Parm Crusted Potatoes

Posted on February 27, 2024 | Leave a comment

These potatoes are crispy, delicious and probably my all time favorites to serve alongside a rather simple chicken dinner. It elevates dinner to a new level. Maybe better than fries? Very few ingredients and pretty simple and you’ll look like a pro. And to add another layer of flavor serve them with sour cream — and they make a great hors d’oeuvre but I like them for dinner. BTW you can do the same thing with Cauliflower! All I know is they were delicious and I have made them a few times and play around with ingredients — if you don’t like Italian seasoning use oregano or omit entirely . I used garlic powder but if you prefer it without don’t use that either — just don’t omit the salt!!! Of course you can modify and play around with this recipe any way you like best. But use small potatoes which are available all over.

Enjoy and write me and lmk how much you loved these!

Ingredients:

1 lb. baby potatoes or just small potatoes –baby Yukon gold are perfect for the two of us I used 6 small potatoes and cut in 1/2 which was 12 pieces — you’ll use what you like and modify baking dish to fit the amount of potatoes you’ll be using

1/4 cup butter or 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil — melted butter

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 tsp. at least of kosher salt — we like salty so I add a little more

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Wash potatoes but leave skin on and cut in 1/2 — spray your baking dish with cooking spray for easy clean up. I prefer a glass baking dish for these little beauties.

In my baking dish I put melted butter ( or olive oil) tilt pan to spread butter or oil all over the bottom of pan. Using a spoon scatter the parmesan cheese and spices. Spread as evenly as possible. It’s tough to spread so do your best just make sure cheese is spread uniformly as you sprinkle it along with spices. Place potatoes cut side down into mixture. If easier you can put cheese and spices in a bowl first and mix then sprinkle over the bottom of the pan

Bake potatoes for about 35-40 minutes until they’re soft and the parm crust is deep golden brown. I like my potatoes very crispy so I baked a little longer but keep an eye on them after 1/2 hour. Let them rest for a few minutes then using a small flipper or even a fork cut through the small layer of palm crust around base of each potato and flip over — after 5 minutes transfer to serving dish and serve alone or with some sour cream.

Leftovers can be stored in refrigerator in an airtight container for a week and re-heat in 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes until cheese is crispy again — not quite the same as freshly made but they’re still pretty darn good.

Enjoy!

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Turkey Meatloaf

Posted on February 25, 2024 | Leave a comment

Turkey Meatloaf is definitely one of our family favorites . Perfect for a large family gathering or just the two of you with great left-overs. I love the down home flavor of meatloaf and this one is just delicious. 

I cut the recipe in 1/2 for the 2 of us using 2 lbs. of Ground Turkey and 2 eggs and cut everything else in 1/2. I still have enough leftovers the next day and it’s just enough. If you’re making for 4 or more go with the full recipe. I served with roasted (burnt brussels sprouts and roasted red potatoes) and if you do make the whole recipe you can easily freeze the leftover for another night.

Enjoy!

*original recipe from The Barefoot Contessa – Ina Garden 

*you will need a meat thermometer to check for doneness

Ingredients:

5 lbs ground turkey— I prefer chopped dark meat as it has a little fat and a lot less dry than white meat turkey. You can find 85% lean which is fine . It’s sometimes hard to find dark meat ground turkey so when I find it I buy it. It just makes for a tastier meat loaf. You can mix dark meat and white meat.

3 cups chopped yellow onions ( app. 2 large onions)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce

3/4 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs

3 extra-large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup ketchup/1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a medium saute pan (frying pan) , over a medium low heat, cook the onions in the olive oil, add salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent app. 10 minutes or so. Don’t brown them. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow this mixture to cool in frying pan off the heat to room temperature.

In the meantime, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, and eggs in a large bowl and mix well. Then add in the onion mixture when it’s cooled down and incorporate well. Shape into a rectangular loaf on a lightly sprayed sheet pan. When you shape as a loaf , try to make the ends even with the middle or they will dry out. ( I kind of like the ends like that but just saying…) Spread the ketchup/brown sugar evenly on top. Bake for app. 1 1/2 hours  until the internal temperature of meatloaf is 160 degrees and the meatloaf is cooked through. Once meatloaf comes out of the oven let it sit for about 5 minutes. 

Serve hot, at room temperature and delicious cold the next day.

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Cabbage, Dates and Feta Salad– Sweet and Salty Salad

Posted on February 22, 2024 | 2 comments

Salads are always one of my favorite recipes — this one is absolutely delicious and very easy and very simple to follow. Salads are my favorites because they are so loose, you can swap out ingredients for something you like more and add in some stuff you like. I have made this with a variety of bases , cabbage, or one of those cabbage mixes that they sell in the supermarkets. The last time I made this I used a cabbage mix with Kale and Carrots that they sell in Whole Foods which tasted wonderful. I wouldn’t use a lettuce mix because it won’t hold up to the dressing so stick with a cabbage type of base.

You can even dress ahead if you prefer your cabbage a little less crunchy. Kale also tastes best when it gets to sit in dressing for a bit.

Absolutely delicious fresh tasting salad — make it your way with any cabbage or cabbage mix

* should serve 4-6 nicely as a side salad

Ingredients:

1 head of purple or green cabbage or a package and 1/2 of cabbage mix — app. 1-1 1/4 pounds –as you can see in photos one time I used a package of a kale and cabbage mix and one time I just chopped up a head of red cabbage. Do whatever combo you like

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice — I prefer the taste of lime but if no lime use a lemon

Salt and Pepper– you can use black pepper or crushed red pepper flakes — to taste — I sprinkled a little crushed red pepper not too much just a pinch or so.

1/2 cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped or sliced

4 ounces of feta but if you really like feta you can use a little more — crumbled or chunked your call

2 teaspoons well-toasted sesame seeds– put into oven on a small baking sheet and cook for a few minutes to brown up slightly — be careful not to burn

Directions:

Toss cabbage with Olive Oil and one Tablespoon of fresh lime juice, sprinkle a little salt and pepper, coating everything evenly. Taste and add more lime juice, if needed more salt and pepper. Go easy on salt because feta is salty but you will need a little salt. You’ll want the base well seasoned because this is where salt and pepper are best absorbed. I let it sit for a bit so that the cabbage softens up. You can actually let the whole salad sit for at least an hour, if not longer in the fridge. The salad leftovers tasted pretty good the next day as well.

Fold in the dates and the feta and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

That’s it folks — easy and delicious fresh tasting salty and sweet salad.

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Creamy Tomato Soup with Parmesan Crisps

Posted on February 19, 2024 | 2 comments
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Parmesan Crisps with Tomato Soup

 

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Soup at the beginning of the cooking process

 

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Parmesan Crisps

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Tube of Tomato Paste–I love the tubes

FullSizeRender (27) FullSizeRender (26)FullSizeRender (23) FullSizeRender (24)One of our most favorite soups is Tomato Soup. I love the creaminess in this soup and the texture and tang of the tomatoes. I added parmesan crisps to the top which only add another layer of “deliciousness” to the soup. I did add 1/2 cup of heavy cream mostly because I had it in the house but also because over the whole recipe it’s just a little bit of richness that goes a very long way. I suppose you can omit it but I wouldn’t. We loved it just the way it was and I have 2 large containers that went into the freezer for another night’s meal. The parmesan crisps are super easy and all you’ll need is some grated parmesan. Croutons would work well as well. One of our most fav meals for lunch or dinner is a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup.

*you’ll need an immersion blender and a Dutch Oven type of pot with a tight fitting lid.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter

1 whole onion, finely diced

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 minced garlic clove

3 whole Large Carrots, Peeled and finely diced

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste–the tubes make life so nice and easy

3 Cans Whole Tomatoes — 28 oz. each–Italian whole plum tomatoes with their juices

32 ounces , Vegetable or Chicken Broth

1 cup water

1/2 cups Heavy Cream

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil ( approximate amount) you can eyeball and you can use more for garnish if you’d like

Grated Parmesan if you want to make the Parmesan Crisps (recipe to follow soup recipe)

Directions:

In a large Dutch Oven kind of pot ( Le Creuset) , heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat, then add onion, garlic and carrots. Stir and cook till vegetables soften but be careful not to burn the garlic and onions. This will take app. 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and incorporate it into the vegetables with a wooden spoon. Cook for another 3 minutes or so.

Add canned tomatoes with their juice, broth and water. Stir together and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. I had time so I allowed it to simmer for about an hour. The longer the better.

I then turned heat off and allowed to cool for a few minutes before using immersion blender. Be careful because hot soup can burn. I gave it a quick few minutes with the immersion blender , the tomatoes completely broke down because they had cooked so long. You can leave some texture in the tomatoes if you like chunkier pieces.

Add the cream, salt and pepper to taste, I used about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and about 12 grinds on the pepper mill. You should taste for salt to your own particular taste. Add the basil and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. I then topped with parmesan crisps and they just kind of melted in to the soup which was just divine.

Parmesan Crisps:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1 heaping Tablespoon of Grated Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Pat each teaspoon down a little, leave about 1/2″ apart. Cook for  3- 5 minutes till edges turn brown and crisps are golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes and lift off cookie sheet.

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Bolognese Sauce — Turkey or Beef

Posted on February 16, 2024 | Leave a comment

I must say Pasta is probably my most favorite food to eat. Bolognese sauce is one of my most favorites and this is my easy version.  There are different variations of this recipe that I use. One is with beef and pork sausage, another is dark meat turkey with turkey or chicken sausage. I do use dark meat turkey because I think it is much more flavorful, it is ideal but if you really don’t want to use the dark meat use 1/2 white and 1/2 dark or all white meat it’s up to you . The only negative to this sauce is that it really needs 3- 4 hours for the sauce to cook down and if you want to shorten the simmer use crushed tomatoes and probably 2 hours would be fine. The longer the sauce cooks the more flavorful it will be.  This sauce would probably serve 4 nicely with 1 lb. of pasta. You can easily double it and freeze the leftover sauce. So nice to have it in the freezer and just have to make the pasta and you have a wonderful homemade meal. I have now started serving the sauce over shredded zucchini as well.  It is so delicious and you may feel a little bit better eating it over zucchini or spaghetti squash than noodles.  Pasta or Vegetable it’s pretty awesome. Look on my blog for Zucchini  Bolognese.  And  it  freezes  beautifully.

Should serve 6-8 and it freezes beautifully so put sauce in the freezer for the next time.

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil, plus more if necessary

1- 1 1/2 lbs. Italian style Turkey or Chicken Sausage, removed from casings. You can also mix in hot or sweet Italian pork sausage or hot Italian sausage — if you don’t mind using the pork. I think the pork has the best flavor — just saying

1 1/2 pounds ground Turkey ( I used dark meat ) or 1 lb. ground beef — I don’t love to cook with the lean version because it’s very dry so if using any ground meat use 85/15 at least.

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 medium yellow onions, peeled and finely diced ( app. 2 cups)

3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 28 oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice or you can used diced tomatoes which break down much quicker but you’ll definitely be adding liquid to that. Just keep an eye on it. If you’re in a real hurry and don’t have time for a 4 hour simmer use 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and cut cooking time in 1/2.

1/3 cup tomato paste

*app. 1/2 teaspoon dry Italia Seasonings or oregano is nice here but optional as well

*splash of red wine towards the end of cooking – after the 2 hours I sometimes add a big glug of red wine– app. 3 Tablespoons and let it simmer down and be absorbed into the sauce for the last 2 hours of cooking.

1 box. Rigatoni ( or any other macaroni you like ) or spaghetti or if you like use *shredded zucchini or *spaghetti squash

Grated Parmesan Cheese for serving

Directions:

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium high heat. ( I use my Le Creuset ) Add the sausage meat and break it up as it cooks, turning now and then, until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside, add the ground turkey to the pan along with a good pinch of salt and a few fresh grind of pepper. Cook the meat stirring here and there, for 10 minutes as well, till meat is nicely browned. I remove and put in bowl with the sausage which was set aside. Add another 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the onions and garlic however if you’re cooking with pork and beef there will be a lot of fat rendered in the pot, so if this is the case add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil unless it looks very dry then add a little more. Cook until onion breaks down and gets soft, another good 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice along with 1/2 cup of water. ( You may need more water as you go) Add the sausage and ground turkey, stir the sauce well. Bring the sauce to a boil, season to taste with salt and pepper and turn the heat to low. Cover almost completely with a lid (allowing a little steam to escape) and gently simmer for 4 hours. You may want to add splashes of water if sauce is drying out. After 2 hours I added the 1/3 cup of Tomato Paste, and replace lid and continue simmering for 2 more hours. I added water as it cooked, you’ll have to judge for yourself how much water you add. I added 1/4 cup at a time. The longer this sauce cooks for the better it is.  You will have to continually stir and check for water which I do at least once an hour if not more often. Also a splash of red wine works well here too if you have an open bottle of a medium dry red wine — chianti or malbec or pinot — you know what I mean.

*If using crushed tomatoes you’ll cook for about 2 hours — and add tomato paste when you add crushed tomatoes. It’s a different process but this works very well and cuts the cooking time down. I still like the slow simmer so the longer it cooks the better it tastes.

When the sauce is ready for serving, bring a large pot of water and prepare pasta according to package directions. You may want to reserve a little pasta water if you still need to thin it out.

serve with sauce over the rigatoni ( or any pasta you like) with a nice grating of Parmesan.

Yum!

*so many stores now sell zucchini already shredded and it’s dry and ready to go.

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Sexy and Sassy Shrimp for Valentines Day – Fra Diavolo

Posted on February 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

photo (3) photo (5)photo (2)OK it’s Valentines Day and that’s the reason for the sexy, and the reason it’s sassy is because this shrimp packs some heat known as Fra Diavolo sauce. What a perfect meal for Valentines Day and it’s red!!! this was so delicious and light. I highly recommend it and it really was an easy dish to make. I would say it’s downright easy to make.  I made it with Bucatini pasta, which is a thick ropey spaghetti, you can use whatever type of spaghetti you prefer or none at all. I would say that this whole dish start to finish took 1/2 hour. That’s so perfect. Buy your shrimp peeled and deveined which will save you time. Happy Valentines Day!

*don’t leave out the fresh herbs, they kick it up a notch

Ingredients:

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon of kosher salt , plus more as needed

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 (14 oz. can) diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons

1 cup dry white wine

3 garlic cloves , chopped

1/4 teaspoon oregano leaves

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, I didn’t think this was too spicy ,  you’ll have to adjust to your own taste buds. I actually thought 1 teaspoon was pretty mild, next time I will add more, but we like it spicy.

3 tablespoons chopped fresh italian parsley leaves

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

In a medium bowl toss the shrimp with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and saute for a few minutes, toss around a bit and continue cooking until shrimp is just cooked through. ( you’ll want it pink and slightly curled up)

Remove shrimp to a bowl, set aside.

In the same skillet add 1 – 2 teaspoons of olive oil and add onions and saute until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes with their juices, wine, garlic, and oregano.  Simmer until the sauce starts to thicken up, about 15 minutes. If sauce sits for a while it may loose some of its liquid , you can just add a little bit of water at a time to get sauce where you’d like it, but just a little at a time.  When you’re ready to serve, add the shrimp back into simmering sauce with any juices that they may have accumulated, toss to coat the shrimp, and cook for about 3 minutes . You can cut into a shrimp to make sure it’s cooked , it should be opaque not translucent. Stir in the parsley and basil. Taste for salt, and serve.

*prepare pasta according to directions and serve shrimp and sauce right on top.

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Skillet Chicken with Lemons and Onions a la Ina Garten

Posted on February 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

I absolutely love this recipe and I must admit to making a few small changes but if you want to see her original recipe you can google it. You’ll have to buy a chicken some place that will be able to spatchcock it (butterfly it)– Whole Foods butcher will do this as well as your local butcher. Then when you get home and are ready to cook with it just press down on the chicken and sort of flatten it out. You’ll also need a cast iron pan large enough to hold it. I used a 12″ size pan and it was perfect. Believe me this is one of the most satisfying meals I can think of. Serve with whatever sides you like — we had homemade cranberry sauce , rice pilaf and roasted string beans. Perfection on a plate. Ina Garten has created some of the best recipes for home cooks today. The ingredients are all accessible and the presentation is beautiful and the food is delicious. This particular way of roasting a chicken is particularly delicious. This is what I did the other night and it was nothing short of fabulous.

Enjoy and thanks again to Ina Garten.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

Kosher Salt and Freshly ground coarse black pepper

1 Lemon — sliced 1/4″ thick slices

2 large garlic cloves, minced she says thinly sliced but I prefer to mince

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced 1/4 ” thick

1/3 cup good olive oil

1 app. 4 lb. chicken, backbone removed and butterflied ( spatchcocked)

1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees

Place the thyme, fennel seeds, 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt and 1 Teaspoon pepper in a mini food processor and process until ground.

Pour the olive oil into a small glass measuring cup and add the herb mixture and set aside

Distribute the lemon slices on bottom of 12″ cast iron skillet and distribute the onion and minced garlic on top of the lemon slices.

Place the chicken on a separate baking sheet and pat it dry then turn the chicken skin side down and using a brush add about 1/2 the olive mixture to chicken. Turn the chicken skin side up, make sure it’s dry using paper towels ( very important for crispy skin) and brush remaining mixture all over the top of the chicken. Place chicken on top of the onions and lemons skin side up.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the wine into the pan but not on the chicken just into the area that’s open around the chicken. Roast for another 10-15 minutes until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155-160 degrees.

Remove the chicken from the oven and sprinkle with the lemon juice, cover the skillet tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Cut the chicken into quarters or however you like and serve hot with pan juices, cooked lemon and onions. I spoon some of the juice onto the top of chicken before serving.

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Seven Layer Dip

Posted on February 9, 2024 | Leave a comment

Winter cont'd 021Seven Layer Dip 005This is a super easy and beautiful dish to entertain with. Since Super Bowl is this Sunday Feb 11 it would be most perfect!  It’s great in a glass bowl where you can see all of the layers. I prefer to make this without meat but if you would like make one of the layers ground beef or ground turkey. Just drain the meat before adding and make sure that the meat has cooled before adding all the other ingredients. Feel free to play around with ingredients, whatever works for you. This recipe is best served at room temperature, I’ll usually make it earlier in the day and take it out of refrigerator an hour or so before serving. Another thing I would suggest is to go to a local Mexican restaurant that you like and buy your refried beans, guacamole and salsa there. It’s usually the best. Sometimes I will make my own guacamole etc. If you’d like to you can double down on all the ingredients. This will probably serve 12 as an appetizer.

Enjoy the game!

Ingredients:

16 oz. refried beans

1 package taco seasoning

1 cup sour cream, I used light not fat-free

1 cup guacamole

1 cup salsa

1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese

4 ounces black sliced or chopped olives

1 cup chopped tomatoes

*if adding meat use app. 1 – 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or turkey and make sure it is drained and cooled down before adding it to dip.

Directions:

Layer in this order

1. refried beans mixed with 1 package of taco seasoning – I remove 2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning for the sour cream, if you don’t it’s no biggie I just do it to give the sour cream a little punch–refried beans available in most supermarkets in a can

2. 1 cup sour cream mixed with 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning

3. 1 cup guacamole

4. 1 cup salsa

5. 1 cup Mexican cheese

7. 1 cup chopped tomatoes

*if using meat just heat up a little bit of olive oil in pan and cook meat and drain meat after cooking. You’ll want to cool meat down completely before adding to dip.

* if you like cilantro you can sprinkle on top or sliced green onions are a nice touch

*lime wedges are a nice touch as well

Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and remove about an hour before serving. Serve with chips for dipping and have a spoon handy to help serve it.

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Chicken Curry

Posted on February 6, 2024 | 3 comments

Just a little explanation of curry before we go any further. As I learned on a trip to India curry in it’s simplest form is an Indian gravy or sauce that is used with meat , tofu, or vegetables. It is usually served with rice and most popularly Basmati Rice and it contains many different kinds of spices. You can have a mild curry or a spicy curry. This recipe is a combination of different spices and actually doesn’t even use actual curry powder. So when people say they don’t like “curry” what exactly are they referring to? We loved this dish and since I am not in NY at the moment and can’t get good Indian cuisine I decided to make this recipe. Pretty easy if you have all ingredients in the house — mostly spices . Of course you control the “heat” of the curry — this was obtained with the cayenne pepper so use at your discretion. Very simple dish and I served with Basmati Rice .

This recipe as is will serve 4-6 — for the two of us I halved it — not an exact science so don’t worry about it. For instance I used 1 1/4 lb. chicken thighs. Yes I think chicken thighs yield the best flavor but if you absolutely don’t want to use them you can use breasts just cut them into smaller pieces.

Be a little adventurous and you might surprise yourself. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Ingredients

2 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs , mine were rather small so I left whole but if they’re large cut into 2-3 inch pieces —

1 cup plain, full-fat yogurt — you can use Greek and you can use 2% as well

4 garlic cloves, minced or grated and divided

2″ piece of ginger, minced or grated and divided as well. If no fresh ginger which I recommend you can use powdered . Use app. 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, divided.

2 Teaspoons kosher salt, divided plus more for taste

3 Tablespoons neutral oil such as Canola or Vegetable

2 large onions, minced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 15 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne powder– this will give flavor and a bit of a kick so go with less if you like a mild curry

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Combine chicken thighs with yogurt, half of the garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a bowl and set aside for however long you can ( up to 1 day) I did for about 5 hours and it was just fine. I refrigerated and took out while I was prepping ingredients.

In a large 4 qt. or larger heavy stock pot with a lid, heat oil. Once hot add onions and cumin seeds and cook for app. 5 minutes or more till onions break down and are translucent. Add remaining salt, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cayenne and cook for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until they break down and add the tomato paste, cook for another few mins. Now add the chicken in yogurt marinade, plus water , stir to combine , and bring to a simmer , stirring. If you need more water add a little at a time. Simmer for 25-30 minutes stirring every once in a while and checking for consistency of gravy.

Chicken should be done when it is cooked for about 1/2 hour, you can check by cutting a larger piece to see if it is cooked through. Adjust seasoning as needed and serve over rice.

Enjoy!

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Vodka Sauce Recipe–Pasta a la Vodka

Posted on February 3, 2024 | Leave a comment

I have previously posted my recipe under Pasta and Vodka. This is a little different from that recipe but equally as delicious. My Grandson Brody loved the original but didn’t love the pieces of tomato in it. So this time out I gave it a spin in the food processor and got out all those little pieces of tomato that he didn’t like.

This is what I did and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

1 box Penne or any other pasta you would like — I like rigatoni or penne or fusilli

3 cloves garlic — minced

*1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper–I love the heat but use at your own discretion

1/2 cup grated Parmesan –and more for serving

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

app. 3/4 to 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt for sauce–and some more to cook the pasta

1/3 cup Vodka–I use whatever I have in the house

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes–I prefer the San Marzano ones so look for that

1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2 or heavy cream–I used 1/2 and 1/2 this time — if you’d like it creamier you can add more cream, I used 1/2 cup and it was fine.

Fresh Basil leaves–about 1/4 cup

Directions:

I use a large skillet pan. Add the olive oil and heat until shimmers then add the minced garlic and red pepper. Cook garlic and red pepper  and stir until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the vodka and cook down until it is nearly evaporated there will be a little liquid in the pan. Add the tomatoes– while they are cooking I use a masher or a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 30 minutes.  I then let it completely cool down.   I get out the food processor and put it all in and add the fresh basil and then I puree until smooth. Return sauce to the pan and add the cream. You want it to be creamy , I used 1/2 cup and it was fine you can always add more if you’d like. Cook until warmed through and right before using stir in the parmesan cheese and then add the cooked pasta. Toss to combine in the large skillet.

Serve immediately with additional cheese on the table and you can add a little more fresh basil if you’d like.

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