Baked Chicken and Creamy Tomato Sauce

This pasta sauce was on point.  It wasn't quick with a 20 minute simmering session then a 20 minute baking session but all the work was done at the beginning so you can focus on listening to your favorite podcast that you can barely hear over your two year old screaming JINGLE BELLS BATMAN SMELLS ROBIN LAID AN EGG. Just me then? And yes we are still enjoying Christmas music, or paradies this January.

Baked Chicken and Creamy Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Dinner: A Love Story

• olive oil
• 3 boneless chicken breasts
• one onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 3 to 4 tablespoons mascarpone
• small handful chopped basil

Heat olive oil over high heat in an ovenproof skillet.  Brown the chicken breast for 2 minutes on each side and set aside. They don't have to be cooked through, just browned.

Turn the heat down to medium, add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrent. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Stir in mascarpone and basil and add the chicken back to the pan covering it with sauce. 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Serve with pasta.

Mixed Berry Galette

We had our annual chicken pot pie for the first of the year and to avoid last year's disaster I made a galette that I could hopefully pass off as pie to Henry.  It barely passed the Henry test and its definitely not pie.  Its not sweet enough to pass as a dessert for our family but it is the perfect breakfast pastry. Not bad for an afternoon snack either.

Mixed Berry Galette
Adapted from Belleannee

• one portion galette dough (below)
• flour for dusting
• 24 ounces of frozen berries, thawed and drained
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• pinch salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• white or brown sugar for sprinkling 

Galette Dough

• 2 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter chilled and chopped
• 1/4-1/2 cup ice water

Dough Directions

Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in large food processor. Add butter and process until its like coarse meal about 10 seconds.

While the food processor continuously runs, slowly add 1/4 cup ice water.  Run until it starts to stick together (20 seconds).  Pinch a small amount of dough, if it sticks together then you are done but if it is crumbly add a tablespoon more ice water at a time and process.

Form the dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate between 1 hour and overnight.

Galette Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 with a rack in the middle. 

Add the berries to a large bowl with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes while you roll out the dough.

On a floured surface roll out the dough to a circle with a 16 inch diameter.  Move the dough to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Put berries in the middle of the dough with a 2 inch border.  Fold up the sides and pinch to secure. Brush a beaten egg over the crust and sprinkle with white or brown sugar.  Bake for 50-60 minutes until crust is golden.

Serve for breakfast or a snack.

No Knead Rustic Bread

I could get very used to having homemade bread around the house. 

No Knead Rustic Bread 
Makes 1 1/2 pound loaf bread
Adapted from Dinner: A Love Story

• 3 cups AP or bread flour, more for dusting (I used 2 cups AP 1 cup bread)
• 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon sugar

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and any flavorings (rosemary, thyme, Parmesan, ect.) Add 1 and 5/8ths cup of water and stir into blended. Dough will be wet and sticky. Cover wtih plastic wrap and let rest for 24 hours (more or less its forgiving).

In hour 8, uncover the dough and fold a couple of times with a spatula.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and put in a 6 to 8 quart pot with a lid. 

Once the oven is preheated, remove the pot and sprinkle the bottle with flour.  Add the dough and sprinkle the top with flour and a pinch of kosher salt. 

Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 more minutes.  Dump the bread on a cooling rack to cool. Serve warm.

Acorn Squash Breakfast Pudding

I love it when I can surprise Steven.  He had his eye browns raised when I made this giant casserole for our little family but it was all eaten up by the end of the week.  A new favorite for Steven.

Please note the acorn squash shells are clearly visible in this picture. They are not, in fact, edible. So make sure you take the shell off.

Acorn Squash Breakfast Pudding
Adapted from I am a Food Blog

• 1 acorn squash
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 stale baguette, cubed about 4 cups
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 spicy Italian sausages, removed from casing
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

The night before:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cube the squash, ross with oil, and roast on a tin foil lined baking sheet for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside. Once cool remove the shell from each cube.

Meanwhile, brown the sausage and break up in the pan while you cook. Cook until its brown and crispy then remove from heat. Add to the acorn squash and refridgerate in an airtight container overnight.

The next day:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. 

 In a 9 by 13 casserole dish toss the squash, sausage, and bread cubes.  Pour the egg mixture evenly over the dish and top with shredded cheddar. Bake for 40 minutes.

Enjoy hot.

Herb and Caper Crusted Salmon

Man, we eat a lot of salmon around here and by we I mean Steven and I because Henry has refused all foods expect peanut butter jelly sandwiches and cereal. Two year olds can truly be terrible.

Herb and Caper Crusted Salmon
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

• 1 cup parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, drained
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt, pepper, red chili pepper flakes
• olive oil
• 1 pound salmon filet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. 

Add parsley, dill, capers, lemon, garlic, salt, pepper, and red chili pepper flakes to a large cutting board and start chopping.  Chop until everything is finely minced and mixed together.

Place salmon filet on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover the top and sides with the herb mixture.  Bake for 15 minutes until salmon is done.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Tzatziki

We went to three different store to buy dill. Three! This morning was full of fails, and this Tzatziki plus some store bought pita chips were the only successful thing out of my kitchen today.  Oh and a giant mess.  Thank God for yogurt based dips.

Tzatziki

• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Stir until combined. Chill until ready to serve.

Avocado Pasta

For my mom and lactose intolerant creamy pasta lovers everywhere.

Avocado Pasta
Adapted from I am a Food Blog
Serves 2

• 6 ounces of pasta
• 1 avocado, pitted and pealed
• 2 cloves garlic
• handful of cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 fried eggs (optional, but if you're going to do it, let's make them over easy)
• chopped cilantro and arugula to finish (optional) - we didn't have arugula but it would have been nice.

Cook pasta as usual reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, add avocado, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil to a small food processor. Process until smooth. 

Toss pasta with avocado sauce thinning with the pasta water if needed.  Season with salt and pepper, top with fried egg, cilantro, and arugula.

Good leftover, I think the lime juice keeps it from turning brown.