Mediterranean Couscous

I've been cooking 
light meals lately, just throwing things together, trying to use 
lots of veggies and other healthy stuff, like quinoa and couscous instead of the traditional side of potatoes, pasta or rice. Here is something we had the other evening and  loved it! 
I quickly wrote it down 
so I can duplicate it again. The additional recipe that follows is a variation. I love roasted tomatoes, too. If I had them on hand I may have added them. 

Other side dish recommendation: hummus and pita bread and a bowl of olives.

2 cups couscous

2 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tb. olive oil

3-4 garlic, minced

1/2 - 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

1 Tb. basil

1 Tb. oregano

1/2 onion, finely diced

2 zucchini, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 handful fresh green beans

1 tsp. parsley

2-3 roma tomatoes, peeled and diced

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add couscous and cook according to packaging directions, or till soft. Remove from heat, fluff with fork and toss in cubed chicken. ( I had some rotisserie chicken on hand, so that is what I used, otherwise I would have chopped up some fresh chicken and sautéed it in some olive oil, then added it to the couscous.  In another pan, heat the oil and sauté the carrots for several minutes. Then add other veggies except tomatoes. Sauté for a few more minutes, then add spices and garlic. Sauté until veggies are al dente. Add tomatoes for last 1-2 minutes. Serve over couscous with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Mediterranean Grill Over Quinoa

Another evening, we had something similar, except we grilled the chicken and veggies and served it up over some cooked quinoa, but you could use rice if you don't have quinoa on hand. Here's the exact recipe:

2 chicken breasts, sliced in half or thirds

olive oil

2 zucchini, cut into several pieces

2 bell peppers, cut into several pieces

1 onion, quartered

2-3 roma tomatoes, quartered

garlic powder

dried or fresh oregano

dried or fresh thyme

dried or fresh basil

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese

Slice the chicken into halves or thirds, and drizzle with olive oil. Then season with oregano, basil, thyme, and garlic powder. Place on grill over medium heat. Cook 13-18 minutes. Cut veggies, drizzle with olive oil and season with herbs. Place on grill over med-low heat. Grill till preferred doneness, about 8-12 min, turning occasionally. (I actually cut my veggies into bite size pieces and grilled in a grill basket.) Cook quinoa in rice cooker just as you would with rice, or on stove top according to packaging directions. Serve chicken and veggies over quinoa and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Lemon and Parmesan Risotto

I tend to cook according to my cravings, and this week I was craving lemons. I decided to make some lemon risotto, and found this recipe in Giada's book, Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites, and decided to serve it alongside the lemon chicken. It turned out fabulous! It was a great, fresh meal for spring! This recipe calls for mascarpone cheese, which is hard to find here, and expensive, so I substituted it with some cream cheese and a little bit of butter milk. You can also substitute with a combination of sour cream and whipping cream or butter.

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided

3 Tb. butter

2 shallots, or 1/2 onion, diced

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

Zest of 1 lemon

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

3/4 tsp. black pepper

2 Tb. chopped parsley

In medium saucepan, bring broth and 1/4 lemon juice to simmer. Cover and keep hot over low heat.

In another saucepan, or large skillet, melt the butter and sauté the shallots or onions 1-2 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated with butter. Add the wine and remaining lemon juice and simmer until almost completely evaporated. Add 1/2 cup of the broth and stir until almost completely absorbed. Continue cooking and adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until all the broth has been added. This should take about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and and stir in the Parmesan cheese, the mascarpone cheese, the lemon zest and salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley and serve.

Gnocchi

I've been wanting to make some homemade gnocchi, and I thought this was something my girls would love to help with. They loved it! And they did a fantastic job rolling and cutting the dough, and pressing the little ridges in them. In Italy, this pasta is more of an appetizer, served with a pesto sauce. But I made mine into a main dish, and added the pesto to my alfredo sauce, to make a creamy pesto sauce. It turned out great! There are lots of different kinds of gnocchi, depending on what you add to the dough, such as ricotta gnocchi, or spinach gnocchi. My recipe (from Food Network) is a basic recipe, and is very versatile, and is even great to add to a soup.

2 lbs. potatoes (approx.)

2 cups flour

1 egg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup oil

Peel and boil the potatoes until soft. Drain, and while still warm, mash them very finely. Add the flour, egg, salt, and oil, and mix well. Knead the dough until soft, adding flour if it is too sticky. Place the dough on a floured surface and divide into several pieces. Roll out the pieces into thin ropes, and cut it into small bite size pieces. Using a fork, press slightly in the middle of each piece, and pull the fork toward you at the same time, rolling the gnocchi as you press it. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bring a pot of water, with 1 Tb. salt, to boil and cook the pasta in batches. The gnocchi is done when it floats to the top. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi and place in an oiled dish to keep warm. You may also toss with 1 Tb oil, and refrigerate for a few days. Serve with your favorite sauce.

Olive Garden's Toscana Soup

Tonight was soup and salad night and I had a recipe from Olive Garden for their Toscana Soup that I hadn't tried before, so I decided to give it a try. It was really tasty! Here it is:

6-8 sausage links, cut

1-2 slices bacon, cut

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1 chicken bouillon

1 quart water

3/4 cup whipping cream

2-3 med. potatoes, cubed

1 bunch kale or cavallo greens, cut

Cook sausage in skillet, then exchange for bacon and onion. Strain off all but 1 tsp. drippings. In pot, put all ingredients except whipping cream and kale. Bring to boil, simmer 15 min. Add cream and kale and simmer 5 more minutes. Serve and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chocolate Hazelnut Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert, made from flavored cream that sets kind of like a pudding. You gotta try this!

1 1/8 tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup Nutella

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (for serving)

In a medium bowl, whisk gelatin with 3 Tablespoons of cold water. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine, Nutella and salt. In a medium saucepan, slowly bring the cream to a gentle boil. Pour half the cream over the gelatin and whisk gently to combine and add the vanilla. Pour remaining cream over chopped chocolate and stir till smooth. Add to the gelatin mixture till combined. Pour half the mixture over the Nutella and beat with mixer on low. Pour in remaining mixture along with whole milk till combined. Pour in individual ramekins. (I actually just put it in one large dish). Chill 6 hours or overnight, covered. Serve with hazelnuts.

This was really good. I think I'll try some other flavors of panna cotta sometime soon. This melts in your mouth!