One Pot Pasta: Creamy Tomato and Chicken

I made this awesome graphic with PicCollage.

After reading my TimeHop about a delicious dinner I put together this time last year I was inspired to get cooking tonight. I made a one pot pasta with diced chicken in a creamy tomato sauce with stuff I had on hand. I didn't really measure or keep track of time, so my numbers are approximate, as usual. Start here and let the inspiration come to you, add or subtract things based on your tastes and what you have in your pantry.

I like to cut corners where I can, so some of the things in my pot tonight are convenience items: Frozen diced chicken from GFS, jarred minced garlic, jarred pizza sauce and Better Than Boullion Reduced Sodium Chicken Base boullion paste. The boullion paste is a new find for me. I found it on the shelf next to the boullion cubes and broth, and it is a pretty cool product. The jar makes 38 servings of 8 oz of chicken stock by mixing one teaspoon with 8 oz of boiling water. That means you can keep the makings of 2 gallons and 3 pints worth of stock in less space than one can! You do have to refrigerate it after you open it, but that's better than keeping one of those tetrapack cartons in there. All that notwithstanding, if you have homemade and want to use it, go for it, it will probably be so much better.

Another bonus, for my Jewish readers, using the right versions of the ingredients, this delicious beauty is kosher (as long as you skip the Parmesan cheese I cheese I used to top mine).

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups cooked, diced chicken
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (I used the left over oil from a jar of sun dried tomatoes for extra flavor)
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 package Live G Free fusilli (Aldi GF brand)
• 3 teaspoons boullion paste (or 3 cubes/3 envelopes, etc.)
• 3 cups water + 2 Tablespoons*
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce or thick tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch

Process:

1. Heat the oil, garlic, and chicken in a large frying pan or skillet with a lid
2. Once chicken is lightly browned, add pasta, boullion paste, 3 cups of water and pizza sauce
3. Stir all ingredients, cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes
4. Remove lid and stir
5. Continue simmering for another 5 minutes or until the liquid reduced to a sauce
6. Combine 2 Tablespoons of water with cornstarch and add to the pot, stir to combine
7. Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes to allow sauce to thicken
8. Eat. All. The. Deliciousness!

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*Make sure the water you use to mix with the corn starch is cool or cold. Warm or hot water will not combine well with  the corn starch, which is why you can't just add the corn starch to the pot. 

These Burgers Ooze Deliciousness... Literally!

     Mom and Dad were having a dish I couldn't eat tonight, with pasta and ground chicken, so I used similar ingredients to make my own dinner.
   
     I settled on a Mozzarella filled Italian Chicken Burger with GF macaroni and cheese. A bit of a twist on a simple feel good meal.

     The cheese inside the burger kept the meat moist all the way through, giving it more of a meatball texture. The  firm but tender texture combined with the Italian herbs and the gooey cheese melting from the center came together beautifully. I added some marinara, but if I was serving it to other others I think I would use a few slices of Roma tomato. (I'm not really a fan of raw tomatoes). I recently saw a GF focaccia bread recipe, and I'm thinking this burger would be awesome nestled into a freshly bakes focaccia roll.

     For those of you interested, the mac 'n' cheese is Annie's Homegrown GF Rice Pasta & Cheddar.

Besides my area health food stores, the local Super Target sells these at a reasonable price. I've tried other GF Mac 'n' cheese options, but this one is the best in terms of texture and flavor.

Party in your mouth

The other day while grocery shopping, I saw lemons on sale 3/$1. I figured I could always find something to use them with so I bought some. I picked three bright yellow, very fragrant lemons and set them on the counter for future use.  Yesterday I decided to use them with chicken, so I hunted up a recipe online. I found the 15 Minute Garlic Lemon Chicken from Food.com, which called for cooking the chicken then making a roux-like¹ sauce by adding to the pan with which you cooked. I've linked the original recipe for your convenience (and to give credit to the original poster), but it is also below so you don't have to go hunting around for it.

       15 Minute Lemon Garlic Chicken                 
       Prep Time: 3 mins            Total Time: 15 mins

       Ingredients:

Servings: 4

·        4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

·        4 teaspoons flour

·        salt and pepper

·        2 teaspoons oil

·        1/2 cup chicken broth

·        1 teaspoon minced garlic

·        2 teaspoons lemon juice

·        1 teaspoon butter

       Directions:

1. Flatten chicken slightly.
2. Dust with flour and season to taste.
3. Fry in hot oil 5 minutes each side and remove from pan.
4. To pan add broth, garlic, lemon juice and butter. Cook 2 minutes.
5. Pour over chicken.

I doubled the sauce recipe so I would have enough to add on top of the polenta I served with this chicken. It was my first attempt at polenta, and it wasn't quite what I expected, but I did enjoy it with the garlic lemon sauce. If you haven't had polenta before, it is basically a clean slate, flavor-wise, to which you can add a multitude of tastes and textures. I made it with the very basic recipe which just calls for boiling the precooked corn meal until it absorbs the liquid and then baking it for a bit to form a crust. When I have the time, I'll experiment with variations and share them with you.

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¹A true roux is the base of many sauces and gravies. It is usually made with equal parts flour and fat (butter, oil, lard) which is cooked.

Mangia!

It's been too long my friends! I've been lost in the world of job hunting, sitting in the driveway for our garage sale, mailing off book donations and dropping off stuffed animals for a charity. Last night, however, I spent over an hour in the kitchen making something magnifico!

I used Ener-G gluten free bread crumbs mixed with grated Parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings to create a coating for a deliciously tender Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan. I served it over Tinkyada Spaghetti style rice pasta. We also had fresh steamed green beans that I picked up at a local farm stand and mom shucked while I made the chicken. A truly delicious home made meal, even more satisfying than knowing my family ate well was the fact that my brother and father BOTH went back for seconds on the chicken, praising the flavor, and not bothered by the gluten free aspect. It has taken them a while, but they are both much more willing to try gluten free versions of recipes now, having experienced that gluten free doesn't mean flavor free.

I kind of eyeballed the amounts here, I can give you some basics. I used 6 chicken breast, two large eggs and approximately 3 cups of coating (2 c bread crumbs, ¾ c cheese, ¼ c seasoning). The amount you need will vary depending on how much chicken you're making.

INGREDIENTS

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Breadcrumbs
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Italian Seasonings (pre-made or your own blend)
  
• Eggs
• Oil

1. Heat oven to 350°, spray shallow baking pans with non-stick cooking spray
2. In a shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cheese and seasonings. In a second bowl, beat the eggs to combine.
3. Butterfly cut the chicken breasts so they are large and flat. Using a meat mallet, pound them to tenderize and further flatten.
   
4. In a large skillet, heat oil as you begin to coat the chicken.
5. Coat chicken, first in egg, then transfer to the breadcrumb mix and turn until thoroughly coated.
6. Place chicken in oil and fry for a few minutes. Repeat step 4 until the pan is full, turning the previous breast each time you add one.
7. When pan is filled, remove breasts in order they were cooked. Place them in baking pans. and cover with a bit of spaghetti sauce.
8. When all the chicken has been breaded, fried in oil and placed in baking pans, bake for 15 minutes.
9. Serve over your favorite pasta and enjoy!

Napoleon, gimme some of your tots!

I have not had tater tots in over a year. I thought they were gone from my menu forever. Most tater tots, pressed hash browns, some fries, and various other pre-made potato products are rolled or coated in flour to give them that golden brown color and crunch. Recently, I ran into someone at the health food store who told me that Ore-Ida products are gluten free. I almost did a happy dance right there in the store.

Later that week, I realized that we already had some Ore-Ida Mini Tater Tots in the basement freezer!

As luck would have it, a couple weeks ago, while at Costco, we discovered some GF Dijon and Swiss Chicken Burgers, which I decided to try out. All the components of a classic summertime meal seemed to be falling into place, short only one. Buns. In general I just forgo bread products, or, where I can, sub in a corn tortilla. But a burger on a tortilla? No, thanks. Another little bit of serendipity came into play at this point. I remembered that only a week ago, I saw the facebook post from OMG It's Gluten Free regarding the newly installed freezer case :)

Yes, it came down to a freezer case. You see, some of the products sold at OMG are only available certain times of the week, as that is when they are made. Now, however, with the arrival of this freezer, some of the products one might call "stock-up staples," such as buns, pizza crusts, frozen pizzas and pie shells, are available for our daily purchasing needs.

I stopped and talked with Julie, the owner, who told me to toast the buns for about 4 minutes for the best texture. Just looking at these adorable buns made me eager to get home and start dinner. The tops are dusted with coarse salt and herbs, the bottom are chalky white with the remnant of GF flour dusting the pan, and they have a nice crust. Like all gluten free breads, they crumb a bit, but besides toasting it, I also steamed one by wrapping a moist paper towel around it and popping it in the microwave for a few seconds. The bun soaked up the moisture and held its crumbs together

The buns are a great size, big enough to hold a large burger without all the meat hanging over the sides, which also meant there was a good meat to bread ratio in each bite. In the end, I had a chicken burger on a bun with tater tots, something that less than a year ago I would have thought possible. So, thank you Ore-Ida, for realizing that flour is an unnecessary ingredient in tater tots. Thank you Julie, for having a good idea and running with it. Thank you A.J. (OMG chef/baker), for helping Julie's good idea make its way to my plate.

P.s.: For those of you who have been unable to stop thinking about Napoleon Dynamite since reading that title, I've provided the following clip, courtesy of YouTube. Enjoy!

Hospital Food

I'm sitting in a hospital waiting room right now, watching the Hawks rally and wondering if a nap would be inappropriate. After they took her back, I headed down to the cafeteria and perused the offerings for something I could eat. It may sound crazy, but I actually don't mind eating at the hospital.

Now, before you think I, or someone I care about, spend copious amounts of time in the hospital, warranting my fondness for their cuisine, let me explain. My mother and I have worked at the school across the street from the hospital for several years. The two institutions were founded by and are still overseen, in varying degree, by the same group of Franciscan sisters, and it is not unusual for staff from the school to walk across for lunch, or even dinner on nights when they must stay late for conferences or programs. I have eaten in the hospital cafeteria more times than I can count, and I must say, usually the food is good.

I know, I know, hospital food? Good? It's true though.

One thing to remember about eating in any cafeteria is that you can't just start putting things on your tray. Look around, see all of what is available. One dish might seem very appealing, until you notice something even better, but by that point, if it's already on your tray, it's too late. I browsed for a few moments before settling on broiled Italian chicken, steamed broccoli in a bit of butter, and a salad from the salad bar. The salad bar is an undervalued asset in the cafeteria setting. I opted for the darker spring greens over the fairly nutrient empty iceberg mix, added shredded carrots, sliced hard-boiled egg and a little cheddar. Topped with a honey mustard dressing, this was truly a wonderful salad.

My only complaint with the meal is that in an effort to cut down dish washing and accommodate those who take their food and go, the cafeteria only uses Styrofoam dishes. (Sidenote: Welcome to the world precious one! I just heard the Brahms Lullaby being played over the hospital intercom, signaling a birth.) I hunted down a full size plate for my chicken and broccoli, rather than use two bowls plus another for salad, and I used real silverware. They'll just have to wash them.

A Mountain Dew to wash it down may help me stave off that nap, which probably would in fact be inappropriate at this point. Ok, I also had dessert. Zarlengo's, who you may have read about my post Onions, ash and leather, besides selling from their shop and at Sox games, also provide novelties to hospital cafeterias. I was finishing up a Zarbar, vanilla softserve on a stick, covered in smooth milk chocolate, when I began this post. (Another one! Welcome to you too little one!)

It's my party and I'll sigh if I want to

Today, my family went out to celebrate my brother's and my birthday. I was quite excited to try the gluten free menu at Outback steakhouse, and it did not fail to please.

Contrary to my experiences at some restaurants with gluten free options, I actually had a difficult time deciding what to order, as there were so many good choices. As I also do not eat red meat or pork, often my choices are limited to plain grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. While that is not a bad option, it is always nice to be allowed the indulgence of indecision. While both the Grilled Chicken on the Barbie (BBQ grilled chicken) and the Norwegian Salmon sounded quite tempting, I settled on the Alice Springs Chicken®, described online as:

Chicken breast flame grilled and topped with sautéed mushrooms, crisp bacon, melted Monterey Jack and Cheddar and finished with our honey mustard sauce. (Outback Menu)

I nixed the bacon and substituted Aussie Fries (not GF) for a baked potato. The strings of melted cheese blended perfectly with the sharp bite of the honey mustard and the slippery, chewy flesh of mushrooms.

My meal was complemented not only by a bottomless glass of cool, refreshing iced tea, but by the love and company of my parents, grandmothers, aunt and uncle, brother and his girlfriend. Without the anxiety of what I might eat that wouldn't make me sick, and knowing the wait- and kitchen staff were knowledgeable about my needs, I was able to sit back and simply enjoy my meal and conversation.

What birthday would be complete without a sweet treat? I asked to go to Outback, not just for the dinner options, but because they have a GF dessert. The Chocolate Thunder From Down Under® was a perfect end to a wonderful meal:

An extra generous pecan brownie is crowned with rich vanilla ice cream, drizzled with our classic warm chocolate sauce and finished with chocolate shavings and whipped cream. A chocolate lover's dream. (Outback Menu)

And a dream it was. The first bite, warm and chewy, soaked with creamy melted ice cream and heavy, sweet whipped cream, had a "fresh from the oven, served with a hug from Grandma," feel to it. It was not hard to imagine that I was sitting around a kitchen table with my loved ones rather than in the middle of a public restaurant. I actually stopped for a moment, just tasting, closed my eyes and sighed. Happy Birthday to me.