Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This is a delicious and unique dinner that comes together surprisingly fast.  It's even pretty enough to entertain with, and takes only about 20 minutes to put together.  Here's a tip:  find jarred roasted red peppers on the cheap at TJ Maxx or similar discount stores.  They often have gourmet food sections where you can get these items for about half of what they would be in the grocery store.  

Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil (plus a few drops for the pasta water)

1/2 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jar roasted red peppers (13-15 oz), drained

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup skim milk

1 cup chicken broth (not pictured)

1 package refrigerated Ravioli (I used Buitoni spicy beef and sausage)

Salt, pepper, and fresh basil to taste

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Fill a large pot with water, and put on stove to boil.  Add salt and olive oil, to flavor and prevent pasta from sticking.  When the water boils, add pasta, and cook according to package directions.

In a large skillet over medium heat, drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil.

After the oil has heated for a couple minutes, add the onions and garlic.  I also added a pinch of crushed red pepper for a little heat (totally optional).

Stir occasionally, cooking for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, grab your peppers.

They are usually packaged in vinegar, oil, or a combination of the two.  You'll need to drain them well.

Then place them on your cutting board and give them a rough chop.  No need to dice; everything is about to get pulverized anyway.

Now add the peppers to the skillet.

Stir and cook another five minutes.  Then transfer the pepper/onion mixture to your food processor.

Give them a spin.  I let mine go about ten seconds.  You want it to be smooth.

Now, transfer the puree back to your skillet, over low heat.  Add your butter.

Add the chicken broth.  

And add the milk.  Stir everything to combine.

Now season to taste.  I added some salt, black pepper, and some fresh basil.  Now get your sauce back up to a simmer, and it's ready to top your pasta!

Once your pasta is cooked and drained, place each serving in a shallow bowl.

Now top with the sauce, shred some fresh Parmesan on top, and there you have it!

Yes, it is as good as it looks!  Enjoy!

Creamy Tortellini Soup

This weather.  Ug.  As I sit here typing this, there are snow flakes flying outside my window.  I am normally not opposed to snow...except for one thing:

IT'S MARCH 26TH!!!  What is happening?  What ever happened to global warming?  Who do I talk to about this?  Al Gore?  The groundhog?  Al Roker?  I want answers!  I'm having to drag my flower pots in the house every night and it's ruining everything!

Obviously, I have been very upset about this weather.  So to make myself feel better and to warm up, I had to make something hot.  So hot, in fact, that I burned my tongue on the first bite.  I was desperate to warm up I tell you.

This little dish here is super creamy and just a little bit spicy.  You can kick it down a notch by using regular Rotel, but why?  It's freezing outside!

Creamy Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth
1.25 lbs ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fennel seed
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 can hot Rotel
1 package Buitoni three cheese tortellini
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, room temp and cut into pieces
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.

Once it's nice and hot, add your ground turkey.

Cook and crumble over medium heat...

Keep on cooking til it's browned.  Then stir in the fennel and garlic. 

Now add your chicken broth to the ground turkey pot.

Then add your Rotel, and salt and pepper to taste. 

And stir it all together, cover, and bring to a boil.

Now, add your pasta.

Allow to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pasta will swell like so:

Now it's time to add the spinach.  Do this by piling half of it on top, then stirring it in.  Then pile on the other half, and stir in.

It wilts down quickly.

Now!  Reduce heat to low and stir in the cream cheese pieces...

Cover and cook on low for 5-10 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

 After 10 minutes, remove the lid slowly...

Beautiful!  There you have it.  Creamy, yummy, and most importantly, piping hot.  Serve immediately, and top with shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired. It'll warm you right up. 

Enjoy! 





 

Chicken Parmesan

Ah, Chicken Parmesan.  Who doesn't love it?  If you don't love it then you've never had it.  Crispy chicken topped with Parmesan, served over pasta and covered with sweet and tangy marinara.  Serve with a salad and some bread and you'll feel just like Giada de Laurentiis.

Some key ingredients here:

Parmesan Cheese!  Obviously this is important, being one of the title ingredients.  If you really want this to be great, buy the BLOCK of Parmesan, not the stuff in the green can.  Here's what it looks like:

In my beloved Publix, it's in the deli section of the store (not the normal cheese section).  It is not cheap, but it will last a while. And it's so much better in every way.  Probably because you're eating actual cheese instead of some chemically-enhanced cheese powder business.  Kinda gross once you think about it.

Panko!

AKA Japanese breadcrumbs.  These add a delicious, light crispiness that is key to the texture of this dish and so many others.  Pick some up, you'll love em.

And if you don't know, now you know.

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine totaled 2.3 lbs)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, diced

3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup red wine

2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp sugar

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)

 

The first step is to prepare your chicken.  Cut each breast in half lengthwise, so it's the same size, but half the thickness.  

Like so:

Now you'll have six pieces instead of three.  Place all your chickens between two sheets of plastic wrap.  Then get out your meat mallet, rolling pin, or big heavy can, and pound the chicken til it's nice and even and thin.  Go for around 1/2 inch at the thickest.

Yay!  Pounding chicken is fun.  Salt and pepper each piece to your liking.  

Next, you want to bread your chickens.  To do this, you want to prepare three coating stations.  You'll need three large shallow bowls (or plates, just use whatever you have).  In the first, add your flour.  Crack your egg into the second and beat with a fork.  Add about a tablespoon of water and mix it up.  In the third bowl, dump your Panko breadcrumbs.

Here is what your breading assembly line will look like:

Flour, egg, Panko.  Good.

Go ahead and heat your 1 Tbsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

Now put your chicken through the assembly line.  First, dunk in the flour, making sure both sides get coated.

Like so:

Next, dip it in the egg:

And finally, roll it around in the Panko breadcrumbs.

Once your skillet is hot, add half your chickens to the skillet.  I am cooking mine in two batches, but feel free to do it in one if you have a monster size skillet. 

After 5 minutes or so, check to see how brown your chickens are getting on the bottom.  When they're brown enough, flip em.

Lovely!

Cook another five minutes or so until done throughout.  It shouldn't take too long since you pounded them so thin.  

Now remove the done chicken from the skillet.  Add 1 more Tbsp butter, one more Tbsp oil, and when hot and bubbly, add the other three chickens.  Cook these the same as the first batch.  Set aside when done.

Now do not clean your skillet!  Leave all the drippings/oil/butter, and keep medium heat going.  

To your skillet, add the diced onion. 

Saute for 5 minutes until getting tender and translucent.  Now add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Next, pour in the wine.

Now it should look very purple-y.  With a wooden, flat-bottomed spatula spoon thing, deglaze the pan (scrape up all the cooked on bits from the bottom of the pan and stir it around).  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until it is reduced by about half.  It should look like this:

The next guest to arrive to the party pan:  Crushed tomatoes!  Add both cans. 

Yum!  Now add sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring often.  

When that's done, stir in 1/2 cup chopped parsley.

Beautiful!  It looks like Christmas and the Italian flag all in one skillet.

Next add the chickens back to the skillet.  Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and the rest of the parsley.  I don't have a picture of this part because sometimes I get scared that Brent's starving so I get in a hurry at the end. 

Serve each chicken over pasta and make sure to add plenty of sauce (see my recipe for fresh homemade pasta here ).