Kale Pesto

 I was pleasantly surprised by this. I wasn't sure kale would work out considering it can be bitter and is so different from basil.  This pesto would be SO good spread on garlic bread!

Oh, I used one bunch of kale minus about 3 cups (fresh)or so. 
Makes 1 1/2 cup pesto

small bunch of kale, washed and drained, thick stems trimmed out (I left some smaller ones) and chopped into large chunks, just so they fit into the pan better.
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1 cup parmesan, fresh grated, divided
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon
1 Tablespoon honey
1 garlic clove, grated
healthy pinch of kosher salt
pepper
wee pinch of red pepper flakes, crushed between your fingers as you sprinkle it into the kale
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups rotini pasta
medium saucepan filled 3/4 way up with water and salted well.
1 Tablespoon butter


 Bring salted water to a nice boil.  Squish in all your kale. Wait until the water comes back up to a boil and cook about 2-3 minutes. I don't care to boil mine down until they're super wilted.  Just until they're softened up and bright green.  So pretty!

Turn off the heat and let the kale sit in the hot water while you get a large bowl of super cold tap water.
Using a slotted spoon or spider spatula, put all the kale into the cold water to cool off and stop the cooking.
Save the water in the saucepan from cooking the kale.
Drain the kale.
Bring the water up to a boil and add 2 cups rotini pasta.  The water should still be plenty salty, so you shouldn't need to add any more salt.
While pasta cooks, make the pesto.

Dump drained kale into food processor, add all the ingredients except the evoo and 1/2 the parmesan cheese. Pulse while slowly adding in the olive oil.  Should only take a few pulses to get the consistency you like. I like mine pretty well whizzed up. :)

Drain pasta, add pasta back to pan and stir in 1/2 cup of the pesto, butter and the rest of the parmesan.
Serve!
You can freeze the leftover pesto or keep it in your fridge for garlic bread, quick lunches or dinners, as a veggie dip for snacking..and it should last quite awhile.

Very healthy and surprisingly very filling!

Meatballs! Stroganoff and a Sub!

Stroganoff pictured here

 This recipe makes enough meatballs to set some aside in the freezer for spaghetti, meatball subs (scroll to the bottom of this post for my meatball sub), or any other recipe you'd like to have a batch of meatballs ready to go. I forgot to write down exactly how many it made, but I baked two baking sheets of about one-inch meatballs. So 40-50 meatballs. I strongly suggest chilling the meatballs, as it helps them hold their shape and it's easier to form them. They can be prepped the night before, so all you have to do is throw them into the oven.

As always, much of this recipe is personal preference. For example, the mushrooms. I would have preferred large slices of mushrooms, but I live with mushroom-haters (haha), so I chopped them up pretty small. Same with the onions.  The meatballs were a big hit with them, by the way.  Score one for me. I won't tell if you don't. :)
Oh, also, a mixture of ground meats, such as pork, lamb and beef is preferable for ultimate meatballs, but I used just ground beef for the sake of my wallet.  They were still moist and wonderful!
But enough of that! Let's get to the recipe..

Meatballs:

• 3 lbs ground beef
• roughly 2 cups torn bread chunks from a thick bread like a sub bun
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup minced white onion
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry as possible
• 1/4 cup fresh fine chopped mushrooms
• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire 
• few good pinches of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage

Stroganoff gravy:

•  5 Tablespoons margarine, plus 1 Tablespoon
• 1 cup minced onion 
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped small
• 1 small dried bay leaf
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire 
• salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind the meatballs will add salt taste)
• 1/2 cup sour cream, plus more to top with, if desired

To make meatballs:
 
Soak bread chunks in 3/4 cup of milk in small bowl for about 10-20 minutes, until all the milk is soaked up. 

Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl. Mix with your hands to combine, but try not to over mix or squish too harsh. Cover bowl and chill for at least an hour; up to overnight.  

Line a cookie sheet (one with a small edge so the meatball drippings don't get all over your oven, that's always joyful) with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Using a small ice cream scoop, gently make about 1 inch meatballs. They don't have to be exact, but try to make them even sized as possible for even cooking.  When baking sheet is full, put leftover mix into fridge until the first batch is done.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs. I usually find when they are firm, but not hard, to the touch, they are done.

Let meatballs stand for about 3-5 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.

Remove and make the last batch of meatballs.

You should have 40-60 meatballs. Save some for this recipe and in labeled freezer bags, freeze the others for quick meals or snacks.

Stroganoff Gravy:
In large pan, use 5 Tablespoons of margarine, with bay leaf, to soften onions about 3-4 minutes over medium heat and then add mushrooms and dash of salt and pepper. Stir and cook a couple more minutes, but not so long as to soak up all the moisture in the pan.

Add 1 Tablespoon margarine and using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in flour.

Cook and stir until all flour is moistened and you have a thick mixture, or roux. Keep stirring for about 2-3 minutes, lowering the heat just a touch, if needed, so as not to burn the flour.

In a slow, but steady stream, add beef broth while stirring vigorously to avoid lumping. Keep stirring and adding broth slowly, until all the broth is added.  Add milk and keep stirring until thickening slows.

Add nutmeg, Worcestershire and then salt and pepper to taste, if needed. 

When gravy is thick, remove from heat and add sour cream. Stir, then add meatballs.

Serve over medium egg noodles, rice, or alone, and with extra sour cream, if desired.

 Mmmm.. I love extra sour cream!

What I did with some extra meatballs I saved out:
Add about 2 Tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan to a small can (15 oz) of spaghetti sauce to about 15 meatballs or so, depending out saucy you like them. Put on a buttered and toasted sub bun sprinkled with garlic powder. Arrange meatballs, spoon sauce over, top with a bit more grated parmesan, some thin sliced mozzarella, teeeny pinch of Italian seasoning, stick under broiler to melt and tada! LUNCH! yum!

Ahhh...nothing like a hot meatball sub for a Saturday lunch!

Ragu

 Whatever you want to call this sauce; ragu, bolognese (although true bolognese has a couple more things added), spaghetti sauce, lasagne sauce, it's absolutely mouth-watering. Especially the next day!
This recipe makes quite a bit, so if you're not feeding 6-8 people, freeze the extra for a quick meal with the "cooked all day" taste!
Boy, the thick chunk of mozzarella garlic bread looks the star of that picture! Nevertheless, on to the recipe!

• EV olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 sweet italian sausage, bulk or large links with the casings removed
• 1 cup, about 1/2 large, white onion, chopped small, but not minced.
• 1 cup, about 2 small ribs of celery, chopped small, but not minced. Reserve the leaves! put them in a small bowl of water and stick into the fridge until you're ready for them.
• 1 cup carrot, about 1 medium, chopped small, but not minced
• 3 cloves minced garlic, about one fat Tablespoon
• 2 Tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 cup milk, whole works best, but you can use half and half or 2%
• 1 1/2 teaspoon each of dried oregano, basil and marjoram
• 1/2 fat teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg 

• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 (28 ounce) cans of whole tomatoes. I like whole because the flavor is richer. There's less mucking around with the tomatoes and they're canned at the peek of ripeness.
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• kosher salt and pepper to taste
• one dried bay leaf (added last)
• fresh grated mozzarella and parmesan for garnish and for your toast
• snipped celery leaves
• your favorite bread for garlic bread

Add a little bit of olive oil to your pan, heated up to medium-low heat, add the ground beef and Italian sausage and using a potato masher, gently stir and mash the meats together as they cook. You don't want to salt the meat at this point, because the Italian sausage has enough for both of them right now.

Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring and mashing the whole time. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and tomato paste, and cook a couple more minutes, stirring and mashing. Now you can add a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Don't add the bay leaf yet. That was a booboo. You don't want it to get all munched up in the sauce. Or maybe you do. I don't. So I fished it back out to add at the end, when I was done playing with my food.

 Add the canned tomatoes, carefully poking the tomatoes open, and then giving them a good mash with the meat.

Add milk slowly, stirring the whole time until the milk is warm. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the chicken stock, tomato sauce, spices, sugar, grated nutmeg, pepper and maybe about a teaspoon of salt. Depends how much you added earlier. Don't taste it for salt  yet if the meat isn't thoroughly cooked and hot, which it probably isn't at this point. So don't worry about it yet. It'll be fine. :)

Now you can toss in your bay leaf.  . Be sure not to accidentally serve it to someone. :)  But don't fish it out when you think the sauce is finished. I like to leave it in there when I store the ragu.

When it starts to simmer good, turn your heat to the lowest setting that will allow it to simmer gently, but not so high as to start to stick and burn on the bottom.

Simmer 5-6 hours.
You can cook a pasta, like fettuccine, separately and add sauce and cheeses to it before serving. This was so good, we didn't add pasta. It was VERY filling without it. 

Top with grated mozzarella, grated parmesan and a couple tablespoons of snipped celery leaves. Storing them in the water in the fridge keeps them crisp and yummy. Just shake the water off and snip with kitchen scissors over your dish.

Now stick a buttered fat slice of bread on a grill pan, or just a fry pan you use for grilled cheese sammiches. 

Sprinkle with garlic powder and flip when golden. Sprinkle the other side and add a bit of grated mozzarella and parmesan to that side. To get the cheese to melt quick without burning the toast, I invert a pan over the slice for a few seconds.

Store the ragu in the fridge, in your pot covered well, and the next day, slowly heat up on the stove. 

Fantastic! OH, if you want to skim off the hardened fat, this is a good time to do it before it heats up. 

Us, we let it be. SO mouth-watering!

The third day, I froze what was left for a future dinner of lasagna, spaghetti, a calzone sauce, or maybe I'll add some white beans to it. So many possibilities!
Oh, before I froze it, I scooped out a bit for myself, added cheddar to the mozzarella and parm, topped it with snipped celery leaves, and had an awesome lunch ! By the way, celery leaves MAKE this dish. I am so in love with them. LOL

I think I'm hungry again.

Dirty Black Bean Acini Di Pepe

 I will never pass up a 1.20 package of gizzards again. Aside from the trimming, this made a most fascinating, unusual, and yummy dish! And so cheap! And the possibilities!

First, the trimming of these things took the longest, unless I'm missing the trick to this (probably) trimming thing. All I know is you need to trim off all the white parts, connective tissues and green parts or your dish will be bitter.  Kitchen scissors are a blessing with this little, time consuming chore. My suggestion is get this out of the way, and freeze them until you want to use them.

I love the earthy, simple taste and slow warmth of this dish, mixed with the creamy texture of the black bean. Some may prefer more heat, if so, add a bit more cayenne to suit your tastes.

It's also great topped with your favorite hot sauce, or topped with salsa and stuff into a tortilla, or piled onto a bed of crunchy, fresh lettuce!

On to the recipe!

• 2  1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup Acini di Pepe
• 1/2 pound, or so, package of chicken gizzards, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 2 cloves roasted garlic, or 1 raw clove minced well. Depends on your love of garlic.
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
•  1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme, rubbed between your fingers
• 1/8 plus a dash, cayenne 
• 4-5 rubs of a nutmeg on small grater (dash)
• about 1 cup of thin sliced green onions, including a bit of the green too.
• 2 tablespoons of grated Asiago on the small grater.

First bring 2 cups of chicken stock to boil, pour in the Acini, give a little stir and turn heat down to a med heat so the Acini is gently boiling. Stir occasionally while preparing the black bean and meat mixture.

Then take your trimmed gizzards and pulse in a food processor. I used a smaller blender for this chore, because it was a small amount. Less dishes- the happier the cook! haha
Whizz the gizzards for 2 or 3 minutes, the texture will resemble fine ground meat.

Gosh, all that work trimming and whizzing, just for about a cup of meat. But it was worth it in the end! Next time should be quicker. I plan to do this step ahead of time and freeze it.


Heat a large pan on medium-high heat, and add the veggie oil and the whizzed gizzards, and a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, stir around until they're starting to brown good; then turn heat down to medium and add the chopped onions, celery, a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, the remaining spices, roasted garlic, if you're using it (if you're using raw, wait) and 1/2 cup of chicken stock.

 Stir and cook about 5 minutes, and when the onions start to turn clear, then add the raw garlic, if you're using it.  Stir and cook until veggies are tender and gizzard meat is cooked through, about 5 more minutes or so.
Turn heat down to a medium-low.
Add black beans, another sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper.
By this time, the Acini should have absorbed most of the liquid and is done. Do not drain. Dump Acini into black bean and gizzard mixture and mix together.
Cook about 5 more minutes or so, or until hot and most or all of liquid is absorbed.

Top with Asiago and sliced green onions, give a toss and serve with salsa or hot sauce!

Roasted Corn Acini di Pepe

• 

 If you have a non-rice eater in your house, like I do, Acini di Pepe is a great compromise. You have the flexibility of rice in a pasta! The possibilities are endless! (I feel like a commercial right now. I'm not affiliated! just like the stuff lol)

• 4 cups chicken stock 
• 1 cup Acini di Pepe (found in the pasta isle or maybe the Italian section of your grocery)

• 1 (14.5oz) can carrots, drained
• 1 (11oz ) can Mexican corn (corn w/red and green bell peppers), drained
• 2 cloves roasted garlic, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic (or more if you're in love with garlic like I am)
• 1 tablespoon margarine (butter will burn, oil will make it greasy)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste) and some extra to sprinkle--literally just sprinkle. I'm not exact with my salt as everyone has different tastes or dietary needs when it comes to salt.
• pepper to taste  

Bring 4 cups of chicken stock (preferably homemade, it's richer) and about a half teaspoon of salt, if it's unsalted, to a boil in a med sized saucepan with a lid. A lid will get it to a boil faster.  Then add your Acini di Pepe and cook as you would any other pasta. A nice, soft boil and stir occasionally.

Now, get a large skillet hot over medium heat, add your margarine and corn and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Give it a stir to combine the butter and corn, then just let it sit..while you go sit!  Just get up and stir the pasta and the corn occasionally. This will take 15-20 minutes or so.

When the corn starts to turn golden and the pan is drier, and you're scraping some nice browning on the bottom of the pan, like this:

mmmm...that's flavor right there!
Your pasta should be done, or almost done! I taste to check--it's the only way. heehee.
Add your garlic and mix it in real well, as much as I love garlic, I don't want to bite into a chunk of it.
Add the carrots, sprinkle a little more kosher salt and pepper to taste.
DON'T drain the Acini di Pepe. It should have absorbed most of the chicken broth by now. 
Add it straight to your pan with the corn mixture, and stir to combine. Add more salt and pepper, if desired. Turn down your heat a little and cook & stir until carrots are heated and any leftover stock from the di pepe is absorbed.





It smelled and looked so good, I forgot to take an after picture.  I remembered later when I was cleaning up and tossed the extra bbq chicken in the pan with it.  So please forgive the messed up looking chicken LOL 

This is a side dish that compliments BBQ Chicken very well. I can also see it as a side to a creamy chicken dish, like the kind you make with mushrooms and cream chicken soup. LIGHTBULB! New dish! and I just made myself hungry again. :)