Shrimp Scampi

I know, I know, I know.  I've already done this one here.  And I love that version!  I really do.  But sometimes, even with simple recipes, you try to find simpler versions.  Or healthier versions.  Or both!

This one is both.  Very little oil (heart-healthy oil, no less). NO BUTTER. And cooks in 6 minutes.

Yeah. WOW!

Shrimp Scampi
Recipe from Cooking Light
Prep time: 3 minutes   Cook time: 6 minutes

2 tsp olive oil
1 lb peeled & deveined shrimp [NOTE: if you peel and devein the shrimp yourself, expect prep time to be about 20 minutes]
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice

1.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp and saute 1 minute.

Naked little shrimps!

2.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.  Stir in wine, salt, and pepper and bring mixture to a boil.

I love the freshness

3.  Reduce heat to medium; cook 30 seconds.  Add the parsley and lemon juice; toss well to coat.  Cook 1 minute until shrimp are done.

I'm not sure a healthy dinner could be made any faster than this one.

You could totally spoon this over some hot angel hair pasta.  But I absolutely love to tear off a hunk of warm french bread and use that to soak up all of this lovely sauce.  And if you're feeling guilty toss together a quick salad so you can honestly tell your mom that you do eat your vegetables. ;)  See?  Dinner on the table in 10 minutes.  Faster than takeout!

Creamy Skillet Penne with Broccoli and Sausage

One of the things I love most about recipe-sharing is that you acquire some that, had you just seen them in a cookbook or magazine, you wouldn't normally have made it.  But when it comes recommended by a fellow trusted cook, suddenly you give the recipe a second glance.

Thank you, Trusted Cooks, for expanding my horizons!

Creamy Skillet Penne with Broccoli and Sausage

Recipe from my mom, who I think got it from Cooks Magazine

Prep time: 15 minutes   Cook time: 20 minutes  

1 lb hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 onion, chopped fine

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin

8 ounces whole wheat penne (about 2 ½ cups)

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup wine

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

½ cup heavy cream (or use your son's whole milk, that works fine too)

8 ounces fresh broccoli florets*, cut into 1-inch pieces

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt & pepper to taste

*One large head of broccoli should yield about 8 ounces of florets.  Alternatively, bags of cut broccoli florets are available in the produce section of most supermarkets, or you can package your own at supermarket salad bars.

1.  Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.  Drain sausage on paper towel-lined plate.

I used a really mild sausage since I was feeding this to little ones

2.  Cook onion and bell pepper in sausage fat until softened, about 8 minutes.  Add penne and cook, stirring often, until pasta is lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.  Stir in garlic and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in wine, broth, and cream and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften, about 8 minutes.

Red wine gives an interesting pink color.  But white wine is good too!  Use what you have.

3.  Add the drained sausage back into the skillet and stir.  Arrange broccoli on top of pasta and continue to cook, covered, until broccoli is bright green and tender and pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes.  Off heat, stir in Parmesan, basil, and vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.

I love fresh broccoli.

According to all the cooking rules in my head and in my home, I never should have made this recipe.  For one thing, the ingredient list is just a little longer than I'd prefer.  Plus I don't usually cook a whole lot with italian sausage.  Nothing against it!  There are several things I make that I really like it in.  But it's not a go-to meat for me.  And the final strike against this recipe is the bell pepper.  Rob hates bell peppers.  Passionately.  I know, it hurts my cooking soul a little.

But when I spent that week at my mom's last month, she made this one night for dinner.  I inhaled firsts.  I savored seconds.  And I briefly contemplated thirds before my stomach posted a "No Room Left in the Inn" sign.  It suddenly didn't matter to me that it had peppers in it; I had to have this recipe.

And though I miss Rob whenever he's on a business trip or working late, my taste buds totally celebrate the opportunity to savor flavors I don't normally get.  Yum!!

Pork Chops in Wine

I think I'm still in shock over this one.  Even though this is a recipe from my own childhood, I guess I just expected that my resident Picky Eater (Gavin) would hate it.  Not so!  He loved it!  He ate everything I gave him without any prompting whatsoever.

He even ate the leftovers!!!

Wow.

Pork Chops in Wine
Recipe from my mom
Prep time: 20 minutes   Stove Top Time: 15 minutes   Oven Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

4 pork chops, preferably bone-in (keeps the meat juicier)
1 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, sliced
1 (8oz) container cremini mushrooms
2 tsp soy sauce
1 cup of wine (red or white, whichever you have on hand)

1.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Preheat the oven to 350.

Didn't mean to but I bought the most GIGANTIC chops I've ever seen.

2.  Season the flour generously with salt and pepper.  Dredge the pork chops in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.  Lightly brown the chops in the buttered skillet.  Set the browned chops aside in a baking dish.

See?  They're huge.

3.  Prep the mushrooms however you like: sliced, run through the food processor, quartered, etc.  Once the pork chops are browned, add the onions and mushrooms to the skillet and saute until the onions are softened and the mushrooms are browned.

Mmmmm...onions cooking in pork fat.

I sent my 'shrooms through the FP.  Sliced is AMAZING though!

4.  Spread the onions and mushrooms over the pork chops in the baking dish.  Mix the soy sauce and wine together and pour over the pork, onions, and mushrooms.

Ready for the wine!

5.  Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

At the end of all this browning, sauteing and baking, which I know is a lot, you will have the most tender, falling-apart chops that truly will melt in your mouth.  This actually was the first time I'd made these for Rob, so it's been even longer since I'd eaten this dish myself.  I'd forgotten how good it is.  Does it take a while to put together?  Yes, I won't lie to you about that.  The meal worth all the effort?  YES!!!

And yes, my Carnivore Baby also inhaled this. ;)  Leftovers too.  This is a winner!

Polla alla Cacciatora

Polla alla whata?  Yeah, sorry...  I know the name sounds kind of weird.  Really this is like a variation on chicken cacciatore.

So I was getting my usual Saturday morning foodie fix and I watched one of the chefs prepare this.  She mentioned how this was an easy weeknight supper... yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before.  But then I really looked at her ingredients and how she was putting it all together.  Dude, this seriously is a weeknight wonder meal!  Fancy-sounding enough for company, simple, comforting, and filling enough to be just for the family, and comes together in about 30 minutes.  Wahoo!!!

Polla alla Cacciatora
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson

4-5 strips of bacon
1 tsp (ish) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
5-6 green onions
1 lb chicken thighs
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp sugar
1 (14.5oz) can Great Northern white beans (or cannellini beans, or whatever white bean you like)

1.  Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Using kitchen shears, snip bacon into pan.  Let cook a few minutes and start to crisp up a bit.

Oh fresh rosemary....I love you

2.  Also using kitchen shears, snip bits of green onion into pan with the onion.  Add rosemary.  Let cook a few more minutes and try to not stick your nose into the pan too far as you inhale the glorious aroma of fresh rosemary being cooked in bacon fat.

Seriously, the smell of this concoction cooking together is HEAVENLY!

3.  As the bacon, onion and rosemary cook, cut chicken thighs into quarters.  Add to pan with the celery salt and let brown a couple minutes.  Pour in white wine and let that come up to a simmer before adding the tomatoes, bay leaves, and sugar.  Bring to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 20 minutes.

4.  Drain and rinse the canning juices off the white beans.  Stir into the chicken mixture and let heat through before serving.

Couple of things to make note of: I know I wasn't very exact on the time to cook the bacon because I think it's going to vary depending on how hot your skillet is.  You want to make sure though that by the time you start adding liquid to the pan that the bacon is good and crispy.  The liquids will soften the bacon no matter what so any "lightly done" bacon will seem almost raw in the finished dish.  If you want to keep that bacon crispy, I'd suggest cooking the bacon on it's own and them removing it to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Cook the onions and rosemary in the bacon fat and then add the bacon back in just before you serve.

I like to eat this over rice to help soak up some of those lovely tomato/wine/bacon juices.  I think you could also eat this in a bowl with some crusty bread.  Despite some of the more intensely flavored ingredients (hello bacon, rosemary...), the resulting flavor of this dish is pretty mild in my opinion.  Between the juicy chicken, hearty beans, and wonderfully rich tomato sauce, this is just the kind of thing I'm looking for at the end of a long day.

Chicken Piccata

It's been a long day.  Tired. Getting hungry.  Not much in the fridge.  Man, even leftovers sound daunting and that's pretty bad.  I need something fast, easy, something that's going to perk me up a bit.  Yep, chicken piccata can do that.

My prep space.  Yes, I have an app to let me access recipes on my phone.

What is chicken piccata?  It's a lightly breaded chicken breast cooked in a lemon sauce.  Now, you're probably thinking "Wait Jeanna, breaded??  I thought you said easy!  Breading means flour and eggs and breadcrumbs and goopy fingers and mess!!"  Hang on, I promised fast and easy right?  Trust me.  You'll be making this the next time you've had a long, exhausting day.

Chicken Piccata
I think I got this from Family Circle

4 chicken breast cutlets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot, finely chopped [Note: if you don't keep shallot on hand, finely chop half a small onion]
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp capers
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1.  If you don't normally keep chicken cutlets on hand (I don't), no need to rush to the store.  Take 2 chicken breasts and cut them in half lengthwise so they're about half the thickness. 

2.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.  Dredge the chicken through the flour, shaking off the excess. (See? I told you they were only lightly breaded)

Ignore the singed edges.  I'm terrible at thawing chicken ahead of time.

3.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat; melt butter.  Add the chicken and brown on each side.  Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside, covered, to keep warm.

4.  Add the shallot (or onion) to the pan and cook a minute or two to soften.  Pour in the wine, lemon juice, and capers and stir to combine.  Be sure to gently scrape up any browned bits from browning the chicken earlier.  Bring to a simmer.

If you're distracted and add the wine first, just soften onions quick in a second pan.

5.  Add chicken back to the pan and spoon a little sauce on top.  Partially cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Add parsley to the dish just before serving if you have it.  If you don't? Not the end of the world.

I. Love. This. Dish.  It is fast.  It is easy. And between the lemon juice and wine it has this bright, sunshiney flavor that's impossible to be sad in the face of.  The capers bring this kind of mustardy tang to the dish, toning down that intense lemon experience just a bit.  What's even better is that the leftover chicken?  Yeah, cut that up and use on top of a fresh spinach salad.  YUMMY!!  This is a really great dish for anyone super busy but still wants a homemade dinner at the end of the day.  I kid you not, this comes together in about 20 minutes.  Wahoo!!

Oh, and in case you're wondering, even Gavin liked this.  But then, he also likes to eat lemons.  Yeah, I know, weird. ;)