Garlic Bread

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Garlic bread is a delicious side for any Italian meal. I believe no garlic is too much garlic, and garlic and butter are one of the best toppings for bread. This simple recipe can be used with any bread. I used a whole grain bread and it was quite delicious. If you would rather take a few extra minutes, you could also melt the butter in a small frying pan with the garlic and cook it for 10 minutes on low until the garlic is soft enough to become a paste. If you dice the garlic up finely, it will help cook it faster. This recipe is enough for 4 side servings. I used a 6 inch loaf cut into quarters.

What You Will Need

  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 2 Bread Slices
  • 3 Tbsp Butter
  • Garlic Powder
  • Bowl and Pastry Brush
  • Baking Sheet

Directions

  1. Heat Oven to 350 F
  2. Cut your bread into your desired size.
  3. Place Minced garlic and butter into a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir butter until melted. Brush butter over bread and add garlic evenly over bread. Place bread on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes
  4. Remove bread and top each slice with a sprinkle of garlic powder. Serve as a side.
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Chicken Cacciatore

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Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish, but who knew it was so easy to make a home? With a little prep, this dish is incredibly hands off, and makes enough to feed a large family. With the only limiting factor being how much chicken you use, this recipe easily makes 6-7 adult sized servings. I decided to make this dish fresh because everything is in season where I am right now, and anything I didn’t grow, I could get at my local farmer’s market. Though this dish is typically made with chicken thighs, I usually only have white chicken meat, so I decided to butterfly and fry a large chicken breast instead. The chicken breast I used was about 1 pound on it’s own, and easily formed a nice brown crust after 5 minutes. This is a healthy and delicious meal I highly recommend you try!

What You Will Need

  • 1 Green Pepper, Cored and Sliced
  • 1 Medium Onion, Diced
  • 3 Large Diced Tomatoes with Juice (14 Oz)
  • 1 Cup (8 Oz) Tomato Sauce
  • 1 Can (4 oz) Sliced Mushrooms, Strained
  • 1 Chicken Breast, Butterflied or 3-4 Chicken Thighs
  • 1/4 Cup Oil
  • 2 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Basil

Directions

  1. In a large dutch oven, add peppers, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, and tomato sauce. Heat over medium heat and cover.
  2. In a large frying pan, heat over medium heat. Add oil and chicken. Turn down heat if necessary, and cook on face for about 5 minutes undisturbed until a brown crust forms. Flip and repeat browning on second side.
  3. Transfer chicken to dutch oven. Cover with sauce and veggies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then simmer covered for 40-50 minutes, or until internal temperature of 165 F is reached. Serve over pasta.
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Garlic Shrimp Fettuccine with Green Beans

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Fresh pasta is completely different from store bought. If you don’t have to time to make homemade for this dish, I recommend using a higher quality pasta, which is usually sold in nests. The texture of the pasta makes this dish. The onion flavor is an under tone of this dish while the garlic is the real star. The tender yet firm green beans add fresh flavor, and the shrimp pairs wonderfully with the garlic and green beans. Top your serving with grated parmesan and enjoy this rich and flavorful meal! This recipe makes 5 adult sized servings.

What You Will Need

  • 4 Cups Cooked Fettuccine
  • 1/4 Cup Butter
  • 2 Tbsp Oil
  • 2 Cups Cooked and Thawed Shrimp
  • 1 Small Onion, Diced
  • 3 Garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 Cup Green Beans
  • Large Frying pan/Dutch oven
  • Tongs and Wooden Spoon

Directions

  1. Prepare your ingredients as listed.
  2. In a large frying pan, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook till fried. Add garlic and green beans, cook for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add cooked pasta and shrimp to butter mixture. Cook together for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

Homemade Pasta – Fettuccine

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Homemade pasta takes some time, but it’s so much better than store bought or boxed pasta! Homemade pasta has texture and substance. This is the same pasta recipe I used for ravioli, however instead of making squares, we made strings. I also saw afterwards that it’s easier to cut the pasta by rolling it first before cutting, so make note. Making nests is also important, though I didn’t do that. When I cooked my pasta, it held the shape it was in, so it had lots of awkward bends and twists than would have been present if i just make them into nests. Finally, form into 4 nests, because this recipe makes 4 adult sized servings.

What You Will Need

  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Tbsp Oil
  • Rolling pin and knife or pasta roller
  • Flour to dust
  • Optional Saran Wrap
  • Optional Freezer Bag

Directions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or on a clean counter, add flour. Add the eggs and oil, and mix until it becomes a shaggy dough.
  2. On a floured counter, knead the dough until it comes together. It is a drier dough that should not be sticky or wet, you may add a bit of warm water if it won’t come together.
  3. Wrap in saran to roll out later. You can also choose to roll out the dough now. Using a rolling pin, or a pasta roller, make the dough less than 1 cm thick. Use a pasta cutter attachment, or flour both sides thoroughly, loosely roll, then cut the dough into pasta. Shake out pasta then hang on a pasta rack, or form into nests. Cook nest(s) for 30 seconds to 1 minutes, or place nests into freezer bag, seal and freeze.

Carrot Top Pesto Shrimp

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To see my recipe for Carrot top pesto, click here! When I froze this pesto, I didn’t add any parmesan, so if you are using store bought or even your own homemade pesto, please note that I did not add double the cheese. Also based on flavor, add some sugar or salt to flavor the sauce before adding the pasta.

This pasta is easy and straight forward, pasta, pesto, and shrimp. I didn’t strain my pasta in a colander, and instead used a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the pesto. I then boiled my shrimp for 1-2 minutes before using the same spoon to transfer them to the pasta mixture. I boiled my shrimp because I bought precooked shrimp, and at the time I hadn’t thawed them, so it was a great way to warm them up. If you will be doing that yourself, just be careful not to overcook the shrimp. Shrimp is fully cooked when it forms a “c” in shape. If the shrimp looks like an “o” then is will be over cooked, and tougher to eat. This recipe made 4-5 adult sized portions.

What You Will Need

  • 2/3 cup Pesto
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan
  • 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Pasta Water
  • 1 1/2 cup Rotini Pasta
  • 1 1/2 Cup Shrimp
  • Large frying pan
  • Large sauce Pan & Colander

Directions

  1. Use the large frying pan with 1/2 Tbsp oil to cook any raw shrimp, 2 minutes per side in a hot pan. If using cooked and frozen shrimp, place your shrimp in a bowl with cold water for 5-10 minutes to thaw then strain through a colander.
  2. Fill a large sauce pan 3/4 with water and bring the water to a boil. Add rotini and cook until al dente. Reserve pasta water before straining.
  3. In a large frying pan, add pesto, sugar, and parmesan. Heat over low heat and combine.
  4. Add cooked pasta, cooked shrimp, and pasta water to pesto. Stir together and heat for a 3-5 minutes over low heat. Serve immediately.

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