Broccoli Grape and Bowtie Salad

Ingredients

8 oz bow-tie pasta , cooked to al dente according to directions listed on package

• 1 1/2 lbs broccoli , crowns chopped into small pieces and majority of stems discarded or reserved for another use (about 4 cups)
• 2/3 cup low-fat or non-fat plain Greek yogurt (I used Chobani non-fat)
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (full fat)
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• 2 cups grapes , chopped into halves
• 1 cup toasted pecans , chopped
• 8 slices bacon , cooked and chopped

Dumplings for Soup

 We and by we and mean Mom Tobler has attempted this soup before with great success so I thought I would make my attempt with very close supervision. First we had to make the dumplings or "Gnocchi".

2 qt Water (enough to cover boil potatoes those Italians are thorough)
6 oz Flour
2 eggs
2 lbs russet potatoes
2 tsp salt

1. Wash and boil potatoes until tender. Place in refrigerator and allow to cool.

2. Peel potatoes and put through a fine grater. Do not over mash or they will get tough.

3. Measure out 6 oz of flour.4. Combine Potatoes, Flour, Eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix until dough no longer sticks to your fingers.

As you can see once again I messed up some how. It was inevitable. My dough was super sticky. To prevent this throughly drain and dry your potatoes. We also used 2 large eggs which may have contributed to how moist our dough was. In our attempt to make it not so sticky we added at least 3 more cups of flour.

5. Once your dough no longer sticks to your fingers, divide dough into 4 section and roll into a long rope. Cut rope into 1/2" pieces. Press fork lines into each dumpling for a classic look. We skipped that step and did things a little more practically with the center of a doughnut cutter. 6. Place Dumplings in a pot of boiling water. Boil until they float.

7. Remove. We made several dumplings and then froze them for quick soup at a later date.

CPK's Kung Pao Spaghetti

 

CPK’s Kung Pao Spaghetti

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Yield 4 servings

A copycat recipe that you can make right at home in less than 20 minutes. And it tastes even better than the restaurant version!

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 boneless, skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
For the sauce
• 2/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons red chili paste with garlic, or more, to taste
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, chicken broth, dry sherry, red chili paste, sugar, red wine vinegar, cornstarch and sesame oil; set aside.
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, to taste. Add to skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces; set aside.
• Add garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in pasta, chicken, peanuts and green onions.
• Serve immediately.

Notes: Very good! I used regular say sauce and it was bit salty but still delicious. I also cooked the chicken before hand and just added when it called for it. 

Mom Tobler's Beef Stroganoff

In a large frying pan drizzle approx. 1-2 Tbs. olive oil
Saute':
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 -1 1/2 lbs of Beef Sirloin steak or round Steak
when the onions are golden and the steak is almost brown
reduce the heat and add about a Tbs. minced garlic (garlic browns/burns so easily)

Add:
season salt (a few generous shakes)
ground pepper (be generous here also)
Worcestershire sauce ( a couple splashes.)

This is a good point to cover it and reduce the temperature to lowest setting and just let the meat simmer in juices that are in the pan while you fix the salad, set the table or even start cooking the pasta, so the meat can tenderize and absorb the flavors of the seasonings.
(if there are no juices, add the beef broth, but not the flour paste, at this point)

In a separate small saute' pan:
Saute' mushrooms in a chunk of butter (1-2 Tbs.)
Sprinkle with a little garlic salt or powder
As the juices cook out of the mushroom, pour it (the juices) over the meat.
When mushrooms are done... Set them aside.

To the meat add :
2 1/2 cups beef broth or re-constituted beef bullion.
1 Tbs. flour made into a paste with 1/2 cup water
turn up the heat to medium, cook and stir until the broth is thickened.
Taste the gravy at this point and add salt if desired. (the bullion usually makes it salty enough)

Add the saute' mushroom to the meat at this point
or serve them separately is somebody has mushroom issues.

Add about 3/4 cup sour cream (a couple big scoops) to the gravy
Stir until smooth and gravy is reheated (But don't let it boil).

Serve immediately over hot buttered egg noodles and top with sauteed mushrooms (if they aren't in the stroganoff already.

Enjoy!

Lasagna Rolls

8 lasagna noodles

1/2 pound lean ground turkey/ beef

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/2 onion

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 egg- I always forget

1/2 cup ricotta cheese- Optional (Jakob didn't like it)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 T fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 T fresh oregano, chopped

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat.  When it reaches a boil, salt liberally and drop noodles.  Stir occasionally and cook to just al dente.  You want to leave them slightly more firm since you'll be baking the pasta.  Drain noodles and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add turkey and brown.

In a separate pan add tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add 1/2 the basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, lightly beat egg.  Add ricotta, Parmesan and remaining basil and oregano and stir together.  Spray pan lightly with cooking spray.  Add enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.  To assemble, on a drained noodle, add a spoonful of ricotta mixture.  Top with a spoonful of meat sauce and roll up.  Place seam side down in pan.  Continue until you've used all the noodles.  Top each with a little more meat sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining crushed red pepper flakes.  Bake approximately 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Notes:
- I season my meat more with Italian seasoning & seasoning salt
- I also season my crushed tomatoes before I add them. Or I simply used "Italian Style" Tomatoes
- I keep my meat and tomatoes separate so I can add the left over tomatoes and pour them over the top.
-Assembly. Take one noodle and sprinkle with Mozzarella and Grated Parm. Add meat and tomato. Roll up. Add more meat. Roll up.