Slow cooker diaries, the last entry of 2013

Posted on December 31, 2013 by chatty

I’ve been itching for some good ol’ fashioned pasta with meat sauce. What was once a weekly staple has become something reserved for a special occasion. Now, when I do pasta for dinner, it’s got to be an event, something like New Year’s Eve!

To start, olives, marinated mushrooms, duck pate and crackers. Classy.

I made a small batch of an Italian red sauce, using ground lamb, onion, carrot & mushrooms. Fresh parpadelle is the only way I roll these days. On the side, oven-roasted broccoli with panko breadcrumbs and parm-reg shavings.

A nice glass of Cabernet-Sauvignon, an enjoyable, quiet meal with the husband and child.

For dessert the family shared a slice of chocolate pie and pumpkin pie. Stylin!

It’s been an indulgent December for me. More bread, grains, sweets and sugar than anyone deserves. Mmmmmm. Come January, back to reality. But it’s been a swell ride.

HNY!

Mushroom Lasagna

Posted on June 1, 2013 by chatty

The kiddo is quite fond of the book: Tales For Very Picky Eaters. One tale mentions mushroom lasagna. Kiddo asked if we could have mushroom lasagna. Sure, I said.
I haven’t made lasagna probably since the 90s. Which is funny, because it was my thing back in the day. I clearly remember making it in college and feeding it to the roommate at the end of some fasting Jewish high holiday. Spinach was the specialty.
More recently this recipe has gone on the wayside. Too much pasta, and seriously, who needs that much cheese? Also, the husband has never been fond of lasagna so why bother.
Until now! The challenge here was the mushrooms. I ended up going for a very mushroomy sauce. Browned ground turkey, threw it in the slow cooker with a shredded carrot, chopped onion, mushrooms (lots of them), a large can of whole tomatoes (would have preferred crushed but I made a mistake and bought the wrong can). Tomato paste, Italian herbs.
Whole wheat lasagna, and a 8×8 baking pan. Ditched the mozzarella and instead shredded parm reg into the ricotta mixture and shredded some more on top (and some crumbled Zola-Gouda).

I used half the sauce for the lasagna. In addition I roasted a spaghetti squash for a low-carb option to pair with the rest of the sauce.

I did hear the kiddo say, “This. Is. Amazing.” But then she proceeded to only eat the pasta. Husband did eat it, hooray, and so we have less leftovers than expected. Was fun to have but I’m glad I made the squash, too. Not going to keep this in the repertoire. No one needs that much food, but it was fun to whip out an old recipe (from memory!) and lighten it up some.

Holiday Potluck in C/1089

Posted on December 14, 2008 by chatty

Who needs a fancy work party at the Westin? We’ve got a hot potluck in the big conference room.

Everyone loves a good potluck, right? Especially when one gets awards. I didn’t go for the award this year, actually. Too much other stuff going on to spend time dreaming up the “best original dish”. But, take a look at the best original dish, prepared by Alejandro. Chicken Empanada:

MSN Empanada. Now that's team spirit.

I brought a pasta salad. Made with tri-color rotini, marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. I forgot the olives and ditched the capers. An easy dish that took all of 20ish minutes to make the night before. Maybe next year I’ll be up for the competition again.

Good fun was had by all.

Birthday Dinner, part 2

Posted on April 13, 2008 by chatty

And it’s not even my birthday yet! (here is part one)

So here is the deal with the pie. Every year on the husband’s birthday, the husband’s mother bakes him a banana cream pie. Nothing fancy. Literally it is the same pie recipe she’s been making for him for the past 30+ years. It very well might have come from an issue of Redbook or the back of a Jello Pudding package. And the husband wouldn’t have it any other way. Within the last couple of years my birthday also made it to the “birthday pie” list. Now I get a pie on my birthday! Or the day before, which is fine by me. This is coconut cream pie (recipe from Martha, according to the MIL). A coconut filling layered beneath fresh whipped cream. Toasted coconut and shaved chocolate to top it off. Plus, a homemade crust that looks like a REAL crust (unlike some crusts I’ve known). Plus plus, I also received the pie plate that the pie arrived in as a gift. Beautiful stoneware from Crate & Barrel.

And, because we couldn’t just have pie for early dinner/late lunch/whatever it is you have when you eat at 2:30 in the afternoon, the husband made one of his (and my) favorite dishes that he pulls out for guests: gnocchi al romano. Rich cheeses, eggs and milk, magically/scientifically combined with semolina flour then baked/broiled to perfection. The 16 words I just used to describe the dish doesn’t do the actual cooking process any justice. Just keep in mind that on more than one occasion, when cooking this dish, has the husband hurled out expletives and thrown a few pans around the kitchen. It’s intense. But the results are sooo good. In the background of the photo below you can see the ragu bolognese sharing the plate, another specialty he’s prepared on occasion (the pics of the bolognese didn’t come out, but picture this).

San Diego Dinner

Posted on April 12, 2008 by chatty

Yeah, so I’m kind of going backwards on the posting. Here is another meal from San Diego. Team meals are super fun for me. We stay in a hotel that has a kitchenette in each room, which is pretty crucial as we are all careful with what we are eating during a race weekend. We are a couple of blocks from a major supermarket, and we tend to go there once or twice a day. For dinner we gather in a hotel room/cottage/outdoor patio/etc. and we all bring something to the party. On the first night my hotel-mates and I made pasta salad to go along with the chicken we were barbecuing. (Sorry, no pic)

The next night was pasta night. “Jody, you’re cooking tonight” was the command from a certain rower, much to Jody’s surprise. As a Seattle firefighter she has the experience of cooking for large numbers. It was just pasta, but a lot of pasta.

At Jody’s request we went to the store bought and some supermarket-style brownies. These were extra-special because they were topped with chocolate icing. My teammates got into the spirit of this food blog I’ve been keeping and recommended that we “plate” this next one special.

Click here to see the lucky coxswain who got to take a bite. I suggested she replace the existing strawberry with a clean one, but she refused. Crazy girl.

Let me apologize again for the fuzzy pics. The lighting in the room was nil and I really dislike the look of the flash (see pasta pic above). I have to figure that one out. If you have tips/suggestions, please let me know.

Dinner delight

Posted on March 19, 2008 by chatty

A rich treat for us tonight. The husband pulled out the dutch oven! Only good things can come from a dutch oven. Tonight he offered up beef bourguignon: tender chunks of meat; carrots, pearl onions and potatoes; a red-wine based sauce over fresh, wide, buttery pappardelle pasta. Crumbled bacon topped this dish off.

(the dutch oven of goodness)

Spring has (almost) sprung

Posted on March 16, 2008 by chatty

It is beginning to smell like spring around here. We’ve got our rhodies beginning to bloom in the front yard, and we’ve cut some of the hyacinths that recently blossomed in our yard as well.

What better dish to celebrate spring than Pasta Primavera?

The husband treated us with this light pasta dish for dinner tonight. Whole-wheat rotini tossed with olive oil, peppers, broccoli and garlic.

I had a splitting headache, from what I believe was missing my coffee/caffeine fix this morning. So I stopped by the MM for a short latte and came home with dessert, a chocolate-dipped macaroon.

Couscous, yum yum

Posted on March 8, 2008 by chatty

Couscous via chattycha on flickr

The protein: A little chicken, a little lamb, and even some pancetta thrown in as a surprise.

The carb: Couscous cooked in chicken stock

The vegetable: Red peppers, shallots, green onions

Plus, a ginger/teriyaki marinade and pineapple chunks provide a sweet and sour tang to this one-dish meal.

Thanks, hon.

I’ll meet you anywhere you want, in our Italian restaurant

Posted on March 5, 2008 by chatty

The husband and I were watching Tyler’s Ultimate when he declared Tyler’s sauce wasn’t anything to write home about … he could do better.

And he did! Two different kinds of meats; San Marzano tomatoes; onions and red wine. Reduced to a rich, heavenly sauce. This was served over some whole wheat penne. This was last night. We had leftovers tonight. And will probably have the same tomorrow. No complaints here.

Chicken with a twist

Posted on February 26, 2008 by chatty

The husband shook it up a bit tonight. He crushed garlic croutons from MM to create a breading for chicken breasts which he pounded. Pan-fried and combined with sauteed mushrooms. This was on top of a garlic-infused pasta flavored with lemon. A side salad to finish off the meal. I loved having the croutons as part of the chicken dish. A flavorful change of pace.

dinner via chattycha on flickr

Chatty Cha

dessert first

Category Archives: pasta