One Pot Tortellini with Sausage and Spinach in a Tomato Basil Sauce

Yum

Do you ever get a craving for something that you think is strange?

Well I do.  Every now and then I crave marinara sauce, or meat sauce.  Any red Italian sauce actually.  I know, I think it's strange too.  It's not the pasta that I'm craving (although who doesn't crave pasta!) but it's actually the sauce.  I know this because I can have a delicious chicken Parmesan dripping with marinara and be perfectly satisfied without any pasta.

So this 'red sauce' craving hit me big time over the long holiday weekend.  I mean I was rooting through my food on hand looking for anything I could make that a red sauce would go on.  I only had 1 can of diced tomatoes on hand!  How could that be???  I'm always stocked, but not on the day the craving hit.  Figures....but I did find a jar of a yummy tomato basil sauce in a jar that I had hidden away.  So it hit me that will make a variation of a one pot dish that I love, Ravioli Florentine which is a family favorite. 

Oh boy, no ravioli to be found in the frig or the freezer, but I did find some tortellini.  Bingo!  Substitution time, and with a few alterations on the original dish I came up with a winner!

Adding a nice Italian turkey sausage to the sauce gave it some body and wonderful spicy flavor.  The flavors of fresh basil add a fresh taste that jazzes it up.  Just look at this meaty sauce! 

All in one pot.  Don't you love that?  Plus the clean up is a breeze and I hate doing dishes!  This would work great as a weeknight meal as it can be done in 30 minutes.  So the result is we both loved it, and it satisfied my craving...until next time.

Enjoy!



One Pot Tortellini with Sausage and Spinach in a Tomato Basil Sauce

serves 4

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb turkey Italian sausage, casings removed (about 3 links)

1/2 (24 oz) jar tomato basil sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can finely diced tomatoes

1/4 cup water

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 (9 oz) pkg refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 cups packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped

salt & pepper to taste 

2 Tbsp basil, chopped

Heat olive oil in a large skillet medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds then add sausage using a wooden spoon to break it into pieces as it browns.  Cook until it is cooked through, about 6-7 minutes.  

Add in tomato basil sauce, tomatoes, water, and seasoning and bring to a simmer. Add tortellini making sure they are covered in the sauce.  Cook on medium low about 10 minutes until pasta is tender.  Stir occasionally.  Add spinach and season with black pepper and salt if needed.   Cook several minutes until spinach has wilted.  Remove from heat and sprinkle with chopped basil.  

Chicken Pomodoro

The other day I was surfing through one of my favorite magazines, Cuisine at Home. Have you heard of them?

The word "favorite" is an understatement.  It's more like "obsessed"!  I subscribe to their main magazine but I'm also know to buy every single special issue that they produce.  It's a problem, I know.  But I just LOVE their style of cooking along with the fact that there are no ads in this magazine. 

Basically it's a mini cookbook, and I am also obsessed with cookbooks!  So now you know my dirty little secret.  Lover of cookbooks and obsessed Cuisine at Home magazines.

Where was I?  Oh yea, I was surfing through one of my magazines and found a wonderful recipe that jumped off the page and said "Make me NOW!".  It really spoke to me.  I love Italian flavors and the dishes are usually quite simple to make. The thing about Cuisine at Home recipes is that they put a twist on a know dish to give it a slight variation but the result is outstanding.  Trust me, they really know how to put together flavors to pack a punch and create recipes that are solid and easy to follow.

Chicken Pomodoro is just one of those dishes.  Sauted Chicken is coated in a creamy sauce that contains cherry tomatoes. This is a light dish but it's perfect year round since cherry tomatoes are always available. 

If you have 30 minutes and want a fresh light dinner or lunch try this wonderful chicken dish.  I served it with the Garlic Spaghetti that was suggested (click here for the recipe) which made a perfect compliment.  Add a salad or a piece of crusty bread to round it out if you like.  

I can't brag enough about Cuisine at Home.  If you get a change check out their site, and subscribe if you want.  They also have free eRecipes you can sign up for as well, plus they sell special edition cookbooks online as well.  I'm sure you'll love them as I do.

Enjoy!




Chicken Pomodoro

If you don't like to cook with alcohol or don't have it on hand, you can replace the vodka with an equal amount of chicken broth.

Makes: 4 servings; Total time: 30 minutes

SEASON:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved, pounded to ¼-inch thick (8 oz. each)
Salt and black pepper
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil

OFF HEAT, DEGLAZE:
1⁄4 cup vodka
1⁄2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1⁄4 cup heavy cream
1 cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1⁄4 cup minced scallions

Season cutlets with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. Coat a large sauté pan with nonstick spray. Add oil and heat over medium-high.

Sauté cutlets until brown, 2–3 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to a plate.

Off heat, deglaze pan with vodka and cook until liquid evaporates. Add broth and cream and reduce until thick, 2–3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Return cutlets to pan and cook to warm through, 1 minute per side.

Serve cutlets with sauce and garnish with scallions.

source:  Cuisine at Home.com

Bruschetta Chicken Rice Bowl

Italian Food is a favorite of mine.  Always has been.

It was a given that one day I would travel to Italy as I love the food, the people, the culture, and the history of this wonderful country.  I was blessed to be able to visit Italy with my mom quite a few years ago.  One of the best trips ever!

We stayed in Rome for a week and then we were off to Venice.  Rome is a wonderful city full of history and excellent food.  We were dying over all the food we ate.  We found a quaint restaurant near our hotel that we visited just about every day for either lunch, a snack, or dinner.  It was a family owned restaurant and we became quick friends with the owner, Giuseppe.  His son was living in California at the time, for college, which he was so proud of.  This commonality brought us together quickly and he became a wonderful friend during our stay.

Giuseppe made us feel so welcome in his restaurant, as if we were coming into his home.  The food was heavenly.  He usually had a special made entree which he would recommend and we greedily ate up.  However, every meal started out with a piece of Bruschetta.  Oh the flavors were to die for, the plump, juicy tomatoes, with pungent garlic mixed in, with a drizzle of olive oil and maybe some basil over a toasted baguette!  Oh my!  My mouth is watering just remembering that one delicious piece that opened your appetite.

My love of Bruschetta started there and has never left me. So today I wanted to take those flavors and adding some chicken for protein recreate them in the ever so popular rice bowl.  Everyone loves a rice bowl right?  So why not mix it up and create an Italian one with the outstanding flavors of Brushetta.  Simple, yet tasty.   I made a rice pilaf which provides you with more flavor, however, feel free to use brown rice, long grain white rice, or instant rice.  Anything will do really.  Enjoy this dish as the perfect lunch or dinner in 30 minutes.

Here's to you Giuseppe!


Bruschetta Chicken Rice Bowl

serves 4 

Rice Pilaf:

1/4 c orzo pasta
1 T unsalted butter
3/4 c yellow onion, finely chopped
Pinch of kosher salt
1 c long-grain white rice
1 1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth

Chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt & pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 T olive oil

3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tsp fresh parsley, minced

For the rice:  heat a small saucepan over high heat until hot. Add the pasta, and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted.   Add onion and salt, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add rice, and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let pilaf stand, covered, 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile pound your chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap to an even thickness about 1/4-1/2".  Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and the garlic powder.  Heat a medium skillet of medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil and allow to heat.  Add the chicken breasts and cook about 4-5 minutes total until cooked through and golden brown. Remove from the skillet and keep warm.  Add the tomatoes and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes until fragrant and heated through.  Slice the chicken in to strips or bite sized chunks.

To assemble the bowls:  Take 4 small individual bowls and place rice in the bottom filling up about 3/4 way up the bowl. Add chicken and tomato/garlic mixture.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve.

Chicken Ditalini Soup

Have you ever had one of those days?

You know, the kind where you feel you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and then everything snowballs from there and just goes kinda off.  Well, I had one yesterday.

It started with breakfast.  I was making some new muffins, that just about burnt.  I don't like the flavor of "over browned" muffins, and I'm sure you don't either. So wasn't to pleased with them.  Then I was rushing off to an appointment and couldn't find my keys. That never happens, cause I leave them in the same place all the time...but no, they were not there.  Now I'm rushing and having found my keys in my purse, I rush to the car....Oops!  no GAS!

What else is going to happen?  So, I made it to my appointment on time (barely) and things seemed to calm down for the moment.  So I decided to take a moment and re-adjust my outlook since it was spiraling out of control just as fast as the issues were occurring.  Turning on some music, I decided I needed to cook.

Comfort food was in order.  So I picked up some staples, a rotisserie chicken, and rounded up MGG for an early dinner and a movie.  Soup was in order.  Hot comforting chicken noodle soup, Italian style.  Served with some crusty bread and a nice Mediterranean style salad, the meal was just what the doctor ordered!

It's nothing fancy, but the flavors are hard to beat.  You can make this hearty satisfying soup in about 45 minutes.  Now that's a winner in my book.  

Comfort food is always a perfect way to set things back on the right track.  Trust me, I know!

Enjoy!



Chicken Ditalini Soup

45 min meal

serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, peeled and diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups chicken broth, low sodium
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) ditalini pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
2 rotisserie chicken breasts, cubed
salt and black pepper

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add carrots and saute for 4 minutes. Add onion, celery and garlic and saute for an additional 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, thyme, oregano, basil and stir to combine. 

Bring soup to a boil, add chicken and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 min.  Add pasta and cook an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.

Rotini Skillet Lasagna

When you don't know what to cook and you need dinner on the table in a flash

think pasta....

This time of year a nice bowl of pasta is definite comfort food, and what could be more comforting than lasagna?  Nothing really!  All that cheesy goodness, wow.  Makes my heart flutter thinking about it.

But who has time to make lasagna on a weeknight?  Not this girl.  I guess I could have made one on the weekend and froze it for a night like this.  But of course, I didn't thank that far ahead and I'm craving it now.  So I'm going to make a version of lasagna.  A skillet lasagna.  My version.

There are so many versions of this dish out there running around the internet, but I still wanted to bring you the version that my mom and I created.  

Everything in this dish we already had on hand which was perfect, and made the dish go super fast.  To make this creamy, like a true lasagna, we added mozzarella and yogurt.  The yogurt replaces the ricotta and is healthier for you.  You could also use sour cream.  It leaves a nice tang and works just as well.

The end result is a ooey gooey make-shift lasagna that you made in about 20 minutes.  We both loved it!  Can't beat that for a cozy fall night.  I'm thinking that this is my new favorite pasta dish.

What's your favorite pasta dish?




Rotini Skillet Lasagna

3/4 lb. ground sirloin
3 c. of rotini
2 c of marinara sauce - any flavor
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t Italian seasoning
1/2 c mozzarella cheese
1/3 c yogurt or sour cream

Brown ground sirloin in a skillet over medium heat.  Drain and return to skillet.  Meanwhile cook pasta in a large pot full or boiling salted water as per package instructions.  

Add marinara sauce, garlic, and Italian seasoning to meat in skillet.  Add cooked pasta and stir to combine.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Add yogurt or sour cream and stir to incorporate.  Serve.

Restaurant Review: Panini Cafe

MGG and I love to try new restaurants.  One weekend we happened to go to a relatively new place called Panini Cafe  over in Woodland Hills that serves Italian and Mediterranean food. 

WoooWee!  Did we hit the jackpot.  Their food is outstanding!  Let me say upfront that Panini Cafe isn’t asking me or paying me to say this.  They don’t even know about it!  These are purely our own impressions of their wonderful dishes! 

The menu is filled with wonderful items.  They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Breakfast specialties include scrambles and omelets, French toast, and oatmeal.  We haven’t had their breakfast yet but hear that it is delish! 

We've eaten here several times now and are addicted to some items.  Both times we have a late lunch or early diner after a long day of running around.  Each time we’ve chosen an appetizer that will knock your socks off.   We’ve had their fresh Tatziki with fresh pita bread…killer.  This time we chose their Humus Trio which consists of 3 varieties of humus (black bean, traditional, and edamame) and includes fresh pita and chopped tomatoes and greens.  The Edamame humus is my favorite.  Nice and light but with a zip of garlic.  As I was eating this I said…”I need to buy more of this and take it home!”  Just fabulous!   Just look at this appetizer plate.  It’s rather large and should be shared by several people, or you can try and eat it all yourself like I almost did.  

Now, on to the main course.  We've tried several of their dishes such as Mousaka and the Linguine with Grilled Vegetables and Feta.  Both were delicious!  But my hands down, flip your skirt up, favorite dish has to be the Charbroiled Chicken Skish kabob.  O..M..G!  Even the menu says “A MUST” next to the item…that says it all!

Just look at this baby.  A HUGE plate with wonderful, succulent, marinated chicken, and vegetables.  And that’s not all…it comes with your choice of grain and salad.  We chose the Basmati Rice and a Romaine Avocado Salad dressed with a light lemon vinaigrette.  HEAVEN!

This is my new obsession.  I can’t stop thinking about it.  So much so I think I will order some to take home for dinner tonight.

So if you get the change to try the Panini Cafe, please do.  The food is outstanding.  The atmosphere is nice.  It’s a family friendly place with excellent food.  Next time I’m not going to eat so much food so I can try one of their desserts…they look decadent for sure.

 

Quick Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce

 Need a quick weeknight meal?

I've got just the thing for you.  How does a quick penne pasta with a tasty meat sauce sound?  Good? You bet it is!

This little dish is something I made up to remind me of our daily meals in Rome.  We often visited this family restaurant daily.  They were so friendly and we felt at home there.  The owner became a good friend and would visit with us telling us stories of Italy, and in turn asking about California.  

Such complete different worlds.  He would have a daily dish that was made special by the chef.  Sometimes pasta, other a wonderful chicken dish.  But the sauces were special.  Made with meat and tomatoes and garlic and onion.  Hearty yet light enough to not overwhelm.

So being in the mood, this is my successful attempt at Luigi's wonderful pasta sauce.  It's easy enough to make on a weeknight, but hearty enough for a complete meal with a side salad and don't forget the garlic bread.

Hope you enjoy this.  It brings back fond memories of Rome.

Quick Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce

Serves 4

 

1/2 pound penne pasta

Salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large onion)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Dash red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ground sirloin

2 1/2 cups canned chunky tomato sauce 

3 T shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Heat to boiling a large pot with 4 quarts of water in it. Once the water is boiling, salt it with 1 Tbsp of salt. Once the water returns to a boil add the pasta to the pot. Cook on high heat with a vigorous boil 8-10 minutes.  Drain.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for an additional minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add ground sirloin and stir to break up beef, browning.  

Add tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer on low heat, let cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes.  Stir in the cooked penne pasta. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Basil Lemon Pesto

Time to dress that homemade pasta!

As part of the "Tour of Italy" classes I took we explored homemade pasta and fresh sauces.  You can find the recipe for the pasta here.  We made a wonderful egg pasta and cut it into fettuccine.  So fresh and tender it was amazing!
Today we are talking about pasta sauces.  These are sauces that are fresh, light, and flavorful.  One thing I've noticed is that you don't need to pile on the sauce over your pasta.  A dredging or a small amount goes along way.  You want to be able to taste the pasta, as well as the flavors of the sauce without drowning it.

This first sauce is a killer!  Bring on the flavors of summer with a light and lemony variation of a traditional pesto. (We are referring to the green sauce in the picture above) This version combines parsley and basil, along with lemon.  It is just excellent!  My favorite new sauce.  It's perfect over pasta, but you could also use it over chicken or fish. 

Remember it's all about freshness.  Simple fresh ingredients that take no time to put together.  I'll be bringing you another sauce shortly so stay tuned.   

Basil Lemon Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 Tbs. toasted pine nuts
• 1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the garlic, pine nuts, basil, parsley, cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pulse until ground to a fine paste, about 1 minute. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 cups.

Adapted from a recipe by Sandra Cook, Chef and Food Stylist.