Italian recipes part due

Here are a few more recipes from our Italian Recipe Exchange...


Chicken Marsala
(Christina Petersen)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb total)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 TBSP sliced green onions
3 TBSP butter or margarine
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry Marsala or dry sherry
snipped fresh parsley (optional)


Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place each breast half between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound lightly to 1/8 inch thickness. Remove from plastic wrap. Stir together flour, marjoram, salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Lightly press chicken pieces into flour mixture on both sides; shake off excess.


In a large skillet cook mushrooms and green onion in 1 TBSP butter till tender; remove from skillet. In the same skillet cook chicken pieces in remaining butter over medium high heat for 4 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove skillet from heat. Return mushrooms and green onion to skillet. Carefully add broth and Marsala. Cook, uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes or till mushroom mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Spoon mushroom mixture over chicken. If desired, sprinkle with parsley.

Chicken & Broccoli Fettuccine
(Allisha Larsen)

12 ounces dry fettuccini noodles
8 ounces fresh or frozen broccoli, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces (substitute asparagus etc.)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 pound cooked chicken diced (substitute turkey, ham etc.)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Stir broccoli into pot in the last five minutes of cooking; drain. (I like to steam the broccoli and then add it)

While pasta is cooking, heat butter and cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to bubble, stir in Parmesan, garlic powder and pepper. Continue cooking until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken and heat through.

Toss pasta and asparagus with sauce and serve immediately.

Italian Recipe Exchange...

I started a neighborhood recipe exchange. We get together every other month. Each time there is a theme (Quick easy dinners, soups, Italian, etc). We all submit a couple of our favorite recipes for the theme. Then we have a pot luck dinner. Every one brings one of their recipes prepared. This way we can sample and socialize. They've been a lot of fun and very delicious!!!

If you'd like to join us for our next exchange, leave your email address and we'll send the info over!

Here are a few of the recipes we sampled last night... (I"ll post some more later)

Cavatini
(Natalie Cheney)

1 pkg trio noodles cooked and drained
1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 pkg sliced pepperoni
1 can spaghetti sauce
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Combine and cook meat and veggies, then add noodles and sauce. Stir together and add to a casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 until hot, about 30 minutes.

Italian Lemonade
(Rhonda Shurtleff)

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
2 cups lemon juice, about 12 to 15 lemons (I used frozen concentrate and diluted w/ the sparkling water)
2 cups Basil Simple Syrup*, recipe follows
2 cups ounces cold or sparkling water
Ice
Lemon twists, for garnish

Mix lemon juice, Basil Simple Syrup, and water together in a pitcher. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Pour over ice filled glasses and garnish with a lemon twist.

Basil Simple Syrup:
1 bunch fresh basil, washed and stemmed
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

In a saucepan combine basil, sugar, and water and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, 5 minutes. Cool, strain the simple syrup, and store in the refrigerator.*If you use the frozen concentrate method like I did, you'll want to add a little less of the simple syrup, unless you like your lemonade super sweet!

Hamburger Stuffed Zucchini
(Jan Petersen)

6 8-inch or 1 large zucchini
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb ground Italian Sausage
1 minced onion1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. cracker crumbs (I use Ritz crackers)
Salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste
1/2 c. grated Cheddar or Parmesan cheese (more for the top)
1 (15 oz.) can tomatoes

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out insides, leaving shell. Brown beef, sausage and onion; add squash pulp. Cover and cook until squash is soft.

Season with salt, pepper, garlic. Remove from heat, stir in egg, cracker crumbs, Cheddar cheese, and tomatoes. Season squash shells with salt and pepper, stuff with filling.

Place in shallow pan. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (about 45 minutes for large zucchini). Remove cover, top with more cheese and bake 10 minutes longer.

Gorgonzola Apple Salad
(Melissa Acker)

1 apple, diced
¼ c dried cranberries
¼ c diced pecans
¼ c Gorgonzola cheese
Fresh spinach
Spring lettuce mix
Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Rinse lettuce and spinach and toss in bowl. Top with apple, cranberries, pecans and gorgonzola.
Serve with dressing on the side.

Chocolate Chips and P.C. Scoops...

I'll admit it, sweets are my weakness. So when Josh suggested we make cookies, I wasn't going to object. I wasn't sure if I wanted chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal cookies, so we compromised with Neiman Marcus' $250 Chocolate Chip cookie. I could have been selfish and made them with chopped pecans, which makes them heavenly. But, since Ryan's not a fan of nuts in his cookies, I was nice. When it comes to my chocolate chips, I only use Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate. My take,they have to be good enough to eat plain if I'm going to use them for baking.


Nieman Marcus $250 Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
2 ½ cup oatmeal., blended to make a fine powder
1 cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts, chopped
2 cup milk chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with dry ingredients. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Scoop dough and place 2” apart on baking sheet. Bake at 375˚ for 10-12 minutes.

***I use my Pampered Chef small scoop. This will make six dozen cookies. I will usually bake two dozen of them. The rest, I scoop out onto a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer for an hour. Then I'll put the frozen dough balls into a freezer bag with baking instructions written on the bag. This way, we can quickly pop them in the oven and enjoy them later. (Plus, if I baked all six dozen cookies at once, I'd eat all six dozen cookies)

My tools of the trade for today are my Pampered Chef scoops. I have all three sizes- large, medium and small. I love them. At first I wasn't sure how often I'd use them or what I'd use them for, other than cookies. But they're pulled out almost weekly for lots of things. Osviously, I use them for cookies. They're great for making meatballs. I use them for my filling on my chicken salad roll-ups. The large is perfect for filling my cupcake liners or my waffle iron. They're great for portion control. They are a must have for every kitchen!

Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website, and it is a very easy recipe and very good.

Enjoy this spicy version of tortilla soup featuring organic fire roasted tomatoes, chicken and chiles.

6 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped (1/3 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium Anaheim, poblano, or jalapeno chile, seeded, chopped
1 carton (32oz)Progresson reduced-sodium chicken broth (4cups)
1 can (14.5oz) Muir Glen organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 ripe medium avocado
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (2oz) chopped fresh cilantro, if desired
1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Cut tortillas in half; cut halves in 1/4-inch strips. In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook strips in oil, 1/3 at a time, until light brown and crisp. Remove from pan; drain in paper towels.

2. Heat oil remaining in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and chile; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in broth, tomatoes and salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken; heat until hot.

3. To serve, peel and pit avocado. Cut into 1-inch slices. Divide half of tortilla strips among 4 individual serving bowls. Ladle in soup. Top with avocado and cheese; garnish with remaining tortilla strips and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.