Baked Parmesan Mushrooms

 

recipe by Damn Delicious shared by Amber

• 1 ½ pounds cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
• Place mushrooms in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, thyme and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.
• Place into oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until browned and tender, tossing occasionally.
• Serve immediately.

Tortellini with Spinach, Mushrooms and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen tortellini (You could use fresh too if you are near a good market- either works. But this is a nice meal to make since you can have the frozen tortellini on hand anytime!)
5 cups of baby spinach spinach (sounds like a lot but trust me, it cooks down to nothing)
1 small, 8 oz. log of goat cheese
2 containers of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté until translucent. Add butter until melted. Add mushrooms until tender and slightly browned. Add the spinach in handfuls, adding more to the pan as it begins to wilt and shrink.
2. While the spinach is wilting in the sauté pan, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions (mine only took 3 minutes hence making the pasta at the end instead of the beginning like most recipes).
3. Drain tortellini and add to the sauté pan with the spinach and mushrooms. Crumble up the whole log of goat cheese on top and toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper and Balsamic vinegar

Penne with Acorn Squash and Pancetta

Serves 2 to 4

Penne with Acorn Squash and Pancetta
1 acorn squash (approximately 1 to 1 1/2 pounds)
1 small head of garlic*
1/2 pound penne
2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for coating garlic
1/2 pound pancetta, sliced 1/4-inch thick and diced
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh rosemary
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400°Fahrenheit.

Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut each half crosswise into long wedges, about 1/2-inch thick. Toss the wedges with the olive oil until coated, and spread on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice the top off the garlic head so the tops of the cloves are exposed. Drizzle on a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and wrap in aluminum foil. Place on the edge of the baking sheet with the squash.

Bake the squash and garlic for about 30 minutes, turning the squash once, until both are soft and slightly caramelized. (Depending on how big the head of garlic is, it may take longer. Leave it in the oven while you peel and chop the squash.)

Allow the squash to cool slightly. Then, peel each wedge of squash and cut into large chunks.
Bring a pot of water to boil to cook the pasta. In a large, wide saucepan (you'll add the pasta to this pan at the end) sauté the pancetta until most of the fat is rendered and the meat is crispy, about 15 minutes. About halfway through, cook the pasta, making sure to salt the water.
When the pancetta is finished cooking, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the broth, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom. Stir in the rosemary and about four cloves of the roasted garlic, mashing them up in the liquid with the back of a spoon or spatula.
Add the chunks of squash and pancetta to the pan. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and add the pasta to the squash/pancetta mixture. Toss everything to coat, then stir in the Parmesan. Add a bit of the pasta water if the mixture seems too dry.

Recipe Notes

• Our head of garlic was small (only about four large cloves). If you are roasting a regular-sized bulb, save the other cloves for another use. Or roast peeled cloves on their own,using this technique.

Eva's Notes:

Notes: 1.) I substituted butternut squash for acorn squash. 2.) Pancetta is Italian ham. You could use regular ham or substitute thick-sliced bacon. To achieve a more pancetta taste from the bacon, boil the bacon for two-three minutes, drain, then use as called for in the recipe. 3.) If you do use pancetta, I used a fresh pan for the final steps because I thought there was too much fat to include in the dish. Alternately, I could have just poured off some of the fat and continued to use that pan.

Spicy Hummus

Ingredients
2 cans garbanzo beans, one drained and one not drained
4 tablespoons tahini sesame paste
drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed pepper flakes
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Coarse salt
1 lemon, juiced
Pita bread, chips, or vegetables for dipping

Directions
Combine beans, tahini, oil, pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, garlic, salt, and lemon juice in food processor bowl and grind into a smooth paste.  1/2 the recipe if you have a small food processor.

Maggie's Dumplings

Ingredients - make 5 dozens of them

1. 1 large pack ground pork from Winco, around 2 and half pounds meat
2. 1 pack of dumpling wrappers from Asian Market- the green pack ( They have different thickness, so far, the green pack is my favorite)
3. 1 bushel green onion, finely chopped
4. 2 Table spoons soy sauce
5. 2 teaspoons corn starch
6. 2 teaspoons salt
7. 3-5 cloves of garlic, smashed
8. 2 eggs
9. ½ cup water (maybe more or less, depends on how you prefer your pork to loosen up)
10. Other vegetables finally chopped (optional), if you use vegetables, you might not need water at all since vegetables usually have quite a bit of juice in it.

Directions

1. Put the pork in a large mixing bowl, and add corn starch, salt, eggs, soy sauce, green onion, garlic and water/vegetables. Mix all the ingredients well, until meat is loosen and pretty.
2. Set a bowl of water aside
3. Open the wrapper, and make your dumplings just like the night at Julia’ house.
4. Freeze them for 2 hours on a cookie sheet, them put them in a zip lock bag, and freeze up until many months. Or call your friends up, have a dumpling party, eat them all. :-)

Cooking methods:

1. Dumpling soup: in a 2 quart sauce pan, boil 60% full water, put dumpling in (maybe 20?), bring to a boil, turn heat to medium, leave lid open, let it boil for 10 minutes or until meat is all the way cooked. Take the dumplings out, and dip in the dip, enjoy.
2. Dumpling soup 2: in a 2 quart sauce pan, out 50% full water or chicken broth, put sliced up 1 carrot slices, 1 tomatoes, mushrooms, salt bring to a boil, add dumplings in, cook until meat is cooked, add 2 table spoons of soy sauce, some cilantros or chopped green onions, and your real health and yummy soup is ready. I don’t know how well everyone handles soup, but, this is healthy and better for you. But I understand if you are going the 1 option. J
3. Steamed dumplings, just like the name, you steam the 1 layer dumplings for 10-15 minutes until meat is done cooking, you are good to go. Dip in the dipping sauce you made or bought.
4. Fried dumplings, as I showed you, 2 table spoons of oil in a NONE STICK pan, put the dumplings in the pan, put water in the pan until dumplings are half way covered with water. Cook it about 15 minutes or until meat is all the way cooked. – My personal favorite. If you like a little crispy in the bottom, watch carefully right before the water is all mostly all the way cook out, let it cook a little longer, or you can check frequently until the perfect crispiness you wanted. Practice makes it better!

Zuppa Toscana

Serves 4-6

1 lb Italian sausage mild or hot

1 can evaporated milk (skim is fine)

6 red or russet potatoes cubed

2 cloves garlic or use garlic powder

1/2 onion diced

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 cups chopped spinach

Salt and pepper

Brown sausage in bottom of soup pan. Drain grease. Add 6 cups of water. Add (potatoes leave skin on), garlic, onion, and bouillon. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are done. Right before serving add spinach, when it is wilted, add evaporated milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Bisque

3 Tablespoon butter

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup apple juice

2 cup tomatoes (canned is good, canned with Italian seasoning is great)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup fresh basil or 1/2 Tablespoon dried basil

1 ounce cream cheese

1/3 cup milk

 

Directions:

Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add apple juice, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook 5-10 minutes. Add basil and cream cheese and blend everything in blender. Add milk, warm through and serve.

Yields 4 servings

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

1 pkg. dry Ranch Dressing mix
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 Tbsp lemon juice then enough milk to fill 1 cup total)
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 small jalapeno (remove seed)
1 cup light mayo
1 tsp lime juice
1 garlic clove

Blend all ingredients in food processor. Refrigerate until served.

Note: I use this on salads, tacos, burritos, enchiladas... anything Mexican.

Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce

Salt
1/2 pound orzo pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
12 white mushrooms, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, eyeball it
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half, a couple turns of the pan
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente.

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet to heat up, about 1 minute.
To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.
photo by: Food Network

Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

also known as Chinese Tacos

1 large head iceberg lettuce - cored

2 cups mushrooms, cleaned and chopped small

1-1/2 pounds ground chicken

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

salt and pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2- 1 inch ginger root finely chopped or grated

1 orange, zested

1 red bell pepper - diced or chopped small

1 6-8 ounce tin water chestnuts, drained and chopped small

3 scallions or 6 green onions, sliced or chopped small

3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce (Chinese BBQ sauce in Asian section)

Put lettuce in a bowl and cover with ice water. Place in fridge to crisp and cool. Add oil to pan and heat until HOT. (you want to cook fast and sear in flavor) You can use a wok or a big or skillet.

Add chicken to pan and sear by frying a couple minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add ginger and garlic and cook an additional minute. Grate zest into pan then add red pepper, water chestnuts and scallions or onions and continue cooking and another minute. Add Hoisin sauce and stir to coat evenly. Transfer to a serving dish.

Drain lettuce and place on a plate.

To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves (large leaves will need to be ripped into 2 or 3 smaller pieces) and add more Hoisin sauce if you wish. Wrap (as best you can) and eat. You will need napkins, it is messy!

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients but the chicken. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook for 1 minute. Cool for 10 minutes. Pour into a resealable plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 7 - 8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reaches 170 degrees.

Pepper-Lime Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel

1/3 cup lime juice

3 tablespoons cooking oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme or basil, crushed

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Place chicken breast halves in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade, stir together lime peel, lime juice, oil, thyme, pepper, salt, and garlic. Pour over chicken; seal bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes (if you have time a couple hours is better).

2. Preheat broiler. Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Place chicken on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat about 6 minutes or until light brown.

3. Turn chicken and brush lightly with reserved marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Broil for 6-8 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink. If desired, serve with salsa and lime wedges.

Crockpot Pinto Beans

2-3 1/2 cups of dried pinto beans
Onion (fresh, dried or powder- not onion salt)
Garlic (fresh, minced or powdered- not garlic salt)
Diced green chile (optional) (canned or fresh roasted)
Salt

Rinse beans and pick out any rocks or dark discolored beans. It is best to use beans no more than 1 year old. If they are older, they will take longer to cook. The older the bean, the longer the cooking time.

Put the beans in the crockpot and fill with water until about 1/2” from the top. You can now soak them overnight and then in the morning add onion, garlic and green chile- NOT SALT- and cook on high. Don’t take off the lid unless you have to add more water and then only add boiling water.

You can also turn them on low all night then turn the crockpot to high in the morning. Sometimes the beans will split when cooked this way.

If you like to serve pinto beans with the juice, leave it, if not, drain the beans.
When cooked, mix in salt, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste. Do not add salt before the beans are done cooking because it will make the skin on the beans tough. You may need more onion and garlic for a full flavor.

Note: 2 cups dried beans makes approx. 6 cups cooked.