Panko-Encrusted Tilapia and Mac 'n' Cheese

I decided to go with the whole "fish on fridays" vibe that's going on during Lent in order to eat more fish. Thanks to my new bff, Google Reader, I marked Lovestoeat's blog with the tilapia recipe in it from Martha. It was great, the hubs loved it as well. He was not, however, a fan of the mac 'n' cheese, which was a RR recipe I printed out a loooong time ago. I got a common brand of cheese and got sharp instead of extra-sharp cheddar, so next time I know to get the more flavorful (read: expensive) cheese.

Panko Encrusted Tilapia ~ found here on Lovestoeat's blog



Mac 'n' Cheese - from Rachel Ray via Food Network

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil, 1 turn of the pan in a slow stream
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups whole or 2 percent milk
3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, a couple pinches
Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked 8 minutes or to al dente, with a little bite to it (I used mini fusili)
Directions
Heat a medium, deep skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts into the oil, add flour and combine. Gently cook, whisking flour and butter together, until smooth and flour has had a chance to cook, about 3 minutes. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Gently bring milk to a bubble while stirring frequently. Allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese a handful at a time. Season sauce with nutmeg and cayenne. Taste and add a little salt, if you like. Add cooked pasta to sauce and coat completely by turning over and over in the cheese sauce. Transfer to a baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place baking dish under a hot broiler and brown the cheddar cheese on top.




Verdict:
tilapia,

mac,

Faux Hamburger Helper

This recipe is from Eating Well by way of the Food Network, I'm not sure how I got my hands on it but I decided to make some for my friend who is...busy. Since I had off on Monday, I told her I'd bring lunch.

Hamburger Buddy
EatingWell.com by way of Food Network

Very finely chopping onion, mushrooms and carrots in the food processor is not only fast—it makes the vegetables hard to detect for picky eaters. They also form the base for the sauce of this ground beef skillet supper. Make it a meal: Serve with a green salad.

Makes 6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces (I used 3 carrots)
10 ounces white mushrooms, large ones cut in half (I used 3 lg)
1 large onion, cut into 2-inch pieces (I used half, can you tell I am a fan of some veggies and not others?)
1 pound 90%-lean ground beef
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups water
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
8 ounces whole-wheat elbow noodles (2 cups) (I used Chiocciole in keeping with my pasta quest)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish

1. Fit a food processor with the steel blade attachment. With the motor running, drop garlic through the feed tube and process until minced, then add carrots and mushrooms and process until finely chopped. Turn it off, add onion, and pulse until roughly chopped.
2. Cook beef in a large straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Whisk flour with the remaining 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl until smooth; stir into the hamburger mixture. Stir in the sour cream. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley (or chives), if desired.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 326 calories; 10 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 54 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrate; 23 g protein; 4 g fiber; 431 mg sodium; 644 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (70% daily value), Zinc (33% dv), Iron (20% dv), Potassium (18% dv).
2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 medium-fat meats

Verdict:

3 Teapots because it was good, but I didn't have enough time to make it good! (I added too much thyme, didn't let it cook as long as I should have for the type of pasta I used)

Grandma's Lasagna

After the hubs raved about her lasagna, I had to get the recipe. She told me (over the phone) that it is Mrs. Anderson's recipe, whatever that means - no offense Mrs. A but I'm not sure if you're a person or a magazine or what!

It's so good, but a single recipe of this won't fit in your usual 9x13 pan, so you may want to do something smaller. I didn't cook the noodles, so I added a cup of water. If doubling, add two cups if you don't cook the noodles.

Grandma's Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or whatever meat you have on hand - she said something about bison because Grandpa is a hunter)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 6oz can mushrooms
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 3/4 cups tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
6oz pack lasagna noodles (I had to weigh mine and ended up using about 9, but if you like just cook them and see how many fit!)
1 cup each mild cheddar, swiss, and mozzarella

Directions
cook lasagna noodles per directions on box. brown the beef and onions in saute pan on stove. add ingredients through parsley and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. add a layer of sauce to your cooking dish first, then noodles, sauce again, then cheese. continue layers until all ingredients are used. bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. if you like, broil at the end so the cheese bubbles, browns, and crisps.

For however much speculation is involved in this recipe, it's really wonderful. You can make it your own by how much you make, layer, or adjust. It's a favorite with my husband now.

Pappardelle with Chicken Cutlets in Vodka Cream Sauce

I wasn't sure what I was hungry for last night, but I knew I wanted something tomato-ey and cream-ey. So I stopped at Russo's (Italian heaven) and picked up some stuff.

1) saw the chicken cutlets, thought, ok I can do that.
2) got myself some vodka cream sauce
3) saw pappardelle sitting next to the sauce... DONE

I sauteed the chicken in EVOO after I spiced it with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder (too much garlic powder as I later found out, but not a problem for the hubs). I cooked the pappardelle and because I still can't judge cooking times, had to put a lil EVOO on it and let it sit until the chicken/sauce was finished.
After the chicken was fully cooked I added the sauce to my ginormous Emeril pan. I ♥ Emeril. After it bubbled, dinner was ready.
The chicken was excellent and very moist, too much garlic, but oh well. This is one of the hubs' favorite dinners now. He ate half of it. I had 1/4 and took 1/4 today for lunch. Yum, pasta.

Dinner Divas: Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle

I know I am totally late on this one!! For this month's Dinner Divas I wanted to try both the Rachel Ray Mexican Lasagna and the Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle from Cooking Light. But, I only got to try one.

I decided to do the Chicken Pesto because I've never had pesto and I had extra chicken from the roast chicken I made a little while ago. So, it turned from Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle to just Chicken and Pesto Farfalle. Also, it added to my Pasta Quest! Even though I've had farfalle before, I hadn't had the pesto.
Here's the recipe:


Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle (courtesy Cooking Light)

Ingredients
* 1 3/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1 teaspoon salt, divided
* 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
* Cooking spray
* 20 ounces uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 (3.5-ounce) jar commercial pesto (about 1/3 cup)
* 3/4 cup half-and-half
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
* 4 cups halved grape tomatoes (about 2 pints)
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I omitted the basil since I didn't feel like going to my mom's to steal some from her garden)

Preparation

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 10 minutes or until done, turning after 6 minutes. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch pieces; keep warm.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Place pasta in large bowl.

4. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Combine 1/2 cup milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in pesto. Gradually add remaining 1 cup milk and half-and-half, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 8 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1 cup cheese; stir until cheese melts.

5. Add chicken and sauce to pasta, tossing well to coat. Add tomatoes and basil; toss gently. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Serve immediately.

Pasta with Turkey Sausage

K came over last night for dinner and brought some excellent turkey sausage and multigrain bread, so we had a pasta night. Pretty simple really, but the combination of the sausage and sauce was great!

I used ziti, and K cut the casings off of the sausage and we fried it up with a lil olive oil (cause I'm paranoid about my pans, haha). It was different, I usually use regular sausage or ground beef with my sauces, but this was flavored excellently.

The sauce was great too, if you get the chance try it! Seeds of Change, Garden Vegetable Piemonte (which is a region of Italy acc to Wikipedia, because I am clueless about Large Words in Other Languages) - it is sooooo good! The combination of the sauce and the sausage was wonderful flavor.

So, that was my easy-peasy dinner. Maybe this week, I'll actually *gasp* make something! Wait for it...

Pasta Quest

So, another in a long line of 'list'-focused things for me. I have decided to embark on a season-long Pasta Quest. I will attempt to try every kind of pasta I can get my hands on, baked, cooked, whatever. There is a local Italian market that now stocks many a strange, new pasta type, and I am forever looking for new recipes in which to use said pastas.

Some may be older recipes, and things I have done before, and some may be new. But whatever they are, it's gonna be mighty tasty.

GOALS:
- to try one new pasta every two weeks (because, honestly, I would love mucho carbs every week, but my hips would not)
- to make these pastas using different recipes, not just 'spaghetti and meatballs'
- to blog about these dishes so that others may benefit from my pas-telligence.

Let me know if there are any odd pastas you have tried, or recipes you want me to try which aren't your everyday tomato sauce-type dishes!

Layered Mini Lasagne Casserole

Or, as I like to call it, mini lasagna.

This recipe comes from the back of the Mafalda box. Mafalda is a mini lasagna noodle basically. It's cut short though; at times I will see mini lasagna noodles in the store which are only 1-2 inches wide but still are extremely long; these are almost square.

This is the easiest lasagna I have ever made. Ok, it's the only lasagna I have ever made. I have actual lasagna noodles in my cupboard, but haven't used them. They may be used as part of my year-long pasta quest.
Anywho, these noodles only appear once in a blue moon on my grocery shelf, so I stock up like a mad Y2K shopper whenever they appear. I heart this lasagna so much. I am so disappointed that I didn't get a picture when I first made it, because Hubs then proceeded to eat the rest of it. So, picture next time!

Layered Mini Lasagne Casserole
(courtesy back of the San Giorgio box)

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion (I omit the on, not a fan)
3 cups (about 26-oz jar) spaghetti sauce (make sure you get ex sauce, a reg jar is only 24 oz, we usually end up adding ex sauce!)
1 package (12 oz) San Giorgio Mafalda, uncooked
3-3/4 cups (2 lb) ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 TBS dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (I used an Italian mix)
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
Heat oven to 375ºF. In large skillet, cook meat and onion until meat browns; drain.
Stir in spaghetti sauce; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. In large bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, egg, parsley, pepper, and salt (I usually add some of the cheese into this mixture, I'm all about cheese).

In 13x9x2-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup meat sauce; evenly layer one-half pasta over sauce. Spread ricotta mixture over pasta; sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers of meat sauce and pasta. Spread remaining meat sauce over pasta, covering pasta completely; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes of until hot and bubbly.

10 servings (1 cup each).

And, for your viewing pleasure, my copy of the recipe.

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas; Blackberry Cobbler

YUM. I actually got to make dinner last night. I'm still amazed at myself. Of course, I didn't do anything else... but at least I was productive! There are leftovers!

First up was Giada's recipe . I did modify it because I didn't have time to get all the ingredients, and wasn't sure about the mushrooms. I don't like them, but hubs is picky about them so next time I'll make it more spot-on.

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

4 cups chicken broth (found out i didn't have any chicken broth... sub #1 = water)
1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the baking dish
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (none of these either!)
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup) (i had an italian cheese blend, bag o' shred)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs (ran out of these too! i'm so bad at this.)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the cream, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

Verdict: pretty darn good! I'll try it the 'real' way next time, but it worked just fine my screwy way so I'm predicting a surefire hit with the true ingredients.

Next: dessert! this was a recipe I gleaned from the website of my (kind-of) local orchard. It was pretty easy... I almost wondered if they left something out! But this is a great quick dessert for hectic nights.

Blackberry Cobbler

Note from the Editor:
A tasty, light dessert, this cobbler has long been a family favorite. It is a great Sunday evening supper or quick dish to prepare for unexpected visitors. The blackberries can be substituted by any other berry or sour cherries. (If using frozen or canned fruit, must drain well!) ENJOY!

Ingredients

1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. fresh fruit
4 Tbs. butter (melted)

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a two quart baking dish. Stir in milk and vanilla to make a thin batter (do not over-mix). Place fruit over batter and drizzle melted butter over top. Do not stir. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.

Fantastic! Loved it. So easy. Not as healthy as some, but it was fast, easy, and mmm mmm good. Hubs tried to tell me what I used were black raspberries...so that led into a 10-minute conversation about berries that really wasn't necessary. Oh well.

Baby Shrimp Scampi and Angel Hair Pasta

Dinner last night was an oldie but goodie, a RR recipe from a while ago. As usual, I tweaked the recipe to fit my tastes and what I have in the kitchen at the time. Hubs mentioned after sitting down to eat that we should have had garlic bread or something, to which I replied, you have enough starch on that plate!! Somehow angel hair pasta always seems to make more than one pound. One of life's great mysteries.

Recipe:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 large shallot, finely chopped (left this out, didn't have it)
1 lemon, zested (forgot a lemon at the store too)
1/3 pound baby shrimp, 300 count
1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine, eyeball it
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
1/3 pound angel hair pasta, cooked to al dente
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped or snipped fresh chives (I laugh in the face of garnish)

Get your pasta water going. Start the scampi sauce when you drop your pasta into boiling water to cook.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and melt the butter into it. Add shallots and cook a minute or 2, stirring constantly. Add lemon zest and shrimp and heat shrimp through, another minute or two. Add vermouth or wine and tomatoes. Toss another minute to heat the tomatoes through. Add cooked pasta to the pan and toss to coat evenly in sauce and to distribute the shrimp. Season liberally with salt and pepper and serve with chives to garnish.

I actually garnished with some Fontinella cheese, sooooo good on top of pastas. Now I'm gonna have to find something to use it for though as I have tons of it left!