Speedy Pasta In A Pan

By Paul Briand

I’m a news hound, and I have a variety of apps on my BlackBerry smartphone and my Apple iPod Touch to browse headlines and read stories.

I’m also a recipe hound. And there’s an app for that too: Foodily.

I’ve been using the Foodily app on my iPod Touch for a few weeks. Foodily compiles recipes, and, if you see one you like, it connects you to its original source. I recently connected with this recipe for Speedy Pasta In A Pan.

It worked out well, and gives me yet another source of recipes to satisfy my need to find something interesting, something fun to cook and eat at home.

Note: When it says use large skillet, use a very large skillet. You may even want to use a pot. This recipe creates a pretty good sized bulk of sauce, pasta and cheese.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 14-ounce can organic, diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tablespoon each chopped fresh basil and oregano

1 pound fresh or defrosted frozen cheese ravioli

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups tomato sauce, homemade or store-bought

8 slices fresh mozzarella, or 3 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions

1. Heat a large nonstick pan and drizzle in the olive oil. Over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic until golden;

2. Add the diced tomatoes, basil, and oregano. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes;

3. Remove half the tomato mixture and set aside;

4. Top the tomatoes in the pot with a layer of uncooked ravioli, then a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, a cup of the tomato sauce, and the remaining tomato mixture;

5. Nestle the last raviolis into the pan, topping with the tomato sauce and the mozzarella;

6. Cover the pan with a lid or a layer of foil and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes;

7. Let the dish relax off the heat for a few minutes to let everything settle before serving.

Click here for recipe card.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

By Paul Briand

It’s a challenge to extract taste while using low-fat ground turkey meat in a recipe.

So I liked the idea of this take on the tradition Sloppy Joe recipe, courtesy of a cooking segment on the Today show fearing "Top Chef" judge Padma Lakshmi.

It takes the turkey and infuses it with a lot of big taste from the garlic, shallots and bay leaves, and adds some kick with the chili-pepper flakes (and jalapenos, if you opt in on that for a topping).

If you really want to go more low fat on this recipe, substitute the hamburger buns for whole what sandwich thins. The buns will run you about 150 calories, while the thins will come in at about 100 calories.

Note: The recipe calls for two cups of hot water. I didn’t use it, didn’t need it.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

4 peeled whole cloves of garlic

1 cup diced shallots

1 large green bell pepper, diced

3 medium-size bay leaves

1tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red chili-pepper flakes

1 lb ground lean turkey

28 oz can whole tomatoes

6 oz can tomato paste

2 cups hot water

Salt and pepper to taste

6 whole-wheat hamburger buns, split

Dill pickle slices and jalapeno slices, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil over moderate heat in a deep skillet. Add garlic and stir;

2. After 2 to 3 minutes, add shallots, bell pepper, bay leaves, oregano and red chili flakes. Stir for a few minutes;

3. Add the ground turkey to the skillet and brown for 5 minutes, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon

4. Add canned tomatoes, paste and 2 cups of hot water. Stir;

5. When mixture starts to boil, lower heat and let simmer until thickened, 30 to 40 minutes;

6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir mixture occasionally, breaking up tomatoes into a rich, ragu-like consistency;

7. Add salt and pepper, to taste, then toast buns split-side down on oven rack for 6 to 8 minutes;

8. Discard bay leaves. Spoon sloppy joe mixture on buns and garnish with dill pickle slices or jalapeños.

Click here for recipe card.

Steak with Stout Sauce

By Paul Briand

A recipe with beer in it? I’m definitely in.

Rachel Forrest, the Wine Me, Dine Me food writer for Seacoastonline.com, recently wrote about stout beer and the variety of ways you can use it in cooking.

A sauce for steak caught my eye.

My wife Jane, who’s not big fan of putting any type of sauce or condiment on steak, liked it, comparing it to a much heartier -- and much better -- than a Worcestershire steak sauce.

I liked it so much I used it to smother the fresh-steamed asparagus I had cooked to accompany the steak.

A couple of notes: I used four rump steaks, instead of strip steaks. Also, once the butter/flour mixture goes into the pan, the sauce is likely to thicken up quickly.

Ingredients

5 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided

2 12-oz. New York strip steaks

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons all purpose flour

1 large garlic clove, pressed

½ cup low-salt beef broth

½ cup stout

1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

1. Spread 1 teaspoon mustard over steaks; sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper;

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook meat about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare;

3. Transfer to plate; tent with foil. Wipe out skillet;

4. Mash butter and flour in small bowl; set aside;

5. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 15 to 20 seconds;

6. Add broth; bring to boil;

7. Whisk in stout, brown sugar, soy sauce, 3 teaspoons mustard, and butter mixture. Whisk until thick and remove from heat;

8. Thinly slice steaks, divide among plates. Drizzle sauce over and serve.

Click here for recipe card.

Chicken Sputnik

By Paul Briand

This is a recipe that I’d have to rank as looking better than it actually turned out.

I came across the recipe in Sunday’s Parade magazine.

The dish comes from Dash Recipes.

It gets its name, according to the story behind it, from having an out-of-the-world taste, as in Sputnik, the first satellite ever launched into space, courtesy of the Russians in 1957.

By the time all the potatoes here cooked through, the broth of chicken stock and sherry had been reduced to, basically, mashed potatoes.

I don’t think that’s the intent. It’s tasty, maybe not out-of-this-world tasty, but a little too mushy.

Ingredients

1 large chicken, cut into serving pieces

Salt and pepper

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoon butter (1/4 stick)

2 large onions, sliced ½ inch thick

5 large potatoes, sliced ½ inch thick

¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

¾ cup dry sherry

1½ cups homemade chicken broth

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and coat it with flour;

2. In a Dutch oven, sauté the chicken in butter until it is golden;

3. Layer the onions and potatoes on top of the chicken;

4. Top with the cheese, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste;

5. Add the sherry and chicken stock;

6. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.

The recipe included a couple of cooking tips:

“Slice the onions and potatoes nice and thin so they soften during cooking.”

“If you substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts, use half a cup (or one stick) of butter.”

“Sauté the chicken on medium-low to keep it from burning.”

“This dish requires a lot of stirring and attention. Stir it often so it doesn’t stick.”

Click here for recipe card.

Apple & Sage Pork Chops

By Paul Briand

I normally shop for groceries on Monday, so Monday morning I organizemy shopping list around the meals I plan to cook for the week.

Some weeks, however, I’m completely unprepared. I go to the store, literally, with a blank slate (in this case an empty shopping list).

So I get to the store hoping that something will inspire me.

This week it was one of the aptly named “Recipe Inspirations” from McCormick Spices.

I’ve written about these before:

Chicken Tikka Masala

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

Quesadilla Casserole

The packet includes a step-by-step recipe for a particular dish -- in this case Apple & Sage Pork Chops -- and provides the right dosage of each spice to accompany the dish.

Of course, if you have the spices already in your pantry you don’t need to buy the product, but I was grateful for the idea so I bought it as a way to say thanks.

Ingredients

1 package McCormick Recipe Inspirations Apple and Sage Pork Chops, which includes:

1 ½ teaspoons rubbed sage

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 boneless pork chops, 1-inch thick (about 1 1/4 pounds)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 red apples, thinly sliced

1/2 cup apple juice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions

1. Mix flour, all of the spices and salt in small bowl;

2. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the seasoned flour;

3. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add pork chops; brown on both sides. Remove from skillet;

4. Add onion; cook and stir 3 minutes or until tender. Add apples; cook and stir 2 minutes.

5. Stir in juice, sugar and remaining seasoned flour until well mixed;

6. Return pork chops to skillet. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until desired doneness.

Click here for recipe card.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

By Paul Briand

I love chili. I rank the dish up there with meatloaf as one of my favorite comfort foods and believe, like meatloaf, that you can’t have too many different recipes for it.

I have a quick chili that I’ve made for years using jarred salsa -- my so-called Easy Chili.

And, over the years, I’ve played with other recipes involving chili, including:

Cornbread-Chili Casserole

Kielbasa Chili Dogs

Italian Chili One-Pot

Southwest White Chicken Chili

As I said, you can’t have too many chili recipes.

This one is thick Texas-style chili with meat and beans.

It comes courtesy of Relish magazine, which is inserted into many newspapers across the country, including the newspaper where my wife works. She’s good enough to bring Relish home for me on a regular basis, knowing I’m always on the look out for good recipes, especially chili

Ingredients

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons honey

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add beef, and sauté, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 5 minutes;

2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt, and set aside;

3. Drain liquid from pot, and add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add onion and sauté until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes;

4. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute more;

5. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon. Cook together 1 minute;

6. Add chicken broth, water, beef, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and honey;

7. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally;.

8. Add beans and lime juice and cook 5 minutes.

As for toppings, I lean toward shredded sharp cheddar. Other possibilities include sliced avocado, sour cream, diced green onions, chopped cilantro, even roasted pumpkin seeds.

For a recipe card click here.

Leftover Chicken Tortilla Stack

By Paul Briand

The question: How to turn a refrigerator full of leftovers into dinner?

The answer: Combine the chicken, onion and peppers into a oven-baked dish that came together into something I dubbed Leftover Chicken Tortilla Stack.

I was lucky enough to have flour tortillas leftover, some shredded cheese and an avocado that needed using.

Here’s how it came together.

Ingredients
1 ½ cups of leftover roasted chicken
Vidalia onion, sliced
Red pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
8 ounce package of shredded cheddar cheese
4 8-inch flour tortillas

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil over medium high heat and add onion, pepper and garlic;
3. Saute until onions start to become translucent, remove from heat and set aside;
4. Add remaining oil to skillet and saute chicken, stir in cumin and chili powder;
5. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray, place two tortillas side by side;
6. Layer each tortilla with healthy layer of cheese, then the chicken, then the vegetable mixture, then another layer of cheese;
7. Top each stack with another tortilla and place in oven;
8. Cook until cheese is fully melted and tortilla is heated through, about five minutes;
9. Serve with your favorite toppings: Guacamole, salsa, jalapeno peppers, hot sauce, etc.

For recipe card click here.