Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

We had some homemade gnocchi in the freezer, and I found this recipe for gnocchi with zucchini, yellow summer squash, and tomatoes in one of my old Everyday Food magazines.  It looked just right for this week.

I had read somewhere that you could freeze uncooked gnocchi.  At first I thought it wasn't turning out well, some of them seemed to be falling apart.  But in the end I think they turned out well and it is worth making a large batch of gnocchi to freeze half for another time. 

Gnocchi can be found frozen and sometimes even dried I think, but these vegetables would be good just tossed with some pasta as well. 

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables Recipe

adapted from Martha Stewart

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 summer squash, quartered and sliced (or 2 of either squash)
1 garlic clove, minced

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
gnocchi (I had about 3 cups frozen)
fresh basil, chopped chiffonade
grated Pecorino Romano, or parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper 

 In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.

 Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi with vegetables.  Remove from heat and stir in basil, butter, and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper if needed (my gnocchi was salty enough from the boiling water).  If you want it to be more saucy add some of the reserved cooking liquid. Grate some fresh cheese on top. Serve

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chilli

I bought ingredients for our much-loved sweet potato and black bean enchiladas, but I just wasn't feeling it.  So I searched the internet a bit and came across this recipe for Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili.  That sounded much more like it, though I did make some changes to the recipe.  Perfect for a cold November evening. The smoky flavor from the chipotle in adobo ads just the right amount of flavor and heat, and a dollop of sour cream cools the palate enough for my kids to be happy eating it.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

1 onion
1/2 sweet pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth

1/2 of one chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/2 lb dry beans prepared/cooked (about three cups or 2 cans)
1 lb sweet potato
1 tsp salt

In a soup pot heat 2 tablespoons fat or oil.  Add onion and sweet pepper, saute until onions are translucent.  Add garlic and cumin, cook and stir until fragrant.  Add remaining ingredients, simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese. 

Salsa Chicken

I try new recipes frequently. I like to keep meal plans fresh and interesting. But we do have a few "favorite meals" that we will have multiple times a year. One of these favorites is "Salsa chicken." I actually got the recipe from a free recipe card in the spice aisle--one of those ones meant to get non-cooking people to cook--as a young engaged woman. It appealed to my desire to improve my cooking repertoire, and was four simple ingredients, easy to cook and very delicious.

Toss cut up chicken breast in taco seasoning. Cook in a hot saute pan with oil.
When the chicken has lightened on all sides, add diced tomatoes with juice.
Next add apricot jam. This is one of the only ones we can find in our grocery store without high fructose corn syrup.

When chicken is done and the sauce has cooked down a little remove from heat. Serve over rice.

Salsa Chicken serves 4 adults
Taco seasoning
2 chicken breasts sliced into bite-sized strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups (one can) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup apricot jam Brown rice

Begin cooking desired amount of rice according to package directions. Toss cut up chicken breast in 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning to coat. Heat oil in a large saute pan. Add chicken and stir as it cooks until the chicken has lightened on all sides. Add diced tomatoes in their juice. Next add apricot jam, and stir. Simmer about 10 minutes until chicken is done and the sauce has cooked down a little. Remove from heat. Serve over rice.

Pizza Margherita

The garden is producing.

And we are eating.

Pizza Margherita

Shape pizza dough.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Arrange chopped tomatoes and fresh basil.
Top with Mozzarella cheese, covering the basil to keep it from burning.
Bake hot and fast.

Tomato Basil Soup

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

4 tomatoes peeled,seeded, and diced
4 cups tomato juice
14 leaves fresh basil
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Put tomatos and juice in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves. (Use an immersion blender. Cheap ones are only $20 bucks and I use mine all the time--they are great for smoothies too.)

Over medium heat stir in the cream, do not boil. Season with any salt an pepper desired. (I find that canned tomato juice is usually salty enough.) Serve hot with crusty bread and pesto.

Carmelized Onion 'n' Pear Pizza

Here's my sister-in-law Carolyn the day she married my brother Logan. This weekend we are celebrating with Carolyn- although from a different state unfortunately. This weekend is Carolyn's fourth-year anniversary of being cancer-free!

Four years ago Logan and Carolyn were hanging out with us in the Burrow (our first apartment--in a basement). They were off being silly on the other "side" of the apartment. Jeremy and I were probably doing something very responsible that necessitated not cleaning our apartment. When Logan and Carolyn reemerged they were smiling and laughing like the twitterpated teenagers that they were, and Logan was showing off Carolyn's hairdo he had just gelled. Her hair was just growing in long enough that she could put a little bit of gel in it and have a cute "pixy" style. That was a happy moment. I was happy for them, and how happy they were together. I was happy for my home that, however messy it was, was perceived as a "safe" environment where others feel comfortable enough to let their hair down--or take their super-cute wig off--and feel at ease. And I was happy for Carolyn, that here was tangible evidence that she was moving along in life, past her cancer.

---We love you Carolyn. Thanks for putting up with Logan ;-) to join our family!---

Carolyn invited us this weekend to join in their tradition of celebrating by eating out at California Pizza Kitchen. Well we don't have one here in Kansas, but we did make it to the CPK while we were out in Salt Lake City this summer. And boy did we have a delicious pizza! Amazingly enough I was going through some old food magazines the other day and found a recipe for basically the same pizza, so here is that scrumptious pizza for you to enjoy!



Caramelized Onion 'n' Pear Pizza
1 large red onion, sliced and separated into rings
3 T butter
3T sugar
2 medium pears, peeled and sliced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 c crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
salad greens
tomato, sliced
blue cheese salad dressing
chopped hazelnuts

In a large skillet saute onion in butter until tender. Add sugar and cook and stir 5-10 minutes until onions are caramelized.

Spread crust with cheeses, onion, and pears. Bake according to pizza crust directions. Top with greens, tomato, dressing and hazelnuts.

We used a medium sized onion and one large pear and made two 9-inch pizzas. Sometime I'll post our new favorite pizza dough recipe, but not today! Meanwhile use your own recipe or a pre-baked shell, this will turn out delicious!

Mexican Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Can (15 oz) diced tomatoes (or 2-4 whole tomatoes diced)

½ Cup Rice, uncooked
1 Can (1 2/3 Cups) Black Beans
1 Cup Corn
1 Cup Chicken
2 T. Salsa
1 T. Fresh Cilantro or Parsley
¼ t. Cumin
¼ t. Salt/Pepper

Directions:
Bring broth, tomatoes, and rice to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and warm tortillas.

Notes: This soup was alt least 3X better than I expected it to be the first time I tried it--it really is good. I'll be freezing portions of this for my freezer-meal swapping group this month. I think it's a great candidate for freezing.