Chicken, Rotini and Tomato Casserole

This was a great weeknight quick whatever is on hand casserole.  I did not grow up with casseroles.  Period.  I don't think I ever had a casserole from my mom's oven.  It wasn't part of her culture.  My husband, on the other hand, knows the world of casseroles and he loves them.  Whenever I give him a choice between casserole and pasta or casserole and soup or casserole and stew, the answer?  You got it, casserole.  And I must admit, you can do a lot in these one pot wonders.  The possibilities, my friends, are endless.  This one has:

1 lb or so skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 cups cooked Rotini
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 an onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
the few mushrooms I had left in my fridge (1 would add more if I had them, they were good in here!)
1 cup mozzerella,
1/3 cup parmesan,
more mozz and parm for topping, and a sprinkling of breadcrumbs.

Here's what you do: cut up and saute the chicken breast (I used two breasts

Saute the onion and celery, add them to your casserole dish

Same with the shrooms

And diced tomatoes with their juices

Add the cooked chicken

And the cooked pasta

And the cheese

It looks yummy already

Top with more cheese

And some breadcrumbs

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Curry

This was good.  Very good.  I really love the combination.  I loovvvvvveeeeee sweet potatoes.  They are so satisfying.  And really healthy.  And versatile.  I wanted some.  And I wanted curry.  And chickpeas.  So here is what I came up with.... sorta on my own... I adapted it from a recipe I found on food.com by adding a bunch of veggies and spices.  I am trying desperately to break free from recipes... I think this is progress (baby steps people!).  I wanted healthy so I didn't go the coconut milk curry route.  I think this was a good choice.  YUM.  A definite repeat!  Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, cooked (I baked but you could steam them or broil them or even boil them)
10 oz fresh spinach
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 green chile, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
2-3 T fresh ginger, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes, with juices
Curry powder
Cinnamon
Cumin powder
Cayenne pepper
Red chili powder
Tumeric powder

Cilantro to garnish
Basmati (or brown) rice

Instructions:

First, get your sweet potatoes cooking.  I baked mine in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  You can prep the rest of the ingredients while those babies bake.

Dice up the onion, green chili, red bell pepper, and ginger, and set aside

Pretty!

Next, remove stems from spinach and coarsly chop.  Set aside.

Drain and rinse chickpeas in colander and set aside.

Chop up some fresh cilantro and set aside.

When the sweet potatoes are done cooking, cut into 1 inch chunks.  You don't have to remove the skin -- it is actually packed with nutrients and I usually leave it on but it wanted to come off after baking so I removed it for this. 

OK now arrange everything you need and start cooking!

Heat 1-2 T canola oil over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot.  I used my trusty dutch oven.  When oil is warm, add the diced veggies.

Cook for a few minutes, until onions are soft and transparent, and then add spices as follows: 2 T curry powder, 1 T cumin powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. cayenne, 1/2 tsp. red chili powder, and 1/2 tsp. tumeric (note: not sure what if any difference there is between cayenne and the red chili powder I have from the Indian market but I used both.  I am sure you could use either, or neither if you don't want it too spicy).

Cook for a minute or two until fragrant.  Add chickpeas, stir and cook for a couple minutes.

Add sweet potatoes.

Add diced tomatoes.

Then add spinach and stir until it is cooked down and wilted.

Turn into a serving platter.

Serve over basmati rice.  Garnish with cilantro.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins with Crumble Topping

There are few things more comforting than a blueberry muffin.  My mom used to make blueberry muffins in the mornings before school.  Other days, we would stop by Norman's bakery in Northampton on the way to school and I would always get a blueberry muffin.  They made them with these huge muffin tops that were crusted with sugar.  Oh my I still dream of those!  I was visiting my mom this weekend and baked blueberry muffins for her in her large country kitchen, the old oven warming the room against the cold November morning.  They were incredible.  We ate them hot from the oven and managed to have one each and only split a second one, although I could have probably eaten four of them!

Ingredients:
This recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com.  Makes 8 large muffins (I made 9 from this recipe)

Muffins:
 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
milk
1 cup blueberries

Topping:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, diced

Instructions:

1.  Combine dry ingredients

2.  Measure 1/3 cup vegetable oil into 1 cup measuring cup

3.  Add egg, and then enough milk to fill the cup

4.  Add to dry ingredients and mix to combine

5.  Add blueberries.  Trick from my mom: If using frozen blueberries, coat them in flour before adding them to the batter to ensure that they do not clump together.  Brilliant!

6.  Spoon batter evenly into greased muffin pan

7.  Combine topping ingredients, pinching clumps together with your fingers (or use a fork) and sprinkle generously over muffins

8.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Kale and White Bean Soup with Kielbasa

Sausage in soup sounds weird... but yum!  This soup is so good!  It is in our new list of favorites.  I dig it.  A lot.  I used a chicken/pork Kielbasa for this and it was super tasty.  Delicious.  Satisfying.  It is even better after sitting a day or two.

Here's the ingredients you need:

2 T olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
5-6 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 lb of Kielbasa (or other sausage)
1 cup or more of potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
6 cups kale, stems removed, chopped
4-5 peeled whole plum tomatoes, cut up
5 cups chicken stock
2 cans cannellini beans
water
chopped fresh rosemary

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occassionally.

While the onion and celery are cooking, stir fry the Kielbasa in a separate pan until browned on all sides.

Add sliced carrots to the onion and celery, and then the cooked Kielbasa.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cutup potatoes and cook a few minutes, stirring to combine.

Add the kale and cook, turning until it cooks down some.

Add cut up tomatoes and their juices, and then chicken stock, and water if needed to cover, as well as fresh rosemary.

Bring to a boil, and then cover, turning down to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes to an hour.   Add cannellini beans, turn up heat and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!