Take-out, without the going out!

Hello All!!! Time for another awesome recipe from Rachael! On the menu today is a great take-out style meal that's totally easy to make at home. Here's "Teriyaki BBQ Beef or Chicken Noodle Bowls". 

My mom and Aunt Marla came up today so I decided to cook lunch for them. I wanted something I could get a small amount of groceries for as well as would be pretty simple to fix. I found this recipe last week when it was featured on Rachael's talk show during her "What's For Dinner" segment. It looked and sounded really good and I had some of the ingredients already in the pantry and fridge so I didn't have to buy too many ingredients. So first things first, you start the teriyaki BBQ sauce. 

You start out by mixing all the ingredients for the BBQ sauce in a pot and place it on the stove. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.  You'll notice that one of the ingredients here is a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger. Rachael Tip: Store your ginger in the freezer. If you store your ginger in the pantry or in a basket on the counter, it will shrivel up and go bad on you. But, if you peel it and the put it in the freezer you get a long shelf life and it won't shrivel on you! So anyway, you let the sauce simmer 20 minutes to combine flavors and then remove the ginger. 

Meanwhile, put your water on to boil in a large pot for your broccoli or broccolini and pasta. I used the broccolini here rather than broccoli. The broccolini is a little bit more tender in my opinion and in this I think it works well. Once the water comes up to a boil, salt it liberally and then drop your chopped broccoli or broccolini. Let it cook for about 5 minutes then remove it and drop the past and cook to al dente.

While the water is coming up to boil, place the blank steak or chicken in the freezer to firm up. Rachael Tip: If you put the meat in the freezer for about 15 minutes, it will firm up and make it easier to thinly slice. You can use either beef or chicken for this recipe. I chose to use beef. When i went to Publix, they actally had some beef that had been cut up into strips for stir frying or fajitas. I did still put it in the freezer and then slice the strips in half to make them a little bit thinner, as thinly sliced strips work better in this dish. While you are slicing he meat, heat a tablespoon of either vegetable or peanut oil over high heat until it smokes. I had safflower oil on hand from a previous recipe. It has a high cooking temp like that of peanut or vegetable oil so if you have that or any high temp frying oil, you should be fine. Once the oil begins to smoke add the meat and brown. Once it is browned, add in the edamame, broccolini and sauce and combine it together. Saute a minute or so to heat the edamame through. The recipe calls for some scallions finely chopped as a garnish. I don't particularly care for the flavor of raw scallions so instead I added them into the dish when I added the edamame and broccolini. If you like the  raw scallion flavor, by all means use it as a garnish. That's what I really enjoy about these recipes. They are versatile and leave you room to bend and tweak them to fit you and your needs. 

Once the meat is combined with the veggies and sauce, add in the pasta and toss to combine it all and then serve in shallow bowls. This one is a real winner. The flavors are fantastic. If you are a fan of take out give this a try. It's always healthier to make your own food and control what's in it rather than go out :) Look for another blog towards the end of this week. Until then, Happy Cooking Everybody!!!




Teriyaki BBQ Beef of Chicken Broccoli Noodle Bowls

For Teriyaki BBQ Sauce:
½ C. beef or chicken stock
1 C. organic ketchup
½ C. teriyaki or low-sodium teriyaki sauce
⅓ C. agave nectar or honey
3 Cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
½ Palmful coarse black pepper
1 Inch ginger root, peeled
 
For beef or chicken vegetables and spaghetti:
1 C. frozen, shelled edamame
¾ Lb. flank steak or boneless skinless chicken breast
1 Bundle broccolini or 1 small head of broccoli
1 Lb. whole wheat or whole grain spaghetti
2 Tbs. vegetable or peanut oil
4 Scallions, very thinly sliced on an angle

Preparation 

Place ingredients for BBQ sauce in a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes to thicken and concentrate flavor a little. Remove ginger root.
 

Place a large pot of water on to boil.
 

Pour a cup of edamame from freezer to defrost. Add meat to freezer to firm up, about 15 minutes.
 

Trim broccolini or broccoli and cut into 2-inch pieces. Add salt to boiling water and cook to tender crisp, 5 minutes. Remove with spider or slotted spoon and drain well. Add pasta and cook to al denté.
 

Remove meat from freezer and very thinly slice on an angle, against the grain if you’re using beef.
 

Heat oil, a turn of the pan, in a large skillet or wok over high heat until smoking. Add meat and stir-fry to brow. Add edamame, broccolini or broccoli and pour in sauce. Drain pasta and toss into the skillet to combine.
 

Serve in bowls topped with scallions.

Not Your Mom's Lasagna!

Hey guys!! As promises, second blog in one night! This one is a twist on lasagna that takes it out of the oven and puts it on the stove top. This is Rachaels "Two Sauce Weeknight Lasagna Bowls"!! 

First up, put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta. The pasta for this meal is a short cut pasta called campanelle. It looks like little flower shaped pasta and works well for this dish because the edges are curled like a lasagna noodle. I've had difficulty finding it and the only place I did find it was at Target. So, if you want to use it you may have to find a target and get it there. If you don't care so much about the pasta, you can use any short cut pasta. Once the water comes up to a boil, salt it and cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta cooks you can start your sauces. 

This dish has two. One is a bechamel or milk sauce and the other is a meat sauce. The bechamel sauce takes less time so we'll start off with the meat sauce. First up, chop your pancetta. If you've never used pancetta give it a try. It's a rolled, cured meat like American bacon but it isn't smoked. If your local supermarket doesn't carry pancetta, feel free to use bacon. Add a couple tablespoons of EVOO to the pan and drop the pancetta. Let it render out for a few minutes and then add in the meat. let it begin to caramelize and then break it up. Rachael Tip: You can use a wooden paddle to break up the meat or if you have a potato masher, they work great for breaking up the meat! Once the meat is caramelized, add in your onion, garlic, carrot, bay leaf, all spice, salt and pepper. Let the veggies sweat out a little bit and then add in your tomato paste. Cook the tomato paste out for a minute or until it becomes aromatic. At this point add in the red wine. I use Yellow Tail Pino Noir. It's usually $5.99 at Publix and works great. But by all means, use whatever dry red wine you have at home! Let the wine cook out a minute and then add in your beef stock. At this point, reduce the heat and let it simmer to combine your flavors. 

In seperate pot, you can make your bechamel sauce. First up rub the inside of the pot with cut garlic. This will add just a hint of garlic flavor to the sauce. Add in the butter to melt. Once it is melted whisk in your flower. Rachael Tip: Don't over whisk the flour and butter. The more you whisk it the more thickening power it loses. Let the flour and butter cook out for a minute and then whisk in the milk.  Season with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg and then reduce the heat to let it thicken up for you. 

Once the sauce is thickened, you are ready to make your bowls!! Toss the pasta with the bechamel sauce. Put a few ladles of pasta and bechamel into a bowl and make a well in the center of the bowl. Ladle in your meat sauce, top with parsley you are ready to serve. To me, this one didn't take like the lasagna I grew up with. But, more than likely, the lasagna I grew up with is an Americanized version of it so maybe this is what a more traditional Italian lasagna tastes like :) Give this one a try! It's now one of my roommates new favorites. Hope you guys like it and until next time, Happy Cooking!!!

"Two Sauce Weeknight Lasagna Bowls"

 1 Lb. campanelle pasta
2 Tbs. EVOO
¼ Lb. pancetta, a couple of thick slices, chopped
¾ Lb. ground beef pork and veal mix or ground beef
½ Large carrot, peeled and grated or finely chopped
1 Small to medium onion, chopped
3 Cloves garlic, 2 chopped or grated, 1 peeled
½ Tsp. allspice, a couple of pinches
1 Bay leaf
3 Tbs. tomato paste
½ C. dry red wine
2 C. beef stock
3 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. flour
2 C. milk
Nutmeg, to taste
½ C. grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus some to pass at table
A handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat large pot of water to a boil, salt water and cook pasta to al denté.
 

While pasta water comes to a boil, heat EVOO in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat, add pancetta and render 2 - 3 minutes then add meat and break up as it browns. When the meat has begun to caramelize and develops a nice brown color, 4 - 5 minutes,add carrot, onion, 2 cloves of garlic, allspice, salt and pepper and a bay leaf. Cook 3 - 4 minutes more to soften onions and carrot bits then stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in wine and cook out 1 minute then stir in stock and reduce heat to simmer.
 

While red sauce cooks, cut remaining whole clove of garlic and rub the inside of a medium sauce pot with it. Melt butter in pot over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk together a minute or so then whisk in milk and bring to a bubble, reduce heat then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, thicken 8 - 10 minutes.
 

Toss pasta with white sauce and ½ cup grated cheese. Serve pasta in individual bowls and top with a ladle of meat sauce in the middle of the bowl for mixing in. Garnish with parsley.

A Southern Favorite...Italian Style!

Hello All!!! So it's been 6 months since my last post and for that I give a huuuuuuuuuge I'M SORRY!!!!! Things got a little tight for a while and I didn't get to cook a lot but finally back in the swing of things and have two new ones for you tonight. First one is an Italian twist on a southern classic, chicken and dumplings!!!

This recipe has a different take on the dumplings part of the meal. The dumplings her are gnocchi, or potato dumplings. If you've never tried them, give them a shot, they're great. First things first, put a pot of water on to boil for your gnocchi. While the water is coming up to a boil, you can start the chicken and gravy part of the meal. In a large skillet, add a couple tablespoons of EVOO and brown your boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or both, cut into bite-size chunks. I used all breast meat for this, but the dark meat will give it a little bit richer flavor since it's a fattier cut of meat, so if you want that extra richness by all means go for the thighs. If you want a hint of that you could mix the two. Once you have the chicken browned remove it to a plate and cover with foil. You don't have to cook the chicken all the way through. Once the gravy gets going good you are going to add the chicken back into it to continue cooking through. After you get the chicken browned, add a drizzle more oil and the butter and add in your mushrooms, carrots, celery and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Once the vegetables are softened you add in your flour, stir and let it cook out for a couple minutes. At this point you add in your chicken stock and stir to combine. Slide your chicken back in and simmer to let the gravy thicken and the chicken to continue cooking. 

One  of the coolest parts of this dish is that you make a pesto to mix into the gravy. While the gravy is simmering away you combine your parsley, garlic, basil, pine nuts, Parmigiana-Regianno, salt and pepper. Two Rachael Tips: 1) Toast your pine nuts before you make the pesto. Toasting them will develop their flavor. It only takes a couple minutes on low to medium heat. When you can smell them they are ready to go! 2) Grate in your garlic or finely chop it and mash it with salt to form a paste. Sometimes the food processor can miss a piece or two and  leave big chunks of garlic. Since the pesto isn't really being cooked, just folded into the gravy, this could cause you to bite down on a chunk of raw garlic which you won't enjoy! So any way once you get the pesto ingredients into the food processor, hit it with the chicken stock and turn on. Stream in the EVOO till it comes together to form a nice consistency pesto!

While the gravy is continuing to thicken, the water should be boiling for your gnocchi. Salt the water and drop in the package of gnocchi. They are only going to take a couple minutes to cook. As soon as they float to the top, they are done. Once they are done drain them off. In a skillet melt the butter. Grate in your lemon zest and mix together. Roll the gnocchi in the lemon butter and season with salt and pepper and cook a couple minutes to brown a little on the edges. 

Fold in your pesto into the gravy and you're ready to serve! Put a few ladles of the gravy mixture into a bowl and top with the gnocchi and you're done!! This one is really good. It's a healthier alternative to the traditional chicken and dumplings and it is a really hearty, comfort food kind of meal. Give it a try, you'll love it!! Until the next one, Happy Cooking!!






Italian Chicken and Dumplings 

5 Tbs. EVOO, divided
2 Lbs. chicken tenderloins, diced into bite-sized pieces
4 Tbs. butter, divided
12 large white mushroom caps, sliced
1 C. shredded carrots, store bought
4 Ribs celery from the heart, very thinly sliced
1 - 2 Bay leaves
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3 C. chicken stock, divided
1 C. basil leaves
1 Clove garlic
A generous handful parsley leaves
A handful pine nuts, lightly toasted
A couple handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 Lemon, zested
2 (10oz.-12oz.) packages, fresh gnocchi
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a large pot of water on to boil for gnocchi.
 
Heat a pot with 1 tablespoon EVOO, a turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and lightly brown. Remove to a plate and add another tablespoon of EVOO and 2 tablespoons butter and heat. Add mushrooms, carrots, celery, and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper. Soften 5 minutes, sprinkle in flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in 2½ cups stock, slide the chicken back into the pot and simmer to allow sauce to thicken.
 
Place the remaining ½ cup stock in food processor with basil, parsley, garlic, pine nuts and cheese, salt and pepper. Turn processor on and pour in the remaining few tablespoons EVOO.
 
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat with the zest of 1 lemon.
Salt cooking water and drop gnocchi in the water, cook until the gnocchi floats, drain and add to the lemon butter and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss the gnocchi 2 - 3 minutes in lemon butter until light golden at edges.
 
Turn heat off chicken and stir in pesto sauce. Serve the chicken in shallow bowls and top with lemon butter dumplings.