Kielbasa with creamy tomato sauce

16 oz bowtie pasta

2/3 pkg kielbasa
3 oz tomato paste
1-2 c water
1 tsp bouillon
1 tbs flour
salt, garlic and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a separate pan, saute kielbasa. When browned, add flour, salt, garlic, and pepper. Stir. Next, add water, bouillon, tomato paste. Stir. Simmer until at desired thickness. Mix with pasta, and serve!

Alternate version: stir in some cheese after the sauce is at the desired thickness. I used swiss (about 2 Tbs) and cheddar (maybe 1/4 cup?)

Dairy free creamy ham pasta with peas

Yum! Here's another dairy free recipe for you guys! After I made it, I realized that it would probably be creamier with margarine or some other oil in it, so I'll include it in this recipe even though I didn't in the original.

1 pkg macaroni pasta
1/3 c dairy free margarine
2 t molasses (or Worcestershire sauce)
2 C broth
1/4 C flour
16 oz ham, chopped
1.5 C frozen peas

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt margarine in sauce pan. Combine with flour; add in molasses and broth (I used water and boullion granules). Bring mixture to a boil. Simmer until thickened, then add in ham and continue to cook until heated through. Turn off heat; add in frozen peas.

Drain pasta and combine with sauce. Enjoy!

Dairy-free beef stroganoff

A couple months ago, I noticed that my newest baby had a  rash that wouldn't go away no matter how frequently I changed his diaper or put diaper rash cream on him. I had heard of that happening to babies with dairy intolerance, so I decided to try cutting dairy out of my diet. I did, and voila! no more rash. However, that meant that I couldn't go back to eating dairy. I've had to do some experimenting to get that creamy deliciousness back in a way that the whole family will enjoy. Here's one that was a success!

12-16 oz fettuccine or linguine noodles

1/2 head cabbage, chopped

*1 t Worcestershire sauce

*1 t vinegar

1/2 t sugar (optional)

salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

*1 T mayonnaise

12 oz thin sliced beef steak (it should end up ~1" long, 1/2" wide, 1/8" or less thick. I cooked long, thin slices first and then cut them smaller. Beef can be chewy, so slice against the grain whenever possible to help with the texture)

*1-2 T oil

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, cook beef steak in some of the oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic. When finished, stir fry (aka cook on VERY high heat while stirring frequently) cabbage in drippings and remaining oil, seasoning with more salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar. Stir fry the cabbage until the thicker pieces start to become translucent.

Combine cooked cabbage with pasta and mayonnaise; top with beef. Enjoy!

*I'm not certain of the quantities. Use enough oil that the cabbage doesn't burn. Use enough mayonnaise to coat the noodles, but no more.

Swiss Ham Casserole

I feel like all I ever post these days are recipes, but ...


Swiss Ham Casserole

12 oz bowtie pasta
12 oz chopped ham
1/2 C Swiss cheese, chopped
1/4 C Colby Jack cheese, chopped
1 can cream of something soup
1 C sour cream
1/4 C milk
1/2 T flour
pepper to taste

1 C Parmesan cheese, divided
12 oz frozen broccoli

Cook pasta & drain.

Preheat oven to 400 deg F.

Combine Swiss and Colby Jack cheeses with milk, sour cream, flour, pepper and cream of soup. Heat through, until cheese is mostly melted. Add ham; heat through then turn off heat. Add 1/2 C Parmesan cheese, stir.

Meanwhile, cook broccoli in microwave until only a few cold spots remain.

In a large casserole dish, combine pasta, ham mixture, and broccoli. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cook in 400 deg oven for 15 minutes.

Kielbasa and corn chowder

As usual, I gotta remember how to make this--

1 pkg kielbasa
1 Tbsp canola oil
1.5 Tbsp flour
4 medium potatoes
1 large sweet potato
2-3 stalks celery
1 can corn, drained
2.5 C water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/3 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp salt (or to taste. I think I might have put in more than this)
1-2 C milk (whatever looks right ... sorry for the imprecision!)

Saute kielbasa and celery in oil. Add flour; stir. Add water, bouillon cube, potatoes, sweet potato, corn, garlic, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil; simmer on low for 20-30 minutes. Mix in milk, and it's done!

It's sooooo good :)

Soy free: use chicken broth instead of bouillon cube/water combo. You may need to use less salt.
Dairy free: Omit the milk. I guarantee it will still taste good! ... but it might not be very chowder-y.
Wheat free: use corn starch instead of flour.

Leaving My Comfort Zone: Kitchen Edition

So one of my friends told me that this recipe was her favorite and that I should try it. That and other motivating factors made me break out of my kitchen comfort zone to try it. It is SO GOOD. It was definitely worth learning a few new skills and spending a couple of hours in the kitchen (I'm sure it won't take as much time next time I make it, though).

Oh. Man. I ate two huge servings and I just can't stop thinking about it. Think of Ariel: "I want mooooore!"

So, I'm actually pretty proud of myself for developing new skills and experiences in the kitchen (and a little embarrassed that it's taken me so long to do some of these things). Here are my new things that I done did:

1. Buy, peel, and chop up ginger. I really enjoyed mincing it because it smelled so good the whole time!
2. Zest an orange. I was so ignorant about this that I actually looked for orange zest at the grocery store. However, I've got to say that the orange zest made a huge difference in the way the meal tasted, and I got to eat a delicious orange to boot!
3. Use corn starch in my cooking. I really appreciated how quickly the sauce thickened up!

I followed the recipe exactly. I have had too many mess-ups and flops because of putting substitutes in recipes when I didn't have the exact ingredients. I would, however, change one thing--the sauce was a little too sweet. Next time I make this, I'll try it with only 3/4 C brown sugar (instead of the 1 C it calls for)

I also made some marinades (with chicken) for some easy freezer meals down the road. I'm looking forward to how they turn out. I used this one (I used a 1/4 recipe), three from this site, and then a barbecue marinade that I made up on my own. I haven't really done marinades before, either, so I'm looking forward to how they turn out.

Creamy Kielbasa and Zucchini Pasta

This deliciousness was incredible! I think it would taste even better with one more zucchini added in.

12 oz pasta (I would use a bulky one such as rotini, bowtie, or macaroni)
1 lb kielbasa, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
3 T butter
2 T flour
3/4 C milk
3 - 4 T sweet potato puree
1/8 t garlic powder
pinch salt

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in pan. Add in zucchini, kielbasa, and garlic; sautee until zucchini is almost at desired tenderness. Add flour; stir. Add milk, sweet potato puree, and salt. Cook and stir on medium-high heat until sauce is at desired consistency.

Combine with pasta; serve and enjoy!

Tortellini pasta salad with spinach

I made a new dish tonight, and it was delicious! As usual, I'm blogging it so I can remember how to make it.

1 box tortellini (I used 7 oz of dry DaVinci tortellini, but I don't think the brand matters much)
3/4 C chopped cooked chicken
1/3 cucumber, chopped
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
Fresh spinach to taste (I used as much as would fit in a 2.5 qt dish and tore it into manageable pieces)

for dressing:
1/4 C oil
1/4 C white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp oregano, basil, or thyme
1/4 tsp mustard
1/8 tsp garlic
1/8 tsp pepper
pinch of salt (or to taste)

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, assemble dressing by combining oil, vinegar, sugar, spices, and mustard.

When the tortellini is finished cooking, combine tortellini, vegetables, and half of the dressing mixture in a 2.5 quart dish. Your meal is done! Serves two hungry Katies.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

I'm all about easy, and I'm all about chicken and dumplings. The hardest thing about this dish is waiting long enough for the dumplings to cook before eating it! (and then probably wiping all the flour off the counter after you're done making the dumplings).

Granddad JC and Grandma Izzy have both said that not only did they eat chicken and dumplings often as they were growing up, but it was a staple at their family 4th of July celebrations when they were kids.

I've styled my recipe off of Mom's (which I think she got from Grandma) but added a few twists of my own to make it easier. I hope you enjoy it!


Cook one boneless, skinless chicken breast on stove with 1 tsp salt and 1 bouillon cube in about 6 C water (I fill up my largest pot about 1/2 way with water. I'm not exactly sure how much water it is or the exact size of the pot. It's at least 3 quarts, maybe more). Depending on if the chicken breast is thawed out or frozen , this should take anywhere from 20-35 minutes. I like to cook the chicken at a simmer so it's more tender than if I cooked it at a full rolling boil.

Meanwhile, combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl*:

3 C all-purpose flour
3/4 T sugar
3/8 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1/2 C salad oil
3/4 C water

At the end, I generally have to finish blending the ingredients with my hands.

Flour a clean counter top, and roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut dough into 3/4 inch wide strips at whatever length you like your dumplings to be. I like mine about 4 - 5 inches long. I've found that pizza cutters are the quickest and easiest way to cut my dough.

When the chicken has finished cooking, take it out of the pot and place it on a cutting board to cool. Bring the broth to a rolling boil. Add strips of dough to boiling water, stirring periodically. At this point, the food is prone to boiling over, so keep a close eye on the pot. I usually turn the heat down gradually as I add the dumplings to avoid that problem.

Keep the dumplings at a simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so the dumplings don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Meanwhile, cut chicken into bite-size pieces and combine with dumpling mixture in the pot. Add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. I like about 1/2 t of pepper and 1/4 t of garlic powder. Salt is just one of those things you have to taste for.

At this point, you just have to wait for the dumplings to cook. You can add flour to the broth if you want a thicker soup. The dumplings are done when they are soft and bend somewhat easily. I like to let them cook for at least 30 minutes, but I like them better when they've cooked longer than that, probably 45 minutes to an hour. This is a great dish to make ahead of time because it tastes better the longer the flavors have to combine.

Enjoy!


* if you want to make this dish even easier, you can buy frozen dumplings from some grocery stores, especially in the South. Don't use the refrigerated biscuit dough, though. It has sugar in it and tastes weird in this dish.

Kielbasa and pasta quick dinner

I was incredibly hungry today when I set out to make dinner, so I was pretty motivated to make something quick and easy. We had some kielbasa in the freezer, so I decided to do a pasta dish with it. I ended up making a thin red sauce to go with it as well, and it turned out really well! Levi ate everything, too; he usually only likes the sausage in the sausage dishes I make. The recipe is very simple:

1 box angel hair pasta
1 kielbasa sausage (14-16 oz)
1-2 tsp cooking oil (I used canola)
1/2 small can (8 oz) tomato paste
1 C water
Garlic to taste
Pepper to taste
salt to taste 

Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions; drain. 

Meanwhile, slice sausage and brown with oil in a large frying pan on the stove. After sausage is browned, add the 1/2 can of tomato paste and 1 C water. Stir together until smooth. Add seasonings; let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into pasta. All done!

I served baked beans with the meal as well as a side of vegetables. The beans went really well with this dish. I've been thinking that a few additions might make this dish a little more interesting, such as sauteing sliced onions, bell peppers, or mushrooms along with the sausage.

Cabbage Lasagna Casserole

So here's another one of those recipes that I made up and didn't want to forget ... I know they maybe aren't as interesting as other things that are going on in my life, but I don't want to forget how to make something this good (and that my husband liked so much)!

The back story to this recipe is that someone posted on a Wymount community Facebook page that they had an extra head of lettuce that they wouldn't be able to eat before it went bad, and asked if anyone wanted it. I replied, saying, "Yes! I'd love it!" So we arranged a time and I went to their apartment to pick it up. When I picked it up, the couple that gave it away said, "Sorry it's so small; you can make a salad or something out of it." It was smaller than most heads of lettuce that I was used to, but didn't think anything of it until after I was on my way back home. I looked at the head of lettuce, and lo and behold! It was cabbage! I had to laugh a little to myself. I had a pretty hard time telling the difference between lettuce and cabbage the first time I was looking for lettuce, and I think I remember Austin getting cabbage once at the grocery store when I asked for lettuce. The thing that really made me laugh, though, was thinking of that poor couple trying to eat tough cabbage in a salad as if it were lettuce!

When I got home, I posted on the thread about the "lettuce" that it looked like cabbage, and that knowing that might help the couple eat it before it went bad. I said it in a nice way, of course.

So after this incident, I had some cabbage on my hands that I needed to use up. I also had some ricotta cheese in the fridge left over from the last time I made lasagna. I guessed there must be a way to cook them in the same recipe. I did an internet search for "cabbage ricotta cheese recipe" and found this recipe, which I based the following recipe on (I think I improved it!).


Cabbage Lasagna Casserole

12 oz pkg of garden rotini

1/2 lb ground beef
2 T canola oil
1 small head of cabbage, cored and chopped
1/2 large onion, diced
15-20 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2-3 oz Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

Brown ground beef at medium-high temperature in medium large saucepan. Drain off excess fat; add onion and cabbage, then add oil (you use the oil to replace the fat from the beef because animal fat contains a lot of saturated fat, which clogs your veins. Canola oil is one of the healthiest vegetable oils out there). Add about 1 t salt, 1/4 t garlic, and 1/2 t pepper; saute over medium/medium high heat until cabbage is cooked through. You may like more or less of any of these seasonings according to your taste.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 deg F and cook pasta according to package directions; drain pasta.

In a 13" x 9" glass baking dish, combine ricotta, eggs, and Parmesan. Mix in pasta, then cabbage mixture. Sprinkle top of mixture with a thin layer of Parmesan and add some mozzarella on top to make it look melty. Bake in 350 deg F oven for 30 minutes; serve and enjoy!

Broccoli chicken casserole

I just made a broccoli chicken casserole that is delicious, and I don't want to forget how I made it. Here:

2 heads of raw broccoli
1 egg
1 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 chicken breast
4 oz (?) mozzarella cheese (enough to cover the broccoli)
garlic, salt, and pepper to taste

Cut broccoli into bite-size pieces. You should have mostly florets. Place in casserole dish with soup, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper; mix together. Sprinkle mixture with cheese.

Meanwhile, slice chicken breast into strips; layer evenly on top of cheese.

Bake everything in 350 deg F oven for 25 min; serve with rice or pasta.


EDIT: I just made this again and I think I forgot to say that I included milk in the original recipe, probably the same amount as the amount of cream of mushroom soup in the casserole.

Ham Pasta Yums

So, this is pretty much the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. Austin and I both wish we had two stomachs just so we could eat more every time I make this. I'm starting to drool just thinking about it.

The story is like this: We had lots and lots of leftover ham from Christmas, and I didn't know what to do with it. I thought it might taste good with pasta, but I didn't have a recipe, so I did a quick internet search and got this recipe. It is amazing and delicious and almost everything I could ask for in a pasta dish.

I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I tweaked it a little bit the first time I made the recipe. I've made it three or four times since that first time, and each time I've tweaked the recipe a little bit more. It just gets better and better. Here's the recipe we've all been waiting for!

Ingredients:
1 pkg bowtie noodles
1 C fully cooked chopped ham
1/2 C butter
1/3 C flour
3/4 t salt
2 C milk
1/2 pkg frozen spinach or broccoli (about 5 or 6 oz)
1 C Parmesan cheese (4 oz)

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions, and then a little longer to make the pasta a little bit soft. Drain and set aside in desired serving dish.

Meanwhile, melt butter in pan with ham. Cook together until butter is completely melted and ham is heated through. Stir in flour and salt until blended (you should have a thick paste when done); add milk. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often. Cook for about two minutes or until sauce is thickened. Add spinach just before sauce is at desired consistency; heat through. Reduce heat; add Parmesan cheese.

When cheese is melted, the sauce is done. Pour it over the pasta and stir until the pasta is evenly coated. Enjoy!

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Some notes:

Since the sauce tastes so similar to Alfredo sauce, I decided to make chicken Alfredo with this sauce. It was ok, but would have been better if I had put the chicken in at the end, instead of cooking it in the butter. EDIT: I tried it again with chicken. This time, I put the chicken in after the milk. It was delicious!

The original recipe called for more flour. The sauce thickens more quickly with a greater amount of flour, but I found it was more difficult to control the consistency with that amount of flour. The greater amount of flour also gave a strange texture to the sauce--it made it pastier.

Leftovers are still delicious! The only thing I don't like about regular (home made) Alfredo sauce (besides all the calories...) is that leftovers are really oily the next day. The texture just isn't as creamy after it's been reheated. This sauce stays creamy even after it has been reheated.

Cooking the pasta so it's softer (and coincidentally wetter) makes the dish creamier--and therefore yummier, in my book!