Micheal Chiarello Italian Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup fine dried bread crumbs
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Grey salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups water
• Red Sauce (Gravy), recipe follows

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the meat, egg, cheese, parsley, oregano, basil, onion, bread crumbs, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of the water. Knead the water into the meat mixture with your hands. Knead and roll meatballs into about 1 1/2-inch balls. Place them in shallow saucepan on stove, add another 1/2 cup of water over them, and cover. Turn heat to medium, and steam for 35 minutes.
Drain the juice out of the bottom of the pan. Cover with Red Sauce sauce, and toss with a pasta of your choice before serving, or serve as is.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/meatballs-recipe/index.html

Chicken Parmesan

This is probably my husband's favorite dish I make. I'm not a big fan of chicken parmesan, but this is pretty good. It's adapted from here.

I saw Tyler Florence make it on TV, and it always turns out perfect.


4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with 1 T. of water until frothy
1 c. dried bread crumbs seasoned with salt and pepper and dried Italian seasonings (opt.)
Fresh mozzarella with the water drained off
Fresh parmesan cheese, grated
Cooked spaghetti noodles
1 jar or equivalent of favorite spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 450

Put chicken breasts on a cutting board side by side with plastic wrap over them. Pound them until about 1/2 inch thick. Coat each piece in flour then dip in eggs then bread crumbs. Heat 3 T. olive oil in a large, oven proof skillet.* When the oil is nice and hot, add the chicken and fry for 4 minutes on each side until crispy, only turning once.
Ladle spaghetti sauce over the chicken and place a slice of fresh mozzerella over each piece. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve hot over spaghetti noodles.

*If you don't have an oven-proof skillet, just use a frying pan and transfer the chicken to a 9X13 baking dish.

Broccoli Shrimp Pasta Toss

I used this recipe that I found online, with a few minor changes:

1 package whole wheat linguine pasta
5 minced garlic cloves
2 T. butter
1/4 c. olive oil
One large head of broccoli cut into small florets
salt and pepper
16 oz package cooked, deveined shrimp
1 c. chopped, fresh spinach
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a shallow pan, arrange broccoli in a single layer and add just enough water to cover the bottom of pan and broccoli halfway, cover. Bring water to a boil and simmer broccoli for 6 minutes and drain. Meanwhile, remove tails from shrimp and rinse. When pasta is done cooking, drain in a colander. In the pasta pot, add olive oil and butter and heat slowly. When butter is melted, add garlic and cook for about one minute. Toss in broccoli and shrimp and fresh spinach, stir to heat up shrimp and wilt spinach, this only takes a minute. Add pasta, salt and pepper and toss. Remove from heat, add cheese, and toss.

A 1-1/4 c. serving is about 200 calories.

My son, who doesn't eat anything, had three plates full!!!

Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken

This is from "Easy Everyday Cooking".

2 T. olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes.
1 carrot, sliced diagonally into 1/4 inch pieces
Broccoli florets, steamed until just tender
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. angel hair pasta
2/3 c. chicken broth
1 t. dried basil
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan Cheese

Heat 1 T. oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add chicken. Cook, stirring.,until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Heat remaining oil in same skillet. Begin heating water for pasta. Add carrot to skillet; cook stirring, for 4 minutes. Add broccoli and garlic to skillet; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes longer. Cook pasta according to directions. While pasta is cooking, add chicken broth, basil, and Parmesan to skillet. Stir to combine. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Drain pasta. Place in a large serving bowl. Top with chicken and vegetable mixtrue. Serve immediately.

Di's Butternut Squash Soup or Sauce

This is very low-calorie as I don't add any cream to it, but I do like to add a small dollop of low-fat sour cream to my bowl when I'm eating it. This is also gluten free as long as gluten free broth or boullion is used.

1 roasted butternut squash (cut the squash in half, remove seeds, place cut-side down in a 9 X13 with a couple inches of water. Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until a fork can pierce through it easily)

2 cans chicken broth or four cups water boiled with six boullion cubes*

one small onion, sautee'd in olive oil

Scoop out the flesh from the squash removing skin, add to blender or food processor. Add broth and sauteed onion. Blend until pureed. Add to pot. Simmer about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. If it's too runny, boil it down for a few minutes being sure to stir frequently.

*Use less broth to make it thicker, and it can be a yummy sauce for whole wheat cheese tortellini or other pasta

Stroganoff and Sauteed Mushrooms

Matt loves stroganoff! So I developed my own recipe that I think is pretty good.

1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground turkey (or just another 1/2 lb. beef)
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
2 cans beef broth, or 3 cups
1/2 c. sour cream
opt. mushrooms
Cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes

Season meat well with salt and pepper and saute first four ingredients together until meat is browned. Remove from pan, drain any fat.

In the same pan, cook butter with flour, whisking until turns brown. It will look like a paste. Slowly add two cans of beef broth while whisking. Bring to a boil and let simmer about ten minutes until thickened. Temper 1/2 c. sour cream and stir into the sauce while whisking to avoid clumps. Finally, add the meat. Serve over cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Optional mushrooms (I don't like mushrooms, but Matt does, so I cook them separately)

Slice mushrooms. In a saute pan, melt 1 T. butter with 1 T. olive oil until butter starts to bubble, don't let it burn. Add mushrooms in a thin layer leaving plenty of room between slices. Let the oil/butter get soaked into the mushrooms, lower the heat until the oil/butter is released from the mushrooms, then turn them over and do the same thing on the other side. Both sides should be brown and crisp, but the mushrooms should not be shriveled up. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper. Add to sauce or eat on the side.

Serve with peas to get the ultimate Matt-experience!

Creamy Pesto Chicken

This recipe is my Aunt Melanie's, and it is a family favorite! I usually half it for my family and cook it in a dutch oven pan, and we have plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. Mmmmm!

(This has a 3 hour cook time, turn oven off after second hour, but leave in for the third hour.)

10 FROZEN boneless/skinless chicken breasts

1 large (I think she means a family size) can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream (not the light or fat free)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 package alfredo sauce mix
2 tablespoons pesto
1/2 cup flour

Cooked egg noodles

Mix all together and then layer around the frozen breasts in a deep roaster/casserole pan.

(Something bigger than a 9x13 pan so it won't boil over.)

Mel says, "Yes, it's really thick and lumpy bit it thins way out with all the chicken juices!"

Cover with foil. Cook 2 hours at 375. TURN OVEN OFF, let it sit in oven for the next hour.

Mel says, "This is perfect for Sunday dinner if you can program your oven to cook 2 hours and then automatically turn off. Let it sit the final hour of church block and it's done right when you get home." I have found that the chicken often has a pinkish hue. Don't worry about this, if the chicken falls apart easily, it is done.

Serve with pasta and veggies.

FYI: sauce thickens as it cools

Chicken and Noodle Casserole

Matt loves his casseroles.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. milk
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 c. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 c. cooked, cubed or shredded chicken
1 c. egg noodles, cooked and drained
1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400.
Stir soup, milk, pepper, Parmesan cheese, vegetables, chicken, and noodles in 9X13 or 1 1/2 qt casserole dish. Bake for 25 min. Stir. Top with Cheddar cheese.

Pepper Jack Chicken

Matt loves pepper jack cheese, so I put a little twist on mac n cheese, to make him a happy hubby.
2 cooked, chopped up chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper (canned chicken works too) 2 lbs. penne pasta cooked and drained
(opt. cooked broccoli)
Sauce:
4 T. butter
5 T. flour
3 cans of evaporated milk or 3 c. milk (evaporated milk makes the sauce smooth)
2 t. salt
2 c. shredded pepper jack cheese
1 c. shredded swiss cheese
1/2 c. shredded colby jack cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add flour whisking until it turns a light brown. Slowly whisk in milk and 2 t. salt and cook until it begins to simmer and thickens. Take off heat and stir in cheese. Add salt and pepper if needed. Place pasta and chicken and optional broccoli in 9X13 dish, pour the sauce over. Stir together. Bake 15 minutes.

Fiery Penne

From the Classico bottle.

1 package Whole Wheat Penne
2 T olive oil
1-1/2 lbs ground pork
7 cloves garlic
5 scallions thinly slices
1 jar tomato & basil pasta sauce
1 T crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
1/4 c flat-leaf parsley
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta until al dente, drain, reserving one cup of pasta water in a bowl.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil, add pork, red pepper, 1 t. salt, 1/2 t. black pepper and cook until no longer pink. Add garlic, callions and cook until softened, 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium, add pasta sauce and reserved pasta water. Simmer 10 minutes. Pour sauce over pasta, add parsley, cheese, and toss.