Creamy Chicken and Sundried Tomato Pasta

I have been seeing this tasty looking creamy chicken and sundried tomato pasta on pinterest for a while now and it was time that I made my own version of it! You really can't go wrong with a creamy sauce packed with the flavour of sundried tomatoes but this pasta takes things a step further with the addition on plenty of melted cheese including both fresh mozzarella, which only adds to the creaminess, and parmesan! This recipe is super easy and it only takes as much time to make as it takes to bring the water to a boil and cook the pasta! You start off by cooking the chicken, deglazing the pan with some white wine, adding some broth and cream along with the sundried tomatoes and cheese and you're done! Other than tweaking the recipe I made one important addition and that was to add some roasted grape or cherry tomatoes for their juiciness and acidity which complements and contrasts the creaminess of the pasta perfectly! As simple as this dish is it's so wonderfully tasty that words just cannot describe how good it is, you really just have to try it!

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Chicken and Mushroom Skillet in a Creamy Asiago and Mustard Sauce

Up next we have another super quick and easy chicken dish and this time it's a one skillet chicken and mushroom dish in a creamy asiago and dijon mustard sauce and it's just packed with flavour! This recipe starts out by butterflying or pounding the chicken thin so that it cooks quickly and then cooking it at a high temperature to caramelize it on both sides before setting aside. The mushrooms along with the onion, garlic and thyme are then cooked before deglazing the pan with some white wine, adding the chicken broth, cream and mustards, simmering to reduce and thicken the sauce and adding the asiago cheese! All said and done this recipe takes about 30 minutes to make so it is perfect for dinner on a busy week night and it's sure to impress everyone that tries it!

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Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini noodles, aka zoodles, have been making their way around the food sphere for a while now and I finally jumped on the band wagon and tried them out and I was pleasantly surprised that they make an excellent substitute for noodles, rice, etc. Not only are zucchini noodles lighter and healthier but but they hold up like real noodles and they are a great way to sneak in some extra vegetables into your meals! One of the first dishes that I thought to use zoodles in was one of my favourite pasta dishes, shrimp scampi, a dish where shrimp is served on pasta in a lemony, garlicky and buttery sauce. If you are into the lemon, butter and garlic combo (and who isn't???) then this dish is for you and it's so quick and easy to make, taking less than 20 minutes in total! The zucchini version of shrimp scampi is so much lighter and fresher than the pasta version and I think that I may just like it even more than the original!

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Eggplant Parmesan Boats

With all of the stuffing that has been going on with the stuffed zucchini and stuffed spaghetti squash it was time that eggplant got stuffed and what better way to start than with stuffed eggplant parmesan! It seemed only natural to stuff eggplant with the flavours of a dish that eggplant is normally used in and this eggplant parmesan boat recipe, adapted from Skinny Taste, is super easy to make and packed with flavour. You pretty much just need to hollow out the eggplant, roast it, cook the sausage along with the eggplant that was scooped out before adding the marinara sauce, stuffing the eggplant, topping it with cheese and baking it until the cheese melts. Stuffing vegetables is always fun and this stuffed eggplant parmesan is a new favourite! I can't wait to see what else I can stuff eggplant with!

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Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Carbonara

The other day I found myself thinking about making one of my favourite summer dishes, asparagus carbonara, and I thought that if I was making it anyways why not update the photos for the older recipe? I was all set to go when I remembered the roasted cauliflower and mushroom carbonara and I knew that a roasted asparagus and mushroom carbonara would be amazing since asparagus and mushrooms are such a fabulous combination! This carbonara recipe is pretty easy where you just need to cook the bacon while the vegetable roast and the pasta cooks and then you mix everything together with the sauce. As much as I enjoy the cauliflower version I think I like this asparagus one even better and it just screams summer!

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How To Make Kale Pasta/Noodles (without a pasta machine)

I make pasta or noodles from scratch occasionally. If you've never made them before, don't worry it's a lot easier than you'd think. In this post and video, I'll show you how to make fresh kale pasta or noodles by hand. The kale gives the pasta a light sweet flavor and nice color too.






How To Make Kale Pasta/Noodles (without a pasta machine)

Ingredients

1 Bunch (120 grams) of Organic Kale (Light Green leaves only)
250ml/I Cup Water
480g/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
Extra All-Purpose Flour for dusting
One Large Egg
½ tsp Sea Salt

Method

Combine kale and water, and blend until smooth. Pour kale juice through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard the pulp. You’ll need 250-ml/1 cup of Kale juice.

Place 2/3 flour and salt in the mixing bowl. Mix well and add in the egg. Use the spatula, fork or spoon to mix the egg and flour. Then gradually add in the kale juice until all of the flour is blended in and you have a shaggy mess of dough.
Knead the dough by pushing down and away from you and turning it repeatedly until the dough feels smooth and elastic, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle on more flour if the dough becomes sticky or soft during kneading. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest for an hour.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces to make handling easier. Generously dust a large surface with flour. Roll each portion out with a rolling pin, into a 12 x 9 inches rectangle. (Don’t have to be exact) Then flour the dough sheet, fold both sides to the center (remember to dust with flour), and fold it again. Then slice the noodles as narrow or wide as you like, but slice them as evenly as possible. If the noodles are uneven in thickness; stretch them gently to ensure uniform thickness. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

The noodles can be cooked right away or let it dry out by draping them on plastic coat hanger, or a pasta drying rack for a few hours, and stored in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.

Yield about 500 grams of pasta/noodles

Chicken Parmesan Soup

Although Spring is officially here it is rather chilly and there is even a bit of snow on the ground so I have still been craving soups! I always enjoy converting some of my favourite meals into soups and now it was time for a chicken parmesan soup! Chicken parmesan is a dish where chicken breasts are coated in parmesan and crispy breadcrumbs and it is commonly served with marinara sauce on pasta and it is covered in melted mozzarella cheese. I started the chicken parmesan soup off with a chicken broth and tomato base that I seasoned with onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, fennel and an Italian seasoning blend. Up next was the chicken, which I cooked in the soup before shredding it, and the pasta which is also cooked in the soup. Of course the final ingredient was plenty of parmesan cheese which is melted right into the soup adding a ton of flavour! I served the chicken parmesan soup with some crostini covered in parmesan and it definitely hits the the spot on a chilly day!

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Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Carbonara

Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish consisting of egg, bacon, fresh cracked black pepper and cheese and I am a huge fan of it; it's so quick and easy to make and so amazingly good! One of the things that I like about it is that you can easily add things, like vegetables, and I figured that it was past time to make a carbonara with my new favourite vegetable, cauliflower. Of course, I could not resist roasting the cauliflower to give it that caramelized flavour and I also brought cauliflowers best fried, mushrooms, to the roasting pan! Once the vegetables are roasted you really just need to cook the bacon (I used pancetta this time) and pasta and toss everything together! The trick to carbonara is that you want to mix the egg sauce with the hot pasta, bacon and pasta water so that the eggs 'cook' without scrambling, which is actually pretty easy! This roasted cauliflower and mushroom carbonara might just be my favourite carbonara yet!

Check out below the recipe for some more carbonara pasta recipes!

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Homemade Rigatoni

This is a pasta dough made without egg and shaped with a pasta extruder machine.





Homemade Rigatoni

Ingredients

250 grams Tipo 00 Flour
250 grams Durum Wheat/Semolina
250 ml of Water

Equipment: Mixer & Pasta Extruder Machine

Method

Place flour, semolina, and water in a mixer bowl (attach w/dough hook), stir for a few seconds.

Turn the speed to 2 and knead for about 3 to 4 minutes, until a dough ball is formed.

Remove the dough and knead by hand for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into smaller pieces before processing with pasta extruder. Flour one piece of dough and feed into the opening at the top of the extruder, at the same time, crank the handle. You will see a long, tubular paste emerge. Cut the pasta with a sharp knife and dust the pasta with a little flour. Continue with the rest of the dough. You can cook the rigatoni right away, or let it dry for up to 24 hours.

Makes 500 grams of fresh Rigatoni

Rosemary Garlic Focaccia

Rosemary and garlic flavored oil give incredible flavor to this Focaccia and it's best eaten warm.





Rosemary Garlic Focaccia

Ingredients

3 ½ Cups/420 grams Tip 00 or All-Purpose Flour
2 ¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Cup of Warm Water
2 tsp Sea Salt
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Rosemary Garlic Oil
4-5 Sprigs Rosemary
3 Cloves Garlic
¼ tsp Sea Salt
3 to 4 Tbsp Olive Oil

Method

Put the warm water in a bowl. Add sugar and the yeast. Set aside for 15-20 minutes or until the yeast has dissolved and the mixture is frothy.

Place the flour, salt and into a bowl of a mixer and give it a quick stir on low speed. Pour in the yeast mixture and turn the mixture on low speed to moisten the flour. Then add olive oil, continue to mix the dough on medium speed for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Once the dough pull away from the bowl, remove and knead for with your hand until it is smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

Rosemary Garlic Oil: Combine the garlic, rosemary, and sea salt in a pestle mortar, or bowl and lightly crush all the ingredients and add in the olive oil. Set aside.

Gently punch down the dough and knead it again. Place the dough on a non-stick baking tray. Press the dough evenly into the pan. Spread rosemary garlic oil all over the dough and press down the dough with your fingertips to create dimples. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside and leave to rise again for about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 450˚. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes. Serve warm.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

This is another simple yet delicious cookie that I love to bake. Basically, you will need equal weight of butter, flour, ground hazelnuts, and half portion of sugar. This recipe yields about 80 small cookies but if you want you can easily adjust the recipe to bake the amount you wanted.



Christmas is only a few days away so I hope this Christmas season brings you joy, happiness, and a wonderful holiday. Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks everyone.





Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Ingredients

250 grams Unsalted Butter, softened (@room temperature)
125 grams Sugar
250 grams All-Purpose Flour
250 grams Ground Hazelnut
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Paste/Extract
80 pieces Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Method

Preheat oven to 325˚F/170˚C. Lined two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Then mix in vanilla paste/extract. Stir in the salt, flour, and ground hazelnut. Use your hand or spatula to mix the dough until well blended.

Roll the dough mixture into 80 small balls (about 10 to 12 grams each) and press a piece of chocolate chip on top of each cookie. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the cookie and let it cool a few minutes. Then transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

Makes 80 cookies

Homemade Rigatoni With San Marzano Sauce

UPDATED: January 10th 2014
This is an updated post with a new video cooking guide.





Homemade Rigatoni With San Marzano Sauce

Ingredients

500 grams of Homemade Rigatoni or Store-bought, cooked el-dente
Parmigiano-Reggiano

San Marzano Sauce
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Yellow Onion, peeled and chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp of Peperoncino (chili in olive Oil) available at Italian Stores or 2 tsp of Chili Flakes
2 Tins 796ml/28oz San Whole Marzano Tomatoes, reserved tomato juice from 1 tin
1/4 Cup firmly packed fresh Basil leaves, torn
2 Tbsp Chopped Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
2 tsp Cane Sugar
Sea Salt to taste
Black Pepper

Method

Place oil in heavy saucepan over moderately high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until it just starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Then stir in the Peperoncino or chili flakes.

Empty contents of tomato cans into a sieve, reserving 1 tin tomato liquid. Squeeze the juice out of the tomatoes with your hands, letting the juice out of the tomatoes with your hands, letting the juice run through the sieve. (The remaining tomatoes should be a coarse, chunky pulp.) Add the tomatoes and reserved liquid to pan with basil and parsley. Simmer for 10 minutes, season with sugar, salt, pepper and serve with pasta with some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Serves 6-8

Shrimp Saltimbocca

I recently came across the idea of shrimp saltimbocca by tide and thyme on pinterest and when I did I immediately knew that I would have to try it! Saltimbocca is a tasty Italian dish where veal is cooked with prosciutto and sage that is either pinned to the outside or wrapped up in the middle. I like a chicken version where the prosciutto is wrapped around the chicken with the along sage leaves and both the prosciutto and the sage get nice and crispy on the outside of the chicken as it cooks. You really can't go wrong wrapping chicken in crispy fried prosciutto and sage and I knew that a shrimp version would be just as good if not better!

The shrimp version takes a bit more time to make since you have to wrap all of the shrimp up with small sage leaves but other than that it is super easy! Once the shrimp has been cooked the bottom of the pan is covered in those little brown bits of flavour which you just cannot let go to waste so I made a quick pan sauce with some browned butter, wine and lemon juice along with the crumbled bits of some crispy fried sage. This shrimp saltimbocca along with the buttery lemony pan sauce would be perfect tossed with pasta for a meal but I decided t go a different route and served it as appetizers along with the pan sauce for dipping.

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Lasagna Dip

Last week when I made the lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash I tried to keep things nice and light and healthy but I could not help but think about doing something similar only a bit naughtier, a hot melted cheesy lasagna dip! I am a huge fan of dips, especially when they have plenty of hot melted cheese and since lasagna is one of my favourite meals I knew that a lasagna dip was sure to be amazing! The basic idea behind this dip was to use the layers of a lasagna in a dip including a base of cheese and a quick, easy and tasty tomato meat sauce all topped off with plenty of melted mozzarella! My mom always made lasagna with cottage cheese for the cheese layer so I am rather partial to that but ricotta or even cream cheese would also work well. For the tomato based meat sauce I kept things lighter and healthy going with turkey for the meat and I packed the sauce with plenty of flavour! I have to say that this dip is truly spectacular and it really does remind me of lasagna, though it is a lot easier to make and perfect for enjoying while watching the game!

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Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Winter squash is in season and one that I do not use nearly often enough is spaghetti squash so when I came across the idea of a lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash I pinned it right away to try later! Lasagna is a layered pasta dish typically containing noodles, a meat sauce and a cheese or bechamel sauce and it is topped with plenty of cheese and baked until golden brown and bubbling. This lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash takes the basic components of lasagna including the meat sauce and the cheese layer and stuffs them into a spaghetti squash, which essentially replaces the noodles, and bakes them until the cheese has melted. Since this dish goes with healthy spaghetti squash instead of noodles I decided to keep things on the lighter side going with ground turkey for the meat and a low fat cottage cheese for the cheese layer. Even though this lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash is designed to be healthier it certainly does not sacrifice anything in the way of flavour! You will definitely not miss the noodles in this tasty lasagna!

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Pumpkin Goat Cheese Fettuccine Alfredo with Crispy Fried Sage

My next new pumpkin recipe of the season is a super quick, easy and tasty creamy pumpkin alfredo pasta! The pumpkin sauce for this pasta is loosely based on an alfredo sauce which is typically made with butter and melted cheese, usually parmesan, and it also commonly contains cream. This sauce starts out with the butter and a touch of garlic and then moves on to the cream and parmesan along with some pumpkin puree. Instead of using the parmesan as the primary cheese flavour I cut back on it and went with a tangy goat cheese which pairs particularly well with the sweet pumpkin puree. The sauce is finished off with some sage and a hint of pumpkin pie spice to tingle the senses and the pasta topped with some irresistible crispy fried sage.

This pumpkin goat cheese alfredo does not require a lot of pumpkin puree so it is perfect if you had a bit left over and since it comes together in less time than it takes to cook the pasta it is a great weeknight meal but it is also special enough to impress guests!

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Parmesan Crusted Pesto Tilapia with Roasted Tomatoes

After making the summery version of the parmesan crusted pesto tilapia bruschetta I could not help but think to update this fall/winter version. The only difference between these recipes is that the summer version uses beautiful fresh ripe tomatoes but when they are not available this version works better, roasting the tomatoes to help concentrate and bring out more of their flavour. This dish could not be easier to make, you simply sprinkle the parmeson on the fillets and broil them along with the cherry tomatoes until the fish is cooked and the tomatoes have roasted up and started to burst. If you are looking for a tasty, quick and light dish you really cannot go wrong with this parmesan crusted pesto tilapia with roasted tomatoes!

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Caprese Chicken Pesto Pasta

The days are getting busier and when that happens it is always nice to have some quick and easy recipes on hand and ones that sacrifice nothing in the way of flavour! Luckily it is a good time of year for that, especially if you are enamored with the the flavours of the caprese salad like I am. The caprese salad is the combination of fresh, field ripened tomatoes along with basil and mozzarella and although simple, it is amazingly good with fresh ingredients! I have been enjoying a lot of caprese salads these days and one of my favourite ways to enjoy the caprese flavours is in this chicken caprese pasta that combines grilled chicken with fresh tomatoes, homemade basil pesto and mozzarella. If the flavours of this dish were not enough, it is ready in the time that it takes to cook the pasta! You really cannot go wrong with the late summer flavours of tomatoes and basil and this chicken caprese pasta is an wonderful way to enjoy them!

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Peach, Chicken and Gorgonzola Balsamic Quesadillas with Arugula Pesto

I have been on a quesadilla kick this summer and with all of the peaches around these days I could not resist making some peach quesadillas. There are probably a million different ways to use peaches in quesadillas and I was thinking of taking a slightly different route with mine. Instead of going with spicy salsas and guacamole I was thinking that the sweet juicy peaches would pair nicely with some tangy and creamy gorgonzola! Gorgonzola dolce is a particularly nice mild blue cheese that melts well but it does not have that nice stringiness that Monterey Jack or cheddar has and it will not hold a quesadilla together very well so I filled out the quesadilla with some mildly flavoured mozzarella. I wanted these quesaidillas to eat like a meal so I threw in some chicken and I finished things off with some sweet and sour balsamic reduction and a touch of peppery fresh arugula pesto. These peach, chicken and gorgonzola balsamic quesadillas with arugula pesto have a lot going for them and all of the flavours work so well together! They are definitely an amazing summer treat!

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Parmesan Crusted Pesto Tilapia Bruschetta

During the summer I often enjoy nice simple meals that focus on some of the amazing fresh ingredients that are available. These recipes may not be complex or glamorous but the perfectly ripe fresh ingredients make these meals magical none the less. Some of my favourite ingredients include field ripened tomatoes and basil and I never tire of using them together in tasty new dishes. A while ago I shared a version of this recipe for pesto tilapia with roasted tomatoes which I enjoy when good tomatoes are not available but by far my favourite version is this one using summer ripped tomatoes! The recipe is super quick and easy where you simply sprinkle some parmesan onto the tilapia, broil, then top with basil pesto and diced tomatoes and enjoy! This is one truly amazing way to enjoy some of summers finest!

Although you could use store bought, homemade basil pesto is so much better and well worth making for dishes like this one. One great thing about homemade pesto is that it freezes well so make a lot this summer and freeze it in an ice cube tray before placing in a freezer bag for convenient single serve portions that will get you through the long cold winter.

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