Archive for the ‘quick meals’ Category

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The Meals of Summer

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

 

During the Summer I swear that I loose all of my creativity in the kitchen.

Summer meals tend to be quick, light and not very blog worthy. The past weekend was a little different. I was at Wegmans picking up a few basics. Coffee, cream, chocolate (yes, chocolate is a basic need!) and a loaf of olive bread to make sandwiches with. (after all it is way too hot to bake bread in our tiny apartment)

Something caught my eye on a quick trip through the produce section…

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Lovely, lovely beet greens! They were so vibrant and fresh that I had to pick up several handfuls. Then I passed by some adorable baby zucchinis and baby bella mushrooms…picked both of those up too!

I wanted to keep the flavors of the greens and vegetables vibrant. The only extra ingredients I used were a fresh lemon, chopped garlic and the best extra virgin olive oil in the pantry. I know that all of those so called “experts” tell you not to cook with the good stuff, but when the total cook time is around seven minutes I think that their advice is hogwash.  The fruity olive oil takes these simple ingredients to the top.

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I sautéed the greens in the oil and garlic for about 3 minutes and then added the zucchini and mushrooms and sautéed for another 3 to 4 minutes. After removing from the pan I topped everything off with fresh lemon juice and grey sea salt.

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Served along side lemon and herb chicken this was a perfect Summer meal! So maybe there was a little creativity left in me after all.

Posted in Uncategorized, lemon, quick meals, summer, vegetables | 3 Comments »

Foodbuzz Tastemaker: Buitoni Riserva Pasta

Monday, April 20th, 2009

As a member of the Tastemaker program over at Foodbuzz, I was given the chance to try Buitoni’s new Wild Mushroom Agnolotti from their Riserva line.

The pasta is filled with wild mushrooms, fresh roasted garlic, Grana Padano cheese and Parmesan cheese. The pasta is very tender and the filling bursts with fresh flavor.

After a quick trip to Trader Joe’s I had the makings for a perfect sauce to go with the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. I picked up a jar of alfredo sauce, a bag of pre-sliced crimini mushrooms and a container of fresh pea sprouts.

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Saute the crimini mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes. (We like to keep the mushrooms as firm as possible) Then throw in a big handful of fresh pea sprouts and stir to combine with the mushrooms. Add in half of a jar of alfredo sauce. Continue to cook for about five minutes until the sauce is warmed through. Spread out another handful of pea sprouts onto the serving plate, top with the cooked pasta and cover with the crimini sauce. 

I have to hand it to Buitoni…their Riserva line of pasta is most definitely the best tasting premade fresh pasta that I have ever tried. Between cooking the pasta and making the sauce I had dinner on the table in 20 minutes. This quick dinner got me out of the kitchen in plenty of time to catch the new episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

Life is good. :)

Posted in Buitoni, Foodbuzz, Reviews, pasta, quick meals | 14 Comments »

Enchilada Sauce

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

I’ve been making enchiladas for as long as I’ve been able to cook. Of course the fillings change every time that I make them. Beef, chicken, beans and rice, roast pork and peppers, cheese and chilies…you name it, and I’ll throw in inside a tortilla, roll it up, cover it in sauce and bake it. Enchiladas are one of those dishes that you can throw together in just a few minutes. Just fill and roll the tortillas, put them in a baking dish, open up a can of enchilada sauce, cover with cheese and pop them in the oven. Twenty minutes later you lay out a few sides of sour cream, guacamole, Pico de Gallo and dinner is served.

Last week when I was getting ready to make chicken enchiladas I had one of those famous “ah-ha” moments. I had fresh grilled chicken, locally made tortillas and fresh made Pico de Gallo all placed on the counter and ready to go. Then I thought to myself, why am I going to pour a canned enchilada sauce over such wonderfully fresh ingredients? The last few cans that I have purchased seem to have had an “off”, almost metallic taste. I didn’t want to add that type of flavor to this dish. How hard could it be to come up with my own enchilada sauce? I knew that if I made a fresh sauce that my enchiladas would be something special. My bright idea couldn’t have been more dead on. Making fresh enchilada sauce made a huge difference in the finished dish. The flavors were more pronounced and the sauce brightened up the entire dish.

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Here is a rough guess as to what I threw together to make my sauce. I’m sure that it is nothing like authentic enchilada sauce, but it still came out fantastic.

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 cloves of garlic minced finely

2 tablespoons tomato paste in the tube (or substitute a small can of quality tomato paste)

3 cups of chicken broth

Fresh chopped cilantro to taste (I used Daregal frozen…love, love, love this stuff!)

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. When the butter stops bubbling, whisk in the flour to make a roux.

Continue to cook on medium low heat for 5 minutes.

Add in all of your spices and tomato paste into the roux.

Pour in chicken broth and whisk until combined and smooth.

Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thickened to your liking.

The sauce is now ready to use in your favorite enchilada recipe.

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Here are a few final notes on this sauce…

I highly recommend using tomato paste in the tube instead of the canned variety. (My favorite brand is Amore) I feel that the taste and quality is far superior to anything that you will find in a can.

I also can’t say enough wonderful things about Daregal fresh frozen herbs! They make a fabulous product. I’ve used them in every type of dish imaginable and find them to be equal in every way to fresh herbs. The best thing about using Daregal fresh frozen herbs is that they take any waste or mess out of the cooking and prep equation.

This sauce took about 15 minutes to make from start to finish. I can’t think of one reason to go back to using canned enchilada sauce ever again.

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Posted in Daregal Herbs, cheap eats, chicken, quick meals | 11 Comments »

Moon Bread

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

 

There is no way that I can take any credit for this recipe. I’ve adapted it slightly to my tastes, but the basic recipe stays the same.  I found this recipe on Recipezaar many years ago. The original recipe is called Beer Bread and was posted by Gerald Norman way back in 2003.

Moon bread is a quick bread. It is so simple that it can be mixed and baked right in the same pan. All you need are 4 simple ingredients. Self-rising flour, sugar, beer and butter. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

My version is called Moon Bread for two specific reasons. When making the Beer Bread I always use Blue Moon Belgian White Ale for the beer and before baking I take a fork and texture the top of the bread. Texturing the bread before baking makes it come out of the oven looking like the moon, covered with craters, earning my version the name of Moon Bread.

This bread is wonderful served along with your favorite soup. It toasts beautifully and is perfect for a Ploughman’s sandwich. I baked a loaf to specifically go with my Spinach Gnocchi Soup. There is nothing more soothing to the soul on a cold, rainy day that a bowl of thick, hearty soup and a fresh warm loaf of bread.

Seriously, this bread will take you all of 5 minutes to mix up and about 50 minutes to bake. You can have a warm loaf of bread on the table in under an hour. How great is that?! One word of advice before I share the recipe with you. You must (and I really mean it!) sift your flour before measuring. If you do not want to sift your flour, then please do not make this bread. If you don’t sift then your results will resemble a brick and nothing close to bread. Now that you have been warned (with love, of course) here’s the recipe…

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Moon Bread

3 cups self rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) bottle Blue Moon Pale Ale
1/2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup will do just fine)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients and beer.
Pour into a greased loaf pan.
Pour melted butter over mixture.
Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

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Do you have a favorite quick bread to share ?

Posted in baking, basics, bread, cheap eats, quick meals | 15 Comments »

Simple Pasta Salad with Lemon Dressing

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

** Winners of the Banana Nut Cheerios  gift basket giveaway are listed at the end of the post.**

We all have days when we don’t feel like spending any time at all in the kitchen. Yet we still need to make something fresh and tasteful for dinner. On those nights it’s good to have a simple, tried and true dish in your back pocket. A quick pasta salad is that dish for me. Pasta salads appeal to me because you can use just about any vegetable that you have in fridge and the dressing combinations are endless. The dressing can be cream, citrus or vinegar based. They can be hot or cold. The pasta salad can be served alone as a light meal or you can add grilled meat or fish making them great for dinner.

Here’s a simple pasta salad that you can have on the table in 20 minutes. It’s light, full of flavor and perfect for a busy evening. The tomatoes and spinach bring a ton of flavor and the lemon and oregano brighten  up the salad and make it extra special.

Why wait for summer to make pasta salads? They are quick, easy and perfect for any season.

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Simple Pasta Salad with Lemon Dressing

serves 2

3 ounces of any small pasta
handful of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/3 of an English cucumber, sliced thin
large handful of fresh spinach, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced

Dressing:

1 egg
1/2 of a lemon
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup vegetable stock
3 tablespoons sour cream
freshly ground pepper
salt

Cook pasta al dente. Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.

To make the dressing:

Warm up the vegetable broth in the microwave.
Whisk together egg, lemon juice,lemon zest and garlic.
Pour egg mixture into a small saucepan on low heat.
Whisk in the warmed broth gradually.
Stir constantly until the dressing thickens. (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon)
Set aside to cool.

Place pasta in a bowl. Add in vegetables and oregano. Toss to mix.

Once dressing has cooled whisk in the sour cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Can be served right away or refrigerated for a few hours before serving.

What is your “on the table in a flash” meal?

Winners of the Cheerios gift basket giveaway are….

Karin, Leslie and Diva

Ladies…please e-mail me your addresses so that Blog Spark can get your baskets out to you.

Posted in pasta, quick meals, salads, summer | 7 Comments »

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