Santoli's Spanish Chicken In a Crock Pot

This recipe was passed along to me by editor extraordinare Rich Santoli.

I made a few changes. I up'd the amount of olvies to 3/4 - 1 cup and instead of tomato paste I used one small can of diced tomatos. I also added a little extra beer and used Sam Adams.

Once the dish was cooked, I added about 2 cups of basmati rice and let all the juice cook the rice. It took about another 30 minutes to finish and was utterly amazing. The flavor of the olives really comes through, so if the green olives aren't your thing stick to the original recipe.

We just couldn't stop eating this!

Here's the link: http://www.crock-pot.com/Recipe.aspx?rid=268

Chicken Provencal

Here's my version of Chicken Provencal. Use a white wine that you like because it will be the base flavor in the dish. Also consider the taste of the shallots and bacon and how those flavors will merge with the wine you select.

Ingredients
4 free range chicken breasts
Salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 shallots, quartered
¼ cup of good quality bacon diced to ½ inch pieces
2 cups white wine
2 fresh thyme sprigs
¼ cup capers
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or 2 small cans of stewed or plum tomatoes

Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl or small cookie sheet. Add the chicken and toss to coat evenly.

In a large Dutch oven or sauce pan over heat olive oil. Add two chicken breasts. Brown chicken on both sides, 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a large plate. Repeat with the two remaining chicken breasts. Add the shallots and bacon to the pan and cook until the onion is golden and the bacon is browned. Reduce heat to very low and add the wine. Bring wine to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. If you are using canned tomatoes, drain the tomatoes and remove any seeds or small pieces. Return the chicken to the pan, add the thyme, capers, and tomatoes and bring to a low boil again. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook covered for 25-30 minutes. Taste midway through cooking and season with salt and pepper as needed. Taste again before serving and add any additional seasoning need.

Servings: 4

Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi

Sunday night, I made Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi. This recipe is to die for! It doesn't take long to make and the flavor will knock your socks off. It tastes like a combination of shrimp scampi and baked stuffed shrimp. The only issue I have with it is that it does use one whole stick of butter. (No wonder it tastes so good!) So, pick a time when you are not dieting to indulge in this scrumptious dish.

You can find the recipe on the Food Network web site or in her Back to Basics book.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/baked-shrimp-scampi-recipe/index.html


NOTE: I got some feedback on this recipe --it calls for to much butter. A friend tried making it with 1/2 the amount of butter but says it didn't turn out that good. For those of you fearful of ingesting a whole stick of butter, fear not. The beauty of this dish is that all the butter settles to the bottom of your baking dish, creating a buttery and protective bath that keeps the shrimp tender and juicy. When you remove the shrimp, you'll see an ocean of cooked butter left behind. If you are a butter lover, then you can scoop it up and pour it back over the shrimp, but honestly it won't need it.

Potato, Leek & Tomato Bake

This is an incredibly delicious, completely low fat dish. I was very surprised at how yummy it turned out. The recipe is from: Complete No Fat Low Fat Cookbook, published by Hermes House.

I also found it online at plaincook.com, and it's the exact recipe published in the cookbook.

http://www.plaincook.com/tomato-leek-and-potato-bake-Recipe-2007-05-07

Notes: I added some basil and garlic to the stock. I also sprinkled my layers with parsley and a little Parmesan cheese.

Rustic Pasta Sauce

This sauce is simple, easy to make and it's good for you too.

Ingredients3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
I teaspoon red pepper flakes
I red pepper
1 medium size yellow onion
¾ cup kalmata olives
2 cans stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 ½ cup arugula
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon)

Chop ½ of a medium yellow onion into one inch pieces. Slice one red pepper into thin julienne style slices about 1-2 inches in length.

In a large sauce pan heat three tablespoons. Add red pepper flakes and cook for one minute or until you can smell the pepper. Add the onion, tomatoes and red pepper and cook until the onion becomes slightly translucent. Add one can of stewed tomatoes with liquid. Drain the liquid from the second can before adding. Bring to a low boil. Add olives, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook sauce for about five minutes on a low boil to evaporate some liquid. Add grated cheese and stir. Let cook for a few minutes. Cheese will absorb some of the liquid and you want it to melt into the sauce. Add arugula and stir to incorporate—this will wilt.

Remove sauce from heat. You should still have some liquid in this sauce.

Prepare one pound of pasta. I recommend penne for this dish. Just before pasta is done and is still slightly hard, scoop the noodles from the pot with a slotted spoon and add directly to the sauce. Heat up sauce and cook the pasta until al dente. Serve with grated cheese on top.

Serves 4-6

Notes:I used the stewed tomatoes (full of lycopene) with onion, celery and green pepper. Be sure not to over cook the onions and red peppers. They should still have a slight crunch to them when the sauce is completed.

Get Stuffed on Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini

Made with red peppers, kalmata olives, tomatoes, bread crumbs and cheese

My husband Rich and I had the most delicious stuffed zucchini at La Cabusa in Fairlawn, New Jersey. It was filled with sausage and bread crumbs and topped with tomato sauce. I've been wanted to try this at home, but a healthier version.

I had two inspirations... the dish at the restaurant and this recipe I found online: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/print?id=32080)

The stuffed zucchini I made is filled with red peppers. kalmata olives, tomatos, home made bread crumbs and cheese. It's so yummy you won't be disappointed and you won't miss the meat!

INGREDIENTS

2 large zucchini
1 cup red pepper, diced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup grape tomatoes
¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers
½ cup bread crumbs (you can add more if you need to absorb more liquid)
salt and pepper
1 medium onion minced
2 cloves garlic
½ cup roasted red pepper, chopped
½ cup chopped kalmata olives
½ cup chopped parsley
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh mozzarella cheese- about 6 slices

Wash zucchini, and put in a pot of cold water (do not remove ends).

Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes, maybe a little longer depending on the size of your zucchini.

Heat olive oil in a fairly large skillet. Add red pepper flakes and cook briefly until smell comes out.

Sautee onions and red pepper.

Slice tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out juice. Add to skillet.

Remove pits from Kalmata olives and rough chop. Add to skillet. Heat through. Remove from heat. Add bread crumbs and parsley and stir. Add cheese and stir. Set aside.

When the zucchini are cooked through remove them from water and allow to cool. Slice zucchini lengthwise and scoop out center creating a boat shape. Fill the zucchini boats with the stuffing and top each with small slices of mozzarella cheese.

Bake in a 375º oven for 20-30 minutes, until heated through, and cheese begins to bubble and brown. Serve hot.

Servings: 4-6

Recipe that inspired this one can be found at: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/print?id=32080

Low-Cal Pita Pizza So Good!

I found a pita pizza recipe years ago on the Weight Watchers site. Since then I’ve made these crisp, mini pizzas every way you could image. Here’s what I created tonight.

Sauce:
Ingredients
1 can tomato paste 6 oz.
1 clove garlic finely minced
¼ cup chopped basil or two frozen cubes basil (you could mix in pesto instead if you have it)
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons water
In a small bowl mix together tomato paste, garlic, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Add water and stir.

Pizza:
Ingredients
½ cup of grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
½ cup kalmata or your favorite olives rough chopped
Fresh parsley
1/2 large ball of fresh mozzarella
1-- 4 pack of pitas (bread is your choice, regular, whole wheat, whole grain)

Pre-heat oven to 475.

Slice tomatoes in half and squeeze slightly to remove liquid and loose seeds. Remove pits from olives and roughly chop. Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan on medium high heat. Add tomatoes and sauté. Cook until heated through and skins begin to wrinkle. Add olives and reduce heat. Warm olives and then set mixture aside.

Open each pita along the sides so it becomes two flat, round pitas. Lay pitas out on cookie sheets with the outside on the bottom. Spray each pita with a mist of olive oil. If you don't have a mister you can brush or spoon a little olive oil on each pita. Spread a very thin layer of tomato sauce over each pita.

Slice mozzarella and put a good amount over each pita, covering about 70% of it. Add topping of tomatoes and olives to each pizza. Snip parsley on top.

Bake for 5 minutes or until pitas are golden brown and cheese is melted.

My Notes:
-These pizzas are designed to be low-cal, so I tend to skimp on the cheese and toppings, but you can add as much as you like.

-I like a thick sauce-- almost like a coating that bakes over the bottom of the pita bread. You can add more water to get more of a sauce consistency.

-My sauce is tart. I don't add any sugar to the tomato paste, but you could sweeten it up by adding a little in there.

-The fresh mozzarella gives this pizza a very sweet flavor against the tartness of the olives. Great combo!


Here's the link to the Weight Watchers recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/Weight-Watchers-Pita-Pizza-230254

PENNE, TOMATO AND OLIVE CASSEROLE

Our friend Vito stopped by today to help us with some projects around the house. I put this together for the boys and they ate the whole thing! (Well, I had my fair share too!)

Ingredients
1 pound penne
1 container grape or cherry tomatoes (about 1-1/2 cups)
½ cup kalmata olives (rough chopped)
½ cup fresh chopped basil
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
1 glove garlic minced (I prefer the frozen garlic cubes)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup slice mozzarella

Heat water for pasta. Slice tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out seeds into a bowl to discard. Remove pits from olives and rough chop. Rough chop basil and parsley. Finely mince garlic or use the cubed frozen garlic which incorporates nicely into dishes.

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook penne just until it begins to soften. Noodles should still be slightly hard. Drain pasta. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water.

In large saucepan add olive oil and heat. Add a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes and let them heat up. Add tomatoes and garlic and stir. Add olives, stir. Add basil and parsley and incorporate. Add penne into pot and add about ½ to 1 cup of pasta water. Heat up mixture so pasta continues to cook, but only al dente. Add more water as needed.

Grease a 9 inch baking dish or casserole dish with butter or non-stick spray. Add pasta. Sprinkled mozzarella cheese and grated cheese over top.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese browns on top. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.

This recipe is Vito tested and approved!

Servings: Two hungry guys and one hungry girl.

Couscous and Mediterranean Veggie Medley

My hubby asked about this dish tonight, which means he really liked it. I needed to quickly add a veggie dish to our meal tonight and whipped this up. It turned out yummy.



Ingredients
1 box pre-packed couscous
1/2 cup large grape tomatoes
1/2 cups frozen haricot vert (small think green beans)
1/4 cup large Kalmata olives
2 tablespoons extra virgin oil olive
1 clove garlic
red pepper flakes
sea salt (ground)
Fresh ground pepper

Prepare couscous according to box directions. I chose the kind with garlic and pine nuts. But you could toast your own pine nuts and add it yourself.

Slice grape tomotos in half and set aside. Remove pits from olives and rough chop. Finely chop garlic. In small pot heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. When hot add red pepper flakes and let cook until you begin to smell the pepper. Add tomatoes and green beans. Heat up on high heat, until beans are thawed and crisp. Add garlic and olives. Keep mixture cooking and stir until garlic is distributed thoroughout. Reduce heat and let some of the liquid evaporate. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir.

When liquid has thickened a little remove from heat.

Spoon a large serving of couscous onto each plate and then add the veggie mix to the side of it. It's a delicious combo.

Servings: 2

Parsley & Basil Pesto Pasta with Seared Shrimp

I found a recipe in Cooking Light that I really liked, but I added a few of my own modifcations. The CL recipe called for all parsley in it and only walnuts. My version adds shrimp, basil, pine nuts and red pepper flakes into the mix.

Ingredients

3 cups parsley leaves (flat leaf)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

pinch red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic minced

1 pound spaghetti

15 shrimp medium size

First, make the pesto and defrost your shrimp if they are frozen.

Pesto: Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. I find that you have to add a coinsiderable amount of olive oil to the mix in order to get the leaves to process.

3 cups parsley leaves (flat leaf)

1 cup basil leafs
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic minced

olive oil as needed

Once you have the mixture, place it in an air tight container and cover the top with a small amount of olive oil.

In a large non-stick pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Once the oil it hot add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Once you begin to smell the flakes cooking (may be about 10-20 seconds) add shrimp and reduce heat to medium. Let shrimp begin to cook a bit and then add one clove of minced garlic. Stir so the garlic gets distributed on the shrimp. Turn off heat, so shrimp don't over cook and set pan aside.

Bring pasta water to a boil. Remember to salt your water. Cook 1 pound of spaghetti.

Rough chop about 1/4 or less of walnuts. You can use your own judgement here on how much walnuts you want in your dish.

Remove shaghetti from heat just before it is done. You want it almost al dente. Transfer it into the pot with shrimp to finish cooking. I do this by scooping it out with a pasta ladel. You can also use a regular collander but be sure to save some of the pasta water. This will help thicken your sauce. Combine shrimp and pasta and begin to add pesto. Stir it in bit by bit over medium heat until you get the desired amount of sauce. Add small amounts of pasta water as you go. This will help distribute the sauce and finish cooking the pasta. Once the pasta is al dente (about 2-3 minutes) sprinkle walnuts on top and combine. If you like you can also sprinkle on some parm cheese. Enjoy!

Substitutions:

Whole wheat or organic pasta

Skip basil and use only parsley