Improvised Chicken in Spinach Cream Sauce

What does a vegetarian do when unexpected carnivorous company drops in for dinner? This.

1.5 chicken, bought in a frantic rush while wearing pajama bottoms and then cubed.
2 green onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped spinach
1 tbs snipped parsley
1.5 c milk
3 tbs butter
salt, pepper
cornstarch

1. Melt 2 tbs butter in skillet/pot and add chicken, salt & pepper, parsley and green onions. Brown chicken well on all sides. Add garlic and spiniach, sautee until soft, taking care not to burn the garlic.
2. Add milk and remaining tbs of butter. Simmer on med-low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Turn heat up. Add corn starch (approx 1.5 tbs, but I didn't measure) and whip vigorously to thicken sauce.
4. Turn heat on high, bring to a rapid boil, and boil uncovered for 3-5 minutes to reduce liquid.

I didn't taste the chicken (obviously) but I did have some of the sauce, over potatoes, and it was quite yummy. My mom went back for seconds and my mom never eats two servings of anything. Not bad for a fly by the seat of your pants experiment, I guess.

Holy Crap Bars

Okay, they are actually called chocolate chip toffee bars, but HOLY CRAP they are good! We made these tonight, the recipe is from my Hershey cookbook but I've seen it posted all over the web so I think I am not violating any copyrights.

2 1/3 c flour
2/3 c packed brown sugar
3/4 c butter or margarine
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups Heath toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13" baking pan.

1. Combine flour and sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg, mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 c of the chocolate chips and the chopped nuts. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the mixture.
2. Press remaining mixture on the bottom of the greased baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Pour condensed milk over hot crust. Set aside 1/4 cup of the toffee bits, sprinkle the remainder over the condensed milk. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture and the reserved chocolate chips over top of the toffee.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle the reserved toffee chips over top. Let cool and cut into bars.

Marinara sauce

(Or, as we call it in RI, gravy!)

2 28-0z cans San Marzano Itialian whole peeled tomatoes*
1/4 C 100% olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, peeled, sliced
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 T sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil

*I've used other brands and it came out fine! This recipe is from a restaurant around here and I assume that is what brand they consistently use.

In heavy saucepan, saute garlic and onion in olive oil until lightly browned. Crush tomatoes with your hand and add to browned garlic-onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to your taste and then add sugar. Cook for 15-20 mins on med-hi heat, covered and stirring occasionally. Then reduce heat to low and let sauce simmer until you achieve the consistency of your liking. Sauce should cook for no more than 30 mins. Top your favorite cooked pasta with this sauce. Add a bit of fresh basil for flavor and presentation. Serves 4.

I've tried making gravy from whole fresh peeled tomatoes before and never succeeded very well. This recipe is really easy and I love the sauce. It also freezes well in ziploc freezer bags for later use.

Pizza dough, the bread machine version

1 C warm water
3/4 t salt
2 T olive or vegetable oil
3 C whole wheat flour *
2 t bread machine yeast
cornmeal (if desired)

*This recipe actually calls for white or bread flour. However, being the rebel I am, I tried 100% KA whole wheat and it worked out fine. I've tried various combos of whole wheat/white flour (sometimes 50/50, etc) and it always came out fine. Carlos prefers white so I make it that way these days but whatever you want to use is good. All I recommend if you use whole wheat is that you use King Arthur or something similar; it's much finer than Hodgson Mills brand which is very hard to rise.

Use 1-lb recipe if your brad machine holds 10 C or less of water. Add ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer (I add them...in the order they are on the recipe!!!)

Put bread machine on dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove douth to lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in additional flour to make dough easy to handle.

Lightly oil the pizza pan(s), springkle with cornmeal. NOTE: This recipe makes enough for 1 regular-sized pizza pan. I sometimes double the recipe if Carlos wants his own pizza. Roll or press to fit into prepared pizza pan(s). Add toppings, bbake at 400 20-30 mins until done.

I have another dough recipe that is not for the bread machine. I just need to find it!

Creamy Dijon-Dill Sauce

I usually serve this with the garlic lemon-pepper asparagus, when I have time to make it and I'm feeling lackadaisical about calorie counting.

2 green onions, chopped
2 tbs butter
1 tbs corn starch
1 c milk
1/2 c mayonaise
Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp each, dried thyme and dill

Melt butter on stovetop, add green onions and cook until soft. Add cornstarch and stir until a thin paste forms. Pour in milk and whip until mixture thickens. Add mayonaise and dijon mustard*. Stir in salt, pepper, and herbs.

* I am not sure how much Dijon mustard I normally use... maybe 3 tbs? I just add a bit at a time until it tastes right.

Braised Beef Pot Roast

I made this for my mom's Mother's Day dinner. I can't personally vouch for it, but everyone else was raving and pretending to swoon. The next day I fielded no less than eighteen calls asking for the recipe. Here's one for you meat-eaters.

4 lb beef pot roast
4 large carrots, cut into 2" pieces
4 stalks celery, cut into 2" pieces
1 large onion, cut into eighths
1 cup red wine OR 1/2 c red wine vinegar
2 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves
olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp salt and pepper

1. Trim fat from beef roast and tie with string. Heat 2 tbs olive oil in large pot or dutch oven, brown beef on all four sides. Remove from pot.
2. Sautee onions, carrots, celery in same pot over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove veggies, set aside.
3. Return beef to pot. Add broth, red wine, thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Simmer beef in liquid for two hours, turning meat every 30 minutes to cook evenly on all sides.
4. Return vegetables to pot. Cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.

Let meat rest for ten minutes for cutting, as my daughter reminded me: "That's what Rachel Ray always says to do!"

I served it with the dijon-dill sauce which I usually use on my asparagus. My dad also made pan gravy, but everyone ate the dijon sauce instead.

Garlic Lemon-Pepper Asparagus

My kids never liked asparagus until I started doing it this way. Now we go through about 2 lbs of asaparagus a week.

Fresh asparagus
2 tbsp butter
garlic powder and lemon pepper seasoning to taste

1. Melt butter in skillet on stovetop.
2. Add asparagus and seasonings
3. Sautee over medium heat until al dente, or for about 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

My mom used to buy sweet potato casserole from the deli for Thanksgiving (she is not much of a cook). I spent some time trying to figure out the recipe and I think I have finally got it right. It tastes just like sweet potato pie.

For casserole:
1 large can of yams
1/2 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1 egg

For topping:
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1/2 c pecans
1/3 c melted butter

1. Mash the canned yams. Add butter, vanilla, brown sugar, and egg and mix well. Pour in greased 8x8" or 9x9" glass dish.
2. Combine ingredients for topping and spoon over casserole.
3. Back for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Insanely Easy Spinach Lasagne

This is a really simple meal to make. My kids love it and I can sneak extra veggies into Rayna the picky-eater. I even suffer through my dairy allergy to eat it once in a while.

lasagne noodles*
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 large carrot, shredded
1 cup mushrooms, diced
2 zucchini, diced
2 eggs
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 package shredded mozzarella**
Grated parmesan cheese
1 large jar of your choice of pasta sauce.

* The ones you don't have to pre-cook are easiest.
** Fresh mozzarella is so much better, if you feel like spending the money.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. Mix ricotta, eggs, spinach, mushrooms, carrot, zucchini, and mushrooms in a bowl.
2. Spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Arrange lasagne noodles in a single layer over the sauce. Spoon ricotta mixture over the noodles.
3. Alternate layers of sauce, noodles, ricotta. End with a layer of sauce over noodles.
3. Sprinkle mozzarrella over top layer of sauce and top with grated parmesan.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Gazpacho

I absolutely adore gazpacho. I got the following recipe about four years ago from the Stonyfield Farms website. It comes quite close to what I like my gazpacho to taste like. As a note, you can leave out the yogurt if you wish. I don't always like my gazpacho creamy and it does fine with or without the yogurt.

Ingredients:
1 14oz can tomatoes, skinned & diced
2 cups sliced cucumbers, seeded
1 roasted red pepper, whole, seeded
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup parsley, chopped, garnish
1 cup small diced cucumber, for garnish

Directions:Place all ingredients (except for cucumber and parsley for garnish) in a blender, puree on high until contents are well blended. Serve soup well chilled, and garnish with chopped parsley, diced cucumber and a dollop of plain yogurt.