tilapia piccata w/ snap peas

It's been awhile since I've made a good, new fish recipe. Everytime I'm hungry for some tasty fish, I resort back to the dijon mustard salmon recipe from awhile back. It's delicious, but every now and then you need to try something new. Tonight I tried a new tilapia recipe, it was very subtle, but the snap peas really made it light and fresh. And it took all of 25 minutes, start to finish. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 tilapia fillet
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 6 ounces snap peas
• 1 red potato, cubed pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons white wine

baked farfalle w/ mushrooms, prosciutto & peas

As I've said many times, one of my favorite things about cold weather I enjoy most is a good casserole. They're hot, easy and delicious. Even though my favorite is the classic tuna noodle, I do like to branch out on occasion and try something different. This week I pick up a recipe for a new one with prosciutto. Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/4 lb. prosciutto, thinly sliced then coarsely chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 lb. farfalle pasta
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• Salt and pepper 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and oil or butter a square baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the farfalle per the box directions.

Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, warm 1 tablespoon of oil. Then add the shallots and sauté for a couple minutes. Stir in the prosciutto and cook for just a minute or so, then remove the prosciutto and shallots and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the same skillet over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms until they start to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Return the prosciutto and shallots to the pan, and add in the pas. All them to cook for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to brown. Gradually add the milk while stirring, then cook over medium heat until the sauce begins to boil and thicken. Stir in a dash of salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and add in the other ingredients (mushroom mixture), the pasta and 3/4 cup of cheese.

Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and top for the remaining cheese and butter. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and just barely begins to brown.

Bon chappétit!

tuna noodle casserole, part deux

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of casserole season. Now that the weather is friggid out, I've been revisiting some favorites. Tonight, I was in the mood for a tuna noodle casserole. I've made one once before that I've posted on the blog. However, the last time I had this, I felt it was a little...underwhelming. I found a recipe for homemade - yet still simple - tuna casserole. I added my own touch to it and gave it a whirl. It turned out fantastic. If you love the dish in general, you'll definitely love how this one turns out. Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1/2 package uncooked medium egg noodles
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 small can French's fried onions
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

So, this is going to sound like a lot of time and energy to put into a simple dish. However, you can do all three of the following paragraphs simultaneously and it will only take about 10 minutes to prep. It's not as bad as it sounds - promise.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Butter a medium baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, cook per the package directions and drain.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the chopped onion and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Increase the heat to medium-high, and mix in the mushrooms. Continue to cook and stir 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk, and continue cooking 5 minutes, or until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tuna, peas, mushroom mixture, and cooked noodles.

Transfer everything to the baking dish. Spread the cheddar cheese in a layer across the top, and finish everything off with the French's onions.

Bake for 20 minutes covered, and then uncover for 2-5 minutes, or until the onions on top begin to brown just a bit.

It's probably due to the insane amount of butter, but this dish was incredible! So much flavor, and such a huge improvement over the last tuna casserole recipe. And to boot, I got a huge dinner and two generous lunches out of it - all for under $20. Can't beat that.

Bon chappétit!

pasta primavera

As Sunday was the last official day of Spring, and as I was totally craving some pasta for dinner (it had been DAYS), what could be better suited than a pasta primavera? This does happen to be one of those rare Italian dishes that I don't actually have a family recipe for, so I went searching through some of my favorite food blogs. Broke Ass Gourmet (check it out if you haven't already) had a great looking recipe up, so I decided to try it, with a few changes (mainly, more meat). Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 lb. penne
• One small carton of heavy cream (like half a pint or something? The small one)
• 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped up
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• A few mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 bunch fresh basil, coarsely chopped
• Some pancetta (I got a 1/4 lb., however I ate half of it before it went into the dish...so 1/8 lb?)

Begin by boiling a large pot of water and cooking the pasta per the box directions, about 10 minutes or so. While that's going, take a large non-stick pan and cook up the pancetta so that it's nice and crispy, about 7 or 8 minutes. When that's done, place on a dish with a paper towel to dry. Once dried, simple crush it up into little bits.

In the same pan, sauté the garlic and oil for just a few minutes over medium heat, until the garlic turns golden. Next, add the broccoli, pepper and mushrooms and sauté these as well for another 3-5 minutes. By this time, your pasta should be cooked and drained. Add the two dishes together in the pot the pasta was cooked in. Add in the peas, cream, cheese and half of the pancetta. Cook over medium heavy for just a few minutes, until the cream begins to thicken.

Serve immediately while hot, and top with the remaining pancetta. This dish was quick and delicious. These veggies gave a nice balance to the creamy cheesiness, and you seriously can't go wrong with pancetta. Ever. It may have been in honor of Spring, but it'd definitely be a great meal anytime year-round.

Bon chappétit!

fettuccine with peas, asparagus & pancetta

So I was reading up on fooding with emily's blog, and it got me hungry for some creamy pasta carbonara. However, that can be quite heavy, and with the weather warming up, I was in the mood for something slightly more Springlike. I had this fettuccine recipe set aside for sometime, weary of adding all that lemon and lemon zest to my pasta. I'm glad I went for it though - the flavors blend seamlessly, and the lemon adds a great dimension to a traditional dish. Here's what you'll need:

• 12 ounces of fettuccine (3/4 of a box)
• 1/2 lb. of pancetta, chopped (could do proscuitto as well...could also do a whole pound if you're feeling lucky)
• 1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or more, if you're like me)
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus additional for serving)
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (the smaller container on the shelf
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of one squeezed lemon
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1 bunch of sliced fresh basil

Begin by boiling the water and cooking your pasta per the box directions. Drain, saving 1/4 of the pasta water.

While the pasta's boiling, add 1 tablespoon of oil to a medium-hot skillet and cook the pancetta until crisp. Slice and place on a paper towel to drain.

In the pancetta grease, add the garlic cook until browned. Next, add in the asparagus and cook until bright green (3-5 minutes). Then add in the peas, cooking until thawed (they'll turn bright green as well). Turn the heat down to keep warm until the pasta is done.

When the pasta is done, add the vegetable mix into the pot. Add to that the lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, heavy cream, parmesan, remaining olive oil, pancetta and the 1/4 cup of pasta water. Mix until the cheese melts, and serve (probably about 4 servings.) It took under a half hour total to cook, and made a pretty awesome pasta dish for Spring.

Bon chappétit!

chicken, green bean, corn & farro salad w/ goat cheese

Yes, that might be the longest title yet! This was an awesome little "salad" I made last night that was pretty great.  I say "salad" because there's no lettuce in this puppy, which makes me think it's not a salad.  However, the recipe called it one, so we'll roll with it.  It features farro, which epicurious.com describes as "a nutty-flavored grain that's popular in Tuscany." It's a bit like rice, only not. You can find it in the Italian section of your supermarket, or at the local Italian specialty store. Onto the recipe, here's what you'll need:

• 1/2-3/4 cup semi-pearled farro
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 ounces skinless boneless chicken breast
• 1 package of frozen green bean/corn mix (mine had carrots and peas too)
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot (could probably use garlic here instead if you wanted)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Qty: 2-4 (depending on how big you like your salads)

Begin by cooking the farro in medium pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 20 to 25 minutes (just like rice). Then drain and cool.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper (I just found another bottle of Hot Shot by McCormick - a red/black pepper blend - LOVE). Add the chicken to skillet and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Cool, then cut it into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes.

Steam the frozen vegetables per package directions and drain. (Sidenote: The original recipe called for all fresh corn and green beans. If you want to go that route, by all means. I took the lazy road and went with the frozen veggie melody. No regrets there :) Rinse under cold water to cool and drain.

Mix the farro, chicken, and veggies in a large bowl and add the veggies and green onion.

Combine remaining olive oil, oregano, and salt in small bowl. Press with the back of a spoon to release the flavor. Whisk in the vinegar, shallot, and mustard. Pour over the salad in the bowl and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Finish with a sprinkle of goat cheese and you're done.

I know some people are weary of goat cheese, but I have to say, that really made the dish. The flavor counteracts the strong flavors of vinegar and mustard in a really interesting way.

Also, I'm not one to provide vegetarian recipes. However, this is probably a good option if that's your thing. The chicken is really a side player here, and could easily be replaced with tofu or eliminated altogether. But if you know me, you know I'd never do a meal without meat :)

Bon chappétit!

tuna noodle casserole

I've always been a big fan of casseroles. They just seem to be perfect to me - easy and delicious. One of my favorites has always been tuna noodle. I've tried a number of different ways to make it, but this seems to be my favorite thus far. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 can of tuna in water
• 1/2 bag of egg noodles
• 4 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 bag of frozen peas
• 1 small can of French’s Fried Onions (or half a large can)

Cook the 1/2 bag of noodles per the box directions. While boiling that, mix the tuna, peas, mushrooms and soup in 10” cooking dish. Drain the noodles and mix into dish. Cook covered for 30 min on 350 degrees. Then uncover and sprinkle a layer of the onions on top, broil until onions begin to blacken just a smidge. I usually get a dinner and two lunches out of this puppy.