Oh Hello…

I’m redesigning and re-launching. Look for a new me by the end of this month. I absolutely promise it will be worth the wait.

Recipe – Spätzle with Parmesan and Parsley

Vita and I have been craving hearty, comfort foods lately and while we were watching Guy Fieri on Food Network Saturday morning, we caught this recipe. This is the perfect pairing for our Chicken Jägerschnitzel and it turned out amazing.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 3/4 cups flour, plus extra for kneading
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 quarts low sodium chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. In a medium bowl, combine water, flour, eggs and salt with a wooden spoon. Place dough mixture on a clean cutting board. Flour both sides of the dough and roll into a long rectangle, approximately 12 by 2-inches and 1/8-inch thick. With pizza cutter, cut into strips, 2-inches in length and 1/4-inch wide.

2. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Drop spätzle in batches into boiling stock and cook until pasta floats to the surface. Remove and immediately transfer to the ice bath. Drain spätzle and hold on sheet pan. Continue with the other batches.

3. Once you’ve completed the cooking, in a medium saute pan, add butter, and melt over medium heat until butter turns a light brown. Add garlic and cook until it becomes lightly colored. Add spätzle to the pan to heat through. Add parsley, cheese, salt and pepper, to taste.

It’s really wonderful, very filling and is pretty simple. If you’ve never made your own noodles, this is a great dish to give it a go. It can be made gluten free with Red Mill flour as well.

Recipe – Slow Cooked Chicken Noodle Soup

Yesterday Vita and I made spätzle and chicken jägerschnitzel. The cooking of the spätzle required 3 quarts of chicken stock and rather than let all that wonderful stock go to waste, I made a VERY slow cooked chicken noodle soup for Souper Sunday.

Ingredients:

• 4 quarts of chicken stock
• 1 13 oz. can of shredded cooked chicken
• 1/4 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 8 oz dried wide egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons of Old Bay
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Place a soup pot over medium high heat and cook until liquid is reduced by 1/3..

2. Add the noodles and vegetables. Bring pot to a simmer for approximately five minutes. Reduce heat and cook for approximately 20 to 30 minutes to allow noodles to cook through.

3. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and fresh black pepper before serving.

And that’s all there is to it. It’s very, very tasty and really simple.

Recipe – Stuffed Peppers with Ground Chicken

I recently downloaded a new iPhone app called Lose It, to track my daily calorie intake. And what I’ve noticed, is that while the meals I make are reasonably nutritionally balanced, I’m killing myself with snacking later because I don’t always feel full when we’re done. So, to combat that, Vita and I are making some really hearty meals, including these awesome stuffed peppers.

They’re easy to make, albeit a tad time consuming. Since you’re getting a whole bell pepper, you’re getting a lot of veggies, and the ground chicken with melted Parmesan is really warming. Here’s how you make it.

Ingredients :

• 1 lb. Fresh Ground Chicken
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• 1/2 cup chopped Spanish onion
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (gluten free)
• 4 medium sized red, green or yellow peppers
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Heat the oil in a pan; add garlic, onion, ginger and ground chicken; cook until chicken is cooked through and white in color.

2. Drain any grease from the pan add tomato paste, water and soy sauce.

3. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.

4. Cut the tops off of the peppers; remove the seeds and the white inner fleshy parts (veins).

5. Stuff each pepper with the cooked chicken mixture, sprinkle stuffed peppers with Parmesan cheese. We layer our cheese throughout, building it the same way you would a layer cake.

6.Place your peppers on a non-stick baking sheet and bake at 325°F, until they are brown or the cheese melts (about 30 minutes).

Makes 4 servings.
Nutritional info:
Calories: 431
Total Fat: 19g
Sat. Fat: 8g
Cholest.: 139mg
Sodium: 2,800
Carb.: 20g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 44g

They’re absolutely fantastic and impossible to screw up.

Recipe – Sautéd broccoli with red pepper and garlic

Last night, I wanted to try a new side dish for our Teriyaki Salmon. So, I really started using my noggin to figure out something to do with what I had a lot of in the fridge. I settled on Broccoli. And while I really wanted to roast these florets, I settled for the sauté process for two reasons: time and control of the tenderness.

This is a really simple side, but the combination of garlic, crushed red pepper and just the hint of olive oil is really wonderful. You’ll have some interesting aromas in the kitchen and it’s really a nice combination to the sweetness of the Teriyaki glaze on the strong salmon. I won’t bother to go over the fish recipe again. This quick post is really all about the star side!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of broccoli crowns, cut into florets (about 2 or 3 cups)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons of dried crushed red pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Place raw broccoli into a large bowl and toss with olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add red pepper.

2. Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic, broccoli and sauté for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until the broccoli reaches your desired tenderness. You may need to add a little more oil as you go.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

It’s absolutely delicious and really fast. A batch takes no more than 7 or 8 minutes at the absolute most. Enjoy.