Chicken and Mushroom Goulash with Gnocchi

One more favorite. I finally broke down and bought smoked paprika which was a great buy. I’ve used it in goulash recipes and also when I make spiced almonds (one of my favorite Spanish tapas).

Chicken and Mushroom Goulash with Gnocchi
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1/2 pound white mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 2/3 palm full
Salt and pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup sour cream or reduced fat sour cream
Handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 package fresh gnocchi, in refrigerated section of market, 12 to14 ounces
2 tablespoons chives

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil and butter in a large, deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the ground chicken. Brown the meat 3 to 4 minutes, push it off to the sides of the pan then add mushrooms, garlic, onions and peppers to the center of the pan. Cook the vegetables 5 minutes then mix them together with chicken and season with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Stir in stock and tomato sauce and bring to a bubble. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes then stir in sour cream and turn off heat. Add parsley. Adjust seasonings, to your taste.

While chicken goulash cooks, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Salt boiling water and cook gnocchi until they puff up like pillows and float, 5 minutes or to package suggestions. Drain gnocchi and add to chicken just after you stir in the sour cream.

Ladle goulash with gnocchi into shallow bowls and garnish with chives.

Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms

We’ve officially started a dinner club in my neighborhood. I know 3 of the 4 couples and all of us love to cook! We’re having our first dinner in a few weeks and I offered up this fantastic recipe from my friend Amanda. It’s the perfect dinner party recipe if you want to buy a beef tenderloin. Otherwise, we tend to eat it at holidays (Christmas mostly).

Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms

1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 (6 to 7 lb) beef tenderloin
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
4 oz. blue cheese crumbles
1 8 oz. bottle red wine vinegar and oil salad dressing (I use Newman’s)
1/4 cup crushed peppercorns
10 whole mushrooms
Several sprigs of fresh watercress

Saute mushrooms and green onions in butter in skillet. Drain. Stir in parsley and set aside.

Trim excess fat from tenderloin (or ask butcher to do this). Cut a pocket in 1 side, leaving 1/4 inch or more uncut at each end. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and lemon pepper. Spoon mushroom mixture into pocket. Sprinkle filling with blue cheese. Close the pocket and secure at 2 in. intervals with heavy string. Place the tenderloin in shallow dish. Add the salad dressing. Marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours or longer basting occasionally.

Drain the tenderloin: press peppercorns into surface. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 35 mins (it has usually taken longer depending on outside temperature) or until done to taste. Remove to platter, discarding the string. Arrange whole mushrooms and watercress around tenderloin and serve.

Two great cookbooks!

I got two new cookbooks that are great! Plus, the Williams-Sonoma Plank Grilling cookbook that Mapgeek got. The first cookbook, I bought specifically for Babygirl and I to cook together, now that she insists on helping with everything. It's called C is for Cooking. It's great with young kids. We've been trying out some stuff in it. I'll post some of our favorites later. The second is a Southern Living cookbook called Busy Moms Weeknight Favorites. It's a great, fast, easy meal planning book. It's got quick meals, cook ahead meals, freezer meals, double duty meals, and suggested side items.

The two notable recipes from the Busy Moms book I've used recently are Ham and Cheese Muffins, which I made and froze. They are the perfect portion for a quick breakfast along with juice and maybe yogurt. The second is a Shepherd's Pie recipe. Below is how I made it, which is generally the recipe, but missing a bunch of cream cheese and butter in the potatoes. The pie was incredibly easy to make, though it wasn't my favorite recipe for this. I prefer the ground meat to the tips and gravy.

Shepherd's Pie
1 package of the refrigerated sirloin tips in gravy (I found this in the meat section in the already prepared stuff)
1/2 package of refrigerated mashed potatoes (used the original recipe)
1 cup of frozen veggie medley (peas, carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350. I nuked the sirloin tips in the microwave according to the directions. I then nuked the potatoes according to those directions. Next, I nuked the frozen veggies to thaw them out. I used a small casserole dish and poured the meat and gravy into the dish. I then spread the vegetables over that. Then, I spread the potatoes over the meat and vegetables and sprinkled cheese on the potatoes. The whole thing goes into the oven for around 15-20 minutes until bubbly.

Easy huh? I have to say, I don't think I've nuked an entire meal before. I feel so cheap and tawdry.

Prosciutto and Mozzarella Sandwiches

Found a link on the Food Network site to “no-cook” recipes. Sometimes I’m all about no cook just for the sake of not having a bunch of pots to clean. This sandwich was delicious. Plus it helps that I love prosciutto and arugula. I’m not hugely fond of generic black olives and wanted more taste so I bought a tapenade from the deli. I then added the tomatoes to that. The tapenade was obviously stronger since it also had green olives and garlic in it. It was still delicious.

And, I didn’t feel like dealing with fresh mozzarella, so I bought slices. Probably a huge faux pas for the true gourmand. But quite honestly, with the strong flavors already on the sandwich, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to tell much difference anyways. At the end, we had a cutting board, knife, and two bowls to wash. Not to shabby!

One huge plus to this sandwich is that it would work perfectly for a picnic or a takealong sandwich! This recipe is definately a keeper just for that reason as well as being easy and yummy!


Prosciutto and Mozzarella Sandwiches
Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine

1 large plum tomato
3 tablespoons black olive paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 pound fresh mozzarella
4 cups trimmed arugula
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 store-bought focaccia
1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto

Seed tomato and chop fine. In a bowl stir together tomato, olive paste, and basil. Cut mozzarella into thin slices. Coarsely chop arugula and in a bowl toss with oil, salt, and pepper, to taste.

Halve focaccia horizontally and spread bottom half with olive mixture. Top olive mixture with mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, and remaining focaccia half. Press focaccia gently and cut lengthwise in half and crosswise into thirds to make 6 sandwiches. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill sandwiches at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Tri-Colore Orzo

Also, off the same Everyday Italian episode, I found this recipe. It was delicious! Very complex with the tangy lemon juice, salty feta (we used feta), bitter arugula, and sweet cherries. Only other change I made was to chop up the cherries. Smaller pieces made it distribute further.

Very light and fresh tasting. And, I think the arugula is holding up for this dish to be a leftover. I’ve been very impressed with Giada’s recipes that we’ve tried out.

Tri-Colore Orzo
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
2 cups fresh arugula (about 3 ounces)
3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese (or feta cheese)
1/2 cup dried cherries
12 fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and put the pasta on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle the pasta with 3 tablespoons olive oil, toss, spread out, and set aside to cool.

Once the orzo is cool, transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine. Serve.

Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Here’s a YUMMY-LICIOUS barbeque recipe that we used last night. Mapgeek grilled over charcoal, but no smoking. It was decided that smoking the chicken might make the flavors too much. We used chicken thighs because they grill great and are the perfect size. It’s been decided that this is a definite keeper in our barbeque collection. Go figure that it came off an Everyday Italian episode!


Chicken or Steak with Balsamic BBQ Sauce
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

For the Balsamic BBQ sauce:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the chicken or steak: 4 pieces chicken (any combination of breast or leg-and-thigh pieces) or 4 pieces of New York strip or Club strip steak Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the BBQ sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes.

For the chicken or steak: Place a grill pan over medium heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with some of the BBQ sauce using a pastry brush. Place the meat on the grill. Place the remaining BBQ sauce, still in the small saucepan, over low heat or on the edge of a gas or charcoal grill and allow to gently simmer while the meat cooks.

Cook the chicken about 8 minutes per side. Cook the steaks starting at about 4 minutes per side until a meat thermometer reads the desired temperature, 120 degrees F for medium rare, 135 degrees F for medium (about 6 minutes per side), 155 degrees F for well done (about 9 minutes per side). Continually brush the meat with BBQ sauce every few minutes. Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve with the heated BBQ sauce alongside.

Alternately, the chicken can be baked in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the chicken skin side up in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and spoon the BBQ sauce all over the top of the chicken. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Another winner from Apron’s. I’ve made a great Shepherd’s Pie from a Paula Deen recipe. The most time consuming part of making a pie is making the potatoes (if you do it from scratch). This recipe uses the refrigerated mashed potatoes. And you are putting everything together hot and then you broil it, so there’s time saved by not having to heat the whole pie through.

The other pie recipes I’ve seen also include a TON of butter. That Paula Deen recipe above included 6 tablespoons of butter in the potatoes, not to mention what you might use to make the gravy. This recipe uses no oil, except for a little cooking spray and uses ground turkey (7% fat) instead of beef (not a huge fat difference, but not red meat). The interesting thing was that it used a package of the dried mushroom gravy for seasoning. I’ve never tried that before and it worked great!

One comment I’ve noticed with different recipe collections. Each one seems to have its own stock ingredients…ingredients that seem to show up in lots of their recipes. The Apron’s site has been using a lot of garlic butter in various recipes. I bought one stick of Irish herbed butter and have been using it over and over with some of these recipes. As I mentioned, Apron’s also uses the frozen prepped veggies too. So, at least I’m not feeling like I’m wasting food.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
cooking spray
1 cup frozen seasoning blend (diced onions, bell peppers, celery)
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
1 (.75-ounce) packet mushroom gravy mix
1 (8-ounce) can mushroom pieces (undrained)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon quick-mixing flour
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (24-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon garlic butter

Steps
1. Place oven rack 6 inches from broiler, then preheat oven on broil. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes.
2. Remove pan from burner; coat with cooking spray. Add seasoning blend to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables begin to brown.
3. Add turkey and dry gravy mix. Cook 5–7 minutes until meat is brown and no pink remains. Stir frequently and break meat up as it cooks.
4. Stir in mushrooms, pepper, flour, and tomato sauce. Cook 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until gravy thickens.
5. Meanwhile, place potatoes in microwave-safe bowl; microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated and softened.
6. Stir butter into potatoes until melted. Spoon turkey mixture into 2-quart baking dish. 7. Spread potatoes evenly over turkey mixture. Coat potatoes with cooking spray; broil 6–8 minutes or until golden. Serve. (Makes 6 servings.)

CALORIES (per 1/6 recipe) 370kcal; FAT 19g; CHOL 110mg; SODIUM 1120mg; CARB 22g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 23g; VIT A 10%; VIT C 6%; CALC 6%; IRON 15%