Pesto Tuna Cakes

Halloween is right around the corner, which means we're throwing our annual party! Yippee for costumes and a full spread and friends!

I'm trying out a few new things this year, and had to get a jump on it early. First I made the pumpkin truffles- my first venture into ganache and real candy making. What a pain- but I'll post about that another day. Then I needed to try out a recipe that sounded great in my head, but I didn't know if it would actually taste good or not.

The idea is pesto tuna cakes. You know, like crab cakes but with tuna... and pesto. Really my motivation for this recipe is to get something filling, finger-food friendly, and green on the table. I was wary about the basil and garlic flavor with the fish.

Well my friends, turns out it is delicious! Although my original plan isn't very green as I had planned. I made two versions of the recipe, one with the pesto inside and one with the pesto just on the outside. The inside idea was the one I wanted- I though it would turn the cakes a nice green, but they stayed a normal tan and didn't have as much punch to the flavor. The ones with the pesto on the outside was really more in case the flavor was crummy so we could scrape it off! Turns out the way to go is a nice combo- put the flavor on the inside for a complete experience and the pesto on top for a lovely presentation.


Pesto Tuna Cakes

• 2 Cans Tunafish, drained
  
• 1/2+ C. Plain Breadcrumbs
  
• 1 Egg
  
• Dash Mustard Powder
  
• Dash Paprika
  
• 1 Batch Pesto, divided (see below for recipe)
  
• Olive Oil

1. In a large bowl, mix together the tuna, breadcrumbs, egg, mustard, paprika, and half of the pesto.
   
2. Form this mixture into small patties; for appetizers they should be about 1-1.5 inches across, for entrees around 3-4 inches.
   
3. In a large pan, heat around 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, place cakes in the hot oil to brown on one side. Flip to brown the other side.
   
4. Remove from pan and spread a small amount of the remaining pesto on top of the cake. Serve warm.

Pesto Sauce

• 1 C. Fresh Basil
  
• 2-3 Cloves of Garlic
  
• 3 Tbsp. (about) Walnuts (or pine nuts)
  
• 1/4 C. Grated Parmesan
  
• 1/4 C. (about) Olive Oil

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor.
   
2. Blend until smooth, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl.
   
3. I prefer to start with a little oil and then add more as it needs to be moistened.

Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto

Here in our house, we love the warm, creamy comfort that risotto brings to a meal. I think I've said it before, but I don't understand the idea that risotto is a difficult dish to prepare. Folks site the length of time involved or the amount of effort involved in "babysitting" the dish. For me, I am going to be in the kitchen prepping dinner for a good 30 minutes anyway, so what's a little stirring and pouring on the stovetop when I’m already involved in cooking!

So not only do I love that risotto fits into my dinner prep schedule, it is also so versatile! You can have your plain Parmesan version or you can kick it up with artisan cheeses, specialty mushrooms, savory vegetables, smoky meats, or fresh seafood. This chameleon dish is happy to be the star of the meal, or morph into a perfect complimentary side.

With all this adoration, I was pleasantly surprised to find a recipe for sun dried tomato risotto attached to the cap of my Bella Sun Luci bottle! We made it and devoured it- the flavors were fantastic together. It was the perfect addition to the stuffed chicken entree and will definitely be on the menu again soon.


Sun Dried Tomato Risotto
From Mooney Farms, Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes

• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
  
• 1 C. Risotto (Arborio) Rice
  
• 4-6 C. Chicken Broth, warmed
  
• 1/2 C. Sun Dried Tomatoes (packed in oil), chopped
  
• 1/4 C. Fresh Basil, chopped
  
• 1-2 tsp. Dried Parsley (I didn’t have fresh on hand.)
  
• Salt & Black Pepper
  
• 1/4+ C. Parmesan Cheese, grated

1. In a large saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion starts to become translucent.
   
2. Add in the dry risotto rice. Stir to coat the rice with oil and let it sit for a minute to brown.
   
3. Pour in about 3/4 cups of broth to the pan. Bring to a low boil and stir the risotto. As the liquid starts to absorb, add in the tomatoes, basil, parsley and salt & pepper to taste. Give a good stir.
   
4. Continue to pour in 1/2 to 1 cup of broth and stir until the rice is al dente and creamy. Personally, I pour the liquid in, give it a stir, and then let it sit for a few minutes while it simmers away. I only stir every few minutes, usually in between chopping something else that will go into dinner. When I give a stir and the bottom of the pan is dry, that's when I add in more broth.
   
5. You may not need all of the broth. Other liquids can be used as well such as water or white wine. The stirring will create the creaminess and the slow simmering will make the rice soft and chewable!
   
6. Just before serving, stir in the grated Parmesan until it melts and is thoroughly mixed in.

Homegrown Gourmet 10- Local Margherita Pizza

When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's... Homegrown Gourmet?! That's right- for the big 1-0 Homegrown Gourmet will be featuring local PIZZA recipes from all its participants!

Sound like fun, huh? I think so too! Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Cooking Experiments is hosting this round and came up with that delightful theme. Who doesn't love pizza? Warm, comforting, filling, versatile... it's so many great things at once!

So when I started to think about how to make pizza local to Maine or New England, well, I was a little shocked that I couldn't come up with a plethora of ideas! I considered a dessert pizza, but honestly I like my pies for dinner. A seafood pizza sounded gross (though I hope maybe another participant gave it a shot!) and there aren't really pizza traditions here in Maine beyond your standard fare.

I gave it some more thought and decided to look for inspiration at the Farmer's Market. Greater Portland has a number of farmers' market, including a large one that happens twice a week here in Portland proper. On Saturdays, the booths set up in a park downtown where cut flowers, fruits, veggies, herbs, cheeses, meats, potted plants, honey, and baked goods are for sale in the fresh air with musicians and artists providing the backdrop. Hubby and I have enjoyed this weekly feast for the senses for a few weeks now. On a recent trip I was rewarded with an idea for this HGG round based on the gorgeous produce available.

The inspiration came from a beautiful basket of multicolored cherry tomatoes. I remembered a pizza my husband used to love from a local southern New England chain called Bertuccis. (Man, I love Bertuccis- please come to Maine!) They had a traditional margherita pizza. It has no sauce, but rather fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella baked to perfection. After locating a bunch of beautiful basil and some amazing local goats' milk ricotta, I knew I had a twist on a Maine Margherita on my hands.



It aome out deliciously! The tomatoes and basil were so fresh and flavorful and the ricotta had a wonderful nuttiness to it that I'm not used to with commercial cows' milk ricotta. The lack of sauce was not a problem as we got plenty of moisture from the veggies. Super yum.

Thanks for hosting Elizabeth! Mangia!


Local Maine Margherita Pizza

• 1 Ball of Portland Pie Company Pizza Dough
  
• 1 1/2- 2 C. Multi-Colored Cherry Tomatoes
  
• 1 Regular Tomato
  
• 8-12 Long Slices of Mozzarella (I wish I had used local here too.)
  
• 8 oz. Tourmaline Hill Farm Fresh Goat Cheese Ricotta
  
• 1/2 C. Fresh Basil

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees as dough instructions indicate. Place pizza stone in the stove from the start to allow it to heat slowly with the oven.
   
2. Slice the cherry and full tomatoes into slices. The large tomato I was able to cut thin, but in order to keep the shape of the cherries, I used between 1 and 3 cuts on each.
   
3. Slice the basil leaves into long strips.
   
4. Work the pizza dough into a large, flat circle- you know, pizza shaped!
   
5. When the oven and stone are warmed, remove the stone from the stove and sprinkle with cornmeal to prevent sticking. Place the dough on the stone.
   
6. Spread the large tomato slices on the dough in a single layer.
   
7. Cover with a single layer of the mozzarella. It does not matter if not everything gets covered yet as there are more layers to come.
   
8. Cover the mozzarella with the cherry tomato slices.
   
9. Sprinkle the fresh ricotta over the entire pizza.
   
10. Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes until the crust just starts to brown.
    
11. Pull the pizza out of the oven and then sprinkle the fresh basil over the entire surface of the pizza. Continue baking for another 2-4 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is melty. You will not want the basil to get crunchy, so keep an eye on it if your oven cooks fast.
    
12. Remove, slice, and enjoy hot!

My Own Italian Rum Birthday Cake

Yesterday was my birthday! I spent the morning at the doctors- a convenient way to justify a birthday sick day- then lunch with a former coworker and then the evening baking and being lazy. It was delightful!

The baking I was doing was for a birthday cake for me. Now, before you scold me or my husband for making my own celebratory pastry, have no fear- I wanted to do it! It is rare I can justify making an extravagant dessert that is both involved and fattening. So it was truly a joy to try my hand at a new dish.

I chose to make an Italian Rum Cake. My grandmother regularly would buy an Italian rum cake for my mother's birthday from La Cascia Bakery in Massachusetts. Their cake was always rich and fancy and as a kid I mostly wanted to eat the buttercream roses.


This was a 2-day process. Yesterday I made the sponge cake and the pasticciera custard. I let the rum soak in last night while the custard cooled in the fridge. Today was assembly and the frosting. In the criticism department, I didn't cook my custard long enough, so it was a little runny, and my buttercream frosting was a little soft since I used more butter than shortening. In the complement department, oooooh-weeee, it's good! So many great flavors all tied in together and it really did look quite fancy.

Happy 30th birthday to me!


Italian Rum Cake
Based from RecipeZaar.com
Sponge Cake

• 5 Egg Yolks
  
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  
• 1 1/2 C. White Sugar, divided
  
• 5 Egg Whites
  
• 1 1/4 C. Flour, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 C. of sugar until a light lemony color.
   
3. In a stand mixer (or another bowl using a hand mixer), whip the egg whites until soft peaks start to form.
   
4. Blend in the remaining sugar to the egg whites and whip again until stiff.
   
5. Gently fold about 1/2 cup of the egg white mixture into the egg yolks. Layer the remaining egg whites on top of the yolks. Sift the flour on top of everything else.
   
6. Fold in the flour until the batter is smooth and no veins of flour remain. During the mixing process you want to keep the eggs light and fluffy- this is what keeps the sponge cake airy.
   
7. Pour into 9" round cake pan. I greased and floured mine and it was a bear to remove, so I can't offer much in the way of advice in that regard!
   
8. Bake for 15-30 minutes until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
   
9. Remove from oven and cool completely on a baking rack.

Pasticciera Cream (vanilla and chocolate)

• 3 Tbsp. Sugar
  
• 3 Tbsp. Flour
  
• 3 Egg Yolks
  
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  
• 2 C. Milk
  
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
  
• 2 Heaping Tbsp. Cocoa Powder

1. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth.
   
2. In a small saucepan, scald the milk. I think this means to take the milk until almost boiling... that's what I did right or not!
   
3. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. When all combined, transfer back into the saucepan and cook over low-medium heat.
   
4. At this point, you need to cook the custard over the right heat so that it stays nice and hot and steamy, but not boiling. You will want to cook it until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Your custard will need to be fairly stiff, but it won't cook down all the way- it will do its final thickening while cooling. This is where I didn't cook my vanilla enough. I went for about 15-20 minutes and probably should have done 30.
   
5. When you are satisfied with the consistency, melt the butter into the mix and then remove half of the vanilla to a bowl. It will be about 1 1/2 - 2 C. worth. Cover this portion with plastic wrap right up against the surface (to prevent a skin from forming) and let cool on counter.
   
6. Back in the pot, whisk in the chocolate. When smooth, pour into a another medium bowl and cover with wrap and cool.
   
7. When the bowls are not too hot, finish cooling the custards in the fridge. They will need at least 3-4 hours, but I recommend just going overnight.

Assembly

• Cooled Cake
  
• 1/4 C. Dark Rum
  
• Vanilla Custard
  
• Chocolate Custard
  
• Light Buttercream or Whipped Cream Frosting (I used this reduced 4 servings with more cream and 2/3 butter, 1/3 shortening.)
  
• Toasted Sliced Almonds
  
• Strawberries or Cherries (optional)

1. Using a long, serrated blade, slice the sponge cake into 3 layers. (That's 2 cuts for those like me who have to think hard about simple math!)
   
2. On the cut sides of cake, brush on the rum, allowing it to soak in.
   
3. On the bottom layer, spread the chocolate custard evenly.
   
4. Place the middle layer on top of the chocolate custard.
   
5. On the middle layer, spread the vanilla custard evenly. If desired, layer on any berries if desired. I like the sliced strawberries from the frozen section in the grocery stores.
   
6. Put on the top layer of the cake.
   
7. Frost the edges of the cake. Press the toasted almond slices into the sides. I kind of lightly threw them on with a cupped hand because my custard was oozing out and I couldn't roll the edges on wax paper with almonds.
   
8. Frost the top of the cake. If you have extra frosting and are feeling ambitious, pipe on a border. This helped my rounded edges gain some height.
   
9. I then made a Nutella glaze (Nutella, cream, hot water) to drizzle on top with a few strawberries for punch. More almonds or pretty flowers would also be lovely.
   
10. Let sit for a little bit to let the rum soak in and the flavors meld. Be sure to keep refrigerated when not serving or else the frosting and custard will run.

Reliving Napa: Creamy Polenta

Adam and I took a week long trip to San Francisco and Napa at the end of May for a much needed vacation. When choosing any destination to visit, we must have two things- beautiful free things to see including nature and architecture AND delicious food! Italy had been our first choice- too pricey. San Francisco was a wonderful runner up. You just can't go wrong with so many cultures blending in one lovely progressive area!

The highlight of the culinary adventure (which is hard to identify with all the great things we ate) was in Napa at a place called The Restaurant Pearl. We both just had excellent meals- simple in their ingredients, excellent in their execution.

When I returned home, I wanted to relive a little piece of that California experience, so of course I went to the kitchen! I figured Adam's dish was the easier of the two to try- Soft Polenta with seasonal veggies and roasted tomato sauce.

This was my first time making polenta from scratch. Wow, so simple! With the addition of fresh vegetables and a spicy prepared tomato sauce, this dinner was healthy, flavorful, and hearty. Polenta is going to show up in the line up more often I thnk!


Creamy Polenta with Veg and Sauce
Inspired by The Restaurant Pearl

• 1 C. Cornmeal
  
• 3 C. Water
  
• 2-4 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
  
• 1-2 C. Spicy Tomato Sauce (homemade or jarred)
  
• 2 Carrots, sliced into long discs
  
• 1 Zucchini, sliced
  
• Handful Asparagus, chopped into 3" pieces
  
• 1 Summer Squash, sliced

1. In a medium saucepan, heat water to boiling. Stir in the cornmeal and continue to let boil over medium heat. Stir the meal regularly to prevent sticking, burning, and uneven cooking.
   
2. The polenta should thicken up to a thick but not solid state. You want to be able to stir it, although the spoon should not just slide right through- it should resist a little. Add more water or cornmeal as you see fit.
   
3. When cooked, stir in the desired amount of cream until it is a consistant thickness and delicious! Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.
   
4. While the polenta cooks, steam the veggies until just tender. You will want them cooked through, but still with a little bite to them. I believe I started the carrots in first, then the asparagus, then the squashes. It only took a few minutes to cook them all.
   
5. Just before you are ready to serve, heat a couple of cups or so of sauce in a small saucepan.
   
6. To serve, place a large helping of polenta in the center of your bowl. Pour a small amount of sauce around the edges of the polenta and pile the veggies on top. Eat each bite with a nice mix of all the flavors together!

Leaning Towers of Eggplant

As with the chicken recipe featured just before this, I found it on another blog that I subscribe to, Dori's The Foodie Fashionista. And like the previous entry, it was delish!

Now I recommend that you click on the link below in my recipe source to view the original blog entry. Her stacks are lovely and tall and certainly not melty and keeling over. Mine however, as exhibited in the photo below, were less that attractive. Ok, they were a mess! I think I maybe got a little too enthusiastic with the cheese filling. What can I say, I love cheese.

The eggplant had a wonderful flavor and I loved that this was vegetarian, but not your standard lasagna. The smell in the kitchen was so tempting too. But when I took a peek in the oven to check the progress of my completed, it was clear this was not going to be a smooth transfer from pan to plate. As soon as I touched the first stack in an attempt to serve it up, it slid apart. Eh, that's ok- we ate them as was and enjoyed every bite!


Baked Eggplant Stacks
From The Foodie Fashionista

• 1 Large Eggplant
  
• Salt (I used Kosher salt, but I think any will do.)
  
• Olive Oil or Other Non-Stick Cooking Spray (Seriously, you'll need this. I didn't bother and it was a mistake.)
  
• 1 C. Ricotta Cheese (I used part skim.)
  
• 1/2 tsp. Basil
  
• 1/2 tsp. Oregano
  
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
  
• 1 C. Shredded Mozzarella
  
• 2 C. Pasta Sauce

1. Slice the eggplant into rounds about 1/4" thick.
   
2. Sprinkle both sides of the eggplant rounds with salt and place in a colander in the sink, allowing the moisture and bitterness pull out of the veggie. After about 30 minutes, rinse off the slices and pat dry with a paper towel.
   
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with the olive oil or cooking spray. If you don't do this, your thin rounds will adhere to the surface and have a critical failure when you try to scrape them off later. Foil is not a good alternative to greasing- I promise.
   
4. Bake rounds for about 30 minutes, flipping once mid-way through roasting, until the eggplant is tender and aromatic.
   
5. While the eggplant bakes, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, and herbs.
   
6. Remove baking sheet from oven after the 30 minutes to start assembling the stacks.
   
7. Place some of the ricotta mixture in the center of one eggplant round. Carefully stack a second round on top of that using a spatula. Continue repeating the cheese and eggplant layers until you are satisfied with the size of the portion. It is not a bad idea to build multiple towers at the same time to judge how many you will end up with.
   
8. Once you have built the tower up to the desired height (not too high- they'll topple!) place a dollop of the ricotta mixture on top and then smother with a nice spoonful of the pasta sauce. If you'd like, add some more mozzarella on the very top for melty goodness.
   
9. Return baking sheet to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes until everything is warmed through and melted.
   
10. To serve, every so carefully with a spatula attempt to remove a stack without it falling over. If it falls over, it's ok, serve it up anyway and eat all the pieces as they are delicious! I served this with a side of pasta and used the extra sauce for dipping the stacks in and for the ziti.

Chicken Piccata

Warm weather is on the way everybody! Which means my meals are going to take a lighter turn and are going to bring in all the fresh flavors of spring and summer. Delicious!

One of the flavors I associate with spring is lemon. That tart and bright flavor just exudes sunshine, don't ya think? Chicken piccata is a great classic recipe that is both hearty and lemony. Plus it has capers- and we do love our capers here at our house!

So this recipe was... ok. It was both too lemony and too bland. I made this a couple of weeks ago, but I'm also pretty sure it didn't make a ton of sauce, which wasn't a big deal since I thought it was too tart! That's not to say it was bad... it just needed something more. Maybe garlic- garlic makes everything tastier! We had this with some nice balsamic sauteed zucchini.


Chicken Piccata

• 2-3 Chicken Breasts, sliced in half lengthwise to make very thin
  
• 1/3 C. Flour
  
• Salt & Pepper
  
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• 1/3+ C. White Wine
  
• Juice of 1/2 Large Lemon
  
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
  
• 1+ Tbsp. Capers

1. Be sure your chicken fillets are nice and thin, pounding them thinner if necessary. Rinse the breasts and pat dry with paper towels.
   
2. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat.
   
3. In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt & pepper and then dredge the chicken lightly through the dry mixture.
   
4. Saute the chicken in the hot oil, flipping once to cook to a golden brown finish on both sides. It will not take long to cook as the fillets are thin- about 10 minutes or so!
   
5. Remove the chicken and place somewhere where they can stay warm, such as a toaster oven.
   
6. In the saute pan, add in the wine, lemon juice, and butter. Bring to a very gentle boil, reducing the liquid down. Add in the capers towards the end to heat through.
   
7. Serve chicken with a drizzle of the sauce and a nice veggie side dish and maybe a nice crusty bread or side of noodles.

Fake Spinach Alfredo

Mmmm, alfredo sauce... so tasty, so bad for you! Cream, cheese, pasta- quite the indulgent meal. And I just can't justify making it for an average Tuesday night! I had a plan to make soup mid-week this week, but hubby groaned at the notion. He was slaving over a school project and I could tell soup just wasn't going to motivate him into the wee hours as he continued working.

The man loves pasta, so I went out to the web for a pasta recipe with the stuff on hand. That would be no tomatoes, no tomato sauce, not a lot of meat, and most importantly not a lot of time to whip something up before it would be 10 PM! I did however have ricotta cheese, fresh spinach, an abundance of cans of mushroom pieces, and pasta.

This meal was really tasty! Adam liked it more than I, but I would certainly make it again given it's relative health and the closeness to true alfredo. Some grilled chicken slices would have really capped this meal off! And the best was that Adam was thrilled at the last minute change- I love keeping my man full and happy.


Fake Spinach & Mushroom Alfredo Fettuccine
Inspired by AllRecipes.com

• 1 Box Fettuccine Pasta
  
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
  
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Butter
  
• 2 Tbsp. Flour
  
• 1-2 C. Milk
  
• 1+ C. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
  
• 1/2 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese
  
• 1/2 C. Grated Romano Cheese
  
• 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
  
• 1 C. Fresh Spinach, chopped
  
• 1 Small Can Mushroom Stems and Pieces, drained

1. Boil up a pot of water and cook pasta. When done, drain and keep warm for serving.
   
2. In a large straight sided saute pan, melt butter and saute garlic over medium heat.
   
3. Mix in flour and stir until smooth and bubbly. Be sure not to burn the flour mixture.
   
4. Slowly pour in the milk and whisk. Bring to a boil, continuing to stir until the white sauce thickens.
   
5. Add in ricotta cheese and stir until cheese melts into sauce and becomes smooth. Stir in Parmesan and Romano cheese.
   
6. Add black pepper to taste. Stir in spinach and mushrooms. Heat through.
   
7. Spoon hot alfredo sauce mixture over pasta and enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant Rounds

I really do try to incorporate more vegetables into our diet. It's not that I have a problem with veggies, it's just I'm not as accustomed to cooking with them. Meat and pasta are a lot easier as the main stars.

I bought this eggplant with the intention of making eggplant rollatinis. Unfortunately a chunk of it started to rot and we were out of pasta sauce. (Hubby goes through sauce like water- that man of mine loves pasta!) Then ensued the quick scramble to come up with something to use up the eggplant before it goes bad and doesn't involved tomato sauce.

This is what I came up with- roasted eggplant rounds. They were pretty good! Some of the rounds got a little soggy, and I could have used less sausage (ok, fake sausage). But it was very good over cous cous and we still got the eggplant flavor.

I should note that I hope I get this recipe right- I made it over a week ago now from when I'm typing this and sometimes I forget what the heck I did. Sorry in advance!


Roasted Eggplant Rounds
Inspired by AllRecipes.com

• 1 Large Eggplant
  
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
  
• 1 Clove of Garlic, minced (I'm guessing I used garlic- I use garlic in everything.)
  
• 1 Tomato, chopped
  
• 1 C. Cooked Sausage Meat (I used our generic soy sausage stuff.)
  
• Oregano, Basil, Black Pepper and possibly other Italian type spices
  
• 1/2 C. (or less) Shred Mozzarella Cheese
  
• Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
   
2. Discard the very top and bottom of the eggplant. Slice 1/2"-1/4" rounds starting from the top. You'll want around 18 rounds. The remaining base should be chopped into cubes.
   
3. On a cookie sheet, place rounds in a single layer. I did not treat the baking pan and probably should have lightly rubbed olive oil on it to keep the rounds from sticking. Bake eggplant for about 15 minutes.
   
4. In a small saute pan, heat some olive oil and saute the onions and garlic. When tender, add in tomato, eggplant chunks, and spices. Simmer until eggplant is tender.
   
5. When done, put into a bowl or container on the side. Stir in the cooked sausage.
   
6. When eggplant is baked, remove from oven. Spoon small amount of the sausage mixture onto each round. Sprinkle a pinch of mozzarella onto each round and return to oven for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted.
   
7. Remove from oven and grate fresh Parmesan on each round. Serve over jasmine rice or cous cous.

Another Borrowed Recipe - Florentine Fettuccine Carbonara

As I did the previous evening, Thursday night I finally made another recipe from my starred Google Reader list. There are lots of interesting meals that I see from other Nestie ladies, but a lot of them are desserts, casseroles, or pork/ beef dishes I'm just not inclined to make. (For the record, I love pork, but hubby Adam thinks he doesn't so I get an earful any time I make it and it's just not worth the effort to hear all that complaining. As for beef, it's my nemesis; I stink at cooking it and usually it comes out like shoe leather. Ick. I avoid it usually.)

So one of the recipes that caught my eye and made it to the reserved list was Michelle's Pasta Carbonara. Now I have to laugh because Michelle got this recipe from Cooking Light. I don't know what they are smoking over there at Cooking Light, but bacon, cheese, and egg do NOT a light and healthy meal make! I mean, I doubled the pasta from the original (see Michelle's post of the original recipe) and I did not double the bacon but it was still plenty good. I can't even imagine doubling the bacon and expecting this to be considered health food! But I digress...

Don't let the seemingly raw egg scare you away from this recipe. When you add the cheese and egg sauce into the hot pasta, it cooks up and creates a delicious creamy coating that matches perfectly with the bacon. And the wilted spinach really adds a nice tang to the dish that might otherwise be just too much richness.


Florentine Fettuccine Carbonara

• 16 oz. Package Dried Fettuccine
  
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• 1 1/2 - 2 C. Coarsely Chopped Raw Spinach
  
• 6 Slices of Bacon (should be pancetta, but that wasn't in my fridge)
  
• 1 Med Onion, chopped
  
• 2-3 Tbsp. White Cooking Wine
  
• 1 C. Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Dried Parsley (fresh would have been better)
  
• 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
  
• 2 Dashes Salt

1. Prepare pasta according to directions. I started the water boiling right when I started the rest of this meal and the timing was perfect to drop the pasta in the other pan while freshly drained and still plenty wet. If pasta is ready far in advance, reserve 1-2 Tbsp. of the cooking liquid and keep drained pasta warm.
   
2. In a very large skillet or a stock pot (large to mix the pasta in), heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add in the spinach and 1 dash of salt. Cook until just wilted then remove to a bowl and set aside.
   
3. Place chopped bacon into the pot and cook until crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Stir the meat occasionally to ensure even crisping. When cooked, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside in the same bowl as the spinach. Dispose of all but 2 tsp of the bacon fat from the pot.
   
4. Saute the onions in the remaining bacon fat until soft, stirring often. As onions are cooking, add in the dried parsley.
   
5. Add in the white wine and cook the onions for another minute.
   
6. As the onions cook, whisk together the Parmesan, eggs, pepper and dash of salt to create your sauce.
   
7. At this point hopefully your pasta is cooked and ready to go! Bring the heat on the onion pot to low. First add the spinach and bacon back into the pot with the onions. Next add in the wet pasta or the drained pasta and reserved liquid. Stir the pasta to mix in the onions, bacon, and spinach.
   
8. With the temperature of the pot cooled to warm, add in the well mixed egg sauce and stir it quickly to coat the pasta. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Calzones from my Kitchen

I have finally gotten to making some items from my starred Google Reader recipes. I have a whole bunch of delicious recipes from all the lovely ladies of the Nest What's Cooking board. Tonight I took inspiration from Renea and her calzones. I made a few modifications, but the basic idea is there.

We've decided this is going to be added to our quick, easy, and delish meals for the weekdays. We used spinach & mushroom and then ham & tomato as the two sets of fillings, but these would be excellent with meatball slices, peppers, fresh olives, capers, or sausage as well!



Calzones from My Oven

• 1 Ball of Pizza Dough, premade from grocery store
  
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  
• Tomato, chopped
  
• Deli Ham, sliced
  
• Spinach, chopped
  
• Mushrooms, sliced
  
• Olive oil
  
• Cornmeal
  
• Tomato Sauce (for dipping)

1. Pre-heat oven to tempurature according to pizza dough instructions.
   
2. Split the pizza dough into 2 balls. Flatten one of the halves into a circular shape on a clean surface. You may want to lightly flour the surface to prevent sticking.
   
3. On one side of the dough, pile in cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and then more cheese.
   
4. Fold the dough over and press the edges together, sealing tightly. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the top surface of the calzone and place on a baking sheet or pizza stone, dusted with cornmeal.
   
5. Repeat process for ham and tomato calzone.
   
6. Bake for suggested baking time until calzone is golden brown, probably about 15 minutes.
   
7. Serve hot with marinara pasta sauce for dipping.

Homegrown Gourmet - Round 1 Entry!

Yippee for local food!!!


I'm hosting a new event called Homegrown Gourmet that celebrates local food traditions and creativity in using native ingredients in recipes. I chose Sandwiches as the first topic for cooking. I chose this and then realized I had no ideas for my own Maine!

There of course was the option of lobster rolls- yawn. There are also these disturbing bright red hot dogs, but I wasn't about to stuff my own scarlet sausages! After doing a little research, I found that Maine has its own original Italian sub that came about in the early 1900's. Some Italian guy named Amato worked down by the docks at the water and sold bread to the workers. The dock workers requested something with a little more substance like meat, cheese, and veggies. And so the sandwich was born! Amato's is now a local chain that specializes in the yummy lunchtime meal. (Confession- I've never been to Amato's as it looks cheesy to me and before this event I thought their claims to "real Maine Italians" sounded like a cornball slogan.)

So what makes this different than your hoagie, submarine, grinder, or other similar meat n' cheese in bread deal? Well, there are no condiments besides olive oil, it includes sour pickles and Greek olives, and there is no lettuce. The meat and cheese are minimal too- it's really all about the veggies. You can read more about them at MaineToday.com.

I don't like pickles and I've never put salt or pepper on a sandwich, but hubby and I ate ours just like the original recipe. It was really really tasty! The homemade bread was perfect and all the flavors went really well together. So without further ado, the real Maine Italian!!


Real Maine Italian Sandwich

• Soft White Sandwich Roll
  
• Boiled Ham
  
• American Cheese
  
• Onions, chopped
  
• Green Peppers, chopped
  
• Tomato, chopped
  
• Kalmata Olives, chopped
  
• Sour Pickles, chopped
  
• Olive Oil
  
• Salt & Pepper

1. Slice your roll vertically along the top.
   
2. Lay the cheese and ham along the sides of the bread. (This keeps the oil from completely soaking in!)
   
3. Pile on the veggies in the middle. Drizzle some olive oil and shake on salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Roasted Zucchini Boats

Every time I've seen my neighbor Jessie this summer, she has forced zucchini from her garden on me- she must have quite the prolific crop over the fence! It is delicious and it's giving me great motivation to a) find creative recipes and b) actually eat more veggies! The latest batch included a monster of a squash- this zucchini was literally over 1 foot long- hoo doggie!

Jessie made a good suggestion to use it for stuffing since it probably had lost some of it's baby sweetness. I thought it was a fantastic suggestion and went on the hunt for inspiration. A lot of recipes called for ground beef, turkey or sausage meat. My father gave me this giant tub of fake sausage meat that his Boy Scout troop couldn't use. My brother is a vegetarian and swears it's good even if it's a little scary.

This is the industrial tub of the stuff:


That's right it says "Imitation Sausage #10, Flavored Textured Vegetable Protein" and it looks like cat kibble. Mmmmm-mmmm! Honestly, it does taste like sausage, but I'd only ever use it in something else like omelets, soups, meat sauces, etc. And I'd never show them the canister first! Ha! It works for vegetarians though and you can easily sub in real meat in this recipe.

In the end, the baked zucchinis were delicious and it was nice having a warm, healthy, filling meal.


Roasted Zucchini Boats

• 1 Large Zucchini
  
• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 2/3-3/4 C. Cooked Sausage Meat (real or fake!)
  
• 1/2 C. Breadcrumbs
  
• 1/3 C. Parmesan
  
• 1/4 C. Shred Mozzarella
  
• 1 Tbsp. Dried Oregano
  
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Dried Basil
  
• 1/2 tsp. Fresh Rosemary
  
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme
  
• 1 C. Pasta Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Cut off the ends of the zucchini. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise.
   
3. Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out in the interior of the zucchini and place what comes out into a large bowl. Leave about 1/4" of the walls on the zucchini, making a hollow boat shape.
   
4. In the large bowl, add in all of the remaining ingredients except the pasta sauce. Mix well, creating the stuffing.
   
5. Place each zucchini half into a 9" x 13" baking dish. Drizzle insides with olive oil and salt if desired. Fill the boats with the stuffing, filling high and round. Cover stuffing equally with the pasta sauce.
   
6. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until the zucchini is tender and stuffing is warm throughout.

100% Scratch Pizza

My kid brother is up visiting for the weekend. He's great; I really enjoy his company even though we are 8 years apart. He is a fish eating vegetarian so when I opted for dinner in as the evening's activities tonight, I had to keep meat off the menu.

I suggested a bunch of things that I thought might be something new to try to make and delicious. Both the Adams- brother and husband- voted for pizza. We went all out with from scratch dough, from scratch sauce, and fun fresh toppings. The crust was a little extra crunchy and substantial. The Kitchen Aid recipe we used was good, but nothing special. Some garlic powder and Parmesan sprinkled in might have given it that extra kick. We also should have done 2 thin crusts, rather than one giant thick crust.

The sauce was tasty, but it took a lot of fudging since we made it from straight up fresh tomatoes- it was too fresh tasting until we loaded it with spices. For all the effort, jarred might just be easier. It was nice knowing what went into it though- no extra sugars or preservatives. All in all it was fun baking and cooking with my brother though- and that was the point of the evening!


Scratch Pizza
Dough
From Kitchen Aid Manual

• 1 Package Active Yeast
  
• 1 C. Warm Water
  
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
  
• 2 tsp. Olive Oil
  
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 C. Flour
  
• Cornmeal

1. Dissolve yeast in water in the warmed Kitchen Aid bowl.
   
2. Add in the oil, salt, and 2 1/2 C. flour and mix for 1 minute on speed 2 with the dough hook. While continuing to stir, add in the remaining flour 1/2 C. at a time.
   
3. Continue to mix until the dough makes a clean ball and then let it knead for 2 minutes.
   
4. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise, covered, about an hour until it doubles in size.
   
5. When risen, punch the dough down. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. I cook pizza with my pizza stone, and per advice from my friend Dianna, my guest blogger below, I let the stone heat up good and hot in the oven while it preheats. This makes for a crispy, well cooked crust.
   
6. Work the dough into a pizza crust shape. (Ours was misshapen!) Sprinkle cornmeal onto the hot pizza stone and gently lay the dough on the stone.
   
7. If desired, for a crispy crust, prebake the dough for 10 minutes in the hot oven. Remove and add toppings- sauce, cheese, goodies.
   
8. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and slice. Let sit for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Sauce

• 3 Ripe Tomatoes, cut into quarters or large chunks
  
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• Fresh Basil
  
• 1 Clove Garlic, crushed
  
• 1 Can Tomato Paste
  
• Spices to taste: Oregano, Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Basil, Garlic Powder
  
• Pinch of White Sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

1. In a blender, add in all ingredients and mix on Food Processor or Puree mode to make even consistency of sauce. Sauce should be thick, but not so thick that you can't spread it nicely on a pizza.
   
2. Continue mixing and tasting until you get the flavor to your liking. Let sit for a little while to let flavors blend.

Tarragon Risotto with Caramelized Onions & Chicken

As can be seen by the lack of posting in the last week, I've been slacking in the kitchen. I just haven't had the inspiration, ya know? I have to get back in the swing, so I opted for risotto tonight. Usually I do mushroom or beet or sweet potato risotto, but I didn't have/ want those things. I searched allrecipes.com for some inspiration and came up with the following meal. The chicken really made the recipe- without it the recipe would be bland, but overall it wasn't super fantastic- just quite good. Next time I might step up the tarragon (fresh rather than dried) and more parmesan.


Tarragon Risotto with Caramelized Onions & Chicken
Recipe inspired by allrecipes.com

• 1 or 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
  
• 1 Onion
  
• 2-4 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
  
• Olive Oil
  
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic
  
• 1 1/2 C. Arborio (Risotto) Rice
  
• 1/2 C. White Wine
  
• 5-6 C. Chicken Broth, heated
  
• 1-2 tsp. Dried Tarragon
  
• Dashes of Basil, Thyme, and Black Pepper
  
• 1/4 C. Grated Parmesan
  
• 1/4 C. Frozen Peas

1. Cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces. Put chicken pieces in a microwavable covered container or in a stove top pan, covering meat with water. Cook meat until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on high if using microwave. Drain and set aside.
   
2. Slice onion into very fine strips. In a small saute pan with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, cook onion over medium heat for approx. 15 minutes to caramelize. Onions will have a nice brown color, but will not be burnt.
   
3. Pour balsamic vinegar onto onions, stirring. Allow to sit until later.
   
4. Crush and chop garlic cloves. In a large saucepan, heat 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add almost all of the garlic to the saucepan to saute. (The remaining garlic can be added to the water to cook the chicken. Sorry, I know that's out of order.)
   
5. Before the garlic burns, add in the rice and stir to coat with olive oil. Turn heat down to medium/ medium-low. Allow to sit for about 1 minute on the heat, stirring often.
   
6. Pour in wine and stir. The wine should simmer and bubble and start to cook off. As the liquid diminishes, pour in chicken broth about 1/2 C. at a time, stirring often.
   
7. Continue to simmer, stir, and add liquid until the rice is al dente & creamy, about 30-45 minutes. Half way through cooking, stir in herbs. Just before finished cooking, stir in chicken and peas.
   
8. When completely cooked, stir in parmesan cheese, getting it melty. Serve hot, adding more parmesan on top if desired.

Happy Birthday to Me

Last Wednesday was my birthday- it was very nice. Hubby Adam got me a fancy super sharp Japanese santoku knife and (per my instructions) made dinner and dessert. I had belly dancing class that night, so he opted for a quick and classic meal that we refer to as "Tomato Basil Mozzarella." It's as easy as it sounds- and it's perfect for light, fast, and satisfying eating.

And for dessert, it could be nothing but chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting. He was instructed to use the family favorite Hershey's Perfect Chocolate cake recipe and to make frosting that was not vanilla or mint. They came out perfectly- although it took a little assistance from myself to get the orange flavor. It was a fantastic evening!


Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella

• Fresh Tomatoes, sliced
  
• Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
  
• Fresh Basil, whole washed leaves
  
• Fresh Italian/ French Bread loaf, sliced
  
• Italian Ham Slices (optional)
  
• Olive Oil

1. Take a slice of bread and dip it in olive oil, not drenching it. Pile the other yummy items on and eat!

The Perfect Chocolate Cake
Courtesy of the Hershey Cocoa Box
Recipe at Hershey's Website

Orange Buttercream Frosting
Courtesy of Betty Crocker

• 1 C. Butter, softened
  
• 3 C. Powdered Sugar
  
• 1-2 Tbsp. Milk
  
• 1-2 Tbsp. Orange Juice
  
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
  
• Food Coloring (optional)

1. In a large bowl, blend the sugar, vanilla, and butter, beating until consistent. Add milk and OJ as needed to smooth the frosting and add until smooth. Add in coloring if desired.

Pizza! Pizza!

Mmmm. Pizza! I love this pizza so much, I hardly ever order out. This is a crispy crust pizza and the saltiness of the sausage is delightful! Tonight, I used leftover homemade pasta sauce -- on the pasta, it had been great. On the pizza, it’s too sweet. Usually, I use Trader Joe’s Marinara; it has the right flavors and is one of the few sauces that isn’t too watery (watery pizza, gross!). The key to this pizza is the hot, hot stone. The longer you leave it in the oven, the crispier the crust.

Chicken Sausage Pizza with Crispy Crust

• 1 package store-bought pizza dough
• 1 chicken with sun-dried tomato sausage (fully cooked), quartered & diced
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin rounds
• 3 tbsp pasta sauce
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into rounds
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Flour (for rolling out dough)
• ½ tsp cornmeal
• Dash oregano

Place pizza stone on middle rack and pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. The stone needs to be hot! Leave the stone in the oven for 30-45 mins. Remove pizza dough from fridge and allow to come to room temperature (30-60 mins, or as long as you can stand). Having the dough at room temperature makes it easier to roll out.

Meanwhile, get started on the toppings. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onions and sautee 15 mins, until just starting to caramelize. Add diced sausage to onions and cook for another 5 mins, until sausage starts to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Coat the dough, counter and rolling pin with flour and roll out until it’s almost the size of your pizza stone (I hate this part). Don’t worry if it’s not a perfect circle. Using your fingers, roll 1” of the edge back to the center, forming a thick crust. Dust the pizza stone with cornmeal and transfer the rolled dough to the stone. Cook in oven (without any toppings) for 10 mins, until crust turns lightly brown. Note: for reasons I don’t understand, my dough always gets lots of big bubbles in it. I don’t know why this happens, but I just keep poking them with a fork.

Remove pizza from oven and apply toppings; sauce first, then onions & chicken, then cheese. Sprinkle with oregano and bake for another 10 mins, until cheese is bubbly. Let sit for 5 mins and then serve.

O Sooool Meatbolios!

Tonight we wanted something simple, something standard. Adam suggested pasta- he ALWAYS suggests pasta- and I was unimpressed. Then he reminded me that last week I was going to make meatballs, so why don’t I do that tonight. Now that sounded delicious. The recipe I used is based heavily off of my favorite Betty Crocker cookbook. I opted to make them a little more indulgent by making them into cheesy delights. They came out good- not fancy but good!


Cheesy Meatballs
Inspired by Betty Crocker recipe

• 1 1/4 Lb. Ground Beef (I used 90% lean tonight.)
  
• 1/2 C. Plain Breadcrumbs
  
• 1 Egg
  
• 1/4 C. Milk
  
• 2 Cloves Garlic, crushed and chopped
  
• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 2-3 Tbsp. Romano Cheese, finely shred
  
• 2-3 Tbsp. Parmisan Cheese, finely shred
  
• 1/4 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (I always get Reduced Fat.)
  
• Dashes of Oregano (heavy), Basil (heavy), Nutmeg, Black Pepper, Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. In a glass bowl, mix together all of the ingredients. I like to start the mixing with a wooden spoon and then switch to my hands.
   
3. Shape the meat into 1” to 1 1/2" balls. Place into a large (or two large as I did- I never get the dish size right!) baking dish, leaving enough room around each meatball to let it cook properly.
   
4. Bake the meatballs 20-25 minutes or until the centers are warm and no longer pink. Serve warm with pasta and sauce.

Homemade Pasta and Rustic Tomato Sauce

[scene opens to a candlelit table with a rose lovingly laid in front of my pistachio Kitchen Aid] Bean, serenading mixer, "Have I told you lately... that I love you?"

Ok, so although I don't use it that often, I in fact love my Kitchen Aid. And my husband loves the pasta extruder attachment! Tonight we used our fancy kitchen power tool to make some yummy fresh pasta from scratch. It's a two man operation; he runs the machine, feeding it dough and cutting off the strands, while I separate the bits and lay them on out the damp paper towels. It's good for a laugh- very similar to the classic 'I Love Lucy' in the candy factory! But Adam did a great job making the dough- I was busy, um, being on the Nest while he got the operation running.

And of course, when having fresh pasta, you can't just slap some jar sauce on it. It's like, sacrilege or something! So while the pasta squeezed out, I simmered a quick and rustic sauce. Slap some fresh Romano cheese on there and you've got a meal. It was all quite delicious!


Fresh Pasta
Basic Egg Noodle recipe from Kitchen Aid pasta manual

• 3 Eggs
  
• Water
  
• 2 3/4 C. Flour

1. Crack the 3 eggs into a glass measuring pitcher, filling with water until you have it 3/4 C. full.
   
2. With your wonderful Kitchen Aid with dough hook attachment, put the flour into the bowl. Get the dough hook rotating on speed 2 and slowly pour in the egg/ water.
   
3. Mix for 30 seconds and then switch over to the flat mixer blade and mix on 2 for another 2 minutes until you get a thick dough when you squeeze a handful of the mixture. (It will look crumbly in the bowl.) Add more water in very small quantities if your dough does not feel elastic-y enough.
   
4. Gather up the dough and knead it by hand on a cutting board for a minute or two. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit for 15 minutes.
   
5. Get your pasta parts hooked up and then start extruding! If you've got this attachment, take this moment to follow the manual instructions. It works real good.
   
6. Boil up a large pot of water and dump the pasta in. It only takes about 60 seconds to cook, so be ready to drain it quickly. Moisten with oil and eat warm.

Freshly made pasta hanging out on damp paper towels


The man behind the plan (who says "Don't put me in your blog!!!!")


Rustic Tomato Sauce

• 1 28 oz. Can of Diced Tomatoes
  
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• 1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
  
• 1 Tbsp. Red Wine
  
• 1/2 - 1 C. Sliced White Mushrooms
  
• 1 Bay Leaf, roughly chopped
  
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
  
• Dashes of Oregano, Pepper, Salt, Garlic Powder (too lazy to chop some), and Hot Pepper Flakes

1. Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan, stir, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
   
2. Remove the bay leaf before using on fresh pasta.

Caper Chicken & Tuscan Zucchini

The plan for dinner tonight was to make fresh pasta with the Kitchen Aid. We had gone blueberry picking in the morning and then for a hike on a small mountain. Upon getting home, Adam got to work on painting and working on fixing up the garage. I took a nap and then started on a giant list of chores. I realize this is boring to read, but the end result is that we couldn't be bothered with taking over an hour to make dinner starting at 8 PM!

Instead, my mission (should I choose to accept it or else eat canned soup for dinner) was to find something tasty that would go with the already made French bread based on what I had on hand. Good news! I poked around in my cookbooks and found a recipe to modify with yummy results for the main course and whipped up a veggie side that worked great too. Mission accomplished.


Caper Chicken

• 1.5 Lbs. Chicken Breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
  
• 1 Can (14.5 oz) Diced Tomatoes
  
• 1 Tbsp. Capers and a Splash of Caper Liquid
  
• 1/4 C. Green Olives, coarsely chopped
  
• Dash Oregano, Salt, Pepper
  
• Olive Oil

1. In a large skillet with lid, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add in garlic and saute. Add in can of tomatoes (with liquid) and simmer for about 5 minutes.
   
2. Put chicken in the pan with the tomato and garlic mixture and continue to cook over medium heat. Cover the skillet and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
   
3. Sprinkle in the spices, chopped olives, capers, and a splash of the caper liquid from the jar. Allow to simmer another 5 minutes and then serve. Serve with a crusty bread for soaking up the sauce!

Tuscan Zucchini

• 1 Large Zucchini, Sliced into 1/2" Rounds
  
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• 1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
  
• Salt & Pepper

1. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil, vinegar, and spices over medium-low heat.
   
2. Add in zucchini and stir. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes until squash is tender.
   
3. Serve warm.