Chicken Ragu with Farfalle

This was an excellent meal! I am playing catch up from this past week as my parents were in town and we were busy and I did not get to put these up! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 whole chicken legs (I used chicken breasts)

2 teaspoons kosher salt plus additional for seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium red onion, diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 rib celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 canned plum tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley, plus 2 tablespoons chopped

About 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 pound farfalle pasta

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, and heat until shimmering. Season the chicken with some salt and pepper to taste, and cook until brown on all sides, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and the 2 teaspoons salt to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until vegetables are just tender. Add the wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, sage, rosemary, and the parsley sprigs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and mixture is saucy.

Slip the chicken with any juices into the tomato sauce. Add enough chicken broth to cover about 2/3 of the chicken. Simmer the ragu with the lid slightly ajar until the meat pulls easily from the bone, turning the chicken halfway through, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken and when cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones, discarding the skin and bones. Skim off any fat that has collected on the top of the sauce and stir in the chicken. (The dish can be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and refrigerated in a tightly sealed container).

When ready to serve, heat the ragu over low heat. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Add the farfalle and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Ladle out about 1 cup of cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta, add it to the ragu and too over low heat, adding about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta liquid at a time until the sauce coats the farfalle.

Enjoy!

Almond Horns

I was looking forward to trying these cookies..but they didn't turn out the way that they were supposed to! I could not get them to roll together to make the "u" shape that they wanted me to make them in. So I just made a regular cookie!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup whole raw almonds, toasted and finely ground in a food processor

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Put butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and extracts, reduce speed to low. Mix in flour mixture and almonds until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a 4 inch long log; gently shape into a horseshoe. (Good Luck!) Repeat with remaining dough. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment.

Bake cookies until pale golden, about 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Sift confectioners' sugar over cookies.

Enjoy!

Grilled Asparagus with Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

This was an AMAZING meal! I absolutely loved it! Jay is gone for the week so I thought it was a great light meal to make when it was just me eating it! It would be a great appetizer to a meal or side salad to a yummy summer meal! :)

*I apologize ahead of time that my batteries died in my camera..so there is no final picture of the meal...but trust me...it was AMAZING!

I also halved the recipe just because it was only me eating it!

Ingredients:

2 bunches of asparagus

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

Arrange the asparagus in a microwave-safe dish, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Brush asparagus with 1 tablespoon or the olive oil and set aside.

Toss tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the parsley, lemon zest, and juice, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to taste.

Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Grill asparagus, turning occasionally, until tender and lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Cut asparagus in half crosswise and arrange the upper portions, spoke like, tips out, on a serving dish. Cut the lower portions into a 1/2 inch pieces and toss with the tomato and cheese mixture. Mound the salad in the center of the tips and serve.

Enjoy!

Leslie's Ham Salad

I made this tonight so that Jay and I can bring it in for our lunches and have a little snack around the house. It was super easy to make! A nice alternative to a sandwich with deli meat or leftovers!

Ingredients:

1 small red onion, minced

1 pound cooked ham, cut into large pieces

2 ribs celery, quartered

6 cornichon or gherkin pickles (we could only find the mini's so I doubled this)

1 pickled jalapeno, seeded and stemmed

2 scallions, minced

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch watercress, washed, dried and stems trimmed

1 bunch arugula, washed, dried and stems trimmed

4 to 8 slices rustic sourdough bread, toasted or grilled

To mellow the minced onion, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain it well, pat dry and put it in a serving bowl. Pulse the ham in a food processor until chunky and add it to the red onion. Pulse the celery, pickles, and jalapeno in the processor until chopped and add to the ham.

Add the scallions to the ham mixture along with the mayonnaise, mustard, and pepper. Refrigerate the salad, covered, until thoroughly chilled, about 1 hour.

Toss the watercress and arugula together and divide among 4 plates. Divide the ham salad evenly on the greens and serve with the toasts.

Enjoy!

*Sorry that I do not have a finished product picture up! I made this the night before so I can have it for lunch tomorrow, so I can't take the picture!*

Oven-Baked Ratatouille

This was a great meal to make! I had to catch up from a couple of weeks ago when I wasn't feeling well and I am so happy that we made this meal! It was great to smell while it was baking and great to eat! :) Another must make!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, cut into wedges

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon herbes de Provence (we couldn't find this..so we used Italian Seasoning - it had a lot of the same ingredients)

1 bay leaf

2 zucchini, cut into wedges

1 small eggplant (1lb) unpeeled, cut into wedges

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch wide strips

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch wide strips

10 canned whole peeled tomatoes

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (I forgot to buy fresh so we used dried)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (I forgot to buy fresh so we used dried)

Preheat the oven to 400 degress. Heat the oil in an ovenproof Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, herbes de provence (italian seasoning!) and bay leaf, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, breaking the tomatoes into rough chunks with a spoon (I used my hands!). Once the vegetables sizzle, put the ratatouille in the oven and bake, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and browning, up to 1 1/2 hours. (we only baked it for 45 minutes and it was great!) Remove from the oven and stir in basil and parsley.

Enjoy!

Chicken-n-biscuits Potpie

This was a great meal! Jay and I finished moving all of our stuff today and it was a great hearty meal to eat after everything has been moved! It is a little time consuming but nothing bad and I highly recommend trying it ASAP! :)

Ingredients for the Filling:

4 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds) - we used boneless chicken breasts because that is what we had!

4 cups chicken broth

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices

5 button mushrooms, quartered

1 rib celery (with leaves), cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground black pepper

For the chicken filling: Put the chicken breasts in a medium saucepan, add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat very low, and poach chicken until just firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken from the broth and when cool enough to handle, shred or dice it into large bite-size pieces. Reserve the broth.

Melt the butter in a 9-inch cast-iron or other heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, mushrooms, celery, and salt and cook until vegetables are light brown, about 4 minutes. Add the onions and cook about 1 minute more. Stir the flour into the vegetables and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the reserved chicken broth and whisk until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer, uncovered, until thick, about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and remove skillet from heat. Stir in parsley, dill, and pepper.

Ingredients for the dough:

2 cups all purpose flour, plus some additional for dusting

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon fine salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced

1 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

3/4 cup milk, plus additional for brushing

For the biscuit dough: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingers, rub 3 tablespoons of the butter into the flour until the mixture is sandy. Work in the remaining 5 tablespoons butter until it forms pea-size pieces. Stir in lemon zest into the milk and stir milk into the flour mixture to make a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough into a 10 inch wide disk. You may leave the dough in one piece or cut into pieces. (I cut them into pieces!)

Bring chicken filling to a simmer. If using the large biscuit round, cut a small hole in the center and lay the biscuit on the hot filling. If using the pieces, arrange them on the filling. Brush the biscuits lightly with milk. Put the skillet on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let the potpie rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Greek Rice and Herb Salad

This week has been so crazy with the move and we have ordered out every night! Last night Jay and I were just sick of ordering out so I tried this recipe which was so simple and easy to make. The rice took a little while to cook which gave me time to unpack some more things in the house and then go back to it! A nice flavorful meal to make when you want something easy as well!

*sorry for the lack of pictures...I was busy unpacking while it was cooking!*

Ingredients for the Rice:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups long grain rice, not converted (we used our regular long grain brown rice)

2 1/4 cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until slightly toasted and golden. Stir in the water and salt, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 18 minutes. Then let the rice rest off the heat for 5 minutes - don't lift the lid to give a peek or stir or the rice will not cook evenly. Put the rice in a large serving bowl, fluff and separate the grains with a fork, and cool to room temperature. (don't refrigerate the rice or it will get grainy) *this is the way that we cooked the rice last night and I almost suggest to cook the rice your normal way first and then follow the directions for the salad. Our rice was really oily and I didn't feel like it was cooked through completely, but that is why we try and learn from it! :)*

Ingredients for Salad:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 ripe medium tomatoes

1 Kirby cucumber with peel, seeded and finely diced (we didn't have Kirby cucumbers and Jay likes the cucumber peeled!)

2 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced

1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup minced fresh dill (I halved this and used dried)

1/4 cup minced fresh mint (we didn't use this)

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Freshly ground black pepper

Hot Pepper Sauce

1/2 cups coarse crumbled feta cheese (about 6 ounces)

Lemon wedges

Whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and allspice in a small bowl. Toss the dressing with the cooled rice. Halve the tomatoes crosswise to expose the seeds out of the flesh and discard. Cut the scallions, parsley, dill, mint, and lemon zest to the mixture and toss again. Season with pepper and hot pepper sauce to taste. Scatter the feta cheese across the top and serve, passing the lemon wedges.

Enjoy!