Pasta in Olive Oil with Pancetta, Shallots and Garlic!!

Well I have FINALLY decided to dust off the old blog and and get back into the habit of cooking and then documenting my food here. Its not that we have been not eating around here, trust me on that one!

It all started with my camera's battery charger deciding it didn't want to charge anything anymore which left me without a working camera. Of course I had my trusty IPhone but unfortunately with all of the meds I am on because of my transplant my hands shake a lot and makes for some VERY blurry pics and I just didn't want to post pictures of my food that tasted SO good but looked SO crappy once I snapped the picture!

Then I had a few months of being in and out of the hospital due to severe nausea caused by a lovely med I am on that just hates me and causes me all kinds of problems! So I literally at one point didn't eat really anything of substance for like a week because everything I ate, smelled,  or even looked at made me sick so the LAST thing I wanted to do was cook and blog about it. Luckily (knock on wood) I am better and working at trying to pack on some of the calories I lost PLUS I got a new camera for Christmas so I am ready to rock and roll!! :)

I have SO many recipes that I have made recently that I want to share with you PLUS I am attempting to channel my inner craftiness and I borrowed my mom's sewing machine so that I can TRY and attempt a few DIY projects around my house. I am so inspired when I read some of these amazing moms out there who can turn nothing into something fabulous and if I can even have a remote oz of that I will take it! LOL I will be trying to take pics of my sewing projects along the way and post about them (good or bad) so keep your fingers crossed for me...

Today, I thought to myself ok today when you make lunch document it so you can get your first blog post of the year up...mid Feb I know but better late than never, right?

So anybody who knows me knows I love to cook but am still pretty terrified if I don't have a recipe and I think its cause I just don't trust myself or something I don't know. My grandma can go into a kitchen, a dash here, a pinch there and out comes a fabulous meal every time! Me not so much.

So when I was hungry this afternoon but didn't want the old stand by of soup and a sandwich I decided I would look through my pantry and fridge and just try and make lunch by "winging it" and I don't mean to pat myself on the back or anything (ok I do!) but I think I did a pretty good job!

Here's the ingredients I came up with:

Spaghetti noodles~ 4oz (about half a box)

Olive Oil~ 2 tablespoons, or more as needed

Parmesan Cheese~ 1/2cup grated from a block of Parmesan

Pancetta~ 4oz (you could use bacon here if you don't have the Pancetta on hand)

1 Shallot~ chopped

4 cloves of garlic~ minced (can you tell I LOVE garlic?)

Fresh Parsley~ about 2 tablespoons....just to add some pretty color! 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of large salted water to a boil.
2. While that gets started go ahead and put the oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and minced garlic, stirring occasionally. Then add the pancetta and cook until nicely browned (about 10 minutes.) Turn off the heat.
3. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until tender. Drain it (or I just scoop it out and put it right in with the olive oil and pancetta) reserving some of the starchy pasta water.
4. Toss the pasta with the pancetta, shallot, garlic and olive oil. Stir in the cheese and parsley. If the mixture is dry, you can either add a little of the pasta water (which I did) or a little more olive oil. Taste and then adjust the seasoning if needed with salt and pepper.

**You most likely wont need a ton of salt because both the pancetta and parmesan have a salty flavor but I did end up adding a little bit to mine in the end! 

Well, there you have it. Nothing fancy but very flavorful (how could it not be with ALL the garlic...but can you really ever have too much garlic??) and I for one had a second helping!! 

I hope that since I have been away for so long I still have some people willing to check out my little old blog from time to time and I promise that if you come back and read I will post! 

Just heard the hubby pull up so I am off to start dinner! Its the Pioneer Woman to the rescue for tonights menu....more on that later....

Grilled Pork Chops with Peach Salsa and Caprese Salad Stuffed Tomatoes!

If there is one word to describe this dinner it would be DELICIOUS! Even my husband who the only way I know if he really likes something (because for the most part he will eat whatever I put in front of him) is if he goes for seconds. ACTUALLY said the words "Wow this is really good Babe" **talking about the pork chops with peach salsa** As for the stuffed tomatoes, everyone else loved them...him not so much but he isn't a huge fan of caprese salads in general so I was expecting that comment from him, but he still ate his entire plate! :) 

I was really proud of myself for even trying the pork chop recipe because I have always thought (due to a very traumatic...ok maybe not THAT traumatic but to me as a kid it sure seemed like it) I didn't like Peaches. But ever since my transplant I have been noticing that I like things now that I never liked pre-transplant. 

SO I told myself that I was going to start trying new recipes that I wouldn't normally choose to see if I like whatever food happens to be in it that I don't eat. If I don't like it, ok I won't make that recipe anymore. If I do, well then I just found something I can add to my list of likable foods! 

This was my first dinner with my new venture and boy was it a WINNER and guess what...I LIKE Peaches!! Who knew?? LOL

Ok so here are the recipes for both which I got from good ol' Sandra Lee by watching the Food Network...but don't worry I didn't have Cocktail time OR do a table scape. :) 

Grilled Pork Chops w/Peach Salsa 

Ingredients

Peach salsa:

• 1/2 red onion, diced (reserve the other half for Online Round 2 Recipe Orzo Soup with Pork)
• 2 peaches, halved, pitted and diced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
• Pinch kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pork chops:

• 5 pork chops, end cut
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 
  

Directions

Salsa:

In a bowl toss all of the salsa ingredients together and set aside.

Pork chops:

Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Brush the pork chops with the oil. In a small bowl combine the chili powder, salt and pepper. Generously sprinkle the rub over both sides of each pork chop. Grill the chops until cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes per side. (Set 1 chop aside for Online Round 2 Recipe, Orzo Soup with Pork.) Arrange the chops on a serving platter and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Serve the chops with the peach salsa.

Caprese Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 5 beefsteak tomatoes
• 1 (1-pound) block mozzarella
• 1 (16-ounce) package orzo, cooked according to package instructions
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut the tops off of 4 tomatoes and with a spoon remove the pulp from the inside, to form a bowl. Dice the pulp and half of the remaining tomato (reserve remaining half for the Round 2 Recipe Grilled Margherita Pizza). Dice the mozzarella to measure 1 cup. (Reserve the rest for the Round 2 Recipe Grilled Margherita Pizza.)

In a bowl, combine 2 cups of the orzo (reserve the rest for the Online Round 2 Recipe Orzo Soup with Pork), diced mozzarella, diced tomato, vinegar, olive oil, basil, and salt and pepper, to taste. Divide the mixture among the 4 tomatoes and serve.

There was A LOT of this orzo left over after stuffing the tomatoes!

SO good...I LOVE tomatoes! 

and here it is ALL put together in its yummy wonderful-ness! :)

As always, let me know if you try this recipe and what you think! I have SEVERAL dinners back logged that I have to type out and post then I have one recipe this week that goes in my "try new things" category so we will see how well that turns out! I can only do one weird recipe a week to try...im not that adventures! 

**watch these two recipes when you go to buy your ingredients because she has you buy more so that you have enough food for what she calls "round two recipes."  If you don't plan on looking those up (she tells you what they are in the directions of each) you can get away with buying less ingredients of some things**

Good Night! Xo

Knock, Knock Anyone Still Out There??

Well, I know it been awhile but I have been dealing with some health issues that had me either not cooking at all OR I was cooking but not having the energy to document, then blog and heck even eat by the time I was finished! It was horrible but hopefully we got everything straightened out and I can get back to what I love, cooking for my hubby and sharing it all with YOU! :)  Now im not gonna promise to crank out recipes everyday but I think I can handle at least a couple a week.

So without further ado, I give you the recipe from last night which I got from my July/August 2012 Food Network Magazine. Let me just tell you we all thought the marinade on the kebobs was fantastic. Very easy with things you probably already have in your pantry! Unlike the recipe that tells you to just mix up the meat with the peppers in the marinade right before putting them on the skewer. I put them all in a ziploc bag first thing in the morning so it sat together all day. I also added onions to my kebobs just cause I like cooked onions! :)

I thought the Orzo was pretty good but tried ALL through dinner to explain to not only my husband but my brother-in-law and my brother that Orzo was in fact a PASTA and not a RICE they were eating. Ugh...boys! Other than the work of actually making the skewers the whole meal once that part is done takes only about 12 min to make start to finish so its not bad for those who want a nice meal but not a whole bunch of fuss when they get home form work (especially if you already chopped everything up before work and its been marinating all day...its good to go!)

Hope you try it and like it as much as we did!

Sizzling Sirloin Kabobs on a Bed of Orzo

Ingredients

1. 1 pound beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick
2. 2 green, red and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
3. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
4. 1 tablespoon prepared Italian dressing
5. 2 large cloves garlic, minced
6. Salt and pepper

Orzo:
1. 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions
2. 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or parsley
3. 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
4. 2 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Soak eight 8-inch bamboo skewers in water 10 minutes; drain.
2. Cut beef steak into 1-1/4-inch pieces. Toss beef and bell peppers with 1 tablespoon basil, dressing and garlic in large bowl. Alternately thread beef and peppers onto skewers.
3. Toss Orzo ingredients in medium bowl; keep warm.
4. Place kabobs on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, about 8 to 10 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, 9 to 11 minutes) for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, as desired. Serve with orzo.

**The only things I changed (which trust me isn't anything drastic!) was I added an onion to the kabobs, marinated the steak and veggies all day PLUS I soaked the bamboo skewers way longer than they said cause 

my good friend Amanda told me the longer the better!

Also, I was hoping to get this in yesterday (8-15-2012) to wish the Amazingly talented Julia Child her would be 100th birthday!! I love her shows, I love her cooking and I love the way she goes about cooking in the kitchen where nothing is a mistake! My kinda gal....

Julia Child (8/15/1912-8/15/2012)

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY!! 

Four Cheese Pasta with Peas and Ham!

Before I get into the recipe for today I thought I would let you all in on a little secret of mine. I am a cookbook/magazine JUNKIE! There I said it and I feel a little better now that  its out in the open! LOL 

But seriously guys when I say I have a problem I am not joking around. I have cookbooks everywhere (one of the reasons I was trying to talk my hubby into getting me an ipad for xmas was so that I didn't have to have cookbooks everywhere because I could get digital ones!! ) and about a million and one magazine subscriptions. I can't help it I am a sucker for a good cookbook and magazine! 

Anyway, todays recipe is one we actually had last week for dinner and I got it out of I believe December's Food Network Magazine. I love FN Magazine but I rarely ever make any of the recipes cause they usually contain ingredients that the guy with the killer dimples (my hubby!) doesn't like. If it was up to Danny we would have spaghetti every night and that would be ok with him. Me I need variety I can't eat the same thing ALL the time! 

So here you go:

 Four Cheese Pasta with Peas & Ham

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces penne
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg white
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (1 scant cup)
• 3 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
• 3 ounces fontina cheese, grated (1 scant cup)
• 3 ounces deli ham, in 1 piece, diced
• 1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 
  

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until very al dente, about 8 minutes, adding the peas in the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, egg white, evaporated milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl.

Drain the pasta and peas; wipe the pot dry and return the pasta and peas to the pot. Add the butter and stir to coat. Add the cheddar, mozzarella, fontina and the egg mixture. Place the pot over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes, adding the ham halfway through cooking (don't let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble). Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the parmesan.

**This dish was very tasty and we will probably have it again sometime in the future but next time I think I will boil the pasta a little longer. Your not supposed to cook it all the way because it continues to cook in the pan with the cheese and everything else but that did NOT happen with ours. So while the flavoring was good, it would have helped if the noodles were cooked all the way!

Well that's all I got for today! TGIF ya'll and HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY to ME!! Can't wait to go out tonight with all our friends!!

Have a GREAT weekend!
Jen
XoxoX

Southwest Pasta Skillet

Here is last nights dinner. Its made with the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme (Santa Fe Blend) thats out now and I have to say its pretty good!

I have made this dish once before and the last time I made it I didn't have a green pepper like the recipe called for so I used green onions instead and it turned out great so this time when I went to the store to get the ingredients I just used green onions again! If you try this recipe and use the peppers let me know what you think....

Southwest Pasta Skillet

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup chopped green peppers

1 can (14.5oz) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained

1 pkg (10oz) frozen corn

1 tub (10oz) Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme

2 cups hot cooked rotini pasta

1 cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Directions

1. Cook and stir chicken and peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat for 6 to 7 minutes or until chicken is done. Add tomatoes, corn and cooking creme; cook and stir 3 minutes.

2. Add pasta and 1/2 cup shredded cheese; cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

3. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand until cheese is melted!

**because I used green onions instead of peppers I didn't stick them directly in the pot with the chicken, I cooked the chicken until it was almost done then I put in the onions. I also served this dinner with some texas toast...we love bread in this family if you couldn't tell! :)

Skillet Chicken Parmesan!

I am FINALLY back with another food blog! I have been very lazy in the last week because I haven't felt the greatest thanks to my back but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking or taking pictures...it just means that by the time I get upstairs and to my laptop I don't fee like uploading my pics and writing a blog to go with it!!

I have like 4 or 5 meals I need to blog about so I hope to get them out in the next few days. This meal that I am doing now we had for dinner last Thursday (told u I was behind!!) and it was SO good and made the house smell DELICIOUS while it was cooking...

Skillet Chicken Parmesan

3/4

cup Original Bisquick® mix

1

teaspoon Italian seasoning

2

tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1

egg

4

boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 oz each)

3

tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

2

cups tomato pasta sauce (from 26-oz jar)

1

cup shredded Italian cheese blend (4 oz)

Step 1

In shallow dish or pie plate, mix Bisquick mix, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. In another shallow dish or pie plate, beat egg. Coat chicken with Bisquick mixture, then dip into egg, and coat again with Bisquick mixture.

Step 2

In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Cover; cook 8 to 10 minutes longer, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F). Remove from skillet to plate.

Step 3

Add pasta sauce to skillet. Place chicken on top of sauce. Sprinkle with Italian cheese blend. Cover; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Add...here is my final plate!! :)

You can serve it over any pasta you like, I really like penne pasta so thats what I used and served it along with some Texas Toast!! Oh and I didn't use the Italian cheese blend like the recipe called for I used shredded mozzarella cause thats what I had on hand!! Enjoy!!

Spaghetti a la Philly

Now I know everyone knows how to make Spaghetti and I usually don't have a recipe when I make it either. I usually just throw everything in the pots and then I am done. But I thought to myself I can't put just a boring old Spaghetti recipe on my blog so I searched the good old internet for something different (and with things I had already in the house!) and came up with this version for dinner last night!

The funny side note to this recipe is that my husband Danny is color blind (that's not funny but this story is) and when he came in the kitchen and lifted the lid to the spaghetti sauce (not knowing I changed the recipe from how we usually eat spaghetti) the FIRST thing out of his mouth is "why is the sauce a different color??" I said to him..."how do you know what color it is you are color blind!!" HA! I didn't want to tell him why the color was a little "off" until he tried it because he doesn't like cream cheese (on like bagels and stuff) but if its mixed in something he usually eats it and likes it! So I wanted him to try it first not knowing what was in it to get a truthful answer. Captain "I don't like cream cheesee" not only liked it but got a second helping so that's always a good sign!

So here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

SPAGHETTI a la PHILLY

Ingredients

1/2 lb.

spaghetti, uncooked

1 lb.

extra-leanground beef

1 jar

(24 oz.)spaghetti sauce

4 oz.

(1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.)PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

2 Tbsp.

KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

***I substituted a pound of Sweet Italian Sausage (casings removed) for the ground beef and added one chopped onion to the recipe! :)

MAKE IT

Cook spaghetti as directed on package.

Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet. Stir in sauce and cream cheese; cook on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until sauce is well blended and heated through, stirring frequently.

Drain spaghetti. Add to sauce; mix lightly. Place on platter; top with Parmesan.

And here is my finished plate! I actually was so hungry I took a bite then remembered I needed to take a picture of my plate...opps. I served it with just regular old texas toast and it was fabulous! Happy eating! :)