Marinara with Gnocchi and Peas: One of my favorite food memories

I love this meal!

I'll start this blog post by saying I love peas and have eaten peas and sauce since I was a little girl.  I don't know how it started but it has become one of my famous all time early food memories.

Till this day my hubby teases me about it.  He had never heard of this dish or would have ever been tempted to eat it.  He is basic Italian and peas are not a part of any of his early food memories. lol

My Mom would make her homemade (meat sauce)every week and with the leftover sauce I would add some drained canned peas and along with a slice of bread or two this was a favorite meal of mine.

Not everyone loves peas but for those of you who do, this is relatively easy to make.  I used my homemade marinara sauce but jarred sauce can be used as well and today I decided to add some bought De Cecco gnocchi which really added to this dish.  

All it takes to make this easy meal is:

1 pkg. De Cecco Gnocchi (17.5 oz)
1 qt. Marinara sauce or desired sauce
1 pkg.. Steamfresh frozen peas (cook according to directions) Canned peas can be used (drain)
Pecorino Romano cheese

Cook gnocchi according to directions.  Drain.  Microwave peas.  Heat sauce. Add gnocchi and peas. Toss with sauce and add fresh Pecorino Romano Cheese.  Serve with Salad. 

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking from my kitchen to yours

6/29/12 
3/6/13
2/18/14

Easy bean, chicken, pasta and spinach soup

It’s always a plus having chicken broth either in your freezer, refrigerator or pantry when wanting to make a quick hearty soup.

I happened to have some homemade broth but not enough to make a full Dutch oven so I added a 32 oz carton of chicken broth to  mine and made this yummy soup for this damp and dreary day.

 This soup can be made either with leftover chicken, rotisserie or it can be made meatless.  It all depends on what you have handy.

I always have broth, beans, pasta and some veggies handy.  This time the veggie was spinach but kale or escarole is also really great to make a full body soup. 

Here's my recipe.. Enjoy!

4 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 cans northern beans rinsed and drained
2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cup spinach, kale or escarole broken in pieces
1 cup acne de Pepe cooked
Pecorino Romano cheese for added flavor

Place soup in a large Dutch oven.
Add beans and chicken . Cook on medium until heated, add spinach and pasta.  The Spinach will cook quickly.  Taste test. Add 2 T grated cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper if necessary. 

Serve and add more cheese if you like.  I think cheese just makes it better....

Enjoy!

Chicken Tortillas mini's wraps

Winter makes me bake and cook even more than usual. Can you believe that?

After getting going very early (yes I got up early) I decided starting the New Year doing a little light exercise might be something good for me. I do not like exercise at all and at one time I did.

When the weather is nice I enjoy a nice brisk walk but it seems I never concentrate on getting my bones stronger or balance as I'm aging so along with some weight training I decided focusing on balance is not a bad idea either. 

After I came home feeling quite peppy I decided chicken soup might hit the spot. I did get it going quickly and while it was cooking I started thinking what to make for dinner and soup was not enough. I was making a basic chicken broth with some veggies. That's where the idea of Chicken Tortillas came to my mind.

I'll call them "my way" Chicken Tortillas.  I do love Mexican food.

 Since I did have the chicken I removed it from the broth and shredded it. Some recipes call for cubed chicken which you usually fry but since I already had the cooked chicken I made the tortillas my way and the below is the recipe using cooked and shredded chicken.

2 cups shredded chicken breasts
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced leeks or sweet onion
1/2 sliced or diced green pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin 
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1-4oz can diced green chilies drained
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 medium or 4 small tortillas 
1 cup cheddar cheese
sour cream optional


In a large skillet place olive oil, minced garlic, onion and diced green and red pepper. Slowly cook until onion and pepper are slightly tender.  Add drained chilies, chili powder, cumin and chicken broth. Cook until slightly reduced.  Add shredded chicken and allow to heat until all is hot.  Warm tortillas in microwave according to directions or slightly fry in a small round pan until warmed.

Remove from heat. Place a few tablespoons of mixture on tortilla, shredded cheese and enjoy!  Sour cream optional....

Gail's Lemon Chicken

My foodie Friend Gail was kind enough to share her recipe for Lemon Chicken so I could share it with you.

A little about how Gail and I are foodie friends. Gail and I went to high school at the same time only to reconnect on facebook where I have my M.j. Vitelli food page.

By all accounts Gail is known by family and friends to be an excellent cook.  The photos below are actually hers.  I did not alter her recipe and typed it in her own words. Enjoy!

Note:I decided to try her recipe today and my photos are at the bottom of the post.

Here goes : 

Buy boneless chicken breasts. Cut into strips, if you put them into the freezer for an hour they cut easier.

 Keep excess parts for soup. Pepper and garlic salt them.

 In a bowl mix a few eggs, in a zip lock bag put seasoned breadcrulmbs

.Dip chicken and throw in bag. ( I do a handfullat a time ).

 Fry on both sides in vegetable oil. Until golden. Pour lemon juice over each piece. Continue to fry and turn once. They are already cooked, so fry just to collect flavor. 

You can add fresh lemon is you like , but bottled is just as good. You are finished !!!! Freezes very well. Heat in microwave or oven. Very good cold. Put on salads or sandwich..



My photos:

Chicken Quesadilla pie

A very good day to everyone:

As I started to type this post I immediately thought that this recipe could easily be made into a beef quesadilla pie too and I decided that mentioning to you that using cooked ground beef or shredded beef would be a nice option.  Maybe some of the beef you had leftover from your last night's dinner could be an option.

I really enjoy anything with a Mexican flair.  When I do go out to dinner with my children I would be the one to suggest Mexican or Asian.  My two favorites.  I love Italian but since a lot of my recipes are Italian I like to try something I don't make quite as often.

This pie really turned out very good.  My only suggestion is that you most certainly serving it with a side would only make you enjoy it more.  The traditional salsa or sour cream or even a nice green salad would be yummy.  Enjoy!

• 
  
• 1 Large flour tortilla 
• 1 rotisserie chicken shredded or  use 2 boneless chicken breasts cooked and shredded.  I am sure you can use  cooked ground beef as well. Remember to drain all fat from cooked beef before tossing with below ingredients. (About 2 cups total )
• 1 14.5 can diced tomatoes with chiles(juice and all)
• 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, grated, divided 

             1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish (I used dried cilantro about 1 tsp.)

• Topping

• 1 cup whole milk 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425º F and lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate with butter or non-stick spray. 
2. Place tortilla into pie plate and set aside. ***Note:(I used a spring form pan and it filled it nicely) and was easy to remove.
3. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, pinch salt and pepper, 1 cup cheese, cilantro, tomatoes with  green chiles, chili powder, and salt and pepper. Stir until everything is combined, then transfer mixture to tortilla-filled pie plate, smoothing everything into an even layer.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk flour and eggs, then stir in baking powder and season generously with salt.
5. Once smooth, carefully pour mixture over chicken filling. Top evenly with remaining cheese, then transfer pie plate to oven.
6. Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until surface is golden brown and center is just set. 
7. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving. 
8. Slice into wedges and serve hot, garnish with fresh cilantro or sour cream.

Happy Cooking from my kitchen to yours,