recipes

One of our favorite places to eat is The Old Spaghetti Factory. Will and I were there recently and he decided to try something new: the chicken piccata. It was really good, so I decided to try to recreate it at the house so everyone could taste it without breaking the bank. This is the result, and it’s become one of absolute favorite meals.

Chicken Piccata (serves 6-8)

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into strips
flour, for dredging
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup white wine
1 cup lemon juice
2 jars capers
3-4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 pound spaghetti or angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions

Season the chicken strips with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Cook them in a bit of oil until cooked through.

Remove the chicken to a plate and keep warm. Add the wine to the pan and cook it for a minute or two until the alcohol cooks off. Add the lemon juice, capers, and tomatoes. Cook until the sauce thickens a bit.

Place the chicken back in the sauce and stir to coat.

Serve over a bed of pasta.

It takes a bit of time to make this recipe because of the frying of the chicken, but it’s not too bad. I can normally get dinner on the table for our entire family in about 45 minutes using this recipe.

Blessings,

One of Will’s favorite past times is going to a restaurant and trying something completely new. He’ll do this in “old favorite” restaurants as well as new ones we’ve never visited before. Recently, we went to a Cajun grill, and he ordered the Crawfish Etouffe (ay-too-fay). He described it as a “spicy tomato soup with rice and seafood.” I’m not a huge seafood fan (I like many kinds of fish, but not seafood in general), so I didn’t try any. But he found himself going back again and again for this dish because it was so good. He even took the older boys once, and when they got back they raved about it too. So one night when we were at the store with no idea of what to fix for dinner, he decided to look up an etouffe recipe. It was fairly simple with easy ingredients (except the crayfish), so we decided to give it a go, with one exception: we got a kielbasa for the protein instead. It was really delicious, and I’m so glad we tried it! Today I want to share our version of the recipe.

Sausage Etouffe

Serves 6-8

6 cups water
3 cups long grain rice
1 kielbasa, cut into small pieces
1 stick butter
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2-3 cups water, or as needed
3-6 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning, more or less to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the rice in the water according to package directions.

While the rice cooks, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Cook the kielbasa and onions until the onions are soft. Add the flour to make a roux. Stir in the tomato sauce and water and cook to make a gravy/soup-like consistency. Add the green onions and seasonings; stir well to combine. Serve in bowls over the rice.

Blessings,

Most of my life, I thought I didn’t like avocados. I grew up in a home where my mom didn’t use them, and they always looked kind of weird, so I never bothered to try them, assuming that I wouldn’t like them. About three years ago, we were at our friends’ house, and they made tacos – with guacamole as an optional topping. I decided to give it a shot, just out of curiosity, and wow! Now avocados and guacamole are one of my favorite things to eat. I’ve tried guacamole from lots of different restaurants, and some of them are okay (Red Robin, any local Mexican place) and some are not (Chipotle, Fuddruckers). The thing the “bad” ones have in common is an overpowering fresh onion flavor – I’m not a fan of raw onion (and that’s not a blind distaste – I actually don’t like it). So I thought I’d share my favorite recipe for making guacamole at home, which is the best I’ve ever had, in a restaurant or otherwise.

Easy Guacamole

1-2 avocados, depending on how much guac you need/want
Approximately 1/4 cup salsa (your favorite)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash it lightly with a fork.

Add the salsa and spices and continue to mash and mix until everything is well combined. Taste. If it’s amazing, you’re done. If it’s only almost amazing, adjust the seasonings (salt is the one I always need to add more of) and try again until it’s exactly the way you like it.

Blessings,

Will was recently at a restaurant by himself, and he ordered something he normally wouldn’t – a pasta dish from a burger place. But he really liked it and decided to have us try to replicate it on our own. Here’s what we came up; he says it’s pretty close, and even if it wasn’t, it’s totally delicious. And the best part is that it works two ways: as a hot dish on its own (it’s a fantastic lunch), and as chilled leftovers in a pasta-salad type of way. The quantities I give will make a huge batch – enough for lunch one day and a side dish the next.

Artichoke Pasta

2 pounds rotini pasta (or your favorite bite-size)
Approximately 3 cups pesto-Alfredo sauce (we use 2 jars of Classico basil Alfredo)
1 bunch kale
2 cans artichoke hearts, chopped (but not too finely)
3-4 diced Roma tomatoes, or equivalent grape or cherry tomatoes

Bring a large pot of water to boil. While you’re waiting, get the kale ready by removing the leaves from the stems and chopping it roughly.

Add the pasta and kale to the pot together. Cook according to pasta box directions. Drain. (Don’t do what I did on picture day and forget the kale. It’s really much better if you cook it long enough.)

To the same pot, add the sauce, artichoke hearts, and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes to heat the sauce and gently cook the vegetables.

Add the pasta-kale mixture to the sauce mixture and stir well to combine. Serve hot or chill and serve cold later.

Blessings,