Caprese pasta with turkey meatballs

I hope everyone is recuperating from the holidays! We are still working through all our leftovers and cookie platters. My kids are still in that post-Christmas honeymoon stage, waking up early and staying up late to play with their new toys. I'm just trying to decide if it's silly of us to keep our Christmas decorations up year round. Not only do they make me happy, they are a pain to put away and I just don't have the drive to do it right now.

 

On to this delicious dish...I made a similiar dish several years ago, following a recipe from Giada. Of course we loved it and, of course, I lost the recipe. So I created my own. For all I know it's exactly the same, but I'm pretty sure there are so changes. I think she used ground chicken, which is great if that's what you want to use, but I happened to have ground turkey.

 

 

This dish is amazing. The meatballs are bite size and loaded with flavor. The tomatoes are warm and burst in your mouth. The cheese is melty and soft, gathering the flavors of the dish. You will impress your family with this dish. Promise.

 

 

Fry up your meatballs. You'll have to do this in batches.

 

See all those beautiful brown bits? You'll scrape those off with the chicken stock. They add a lot of flavor.

 

Letting the meatballs hang out for a bit.

 

You'll add the chicken stock to the pan and use this to cook through the meatballs and soften the tomatoes.

 

Here's a great how-to for cutting basil. Stack your basil on top of each other, roll in up, and chop. You'll end up with a beautiful pile of julienned basil, and it took less than a minute.

 

Adding everything together. Yes, I used two different pastas. I just happened to have half a box of each.

 

 

Caprese Pasta with Turkey Meatballs

by Girls in Aprons, inspired by Giada di Laurentiis

 

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 Italian bread crumbs

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1 Tbsp tomato paste

2 eggs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 14-oz can chicken stock (about 2 cups)

10 oz grape tomatoes

1 lb pasta, preferably bowtie, penne, or rotini

Salt, for pasta water

1/2 lb (8 oz) mozzerella cheese, cubed

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned

 

Mix ground turkey, bread crumbs, dried basil, tomato paste, eggs, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, and Worchestershire sauce together. Form into small meatballs, about the size of a ping pong ball. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add meatballs, cooking in batches, browning the meatballs on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add chicken broth, using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits left over from the meatballs. Bring the broth to a simmer and add the tomatoes and return the meatballs to the pan.

 

While tomatoes simmer, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tsp salt. Cook pasta according to package directions.

 

When tomatoes are soft and the meatballs are cooked through, 7-8 minutes, remove from heat. Add the cooked pasta using a slotted spoon. Toss everything together. Transfer to a serving dish. Immediately add cubed mozzerella cheese and basil, stirring until the cheese starts to melt. Serve warm.

Italian Pasta Bites

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I've been wanting to make this for a long time. My family loves pasta, which is a good thing because it's cheap and easy and we have it at least twice a week.

After I had my two boys, I went on a carb-free diet for about a month, which was honestly about all I could handle. The only thing that kept me sane during that month was Diet Dr Pepper which luckily has no carbs :) Anyway, my husband wanted nothing to do with my diet. He comes from a French-Italian family and the idea of eating no carbs is about as foreign as not breathing. While I ate grilled chicken, salad, and scrambled eggs for a majority of my meals, he gladly piled his plate with pasta and potatoes and bread.

Luckily I'm over that diet. Like forever. I'd much rather amp up my exercise routine than say no to pasta. And this recipe is one of the reasons why.

I used a variety of white cheeses, so it's not your traditional macaroni noodles with cheddar. I also steep fresh rosemary and thyme in the milk before adding it to the sauce to give the dish. The taste is earthy and aromatic. While I like using thyme in dishes, rosemary is a bit tough to eat and I didn't want to ruin the creamy texture of the pasta, so by steeping the herbs in the milk you get the taste without actually adding the herbs to the pasta.

Start by greasing your mini muffin tin with butter and then with a mixture of breadcrumbs and Parmesan. This will give your pasta bites a great crusty, cheesy bottom.

The pasta is delicious on its own. If you wanted to serve it as a side dish, go right ahead. The pasta bites are just a fun way to serve the pasta, especially for a party.

Stuff the pasta into the muffin tins. You'll want to lightly press down so the pasta sticks to each other and keeps its shape. Top with a bit of the breadcrumb and Parmesan mixture.

Doesn't it look delicious! You can reheat the pasta cups in the muffin tin or just on a baking tray for about 5 minutes at 400 degrees. The recipe makes 3-4 dozen pasta bites, depending how much you stuff your muffin tins.

Italian Pasta Bites
by Girls in Aprons

Butter, for greasing the pan
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups milk
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1 cup shredded smoked gouda
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a mini muffin tin, butter each mini muffin cup. Mix 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Add 1-2 teaspoons of mixture to each muffin cup. Spread the mixture around so that it adheres to the butter. Set aside.

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, pour milk into a small saucepan on low heat and add fresh herbs. Stir frequently until bubbles begin to form around the edges. Turn off the heat and let sit 15 minutes.

In a large pot over medium low heat, melt 3 Tbsp butter. Add 4 Tbsp flour and whisk until butter and flour are combined. Whisk for one minute. Remove fresh herbs from milk. Slowly stir in milk to butter and flour mixture. Continue to cook on medium low heat until sauce starts to thicken. Add shredded cheese a handful at a time and whisk until melted and incorporated. Quickly whisk in egg yolks and salt. Add in cooked macaroni.

Using a tablespoon, place macaroni mixture into prepared mini muffin tins, pressing down lightly. Slightly overfill each cup. Sprinkle remaining bread crumb-and-Parmesan mixture over each cup. Bake for 15 minutes or until the macaroni was starting to lightly brown.

Let cool slightly before removing. Serve warm.

Sausage, basil & gorgonzola pizza

Ever had something really good at a restaurant and felt like you would just die without the recipe?! I'm still trying to find the perfect re-creation of P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps and don't even get me started on California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ Chicken Salad - something so simple looking is deceivingly hard to make!

Carissa made a pizza a year or so ago using one of Giada de Laurtentiis' recipes. I know it was on pizza crust with no sauce and used caramelized onions, sausage, gorgonzola (I think), and fresh basil. I'm not one to look us recipes unless I'm baking something and need exact measurements...and even then I don't always measure (honestly, does anyone measure vanilla?!). So I figured I would try to re-create that pizza.

I made a few adjustments, the first being that I used ciabatta bread instead of pizza crust. To be honest this is a shortcut I use often because I don't have time after work to make any kind of yeast bread and it cuts out a whole step just to use bread. I know I've said this before but ciabatta bread is my favorite for savory meals like this. It's my go-to bread of paninis and pizzas and open-faced sandwiches.

The best part about this recipe is you really can add more or less depending on your liking. I omitted the gorgonzola from the second half of the pizza because I knew my kids wouldn't care for it. I also added extra onion to the end, knowing that I would eat that part. I love me some caramelized onion!

How to cut fresh basil:

Stack your basil leaves on top of each other, making sure to remove the stem.



Roll up (they say like a cigarette, but not having ever done that.....)





Chop thinly down the roll.

And ta-da! Thinly sliced ("julienned") basil!

Sausage, Basil & Gorgonzola Pizza

by Girls in Aprons, inspired by Giada de Laurentiis

1 loaf ciabatta bread, found in the bakery

Olive oil, for drizzling

1 lb sausage (I used basic breakfast sausage)

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

8 oz gorgonzola, crumbled

2 cups mozzerella cheese, shredded

1/4 Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 fresh basil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut ciabatta bread open in half. Place on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until just starting to get crusty. Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil in saute pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and salt and cook until onions are soft and lightly brown, about 20 minutes, stirring often.

Cook sausage in large pan until brown and crumbly. Drain and set aside.

Divide mozzerella between the two ciabatta slices. Then top with sausage, gorgonzola, onions, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place back in oven for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with fresh basil. Cut and serve warm.

7-layer tostadas

Last Thursday was supposed to be taco night. We love taco night at our house. We even invited some friends over for dinner and games and to share our taco night with us.

I was planning on showing off to everyone and making my own taco shells out of corn tortillas. I've done it before...heat up oil and put the tortilla in partially folded over and let the heat do the rest. But for some reason my tortillas kept breaking. So I went for what I thought was the next best thing and made tostadas.

Everyone LOVED them! They were so fun to eat and our kids (we have 7 between the two) kept asking for more and more.

I randomly pulled out 7 toppings and therefore a 7-layer tostada, but you really can do whatever you want. Add more or less toppings. Suggestions are listed in the recipe. We made tostadas again tonight and I used refried black beans and green onions instead of lettuce and it was still absolutely delicious.

Except for the guacamole, which I don't care for, but that's another story.

Heat the tortillas in a deep skillet until lightly golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. They will harden as they cool.

7-Layer Tostadas

by Girls in Aprons

(makes 12 tostadas)

12 small corn tortillas

Vegetable oil

1 lb ground beef

2 Tbsp taco seasoning (or to taste)

1 can refried beans

12 oz prepared guacamole (I use 3 ripe avocados and a Concord guacamole mix)

2 cups shredded lettuce

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

8 oz sour cream

1 can olives, quartered

In a deep skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat until 325 degrees. You should be able to drop a small pinch of tortilla and have the piece rise to the top and bubble. Cook tortillas, one at a time, in oil for 3 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Brown hamburger in a large skillet. Once browned and drained, add 1/3 cup water and taco seasoning, stir and let simmer for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.

Heat refried beans in a small saucepan with 1/3 cup water. This helps the beans be easier to spread.

Layer tostada and serve. I prefer to layer the sauces and spreads first, such as beans, sour cream, and guacamole. Then add the hamburger, cheese, lettuce, and olives.

Other options for the tostada include ground chicken, refried black beans, regular black or pinto beans, jalapenos, caramelized onion, salsa, and green onions.

You can easily made this vegetarian by omitting the hamburger and adding the taco seasoning to the sour cream or beans.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

The other day I went to lunch with a friend and ordered the Monte Cristo sandwich - a ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich fried in egg. Uh, yes please!

But I'm going to be honest with you. The delicious description was only part of the reason I chose to order that. Might I even say, my secondary reason.

The Monte Cristo sandwich immediately reminded me of this....

Which, of course, reminded me of this...

 

Swoon..... if that sandwich was anywhere as delicious...

Where was I?  Oh yes, the sandwich. Silly me. How easily I get distracted with Jim Caviezel is right there for my eyes to see.

This is a "healthier" alternative, and I use that term loosely, because while it's not the most calorie-conscious recipe, it's certainly not the batter-soaked, deep-fried version you sometimes find!

First, using a serrated knife, cut off the crust of the bread. This will help when you need to seal the sandwiches. It also makes it easier to eat.

It's a layered sandwich that includes swiss or other similar cheese, turkey, and ham. I used Virginia ham. I wouldn't use smoked ham, you want something kind of sweet.

After you've piled the sandwich together, wrap the sandwich up tightly in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for half hour. This will keep the sandwich tight and stop the egg mixture from seeping into the sandwich.

Dip each side in the egg mixture and fry, sort of like French toast.

Top with a shower of powdered sugar and serve with fruit preserves on the side.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

by Girls in Aprons

Makes 4 full sandwiches

12 slices white bread, crusts removed

Dijon mustard

1/2 lb thinly sliced oven roasted turkey

1/2 lb thinly sliced Virginia or Black Forest ham

4 slices Swiss or Gruyere cheese

3 eggs

1 Tbsp water

Butter, for greasing the pan

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry preserves, for dipping

Lay the bread down in four columns, three row deep. Spread Dijon mustard on the top row and add a slice of swiss cheese. Split the turkey evenly among the four bread slices in the second row. Split the ham evenly among the four bread slices in the third row. Stack the bread slices together to create a double decker-style sandwich. Wrap each sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for half hour.

Meanwhile, mix the eggs and 1 Tbsp water together in a shallow bowl. Heat a pan over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp butter. Remove the sandwiches from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Dip each side of the sandwich into the egg batter, just as you would French toast, and add to the heated pan. Flip after two minutes, or when lightly golden brown, and fry the other side. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.

Dust each sandwich with powdered sugar and serve with fruit preserves for dipping. Serve warm.



Cheesy Florentine Stuffed Chicken (and a bonus stuffed pasta recipe)

Isn't everything better with cheese? Okay, well maybe not everything. I worked in a preschool for a little bit and there was this little boy would had to have ranch on everything. Literally. Pizza, nachos, even his fruit. Ranch certainly doesn't make everything taste better, just like cheese in your brownies (unless it's cream cheese, of course) might be a little, um, gross.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

My kiddos, probably following in their Italian daddy's footsteps, love cheese. The more the better. They eat the mild cheeses like cheddar and mozzerella but they'll also eat gouda and gruyere.

I'm always looking for ways to incorporate cheese into my dishes. Cheese is easy to use, delicious, relatively cheap, and, in moderation, good for you.

I used to chart what my first born ate every day, just to make sure he was reaching the dietary guidelines for proper nutrition. Now I just hope that somewhere during the day they had their fruits, veggies, and grains, and in doing so try to incorporate good food in whatever I make for them. In this recipe, for instance, I've used low fat cheese, protein filled chicken, and spinach. Dairy, protein, veggies. With a side of brown rice and strawberries for dessert I felt like this might make up for the hot dogs they insisted on for lunch followed by the cookies for snack :)

Mix all that delicious cheesiness together with the spinach. It's quite good on its own, really. I let the kids taste test for their approval.

I know no one likes to see raw chicken in a picture. There's no way to make that pretty. Sorry. But here's a picture of the "pocket" you need to create for your filling.

Fill up the chicken. Don't try to use all the cheese mixture, you'll use it for a pasta recipe in a few nights and thank me for the 2-in-1 dinner idea.

Cheesy Florentine Stuffed Chicken
by Girls in Aprons

4 large chicken breasts
1 15-oz container ricotta (whole or skim)
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tbsp, divided
1 tsp garlic powder
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Olive oil
Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan.

Using a paring knife, cut a pocket in the side of each chicken breast, making sure not to pierce the opposite side. Place each cut chicken breast in the prepared pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together ricotta, mozzerella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, garlic, and spinach. Using a spoon, stuff the chicken pockets with the ricotta mixture. You will not use all the ricotta mixture. Use it for the following recipe. Brush the tops of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and the 2 Tbsp Parmesdan cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear and thermometer reads at least 165 degrees.

Beef and Cheese Stuffed Shells
by Girls in Aprons

1/2 lb ground beef
Leftover ricotta spinach mixture
1 box large pasta shells
1 cup prepared pasta sauce

In a large pan, cook ground beef until browned. Drain. Remove from heat. Add leftover ricotta spinach mixture.

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook large pasta shells for about 8 minutes or until still slightly hard. Drain and cool on an oiled baking sheet.

Using a small spoon, stuff the shells with the meat-ricotta mixture. Place in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Top each stuffed shell with a spoonful of pasta sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melty and the pasta is cooked.

Spinach Cheddar Souffle

So I know I'm only in the early 30s, but I've already started a bucket list. Most of the items on the list are a bit...um...unrealistic? Crazy? Like bungie jumping and touring Budapest and riding an elephant, but hey, a girl can dream, right?

Anyway, some of my bucket list items include a sub-list of things I want to try cooking or baking, such as homemade gnocchi and successfully make a souffle. What? A souffle? Check that off my list!

Souffles really do have a bad reputation. Everyone is afraid to try one because of the myth that they are difficult to make. However, I promise promise that you can do it! I've made this souffle twice with total success and there are only a few simple rules to follow. But the trick is, you have to follow the rules. I suggest reading the recipe once through just to make sure you are familiar with it.

This recipe, though, isn't filling. Especially if you live in a house of boys that expect meat at every meal. So when I made this souffle I served a large fruit salad and rolls on the side. This would also be great as a breakfast (if you're an early riser which I'm not) or for brunch.

I got this recipe from Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa, and if you don't know who that is, we need to talk. She's the queen of the kitchen, at least in my opinion, alongside Queen Giada :)

Your ingredients - now you can dust of your jar of cream of tartar that we all have and no idea what to do with it. Even though the recipe calls for only 1/8 tsp, I wouldn't advise skipping it altogether. Trust me, you need it. Something about helping stiffen the egg whites or something, I'm not sure. But I know you need it.

Making your roux. I love roux, don't ask me why. Something so satisfying about putting butter and flour together and making this great little bubbly paste. I beat my husband in Scrabble once (literally once, he's usually a genius at the game) using the word "roux" because he didn't believe it was a word. He's obviously not much of a cook.

After the roux has cooked for 2 minutes, add the spices - nutmeg, pepper, and salt. I omitted the cayenne pepper because, honestly, we just moved and I couldn't find it. And I can't find my whisk, either, so I'm using the little one that came with my daughter's play kitchen set.

You want to defrost your spinach and get all the excess moisture out if it. Some people wrap it in an old kitchen towel and squeeze, but I love my kitchen towels too much to stain them green, so I put mine in a mesh colander and use a wooden spoon to push the water out.

Whisk in the scalded milk slowly to the roux. You know your milk is scalded when you see uniform shaped bubbles around the edges of the pot. Add the egg yolks, cheeses, and spinach to the roux/milk mixture.

Here's a helpful tip - if you need your eggs at room temperature but didn't set them out ahead of time, just put the eggs in a bowl of hot (not boiling) water for about 5 minutes.

Now you want to start beating your egg whites to firm, glossy peaks. Add the cream of tartar and whisk away. You can use egg beaters or the whisk attachment of your Kitchenaid. I suppose you could just use a whisk but you'd need arms of steel.

The first picture is of soft peaks. When you hold the whisk up, the peak falls slightly. Keep mixing, but only just barely. You're almost there. The second picture is of firm peaks. Now you're done.

After folding in the egg whites, pour into a prepared 6- to 8-cup souffle dish. I love that this dish is buttered and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, the edges of the souffle are my favorite part because they're all buttery and cheesy!

Do you see the circle that has been made in the batter? Ina suggests this is to help it rise, don't ask me for an explanation, just do it. You won't be sorry :)

The finished piece. It's golden brown and delicious, right? And the inside is cheesy and airy and amazing. Even my little ones ate it up!

See the inside? Divine!

Spinach Cheddar Souffle

courtesy Ina Garten

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup scalded milk

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pinch cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/2 cup grated aged Cheddar cheese, lightly packed

1 package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

5 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter the inside of a 6- to 8-cup souffle dish and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, nutmeg, cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for one minute, until smooth and thick.
• Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Cheddar, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and spinach and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, and finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.
• Whisk one-quarter of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to help lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30-35 minutes (don't peek!) until puffed and brown. Make sure all family members and/or guests are surrounding the oven to see the finished souffle. Accept any and all compliments. Serve immediately.