Napa Pasta

My parents came up with this recipe and I'm sorry that I don't have a picture to share with you because this is really a fantastic recipe and I feel like you won't get the full effect until you see the finished dish.  They used spices from Napa Style and I looked online and couldn't really find anywhere else that sells these salt's, but I bet there is somewhere.  I would also link to the salts but the Napa Style website keeps crashing my browser...not good.  Regardless, this is a wonderful recipe that is different and pretty light.  And, the best part, it is almost better re-warmed up or eaten cold the next day!  Great job Mom and Dad! Enjoy!

Napa Pasta

Package of refrigerated pasta (we used three cheese ravioli)
NapaStyle Citrus Rosemary Gray Salt
NapaStyle Roasted Garlic Gray Salt
NapaStyle Prosciutto Bits
Roasted Chicken, pre cooked and cut into pieces
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Olive Oil
Sprinkle chicken and Prosciutto bits with a little of each salt and heat in skillet in olive oil until heated through.  Put in serving dish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and heat in oven on low while preparing the pasta.   Brown pasta in olive oil with a little of each salt (I did this one layer at a time, lightly browning on each side.  It took about four skillets full.).  Move browned pasta to serving dish in oven until all pasta is finished.  Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top, stir and serve.

Breads!

If you don't have a bread machine I highly recommend that you go and purchase one.  The smell and taste of home baked bread is something that very few things compare to (can you tell I love carbs?!?!).  These are my two favorite, favorite time-tested recipes that always get rave reviews.  I know for sure that the Honey Oatmeal recipe is from my grandmother, Gramme.  I'm not sure if the Italian bread one is also or not.  But regardless, it's great too!

Honey Oatmeal Bread
Makes 2 lb loaf

11 1/2 ounces (or 1 1/4 cup and 3 T) water
3 T Honey
3 1/4 cups Bread Flour
1 c Old Fashioned Oats
2 c Dry Milk
2 T Butter
1 1/2 t Salt
2 1/4 t Active Dry Yeast

1.  Add ingredients to pan in the order they are listed, stopping before you add the butter, salt and yeast.
2. Level ingredients in pan by shaking or tapping on counter.
3. Spoon dry ingredients out to make a well in the center (put the extra in the corners).
4. Cut the butter into four sections and place in the corners of the pan.
5. Put the yeast in the center of the pan.
6. In one corner put the salt.
7. Follow machine instructions to get the outer crust type that you want (I put this on the white bread setting for a 2 pound loaf with a light crust)

Italian Bread
Makes a 2 lb loaf

1 ¼ c. 2 T. water

3 T. oil

4 c. bread flour 

3 T. sugar

3 T. dry milk

1 T. Dried Italian Seasoning

2 t. salt

2 ¼ t. active dry yeast 

1.  Put ingredients in pan in the order they are listed, stopping before adding the salt and yeast.

2. Spoon out a well in the center.  Add the yeast into the well.

3. Add the salt in one corner.

4. Follow machine instructions to get the crust that you want (I put this on the French course for a 2 pound loaf with a light crust).

Calzones

Have you ever made calzone's before?  Until last week I hadn't, but one day I got the idea that if we could make a pizza surely we could make a calzone.  And with my addiction to bread the extra bread to sauce ratio was exquisite!  This is super easy and probably not new to most of you, but I'm trying to put together some simple, easy recipes for my newly graduated into the working world brother and this is a surefire winner!

Easy Calzone's

1 tube refrigerated pizza dough (the calzone above is half of one calzone made with one tube of dough)
Marinara Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Toppings (i.e. pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, peppers...the possibilities are endless)
Olive Oil
Red Pepper Flakes

1. Lay pizza dough out on a cookie sheet or pizza pan.  Spread with fingers to cover most of the width of the pan.
2. Brush olive oil on dough (light brushing).
3. Put marinara sauce on half of the pizza dough spreading it fairly close to the edge of the calzone.
4. Place toppings on top of the marinara.
5. Spread cheese on top of the toppings.
6. Fol the other half of the pizza dough over the top of the side with toppings.  Press down the edges to seal with your fingers.
7. Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle red pepper flakes (if desired).
8. Bake at 350 for approximately 20-25 minutes or until top is turning golden brown and the bottom is not sticking to the cookie sheet.

Cashew Chicken

Yet another Rachael Ray Kid Food recipe.  So good!  Although next time I'll use plain rice instead of jasmine rice, we didn't like the flavor of the jasmine rice.  Also, Jason requested that I reduce the amount of water chestnuts next time.

Cashew! God Bless You Chicken with Jasmine Rice

1 box Jasmine rice

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

2 T sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced and mashed

2 T rice wine vinegar (or rice wine or dry sherry)

A couple of shakes crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 large carrot, peeled and diced into small cubes

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 can (about 7 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped

3 heaping tablespoon-size scoops hoisin sauce

A couple handfuls unsalted cashews

3 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle

Follow directions on rice box and start rice.

In a large bowl, combine chicken with 1 T sesame oil, garlic, rice wine, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.  Set aside and let it hang out.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until it smokes.  Add carrot and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes.  Add the coated chicken and cook another 3 or 4 minutes.  Toss in the bell pepper and water chestnuts.  Heat through for 1 minute.  Add the hoisin and toss to coat evenly. Place chicken on a bed of jasmine rice and top with cashews and green onions.  Feeds 4 well.

Spicy Chicken Taco's

I can now definitely recommend that you go and buy the Rachael Ray Kid Food cookbook.  I have made a lot of recipes out of it and each one has been pretty superb.  This recipe, Spicy Chicken Taco's, was really good and really easy.  And, it wasn't too spicy at all!

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into small cubes (I used pre-cooked and cut chicken)

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (I used the jarred version)

1 cup Tomato Puree

2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

A handful (I used around 8) coarsely chopped Spanish olives stuffed with pimentos

A hadful of golden raisins (I omitted this)

Coarse salt, to taste (I used regular salt)

8 jumbo taco shells or flour tortillas

Toppings:

Shredded cheese

Avacado dices

Tomato dices

Chopped green onion

Shredded lettuce

In a big skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in olive oil.  Add onio and garlic and cook another few minutes to soften onion.  Add tomato puree, chili powder, cumin, olives, raisins, and salt, to taste.  Bring to a bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.

Warm taco shells or tortillas in oven or microwave according to package.

Scoop filling into shells and add toppings at the table.

Super Sloppy Joe's

 

In college I tried cooking some of Rachael Ray's recipes but I always found them too hard.  Too many ingredients that weren't common.  Maybe she could make those recipes in 30 minutes but it took me a LOT longer than that!  So I kind of gave up on her.  Until my aunt gave me her "Kid Food" cookbook for Christmas.  A few weeks ago I was looking for new recipes and I figured I might could find something in this cookbook so I pulled it out and I made Rachael's Super Sloppy Joe's.  And let me tell you, they were super!  We used to make Sloppy Joe's a lot in our first year of marriage when we were trying to stretch our grocery budget but it was always with the sloppy joe mix package from the store.  These homemade sloppy joe's were so good!  Please give this recipe a try, you won't regret it! (I couldn't find this recipe on her website but if anyone has the link please let me know!)

Super Sloppy Joe's

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 lb Ground Beef (the leaner the better)

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoons Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick

1 medium Onion, chopped finely

1 small Red Bell Pepper, chopped finely

1 T Red Wine Vinegar

1 T Worcestershire Sauce

2 cups Tomato Sauce

2 T Tomato Paste

4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and slightly buttered

1. Heat a large skilled over M/H head.  Add oil and beef to the pan, spreading it around to break it up.

2. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning, then add to skillet and combine.

3. When meat has browned, add onion and red pepper.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add vinegar, stirring briefly, then add Worcestershire, tomato sauce and tomato paste, stirring to combine.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook 5 minutes longer.

5. Serve on toasted buns

Pineapple Zucchini Cake

A few weeks ago we joined Grow Alabama.  This is an organization that you can sign up with to receive a box of locally grown, mostly organic or working towards an organic qualification produce.  Each week you get a list of things for your box and you can eliminate items that you don't want and get an extra portion of items that you want.  We have found it to be a great way to introduce more produce into our diet while knowing that we are supporting local farmers and families. 

The first week that we got a box we received zucchini in our box.  Since it had been too cold to grille and that's usually how I would enjoy zucchini I set out to find some zucchini recipes.  So I started out by searching typical recipe sites and then I went to The Pioneer Woman because I've found that she has great, go-to recipes.  And I found a recipe from her recipe website, Tasty Kitchen.  I had forgotten about Tasty Kitchen but I went and checked it out and if you're not using it for your recipes you should be!  It's full of reader submitted recipes that other people comment on and put their opinions.  It includes ratings and pictures.  It's a great resource!

Anyway, so I found Ree's post about Pineapple Zucchini Cake and I decided to try it.  It is similar to carrot cake so don't flip out too much about there being zucchini in it.  And the pineapple's make it moist.  It is a really delicious cake that's topped with cream cheese icing!  Go check out Ree's post about it which links to the original recipe on Tasty Kitchen or here's the recipe. (BTW, sorry about the quality of the picture.  All I had with me was my camera and it was kind of dark!)

Pineapple Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
    * 1 cup All-purpose Flour
    * 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (can Use All White Flour If You Don't Have This)
    * 1-¼ cup Granulated Sugar
    * 1/2 Cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut
    * 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
    * 1 teaspoon Salt
    * 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
    * Freshly Grated Nutmeg, To Taste (1/4 To 1/2 Tsp?), Optional
    * 1 Pinch Ginger (about 1/16 Tsp Or So), Optional
    * 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
    * 2 whole Large Eggs
    * 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
    * 2 Cups Grated (unpeeled) Zucchini (*see Note)
    * 1 (20 Oz.) Can Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained (reserve In Case You Need It For The Cake Batter Or The Frosting)
    * FROSTING
    * 2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
    * 8 Ounces Low-fat Cream Cheese, Softened (can Use Full-fat Cream Cheese)
    * 2 Cups Powdered Sugar, Approx.
    * 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
    * Splash Of Milk Or Pineapple Juice, If Necessary
    * Chopped Walnuts Or Pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Combine oil, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into flour mixture. Batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will all come together. If it still seems too dry, just add a little splash of the pineapple juice.

Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for about 33-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Add a splash of milk or pineapple juice if necessary. Spread frosting over top of cake. You can garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired.

NOTES : If your zucchini are huge, scrape the seeds out of the center before you shred it so it’s not too watery. Also, I spread it all out on layers of paper towel to drain it and dry it off a bit. Then I measure out 2 cups. Not sure if this is critical though. Nuts can also be added to the cake batter if desired. This recipe makes a very generous amount of frosting.

And this recipe can be turned into a Carrot Cake just by substituting shredded carrots for the zucchini.