Easy on your wallet

This is a recipe for Giada's Penne La Carbonara. It is so yummy and very fast to make! And, if you substitute bacon for the pancetta it is really inexpensive. I used pancetta this time but next time I will use bacon. I'm also posting my recipe for gorgonzola bruschetta. Gorgonzola just happened to be on sale so I thought I would try it. It turned out really good.

1 pound pancetta, diced into 1-inch cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pound dried penne
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions
Heat a large saute pan, until hot. Add pancetta and saute until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Season with black pepper and remove pan from heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmesan, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish.

In a large pot, boil 6 quarts of salted boiling water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse with water; you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will stick. While the pasta is still hot, return it back to the pot. Add the browned pancetta and mix well. Add the cream mixture and coat the pasta completely. It's important to work quickly while the pasta is still warm so that the cream mixture will cook, but not curdle. Add remaining Parmesan and chopped parsley.

Talia's Gorgonzola Bruschetta

1 cup gorgonzola cheese
half a loaf of french bread
4 garlic cloves
2 tomatoes
1-2 tsp dried basil or 5-6 fresh basil leaves

Slice the french bread about 3/4 inch slices. Place on baking sheet. Broil for about 2 minutes on one side and then about a minute on the other side. Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn. As soon as you remove it from the oven, rub each piece of bread with one clove of garlic - just peel the clove and rub it on each side of the piece of bread. The heat will help "melt" the garlic onto the bread. Drizzle each piece of bread with olive oil. Top each piece with gorgonzola and tomato mixture (recipe to follow).

Tomato mixture:
Core the two tomatoes. In a food processor place the tomatoes, remaining three garlic cloves (mince them so there won't be any big chunks), basil, salt and pepper. Pulse for just a few minutes. You want the tomatoes to be slightly big chunks. Drain the excess liquid before placing the topping on the bread. Enjoy!

This is what's for dinner tonight (July 7th)

From "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives cookbook"

Beef Brisket

1 beef brisket (2-3 lbs)
garlic powder (or granulated garlic if you have it)
fresh ground pepper
MoGridder's Dry Rub Barbecue Seasoning (recipe follows)
MoGridder's Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows)

Season the brisked with garlic powder, pepper, and barbecue seasoning. Wrap the brisket in foil tightly seales so no juices can leak out. I lay one sheet horizontal and one sheet vertical and gather it together at the top. Bake for 6-8 hours (I prefer 8 hrs) on 225. Remove from oven and let rest. Serve with barbecue sauce.


Barbecue Seasoning recipe (makes about a cup...store the rest in a glass jar for later use):
2 1/2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp garlic powder (again can use granulated garlic)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Barbecue Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp kosher salt
2 to 3 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup molasses
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup mustard
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional...we like ours spicey so i put a full tsp but be careful)

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Stir in enough of the vinegar to make a loose paster. You will probably not use the whole amount. I ended up using about 1/4 cup. Combine the remaining ingredients and incorporate well. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until thick. Enjoy!!

This is what's for dinner (June 8)

Chicken and Potatoes in the Oven (Rachael Ray)

1 package chicken pieces, bone in, skin on or 1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces (2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 breast pieces cut in half)
1 1/3 pounds small yukon gold potatoes, quartered
8 to 10 cloves garlic, crushed
3 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed, roughly chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) for drizzling
Salt and pepper
A healthy drizzle of the liquid or juice found in a jar of hot peppers (use any kind of peppers such as hot yellow pepper rings, hot cherry peppers or whatever you keep in your fridge

Preheat oven 425°F.
In a roasting pan, combine the chicken, potatoes, garlic and rosemary. Drizzle liberally with EVOO and season with some salt and pepper. Toss the chicken pieces to coat them thoroughly then place them in an even layer on the bottom of the roasting pan.
Transfer to the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle with a little hot pepper juice and top with a couple of the yellow hot pepper rings.




I added some asparagus to the pan and rolled it around in the evoo so the kids would have a veggie. I also made gravy out of the pan juices to pour over top. It is a great recipe and super easy!!

This is what's for dinner tonight (June 5)

Rachael Ray Chicken or Turkey Spanakopita Burgers

3 cloves garlic, 2 chopped, 1 crushed
1 red onion, 1/2 chopped, 1/2 thinly sliced
1 box frozen spinach (10 ounces), defrosted
2 teaspoons dried oregano, lightly crushed in the palm, divided
6 oz feta crumbles
1 1/3 pounds ground chicken or ground turkey breast (the average size of package)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/3 English (seedless) cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise, plus 1 small, 2-inch piece of cucumber, peeled, trimmed and chopped
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced lengthwise
Salt and pepper
4 crusty rolls, split

Topping:
2 roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley (a generous handful)
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives (about 10-12 olives)
Hot pepper rings or pepperoncini (optional)

Preparation
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. To one side, add a little EVOO and a tablespoon of butter. When butter melts, add the chopped garlic and chopped red onion and cook for five minutes. Transfer the onions and garlic to a bowl to cool. Return pan to heat.

Wring the defrosted spinach dry buy twisting it in a clean kitchen towel over your sink. Separate the spinach as you add it to the bowl with cool onions and garlic and season with one teaspoon of oregano. Add in feta crumbles, then chicken or turkey, grill seasoning and a drizzle of EVOO. Mix and form into four patties, 1-inch thick. Raise heat on pan to medium-high. Add patties and cook six minutes on each side.

Season the sliced cucumbers and tomatoes with salt and pepper. Toast rolls, if you prefer.

Place red peppers, parsley and olives in food processor, season with salt and pepper and process until a paste forms. Place cooked burgers on roll bottoms. Top the burgers with sliced cucumber, tomato, reserved red onions, and hot peppers, if using. Slather roll tops with red pepper and olive paste and serve with chips of choice.


These burgers are amazing!! I served them with some fries (frozen store bought) topped with EVOO, basil, thyme, salt, pepper, parmesan, and asiago cheese.

This is what's for dinner (June 4)

Alfredo Pesto Ravioli and Stuffed Mushrooms

So, my husband and I love the Alfredo Pesto Ravioli from Maggiano's. I thought I would try to recreate it. I had a surprise date night. I told him that I ordered it from Maggiano's and he totally bought it. I don't know if it is that good but give it is yummy.

Pesto Sauce (you can always buy store bought but i don't think the sauce will turn out as good)

In a food processor, blend:
1 cup fresh basil (or you can use cilantro...i prefer basil)
1/2 cup pecans (or you can use pine nuts)
5 garlic cloves
1/2 cup asiago cheese (or parmesan)
coarse ground black pepper (about one tsp)
salt

Gradually add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup evoo until desired consistency (thick paste). You will want to taste and add salt and pepper as you like. Then, set pesto aside.

Alfredo Sauce:
2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1 1/2 sticks of butter (12 tbsps)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice or a couple tsp. of concentrated lemon juice
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup asiago
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. white pepper
salt to taste

In a large skillet, stir together cream and lemon juice. Add the butter and turn on medium heat and stir until the butter is melted. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook on low heat until the sauce thickens. Stir constantly so it does not burn the bottom. Once it has thickened, add the pesto and heat through.

I used store bought ravioli from the refrigerated section. I bought the Buitoni mushroom kind. Next time, I am going to try to make my own but one step at a time : ).

Stuffed Mushrooms

14oz. of large stuffing mushrooms
about a cup of bread crumbs
quarter of an onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
evoo
1/2 tp 1 cup cheese (i used a combo of parmesan and asiago because that is what i had)
1-2 tbsp of italian seasoning or fresh herbs of your choice
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, cook the onions and garlic in evoo until soft. In a bowl, combine onions and garlic along with the remaining ingredients (except mushrooms). You might need to add a couple more tbsp. of evoo to bind the mixture. Pop the stems off of the mushrooms. Press the a couple of tbsp of the mixture into the mushroom. Then, drench each mushroom in evoo. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes and then at 400 for 5 minutes. Move them to the bottom rack and turn off the oven for another 10 minutes.

This is what's for dinner (June 3)

Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:

one whole chicken (3-5lbs)
one lemon (halved)
half of a head of garlic
lemon pepper seasoning (a couple of tbsps)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup of butter (melted)
half an onion (cut into pieces)
sprigs of fresh herbs (i used 4 sprigs rosemary, 15 sprigs of thyme and four basil leaves)
a few tbsps of evoo (olive oil)

Preheat oven to 400. Remove giblets and rinse the inside of the cavity. Place breast side up in roasting pan or on baking sheet. Inside the cavity, stuff with the lemon halves, onion, 2 sprigs of rosemary and the rest of the other herbs, and half garlic head. It is okay if they are sticking out of the cavity a little. Loosen the skin from the top of the chicken breast (careful not break it) and stuff remaining two sprigs of rosemary under the skin. Mix the melted butter and lemon pepper seasoning together. Then, rub the whole chicken with it or use a brush and brush it on. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can use whatever herbs you like. These are just my favorite. Cook until internal temp is 165 or for about an hour to an hour and a half.

If you like garlic, cut a few garlic heads in half and drizzle with evoo. Set them on the roasting pan with the chicken. They will roast and you can use the roasted garlic as a spread for your dinner bread.

The juices from this make wonderful tasting gravy. Just melt a couple of tbsp. of butter and add a couple of tbsp of flour. Let it sit for a minute or two. Then, whisk in the juices from the chicken and about a cup or so of chicken broth until thick.

Enjoy!