TJ's Mediterranean Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS: 

-full bag of fusilli noodles (black bean noodles or lentil noodles work great, and make this dish gluten free!) 

Handful each of

-kalamata olives

-roasted marinated red peppers

-artichoke hearts

-frozen corn, A half a bag

-chicken, 6 tenders or thighs. Or 3 chicken breasts. 

-8 cherry tomatoes

-1/4 red onion

-5 radishes

-1 clove elephant garlic, or a few cloves regular garlic

To taste 

-goat cheese

-Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS 

In a skillet, cook off finely diced garlic with butter, till translucent.

Add seasoned chicken (I liked garlic salt and pepper) when half cooked, start shredding it with two forks. (If it starts out frozen, cook in fryer till fully defrosted, finish cooking in pan and shred)

Place chicken and garlic in a separate bowl with frozen corn, and let residual heat thaw corn.

Cut cherry tomatoes to preferred size and blister in pan till umami flavour is strong. Roughly chop remaining veggies, fresh and marinated.

Do not waste any oil from the marinated veggies, as this will be our sauce. 

Mix everything thoroughly into a large bowl sprinkling in the cheeses to preference. Season with salt and pepper to taste, mushroom salt pairs nicely.  

Balance is important. Especially with the marinated veggies as the oil is important and also filled with flavour.

Butternut Squash Fettuccine Alfredo

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups diced butternut squash (about half a squash)

- 1 cup of vegetable stock.

- Butter (4 Tbsp.)

- One small onion (1 cup diced)

- Rosemary (1 Tbsp.)

- Sage (1 Tbsp.)

- Low-fat Milk (4 cups)

- Parmesan (1 cup, plus more for topping)

- Brown Sugar (2 Tbsp.)

- Nutmeg (1/4 tsp)

- Salt and pepper (to taste)

- Water (2 cups)

- Fettuccine noodles (1 16oz box)

Directions:

Melt 4 Tbsp. of butter. Add 1 cup of diced onion, 1 Tbsp. of Rosemary and 1 Tbsp. of Sage. Cook for 3 minutes on medium heat until onions soften. Then cook on medium-high heat until the butter begins to brown (be careful not to burn it). Add in 3 cups of diced butternut squash and 1 cup of vegetable stock, stir, then cover and cook for 15 minutes (until butternut squash is softened).

Uncover and mash with a potato masher until you’ve squished all the squash. Add 2 cups of milk and stir. Then, add 1 cup of Parmesan and stir. Add 2 Tbsp. of brown sugar, 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and stir until well blended.

You can either cook your pasta beforehand in the pot and set it aside, or cook it in the sauce! Break fettuccine noodles in half and place in the sauce. Carefully cover the noodles with sauce. Then, pour in 2 more cups of milk and 2 cups of water and stir. (Add more water, if needed, to smooth out the sauce.) Stir the pasta continuously (to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot) and cook for 15-20 minutes (or until pasta has reached desired texture)

From  http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-butternut-squash-fettucine-alfredo-238127

Pesto Parmesan Pasta, with Poultry

Ingredients:

1 package whole wheat pasta, cooked & drained.

¼ cup fresh homemade pesto, heated

2 TBSP olive oil

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 pound shredded roasted chicken (poultry), heated

½ cup julienned zucchini

½ cup minced sweet onion

½ cup diced fresh tomato

2 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped

¼ cup sun-dried or partially dehydrated tomatoes

¼ cup chopped olives

½ cup pickled artichoke hearts
3 strips of bacon, fried fairly crispy and crumbled

Fresh ground pepper to taste (be generous)

Instructions: Cook the pasta. Use the water to pre-heat the oversize bowl you’re using to mix it all in. Mix the pesto and oil into the hot pasta. Add the hot chicken & mix well. Add the veggies, and mix it up again. Add the Parmesan, and mix again. Top with parmesan and maybe some parsley. 

Variants: Use rice pasta and substitute goat cheese for the Parmesan, and you're almost safe for the disinglutified and disindairyfied among us. If you make your pesto with goat cheese instead of Parmesan, you're there!

Haupia Chicken Curry

1 cup Coconut Curry Sauce

Several leaves of fresh basil, cut into long, thin strips
1 chicken breast, cut up.
1 serving of your favorite wild rice or pasta; I used whole wheat rotini, which was quite good.
bit of olive oil, a bit of lemon juice.
seasonings: lemon pepper, white pepper, garlic salt, lemon grass.

Dribble the chicken in olive oil and lemon juice, seasoned with lemon pepper, white pepper, garlic salt, and a tiny bit of lemon grass.Grille the chicken on a barbecue or indoor grille.

On individual serving plates, layer pasta, basil, then chicken. Ladle the sauce over the top.

Works well with a Belgian ale. Mine was home-brewed.

The critics raved!

Fried Spaghetti and Awesome Sauce

In a cast iron frying pan, fry

2 slices bacon, chopped until it’s about halfway cooked.

Add:

1 clove garlic, chopped

¼ cup chopped sweet onion.

Cook until the bacon is nearly done; the garlic & onion should be only partly done.

Add:

1 serving of cold, leftover spaghetti. Stir it in with the onions, garlic & bacon. When it’s warm, add:

1 large dollop Awesome Sauce, pre-heated in the microwave.

Stir until the Awesome Sauce is thoroughly mixed in with the spaghetti etc. If desired, add some shredded cheese. When the whole concoction is well mixed, form it into a (thick) pancake kind of shape.

Turn the heat to medium high, and let it completely brown on the bottom. Then flip over and let it completely brown on the top.

Serve on a plate. Top with shredded cheese if you like, or maybe a fried egg. Or maybe both.

Awesome Sauce

Melt together in a medium saucepan.


4 TBSP butter, melted
3 TBSP all-purpose flour

Stir until very smooth. 
Slowly add 1 cup of warm milk, stirring constantly.

In a frying pan, melt 1 tsp butter. Add:
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ of a sweet onion, chopped small


When they're partway cooked, add:
8 - 10 medium size mushrooms, chopped fairly small. Add more butter if needed.
Fry until everything is very soft.

When the saucepan mixture is warm, add the contents of the frying pan, and:
2 tsp low-sodium chicken bouillon paste
1½ cup shredded parmesan cheese (a little at a time)
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
½ tsp white pepper
Freshly ground pepper

The sauce will be thick, really thick. It will become thicker once it's cooled. 
It is really good for Chicken Pasta Mornay.

Brown Chicken Pasta

In your largest frying pan, heat 1½ tsp vegetable oil. When it’s hot, add:

5 medium cloves fresh garlic, smashed and chopped

⅔ sweet onion, chopped.

When they are transparent, add

1½ tsp chicken stock concentrate

1 TBSP butter

While they’re melting, mix

2 TBSP dark rye flour into

1½ cups cold milk.

Add this mixture to the frying pan.

Season with:

½ tsp dried sage,

1½ tsp Italian seasoning

⅛ tsp white pepper.

Fresh ground black pepper to taste,

Add:

½ cup Mexican cheese mix (shredded cheddar, jack & mozzarella)

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

While you’re making this sauce, boil 5 or 6 quarts of water, add a TBSP of salt to the boiling water, and add

1 pound whole wheat (penne) pasta.

Cook the pasta to al dente, about 9 minutes.

While those are cooking, season

1 large chicken breast relatively heavily, with

Italian seasoning

Johnny’s garlic spread seasoning

Fresh ground black pepper

Grille the chicken to 190⁰ or more. It will be almost blackened, if there’s enough seasoning on it.

Slice the chicken into medium sized pieces.

In individual bowls, layer the chicken on top of the wheat pasta. Cover with the sauce. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve very hot.

Note: A good Belgian-style amber ale like Brother Thelonious goes well with this meal. 

Mexican Pizza Bread

1½ tsp yeast
4 cups unbleached flour

1½ TBSP gluten
1 package spaghetti sauce mix (the dry mix, not the sauce)

2 tsp garlic powder

2 TBSP medium salsa

½ tsp black pepper

⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp (smoked?) paprika

1 tsp dark chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

¼ cup chopped fresh onion
No salt (oops: I added salt by habit)
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP butter, room temperature
1½ TBSP buttermilk powder
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a 4-cheese blend; cheddar & Monterrey Jack work well)
1½ cups 2% milk, warmed to room temperature

Make this one in the oven, not in the bread machine: The texture is better, and it cooks through better. 

• Put yeast and warm milk in the mixing bowl. Let it set for 5 minutes.
• Add flour, salt, spices (including packaged mix) and butter. Mix at low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes more. Add most of the cheese and mix until combined.
• Scrape dough down side of bowl (all around) into center, then sprinkle lightly with flour. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) to keep a crust from forming and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Alternatively, let dough rise in bowl in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours.)
• Turn bread to a well-floured board or counter. Divide into two pieces (⅓ & ⅔) for bread pans, or more pieces for smaller loafs.
• Form larger portion into a rectangle; place in an oiled 9- by 5-inch loaf pan; divide smaller portion among small pans, or place on parchment paper. Cover dough with same clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough completely fills pan and rises above it slightly, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Brush each loaf with egg, then sprinkle a little cheese down center of loaf.
• Bake until bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 50 minutes to 1 hour. 

Chicken Pasta Mornay

Per person:

1 chicken breast, seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme and sage; grille to internal temperature of at least 160 degrees. Slice into 1/4" thick slices. Use 1/2 to 1 chicken breast per serving.

• Put a small mound of hot cooked pasta on a plate or shallow dish. In a pinch, a thick slice of toasted homemade bread will work.
• Sprinkle cooked vegetables over the pasta: broccoli or stir-fry vegetables. Veggies are optional, of course.
• Ladle on a healthy portion of Chicken Parmesan Mornay Sauce over the pasta and vegetables.
• Spread sliced chicken over sauce.

Chicken Parmesan Mornay sauce (white sauce with cheese)

2 TBSP butter, melted
2 TBSP all-purpose flour

Melt together in a medium saucepan. Stir until very smooth.

Slowly add 1 cup of warm milk, stirring constantly.

When it’s warm, add:
1 tsp chicken bouillon paste
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon fresh thyme
Freshly ground pepper

This makes enough for three servings of Chicken Pasta Mornay.

Bread Machine Pizza Bread

Into the bread machine, in this order

1½ tsp yeast
3½ cups unbleached white flour
1½ TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt or seasoned salt
2 TBSP butter
1½ TBSP powered nonfat dry milk
1 package dried spaghetti sauce mix
1 1/3 cups tepid water.
1½ TBSP grilled sweet onion, chopped
1½ TBSP fresh sweet onion, chopped
2 TBSP chopped olives
1 TBSP basil pesto

When the machine beeps to say, “Last call for adding ingredients!”, then add:
2 TBSP fresh sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, roasted & chopped
4 TBSP chopped olives. Might have been more.
1 TBSP basil pesto
½ cup chopped bacon (I used the pre-packaged type)
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Set the bread machine on "dough". When it's done, turn it out onto a floured cutting board or counter top. Cut to 4 or so pieces, shape, and bake until it's done.

Slice. Toast. Butter. Enjoy.

"Shelli's" Yummy Pesto

"Shelli's" Yummy Pesto

Well, a few of you have asked for "my" pesto recipe... but, unfortunately, I can't take full credit for this one, not at all. My sweet friend, Lisa Johnson, deserves all the glory for this fantastic blend of basil and lip-smacking, mouth-ahhing pleasure.

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup parmesan cheese (I use the bagged, grated/ shredded kind)
1/2- 3/4 cup olive oil (I stick closer to 1/2)
1-2 cloves of garlic (Uh, make that at least 5 or 6 for me!)
2 T pine nuts or walnuts (I use 2-3T of BOTH!)
salt to taste

Process till smooth. Spread on bread, use for pizza sauce, or, my favorite (straight from Germany!!), stir into a pot of (whole wheat) spaghetti, mixed with halved cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella chunks, along with the juice of one lemon (include the lemon chopped into tiny pieces for some real zing!) and several fresh chopped basil leaves. MmmmMmmm, good!

Variations:
1. Add sun-dried tomatoes, plus one small fresh one, for a nice red pesto.
2. Add onions for some extra spice... or hot peppers!
3. Experiment, experiment, experiment... and share your great ideas with this crazy pesto freak!!!!!

Barbecued Veggies

Potatoes

Take a couple of pounds of small red potatoes and quarter them lengthwise. Drop them into boiling, salted water and cook them partway – maybe to the point where they’re halfway done.

Remove from the hot water, rinse in cold water (to keep them from over-cooking) and dry them. Spread them on a baking sheet. Preheat your barbecue at this point.

Spray lightly with olive oil and season fairly heavily with seasoning salt and fresh ground pepper.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. They’re ideal if they have some good brown color on the outside, but the inside is not overly soft.

Onions

Use sweet onions if possible. Peel and slice thick, at least ¼”. Spray lightly with olive oil and season modestly with seasoning salt and fresh ground pepper.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. Do not over-cook. They’re ideal when they’re al dente like good pasta: just a bit of firmness to the bite.

Bell Peppers

Quarter the peppers lengthwise; remove all the seeds. Wash in cold water.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. Do not over-cook. They’re ideal when they’re al dente like good pasta: just a bit of firmness to the bite.

Zucchini

Use young zucchinis, before the seeds have developed. Do not peel; slice thick, at least ½”. Spray lightly with olive oil and season modestly with seasoning salt and fresh ground pepper.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. Do not over-cook. They’re ideal when they’re al dente like good pasta: just a bit of firmness to the bite.


I love to barbecue veggies any time I'm barbecuing meat: it compliments the flavor of the meat, and allows us to do all the cooking outdoors so the kitchen stays cool on hot days. Besides, my family really enjoys barbecued veggies with our barbecued meat.

Overwhelming Spaghetti Sauce

Serves 6 or 8

Ingredients

• 6-12 heads garlic, peeled and smashed: make it a lot.
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• butter and olive oil (equal parts) to fry them in. Don't be shy.
• 2 lbs lean hamburger, cubed
• 1 lb sage sausage, cubed
• 2-3 TBSP dried oregano
• 1/2 - 1 tsp ground clove
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground black pepper, maybe more.
• 1 TBSP dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp powdered cumin
• 2 tsp (or 2 TBSP) Tabasco chipotle sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
• 2 cans cooked and diced tomatoes.
• 1 jar, bottle or can, prepared tomato sauce, any flavor

Preparations: heat large (preferably cast iron) skillet. Heat oil and melt butter. Fry garlic and onion until transparent. Add cubed hamburger and sausage. Cover and cook until meat is cooked all the way through. Add the dried oregano. Yeah, I know it's a lot. Add the other spices too. Stir well.

Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid; add to meat and stir well while frying. When they're hot and spicy, add tomato sauce and reserved tomato juice. Bring to a boil, stirring. Adjust spices, which mostly means add more of this or that. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve over hot pasta. Enjoy! Don't count calories!

Review: This is not wimpy diet food. Ya gotta eat this meal with a fair bit of gusto! And it's so rich and flavorful that gusto is not hard to come by. Some garlic bread, Caesar salad, and a bold hand-made brew(Alaskan Amber is an excellent choice!) make a good meal for a bunch of good friends.

Garlic Herb Bread-Machine Bread

For a 1½ Pound Loaf:

In this order:
1.5 tsp active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ TBSP sugar
½ tsp dried dill, crushed
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp dried parsley
½ tsp garlic powder
1½ tsp salt

then:
fry ½ cup chopped onion in
3 TBSP butter or margarine

until they just begin to brown. Cool. Add to mixture above.

Then:
1¼ cup 1% milk (adjust for your particular bread machine).
1 TBSP dried milk powder.

Set the machine on “regular” and press “Go.”

Let the loaf sit for 30 minutes before slicing. Or skip slicing altogether and just tear off chunks to eat as "shred bread."

Review: We never did slice ours. The aroma that fills the house is pretty attention-grabbing. We just wrapped it in a cloth napkin in a basket and served it with a spaghetti dinner. Very nice.

White Chicken Spaghetti

Serves 4 or 5

Ingredients

• 6-12 heads garlic, peeled and smashed: make it a lot.
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• butter and olive oil (equal parts) to fry them in. Don't be shy.
• 2 lbs chicken breasts, thinly sliced
  
• 1 lb sage sausage, in small pieces
  
• 2-3 TBSP dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground white pepper, maybe more.
• 1 TBSP dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1 jar, bottle or can, white spaghetti sauce, any flavor
• 1 can chicken broth
  

Preparations: heat large (preferably cast iron) skillet. Heat oil and melt butter. Fry garlic and onion until transparent. Add chicken and sausage. Cover and cook until meat is cooked all the way through. Add the dried oregano. Add the other spices too. Stir well.

Add meat and stir well while frying. When they're hot and spicy, add spaghetti sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, stirring. If you like, thicken with flour.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Review: This is very good, and quite rich. I prefer to toss this with spiral spaghetti, and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.