This Our Best Bites recipe has become a favorite at our house. It's very gourmet with the bacon, lemon, and creamy pasta flavors all combined. It's easy to eat way too much. It works as a side dish or a main dish.
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12 oz bag tortellini, meat stuffed or cheese (frozen or in the dry pasta aisle)
3 strips bacon
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¼ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.
Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.
While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan and also crumbled bacon.
Cover pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Naan bread
This is a great bread for all Indian dishes. It's easy and tastes great. (Plan for 45 minutes of rising time)
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2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 large egg
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1: In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.
2: In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).
3: At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.
4: Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.
5: Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs.
For the most bubbles, don't roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet.
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2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 large egg
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1: In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.
2: In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).
3: At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.
4: Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.
5: Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs.
For the most bubbles, don't roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
This one has taken awhile to get right, and I think we almost have it! This is wonderful over saffron rice and served with a side of naan.
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1 cup Greek yogurt
juice from half a lemon
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more if you like spicy)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2lbs chicken breast cut into slices
1 Tbsp ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, finely diced
2 cans (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (5.5 oz) tomato paste
1 tbsp garam masala (I found this in the spice section of Macy's)
1 tbsp red curry paste (Thai Kitchen makes a good one, and you can get it at WalMart or Macy's)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
juice from the other half lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
1 cup cream
fresh cilantro, chopped
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Combine the first 7 ingredients in a shallow dish and then add the chicken, making sure it is completely coated. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least an hour.
When the chicken has marinated, you can either grill it or broil it. If you're doing it on the grill, put the chicken on skewers and grill until almost cooked through. If broiling, cover a pan with aluminum foil and arrange the chicken on it before putting it in the oven to broil for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.
In a medium pan, add some oil and saute your onion, ginger, and garlic until the onions are fairly transparent. Put this in your crockpot. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, garam masala, curry paste, cumin, chili powder, coriander, and cinnamon. Stir until combined.
Once the chicken is done broiling, stir the pieces in and then cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. Before serving, add the remaining lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, garam masala, salt, and cream. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
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1 cup Greek yogurt
juice from half a lemon
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more if you like spicy)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2lbs chicken breast cut into slices
1 Tbsp ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, finely diced
2 cans (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (5.5 oz) tomato paste
1 tbsp garam masala (I found this in the spice section of Macy's)
1 tbsp red curry paste (Thai Kitchen makes a good one, and you can get it at WalMart or Macy's)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
juice from the other half lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
1 cup cream
fresh cilantro, chopped
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Combine the first 7 ingredients in a shallow dish and then add the chicken, making sure it is completely coated. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least an hour.
When the chicken has marinated, you can either grill it or broil it. If you're doing it on the grill, put the chicken on skewers and grill until almost cooked through. If broiling, cover a pan with aluminum foil and arrange the chicken on it before putting it in the oven to broil for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.
In a medium pan, add some oil and saute your onion, ginger, and garlic until the onions are fairly transparent. Put this in your crockpot. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, garam masala, curry paste, cumin, chili powder, coriander, and cinnamon. Stir until combined.
Once the chicken is done broiling, stir the pieces in and then cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. Before serving, add the remaining lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, garam masala, salt, and cream. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
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