures are much better than mine -- it was dark by the time I was done cooking, so no natural light!

This was very tasty. I used the good old parmesan in the green can, because it's what I had, and it worked just fine. It probably would've been better with fresh, though.

DH also requested that I add some tomatoes next time. Works for me!

Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach

(Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen -- adapted from "Real Simple")

2 (9-oz) or 1 (17.5-oz) package gnocchi (you can use fresh or frozen. We used frozen, and ended up adding 2 16 oz. packages. that's a whole lotta gnocchi!)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pound italian sausage, casings removed (we used sweet italian sausage)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped (i used 1 tsp. pre-minced)

1 5-oz bag baby spinach

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing

Directions

- Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions; reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid

- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium/medium high heat.

- Add the onion and cook until softened

- Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned and cooked through

- Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, tossing frequently until the spinach wilts

- Add the drained gnocchi, the reserved cooking liquid, and the Parmesan cheese, and toss.

- Divide among bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan.

Chef Bradley BBQ Meatloaf

About a month ago, I was lucky enough to be chosen by Blake, at Blake Makes, to receive a free bottle of Chef Bradley's Lean Mean BBQ Sauce.

I wasn't sure what to make with it -- we don't have a grill, so grilling was out -- so I asked my dear hubby what he wanted me to make with it. His responses? (I should've known...) meatloaf or pulled pork. Well, okay, we'll work with that, then!

I made the meatloaf this week, but only used 1/2 bottle of my BBQ sauce - so perhaps I'll get to make both meatloaf AND pulled pork (I may try beef instead) as well! TWO Chef Bradley recipes!

My cute little loaves, ready for topping and baking

Chef Bradley's website says the Lean Mean BBQ Sauce is primarily a finishing sauce, but, I used it on my meatloaf while cooking as well. It had a nice, sweet flavor from cooking along with the meatloaf. I added more sauce to my piece of meatloaf, to taste the original flavor as well, and it was delicious -- it's got a little bit of zing to it, is a little peppery, but is very tasty -- AND it's healthy. How awesome is that??

Basic Meatloaf

(Makes 1 large loaf, or two small loaves)

1.5 lbs ground meat (I used ground beef and ground sausage for this -- you can use any ground meat)

1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion), finely diced

1-8oz. tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1/2-3/4 cup breadcrumbs (however much you need to make it bind)

Directions

- Mix all ingredients together, shape into loaves

- Top with BBQ sauce, ketchup, or whatever you enjoy

- Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until loaves are cooked through.

My finished BBQ meatloaf. Okay, so it isn't the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen, but trust me...it was deeeeeeeeeelicious!

Homemade Hot Dog Chili Sauce

This recipe was one of my grandmother's -- and for some reason, old-fashioned hot dogs in casing, with chili sauce, just sounded FANTASTIC this week!

Sometimes you just need a little comfort food, ya know? I'm an adult -- if I want to eat like a 3 year old for dinner -- so be it!

The original recipe (below) makes 1 gallon. Seeing as I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, with a kitchen tinier than my work cubicle -- making 1 gallon of this stuff and freezing it was NOT a good idea.

I split the recipe in half -- realized it was STILL way too much -- and split it again. And I think that's where the issue arose. The spices just don't split evenly, I think. A pretty common occurance, though, and I'm relatively unpreterbed about it.

My chili sauce had a VERY strong clove flavor. I hate clove. This was bad. But I think with less clove, and more chili powder (maybe a sprinkle of cumin, to replace the nasty clove) it would be DEEELICIOUS. So those are my recc's -- run with it :-)

Below is the original (1 gallon), and then my divided-up recipe.

Hot Dog Chili Sauce
Ma's Recipe!

(Makes 1 gallons)

Sauce freezes easily for use later. Reccommend freezing in single-serving containers

2 lbs. ground beef, cooked, broken up into fine pieces (I use a potato masher and it works wonderfully), and drained of excess fat
1 1/2 cups finely diced onion
1/8 cup salt
1 1/4 oz. chili powder
1/2 -3/4 tbsp ground clove (Use 3/4 if you like clove, 1/2 or less if you don't)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 1/2 oz. paprika
1 tbsp sugar
1-14 oz. ketchup
6 cups of water
1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 cup water (Mix until flour and water are combined into a paste)

Directions
- Simmer all ingredients above together for 2 hours
- Stir frequently
- Makes about 1 gallon

Smaller Version of Above Recipe
1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked, broken up into fine pieces (I use a potato masher and it works wonderfully), and drained of excess fat
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1/3 tsp. ground clove (Use 3/4 if you like clove, 1/2 or less if you don't)
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup water (Mix until flour and water are combined into a paste)

Directions
- Simmer all ingredients above together for 20 minutes
- Stir frequently
- Makes about 4 cups

Reccommendations
- I would leave the clove out entirely, as I hated the flavor of it
- I would increase the chili powder slightly, and replace the clove with cumin, to give it a smokier, chili-er flavor

Baked Ziti with Sausage

I was starving for this -- I haven't had it since a friend made it for me in college!

Chose the recipe at random on allrecipes.com -- and it worked out great.


Baked Ziti with Sausage
(Altered from AllRecipes.com)

1 lb. dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. sausage, loose of casings
2 jars spaghetti sauce (or equivalent of homemade)
6 oz. provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream (can also use cottage cheese)
6 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons parmesean cheese

Directions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook until al dente; about 8 minutes; drain.
- In a large skillet (with sides) brown the sausage and onion over medium heat. Drain off fat, then return to skillet. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 5 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
- Layer as follows: 1/2 the ziti, all of the provolone cheese, all of the sour cream, 1/2 the sauce and sausage mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce and sausage mixture.
-Top with grated parmesean cheese.
-Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted.

**This makes A LOT of food, so be prepared for leftovers!**