Life is Like... (Caprese Chicken Sandwich)

Life is like a box of chocolates, right?  You never know what you are going to get inside.  Or maybe life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

How about this one?  Life is like a piano.  What you get depends on how you play it.

Life is like a turtle.  You won't get anywhere unless you stick your neck out.

My favorite?  Life is like a hot bath.  It feels good while you're in it, but the longer you stay the more wrinkly you get.

So, what do all these life metaphors have to do with this sandwich?

Nothing.  I just like them, as I like life.  And I like this sandwich.  There's a whole lot of 'like' going on.

Help me finish the sentence below in the comments: Life is like...

CAPRESE CHICKEN SANDWICH

Inspired by Everyday Food’s Pesto Chicken Burgers

SERVES 4  •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 15 MINUTES

ingredients

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. grilled chicken breast (from the deli section – or make your own)
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 4 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 4 pieces of focaccia, halved

directions

1. In a food processor, puree basil, spinach, garlic, pine nuts, oil, and 1 tablespoon water.  Season with salt and pepper.
2. Sliced the chicken breasts into four flat pieces.  Heat.
3. Assemble sandwiches with pesto on the top and bottom slices of focaccia, chicken, tomato, and mozzarella.

COST: $11.99              COST PER SERVING (4): $2.99

Basil-Almond-Garlic Pesto + Me, in 10 words

Today I am supposed to sell myself in 10 words.  Hmmm.  This is a tricky one...

But here goes nothing.

Loyal.
Compassionate.
Creative, at times.

Learner.
Life lover.
Talker.
Sharer.

And since I am a sharer, I am sharing my favorite way to make pesto.  I don't put any cheese in it, keeping it plant based.  Almonds are cheaper than pine nuts and add a bit of flavor that is just right.  It is incredibly garlicky, so if you are sensitive to that you can cut back on the garlic.  We use it on top of pasta, in sandwiches, over chicken... there are SO MANY uses for pesto.  And as always, pesto is naturally gluten free, so even those with sensitivities to gluten can enjoy this over fish or chicken.  Enjoy!

BASIL ALMOND GARLIC PESTO

YIELDS 1 CUP  •  PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 1 cup washed basil leaved, packed
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/3 cup almond slices
• 1/3 - ½ cup olive oil
• sea salt, to taste

Directions

1.      Place all ingredients in food processor or blender.  Run for about 30 seconds.  Add more olive oil to get to desired consistency.

2.      Use on top of cooked pasta, in sandwiches, on top of chicken – wherever you want!

 COST: $3.45           

Whole Wheat Pasta with Walnut Garlic Pesto

It has been ages since I have posted a new recipe.  And by ages I mean two weeks.  But when you love to cook, two weeks can seem like ages.

Yesterday, though, the business slowed down a bit and the rain paused long enough for me to do what I enjoy.  Who cares that there was laundry to be done and work to do?  The conditions outside were right, and I wanted to cook.

This is not actually a new recipe.  In fact, this was one of my original recipes on this blog.  But it was time to do it again.  What can I say -- my pictures in the early days were atrocious.  ATROCIOUS.  Oh well, I have lived and I have learned.  And I needed an easy unprocessed recipe for dinner.  What's easier than pasta???  I like the ingredients on this bag of penne:  organic whole wheat flour.  YES.

Pesto is always so easy to make if you have a food processor, and this pesto is no different:  walnuts, garlic, parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice.  Mix it up and that's it.

The recipe called for cooked mushrooms and spinach, but there was no spinach to be found in my fridge... but there were brussel sprouts!  Yes, you heard me correctly -- I added brussel sprouts.  Don't yuck my food just yet.  These things taste good when cooked right!  And I cooked them right :)

The end result?  A fast, unprocessed, vegan meal that you can make in 20 minutes or less.  And a happy, happy Tiffany.

Man, it feels good to be back in the kitchen!

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food with Rachael Ray, August 2010

Ingredients

TipBuy walnut pieces, which are cheaper than whole walnuts, when the shape of the nut doesn't matter.

TipToss a small handful of baby arugula with the spinach or brussel sprouts.

TipSpice up the walnut sauce with crushed red pepper.

• 1 pound whole wheat penne rigate pasta

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cups white mushrooms (about 5 ounces), thinly sliced

• 1 cup brussel sprouts, leafed or spinach

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 cup walnut pieces (about 4 ounces), toasted

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley

• Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon

• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Stir in the brussel sprout leaves and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
3. Using a small food processor, mince the garlic. Add the walnuts, parsley and lemon peel and process until finely chopped. With the machine on, add the lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Process to form a paste.
4. Add the walnut pesto and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta; toss to coat thoroughly. Stir in the mushroom mixture, adding more pasta water if needed; season with salt and pepper.

COST: $6.83   COST PER SERVING (4): $1.71 

A Week of New Recipes -- Day 5: Spinach & Mushroom Pasta with Walnut Pesto

I have actually made this recipe before, nothing "new" here.  I had snatched it up as a recipe I wanted to try before I decided to do the weekly meal plan.  But I liked it last time, so I wasn't too disappointed to see it on the menu again.

Like last time, I substituted chicken sausage in for the ham.  I love me some chicken sausage!

And this recipe is dairy free, which also make me a very happy woman.  Cheese... I have quite the love/hate relationship with it.  My taste buds love it, my stomach hates it.  So whenever I can make a good recipe without cheese or any other dairy product I get excited. 

However, this time didn't out as good as last time.  I don't know what happened, but it just wasn't very flavorful.  I was able to fix it by adding a little more lemon juice and some salt.  Maybe that was my problem to begin with, the lemon I was using was a little dry.  So, this time it didn't get the best of marks (7 and 8), but if memory can be trusted (along with that blog post I put up at the time), it was a pretty solid 9/9.5 last time.  That just means I need to make it again and make sure I have a fresher lemon this time!

My changes are in italics. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound penne rigate pasta
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Half a pack of chicken sausage, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 2 cups white mushrooms (about 5 ounces), thinly sliced
• One 6-ounce bag baby spinach
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup walnut pieces (about 4 ounces), toasted
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Push the sausage to the side, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
3. Using a small food processor, mince the garlic. Add the walnuts, parsley and lemon peel and process until finely chopped. With the machine on, add the lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Process to form a paste.
4. Add the walnut pesto and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta; toss to coat thoroughly. Stir in the sausage mixture, adding more pasta water if needed; season with salt and pepper.

COST = $8.15       PER SERVING (3) = $2.72

Pasta with Walnut Pesto (Vegan & non-vegan possibilities)

Remember back when I was missing my husband because he was travelling while I was all alone with nobody to cook for?  Remember how I flipped through the latest Rachael Ray magazine and found four delicious recipes to try?  Well, we tried one the other night.

(Picture taken from rachaelray.com... this one is much
prettier than the one I took!)

Oh.my.goodness.  So good! 

The best part is that it has no dairy, nothing fattening, and since I don't like ham, I left that part out of the recipe.  I actually put in chicken sausage, but you could easily make it without and you have a vegan dish that tastes amazing.  Or you can put sausage in (like I did) and it tastes amazing as well.  Either way: amazing.  Seriously, it's just pasta, spinach, mushrooms, and a pesto sauce made of garlic, walnuts, parsley, lemon juice, and some zested lemon peel.  Super natural, super healthy, super easy, super delicious... basically, it is the new Super Food!

Here, have it... I took out the "add ham" parts to make it purely vegan (since I know those of you with this diet don't get as many recipes as the rest of us) but if you want to try it with the sausage just cook some in the mushroom pan before you put the mushrooms in.  Try it and let me know what you think :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound whole wheat penne rigate pasta    
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin oive oil    
• 2 cups white mushrooms (about 5 ounces), thinly sliced
• One 6-ounce bag baby spinach
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup walnut pieces (about 4 ounces), toasted
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
3. Using a small food processor, mince the garlic. Add the walnuts, parsley and lemon peel and process until finely chopped. With the machine on, add the lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Process to form a paste.
4. Add the walnut pesto and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta; toss to coat thoroughly. Stir in the mushroom/spinach mixture, adding more pasta water if needed; season with salt and pepper.

(Recipe and picture taken from rachaelray.com)

The future is looking bright...

My husband has been out of town for the past few days and won't be back for a few days more.  With him being gone it is certainly different around here.  Quiet, for one.  Not because he talks a lot -- more like I have no listening ear available for me which means I cannot do my usual amount of talking.  Except when I talk out loud to myself... 

Anyway, moving on... 

I think the time I realize his absence the most is around dinner time.  I have no one to cook for and no one to eat with.  (And no one to do the dishes... hahaha!)  I have been eating really simply.  No worries, I am getting my greens and my food groups are all represented, but it is definitely much simpler food.  Less of it, too, because I just do not enjoy eating as much when I am sitting by myself.  I need him to come back for many reasons, but one is so I can have good food to both cook and eat again!

When he does, this is what I want to make:

(All photos courtesy of rachaelray.com)

ONE: Salmon with Lemon-Dressed Vegetables

TWO: Crunch on Top Tuna Burger

THREE: Roast Chicken with Panzanella

FOUR: Spinach and Mushroom Pasta with Walnut Pesto

Can you tell I have been spending some time looking through a Rachael Ray mag?  Go ahead, click on a link above to be taken to a recipe and if you try it before me, let me know it goes.  Otherwise, look for an update hopefully soon!

(A wife that not only misses him, but misses feeding him, too.  Isn't my husband a lucky guy?)

Accidental Deliciousness: Mahi Mahi in Pesto Butter Sauce

I was going to batter and fry a pack of Mahi Mahi pieces tonight, but then I noticed the recipe that came on the back of the package.  Tried it, and was amazed.  So simple and completely tasty.  Just my style.

Here you go --

Fry Mahi Mahi pieces (or other fish pieces) in 1T of butter and 1T of olive oil for 6 - 10 min.  Lightly salt.
Meanwhile, put fresh basil leaves (1c. loosely packed) in food processor with 3 cloves of garlic and juice from 1/2 lemon.  Add pine nuts if you have (I didn't, tasted great anyway.)  Blend.
Add 2T soften butter to basil mixture.  Blend again.  Add dash of salt.

The end!  Enjoy!