Recipe to Reality: Rigatoni with Roasted Butternut Squash & Sweet Italian Sausage

I am a huge butternut squash fan.

I'm also a die-hard pasta lover.

I know that it's only September, and I could have waited a little longer to jump into winter squashes, but since my Curried Chicken and Vegetable Pan Roast, featuring butternut squash went over so well with my husband, I decided to continue to change his opinion on this sweet, buttery, squash!

This recipe comes from the February 2012 edition of Food & Wine Magazine. It's a recipe from Emeril Lagasse, but I improvised a bit while cooking.

Here's What You'll Need:

2 butternut squashes -- peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tbs. of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Allspice
About 20 whole sage leaves
3 tbs. unsalted butter
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/4 cup of white wine
1 lb. rigatoni
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Put it All Together!

1) Preheat your over to 400 degrees and break down your squash. As I mentioned in my  Curried Chicken and Vegetable Pan Roast post, I like to buy the pre-cut butternut squash cubes to bypass the hassle, but alas, the supermarket was out. I used this video by GoodHousekeepingMag via YouTube to help me effectively break down the squash.

2) Put the squash cubes on a foil lined baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbs. of the olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and allspice, bake for 30 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork.

3) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the 3 tbs. of butter and add the whole sage leaves for about 2 minutes, turning once, until crispy. Remove the leaves and store on a plate, remove the butter and save in a bowl for later.

4) In the same skillet, add the last tbs. of oil, and the sausage over medium high heat. Break up the sausage as best you can with a wooden spoon while it's cooking until the meat is no longer pink-about 8 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup of white wine and let simmer for a few minutes. 

5) Boil a large pot of water for the pasta. Add salt once the water comes to a boil. Cook the rigatoni until al dente, about 14 minutes. Reserve one cup of the cooking water before draining the rest of the pasta.

6) Return the pasta to the empty pot and add the sausage and melted butter while gradually stirring in the cup of reserved starchy water. Next add the squash and 1/4 cup of Parm. Garnish with more cheese and the crispy sage leaves!

We really found this to be a light pasta dish despite the rich flavors of the sausage and squash. 

We have two tupperwares in the fridge for leftovers and can't wait!


Stay Savory,

Recipe to Reality: Mexican Lasagna

I have to admit that even though my heritage is practically 100% Italian, I'm not a big traditional lasagna fan due to the ricotta cheese involved.

Ever since I was young, I have been repulsed by white condiments. This includes, but is not limited to, mayonnaise, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and many white salad dressings (ranch, blue cheese, etc.)

It's a completely irrational fear, and to be honest, I haven't even tried 90% of those items, so for me to say, "I don't like it" is really not fair...

But the one time I did try mayonnaise I was at a friend's house and she had made sandwiches and I didn't want to be rude or offend her, so I sucked up my superficial craziness and ate the sandwich...needless to say, I had a "stomach ache" for the rest of the night. All in my head? Perhaps.

I blame my father who started this absurd hatred for white condiments.

I have a feeling that as I was growing up a scene like this was stuck into my consciousness...

Mom:  Jasmine, have some potato salad.
Me:     Daddy, are you having any?
Dad:   Oh no, I don't touch that stuff. That's gross...but you can have it if you want

He's never admitted to brainwashing me, lol, but I've always been a Daddy's Girl.

OKAY! BACK TO THE FOOD!

Basically, I was trying to say that I don't really like Italian lasagna, but this Mexican Lasagna as per Rachael Ray is fabulous!

Here's What You'll Need!

• 3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 lbs ground chicken 

• 2 tbs chili powder

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 red onion, chopped

• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes

• 1 can black beans, drained

• 1 cup frozen corn kernels

• Salt

• Pepper

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 4-5 wheat tortillas

• 2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

• 2 scallions, chopped

Put It All Together!

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees,

2. Start by browning the ground chicken in a skillet with 2 tbs of the oil.

3. Season the ground chicken with the chili powder, cumin, and red onion. 

4. Once the meat the coated in the spice mixture, add the tomatoes, beans, and corn.

5. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

6. Use the leftover tbs of olive oil to grease the bottom of a 7" x 11" glass pan.

7. Start by cutting the tortillas in halves (or quarters) and put a layer on the bottom of the dish.

8. Next, spoon on a layer of the meat and beans.

9. Cover again with a layer of tortillas, and then a layer of cheese.

10. Repeat steps 7-9 as necessary, leaving the cheese layer on top.

11. Put assembled lasagna into the oven for about 13-14 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the entire meal is heated through.

12. Garnish with chopped scallions and enjoy your Mexican treat!!

Completely ricotta free, and absolutely scrumptious!

Stay Savory,

Recipe To Reality: Mallow Brownie Bars

Happy End of Summer Sweethearts!

Last Friday Jasmine and I got together and baked up a STORM! Her recipe of choice was some delicious oatmeal cookies.  I chose to whip up some Mallow Brownie bars for a Labor Day BBQ I was attending!

I found these decadent treats on Nichi's blog, The Mandatory Mooch. They are extremely easy to make despite their intricate appearance. They are so delicious and definitely will not fail to impress anyone's taste buds.

One of my favorite quick desserts has to be box brownies. I know, I know, probably not worthy of a "food blog" discussion, but just having access to a delicious treat that only takes a few ingredients you are bound to have around your home is a relief when you finish the last box of Oreos. Thus, when I saw that brownies were included in this recipe, I was extremely excited to make it! Another incentive was that I had all of the ingredients for the rest of recipe, and I'm sure many of you will be in the same boat!

The actual process was a piece of cake, no pun intended. When the brownies were almost done, I took them out of the oven and dumped a bag of mini marshmallows on top. I allowed it to bake for another 3 minutes (I let the brownies bake prior for about 25 minutes) so that the sugary topping had developed a sort of hard shell, but had not completely melted.

While the bottom layers of the dessert were cooling, I started on the top chocolate layer, which involved  chocolate, peanut butter, butter, and crispy rice cereal.  Although I ended up having only half a bag of chocolate chips (the recipe called for 1 full bag) everything actually ended up coming together fairly nice. I also used Simply Jif peanut butter, which has about a 1/3 less fat than the regular kind included in a popular lunch box staple.

Once I finished melting everything together, I poured the chocolate mixture on top of the brownies and spread evenly with a spatula. Once everything was visually appealing, the brownies went into the fridge for 1-2 hours to set.

A little while later, the treat was ready to eat! They cut evenly, and there was no problem with any liquidy chocolate left on top. Everyone at the party I brought them to loved them, and they were gone within 10 minutes! They actually remind me of chocolate Rice Krispie Treats.  All in all, I though these brownie bars were a hit and I will totally be making them again! If anyone is going back to school, these are a perfect cure for the end of summer blues that everyone is sure to face in the coming weeks. (:

Stay Sweet,

Recipe to Reality: Sweet & Sour Chicken with Fried Rice

Absolutely Delicious!

I was SO excited to try this recipe for a few reasons.

#1. Who doesn't love Chinese food?

#2. The only ingredient that I had to buy were the chicken tenders which means this meal cost me like $4 for the two of us!

#3. In addition to originally finding the recipe at Life as a Lofthouse on Pinterest with great instructions and comments, Heather Lynn from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks  also made this recipe this week and only had good things to say about it!


Here's What You'll Need:
For your chicken...

1 package of boneless, skinless, chicken tenderloins (I like these because they're easier to cut into chunks, but you can use regular chicken breast as well)

Salt

Pepper

1 cup of cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

For your sauce...

3/4 of a cup of granulated, white sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

Put it all together!

1. Preheat your over to 325 degrees.

2. Rinse your chicken and cut into cubes. I like to use the tenderloins because they are well cleaned (except for the tendon...) and easier to butcher.

3. Make yourself two assembly line-style bowls. One should contain the cup of cornstarch and the other the two beaten eggs seasoned with salt and pepper. Also, start heating a skillet with the 1/4 cup of oil on medium heat.

Salt & Pepper Kitties Watching Me Work!

4. Coat your chicken chunks in the cornstarch first, and then into the egg mixture.

5. Add coated chicken to skillet and cook until browned (you can't see any pink).

Cornstarch and Egg making Strange Chicken Shapes!

6. While browning, mix together all your ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. 

7. Move the browned chicken into a 7' x 11' glass baking dish and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Thank you, Hubby for this shot!

8. Bake the chicken for a total of 60 minutes, checking in at 15-minute intervals to stir them around and make sure they are being coated at every angle! An hour seems like a long time, but don't worry your chicken will stay moist and tender!

While the chicken is baking, why not start the rice? You can use leftover rice, but I didn't have any so I made a fresh batch!

For Cooking Rice

2 cups of white rice

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

4 cups of water

1. Combine all ingredients and stir rice continuously while bringing to a boil.

2. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and cover.

3. When water is absorbed (about 12-13 minutes) rice is done!

Here's What You'll Need:

For fried rice!

2 cups cooked white rice 

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen vegetable medley, thawed

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves of minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup soy sauce

Putting It All Together!

1. Heat the sesame oil in a skillet on medium-high (I used the same skillet that I cooked my chicken in rinsed out) and add the thawed veggies, onion, and garlic. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the onions have become a bit translucent and veggies are tender.

2. Lower heat to medium low and push the veggies to one half of the pan. Add the beaten eggs to the other side of the pan and scramble them.

Hibachi at Home!

3. Add the veggies and scrambled egg to your rice with the soy sauce and you're all set!

Did you ever think it could be that easy?!

We devoured this plate of food and have a ton of fried rice as leftovers in the fridge.

The chicken was juicy, tangy and paired perfectly with the fried rice.

I will be making this for my friends the next time they come over because it's delicious, cheap Chinese food.

Who knew I could make Chinese food?!

YUM.

Stay Savory,