Butternut Squash Risotto & Apple Crisp

This might be one of the best meals I have ever made.  The flavors were so complex, but really comforting at the same time.  It was the perfect meal to have as the weather starts to cool down.  

Cooked risotto with butternut squash and bacon

Ingredients:

1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
6 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
1 cup arborrio rice
4 cups (might need more)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 small onion, diced finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Marsala wine

Ready to enjoy!

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  While cutting the squash, cook the bacon in a large dutch oven pot over medium heat.  When oven is heated, roast the squash until cooked through and just starting to brown (about 20 minutes, if they are in bigger pieces, then double the length of time).  Once the bacon is crispy, remove with a slotted spoon, but leave behind the fat.  Add the diced onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes or until completely softened and starting to caramelize. Add the rice and stir to combine with the onion and fat, stir continuously until rice starts to brown.  Add the marsala and cook until it's reduced to barely any liquid.  Then you're ready to add the stock (have simmering on the stove next to the risotto).  Add in one ladle (about 1/2 cup) of the warmed stock at a time and stir until it's dissolved into the rice.  Continue this until the rice is al dente (about 20 minutes).  Turn off the heat, but leave on the burner, and add the squash, cheese, and bacon.  Serve with extra grated cheese and roasted butternut squash seeds (jury is still out on these in our household, but I know some people love them).  This risotto with some homemade apple crisp for dessert and some sparkling wine is a heck of a meal!

Apple crisp right out of the oven

Eggplant Parmesan

The other day, Ryan and I were relaxing while Carter was napping and watched an episode of "Best Thing I Ever Made" on Food Network and saw them talk about eggplant parmesan.  It looked so good, we decided we had to make it that week.  We didn't use their exact recipe, but it certainly was delicious and maybe one of the best things I've ever made too.

Ingredients:

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 large eggplant, peeled, and cut into circular slices about 1/2 in thick
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)
3 cups bread crumbs
1 cup flour
Canola oil for frying

Eggplant frying in the oil

Ready to be baked

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, beat the 2 eggs with about a tablespoon of water and the garlic powder, set aside.  On a large plate, spread out the flour and season with salt and pepper.  On a separate plate, spread the breadcrumbs.  Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat (on medium-high) enough canola oil to cover the entire pan.  Start the dredging process with the eggplant- first dip in the flour, then the egg, and then finally the breadcrumbs.  Once all the eggplant slices are covered in breadcrumbs and the oil is ready, put slices in the frying pan in a single layer, careful not to overcrowd the pan.  Cook on each side for about 4 minutes, or until golden and crispy, and take out and let de-grease on a paper towel lined plate.  When all the eggplant is fried, it is time to build the layers to be baked.  Start by spooning on a thin layer of the marinara sauce, then add the eggplant, then more marinara, and finally about 1/3 of the cheese.  Continue this process once more and top with the remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.  If you have leftover eggplant pieces, they will freeze well. 

Chicken & Corn Chili

As for a lot of people, we're always looking for recipes that will be delicious, healthy, but also don't cost a lot of money to make.  I always joke with Ryan that if I were to become  millionaire I would shop every day and make the most impressive dishes, filled with fresh fish and amazing, organic produce.  I would live at Whole Foods.  But alas, we are now a one-income household with a baby, so we need to try to save when we can on food.  This is a recipe that meets all the previous criteria, and it's easy to make to boot!

Ingredients for Chicken & Corn Chili:

1 pound ground chicken (you could substitute any kind of chicken, if you use another type, just chop into small pieces and follow the recipe that same)
1 large onion (yellow or white)
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1 minced jalapeno
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Juice of 2 limes

Browning the ground chicken

Cooked onions and jalapeno

Start by heating a large dutch oven or whatever pot you use to make soup to medium-high heat and add the oil.  When pot is hot, add the chicken and season with 1 tablespoon of the chilli powder and salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the chopped onion and jalapeno, season with remaining chili powder, coriander, salt, and pepper.  Add more oil if needed.  Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium-low.  Let vegetables cook until completely softened, for about 20 minutes.  Turn heat back to medium and add the tomatoes.  Bring to a slow boil and add the chicken broth.  Once mixture is slowly boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until you're ready to eat.  Just before serving, add the frozen corn and lime juice.  Once corn is cooked through (about 2 minutes) serve chili and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and/or sour cream.  

Chicken and corn chili ready to eat

This chili is even better as leftovers the next day and freezes really well too. 

A Few Tailgating Recipes

As much as I love a good burger or a cold beverage, sometimes the best part about tailgate food is the snacks.  Here are a couple recipes that I love to make for watching a game: guacamole and Greek bruschetta.

Ingredients for guacamole:

3 avocados
3 limes
salt & pepper

Chase style guacamole

(Note- this is the way Ryan and I like our guacamole, of course you can add cilantro or jalapeno or whatever else you prefer, but when you have ripe haas avocados, it's delicious as is.  The key is to use the same ratio of avocados to limes.)

Mix together all the ingredients with a fork and mash the avocado until you get it the desired consistency (I like it chunky, but you can make it as smooth or chunky as you like). Delicious as a dip, but also great on sandwiches or even as a salad dressing.

Ingredients for Greek Bruschetta:

2 ripe tomatoes
2 oz or more of good feta cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons plus more for garnish of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt to taste
2 flatbreads or pita bread

Delicious Greek-style bruschetta

On a lined baking sheet, brush the olive oil on both sides of the flatbread and sprinkle with the salt.  Put in broil for about a minute on the first side (until it just barely starts to toast), then flip to the other side and repeat.  Meanwhile slice tomato, feta, and oregano.  When bread is ready, slice into wedges (as big or little as you wish) and top each wedge with a slice of tomato, feta, and oregano. Then drizzle with a little more olive oil and sea salt. 

A Weeknight trip to Rome

One of my favorite things to do is to watch cooking shows, and two of my favorite TV chefs are Giada and Anthony Bourdain.  Both of which had episodes recently that featured Roman-inspired dishes.  To give myself some credit, I think I make pretty decent Italian food for a little Irish-southern girl, so I thought I'd attempt a new pasta dish (can you tell we bought a ton of pasta at BJs recently?!).  Both shows I watched featured a dish called Amatrciana that seemed simple enough to prepare, but really seemed to wow the chefs. 

Ingredients for amatriciana:

1 pound linguini (preferably it's with bucatini, but we didn't have any)
8 oz bacon lardons (again, supposed to be made with guanciale, but bacon will do!)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 teaspoon or more of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup of freshly chopped basil
Salt and pepper

Bacon rendering

Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot and season with salt.  When water is at a rapid boil add the pasta and cook until al dente. 

Chopped garlic, onions, and parmesan

Sauteed vegetables

In a large frying pan, add the bacon to a unheated pan, then turn the heat on medium and cook until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and put on a paper-towel.  Pour out some of the bacon fat, leaving enough for the onions and garlic.  Put the pan back on the medium heated burner and add the onions, garlic, red pepper, salt, and pepper.  Cook while stirring so that the garlic doesn't burn for 10 minutes or until the onions start to soften.  Add the wine and crushed tomatoes.  Cook for another 10 minutes.  When ready to serve, add the parmesan, bacon, and basil back into the sauce.  Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to combine.  Serve with a garnish of more parmesan and basil.  

Finished sauce

An Ode to the Mozzarella Fella

Our version of the Mozzarella Fella's #8 sandwich- chicken with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and their famous fresh mozzarella

Since they've opened in downtown Sarasota, we've been several times to the Mozzarella Fella (although not as much as my mom, who works across the street...dangerously close!). The menu is simple, but the flavored are not. Something as simple sounding as a caprese sandwich is outrageously good with the addition of pesto and arugula. The bread is really delicious too, but the shinning star of all their dishes is their fresh mozzarella, made right in the store. I could just eat the cheese as is, but it's deliciously complimentary to their sandwiches and salads. Unfortunately for us, we live 45 minutes away and they're closed at nights, so we don't have a lot of opportunities to go there. We tried the next best thing, we recreated one of their sandwiches at home.  With the help of buying their cheese, it turned out quite delicious (although the grocery store baguette didn't even come close to comparing to theirs).

Ingredients for "the number 8":

1 crusty baguette
4 chicken cutlets
Fresh mozzarella, cut into slices
1 large onion, sliced 
1 pint sliced mushrooms (we used white button)
Butter
1/4 cup Marsala wine
Salt and pepper

Start by heating a large frying pan on medium high heat with 2 tablespoons butter and add the onions and seasoning once the butter is melted. Cook on this heat for five minuets until the onions just start to brown, then reduce heat to low and cook for an hour. The onions should be completely caramelized. Remove onions from pan. Turn heat to medium low and add two more tablespoons of butter. Add the sliced mushrooms and seasoning. Cook for 30 minutes until browned. Then turn heat to medium high and add Marsala. Cook while stirring constantly until wine is evaporated.  Remove mushrooms from pan. Turn heat to medium high and add 1 tablespoon butter. Before adding chicken to the pan, season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Sauté the chicken on each side for five minutes or until cooked through. All of the cooking steps can be done ahead of time and then heated up before assembling sandwiches. For sandwiches, add chicken, mozzarella, onions, and mushrooms on baguette. I'll admit they're not as good as the real thing at the Mozzarella Fella, but they were darn tasty!

There's No Meat in This??

I'll admit it, very rarely do Ryan and I have dinner that doesn't involve some sort of meat or fish. It's a flawed mentality that if there's not meat then it's not a "real" meal. This pasta dish is so rich and delicious, that you don't miss the meat at all (no really!).  It is really quite simple to make, the longest part is sauteing the onions (which could be done the day before).

Meatless pasta dish that satisfies the carnivore in us all

Ingredients for Cheesy Eggplant Pasta:

1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon (more if you prefer) red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 fresh mozzarella cut into cubes
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)
1 pound linguini

In a large stock pot, boil several quarts of salted water.  When water is rapidly boiling, add the linguini.  In a large frying pan, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and heat on medium high heat.  Once oil is hot, add the sliced onion, red pepper flake, salt, and pepper.  Continually stir for about 15 minutes, reducing heat if onions are getting too browned.  Once onions are completely softened and beginning to caramelize, remove from the pan.  Add more oil if needed and add the cubed eggplant to the pan, seasoning again with salt and pepper.  Cook for another 15 minutes until eggplant begin to brown.  Then add the onions back in the pan, along with the chopped garlic. Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir for a few minutes.  Add the basil, Parmesan, and the shredded mozzarella.  When cheese starts to melt, add 1 cup of the starchy pasta water to the sauce, along with the crushed tomatoes.  When the pasta is done cooking, add directly to the sauce and stir to combine.  Serve garnished with fresh mozzarella, Parmesan, and more basil. 

Ultimate Breakfast Hash

Potatoes cut into small cubes

Every now and then you just need to have a big heaping plate of hash for breakfast (or dinner!). Now this dish is by now means "healthy" in the traditional sense, but if you're looking for a special brunch, breakfast, or even dinner meal, this one is a winner.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, sliced
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, washed and chopped into 1/4 in cubes
1 pound kielbasa sausage, sliced
1/2 stick butter
2 heaping tablespoons of paprika
4 eggs
1 tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet on medium heat, start by browning the kielbasa for about ten minutes.  With a slotted spoon, take out kielbasa and set aside.  Add some of the butter to the same skillet and add the onions with some salt and pepper. Caramelize the onions until they are golden brown and sweet. Remove from the skillet and add the remaining butter, paprika, and the Yukon potatoes to the pan.  Cook on medium heat until potatoes are cooked through, about fifteen minutes.  Remove the potatoes from the pan. Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Turn the skillet down to medium low and add the egg mixture. Continually stir with a spatula and eggs are scrambled. Lastly, add all the cooked ingredients back into the skillet with the eggs and sprinkle the cheese on top. Stir until the cheese is melted and serve.
 

This dish is great leftover, just put in a baking dish and refrigerate until easy to eat, then heat in a oven until cheese is bubbly.

Finished product