Macaroni Grill Bread and Penne Rustica

So I was sort of back. :) I'm moving slow right now, and not having a whole lot of time for internet and writing or even for myself. Life with three kids is wonderful, but life without a house helper is a bit rough! I have a lady doing the floors, but that's it. I feel like every night is consumed with household chores. But tonight I have a bit of time to give you some recipes I've been thinking about!

As one who loves Italian food and especially the Macaroni Grill, these recipes are some of my favorite. The bread is just right, and even without a few of the called-for ingredients, the pasta is really good too...

Macaroni Grill-like Bread

1 T. dry yeast

1 T. sugar

1 c. warm water (110-120 degrees)

2 ½ c. white flour

1 t. salt

2 T. fresh rosemary chopped or 2 t. dried rosemary chopped

1 T. canola oil, peanut oil, or olive oil

2 T. butter

Place yeast, sugar, and water in large bowl or food processor and allow mixture to become bubbly. Mix in 2 cups of flour and the salt. Add one tablespoon of chopped rosemary. Knead for about ten minutes by hand or in food processor about 30 seconds until smooth and elastic. Add flour if necessary. Oil a bowl, put dough in it and cover with a towel. Let dough rise in a warm place for one hour until doubled.

Punch down dough and divide in half. Let dough rest about 5-10 minutes. Grease a baking pan or cookie sheet. Shape the dough into two small rounded oval loaves. Melt margarine or butter. Brush over the top of the loaves. Sprinkle remaining one tablespoon of rosemary over the loaves and press lightly into the surface. Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450˚F. Lightly sprinkle coarse salt over the loaves. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Ummm... these are so good.

So now for the pasta...

Macaroni Grill-like Penne Rustica

Granita sauce:

2 t. butter

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 t. salt

1 t. chopped dried rosemary

1 c. Marsala wine (I always substitute 1 c. chicken broth here, but this really makes the sauce).

¼ t. cayenne pepper or red chili powder

4 c. (32 oz.) heavy cream (I usually use less than this, 2 1/2-3 c, or half cream and half milk).

Penne Rustica:

1 oz. pancetta or 4 slices of bacon, chopped (if you have it... if not, it will be okay!)

1 pack Large or Jumbo Sumeru prawns

3 grilled chicken breasts, sliced

1 recipe granita sauce

1 lb. uncooked penne

3 t. pimentos, minced (I never have this!)

3 T. butter

1 t. chopped shallots or ½ c. chopped onions

1 c. grated parmesan cheese, divided

½ t. paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

6 sprigs of fresh rosemary for garnish

For sauce:

Saute butter, garlic and rosemary until garlic begins to brown. Add marsala wine and reduce by one third. Add remaining ingredients and stir til combined. Set aside.

For pasta:

Preheat oven to 475˚F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, sauté pancetta/bacon until it begins to brown. Add butter, shallots/onions, and shrimp. Cook until shrimp are evenly pink but still translucent. Add chicken, salt, pepper and mix thoroughly. Add granita sauce and ½ c. parmesan cheese and simmer until sauce thickens.

In a large bowl, combine shrimp and chicken mixture with pasta. Place this into single serving dishes or one large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and pimentos and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 475˚ for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs. Serves 8.

This is one of my favorite dishes... love it! Hope you enjoy it!

I'm Back! And Couscous and Lentil Salad

Well, after a long pause from blogging, I'm just about ready to get back to it! On December 3rd, my third child joined our family and a short four weeks later we moved to a new city, and three days after that, made an international trip to get a visa for our son. We ended up being out for three weeks and just returned a couple of weeks ago. The last two weeks have been busy getting unpacked and settled in our new apartment, and getting ready for a visit from a college roommate of mine! It is so good to have her here to experience life on this side of the world.

Now that my kitchen is all up and running in our new place, I'll be back to cooking and posting recipes! Here's one for today:

Couscous and Lentil Salad

1 c. French green or brown lentils

3 T. white wine vinegar

1 ¼ c. water

1 c. couscous

½ t. salt

¼ c. olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed into a paste with ¼ t. salt

½ cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves (I usually substitute 1 t. dried basil, but mint is readily available, called pudina)

1 bunch arugula, stems discarded and leaves washed well, dry, and chopped (I use chopped fresh spinach leaves)

2 c. vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, halved (I use coarsely chopped regular tomatoes)

¼ lb. feta, crumbled, (about 1 cup)

In a small saucepan, simmer lentils in water to cover by 2 inches until tender but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes, and drain well. Transfer hot lentils to a bowl and stir in 1 T. vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Cool lentils completely, stirring occasionally.

In a saucepan bring water to a boil and add couscous and salt. Remove pan from heat and let couscous stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in 1 T. oil and cool completely, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl whisk together garlic paste, remaining 2 T. vinegar, remaining 3 T oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir lentils and dressing into couscous. Chill salad, covered, at least 3 hours and up to 24.

Just before serving, stir in remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

*Note:Half this recipe is enough to feed four adults.

This makes a great wholesome meal in itself, or a wonderful accompaniment to falafel and pita sandwiches.

Please remember to send me your recipes!

Chicken Soup with Lentils and Barley or Rice

Our family loves barley, so I try to keep some on hand from the states, because I haven't found it here in the pearl barley form. But you could easily substitute a thick hearty rice like brown rice in this recipe and it would be just as delicious! This is great with biscuits or corn bread muffins! :)

Chicken Soup with Lentils and Barley

1 c. sliced onions

1/2 c. chopped red or green bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. butter

3 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. water

1/2 c. dry brown lentils, rinsed and drained

1/2 t. dried basil

1/4 t. oregano

1/4 t. rosemary, crushed

1/4 t. pepper

1 1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken

1 1/2 c. sliced carrots (about 3)

1/2 c. barley or rice

3-4 tomatoes, chopped

In a Dutch oven, saute onions, bell peppers and garlic in butter till tender

Carefully stir in broth, water, lentils, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in the chicken, carrots, and uncooked barley or rice. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes more or just till carrots are tender. Add the undrained tomatoes, heat through. Serves about 6.

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

Don't let the seemingly long ingredient list intimidate you, it's a lot of spices. :)

Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

2 t. American chili powder

1/2 t. ground coriander

18 t. salt

1/8 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. ground red pepper (I use Indian chili powder)

1/8 t. black pepper

1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast

1 t. vegetable oil

1 1/2 c. vertically sliced onion

2/3 c. thinly sliced yellow bell pepper

2/3 c. thinly sliced red bell pepper

2/3 c. thinly sliced green bell pepper

2 c. chicken broth

2 c. water

1/2 c. green split peas

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. bottled salsa

1. T. fresh lime/lemon juice

3 10-inch tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips

3/4 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish. Cut chicken into small bite size pieces. Combine spice mixture and chicken in a plastic bag, shaking to coat chicken pieces. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, cook until done.

Add onion and bell peppers to skillet and saute 3 minutes. Add chicken, broth, water, split peas, and 1/4 t. salt; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until peas are tender. Add salsa and lime juice, and simmer 10 minutes.

Preheat broiler/oven. Spread tortilla strips in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; lightly coat tortilla strips with cooking spray. * Broil tortilla strips 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once.

Serve soup topped with tortilla strips and cheese. Serves 4-6.

Notes: You don't have to use all three colors of bell peppers. If you can only get green, that's just fine! You can also substitute homemade salsa for the bottled, though I think bottled salsa is pretty easy to find in most places.

Megan's Tortilla Soup

For a veg version of this, you can omit the chicken, or substitute with any kind of cooked bean.

Tortilla Soup

4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or 1 whole chicken cooked and picked

4 onions chopped

3-4 green peppers, chopped

6 tomatoes, chopped

Broth from cooking chicken + water and buillion cubes to make five cups

1 1/3 c. cream soup mix

2 boxes Brittannia Mexican mirchi cheese spread

1 box Brittannia processed cheddar, cubed

Melt 2 T. butter in Dutch oven. Fry onions and peppers. Add tomatoes, fry for a minute. Add broth and water/buillion and cream soup. Stir to mix. Add cheese and chicken and simmer till cheese is melted. Serve with cut up tortillas. Serves 8-10. We like leftovers of this. :)

Potato Soup

A rich, cheesy potato soup that will fill your belly quickly!

Potato Soup

8 baked potatoes, peeled and diced*

50 g. butter, or about 1/2 stick

2 boxes Amul cream (or 1 box cream, 1 cup milk)

1 onion, diced

3 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. flour

1 box (400g)Britannia Processed Cheddar, cut into very small cubes

Melt butter in dutch oven. Add onions and cook until soft. Combine flour and broth to make paste. Add to onions and cook till thick. Add other ingredients and heat through. Don’t boil.

*Most of the time I just peel, chop and boil the potatoes in water while cutting the onions and sauteeing them. Saves me time. But it does taste better with potatoes that have been baked. :)

Megan's Tomato Soup

It's finally getting beyond cool in our city and feeling a little chilly, cold even. I always love soups and stews during the winter, and since they're usually pretty quick and easy meals, I'd post a few recipes for our favorite soups.

When we lived in the states, a quick and easy lunch was a can of Campbell's tomato soup with grilled cheese. The Maggi/Knorr Tomato soup packets just don't quite meet the craving, so I created this tomato soup recipe, which we actually like better than the Campbell's. :)

Tomato Soup

1 onion

4 garlic cloves

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

two cups chicken broth

two boxes tomato puree

5-6 large tomatoes

1/2 t. basil

1 t. paprika

1/2 t. cumin

Tony’s

salt

1 box of Amul cream(small box)

Slice tomatoes in half and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Sprinkle top with salt. Bake 15-20 or until skins start peeling back. Remove peels once cool. Pulse tomatoes in mixer till mostly smooth.

While tomatoes are baking, puree garlic and onions in a mixer until totally smooth, no clumps, adding water 1 t. at a time if necessary. Saute puree in butter till translucent. Add flour, 1 T at a time till pasty. Add paprika and combine. Add tomatoes to onion mixture. Add 1 t. paprika, 1/2 t. basil, 1/2 t. cumin, dash of Tony Chachere’s. Mix to combine. Slowly add boxed tomato puree and chicken broth. Stir to combine. Simmer for a few minutes until smooth. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and add box of cream, stirring to combine.