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Monthly Archives: February 2009
Eric and I love soup, but we don’t have a lot of soup recipes. When I found this recipe, I knew we’d love it. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong when fire roasted tomatoes and sausage are involved. We’ve recently discovered some awesome sausage at Whole Foods – roasted red pepper and garlic. Any sausage will definitely be fine in this dish, but that sausage really takes it to the next level.
This is the second time we’ve made this soup, and I feel like it could be a weekly meal for us. The fresh basil gives the soup a really fresh and light taste, and the spinach leaves add a great texture. We add the spinach leaves to our individual bowls instead of the soup pot because I can’t imagine the spinach leaves would taste very good in the leftovers. This soup has a ton of flavor without being heavy. It’s also really quick and easy to make on a weeknight.
Sausage and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp of olive oil
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
8 ounces 50% less fat pork sausage
2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
3/4 cup uncooked small shell pasta
2 cups bagged baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions:
-Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.
-Add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan.
-Add onion to the pan and cook until translucent.
-Add sausage, garlic, pepper, salt and red pepper to pan, and cook about 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.
-Add broth, tomatoes, and pasta to pan and bring to a boil over high heat.
-Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done.
-Remove from heat; stir in spinach until wilted.
-Sprinkle each serving with cheese and basil.
Serves 4.
Source: As seen on Elizabeth’s Edible Experience, originally adapted from Cooking Light.
A while back, our friends Marlyn and Chris invited us over for some delicious baked ziti. I’ve been wanting to make it ever since then. I couldn’t find the recipe Marlyn emailed me, so I decided to give this one a try. Of course, then I found the recipe she sent me. Go figure. I was very happy with this recipe; however, I still want to give the other one a try soon. I think it’s nice to compare different recipes for the same dish. This ziti had a lot of flavor and came together quite quickly. Really, the only complaint I have is that it made way too much for just the two of us. Even after eating leftovers, we still had a ton of it left. This was great with a crusty loaf of Italian bread baked with butter and fresh garlic.
 Baked Ziti
Ingredients:
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450°.
-Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
-Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
-In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
-In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce.
-Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce.
-Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.
-Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
Source: Everyday Food
I’m always on the quest to find new side dishes. I love vegetables, but Eric hasn’t always been a fan. My favorite vegetable side, steamed broccoli, has really grown on Eric. I thought it would be nice to try something new for a change, so I decided on this cauliflower. Neither of us can resist garlic, so I knew it would be a sure hit. This is a great side, and the garlic really gives it a lot of kick. The roasting really brings out the flavor and gives the cauliflower a great texture.
 Garlic Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
4 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons olive oil
generous sprinkle of salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450°.
-In large nonstick baking pan, combine all ingredients except for parsley, and toss to combine well.
-Bake, tossing occasionally during baking, until lightly browned and softened, about 25-30 minutes.
-Remove from oven, toss with parsley and serve immediately.
Source: Good Things Catered
I love Asian food, but I thought for sure I’d never be able to make it taste as good as it does in restaurants. This recipe proved me wrong. Eric and I loved this dish and can’t wait to make it again. This was a really simple meal to put together and would be perfect for a busy weeknight.
This dish really had everything going for it. The sauce was so incredibly flavorful with just the right amount of kick. We added red, orange and yellow pepper strips, and I think they gave this dish a great texture and crispness. We served it with jasmine rice, which is somewhat stickier than plain white rice. We were also excited to use one of the spice blends my friend Joelen (from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures) sent to me from Chicago. We used the Argyle Street Asian Blend in place of the Chinese five-spice powder.
Sesame Chicken
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds, divided
1 tsp. black pepper
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into chunks
8 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
6 tablespoons honey
oil for frying
Directions:
-In a large Ziplock bag, combine flour, 1/4 c. sesame seeds, black pepper, red pepper and Chinese spice.
-Place chicken in bag and shake to coat.
-Heat oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
-Place chicken into skillet and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
-Remove chicken from skillet and empty excess oil from pan.
-Reduce heat to low and return chicken to skillet.
-Mix in teriyaki sauce, honey and 1/4 c. sesame seeds, and stir until sauce thickens.
-Serve over rice.
-You could also add sugar snap peas, onions, bell peppers or any other veggies you like.
Source: Amber’s Delectable Delights
In celebration of World Nutella Day, I have two wonderful chocolate and hazelnut recipes. This wonderful event is hosted by the ladies of Bleeding Espresso and Ms. Adventures in Italy. I’d also like to take this time to thank my friend Islara for introducing me to Nutella. She also introduced me to Eric, so I have a lot of reasons to be thankful for her. ;)
The first recipe is this absolutely divine chocolate hazelnut gelato. This gelato tastes like a cold Ferrero Rocher. It’s smooth and flavorful. I decided to add some instant espresso to the custard before churning, and I promise you the espresso just makes the chocolate and hazelnut flavors pop even more. I also took the advice of some of the reviewers and reduced the amount of sugar I used. I think the level of sweetness was perfect. After all, the Nutella adds quite a bit of sweetness on its own.
If you like Nutella, you will love this gelato.
Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup, plus 1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish
Directions:
-In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/3 cup sugar over medium heat.
-Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
-Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes.
-Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir.
-Add this mixture back into the saucepan.
-Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.
-Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer.
-Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves.
-Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to freeze.
-To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts.
The second recipe is for Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato Coolers. These are just as good as the gelato, and the have Kahlua in them, which makes them even better! We added a splash of milk to ours to get it to the perfect consistency. We made these the night after making the gelato. I was worried about the gelato being too icy after freezing overnight, but it was fine. You might just want to add a little less ice.
Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato Coolers
Ingredients:
2 cups Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato, recipe follows
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur or coffee
4 cups crushed ice
1/4 cup chopped chocolate-covered coffee beans, plus more for garnish, optional
Directions:
-Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
-Pour into glasses, sprinkle with chocolate covered coffee beans, and serve with a straw.
Source: Giada De Laurentiis
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