Linguine with Meatballs & Kale

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by Nicole Small in Italian, recipe, spicy

Tags

beef, cheese, food, food blog, food blogger, garlic, italian, kale, linguini, meatballs, pasta, recipe, recipe blog, recipe blogger, spicy, tomato

With this hectic week of getting back into a normal routine after the wedding, all I really wanted was relaxing time with the girls. Luckily, two of my best friends came over the other evening so that we could all make dinner together.

This is one of my go-to, crowd pleasing recipes. I always make a different version, and this one is my favorite by far! I used grass-fed organic ground beef and my favorite spicy chicken parmesan sausage from Sprouts for the meatballs, with fresh organic kale, tomatoes, and whole grain pasta. You don’t have to follow suit with the organic and grass-fed, but I highly recommend it!

This recipe is easy enough for a week night dinner, and also impressive enough to share with friends. You can honestly throw meatballs together with whatever you have on hand, but I always use onion soup mix in my meatballs. It adds so much flavor, you’ll really miss it if you skip it.

Linguine with Meatballs & Kale

Makes about 20 meatballs, serves 4

Ingredients

1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 Vidalia sweet onion, finely chopped
1.25* lb ground beef
.4* lb sausage
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp Onion Soup Mix
1/2 tsp italian seasoning (salt-free)
3 cups of raw organic kale, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 box of linguine, preferably Whole Grain/Whole Wheat

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 400 F. Mix shallot, garlic, onion, beef, sausage, egg, onion soup mix, and italian seasoning together. Heat a large and deep oven-proof skillet over medium heat and add about a tbsp of olive oil. Roll the meatballs and add one at a time until the pan is full. Gently sear the meatballs on all sites and then cover and place in the oven. Cook for about a half hour, until a thermometer inserted through a few meatballs reaches an internal temperature of 165 F or higher.

Meanwhile, cook a box of your favorite linguine per the package instructions. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid after the pasta is done. Drain the rest of the liquid and set pasta aside.

When the meatballs are done, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Return the pan to the stove (carefully with an oven mit!!). To the pan, add kale, tomatoes and chili flakes. Saute until the kale is nearly done. Add the cooked pasta, reserved cooking liquid, and 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine, top with meatballs and fresh basil.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite meal to make for friends?

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*You don’t have to use these exact weights for the meats- I just wanted you to know how much I used.

Surprise Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by Nicole Small in breakfast, brunch, lavender, pancakes, quiche, recipe

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appetizer, appetizer recipe, baked, brunch, brunch recipes, cheese, chili, eggs, food, food blog, food blogger, fruit, gluten free, holiday, holidays, mothers day, pancakes, potato, potato recipe, quiche, recipe, recipe blog, recipe blogger, roasted, spicy, summer, summer recipe, tomato, vegetable, vegetarian

For Mother’s Day, my Mom really wanted to have a champagne brunch, but we couldn’t find one that we wanted to go to. So, instead of paying a few hundred dollars for our family of four, I paid about $30 and made some of her favorite dishes. The end result was really lovely, and she was so surprised! She said she was glad that we stayed home in the end, and everyone agreed that the food was better than we would have had at a resort. Most of these recipes are simple and could be incorporated into any meal.

Prosciutto wrapped melon is very easy. For the most affordable prosciutto, I went to my local grocery store and had them slice it fresh instead of buying a package.

I set up a beautiful and simple mimosa bar as well. This way, everyone could make their own mimosas with either fresh orange juice, peach nectar or strawberry nectar. I really enjoyed the Cupcake Prosecco, and I would recommend it as a sweeter substitute for champagne.

The menu included:

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes
Wild Mushroom & Leek Crustless Quiche
Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary
Prosciutto & Melon
Tomato Salad with Raspberry Pesto Vinaigrette
Lavender Cookies with Lemon Vanilla Glaze

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 (heaping) cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cream or flavored creamer or flavored almond milk
1 large sweet potato, baked and mashed (about 1 cup)
Butter for cooking
Maple syrup for serving

Directions

Mix together all ingredients except butter and syrup. Heat a griddle or skillet to medium, and lightly butter it. Cook as you would normal pancakes. Serve with real maple syrup and a bit of butter.

Wild Mushroom & Leek Crustless Quiche

Ingredients

1 cup wild mushrooms (your choice of mixture)
2 tbsp olive oil, separated
3 leeks
1 tbsp butter
8 eggs
1/3 cup Parmesan Romano Cheese
1/2 cup milk
Salt & pepper

Directions

Step 1: Mix 1 tbsp olive oil with mushrooms and spread out on a baking sheet covered with foil. Sprinkle with fresh pepper and roast at 325 degrees F for about 25 minutes, until browned and slightly crisp on edges.

Step 2: Slice leeks into circles, about 1/8” thick. Save about 15 of the prettiest slices for the top of the quiche and put the rest in a metal strainer and clean very well. Let drain for 10 minutes.

Step 3: In a pan, melt 1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp olive oil. Add drained leeks, mix, and cook on medium for about 15 minutes, until lightly caramelized.

Chill leeks & mushrooms until at least room temperature (you can do this in advance).

Step 4: Mix together eggs, parmesan and milk. Add leeks, mushrooms, and pepper. Smear butter all around your baking dish and then pour the egg mixture on. Top decoratively with your reserved pretty leek slices.

Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes, or until eggs feel set and a knife inserted near the middle comes out clean. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary

Ingredients

6 red potatoes, cut into about ½” pieces
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag and mix together. You can let this sit overnight or cook immediately. If you choose to let it sit overnight, use a slotted spoon to scoop it onto the pan to avoid extra moisture. For crispy potatoes, spread the mixture evenly across a baking sheet. For soft potatoes, put the mixture in a deep casserole dish and cover with foil. Cook at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Tomato Salad with Raspberry Pesto Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh pesto
½ tbsp raspberry vinegar
2 tsp basil oil or olive oil

Directions

Cut each cherry tomato in half. In a separate bowl, whisk together pesto, vinegar and oil. Pour mixture over tomatoes. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. You can personalize this to whatever you want or have on hand- you could change up the herbs or the vinegar and make it however you like!

Note: don’t forget to cover your leftover pesto with olive oil before putting it back in the refrigerator.

The lavender cookies will be my next post. They were so lovely, I want to savor the memory. If you are a lavender fan, you will really enjoy these, and they were so easy!

I chose to make this brunch in lieu of a gift because I feel like sharing my passion for cooking is much sweeter a gift than anything I could have bought for her. Thank you Mom for guiding us, loving us, being there, and being a “second Mom” to my closest friends. I’m so thankful that my Mom is so supportive and loving, I don’t know where I would be without her compassion and wisdom. I love you, Mom!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Favorite Eggs, Pickled Beets & Baci

07 Monday May 2012

Posted by Nicole Small in breakfast, gluten free, pickling

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Tags

asparagus, beets, breakfast, cheese, eggs, food, food blog, food blogger, garlic, gluten free, pickled, pickled beets, pickles, pickling, recipe, recipe blog, recipe blogger, spicy, tomato, vegetable

Today is one of those days where I just felt like staying home. The weather is windy and cool, unlike what we would expect for a spring day in Phoenix. I woke up late and spent the first part of my morning making my favorite breakfast while I waited on another flourless chocolate cake in the oven.

The kitchen smelled so heavenly, I was enjoying catching up on a few months of cooking magazines, and I nearly forgot to go to the farmer’s market! Just a half an hour before it ended, I sped my way over to the park and picked up a bundle of golden beets, a bundle of candy-cane beets, and a bundle of dandelion greens.

Sometimes when I come home from the farmer’s market, I plop my finds on the counter and fail to clean them for a good day. Today was not that kind of day. I carefully separated the candy-cane beets and chopped the greens off of the top. Then I cut the stems off of the beets, and right before I tossed them in the trash I took a look at them- they were beautiful, crisp, and fresh.

The first thing that popped into my mind was pickles! So, I carefully trimmed all of the stems, researched pickle recipes, and put together my first batch ever of pickled beets and stems. I am so proud! If you know anything about me, you know that I am a pickle fanatic. I feel like this opened a whole new world for me- I seriously am about to pickle everything in my house (too bad I’m out of jars!).

This week has been a difficult week for my family. After a stressful week of testing and surgery, we found out that our dog, Baci (her name is Italian for “kiss”) has a very aggressive form of melanoma, which grows quickly and can become painful. So, here are some recipes for your enjoyment, and some pictures of our pup. Send her some prayers & love, and go make some pickles!

Favorite Breakfast: Asparagus & Parmesan Omelet with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

1 egg
~12 Asparagus stems
1 garlic clove, sliced
5 Cherry Tomatoes
Olive oil
Parmesan Cheese

Directions

In a skillet, heat olive oil. Chop asparagus into small pieces, add to hot oil and saute for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook just to soften. Meanwhile, scramble your egg in a bowl or mug. When garlic is soft, evenly spread the vegetables around the pan and pour in the egg, tilting the pan to evenly disperse the egg. Cook until the exposed part of the egg sets, then flip and cook the opposite side. When the egg is completely cooked through, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and fold in half.

Split each tomato in half and place, cut-side down, on the skillet.

Turn off your burner and allow the tomatoes to cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve omelet with tomatoes on top.

Enjoy! I served mine with a small side of gazpacho.

Golden Beet, Candy-Cane Beet & Beet Stem Pickles

Ingredients

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pickling spice
1/2 inch cracked cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
2 fresno chilis, sliced*
1 candy-cane beet (medium size)
2 golden beets (1.5″ in diameter)
stems of candy-cane and golden beets, to fill 2 jars

Directions

Place 4, 4-oz jars and lids (disassembled) in a large pot, cover with cool water. Bring to a boil to sterilize and then remove from heat and let cool.
In a small sauce pan, mix vinegar, sugar, salt, pickle spice, cinnamon, cloves, and chilis. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes, to make a syrup.

In a separate pot, place beets in water. Boil until they are almost done (a fork goes in but with pressure). Remove the beets and place in a bowl of cold water. Gently rub the skins off of the beets. Slice into your preferred shape/thickness- I sliced mine into ribbons.

Lay your sterilized jar on its side and stack in the beet pieces vertically. When full, ladle syrup in to fill the jar completely. Close with the lid tightly and refrigerate. Let sit a day or two before enjoying with salads, as a snack, or by themselves!

You could also put these through a canning processor to make them last longer, but I don’t have that luxury. I guess I’ll just have to eat them quickly 😉

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*My chilis were not very spicy- for some reason our plant is going through a phase of not producing spicy chilis. Adjust this to your tast and the heat of your chilis.

"Spaghetti" Squash Lovin’

10 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by Nicole Small in sauce

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Tags

cheese, food, food blog, food blogger, garlic, gluten free, holidays, italian, italian food, recipe, recipe blog, recipe blogger, roasted, spaghetti squash, spicy, squash, thanksgiving recipe, tomato, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

Tonight is one of those nights when Passover starts to wear on you- you’re craving pasta like mad, you’d sell your soul for a slice of quality pizza, and it is all you can do to not speed on over to your local sushi joint and literally just eat a bowl of sushi rice. At least, thats how I feel…
In comes the spaghetti squash. With such a mild flavor, this versatile veggie can be complemented by almost anything. I typically serve it with a simple pat of butter and some fresh parmesan cheese, but tonight I was really feeling like tomato sauce. So, here you have it. My Passover kosher “pasta with tomato sauce” and “chocolate cake.” Enjoy!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Directions

Cut the stem off of your spaghetti squash and then cut it in half length-wise. With a metal spoon, scoop out the seeds. Rub the inside and outside with olive oil and place the squash cut-side down in a glass baking dish. Fill the dish with water about 1″ deep. Bake, covered, for about 45 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the skin of the squash. With a fork, scoop out the “spaghetti” into a bowl.
While your spaghetti squash is baking, you can make this sauce (or pop open a jar of your favorite sauce- I’ll never know!)

Homemade Spicy Tomato-Basil Sauce

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsp chopped red bell pepper
2 8-oz cans Hunt’s Basil, Garlic & Oregano tomato sauce
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp dried italian herb mixture*
1 1/2 tsp dried basil*
1-2 tsp dried red chili flakes
1/3 cup sliced black olives

Directions

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil and add the onions. Saute for 4-5 minutes on medium until the onions are almost translucent. Add the sliced garlic and chopped red bell pepper, cook for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle in the onion powder, garlic powder, italian herb mixture, dried basil and red chili flakes. Stir around for 1 or 2 minutes. Then, pour in the two cans of sauce. Stir to combine, reduce heat to low and cover for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, taste for seasonings add the olives. Cover, and reduce to simmer for however long it takes for your squash to be done. The longer it cooks, the better the flavor will be.

When you are ready, serve your squash with a ladle of sauce on top and a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Bask in the deliciousness of your mock-pasta and slowly get over your carb craving 😉

I also was super motivated to make a flourless chocolate cake tonight. I have never made one before, and always wanted to, so I decided that Passover is the perfect opportunity! I made one mistake- I forgot to bake it in a water bath, but it still turned out better than I could have hoped. This cake is fondly called “Chocolate Idiot Cake” by its creator, the great David Lebovitz, because only an idiot could mess it up. And he is right! Although I made that one mistake, the cake was still moist, delicious and sinfully chocolate-y. I have wanted to try one of his recipes for quite some time, and it was truly fantastic. You can find the recipe HERE. I served it alongside my new obsession, Sweet Republic’s lavender ice cream. Seriously, to die for.

I hope these recipes inspire you to look at the bright side of Passover cooking (even if you aren’t celebrating Passover)- opportunities to cut out the carbs and replace them with a delicious veggie (spaghetti squash), and to try new recipes (flourless chocolate cake). Enjoy!

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*You can also use fresh herbs if you have them available, note that dried herbs are stronger than fresh herbs so you need to use a larger amount of fresh herbs in this recipe.

{tsiporah}

~ creative, inspiring, delicious

Tag Archives: cheese