Zuppa Toscano

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs 365 Days of Slow Cooking yesterday and had to make it last night. Luckily, I had almost all the ingredients in my kitchen, as there has been a huge snowstorm going on in Denver the past two days. I did not have kale, so I used spinach leaves. The recipe below is as I made it, check out the original recipe on Karen's blog.

Serves 6

1 lb ground Italian sausage
2 cans chicken broth (I didn't have enough chicken broth, so I added some beef broth)
1 cup water
1 onion, chopped coarsely
3 large potatoes, cubed
3 cloves garlic
salt & pepper
6 slices bacon, cooked crisply and crumbled
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 bag spinach leaves
parmesan cheese

1. Crumble sausage and combine in slow cooker with broth, water, onion, potatoes, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, until potatoes are tender and sausage is cooked through.

2. Just before serving, stir in bacon, cream and spinach leaves. Top with parmesan cheese.

Served with garlic bread

Results: Steven didn't touch it, Henry liked it, and I *LOVED* it. This is seriously the best meal I've had from a slow cooker. Loved it!

Pasta with Smashed Peas

Serves 4 (this is a Rachel Ray recipe, and her serving sizes are enormous! I halved this recipe and we still had leftovers! The ingredients listed below are the halved amounts.)

8 ounces pappardelle, tagiatelle, fettuccine, or linguine (I used linguine)
8 ounces frozen peas, thawed
3/4 cup ricotta
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, pulse the peas in a food processor or blender until chopped but not pureed. Add 1/2 cup ricotta, season with the salt and pepper, and pulse to combine. Drain the pasta, RESERVING 1/3 cup of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot.

2. Add the pea puree and reserved pasta water and toss. Dived the pasta among individual bowls. Top with remaining ricotta, a sprinkle of chives and a drizzle of oil.

Served with spinach salad (mandarin oranges for the boys)

Results: Doesn't sound that great, does it? Yeah, well check this out:



That's right. Steven ate it. Steven loved it. Steven ate almost every bite on his plate! Henry ate it too. Chris and I didn't think it was that great, but it wasn't horrible. I will definitely be making this one again!

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Crepes

Serves 4

1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup vertically sliced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups thinly sliced baby portobello mushroom caps (about 8 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup crème fraîche*
2 cups shredded chicken breast (use a rotisserie chicken to speed this meal up!)
8 crepes*

*note: You may be able to find crème fraîche at your grocery store's imported cheese section. If not, you can substitute equal parts sour cream and buttermilk.

You could use packaged crepes, but they are expensive! At my grocery store a package of 10 was $6.99. My crepe recipe is at the bottom of this post. You can make the crepes ahead of time and store (separated by wax paper) in the fridge.

1. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper; cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Add wine, and cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Add broth and fresh thyme; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add crème fraîche, stiring until well blended. Add chicken, tossing to coat.

2. Spoon about 1/3 cup mushroom mixture into center of each crepe; roll up.

Served with broccoli

Results: to say that Henry loved this meal would be an understatement! He devoured it, said it was "delicious", "really tasty" and "Daddy was going to be impressive when he tried it!" (He's three...cut him some slack for not knowing past tenses.) This meal does take quite a bit of preparation, but it is awesome. You could easily chop and shred everything ahead of time, so you are good to go when it's time to cook everything. I wanted to make it again the next night. Henry ate two crepes. Steven tried a tiny piece of chicken, but only because I promised him an ice-cream filled crepe if he did. Everyone else loved it, and I am looking forward to making it again.

Crepe recipe:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons butter, melted plus more for coating pan

1. Sift flour and salt into large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Mix in milk and water. Whisk egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir in melted butter.

2. Melt butter in a crepe pan or skillet. Hold pan away from heat and pour about 1/4 cup mixture into pan, swirling pan to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Let cook for about 30 seconds (or until it will flip easily), turn and cook additional 15-20 seconds.

Tex-Mex Pumpkin Patties

Serves 4

2 slices firm sandwich bread, crumbled
Several leaves of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs, plus extra for coating
3/4 cup grated sharp Cheddar or Montery jack
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green or red bell pepper
1/2 cup froen corn kernels
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
1/3 cup ricotta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter

1. In a medium-size bowl, mix together the crumbled bread, parsley, bread crumbs, and grated cheese. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a muedium-size skillet over medium heat; add onion, pepper and corn. Saute the vegetables until soft, about 7 minutes, stirring often. Mix in the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook it all for another minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and spoon the contents into the bread crumb mixture.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, pumpkin and ricotta. Add the bread crumb mixture, stirring thoroughly, then season with the salt and pepper. Flour your hands, then shape the mixture into six 3/4-inch-thick patties, using about 1/3 cup for each one. Dredge the patties in bread crumbs and refrigerate them for about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Transfer the patties to the skillet and fry them over medium heat until they turn golden, about 4 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and serve immediately.

Served with scrambled eggs.

Results: These taste pretty good to me, but the boys wouldn't try them. Way too many dishes were dirtied to make this a recipe worth repeating, especially if no one is going to eat them.

Butternut Squash and Leek Gratins

Serves 6

1 (2-pound) butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon butter
4 cups finely chopped leek (about 6 large)*
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

*I've left the ingredients list as the original recipe, however, I bought three large leeks (because that's all they had at the grocery store) and one of those leeks made 4 cups chopped. Go figure. I guess I had some genetically mutated leeks. Now I've got two leeks I need to use. By the way, if you've never used leeks before, you'll need to know how to clean them. This site has a great tutorial, and the pictures make me want to eat leeks everyday: David Lebovitz

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Place squash halves, cut sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until tender. Cool 30 minutes. Scoop out pulp, and mash with a potato masher or fork until smooth.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Melt butter in pan. Add leek; cover and cook 20 minutes or until tender, stirring once. Reduce heat to medium-low; uncover and cook 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

4. Preheat oven to 325°.

5. Combine sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add squash and leek; stir until well combined. Divide the squash mixture evenly among 6 (6-ounce) ramekins or custard cups coated with cooking spray. Place ramekins in a 13x9-inch baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Cover pan with foil; bake at 325° for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven, and place the ramekins on a baking sheet.

6. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese over each ramekin.

7. Preheat broiler.

8. Broil gratins for 2 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Served with: chicken noodle soup, which wasn't the right dish. Make with a grilled pork chop next time.

Results: This was so yummy. It was very labor-intensive and time consuming, which is why I served it with something simple, but it was oh-so-good. Henry ate a ton of this while we were mashing it, but wouldn't touch it when we served it for dinner. Steven (obviously) wouldn't try it. It's got the consistency of mashed potatoes, so I would think most kids would like it. My kids are just insane. We had plenty of extras, which I put in the freezer. They froze well, and were just as tasty.

Vanilla Balsamic Chicken

Serves 4

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; stir seeds into broth mixture, reserving the bean for another use. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes.) Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt.

3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in the bottom of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes.

4. Brush half of broth mixture over chicken; bake 5 minutes. Brush remaining broth mixture over chicken; bake 15 minutes or until done.

Served with broccoli and crusty bread (which was perfect for soaking up the extra broth)

Results: I have never cooked with a real vanilla bean because they are outrageously expensive. Since they were on sale, I decided to give it a try. I don't know if it was worth it. This chicken dish was OK, but it was just OK. There was nothing fantastic about it. Steven didn't touch it, but Henry ate everything and said he liked everything.

Sweet Orange Salmon

Serves 4

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) salmon filets
Cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler or grill.

2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture over both sides of salmon filets. Place salmon on a broiler pan or grill coated with cooking spray. Broil or grill 8 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Note: This spice rub is very easy to make, but to make dinner even quicker, you can make it ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. You can also rub the spice onto salmon before freezing.

Served with orange slices, rice and sugar snap peas.

Results: Henry let out no fewer than three "I LOVE THIS!" comments while eating dinner. I think he was talking about the sugar snap peas, but he also ate most of his salmon without complaint. Steven wouldn't try it, but he didn't complain either, so I'll mark that as a win. This is one of my favorite salmon recipes and I make it all the time. It's a quick and easy meal, that tastes great.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta

Serves 5

1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 medium sized squash)
Cooking spray
6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
1 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 5-6 small shallots)
8 ounces uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Note: when allowing a three-year-old to sprinkle the salt mixture on the squash, be prepared for all of it to end up on the few pieces of squash he can reach:



3. Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender.
Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.

4. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.

5. Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Results: This is my most favorite meal EVER. I love, love, love this dish! I tripled this recipe so I had two extra meals in the freezer. The original recipe calls for 3 cups of butternut squash, but that is not nearly enough. I use about 6 cups. You do what you want, but don't come bitching to me that there wasn't enough squash.

This meal is extremely labor intensive and will dirty every dish in your kitchen. Save it for a Sunday when you have time to prepare it. You won't regret it.

Oh, by the way...neither of my children would even try it. I have no idea why.

Penne with Vodka and Tomato Cream Sauce

Serves 4

1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup vodka
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
8-ounces penne pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Minced fresh chives

Brown sausage in a large, non-stick skillet until no longer pink. Set aside, keep warm.

In same skillet, melt butter with olive oil. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until almost no liquid remains in pan, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Add cream, vodka and red pepper and boil until thickened to desired consistency, about 2 minutes. Add sausage and chives to sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water. Drain and pour sauce over pasta, toss to coat. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese.

Served with a salad

Results: I forgot to take a picture of this pasta, but trust me, you'll want to make it! When the Sopranos was on TV, we used to go to our friend Keith's house every Sunday for a viewing party and someone would make a big Italian meal. This was Keith's menu and it has been one of our favorites ever since. I went through the trouble of giving the boys their pasta without sausage but neither of them would even touch it. Not even Henry. I really didn't care, because that left more for me, and the leftovers are fantastic. Too bad for you, ungrateful children!

Freaky Friday Fish with Potato Lady

Serves 4

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 pound catfish (or any firm white fish) cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup panko (or 2 cups crisp rice cereal, crushed)

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Add fish to mayonnaise mixture, tossing gently to coat. Dredge fish in panko (or cereal) and place on baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and cook 20 minutes, turning once.

Served with instant-mashed potato lady with pea hair and carrot face.

Results: Looks SOOOOO fun, doesn't it? Yeah, apparently not in my house. This is the reaction I got from Steven:



Obviously, Steven wouldn't try it. Henry tried it, but didn't like it and even my husband said "the fish is fine, but it makes me gag." I'll let you figure that one out. I thought it was fine, but apparently, we won't be having this in my house any time soon.

Margarita-Braised Chicken

Serves 4

1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
4 chicken legs and 4 chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dried tropical fruit
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup tequila
1 lime, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small, shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt; dredge chicken in flour mixture.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan in batches; cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Transfer chicken to an 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Add onion to skillet; cook 3 minutes. Add garlic to pan, and sauté 1 minute.

4. Combine fruit, juice, and tequila in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes. Pour fruit mixture into pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Cook 1 minute. Pour onion mixture over chicken; top with lime slices. Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Served with rice. (I intended to serve with green beans also, but I let them sit in the fridge a little too long.) This would have been perfect with a margarita! Maybe next time.

Results: This recipe was FAN-Freaking-TASTIC. I loved it. I forgot the lime slices. I don't know if the recipe "needed" them, but I bet it would be even better with them. This was a very easy meal to prepare. Steven has been sick, so I didn't even try to feed this to him. Henry had the choice between chicken nuggets and margarita chicken. He chose the margarita chicken and devoured a whole chicken leg. He asked for seconds, but when he saw Steven's nuggets, he refused to eat anymore. Whatever, you ungrateful child!