Scallops with Pasta!

So I had some scallops I had to use (trader joe's frozen. i thawed the last 4oz yesterday, but didn't end up making dinner. so today). I knew I wanted something nice and simple flavors and whatnot. And the ingredients I had on hand.

Anyway, I decided to pan sear the scallops with a good dusting of salt and fresh ground pepper. Then I pan roasted some thick cut tomato slices in the same pan. Then I made a garlic spiked white sauce in the same pan.

Here's the ingredients and what I did!

- 4 oz scallops, thawed. about three large ones
- 1 roma tomato, sliced about 1/2 inch thick. i had cut two, but one was devoured before it hit the pan. and matthew stole one of the slices.
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 tsp or so finely chopped rosemary (from my nearly depleted freezer stash)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (does anyone ever measure that? it was probably closer to two)
- 2 oz angel hair pasta (penne would have been better. something sturdier to hold up to the sauce)
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour (heaping spoon)
- 1 cup milk (i have no idea how much i actually used)

1. Heat a pot of salted water for the pasta to boiling.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When nice and hot, toss in the salt and peppered scallops. Cook for a few minutes, to sear it nicely. Turn. Cook the other side. It should not be too firm. A little squishy is great. :D Remove from the pan.
3. Salt and pepper the tomato slices, toss on the rosemary. Put it in the same pan. Cook a couple minutes per side. Cook the pasta around now. Remove the tomatoes and set aside.
4. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the butter. When its melted, add the garlic. Cook a couple minutes until translucent. Add the flour, stir.
5. Cook a minute or two. Add the milk. Whisk vigorously. Taste for seasoning. When its nice and thick, toss in the pasta to coat.
6. Place pasta in bowl. Top with tomatoes. Top with scallops. Enjoy. :D

Pros: easy good white sauce! garlic flavor was not overpowering! tomatoes disintegrated into sauce nicely! that combo would work well alone or with chicken.

Cons: scallops were a tad cold. skin on tomatoes had to be peeled off and eating first. but would not have cooked well with skin off. basil may have been better than rosemary.

Penne with Spinach Cream

Tried once a while ago, cannot remember details, but it still sounds delicious. Posting to remind myself.

Penne with Spinach Cream

2 tbsp unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic
14 oz fresh spinach (or frozen. i usually have frozen.)
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
pinch of fresh ground nutmeg (yeah i dont have that..)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 lb penne (cook according to package directions)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 to 1 1/2 cups parmesan, grated

Cook garlic and spinach in butter. Squeeze dry, and reduce the resulting liquid by half. Return spinach to the pan. Add cream. Reduce by half. Pulse in a food processor (or likely, for me, use chopped frozen spinach and mince garlic to begin with). Adjust seasonings with s&p, nutmeg, lemon juice. Toss with hot pasta, oil, and parmesan.

Chicken Cacciatore

So! I decided I wanted chicken cacciatore tonight. Matthew's going to movies with boys, so I decided to eat mushrooms. He thinks they taste like dirt. And wont eat them.

I love them.

Anyway. Last time I made chicken cacciatore, I was living on Bonita. And didn't think I had a corkscrew. So I beat the hell out of the cork and had to filter it out of my wine. Also, I got a half bottle of wine because I didn't drink white wine. I was silly. I drink just about every wine.

So here's what I'm doing today:
8 oz cremini mushrooms, thin sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1/2 onion, slivered
Salt and pepper

28 oz can tomatoes with basil (trader joe's brand)
1 lb chicken breast, skin on & bone-in
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (or so. i count to 4 or 5. cause my 6 oz pour is about counting to 6. so there is my logic)

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the first five ingredients together. Put in the oven for about 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. (SIDE NOTE: I had to turn the temp down because the bits of onion sticking up were browning a bit too much)
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, brown the chicken breast. Remove to a plate. Toss in your roasted mushrooms and whatnot. Cook another minute or two.
3. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Reduce it down a lot. Add the tomatoes and return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through. If it starts to dry out, feel free to add some chicken broth. If its too soupy at the end, turn the heat up and reduce it and/or add some tomato paste. Oh, feel free to add some italian seasonings and whatnot.

I used the Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc for this. Woo Two buck Chuck. The tomatoes were 1.50, the mushrooms were 1.69, and everything else is pretty much negligible because I keep it on hand. And use it. Oh, and chicken was like $1 cause I bought on sale and froze. I'm amazing. Also making like 1/2 lb of pasta - so another 50 cents. Cheap meal that I'll have leftovers for. Love it.

Garlic with Chicken

So! I felt like a chicken & wine dish tonight. I loosely based it on the recipe here: Garlic Chicken at Simply Recipes. I modified based on what I had because its silly and stupid to go out and buy a bunch of things for a recipe when you've got similar ones already. I dont know how it is yet, because its still on the stove top.

- 2 chicken breasts, bone-in & skin-on
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- all of the garlic in my little container that wasnt sprouting or rooting (about 30 cloves)
- rosemary (minced. i have frozen rosemary in my freezer and i mince it as needed)
- 1/2 bottle chardonnay (i walked up the hill and bought a cheap bottle. its not terrible but then again i dont like the whites so much. though tastes might be changing)
- s&p

1. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken in the olive oil in a pan large enough to hold everything. Brown all sides and remove to a plate.
2. Add the garlic to the pan. Cook for about four minutes, stirring frequently, until golden.
3. Add rosemary and wine. Bring to a boil and add chicken. Cover. Simmer until chicken is done. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
(4.) Here's where I decided I was hungry, and took the chicken out. I cut it off of the bones and into bite sized pieces. Then I put it back into the pan and waited til it was done. Added a bit of water and a bit more wine.
5. Serve with whatever you feel like. I'm using egg noodles tonight.

Nutrition: no idea yet.

Lasagna

Decided to make some lasagna today. Not too sure how it's gonna turn out besides tomatoey and cheesey.

Here's what I did, before I forget:

1 lb turkey sausage ('italian', bulk would be preferable, but i just removed casings)
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced and separated
1 15 oz can whole tomatoes, juice removed and diced
1 26 oz can 'spaghetti sauce' (i was lazy and do not have spices)
1/2 lb lasagna noodles
8 oz shredded mutz
12 oz cottage cheese
1 egg
pinches 'italian seasoning'
1 tsp olive oil
12 oz spinach (i use frozen :X)

1. Set a huge pot of salted water to boil.
2. Brown the sausage in a pan. Drain fat off. Mince sausage (my preference. i can never get meat to break up well enough!). In same pan, add onions. Cook 2 min, then add 2 cloves of minced garlic. Cook 2 min. Add sausage back to pan. Add tomatoes. Add tomato sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer. Add lasagna noodles to the pot. Cook for however long the box says.
3. In a small skillet, heat olive oil. Add 1 clove minced garlic. Cook 1 min, add spinach. Add bit of salt. Cook at least until all is defrosted.
4. Combine egg, mutz, cottage cheese and italian seasoning. Salt and pepper.
5. Drain the noodles and lay out, so they dont stick.
6. Assemble;
1 cup sauce
1 layer noodles
1/2 cheese mixture
1 layer noodles
1/2 remaining sauce
all spinach
remaining cheese
1 layer noodles
remaining sauce
handful of extra mozzarella

7. Bake in the oven at some temperature for some amount of time. I havent gotten to that yet -- its in the fridge. I did all the prep this morning, so yeah. It'll be with a small romaine salad and a greek/feta vinaigrette for dinner tonight.

Nutrition facts: none

Pasta in a tomato-ricotta sauce

Dinner tonight was a quick, easy pasta. With some garlic bread (from that baguette!). Garlic bread still needs to be perfected, so I'm not going to go into it. We had garlic croutons. Oh well!

For 3 servings of the pasta:
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cans whole tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 2-3 tbsp ricotta (i used part skim. just adds richness and creaminess without tooo many calories or too much in the way of cost)
- 6oz whole wheat pasta
- fresh grated parmesan to serve

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Set a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Add the carrot, celery, and onion (this is also known as a mirepoix). Sprinkle with some salt. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook another few minutes.
3. Add 1 can of tomatoes with juices. Add the other can of tomatoes, and set the juices from that aside. Break up tomatoes with a spoon. (sometimes, i dice the tomatoes beforehand. depends on my mood and how much i'm willing to put into it)
4. Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally, until it thickens. Another idea is to add a spoonful or two of tomato paste, but I like to let everything simmer. Also, I dont always have tomato paste on hand. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I had to add some more red pepper here.
5. When sauce is almost thick enough to enjoy, put the pasta in the (should be boiling) water. Cook for however long, until its al dente. If sauce gets too thick during this time, add some of the reserved juice from the tomatoes.
6. When pasta is done, add directly to the sauce with a slotted spoon. Add about a half cup of the pasta water also. Stirrrrr. When the sauce starts to coat the pasta well, add the ricotta. Stir to evenly distribute. Salt and pepper to taste again.
7. Serve! (optional: top with fresh grated parmesan)

Nutrition per serving: Cal=336, Fat=12.3g, SatFat=2.1g, Carbs=57.1g, Fiber=9.9g, Sugar=8.8g, Protein=11.5g