Meatless Monday - Spaghetti Caprese

Spaghetti Caprese

This is something I made up one night using what I had on hand. It turned out to be a delicious vegetarian meal. I made a big batch of pesto last summer with fresh, organic basil from my CSA. I froze the pesto in an ice cube tray and then popped out my pesto cubes into a freezer bag to store. Every time I need some pesto, I take out a cube or two to thaw and use. What a great idea!  I reserved some pasta cooking water to mix with the pesto to make it a bit more “saucy”.

Spaghetti

3 cubes Pesto

Grape tomatoes, diced

Fresh mozzarella, diced

Asparagus, cut into 1” pieces

Cook spaghetti. Towards the end of the cooking, toss in the asparagus to cook along with the spaghetti. Save about 1/3 cup of the pasta water to mix with the pesto.

Toss all of the ingredients together. Season with salt, pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

Mangia, Mangia!!

Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Meat Loaf

Here’s a good recipe from the March 2008 issue of Real Simple Magazine. I was a bit skeptical at first, because I like traditional meat loaf made with Lipton Onion Soup Mix.  Sometimes you don’t want to mess with childhood memories, but there’s always room for improvement. This meat loaf was very flavorful and moist and will definitely go in the rotation. We had it with some mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Meat Loaf

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 cup grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

kosher salt and pepper

1.Heat oven to 400° F.

2.Combine the turkey, onion, bread crumbs, egg, Parmesan, mustard, the parsley, red peppers, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Shape the meat into an 8-inch loaf and place in a baking dish.

Before going into the oven - how colorful!

3.Bake until no trace of pink remains (internal temperature should be 165° F), about 45 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Tip: A loaf pan isn’t the best choice for baking meat loaf. Instead use a large pan with 1 ½ to 2 inch sides, such as metal, glass, or ceramic 7 by 11 inch baking dish, which will allow the heat to circulate over the meat, cooking it evenly.

The finished product

Curry in a Hurry

Here is an easy recipe for Chicken Curry from the July 2006 issue of Real Simple magazine, which was under the heading of “Five Easy Dinners”.  It was definitely easy and pretty good. This is a good basic recipe which you can tweak to your tastes and what you have on hand, ingredient-wise.  If I make it again I’ll have to spice it up since it was a bit mild for our taste.

Chicken Curry

Serves 4

Hands-On Time: 15m

Total Time: 30m

1 cup white rice (I made jasmine rice)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

1/4 cup (1 ounce) almonds, roughly chopped

1.Cook the rice according to the package directions.

2.Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Cut it into 1-inch pieces and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with the curry and cinnamon, toss, and set aside.

3.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and zucchini and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

4.Heat remaining oil in the skillet. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

5.Add the broth, cream, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Return vegetables to the skillet and heat until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

6.Divide the rice among bowls. Top with the chicken curry and sprinkle with the basil and almonds.

Tip: You can vary the ingredients depending on what you have on hand. Consider substituting coconut milk for the cream, eggplant for the zucchini, cilantro for the basil, or cashews for the almonds.

Since I had them on hand, I used cilantro & cashews to top off the dish. I also used 1 cup of cream and 2 cups of chicken broth. If I make this again, I’ll use less liquid, probably reducing it to 2 cups instead of 3.

Texas Red Chili

Looking to make some Chili for the big game on Sunday? This could be your ticket.  I made this for a snowy weekend watching football playoffs and it definitely hit the spot.  I served it with jalapeno cheddar cornbread and beer, of course.

Hot Chili on a Cold Snowy Day

While I really enjoyed this chili, I personally prefer a chili with beans. Go ahead and add beans to this recipe, but then you won’t be able to call it “Texas” chili. (But who cares, right?) 

Martha’s recipe calls for toasting dried chiles, then rehydrating them to blend and add to the chili. It seems like a lot of work but it definitely adds a nice depth of flavor you won’t get from using chili powder.

Texas Red Chili

Makes about 8 cups; Serves 6 to 8

From Martha Stewart Living, October 2009

The dried chiles, oregano and cumin can be replaced with ½ cup chili powder. Skip step 1, add powder to onion mixture, and cook for 1 minute.

8 whole dried chiles (5 ancho and 3 guajillo or all ancho; about 3 ounces)

3 tablespoons safflower oil, plus more as needed (I used vegetable)

3 pounds trimmed beef chuck, cut into small pieces (1/2 inch or smaller)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 large onions, coarsely chopped (4 cups)

7 to 8 garlic cloves, minced (5 tablespoons)

2 jalapeno or Serrano chiles, seeded if desired, minced

2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons ground oregano

1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled plum tomatoes, pureed with their juice (3 ½ cups)

4 cups water, plus more if needed and for soaking

2 to 3 teaspoons white vinegar, to taste

The ingredients

Toast dried chiles in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and blistered, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Toasting the chiles

Remove stem and seeds; discard. Transfer chiles to a large measuring cup or bowl, and cover with hot water. Keep chiles submerged with a small bowl, and let soak for 30 minutes. Remove from water, and puree in a blender with 1/2 cup soaking liquid.  (I saved the rest of the soaking liquid to add to the chili in Step 4)

The pureed chiles. Such a beautiful color!

Heat a large heavy pot over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Season beef with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brown beef in batches, adding more oil as needed, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Browning the Beef

Add remaining tablespoon oil, the onions, garlic, and minced chiles to pot, and cook over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. (If the pan gets too dark, add a little water, and scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon to deglaze.) Add cumin and oregano, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Stir in browned beef and chile puree. Add tomato puree, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer gently, partially covered, until meat is very tender and juices are thick, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (Check pot once an hour for excessive evaporation; if chili seems dry, add a little water.) Season chili with salt, and stir in vinegar. Serve immediately (or refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months; reheat in a pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally).

Texas Red Chili