Spicy Tomato and Shrimp Pasta

Spicy Tomato and Shrimp Pasta

Life is about to get hectic once again, with my taco cart opening on Monday and our newly-opened AirBnB room filling up with bookings. Exciting times, yet we also must eat, right? Here’s a quick-fixing dish that’s loaded with flavor and can be on the table in a half hour. I used these cute little hat-shaped spicy tomato pastas in this, but any pasta will work. The pasta itself was truly spicy, so if using plain pasta and like spicy, simply adjust the pepper and red chile flakes in this to your liking. This serves two, but can be easily doubled.

Spicy Tomato and Shrimp Pasta

4 ounces pasta, any kind
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
Creole seasoning
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
Ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch of crushed red chile flakes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, or a few handfuls fresh
Fresh-grated Parmesan, for serving (optional)

Begin cooking pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, season the shrimp lightly with Creole seasoning. In a medium skillet, heat the butter over medium heat and add the shrimp in one layer. Cook for a few minutes on each side, then remove to a plate and keep warm. Add the olive oil to the skillet then the chopped onion. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Pour in the can of undrained tomatoes, then season with pepper, chile flakes, oregano, and lemon juice. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Your pasta should be done by now, so reserve a half cup of the pasta water, then drain and add pasta to the tomato mixture. Stir in the spinach, then add the shrimp. Add in the half cup of reserved pasta water to loosen it up, and cook a few minutes more to heat through. Serve immediately with fresh-grated Parmesan.

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

One-Pot Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

One-Pot Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

After 10 days in warm and sunny Texas, I got to come back to what we call “Sprinter” in these parts. The calendar says spring but the weather says winter! This soup was perfect for a dreary spitting-snow kind of day. Pre-cooked chicken and gnocchi from the deli section at the store makes it a breeze to make, all in one pot to boot. I whizzed the carrots, onion, and celery in my mini-food processor for an instant mire-poix for the base of the soup, but if you don’t have a processor you can finely chop the veggies by hand. I would have preferred to add fresh spinach to this, but the frozen I had worked just great. This creamy soup is very filling and and satisfies even the heartiest of eaters!

One-Pot Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

1/2 cup each finely chopped carrots, onion and celery
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon (can sub dried basil)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
4 cups homemade or low sodium chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 16-ounce package refrigerated gnocchi
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup thawed frozen spinach (packed)
Shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion and celery and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until softened, adding the garlic in the last minute. Stir in the herbs, then add the butter. When melted and frothy, whisk in the flour and combine to make a paste. Pour in about half the chicken broth all at once, whisking constantly until combined and smooth, then pour in the rest of the chicken broth, then the milk. Continue whisking until combined and simmering, cooking until thickened. Add the chicken, gnocchi, and spinach. Bring up to a simmer again until the gnocchi are cooked through, typically under five minutes according to the package. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

p.s. I just had to share the sign on the front of a taco cart on the infamous Sixth Street, which we visited during the raucous SXSW festival. Many sights and sounds to behold!

i love tacos so much

p.s.s. I reopen my taco cart on March 31 at an Easter Egg Hunt at a local ranch, then move my cart to its new location in a new food truck lot. The lot has a “soft opening” starting April 1, but my schedule is TBD depending on how my healing broken shoulder is working out. The grand opening for the lot will be scheduled sometime in May.

 

Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew

Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew

I’d be lying if I didn’t say the past two weeks have been a bit of a challenge. It all started out with me taking a spill while ice skating with my daughter. I truly thought I just jammed my shoulder, but an x-ray two days later confirmed a break. Broke the neck of the humerus clean through, I did. The next day, my husband went in for hernia surgery (a double!) then a week after that Mohs surgery to remove cancer from his nose. Thank God for generous friends to donate their time (and cooking!) while we got back on our feet, so to speak.

I’m just in a sling (no surgery required) but I’m basically one-armed (again). Once I felt stable enough to heft out the crock pot with one hand, I was able to throw this meal together. Many thanks to my friend Mollie at The Frugal Hausfrau for the inspiration! Since I have no ability to chop anything fresh, much of this came from cans or frozen bags, but feel free to substitute with fresh. The Trader Joe’s potatoes were seasoned with oregano and thyme, so if you add fresh potatoes, add in about a 1/2 teaspoon of each of those with them.

Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew

1 pound boneless skinless chicken (breast or thighs)
1 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes with liquid
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 cup frozen lima beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen roasted potatoes with bell pepper and onion (I used Trader Joe’s)
2 cups homemade or low sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 or 4 shakes Tobasco sauce
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons spicy barbecue sauce (I used Stubb’s Spicy)

Add all ingredients to a slow cooker, and stir to combine. Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 to 6, depending on your cooker. When done, shred chicken with a fork in the pot, then serve.

p.s. This is my third fracture of the body in as many years. My friends are recommending a body bubble wrap. 😉

p.s.s. We are headed to Austin and thereabouts for a 10-day vacation for a visit with family and friends, and heading smack dab into South by Southwest (SXSW), the county’s largest film and music festival. What better way to spend time while recuperating?

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Shrimp and Spinach Risotto

Shrimp and Spinach Risotto

Here’s a creamy and comforting dish that’s a little easier on your waistline with those terms than say, mac and cheese. Although I wouldn’t be one to pass that up either! Risotto is typically made with a short-grained Italian rice called Arborio, which I used here. But if you can’t find that or it’s a bit spendy at your store, you could use a sushi rice or even Calrose. Even a plain ol’ medium grain white rice would work, but it won’t be as creamy.

Leaving the shrimp whole would make this dish quite a bit prettier to present, but let’s face it — who wants to be cutting up their shrimp when you have some hot and creamy spinach risotto waiting to dig into?! Have everything chopped/prepped up front for this. You’ll also want to use some homemade or high-quality chicken broth with this, along with a good dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio. A dish with a short shopping list needs quality for it to shine!

Shrimp and Spinach Risotto

4 cups homemade or good-quality chicken broth
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
A pinch or two of red chile flakes (optional)
6 ounces chopped fresh spinach
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup quality shredded Parmesan

Shrimp and Garlic

Heat the chicken broth in a saucepan or microwave until steaming. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste. Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the garlic and shrimp. Cook the shrimp for just a few minutes on each side, until starting to turn opaque. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, and cover to keep warm.

Risotto Beginnings

Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan, then add the chopped onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the rice and toss to coat. Cook for a few more minutes until the rice begins to color. Add the white wine and simmer and stir until the wine is completely absorbed by the rice. At this point, because I couldn’t resist, add a pinch or two of red chile flakes if you want.

Adding the Spinach

Using a ladle or measuring cup, add about 1/2 cup of hot chicken broth to the rice. Simmer and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Keep repeating this process, ensuring the liquid is absorbed before the next ladle, until the broth is almost gone, stirring constantly. Headphones with music is fun during this task, stir to the beat! Just before the last ladle of broth is used, stir in a tablespoon of butter, the spinach, shrimp, lemon juice, and then the Parmesan. Stir to completely combine, then add just enough of remaining broth to loosen it up. Stir until the spinach is wilted and the shrimp is cooked through, then serve immediately.

Good Quality Parmesan to Finish

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

Chicken with Shallot Dijon Sauce

Chicken with Shallot Dijon Sauce

Oooh, sounds fancy-pants, huh? Well, it is, actually. I’d serve this right up to guests in my house any day of the week. In reality, it was just me and the hubs chowing on it, but THAT SAUCE! The sauce with the shallots, dijon, tarragon, and the luscious cherry tomatoes that are cooked until just bursting is way up there on the yum-meter. I served this over pappardelle noodles, but it would go equally well with roasted or smashed potatoes, rice, etc.

I riffed this from a recipe I found on New York Times Cooking. They’ve been giving me quite a few ideas lately about what to cook, with their handy “What to Cook This Week” email subscription. (Which is free.) I get a lot of spammy email, but that is one email I always click on to see what inspires my tastebuds. I usually read the “most helpful” rated comments and adapt the recipe based on people’s changes who actually made the recipe, as the NYTC recipes are not always golden. OK enough of that endorsement (which I was not paid for, lol).

Chicken with Shallot Dijon Sauce

1 pound chicken, fileted to equal-ish sizes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups shallots, (6 ounces) sliced thick length-wise
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup homemade or good-quality chicken broth
1 tablespoon stone-ground Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon (2 sprigs fresh if you have it)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Browning the Chicken

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge the chicken through the flour, patting down to lightly coat. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it starts foaming, then cook the chicken pieces on both sides for several minutes until browned. Remove and set aside.

Sliced Shallots ~ I added this shot because I think shallots are lovely

In same pan, reduce heat a little and add the shallots and cook until they start to soften and caramelize, about 10 minutes. Pour in the wine and chicken broth and deglaze the pan with a large spoon. Stir in the Dijon mustard and tarragon, add back in the chicken, then cover the skillet and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, reducing heat more if necessary.

Remove the lid, then nestle in the cherry tomatoes around the chicken. Simmer until tomatoes start to wilt and burst and the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes more. Stir lightly to combine, then serve.

Chicken with Shallot Dijon Sauce

p.s. Go Pats! 😉

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

I made a soup with similar ingredients to this many moons ago with a mile-long ingredients list, so this time around I decided to simplify it a bit more plus turn it into a casserole. As much as I love soup, sometimes I crave a bit more heft in the bite.

I ALMOST made this inedible, as I had the Hungarian sweet paprika and cayenne pepper sitting side by side in identical containers during prep. I actually poured ONE TABLESPOON of cayenne pepper on top of the tomatoes, but praise be I immediately noticed my mistake and was able to scoop most of it out before stirring it in. The end result was still a tad spicier than I intended, but overall a great comforting meal for a cold night. It sure warmed my husband up, lol! And even though this is over an hour in the oven, I guarantee this is way less time than the traditional stuffed method!

Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole

1 tablespoon olive oil
1  pound ground beef, pork, or turkey (I used half beef/half pork)
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Ground black pepper and salt, to taste
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 8-ounce can no-salt tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine or white vinegar
1/2 cup white rice, uncooked
1 3/4 cups homemade or low sodium beef broth
1 small head cabbage (about 1 pound), quartered and sliced thin
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Ground Beef and Pork Mixture

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet, brown the ground ground meat and chopped onions in the olive oil over medium heat until meat is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute or two more. Drain the grease, if any. Grind a bunch of black pepper over it and add salt, to taste. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix in the next 7 ingredients (diced tomatoes through the rice).

Tomato Rice Mixture

Lightly spray an 8 x 8 casserole dish with oil, then layer half the cabbage on the bottom.

Cabbage and Beef Layer

Top with half the ground meat mixture, then half the tomato sauce mixture. Repeat. Last, pour the beef broth over all.

Layers Complete

Cover dish tightly with foil, and cook in oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle cheese over top and broil for just a few minutes to melt cheese. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes, then serve.

p.s. We had to say goodbye to our beloved Hannah Banana last week. Our rescue dog of 14 years is deeply missed.

Hannah Banana

Hannah Banana

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

Beef Barley Stoup

Beef Barley Stoup

Is is a stew, or is it a soup? Who knows, but I call it a stoup! The day I made this it ate more like a soup, but the second day, its texture was more like a stew. I’m thinking the barley continues to soak up the liquid and thickens overnight. Either way, it was about time I made this staple cold-weather meal. Sooo comforting!

I used the last package of our top sirloin steak from last year’s quarter cow as we began to make room for our new cow in the freezer. Our lucky daughter got to take home about 10 pounds of ground burger to share with her ever-hungry male roommates in college that we never got around to using. (It appears we ate way less burger than we did in prior years.) You can use any cut of beef for this that doesn’t need a super-long cook for tenderness.

Stoup Base

Beef Barley Stoup

1 pound beef, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper, for seasoning meat
Flour, for dusting meat
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 stalks celery, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes
4 cups homemade or low-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
3 small sprigs thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
Salt and pepper, to taste

Season cubed meat with salt and pepper, then toss with some flour to dust it. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add beef to pot, and sear cubes on all sides until browned. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Add onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook about 8 to 10 minutes, until mushrooms start to brown. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste in the last minute of cooking.

Pour in the red wine and deglaze the pot, scraping up the browned bits. Add the stewed tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Stir well to combine. Add the meat, including any accumulated juices in the bowl.

Simmering Beef Barley Stoup

Bring to a boil, then stir in the barley. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, for about 45-60 minutes or until the barley is cooked. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs and taste for additional salt and pepper. Serve in bowls with crusty bread for dipping/sopping.

p.s. Tomorrow starts my seventh year of blogging, can you believe it?? Thanks for hanging with me! And please have a safe and Happy New Year!

Beef Barley Stoup

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Turkey, Mushroom and Wild Rice Creamy Soup

Turkey, Mushroom and Wild Rice Creamy Soup

My life is a bit topsy-turvy these days, as I’ve taken on a seasonal job with the U.S. Postal Service as a Santa’s Elf to tide us over while my food cart is closed for the season. The problem is, these elves have to work the night shift in order to get Santa’s packages out and delivered during the day. So now I’m making dinner at 10 am or so in the morning, and doing odd things like decorating the Christmas tree at 3 in the morning on my nights off. (OK I’m kidding about the Santa’s Elf thing, but it sounds much more glamorous than Holiday Clerk Assistant, which is really no more than a mail sorter and package thrower…)

Most days my husband and I are like two ships passing in the night, but on one of our rare encounters recently we had a short discussion about fennel. He couldn’t find any when he needed some for a lasagna he made me for my birthday recently. Long story short, he bought some dried fennel, which made me think of a fresh fennel bulb, which I haven’t cooked with in ages. AND SO, I bought a fresh fennel bulb and decided to make this soup with some of our leftover Thanksgiving turkey. And my husband just LOVED this soup! (He had to reheat it since I made it so early in the day.) It has a very guest-worthy flavor with the addition of the fennel and sherry. I hope you enjoy it too!

Vegetable Soup Base

Turkey, Mushroom and Wild Rice Creamy Soup
Adapted from SarasotaCook at Food.com

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups sliced and rough-chopped mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup thin-sliced baby carrots
3/4 cup thin-sliced rough-chopped fennel bulb
3/4 cup think sliced celery
2 cloves minced garlic
A few sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried chopped rosemary
1 bay leaf
5 cups turkey or chicken stock, homemade or good-quality
1 cup chopped turkey (can use more if you want)
3/4 cup wild rice mix, uncooked
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter and oil over medium and add the mushrooms, onion, carrots, fennel, and celery. Cook until the onions and celery are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf in the last minute or so.

Stir the rice into the vegetable mixture, then add the broth and Worcestershire. Bring to a low boil, then cover and lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes until the rice is somewhat tender. Uncover, then add the turkey, sherry and cream or half and half, bring to a low boil again, reduce heat and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is cooked through. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste. I meant to add some fresh parsley at the end, but totally forgot. Feel free to throw that in if you have it! Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf, and serve with hot crusty bread.

Turkey, Mushroom and Wild Rice Creamy Soup

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

 

 

Italian Sausage Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Italian Sausage Spaghetti Squash Casserole

We are in that “it’s hard to find a good vegetable at the store” time of year, so when the hubs asked me to pick up some veggies on my last trip, I settled on a spaghetti squash. After making this, I realized I had forgotten how much I like this beautiful squash! But is sure is a pain in the you-know-what to cut open. Most recipes for this showcase the innards in its lovely yellow shell as the serving container, but after my hack job it getting it open it was best left to throw it in a casserole dish.

Aside from trying not to chop your fingers off cutting the squash in half and getting it baked, this is an easy dinner to prepare. Serve with a salad and garlic bread, and dinner is served!

Italian Sausage Spaghetti Squash Casserole

3-4 pound spaghetti squash
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound hot Italian sausage (mild if preferred)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley (or fresh if you have it)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds. Brush with olive oil, then salt and pepper it to taste. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet, and bake for one hour. Let cool until you can handle them, then remove the “spaghetti strands” to a bowl, using a fork. Set aside and reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.

About halfway through the squash cooking time, cook the Italian sausage in a large skillet along with the onions and garlic until the sausage is cooked through. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and stir to combine, then reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile mix together the ricotta, Parmesan and parsley in another bowl.

Once all the players are in place, stir the spaghetti squash into tomato sauce, then pour into a 2-quart oil-sprayed casserole dish. Spread the cheese mixture over top, then the mozzarella. Bake in 350-degree oven for about 20-30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Italian Sausage Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

 

Lazy Sunday Italian Tomato Gravy

Lazy Sunday Italian Tomato Gravy

After we harvested the last of our ripe tomatoes before the first freeze hit, I decided to grab a bunch of the green tomatoes and hope for the best. These languished on the countertop for a couple of weeks as they slowly ripened. Yesterday I decided I better do something with the ones that finally ripened. Older tomatoes like this need to be cooked down, so slow-roasting them all day seemed the perfect way to spend my Sunday while binge-watching Chopped episodes. And it made the house smell divine!

While I used fresh tomatoes for half this recipe (I blanched and peeled them first), by all means use all canned tomatoes, and preferably San Marzano. Mine were fire-roasted but plain works equally as well. I had to add some additional water during the cooking since I didn’t have the canned juice to go with fresh tomatoes.

This recipe is halved, but by all means double it, as this tomato gravy can go with a multitude of dishes beyond pasta. We served it over rice with garlicky sauteed shrimp. I plan on poaching some eggs in the leftover sauce for a future meal. So rich and incredibly tasty!!

Lazy Sunday Italian Tomato Gravy
Adapted from Serious Eats/J. Kenji López-Alt

2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
8 baby carrots
1/2 medium onion, halved
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Fresh and Canned Peeled Tomatoes

Lower rack in oven to bottom position and preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a large bowl, crush the tomatoes thoroughly with your hands. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the crushed tomatoes to a container and refrigerate until later.

Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven until butter is melted. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, and basil, and cook for about two minutes until garlic is fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes, carrots and onion until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.

Tomato Gravy Ready to Slow Cook

Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar and place in preheated oven. Walk away and enjoy your day, coming back to stir about every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add a little water if needed throughout. The sauce should reduce by about half and darkened to a deep red, about 5 to 6 hours.

Remove from oven, then discard onion quarters and carrots. Add the reserved tomatoes and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper. Serve immediately over pasta, rice or any which way you want. Leftovers can be refrigerated up to a week or frozen. Reheat from frozen with 1/2 cup water.

p.s. Austin Street Taco followers: I’ve closed my cart down now for the winter, but had a meeting today about a possible and exciting future venue next year! Stay tuned!

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!