Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted. I know I've cooked, but nothing has been noteworthy. I'm surprised I've never posted this pasta dish before. I've kind of been perfecting the sauce though and my technique varies. Here's what I did the other night:

Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

1/2 lb. pasta (can use whole wheat), we prefer small shapes that hold the sauce

florets from 1 bunch broccoli (may use half cauliflower)

1 lb. chicken breast, cubed

Sauce:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups milk
4 ozs. shredded parmesan
nutmeg

Put on water to cook the pasta, cook until nearly done.

Get chicken started in a skillet with some olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.

For the broccoli, there are options. Usually I throw the broccoli in for the last 4 minutes with the pasta. The other night I put it in the skillet with the chicken after the chicken had browned a bit but was still pink in the middle. The chicken and broccoli were all cooked through at nearly the same time. I added a bit of water to add a little steam to help the broccoli along at the end.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan with the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds, until you start smelling it. Add the flour and salt and pepper to taste. After about a minute stir in the milk. Cook until it starts to thicken. Add the cheese. At this point you can probably turn off the sauce and let the cheese melt, stirring once in a while. Add a little nutmeg at the end to round out the flavor.

Once everything is cooked, add the pasta to the skillet with the chicken and broccoli reserving some of the pasta liquid. Add the sauce to the skillet. Stir and let come together for a couple minutes. If it gets too thick, add some of the reserved pasta liquid.

Serve with a salad and you've got a meal. If there are leftovers, add some of the reserved pasta water to the dish when you put it away. The extra liquid with help keep it from getting too dry when reheating.

Hamburger Macaroni

I had found a recipe for Skillet Macaroni with Zesty Meat Sauce in an issue of Cook's Country. I tried it but substituted some pickled jalapenos instead of the jarred banana peppers (I didn't have banana peppers). I later learned that this is similar to one of my husband's family recipes for Hamburger Macaroni. The next time I made it I added a diced onion because I put onion in nearly everything. I also had to add a bit more water. If its looking fairly dry before the pasta is cooked, it gets gummy. Add a little extra water and the pasta cooks through and you avoid the gumminess.

Hamburger Macaroni

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
3 tbsp. dried basil
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
12 ounces elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat pasta and just used the full box-13.25 oz.)
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. When nearly browned, drain some of the grease if needed. Add onion, some salt and pepper. When onion is tender add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add basil.

Stir in tomatoes, water, and macaroni. Cover and cook, stirring often until macaroni begins to soften, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until macaroni is al dente, about 7 more minutes.

Stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, cover and cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Serve.

Better than Hamburger Helper

So I had a good bit of sauce left from the Roast with Red Gravy I came up with the other day. I figured I could add some basil and oregano and have an Italian-ish dish. So I browned a pound of hamburger and added about a tsp. each of basil and oregano, then added about 3 cups, or so, of sauce. It didn't really taste Italian. It seemed like something better than Hamburger Helper. I guess real vegetables in the sauce will do that. I served this over a box (13.5 oz.) of cooked whole wheat pasta. The sauce was flavorful enough that no one noticed that the pasta was whole wheat. Even better, all of the boys liked it, which is more than I can say for most pasta dishes.

Turkey & Noodles

So I learned this evening that my husband really didn't like the way I made turkey and noodles. I would usually cook the noodles in broth then add the turkey and maybe some veggies. It was more of a thick turkey noodle soup. Today I cooked the noodles in water and basically made turkey gravy instead of a can of creamed soup to do more of a tuna and noodles kind of thing. Other than the carrots being under done it was pretty good. Although I think next time I should start with some onion at the beginning of the sauce. If you have leftover gravy (about 2 cups or so), by all means use it instead of the butter, flour and broth. Cook the carrots and peas with the pasta instead of in sauce.

Turkey & Noodles

4 tbsp. butter (or use half butter half oil)
1/4 cup (or so) finely diced onion
1/4-1/2 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups shredded turkey
2 cups turkey (or chicken) broth
1/4-1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 lb. cooked egg noodles

Melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute onion and carrots for a few minutes to soften onion. Add flour, salt and pepper. Cook until bubbly, 2 minutes. Stir in turkey. Add broth and peas. Bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened, stirring often. Stir in noodles. Season to taste and serve.

Penne a la Carbonara

Last night I made Penne a la Carbonara, from Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. I really wasn't expecting the boys to like it at all. They don't think they like eggs and are not really big fans of pasta. I know kids who don't like pasta, weird but true. Anyway, Bubba, the six year old, was through his portion before I had gotten a couple bites myself. He wanted seconds. And he is adamant that he doesn't like eggs. Even after I told him about the eggs he was still digging in. So this one is definitely a keeper.

I do have a problem with this recipe though. I just can't find pancetta at any of the local grocery stores. But probably 10 years ago when we first learned about Spaghetti Carbonara, there was a hint from Biba (sorry I don't remember the last name but she had a cooking show back then) to use regular bacon and blanch it in water to remove some of the smoke flavor of the bacon. And it really works. Although if given the choice, it is probably preferable to use thick cut bacon. But I just used what I had on hand and sliced it 1/2 to 3/4 inch before separating it and blanching. Then I drained it and put it back in the skillet to brown. That's really the only change I made to the recipe and it turned out really well. I was going to use wheat pasta this time but was afraid that the sauce would be to delicate to handle it. But I think next time I'll try it with wheat pasta. The sauce is hearty enough to handle it.


(I made this again today and have a couple edits.  I used evaporated milk today instead of heavy cream and it worked flawlessly.  I also simmer the sauce at the end before serving.  The eggs don't seem to be cooked enough otherwise.  I added a bit of the pasta water while it simmered so the eggs didn't curdle.  Oh, I didn't have fresh parsley so I just left it out.  No one noticed.  11/25/12)

Penne a la Carbonara
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

1 pound pancetta, diced into 1-inch cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pound dried penne
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat a large saute pan, until hot. Add pancetta and saute until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Season with black pepper and remove pan from heat.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Parmesan, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish.
In a large pot, boil 6 quarts of salted boiling water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse with water; you want to retain the pasta's natural starches so that the sauce will stick. While the pasta is still hot, return it back to the pot. Add the browned pancetta and mix well. Add the cream mixture and coat the pasta completely. It's important to work quickly while the pasta is still warm so that the cream mixture will cook, but not curdle. Add remaining Parmesan and chopped parsley.