Pumpkin Risotto with Prosciutto

I really like the salty taste the Prosciutto adds to the sweet pumpkin.

Ingredients

2 cups cubed peeled fresh pumpkin
3 cups low salt chicken broth
Olive Oil
1 finely chopped onion
3 cloves of Garlic minced
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup of Asiago or Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 ounce very thinly sliced Prosciutto

1 Steam pumpkin, covered, 15 minutes or until tender; set aside to cool

2.Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot. Add onion, saute until translucent about 5 minutes, add garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add rice and whine cook about 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed stirring constantly.  Add broth 1/2 cut at a time stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next. (about 20 minutes total) Stir in the pumpkin; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese and remaining ingredients.  Serve immediately. 

Creamy Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (regular or 98% Fat Free)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
2. Stir the soup, water, onion powder, black pepper and rice in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through the cooking time.
3. Stir in the vegetables. Return the chicken to the skillet. Sprinkle with the cheese. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender.

Chicken Cantanzaro Style

This mostly boneless chicken goes great with roasted or boiled red potatoes
INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup capers
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
6 oz Cipolline Onions
Lemon rind
Olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Remove backbone, ribs and wishbone from chicken so you end up with a butterflied chicken.
2. Make the stuffing with bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, cinnamon nutmeg.  Toss with enough olive oil to wet crumbs but not make them clumpy.
3. Loosen skin on chicken and place the stuffing under the skin.  Rub the last bit on outside of skin.
4. Place chicken in large pot with olive oil breast side down on med-high (5) and roast for 5 minutes. Turn chicken and reduce heat to low (2). Add Onions around the chicken. Cover and let cook for 1 hour.
5. Add capers, lemon rind, and vinegar to pan and let sit a few minutes.

Peach Galette from Simply Recipes

Peach Galette

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cup (205gms)  flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (6gms)  sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ( 2gms) salt
• 4 oz (1/2 cup, 1 stick, 8 Tbsp) (112gm)  butter, cut into small (1/2-inch) cubes, chilled in freezer at least 15 minutes, preferably an hour
• 4 to 6 Tbsp (60-90gm) ice water

Filling:

• 2 large, not-overly-ripe yellow peaches (about 3/4 pound total), pitted, sliced into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices
• 3 Tbsp (39gms) sugar
• 1 Tbsp (10gms) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5gm) vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon (5gm)  butter

• 1 egg
• A sprinkling of coarse sugar (optional)

METHOD

1 Make the crust dough. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt, until well mixed. Add the cubed butter, and pulse 8 times. The butter should still be the size of peas in the mixture. Slowly add the ice water, a tablespoon or two at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough just begins to clump. Turn out onto a clean surface. Use your clean hands to form into a disc. Do not over-knead. Work the dough only enough to bring it barely together into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour on all sides, wrap with plastic, and place into the refrigerator to chill for an hour. (See our pate brisee recipe for more detailed instruction if you are new to making crusts.)

2 Preheat the oven with the rack in the middle position to 425°F (220°C). Place the peach slices in a bowl and sprinkle with the flour and sugar. Toss gently to coat. Sprinkle vanilla extract over the peaches.

3 In a small bowl, whisk the egg until smooth and set aside.

4 On a lightly floured, clean, smooth surface, roll out the dough to about a 12-inch diameter. Gently lift up the rolled out dough and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.

5 If you are using almond paste (not necessary, but a nice addition if you have it), dot the middle 6-inch circle of the dough with the almond paste. (If you can spread it, great. Otherwise, just dot with little bits.) Arrange the peach slices in an overlapping pattern in a single layer in the center of the dough, forming about a 7 or 8-inch circle. Dot with a little butter.

6 Fold the outer edges of the dough round over the filling, by about 2-inches all the way around, in an accordion fashion. Use a pastry brush to coat the exposed dough with an egg wash (you can cook up the leftover egg as a little scrambled egg, by the way), and sprinkle with coarse sugar if using.

7 Place in the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet, over a rack, about 15 minutes.

Quiche Lorraine

This is a relatively easy recipe. I really like the salty taste. 

             Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 10 slices bacon
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella and Provolone mix
• 1/2 onion diced
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 package frozen spinach
• 1/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Place bacon in a large skillet, and fry over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels, then chop coarsely. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion into pastry shell.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, spinach, salt, sugar and cayenne pepper. Pour mixture into pastry shell.
4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Allow quiche to sit 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 761 | Total Fat: 68.1g | Cholesterol: 284mg

Roasted Potatoes

This is a really nice recipe for Roasted Potatoes, Its much simpler than the one I have from Il Paridisino so it will get made more often. 

Ingredients

• 2 pounds red potatoes, cut into quarters
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (250 degrees C).
2. Place potatoes in a large roasting pan and toss with oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary until evenly coated. Spread out potatoes in a single layer.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 227 | Total Fat: 7.3g | Cholesterol: 0mg

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This has always been one of my favorite things.  It's really easy and yet I never seem to remember to make it. 

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices cooked ham
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 7x11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.
3. Sprinkle each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick. Place in baking dish, and sprinkle chicken evenly with bread crumbs.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from oven, and place 1/2 cheese slice on top of each breast. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove toothpicks, and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 419 | Total Fat: 19.4g | Cholesterol: 124mg