Pork with Sugar Snap Peas

TGIF! Tomorrow, bright and early, Brian and I are leaving for Annapolis. We are going down with my aunt and uncle to visit my cousin, Matt, who is an Assistant Coach of the Naval Academy baseball team. I'm dreading the 8 hour drive, especially since the best part of a road trip is blaring the music and singing at the top of your lungs, and I imagine my aunt and uncle won't be up for that! Brian is probably doing a happy dance about this, because we all know if it were just him and me, I'd be singing for 8 hours straight. My compilation would include a little Madonna, Justin, George Michael, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Latoya Jackson....okay just kidding about Latoya, but you catch my drift. I'd subject him to show tune after show tune, accompanied by jazz hands and dramatic facial expressions to the point where he'd want to get out of the car and start walking to Annapolis. Maybe this is why he's never wanted to go on a road trip with me?

We get back on Tuesday night so stay tuned for pictures from our road trip.

And for those who care about the recipes...here's a quick week night meal that was mighty tasty. I got the base of the recipe from AllRecipes.com but I added some of this and some of that. Next time I'll add carrots, celery and probably red peppers for some color.

Ingredients:
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil

10 ounces fresh sugar snap peas

1 green bell pepper, sliced thinly

1/2 sweet onion, sliced thinly
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Hot cooked brown rice

In a nonstick skillet, stir-fry pork and garlic in hot oil for 6 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Remove from skillet. In same pan, cook onions and peppers for 5 minutes. Add the peas along with the soy sauce, vinegar, molasses, ginger and red pepper flakes for 4 minutes or until peas are crisp-tender. Return pork to pan; cook for 3 minutes or until glazed. Serve over rice.

Pasta Caprese

In honor of the birth of Giada's baby girl, Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson, I decided to make this pasta from my Giada cookbook. Okay that's a lie, my aunt called me and told me I had to try this recipe, it was quick, easy and delicious - three words that are music to my ears.

I love most of Giada's recipes, in fact, I think I've said this before, she's my favorite Food Network chef. Yes her voice drives me insane and her shirts seem to keep getting lower and lower, but hey, she's cute, so I can't blame her. Her recipes are always fresh and light - two more words that are music to my ears.

So when I told Brian I was making pasta and sauce on a Tuesday night, the little rat thought I was whipping up a real sauce with meatballs. Um excuse me, that would take me hours. I think I spoil him. So when I'm chopping up the fresh cherry tomatoes, he got nervous. Actually the exact phrase was "I'm scared, is there any left over chicken from last night?" As you know Brian will remove tomatoes from any dish that touches his plate. If you've ever watched him, it's almost like surgery. With a precise steady hand he removes things such as tomatoes, artichokes, olives, onions, etc. I do get mad he wrecks my masterpiece, but as I've said before, I get all the scraps so I consider myself lucky.

About 20 minutes later we were both sitting down and enjoying the FANTASTIC meal. And guess what, Brian loved it! He did pick out the chunkier tomatoes but he did manage to eat a few and he surprised himself by actually enjoying it. I recommend this recipe for a quick week night meal or even for a large crowd. This will definitely be added to the dinner rotation. Next time I make it, I'll use less oil because I don't think it needed that much. I might add even more tomatoes and perhaps some chicken. Brian will love it even more if it's topped with a pile of meat - he's so meat and potatoes!

Ingredients:

1 pound fusilli pasta (I used rigitoni - just make sure it's a hearty pasta the sauce will stick to)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

3 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered (about 1 1/2 pints)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn 8 ounces

fresh mozzarella, diced (about 1 1/4 cups)

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 into a large bowl and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a medium skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. As the tomatoes cook and soften, smash them with a fork. Continue to cook until the tomatoes make a chunky style sauce, about 4 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to the bowl with the pasta. Toss to combine. Add the basil leaves and mozzarella. Stir to combine. Add the reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the pasta is moist. Serve.

I think I'll make this the next time the Corey's come over for dinner. Shout out to Danielle Corey who is a member of the C6. Don't ask me where she's from because I never remember if it's England, Wyoming, Oklahoma or North Carolina. Now she currently resides in Malden with her husband David and two cats, Ralphie and Rufus that she adores despite the fact that they've already destroyed her new furniture. She's absolutely crazy but that's why we love her....

(D - feel better now?)

Spinach Orchiette Soup

Our soup days are coming to an end, although you wouldn't know it by the weather we had this weekend. It's almost April and it feels like January. I can't take it anymore. 7 weeks and counting until we're in sunny Mexico though, basking in the sun and drinking frozen concoctions that will make me forget about this never ending miserable winter we've had in New England.

This healthy soup is a cinche to throw together and you can freeze in serving size portions. It's a Cooking Light recipe that was given to me by Stacey (founder of the SSCC)!

Ingredients:

1 cup water
3 (10.5 oz) cans chicken broth (or vegetable)
1.5 cups uncooked orecchiette (I used Campanelle pasta)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed (or use fresh spinach)
1 cup chopped seeded tomato
3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Bring water and broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add pasta and spinach; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in tomato.

Combine 3 T parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and egg; stir well with a whisk. Slowly drizzle egg mixture into simmering soup, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese (to taste). Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Chips/Fries

I'm not sure what to call these tasty treats - they don't have the crunchiness of a chip but they aren't shaped like a fry either. Anywho - I just kinda made up this recipe. Brian isn't sold yet - he still isn't a huge fan of the sweet potato but it's a healthy alternative to the regular potatoes I usually make so he'll have to get used to it. We're going to Mexico in less than two months and this mama needs to lose some lbs. - stat!

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

1 tbls of evoo

rosemary

kosher salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and sclice them about 1/4 inch thick. Toss potatoes with the remaining ingredients until well coated. Place on a cookie sheet and cook until they slightly brown - about 25-30 minutes.

Cicco's Calzone

Holla! Ya, I know, it's been a while. Will you forgive me? I've been cooking, just not blogging. Not sure why, maybe it's because I have very little time after work now since I'm addicted to a couple reality shows and with the writing strike over, some of my favorite shows are coming back. YAY!

American Idol has proved to be one of the best seasons ever in my opinion. I did not cry when Amanda was sent packing last night. I wanted to like her, I really did, but every week she screamed the same wanna be rocker tune and it drove me batshit crazy. I was shocked Carly was in the bottom three though, I really like her. I just think she needs to make better choices. So who are my favs you may ask? I lurve Jason Castro....he looks like a guy I would have totally drooled over in high school, with the long hair, big nose and dreamy eyes. And the cherry on top, he sings AND plays the guitar, well giddyup! I also like David Cooke, aka "big forehead guy" in our household, because even though the renditions of some of my favorite songs are not his originals, he sounds awesome. And David A....despite the fact that he licks his lips more often than not I love him. He's cute, he's kinda dorky, and he's got an amazing voice. I almost cried when he forgot his words last week. I think he'll win the whole shabang if you ask me.

Okay, and onto the calzone! Anytime my group of friends has a party, it's pretty much a known fact that Cicco is bringing a calzone. It's also a known fact that the thing will be woofed up faster than you can say oink oink! I think what makes this calzone stand out is the Land o Lakes American cheese. When it melts, the creamy velvety texture just rocks your world. I ain't lyin folks! But beware, there's a bite to this calzone because of the capicolla (hot italian ham) so if you'd like to make it a little less milder use regular ole ham. Oh and one more thing, don't snub your nose to the bologna like I did, you can't really taste it, and I tend to use less than the recipe calls for. Thank goodness D knew better and did not tell me what was in it before I had a chance to fall in love.

Ingredients:

fresh pizza dough (found in the deli/produce/cheese section)

1/4 lb german bologna

1/4 lb capicolla

1/2 lb pepperoni (sliced from the deli)

1/2 lb land o lakes white american cheese (calm down, you won't use it all)

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flour pizza dough and roll out into a rectangle. Layer the cold cuts and then the cheese. You might not need to use it all, depending on how big the regtangle is. Fold over the dough (the long side) in half. Wet your hands and press together the edges. Brush the egg on top of the calzone. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Asparagus

Again, apologies for the lack of posts but recently life and a lack of appetite has been getting in the way of cooking! Not much new to report here - most of you may know that Brian's niece was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Prayers and positive energy would be appreciated. She's such a trooper and I'm amazed at her strength and courage.

This is a quick and easy recipe that one of the SSCC gals (shout out to Jenn) passed on to me! It's one of our favorites!

1 bunch fresh asparagus
butter
salt
pepper

Melt butter in a fry pan. Add asparagus, season with fresh ground pepper and salt to taste. Fry to desired crispness (or keep it soft, depending on your taste). Serve immediately

Asian Beef with Snowpeas

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. I've been sick. Serves me right, as I've been bragging to everyone how I've made it this whole season without catching anything, while everyone around me has been sick two and three times. Damn you winter!

Chinese food is something I rarely get to eat because Brian doesn't care for it. I've never really made any Asian flare dishes so I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. I have to say this recipe was pretty good, although Brian liked it a little more than I did. However, this is a great quick and easy week night recipe. I think next time I'll use sirloin steak because the top round can be a little tough. I found this recipes on allrecipes.com, and added the red peppers to give it more color and flavor.

Ingredients:
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs rice wine
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs minced fresh ginger root
1 tbs minced garlic
1 lb beef round steak cut into thin strips
8 oz snow peas

In a small bowl, cobime soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and corn starch. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Stir fry ginger and garlic for 30 seconds. Add steak and stir fry for 3 minutes or until evenly browned. Add the snow peas and stir fry for an additional 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce is thick and smooth. Serve over white rice.

Ziti with Asparagus, Smoked Mozzarella and Prosciutto

All I have to say is YUM! This has to be one of my favorite Giada dishes for a couple of reasons. 1) It's light - there are no heavy sauces, not a lot of oil and you can even scale back on the prosciutto if you really want to (although I never do!) 2) It's quick - I can throw this nice meal together during the week without spending hours slaving over a hot stove 3) It's pretty - if you're entertaining, people will definitely like the looks of this meal and probably even ask you for the recipe. And come on...who the heck doesn't like asparagus, smoked mozzarella and prosciutto?

Ingredients:
Salt
8 ounces dried ziti or other tubular pasta
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (about 1/2 cup)
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into strips
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook for 7 minutes, stirring often. Add the asparagus and cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, and the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the pasta, asparagus, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and the 1 cup of reserved cooking liquid, and toss to coat. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the mozzarella, prosciutto, and basil and toss to combine. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to shallow bowls and serve.

*Note - you can use regular mozzarella but I highly recommend buying smoked if you can. It can be found with all the imported cheese in the deli section of your grocery store.

Garlic Green Beans

I was reviewing the recipes I've posted and noticed that I've yet to post any veggie recipes. It's not because we don't eat them, it's just because during the week I mostly serve a salad as our veggie. My taste buds have changed over the years. When I was younger I wouldn't eat any veggies. I blame my mother mostly for this because she would always say "Nikki, eat your vegetables, it'll put hair on your chest." I was scared that I would literally start growing hair on my chest. And to top it off, being Italian, hair was a sore subject for me since I pretty much had to start shaving when I was in the 3rd grade! So to all those moms out there - don't tell your little girl she'll become a hairy beast if she eats her vegetables.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of green beans trimmed

1 tbs minced shallots

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 tsp of olive oil

Salt to taste

Cook green beans in boiling water for about 5-6 minutes. Drain beans and either dump the beans in cold water or just run cold water over them to stop them from continuing to cook. In a pan, sautee garlic and shallots in the olive oil until fragrant - about 1 minute. Transfer cooked beans into the pan and sautee for about 3 minutes. Add salt (kosher salt or sea salt) to taste.

Caramelized Onion Chicken

This past weekend was beautiful. The warm sun had finally melted the last bit of snow away. Just in time for the Nor'easter. Well if you ask me, and remind you I'm from Texas, the big Nor'easter proved to be a huge disappointment. It started yesterday when Brian and I made a trip to Costcos. It was chaos. You would have thought they were giving away free food (think Super Market Sweep). I knew we were getting snow, but come on people. Then last night they started announcing school closings and I think pretty much every town was shutting down. When I woke up this morning I expected more than what I saw. I mean, sure it snowed, cars were covered, etc but they blow everything out of proportion. Most of the people made it into the office, besides the lucky few who worked from home. Ahhh, the joys of New England.

So here's a Caramelized Onion Chicken recipe from Cooking Light (but it was given to me by Sue). I love pretty much anything with caramelized onions. This sweet and savory dish will not disappoint. I think this is something kids would even enjoy. They can do what Brian does and pick out all the onions. I served this over jasmine rice and thought it was another quick and easy dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken breast or tenders cut into pieces

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup of sliced onion (I used sweet)

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

1 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tbs low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp bottled minced ginger

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add chicken to pan; saute for about 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove onion and chicken from pan and set aside.

Add jam and remaining ingredients to pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return chicken mixture to pan. Cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. However, the longer it cooks, the more thicker the sauce gets.