Chilly Winter Weather means Soups Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copy Cat)

I am sure this has been posted by me before.  It's cold here in Utah and add the wind to the cold well it just makes soup for dinner the go to thing.  So I just wanted to share this one again.  One of my fav's.  Just add some of my breadsticks to it and yum. 

 

 

Zuppa Toscana- (Olive Garden copy cat)

1½ Mild or Medium Italian sausage
2 medium potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4" slices
3/4 c. onions, diced
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. kale leaves, chopped (or less depending on picky eaters)
2 cans chicken broth
1 qt. water
1 c. heavy whipping cream

Cook Italian sausage until brown, drain on a paper towel to remove fat.   Cook bacon and remove from pan, place on paper towel as well, crumble when cool. Place onions in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear.  Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken broth, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Compound Butter (revisited)

 

 

Rosemary Orange Butter

 

1 c. butter, softened

2 T fresh Rosemary, finely diced

2 T orange juice

1 orange rind, finely grated

1-2  fresh garlic cloves, minced

 

Combine all ingredients and place on wax paper, roll and refrigerate until firm.  Remove from wax paper and serve.  This is also fun to place in molds and chill. 

Roasted Corn Salad

Gourmet Guy here.We had a couple of ears of fresh corn and didn't use them right away. Needed to find a way to use them, so I winged it and this is what happened!

Ingredients

2 ears fresh corn
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium bell pepper
2 slices yellow onion, 1/4 inch
1/2 small jicama
3 Roma toamtoes
1 Anaheim chili
1/2 small jalapeno
1 scallion
Cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Honey lime dressing

Coat corn with olive oil and grill over high heat until corn begins to char. Slice corn off cob and place in bowl. Cut sides off bell pepper core. Grill two sides and dice the other two. Remove skin from the grilled pepper and dice. Grill onion slices until browned and dice. Peel and dice jicama. Dice tomatoes. Dice scallion and chilies. Add all ingredients to the corn, stir, salt and pepper to taste.

Honey lime dressing
1 Tbsp honey
1 lime, juiced
3 Tbsp oil
2 small cloves garlic, pressed

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well.

Spanish Rice

Over the years I have tried a variety of different recipes for Spanish Rice and this has become my go to recipe.  (From Suzanne Price)

 



Spanish Rice

 

3 c rice

5 c water

1 c tomato sauce

1 t cumin

1 med onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

 

Brown the rice, saute with onion and garlic.  Mix rice mixture with liquids and cook for 25-30 mins.

Garlic Chicken Farfalle (the constantly missing recipe)

This is a favorite recipe of one of my daughters.  For some reason I have just kept the original copy in my own recipe binder but not in my computer file or on here.  I am reckoning that today after looking for several hours to find it.  Since I am still not completely moved into my new home I was beginning to think it was a lost cause for tonight.  She walked in and found it immediately.  So here it is for future reference.

Garlic Chicken Farfalle or Penne

16 oz. Farfalle pasta (bowtie) or Penne
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in cubes
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T pepper
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumbled
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, plus small amount for garnish
1 12oz.Lawry's chicken marinade with lime juice

Precook bacon, drain and crumble. Cut the chicken into cubes and cook in a small amount of butter.  Start the pasta.  When chicken is done move to the side and add the butter and garlic, stir.  And the cream, pepper, bacon, and parmesan, whisk together over low heat for a few minutes.  Drain pasta and add to a large bowl and pour the chicken cream mixture over the top.  Garnish with parmesan cheese

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Garlic Pizza

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Garlic Pizza

1 lb. pizza dough
1 T butter
8 cloves roasted garlic
2 T flour
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. half and half
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c. grilled chicken breast, cut into cubes
1/4-1/2 c. red onion, diced small
1 c. Mozzarella cheese
1 t fresh thyme (optional)
1/2 t oregano (optional)
fresh basil, chiffonade
1 t fresh Rosemary (or more to taste)

Preheat oven to 450.  On baking pan place cornmeal to ease in spreading.  Melt butter, saute garlic for a minute, and flour and mix well.  Whisk in milk and half and half.  Cook until mixture thickens add the pepper and Parmesan. Spread the sauce on the dough, top with onion, chicken, cheese and Rosemary if using.  Feta cheese can also be added if desired.  Bake approx. 18 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted sprinkle with remaining desired herbs.

Bok Choy Challenge: Day two

My next recipe was a chicken stir fry. It was good and very easy to do.

Marinade the chicken.
Cut the vegetables up.
Place the chicken in the hot oil and stir quickly.

Add the vegetables and cook until tender add the cornstarch mixture to thicken.

Chicken Stir-fry With Bok Choy and Garlic Sauce (about.com)
•3 medium chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
•3 large bok choy stalks with leaves
•Marinade:
•1 TB Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
•1 green onion, diced
•2 tsp cornstarch
•Sauce:
•1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
•2 TB water
•1 tsp white rice vinegar
•1/2 tsp black rice vinegar
•1 clove garlic, finely chopped
•1/4 tsp salt
•Other:
•1 teaspoon cornstarch
•4 teaspoons water
•4 to 5 TB oil for stir-frying, as needed
Preparation:
Cut the chicken into thin strips about 2-inches long. Add the rice wine or sherry, green onion and the cornstarch. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.
While the chicken is marinating, prepare the bok choy and the sauce. Separate the bok choy leaves and stalks, and cut both cross-wise into thin strips.
Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat wok and add 2 TB oil. When oil is ready, add the chicken and stir-fry2 until it turns white and is nearly cooked. (Stir-fry in two batches if necessary). Drain the stir-fried chicken on paper towels.

Clean out the wok and add 2 - 3 TB oil. When oil is ready, add the bok choy stalks. Stir-fry briefly and add the leaves.

Push the bok choy up to the sides of the wok and add the sauce in the middle. Turn up the heat to bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch/water mixture to the sauce and stir rapidly to thicken.

Add the chicken. Mix through and serve hot. Serves 4.

Nutritional Breakdown per serving (based on 3 servings and 4 TB oil for stir-frying): 451 calories (kcal), 21 g Total Fat (18 g Monounsaturated Fat), 57 g Protein, 5 g Carbohydrate, 137 mg Cholesterol, 818 mg Potassium, 424 mg Sodium, 1g Fiber

Morning "Glory"

When I bake potatoes I often bake one or two extra to do things with at a later date. One of the things we like to do is "Morning Ray." It is actually from a show that we watched on the food Network Rachel Ray's Travels. Rachel purchased Morning Ray at a place in Park City called Morning Ray and it is one of their specialties. She highlighted it and we decided to try a version of it on our own. Forgetting the name I called it "Morning Glory" and it has been nicknamed that in our family since then.

First we take a potatoes and dice them into 1/2 inch cubes.

We also cut up mushrooms, minced garlic onion, and peppers. I like to use the smaller peppers to get a variation in the color. My Home Ec. teacher would be proud!

While cutting up the veggies we brown 3-4 slices of thick cut bacon cut into small pieces.
(I love the bacon from our local grocery store that you get at the butcher's counter. It is thicker and a little more expensive but it doesn't shrink down as much so I feel it more than compensates for the cost.)

After frying the bacon drain it on a paper towel to get rid of the extra grease.

With the remaining bacon grease we brown the potatoes until they are golden on the edges.

The mushrooms take a little extra time so we start them before the rest of the vegetables. They do better if they are easily spread out in the skillet and not touching another.

When the mushrooms are soft and turning brown add the onion, garlic, and peppers and cook until they are translucent. In another pan make scrambled eggs. Grate the cheese.

First layer

Add the veggies

Next the bacon top with avocado or guacamole and salsa.

Finish up with the scrambled eggs and cheese. Enjoy. We don't make "Morning Glory' very often but it is sure a treat when we do.

Morning Glory

6 baked potatoes, cooled, peeled, coarse chopped
1-2 bell pepper, coarse chopped
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, coarse chopped
12 mushrooms, sliced
½ pound bacon, cut in ½ inch pieces
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
salsa of your choice
grated cheddar cheese
guacamole

Fry bacon in skillet until done. Drain and set aside. Cook potatoes (hash brown style) in bacon fat until browned and crunchy. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In another skillet, heat olive oil and butter and saute the mushrooms until browned. Add the onions, garlic, and peppers and cook until just tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a third skillet, scramble the eggs.

Place small pile of hash browns on center of plate. Cover with vegetable mixture. Place eggs on top and sprinkle with grated cheese. Garnish with guacamole and salsa.

Roasted Garlic

I've been using roasted garlic more and more in many dishes because I love the flavor that it brings. It is also so easy to do.

Simply cut the top off of the clove of garlic place in aluminum foil pour olive oil on top and wrap tightly. Bake for 20 minutes at 425.

Let the garlic cool and then squeeze the cloves out of the skin.

Chop or mince to the desired texture.

For garlic mashed potatoes add to the cooked potatoes before mashing. The garlic can be roasted a few days before and frozen or refrigerated.